THURSDAY 23TH SEPTEMBER 2021

NNPC: Global Gas Crisis May Push Oil Prices $10 Higher in Three Months FG to halt OPEC allocation under-performance by October, mid-November, says Kyari Emotions, not science, driving conversations on energy transition, Barkindo insists Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

(NNPC) yesterday said the global natural gas crisis, which has resulted in rising prices, could push up oil prices by

as much as $10 a barrel over the next three to six months.

Wholesale gas prices have surged by 250 per cent since

the beginning of the year, including a 70 per cent rise, disrupting food supplies in parts of Europe and putting

several energy suppliers out of business.

In Nigeria, the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas

(LPG), or cooking gas, has increased by more than 100 Continued on page 8

IMF Board Meets over Alleged Manipulation of W'Bank 'Doing Business' Report...Page 6 Thursday 23 September, 2021 Vol 26. No 9663. Price: N250

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August Allocation Dips as FAAC Shares N696.965bn to FG, States, LGs...Page 5

Senate Approves N13.98trn 2022 Budget Projection, Retains N8.36trn Revenue Target Benchmarks oil at $57 per barrel, N410/$1 exchange rate Okays crude production of 1.88mbpd, 2.23mbpd, 2.22mbpd for 2022, 2023, 2024 Lawan backs collection of VAT by FIRS until legal outcome is determined Deji Elumoye, Juliet Akoje in Abuja and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos The senate has approved the federal government’s revenue projection of N8.36 trillion and proposed expenditure of

N13.98 trillion for the 2022 fiscal year. The lawmakers also passed the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP) ahead of Continued on page 8

Akeredolu: El-Rufai's Attack on Southern Governors, Ploy to Externalise Banditry Says anti-open grazing law has come to stay Claims southern govs have capacity to enforce act Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan, Fidelis David in Akure, Alex Enumah in Abuja, Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie in Lagos The Ondo State Governor and Chairman, Southern Governors'

Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday, took a swipe at his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai, for criticising the legal approach Continued on page 8

MOTHER, INFANT AND CHILD INITIATIVE...

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (left) and his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat (right) carrying infants, during the launch of Mother, Infant and Child (MICH) Initiative at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Ikeja...yesterday

COVID-19: Okowa Lauds FG on NG-CARES... Page 6

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Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 08033506821, 08097777322

SOUTH WEST ATTORNEY-GENERALS VISIT OSINBAJO...

L-R: Lagos State Attorney-General Moyosore Onigbanjo SAN; Oyo State Attorney-General, Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo; Ekiti State Attorney-General, Mr Olawale Fapohunda; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN; Osun State Attorney General, Mr Olufemi Akande; Ogun State Attorney-General, Mr. Akingbolahan Adeniran and the Ondo State Attorney-General, Sir Charles Titiloye, during their visit to the Vice President, at the State House, Abuja... yesterday

August Allocation Dips as FAAC Shares N696.965bn to FG, States, LGs Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) yesterday shared a total of N696.965 billion to the three tiers of government for the month of August 2021.

The amount was N63.752 billion less than the N760.717 billion shared in July 2021.

No explanation was given

by FAAC for the decrease in the dstributable revenue for August.

According to a communiqué issued at the end of the virtual meeting of the FAAC the N696.965 billion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N477.504 billion; distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N166.228 billion, recovered Exchange Gain of N2.830 billion, recovered Excess Bank Charges of N0.403 billion and N50 billion from non-oil revenue.

The sum of N72.295 billion was the total deductions for cost of collection, statutory transfers and refunds.

The communiqué stated that from the total distributable revenue of N696.965 billion, the federal government received N289.257 billion; states-N217.183 billion, and the local government councils, N161.541 billion.

The sum of N28.984 billion was shared to the relevant states as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

In August 2021, the gross revenue available from VAT was N178.509 billion, higher than the N151.134 billion available in the month of July by N27.375 billion.

For August, the sum N5.141 billion was allocated to the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and N7.140 billion cost of revenue collection was deducted from the N178.509 billion gross Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, resulting in the distributable

Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N166.228 billion.

From the N166.228 billion distributable VAT revenue, the federal government received N24.934 billion, the state governments received N83.114 billion and the local government councils received N58.180

billion.

Similarly, the federal government received N1.334 billion from the Exchange Gain revenue of N2.830 billion while the states received N0.677 billion.

The local government councils received N0.522 billion and N0.297 billion

was given to the relevant states as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

The excess bank charges recovered was N0.403 billion.

The federal government received N0.212 billion, the state governments received N0.108 billion, and the local government councils received

N0.083 billion.

From the N50 billion non-oil revenue, the federal government received N26.340 billion; state governments-N13.360 billion, and the local government councils received N10.300 billion.

A highlight of the month of August is the significant

increase in VAT and import duty while Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Oil and Gas Royalties and Excise Duty recorded decreases.

Balance in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) as of September 21, 2021 stood at $60.857 million.

House Urges Works Ministry to Commence Immediate Repairs of Federal Roads Nationwide Akeredolu laments deplorable state of roads Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Fidelis David in Akure The House of Representatives has called on the Ministry of Works and Housing to immediately commence emergency repairs of the failed portions of all federal roads across the country with a view to easing hardship on motorists and Nigerians.

This is just as Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has lamented that his administration has continued to fix deplorable federal roads without refund from the federal government.

The resolution of the House of Representatives followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance moved at the plenary yesterday by the Deputy Minority Leaders, Hon. Toby Okechukwu.

Moving the motion, Okechukwu decried that a gully had suddenly emerged on the Onitsha-Owerri Expressway around Oraifute, Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State.

He said the development had cut the expressway into two parts leading to the entrapment of a fuel tanker laden with diesel in the gully.

The lawmaker stressed

that it took the intervention of the personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to ensure that the contents of the trapped tanker was trans-loaded while the remaining portion of the road remains closed, to avoid loss of lives.

He expressed worry that the Onitsha–Owerri Expressway offers a bypass to several communities in the south-east as well as connects the south-east and south-south geopolitical zones of the country.

The Deputy Minority Leader said the present condition of the road has made the road completely impassable as the same poses great hardship to motorists, other road users, host communities and constitutes threat to the lives of the people; hence the need for urgent government intervention.

The lawmaker pointed out that several portions of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway are failing even while the contractors are still on the site.

Okechukwu expressed concern that the rehabilitation works on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway had been abandoned as evident in the immense hardship being

experienced by motorists and other road users in the Amansea section of the expressway.

He lamented that the economic wellbeing of the people was in serious jeopardy which could lead to a great humanitarian and security crisis.

Okechukwu said the precarious security situation across the nation which may present opportunity to criminal elements to take undue advantage of these situations.

The House resolved that: "Call on the Minister of Works and Housing to commence urgent emergency repairs of the failed portion of all federal roads across the country with a view to easing hardship on motorists and Nigerians."

Meanwhile, Akeredolu who spoke while inspecting the rehabilitation work being done on the road at AyedeOgbese/Owo Expressway in Akure North Local Government Area, pointed out that hundreds of millions had been expended by the state government to fix some federal government roads.

He noted that the state had earlier carried out several intervention works on many federal roads in the

state despite the dwindling resources, without getting refunds from the federal government.

The governor who was accompanied to the site by the state Commissioner for Lands and Infrastructure, Engr.

Raimi Aminu, explained that the Ayede-Ogbese road was being repaired by his administration to alleviate the suffering of the people playing the road.

The governor, who described the road as the link to the northern part of the country from the south, urged the federal government to allocate more funds to the state to be able to carry out more developmental projects for the benefit of the people.

According to the governor, the Ayede-Ogbese road which was constructed over 20 years ago required major maintenance including resurfacing.

The governor also listed some of the federal roads rehabilitated by the state without getting refunds to include the road affected by a blast at Ilu-Abo in 2020, Ifon and Ipele junctions, among others.

“We can say it that the federal government has

bitten off more than it can chew. Often times, most of the federal roads get spoilt.

Even the Federal Road Maintenance Agency set up by government is not able to rise up to the occasion on time.

“But whether we like it or not, these roads are being used by our people, and we have no option than to look for money, in spite of lack of finances, to carry out this sort of intervention,” he added.

Akeredolu said, “a numbers of time we have this type of intervention we don’t get refunds. We have done this in few places like when we had the big blast last time at Ilu-Abo, along this road, which cost us hundreds of millions. We did it but till tomorrow, federal government has not refunded us.

“We are not too sure whether they will pay for this one we are doing again.

We just have to do it for the sake of our people. Those who use this road are not just only our people, this is the link to the north from the south. It is very unfortunate, and I believe the federal government should come into this,” the governor stressed," he added.

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ON THE SIDELINES OF UN ASSEMBLY...

Deputy Secretary General of United Nations Amina Mohammed, ( L) and President Muhammadu Buhari, during on meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York...recently

IMF Board Meets over Alleged Manipulation of World Bank ‘Doing Business’ Report Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday met for an initial briefing from the Ethics Committee on the alleged role of the Fund's Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva in the World Bank’s 'Doing Business' 2018 report.

An independent investigation released by a law firm, WilmerHale, had on September 16 reported that high-ranking staff members at the World Bank rigged data in the 2018 and 2020 editions of its flagship “Doing Business” report in order to boost China’s ranking.

The investigation highlighted China’s willingness to interfere in multilateral institutions to advance its economic interests, and the challenge of maintaining the integrity of the current international system.

It alleged “direct and indirect pressure” on staff members by the former World Bank chief executive officer, Kristalina Georgieva (now Managing Director of the IMF), and a former World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim operating in a “toxic culture."

WilmerHale had alleged that attempts were made in the days before the publication of Doing Business 2018 to raise China’s ranking from 85, such as incorporating data for Hong Kong into its scores.

When these efforts failed to deliver the desired results, the report alleged, Georgieva “became directly involved.”

The law firm’s report, Investigation of Data Irregularities, alleged that Georgieva directed Simeon Djankov, one of the founders of Doing Business, to guide the report to publication and that Djankov subsequently

“worked with Doing Business management to identify changes to China’s data that would raise the country’s score and increase its ranking”.

It stated that three indicators of business conditions — starting a business, legal rights-getting credit and paying taxes — were modified, raising China’s score by almost a point and increasing its ranking by seven places to 78.

According to WilmerHale, the effort to please China appeared to have been driven

by China’s important role in the World Bank as its third-largest shareholder.

The report stated that the push to boost China’s ranking came at a time when the bank’s management was, “consumed with sensitive negotiations” over a major capital increase, and China’s disappointment over a lowerthan-expected score.

The World Bank in 2018, had announced a $13 billion-paid in capital increase that boosted China’s shareholding stake to 6.01 per cent from 4.68 per cent.

While Georgieva said she fundamentally disagreed with the findings by WilmerHale, the World Bank decided to discontinue the upcoming “Doing Business” report over “ethical matters, including the conduct of former Board officials as well as current and/or former Bank staff.”

But in a bid to commence investigations on the alleged involvement of Georgieva, the IMF’s Executive Board met on Tuesday for an initial briefing from the Ethics Committee.

A statement by the IMF said the Board discussed the Ethics Committee’s deliberations so far and had a preliminary exchange of views on the report and the Managing Director’s statement in response to it.

The Executive Board emphasised the importance it attached to conducting a thorough, objective, and

timely review and agreed to meet again soon for a further discussion.

In 2002, the World Bank

introduced the 'Doing Business' report, whose annual rankings highlight which countries have

adopted policies favourable to businesses and which haven’t — and how much they are improving or regressing.

COVID-19: Okowa Lauds FG on NG-CARES Launches scheme for MSMEs in Delta

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa yesterday lauded the federal government and the World Bank for partnering on the COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (NGCARES) to provide succour for micro, small and mediumsized enterprises (MSMEs) impacted by the pandemic across the country.

Okowa gave the commendation in Asaba, while flagging off the disbursement of funds to 1,818 persons under CARES scheme, which had been domesticated in the state.

He also announced that the beneficiaries were in the first phase of the programme in the state.

The governor equally lauded the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) for collaboration with the federal government to accelerate the process for the World Bank's approval for the implementation of the programme in Nigeria.

In addition, he also expressed appreciation to the World Bank for the timely intervention and for working in close concert with state governments in Nigeria to cushion the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the people, particularly the poor and vulnerable.

Okowa said the commencement of the scheme in the state represents a major step at putting MSMEs

severely impacted by the pandemic on the path of recovery and growth with the disbursement of funds to the first set of 1,818 beneficiaries who have met the World Bank eligibility criteria within the initial six months.

The governor said: "A total of 2,529 MSMEs is expected to receive grants to support post-COVID-19 loans, operational costs and to enhance their IT capabilities.

"Indeed, we are glad to be part of the CARES programme of the federal government. The focus of intervention clearly aligns with the priority of the state government to give relief to those whose lives, businesses, jobs and means of livelihood have been distorted by the pandemic.

"The programme, which we have domesticated as the DELTA CARES, is a two-year emergency recovery programme aimed at supporting state governments’ budgeted programme of expenditures and interventions to enable them expand access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms."

Moreover, the programme was expected to, "directly support 25,269 poor and vulnerable households with social transfers, basic services and livelihood grants as well as 13,976 farmers to boost food production," and avoid disruption in food supply value chain.

"The outlined figures are the targets stipulated by the World Bank, but do not preclude the state government from scaling up if the need arises.

"It is my earnest expectation that those charged with the implementation of DELTACARES will be faithful in executing the mandate so that the desired results are achieved, bearing in mind that it is a Programme for Result (PforR)."

The Chairman, Steering Committee for Delta-CARES and Commissioner for Economic Planning in the state, Dr. Barry Pere-Gbe, represented by his Youths Development counterpart, Ifeanyi Egwunyenga, commended Okowa for providing the funds for the programme.

"The main focus of the programme is to bring succour to residents in the state whose means of livelihood have been disrupted by the impact of COVID-19 pandemic,” Pere-Gbe noted.

He said the programme was hinged on three thematic areas, ranging from supporting poor and vulnerable households with grants and basic services, to farmers with farm inputs to increase food production and facilitate smooth functioning of the food supply chain, and grants to MSMES to support post COVID-19 loans, operational costs and to enhance their IT capabilities.

Also speaking, Managing

Director of Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan, commended Delta State for sustained interest in growing and developing industries and MSMEs in the state.

The NG-CARES is a partnership with the World Bank targeted at impacting vulnerable individuals and provide food security after the devastation of COVID-19, Pitan said.

He said the BOI remained committed to empowering and supporting the growth of MSMEs with single digit interest loans and moratorium where necessary, adding that the bank had disbursed 772 million dollars to 3.8 million persons in the country in the last five years.

"Thirty out of the 36 states have agreed to work with BOI to implement the programme.

We hope that other states will learn from Delta by fast-tracking NG-CARES in the country", Pitan said, adding that, "MSMEs are a critical component of our national economy due to their prospects of job creation and contributions to the growth of the economy."

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Mrs. Orezi Esievo, explained that the DeltaCARES programme was a business grant given as working capital to existing MSMEs to keep them afloat and boost their businesses in the light of the Coronavirus disruptions.

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PAGE EIGHT SENATE APPROVES N13.98TRN 2022 BUDGET PROJECTION, RETAINS N8.36TRN REVENUE TARGET the expected presentation of the 2022 Appropriations bill to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The endorsements came as President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, backed the continuous collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) by the federal government until the final judgement of the Supreme Court on the matter.

The passage of the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework was sequel to the consideration and deliberation of a report by the Joint Committee on Finance; Local and Foreign Debts; Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions; Petroleum Resources (Upstream); Downstream Petroleum Sector and Gas. Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, presented the Joint Committee report.

Senators took turns to debate the MTEF/FSP document, which was submitted to the legislative arm for approval last month by Buhari.

Contributing to the debate, former Governor of Benue State and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswam, lamented that government borrowing had been increasing yearly, and wondered when it would stop.

According to him, the country's budget deficit has gone beyond "the threshold of the Fiscal Responsibility Act." Suswam frowned on irrelevant waivers granted businesses even as the country operated a deficit budget.

The former governor also expressed displeasure that the country was dishing out N2.4 trillion as waivers when it was having over N5.6 trillion deficit.

He stated, "The issue of borrowing and deficit. We now have a deficit that has been growing year in, year out. When is it going to stop? These are issues that agitate the minds of Nigerians, especially when it concerns borrowing.

"We have a deficit that has gone beyond the threshold of the Fiscal Responsibility

Act (FRA) 2007, which then means that we (must) amend the FRA so as to accommodate this deficit.

"The FRA stipulates a threshold of three per cent.

Last year, it was above the threshold, this year, it is above by six per cent.

"In managing an economy, we need to combine fiscal policies with monetary policies.”

On his part, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, stated, "There was nothing wrong with borrowing, provided it is channelled towards improving infrastructure, such as roads, health facilities, as well as empowering Nigerians."

The Red Chamber thereafter approved the daily crude oil production of 1.88 million barrels per day (mbpd), 2.23mbpd, and 2.22mbpd for 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, “in view of average 1.93mbpd over the last three years and the fact that a very conservative oil output benchmark has been

AKEREDOLU: EL-RUFAI'S ATTACK ON SOUTHERN GOVERNORS, PLOY TO EXTERNALISE BANDITRY adopted by the southern governors in handling the open grazing crisis, saying his statement was a ploy to externalise banditry in the country.

Also, while speaking on the Arise News Television, Akeredolu, who told his Kaduna counterpart that the southern governors had the capacity to deal with anyone, who contravened the laws, accused el-Rufai of inciting the herders against them, even as he reiterated the resolve of the South that the presidency must come to the region in 2023.

El-Rufai had while speaking to newsmen on Tuesday after a visit to the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, insisted that the anti-open grazing law being passed by some Southern states was not implementable, but that ranching and not open grazing was the solution to the ongoing farmer/herder’s clashes.

But, Akeredolu, first in an official statement by his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, said, "Governor Nasir el-Rufai, if he was properly quoted and his views not misrepresented, is struggling hard to export banditry to the South under an expressed opinion that is laced with mischief."

The statement read: "In these days and times, anyone who makes statements such as that allegedly made by the governor belongs to a class of an unenviable ilk masquerading as leaders.

"There is no wisdom in condemning/banning open grazing, prohibiting inter border movement of cattle in the North, including Kaduna, with an accompanying disapproval of a law that gives bite to same, in another part of the country.

"Perhaps, it is apt to state clearly that the likes of Governor el-Rufai are already in a hysteric 'mode' of escalating and indeed, externalising banditry, especially, as the military onslaught against criminal elements and other terror variants suffices in the North."

The Ondo governor noted that, "such comment like that of the Kaduna Governor, if indeed he made that statement, merely seeks to encourage anarchy under the guise of resentment of a law by affected stakeholders.

"In order words, it is a cleverly crafted path towards replicating in the South, the most despicable situation in the North, that Nigerians of goodwill daily pray to overcome. It's a ploy

beyond the ordinary.”

Akeredolu, further added that, "The Anti-Grazing Law, especially in Ondo State, has come to stay. It shall be zealously guarded and conscionably deployed to protect all residents of Ondo State, notwithstanding their ethnic and religious biases.

Those who have nothing evil to perpetrate have nothing to fear as regards the Law." Speaking on Arise, Akeredolu, who wondered why anyone would think the region was playing politics with the issue, warned that the south did not take the wellbeing and the livelihood of its people lightly and would do anything to protect them.

He claimed to be surprised by the utterances of the Kaduna governor said, adding that, “There is no politics about the anti-open grazing law. We say people are destroying the livelihood of our own people and we say we are not going to allow it to continue and it is certain.

“And if he says it is not a law we cannot enforce, let him wait or let him bring his herders here, they will go back to inform him whether we are able to enforce the laws, he will get to know.

There is no need for him to be in a hurry, the people will go back to him to tell him that it is being enforced and we are going to enforce it”.

More on the issue of capacity, Akeredolu noted that the law was already in operation in Ondo, because those who were infringing on the law were paying for it.

According to him, the state has established a process to ensure any herder, who destroyed any farm was made to pay repatriation before the cattle would be released to such a herder, adding that, “as a second time offender, you are going to prison.”

While observing that Miyetti Allah and other herders in Ondo State were already cooperating with the government, he lamented that the Kaduna governor and those who speak like him were only inciting herders against the people of the south and therefore warned that anyone, who broke the law in the state would be punished in line with the law.

“I am happy that Miyetti Allah people are willing to imbibe it; they are not waiting to be incited as my brother want to think. Maybe they should flout the law, that is why he is saying it is not implementable or whatever his words are, that is like wanting to incite the people.

“You are trying to incite the people, who say they are going to oppose this law and we are saying that if you

oppose this law, you will face the consequences. The law is there and has been passed by our own House of Assembly and the Houses of Assembly of every state that has passed the law and every state that has passed the law will implement the law to the letter,” he maintained.

The Ondo governor queried why southern governors should consult with their northern counterparts before passing a law that was in the interest of their own people, adding that the southern governors could not “beg” northern governors before passing a law that was in the interest of the people.

He held that the northern governors met regularly and even met with the president after their meeting and the southern governors have never made any fuss about it.

adopted for the medium term in order to ensure greater budget realism.”

The senate, in its recommendations, also approved the benchmark oil price of $$57 per barrel; adopted the exchange rate of N410.15/$ proposed by the executive for 2022-2024; and gave its nod to the projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 4.20 per cent; as well as 13 per cent inflation rate.

In addition, the upper chamber approved fiscal deficit of N5.62 trillion, and new borrowings of N4.89 trillion – an amount that includes foreign and domestic borrowing – subject to the provision of details of the borrowing plan to the National Assembly.

The senate approved other parameters, such as statutory transfers totalling N613.4 billion; debt service estimate of N3.12 trillion; sinking fund to the tune of N292 billion; pension, gratuities and retirees benefits of N567 billion.

Out of the aggregate federal government’s expenditure of N13.98 trillion, the upper chamber approved the sum of N6.12 trillion for total recurrent (non-debt); N3.47 trillion as personnel cost for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs); N3.26 trillion for capital expenditure (exclusive transfers); N350 billion for special intervention (recurrent); and N10 billion for special intervention (Capital).

The upper chamber in its report recommended that the fiscal deficit estimate of N5.62 trillion should be sustained due to the federal government’s conservative approach to target setting and its determination to improve collection efficiency of major revenue generating agencies.

It further called on the Salaries and Wages Commission to review the salary structure of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in order to come up with a new salary

structure that will reflect the true financial position of the agencies.

The chamber demanded a continuous review of the Fiscal Responsibility Act to ensure that all revenues are remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as and when due, in order to curtail frivolous deductions and diversion of funds by the MDAs. It maintained that all laws relating to the mining business should be reviewed urgently to ensure an upward review of rates applied to royalties, ground rent, and license renewal for all mining companies operating in Nigeria. The senate said this would guarantee transparency in the collection of revenue by relevant agencies.

It recommended stringent sanctions in proposed new laws to address illegal mining.

The senate also called on the Nigeria Customs Service to accelerate the process of installing scanners at all ports across the country to curb smuggling and underpayment of custom duties on imported goods, which has resulted in huge loss of revenue to the government.

The upper chamber urged the federal government to urgently implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) recently assented to by the president in order to curtail the problems of smuggling and round-tripping of petroleum products imported into the country.

In addition, the chamber recommended that the proposed budget of Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) be reviewed upward to reflect their capabilities to generate revenue.

It further recommended that the offices of the Accountant General (AGF), Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF) and Fiscal Responsibility Commission be strengthened in the areas of staffing and funding of their activities to ensure optimal performance.

The chamber stated that the

Acts establishing some MDAs, such as Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), National Lottery Trust Fund Act, Bank of Industry Act, Bank of Agriculture Act, Energy Commission Act, and Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Commission, if reviewed and amended, would assist to generate more revenue to the coffers of government.

It also recommended that the federal government’s budget be reviewed and purged of some agencies with demonstrated capacity to stand on their own without recourse to government budget.

It identified such agencies to include the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.

Speaking after the passage of MTEF/FSP, Lawan stressed that the lawmakers needed to up their game in the area of oversight.

According to him, much needs to be done by the various committees, especially in the area of oversight, to ensure full implementation of the annual budget of the federal government.

On Value Added Tax (VAT), Lawan said there was nothing wrong in continuing with VAT since there was no finality in the judgement yet.

The senate president said, "Therefore, we shouldn't confuse our system until there is a very clear cut, definite judgement by the Supreme Court. We should go ahead with VAT as part of the resources available to us".

Lawan urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other major revenue generating agencies to strive to bring in more revenue into the coffers of government.

According to him, "We have given them all the support that is necessary. They have no reason not to improve on their collection."

NNPC: GLOBAL GAS CRISIS MAY PUSH OIL PRICES $10 HIGHER IN THREE MONTHS per cent in the last few months due to under-supply, according to NNPC. Although, marketers have also attributed the increase to the introduction of a 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) and rising dollar value to the naira.

Over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s domestic gas needs are sourced internationally, while the rest is sourced locally, even though the country sits atop a 206 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) proven quantity of the commodity.

Speaking in a conversation monitored on Bloomberg Television, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, stated that in the next three to six months, the current distortion in the market could lead to an increase in oil prices by at least $10. With Brent crude hitting $76 on Wednesday, the increase could actually be about $86 during the period.

Kyari noted that soaring gas prices would most likely seep into the oil prices because consumers would be forced to seek fuel alternatives to natural gas in the nearest future because of rising prices, as demand for oil could be boosted by as much as 1 million barrels per day (bpd).

“It will absolutely hit crude prices as energy consumers are forced to shift from gas to other fuels,” the NNPC GMD stated. “You wouldn’t be very wrong if you said you would see an additional $10 on a barrel maybe three months, maximum six months,” he added.

According to him, the world is presently in a potential crisis because last year, a number of things were not done right, including under-investment in the gas sector, particularly.

Kyari said, “The implication of that is that we're going to see the effect coming up in a year or two maximum. And that will also affect the gas supply all over the globe and, particularly, in Europe.

“That's going to show up in a number of gas-rich countries and gas supply projects are being stalled, a number of midstream gas projects are being stalled or delayed, and the net effect will be that there will be an impact on pricing coming very shortly.”

He disclosed that there was still clearly a supply gap, stressing that in the country, supply to the Nigeria LNG plant has been beset by several challenges in recent times.

He stressed, “There are a number of things going on now to improve on the gas supply.

We surely have issues around gas supply to the LNG plant, in particular, and even into the domestic market and the net effect is that you will see some slippages in cargos in 2022 and even in 2021.

“And the implication of that is that you have to do something pretty quickly and we have lost time, we have lost investment and for us, what must happen is a very quick return to a pre-Covid-19 level investment and that, of course, is being adjusted and I know that this is a key challenge for the industry.”

According to Kyari, since in many jurisdictions, including Nigeria, gas production is tied to oil production and much of the production is associated, prices may spiral in several areas.

He stated that closing the

global oil supply gap in three, four months’ time might not be feasible, but noted that Nigeria’s underperformance in the last few months in relation to the quota allocated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would be halted by the end of October this year or mid November.

“From everything we're doing, we'll get back to the OPEC level, probably, by the end of October and maximum middle of November. We're not far from that,” he assured.

The GMD pointed out that the national oil company was going through a transformation that would see it invest more in renewable energy sources, going forward.

He stated, “We are undergoing a transformation and what this means is that we’re going to lead a company that will become the biggest company in Africa, not just the company that will lead the transition into renewables as we go forward to zero carbon situation.

“And what we have to do is to focus on gas development, as everybody else is doing, and also focus on the reality, which is that you need to go electric and to do this, you need a number of things done as quickly as possible to make this company completely commercial and completely profitable. It already is.”

Meanwhile, the OPEC Secretary General, Dr. Sanusi Barkindo, said current conversations around the transition to a carbon-free world were driven by sheer emotions, rather than facts and science.

Speaking on the side-lines of Gastech, an industry expo

in Dubai, Barkindo stated that there were many distortions in discussing of a world without fossil fuels, with the planned focus on renewables.

Barkindo said, “I have also in my contribution, in my panel, talked about the distortion of facts, and the science, the misrepresentation of these facts in the conversation, which is not healthy because climate change and the energy transition are supposed to be guided by the science.

“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is supposed to be the most authoritative body with regard to both climate change and the transition.

And we in OPEC, we believe they are doing a great job; they are producing very important seminal reports.

“But, unfortunately, these reports are being set aside, and the discussions ensuing at the moment, more or less, are being driven by emotions rather than by the great work that the scientific body is producing for all of us.”

On the energy transition, Barkindo emphasised the vital role of oil in meeting the growing demand for energy, adding that predictable investment is required to address the increasing global needs, highlighting the need to address energy poverty and meet global commitments to expand energy access.

Referencing OPEC’s release of the World Oil Outlook 2021, the secretary general noted that oil and natural gas would continue to supply more than half the world’s energy needs in 2045, with oil around 28 per cent, followed by gas at 24 per cent.

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COMMENT

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

BARRET BRINGS AKAMPONG TO NIGERIA Okello Oculi pays tribute to Lindsay Barret, journalist and author, at age 80

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n 18th September, 2021 a collection of political memories assembled in Suncity Estate in Abuja to celebrate a Jamaican who left his island country at the age of 22 and is convinced that if he had not come to Nigeria he might not have lived long enough to touch 80.

Lindsay Barrett, an honoured novelist, worked as a Radio Journalist with the BBC. During being immersed in the intellectual cauldron of Paris, he met Mallam Aminu Abdullahi who had been out of his native Nigeria for over 20 years. Abdullahi must have been attracted by his Caribbean rejection of African military takeover of political power.

Editors of The Daily Gleaner, the Jamaican newspaper young Barrett had worked for, was owned by British owners of plantations and Black slaves. Its editors hated the prospects of military coups and loss of power to Black soldiers.

In a country 90 per cent of whose population is AfroJamaican, it was safer to use the power of an ideology of their racial inferiority than military orders disciplining guns in their hands. The virus of military coups in South America would be hard to keep out. It was difficult enough discrediting the 1801 Black African revolution in nearby Haiti.

Military coups in Togo, Mali, and Algeria were being discussed by African students, journalists and politicians resident in Paris. Barrett wrote opinion articles against military coups becoming a plague in Africa. Nigerian intelligence operatives under M.D. Yusuf encouraged him to come and see Nigeria.

He told the celebrants in Suncity that he planned to stay in Nigeria ‘’for only two weeks’’. Those two weeks continue to roll.

In 2018, The Daily Telegraph carried a story of a Jamaican woman living in Britain combating her son’s loss of interest in schooling by sending the boy back to Jamaica. Seeing Black people as lawyers, engineers, top civil servants, and Prime Minister, fired the lad’s sense of self-worth and attending school. Barrett told celebrants that it was in West Africa that he first saw Black models on advertisement billboards.

In 1976 Cuban workers constructing housings were supervised by Black men. White workers were in subordinate positions. Prime Minister Michael Manley had obviously arranged with the Cubans to purge Jamaicans of the racist ideology of white supremacy. The psychological drama inside Barrett’s head in West Africa was being enacted on a larger scale back home in Jamaica.

Jamaica did have an older history of rebellion against

BARRETT CARRIED THE GENE OF REVOLT AND ASPIRATION FOR THE CREATION OF A STRONG AFRICAN NATION. IT IS A DREAM ONCE BROADCAST BY MARCUS GARVEY, ANOTHER JAMAICAN, WHO TOOK HIS DREAM TO AMERICA AND AROUSED ASPIRATIONS FOR BLACK AFRICAN POWER AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICANS

oppression. A man called Akampong had led armed struggle against British slavery. He used Jamaica’s mountain range as a military base from which to launch raids against white farmers. His army repelled successive waves of British raids, and forced Britain to end slavery on the island.

Britain countered his nationalist movement by inventing a class of Mulatoes who identified themselves as ‘the Middle Class’’. Brazil later copied this model when in 1922 Sweden’s ambassador to Brazil warned European governments about ‘’Brazil becoming the biggest African Country in the Americas’’.

Barrett carried the gene of revolt and aspiration for the creation of a strong African nation. It is a dream once broadcast by Marcus Garvey, another Jamaican, who took his dream to America and aroused aspirations for Black African Power among African-Americans.

While Barrett was drawn into the heat of Nigeria’s civil war, apart from M.D. Yusuf, and Ahmed Joda, he became a strong friend of military officers who fought the civil war.

Martin Adamu, T.Y. Danjuma, Yakubu Gowon were probably age mates who took an interest in his coverage of the Civil War for WEST AFRICA magazine, other publication outside Africa, and outlets he edited in Nigeria.

They became an intellectual family inside and outside government. That makes the demise of Ahmed Joda, M.D. Yusuf and others a matter of openly expressed regret. He exploited these contacts to supply information and analysis of dynamics of civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone to guide Nigeria’s intervention.

His status as a DISPORA is of urgent interest for Abike Dabiri, Chairperson of the federal government’s arm for manifesting filial attention over global Nigerians. She roused celebrants to sing for Barrett to remain perpetually young.

He whispered admiration for her work as a reporter for the Network Service of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), making her a member of a ‘Journalism Mafia’ with whom he shared deep mutual affection.

With descendants of Akwa Ibom found in Honduras and California; Yoruba in Brazil; Fulani in Puerto Rico; Igbo in Haiti; Bakongo in Bolivia, and others settled in a belt from Peru to Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Australia, Chief Abike Dabiri has a vast space from which to green and harvest more productive Lindsay Barretts; W.E.B. Dubois, George Padmore, C.L.R. James, Walter Rodney, and others

SANWO-OLU AND BAN ON OPEN GRAZING The ban on open grazing of cattle in Lagos is in order, writes Uche Nnabugu

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he threats were surreal and potentially endangered the entire Southern region. It was a classical case of anarchy from agents of death. The herder/farmer conflict that dates back to decades took a frightening dimension as criminal herders in collaboration with suspected external aggressors turned the entire southern part of Nigeria into a killing field.

The north central state of Benue was the worst hit. Suspected herders killed over 70 people before dawn. The carnage raised outcry and eminent figures including traditional rulers protested to the Villa for President Muhammadu Buhari to act as the Commander-In-Chief.

The crisis continued unabated and the body language of the Presidency appears lethargic. The distraught people of Benue were reportedly told to make peace with their killer guests who were bent on usurping their ancestral lands for cattle.

Presidency spokesmen also stoke fire with incendiary and insensitive comments that aggravated the situation.

The cattle breeders under the auspices of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) grew bolder and almost became law until itself. The body seems to be an annex of the presidency as their thoughts coalesced on either recovery of pre-independence grazing routes, RUGA, cattle colonies and other pro-herder initiatives conceived by the federal government.

The continued murderous activities of criminal herders gave opportunity for ethnic defenders like Sunday Adeyemo better known as Sunday Ighoho and the IPOB’s inspired Eastern Security Network to get popular. The campaigns of ethnic militias

resonated with the people in the South who were faced with existential threats and the unwillingness of the federal government to crush the criminals.

In the South West, Amotekun, a local security and intelligence gathering outfit was promulgated. Ditto for Ebube Agu in the South East. All this was to ensure a multi-layer security system that would guarantee safety of lives and property.

Consensus of security intelligence clearly indicated that open grazing ban will substantially curb the rising insecurity. So, aside from the local security outfits, they reasoned that laws banning the archaic nomadic practice will stem the ugly tide.

In May, 2021, 17 southern governors converged on Asaba, the Delta State capital where they made popular the Asaba Declaration banning open grazing in the region. Many sneered that the declaration could not stand.

In July, the governors were hosted in Lagos by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The demands and resolutions of the Asaba meeting were reiterated. Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum and others quickly acted on the declaration. The ban is already operational in many of the states. Others are working on theirs.

Meanwhile, a renewed lease of life came with the signing into law a bill prohibiting open grazing in Lagos by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, despite the threats of Miyetti Allah and its minders during the public hearing on the Prohibition of Open Cattle Grazing Bill, 2021.

The Secretary, Zonal South West, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Mai-Kudu Usman, had said

that banning open cattle grazing may give rise to tension and cost of cows in Lagos State. “We can’t rear our cattle in one place, because what the cattle will eat and consume will be very expensive if I can’t move them around. I can assure you that if we are made to graze in a secluded area, the cost of breeding a cow will be very high and the cost of one cow will be nothing less than N2 million. There is so much attachment between herders and herds to the extent that any inconveniences on the herds is considered as inconveniences on herders and by doing so this will be resisted vehemently.

Passing anti-open cattle grazing into law can create tension in the state because of the inconveniences it would bring along with it,” he said.

The blackmail and threats could not deter the Lagos State governor. He is bold and courageous. He is a trusted southern ally. The promulgated law is yet another bold statement on the need to ensure true federalism. The federating units should have powers over their lands and its appurtenances. The federal government can’t force a section and its lifestyle on the people against their will.

Like every other business, cattle breeders should operate within the limits of the law and respect the livelihoods of others, especially farmers. The required necessities for business operations are entirely businesses owners’ concern.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s bold decision on open grazing is a clear statement on the need for federating units to have control over their territories and affairs. This also falls within ongoing needless tussle between the overbearing federal government and the states on Value Added Tax.

Lagos, a bastion of true federalism and democracy, has always taken the lead in testing the constitutionality of military unitary system vestiges. The builder of modern Lagos, former Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu dared the then federal government under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Local Council Development Areas creation.

The state survived the vicious onslaught of the Owu and local government allocations that were withheld by the federal government, and eventually released to Lagos under the leadership of Babatunde Fashola. The state has always dared to challenge the status in the interest of true federalism.

The same audacious feat has been recorded under Sanwo-Olu with the signing of the VAT bill into law. The law titled, “Lagos State Value Added Tax Law: A Bill for a Law to Impose and Charge Value Added Tax On Certain Goods And Services, Provide for the Administration of the Tax and for Related Matters,” empowers the state to charge VAT at the rate of six per cent on the value of goods and services in the state.

Rather than labouring for others to reap, Lagos will be in charge of its destiny. The aberration of Federal Inland Revenue Service raking billions in consumption tax and remitting a paltry rebate is gone for good.

The campaign for special status for Lagos which is muzzled by the federal might can be achieved through a true fiscal federalism.

The thrust of the campaign is for Abuja to free more funds to Lagos to cushion impact on infrastructure.

Governor Sanwo-Olu has done well. He stood by the will of the people.

Nnabugu wrote from Lagos

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EDITORIAL

GOVERNORS AND IDLE UBEC FUNDS UBEC should adhere strictly to its rules

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he recent disclosure by the federal government that over N130 billion was lying idle with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) is a scandal, especially at a period many of the schools across the country are in dire need. But this is a recurring problem arising from the inability by some states to provide the 50 per cent matching grant to access the funds. The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has described the situation as unfortunate while some of the states with idle billions of naira at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) include Anambra, Ogun, Imo, Edo, and Ebonyi.

For years, many of the governors had been scheming to collect this special federal government intervention fund without providing the necessary counterpart funding, which is a needed demonstration of seriousness for entitlement. Meanwhile, the handling of the funds by many state governments has only reinforced the need for strict THE HANDLING OF THE monitoring of its FUNDS BY MANY STATE disbursement and GOVERNMENTS HAS ONLY utilisation. It is treated by many governors as REINFORCED THE NEED FOR STRICT MONITORING no better than slush funds.

OF ITS DISBURSEMENT Ordinarily, primary AND UTILISATION education does not fall within the purview of the federal government and the two per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) it set aside for equal distribution to all the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to support basic education. It was a response to a felt national need. While this intervention fund is not supposed to be the main or alternative fund for that critical education sub-sector, many state governments speak about it with a sense of entitlement.

From reports of states’ performance over years, the diversion of funds to things other than basic

education and the practice of some states which pay the counterpart fund, receive the grant and promptly withdraw half of it, show that the federal government is right in maintaining the existing strictures.

Interestingly, the states complaining of inadequate funds to rebuild classroom, train teachers and provide instructional materials are the ones putting forward all sorts of arguments against rules for access to the special intervention funds.

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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

llocation per state has hardly ever gone beyond half a billion naira per state, per annum. Yet some states argue that this is too much for them to commit as counterpart fund. At some point, governors were pushing for amendments to Sections 9 (b) and 11(2) of the law spelling out criteria for entitlement to the funds. A state once requested that it be paid only what it is able to pay. That is, if the state could only afford to pay N200 million in a given year, for example, UBEC should give it the same amount and keep the rest!

The experience with the Education Trust Fund (ETF) is instructive. Just because states were required to account for previous allocations to access the next, the allocations piled up. There must be effective monitoring of the projects executed with the funds as there have been cases of classrooms falling apart even before they are put to use. The School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs) have a role to play here and should be set up with clear guidelines. Many of the governors could not understand that they were fighting a commitment to transparency and accountability to the people, whose interests they have sworn to protect.

Indeed, from what has transpired in the last 22 years of democracy, the mechanism for accountability diminishes the farther away government is from the centre. The travel budget of a state governor for example is in most cases far bigger than the education budget even when the schools within their jurisdictions operate under mango trees or at best rag-tag enclosures with squalid infrastructure.

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2023 AND THE FAMILIAR SONG Continued from back page

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n my chat last week with Cheta Nwanze, he expressed concerns about how the use of thugs for such collections could erode the credibility and legitimacy of the state. If care is not taken, we will get there.

Cheta sent me the August report of their research firm, SB Morgen titled, “Under the Hood: A Look into Taxation in Nigeria’s Informal Sector”. At six percent, Nigeria’s tax to GDP ratio is far below the World Bank’s recommended 15 percent minimum ratio which shows the level of our productivity and some of the issues we need to address. But that does not even tell the whole story. Challenging the widely held notion that Nigerians do not pay taxes, the report concludes that Nigerians in fact do indeed pay taxes but “in an informal way and many times to non-state recognised actors” sometimes even when the payees make no money or derive any benefit from the various ‘governments’ that lord themselves over the people. “In most cases, the payers get little benefit from these non-state collectors and are only constrained to comply with the threat of force or loss.”

These and many other issues are what should engage critical stakeholders in the build-up to the 2023 general election. The challenges we face are quite enormous and they are in all sectors. In a report on the state of power supply in the country, Agusto & Co last month revealed that the cost of the tariff shortfall borne by the federal government in terms of electricity subsidies and other power sector interventions in 2020 amounted to N2 trillion. With non-cost-reflective tariffs, poor infrastructure, weak regulation, and inadequate gas supply, it is no surprise that everybody generates their own electricity with dire implications not only for the cost of doing business in Nigeria but also on the environment. We of course already know that subsidy payment in the oil and gas sector is a racket that has created

several emergency billionaires, so it is not something to let go easily even when it impacts negatively on the future we want to build.

If we don’t address many of these problems and continue with a fixation on where the president should come from or which section of the country has the population to put people in power, we risk social unrest and continued instability in Nigeria. As things stand, whoever takes over in 2023 will inherit a country challenged on many fronts: insecurity, high external and domestic debts, high inflation rate, high unemployment rate, low economic growth, and generally low level of social economic indicators. With a huge youth population that is not engaged in productive activity, we can see the high-level recruitment into banditry and the gangs of ‘unknown gunmen’.

Given the foregoing, the conversation we should be having cannot be about where the next president will come from but more about the options for digging our country out of the existential hole we have found ourselves. How do we create meaningful jobs? How do we retool our public service for optimal performance?

How do we cut waste in different areas so that we can give ourselves a fighting chance of survival? How do we minimise the impact of tough but necessary decisions on the vulnerable among us? How do we revitalise our health and educational system? How do we make Nigerians more secure and save them from the plunder of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and sundry criminals? How do we reduce debt overhang and generate more revenues? How do we increase the productive capacities of our people and of our economy? How do we position our country for a world without oil etc.

With less than two years to go to the 2023 general election, the public space should be buzzing with ideas (and not just empty promises) about these important issues. Sadly, we are busy with our usual song and dance!

Olusegun Adeniyi, Abuja

KADUNA REFINERY: PAY CASUAL WORKERS

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he non-payment of your casual staff for three months in these difficult times while they still go to work is evil. Please note, your casual workers deserve better treatment for their hard work.

Not being paid for three months is inhuman and a demonstration of lackadaisical attitude about their wellbeing. If our system is not riddled with corruption, the casual workers are overdue for direct employment. They have accepted to work as casual staff even after knowing they will be short-changed. They are underpaid, but they don’t complain.

Yet, their little entitlement is still not given to them!

Awunah Pius Terwase, Mpape,

Abuja

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POLITICS

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

Ikpeazu: The State Has Failed to Protect Our People, They Have No Choice Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State tells Nseobong Okon-Ekong that although he is still tabulating losses from the sit-at-home ordered by the Independent People of Biafra, but he was sure that it will be huge

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ow is your government working around the sit-at-home order that has been largely based on fear of attack and sympathy for the cause of the IPOB because it seems the people are obeying and complying with the order?

You see, the state of security and people’s perception is key. Our people here in the South-east feel that they are uncared for, that our country is insensitive to the plight of the ordinary people here. You know, I can go on and on and on. Imagine that our people are predominantly traders. If you look at how long it will take you to go through Apapa Wharf.

Assuming a trader borrowed N10 million to do importation, even if it is for raw materials and he has to pay interest on that money and it takes four, five or six months to clear. Plus, all the time it stayed at the wharf. By the time you know it, the poor man would have lost all the money, all his capital, paying interest on the money. And you’ve got a factor in how long it will take his container to pass through the treacherous route of coming from Apapa down to Onitsha, Nnewi, Aba, and so on and so forth.

So our people feel that there is a deliberate attempt to asphyxiate them and condemn them to poverty. To that extent, whatever it was, the demonstrations through disobedience, our people are now at a point where it is difficult to mobilise them socially, that is the first point.

The second point is that the fear for reprisal or what will happen is also valid. You recall that a few months ago, we had this unknown gunman, attacking government installations, killing policemen, killing soldiers, attacking prisons with impunity, snatching arms. So, if the security apparatus of the state has been so assaulted repeatedly, then, who do you want them to rely on?

The third point I would like to make here is that there is proliferation of small arms in West Africa and in Nigeria in particular. And when I talk about small arms, I’m talking about the Kalashnikov AK-47. And that rifle is a monster. You don’t play dice with somebody with an AK-47, even if the person is your child.

Once you see somebody with an AK-47 arm, you are on the wrong side of the nozzle. You cannot but be careful and cautious. So it is a combination of these factors. One, our people are beginning to feel uncared for, they’re beginning to feel that the nation is insensitive to their situation and their plight. Look at it from the economic perspective. Look at it from a political perspective. Look at it from a social perspective. Then there is also the issue and the problem of proliferation of arms, and what has happened in the past, the experience in the past, such that the police station you will go to report has been burnt or will be burnt.

So it became very, very difficult to convince our people, even when it is not reasonable, or economically advisable for them to continue to comply with sit-at-home situation.

So do you think that this could point to the people outside the South-east that the South-east people have accepted IPOB? The South-east people have not accepted the IPOB. But what option do they have? If the state is not able to protect them and their economic well being is not protected, and nobody’s listening to them so they don’t have options, and we know that if a man is hopeless at times, he begins to hope on hopelessness, hope on nothing, cling on nothing.

The South-east caucus in the National Assembly is beginning to work on the option of dialogue and all that. What is your view?

I think that this initiative of the National Assembly should have come so many months before now. But, be that as it may, it is better late than never. The worst war, altercation, fracas, are resolved on the table. And some of us have

I have not. I’m still working on the Mathematics and I think I’ll be ready after Monday, because this week’s Monday was not bad. I mean, people have become tired. People have become lethargic. In some places in the South-east, you heard stories of individuals coming out to fight, to say that they were tired of staying at home, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later. So, it will be too early to put a figure to it, but I’m certainly sure that if we improve on what happened this week Monday, if we improve on it next week, then one thing we can be able to say is that, that may have come to an abrupt stop and then we can tabulate our losses but it will be huge.

Ikpeazu said this thing from the beginning that we should begin to engage. One of the pillars of democracy is that a true democrat that finds himself in a leadership position, to be able to dredge up sufficient courage, to listen, even to the blabbing of a fool, even when at the risk of people, standing in your face and telling you that you are a foolish leader, knowing fully well that there must be consequences for every action. But the way to go is to listen at all times. Listen, engage. It is only when intellectual ventilations fail that kinetic approach becomes the option. So, I want to say that their idea to engage should have come before now, but it is better late than never.

As a person, did you lose anything during this attack? And looking at the larger picture did you lose anything personally, your productivity, your economic activities. Did you suffer any loss?

Oh, quite seriously. Part of what I had evolved as my strategy to create a better life for my people, is to enable trade and commerce, to enable small and medium enterprises, and to enable both foreign and local direct investments. Through them, we try to deal with the issues of unemployment, job creation and capacity building. All of these policies suffered a major setback as a result of this sit-athome. The most critical of the setbacks, is the fact that the socio-political milieu

became somewhat unpredictable and there is no investor who would like to invest in a place where there is no referable predictability in terms of socio-political stability. So, the South-east as a people, the government of Abia State as an entity suffered so much as a result of this sit-at-home. You can look at it from the economic dimension, you can look at it from the dimension of foreign and local direct investment, you can look at it from point of view of putting down our economic base because we are in a place that thrives as a result of influx of people. Trade input coming into Abia is gauged at about N60 million. And once that happens, people won’t come, and we were running a risk of people finding alternative places to shop, even our clients and customers from across West Africa and other parts of Africa would begin to look for options, and once an individual begins to see options and alternatives, it is usually difficult to convince the person to go back. I’m not even undermining the lives that were lost. Those were very important. Sacred lives. Everybody’s life is sacred. I’m not even talking about the psychological trauma on our children and women and wives. So, all facets of socio-economic life were threatened and seems to suffer some form of dislocation or the other.

Have you had time to put the losses together, in terms of Naira and Kobo?

In a situation where some of the decisions of the leadership of the struggle become inimical to the economic well being, and in fact, academic well being of the people that you have vowed to protect, then it puts the whole thing in a serious joke pattern. So that is where we are now, what will happen eventually going forward will evolve, and we are watching. What I’m sure is that the people are becoming lethargic, weary and tired

There appears to be a division or crack in the rank and file of the IPOB. Have you noticed that? Because their spokesman said they have called it off and it should only happen on the days their leader is taken to court. But some people still went about to enforce it, which they have denounced also. What do you think this portends to the future of IPOB? Will continue to obey them?

I want to say that what we saw or what we are seeing is a betrayal of… or let’s say tacit support for what some of us have advanced earlier that the struggle as presently constituted does not seem to have a sustainable framework. It doesn’t seem to be coordinated sufficiently to lead that kind of deep struggle for self determination and secession. It is not a tea party. And it needs to be rooted on a strong ideological framework that can sustain the support and popularity among the masses. But in a situation where some of the decisions of the leadership of the struggle become inimical to the economic well being, and in fact, academic well being of the people that you have vowed to protect, then it puts the whole thing in a serious joke pattern. So that is where we are now, what will happen eventually going forward will evolve, and we are watching. What I’m sure is that the people are becoming lethargic, weary and tired. And how that will pan out eventually, we will know, going forward, but it is now clear to everybody that the struggle lacks coordination.

The struggle lacks a think-tank that can evolve policies that are sustainable and must also have a framework for engagement, because you cannot just take up arms and then that will be it. They must have a framework for engagement, both locally and internationally.

But if that is not what the case is, then I’m afraid, it may fizzle out.

There’s a study on this sit-at-home and it came out that Abia State was the least compliant while Ebonyi had the highest compliance, why do you think this is so?

I think that, here in Abia, our people are traders, our people are small-scale manufacturers and they understand the value of time. And they understand also that time lost can never be recovered. And some of us have continued to drum it into the psyche of our people, that this struggle should be ideological, it should be driven by strong ideology to cancel out all forces of oppression, and everything that seems not to include any part of Nigeria. As far as I’m concerned, if this struggle that they are leading is about marginalisation, about equality, about social balance, about political balance, then there is Biafra in the heart of many Nigerians. Go through the Middle-belt, go through some, some ethnic groups in Southern Kaduna, go to Adamawa. There are so many places where all kinds of marginalisation is happening, and therefore there is Biafra in the heart of everybody. But what we are saying is that can we come to a point where we can focus on the real issues, and not on total dislocation of the fabric that holds us together as a country, because that is a very costly and dangerous route to travel. I was old enough to see a few things during the war, and I don’t want a repeat of that kind of thing in my lifetime again.

19

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

POLITICS

Ekpo: The Emmanuel Administration is a Measuring Rod in Development Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo believes the Governor Udom Emmanuel-led government in Akwa Ibom State has recorded enough achievements to enable the state turn a critical bend towards industrialization. Nseobong Okon-Ekong reports

H

nor has congratulated the government and people of Akwa Ibom State at this 34th year of state creation in your newspaper. That is certainly not without some reasons. I can list again the achievements of the current administration which justify this anniversary. They include: Ibom Air, Syringe Manufacturing Factory (the largest in Africa), Rice Mills, Cassava and Garri Processing Mills, Fertilizer Blending Factory, Electric Digital Metering Solutions Manufacturing Factory, Toothpick Factory, Plastic Factory, Ufaini Palm Kernel Crushing Plant, Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil Processing Plant, Flour Mill, Tissue Production Factory and Norfin Shipyard.

About 13 of these completed projects have been listed for commissioning during this anniversary, while several others are at advanced stages of completion.

ow would you evaluate this particular anniversary?

The anniversary is a major mileage on the road to fulfilling the Akwa Ibom dream of a great people, of a great state and with great minds; the dream of providing the least Akwa person with the best that the life can offer in all areas. In the last six years on his own part of the journey, Governor Udom Emmanuel has effected revolutions in such areas as industrialization, rural and riverine area development, small and medium scale enterprises, human capacity development and security, etc. This anniversary is therefore about the value added by this administration to the fulfillment of the AkwaIbom dream in the last six years.

Would you say the Governor Udom Emmanuel-led government has filled the gap in Akwa Ibom between potential and fulfillment?

There is no such gap between potential and fulfillment. What we have is a steady relay race towards a development continuum aimed at achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of Akwa Ibom people. At the moment the baton of that relay is with Governor Emmanuel who is firing on all cylinders and has become a national model with such achievements in the areas of aviation, particularly, Ibom Air; education; sports; road infrastructure and agriculture where such revolutionary projects as the coconut oil refinery have been completed. So there is

Ekpo

really no gap, but a continuum of efforts.

Can

you

name

specific

achievements that the state should celebrate on this particular anniversary?

The office of the Deputy Gover-

There is no such gap between potential and fulfillment.

What we have is a steady relay race towards a development continuum aimed at achieving the greatest happiness for the greatest number of Akwa Ibom people. At the moment the baton of that relay is with Governor Emmanuel who is firing on all cylinders and has become a national model

Regardless of criticisms from political opponents, what are some of the things you think this administration wishes to do better?

A lot more on infrastructure; on agriculture; on sports; in the aviation sector, and all the other areas of development. Governor Emmanuel would wish to so impact the people that in the overall history of Akwa Ibom Statecraft, he would be remembered as a reference-point and measuring-rod for enduring development achieved through the kind of industrialization effort which enabled the state turn a critical bend on the way to realizing the Akwa Ibom of our dream.

Oyintiloye: Democracy is all About Conflict Resolution After a sensitisation programme in the three senatorial districts in Osun State, the Special Adviser to the Osun State Governor on Civic Engagement, Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye spoke with Yinka Kolawole on various political developments in the State. Exceepts:

H

ow impactful is civic engagement to the current administration in Osun State?

There is a significant gap between the people and government especially in the area of policy formulation; a case that is not too good for effective nation-building and development. Many thanks to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Osun State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola for his wonderful initiative of creating “Civic Engagement Office” to serve as an institution of the government for bridging the gap between government and the people. Mr. Governor will always be commended because the civic engagement body was established out of his desire that the masses should be the arrowhead in decision making process.

Because Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has resolved to build the sociopolitical and economic development of the state around the people, Civic Engagement Office has stopped at nothing in ensuring every social strata is carried along in the state governance through series of engagement strategies such as Community Outreach and Engagement; Advocacy and Enlightenment; as well as Security Conflict Resolution.

This tripod-strategy has been useful in propagating the programmes and policies of the government as well as getting feedback from the teeming population.

The engagement drive of the current administration has been yielding positive results as the popular demands,

Oyintiloye

yearnings and aspirations of the people have been the ultimate consideration in the policy formulation process. For instance, the ongoing construction of flyover, the ongoing 22 new roads being constructed across the nine federal constituencies of the state, among others have been implemented based on the demands of the people in the affected areas.

Like we have it the system theory, the feedback from series

of engagement programmes are elements of the input system in our state policy cycle. For instance, people’s voices became the opinion poll which informed the decision of the government to consider the review of the state education policy.

Equally, the state infrastructures are allocated according to the needs of individual community in the state.

In adding value to both the people and the government, the institution of Civic Engagement has promoted

democratic ideals and afforded the citizens the opportunity to communicate with public office holders in the state.

It has also strengthened citizens’ voices in governance, facilitated social cohesion and support people’s participation in democratic processes. In the same vein, it has offered both the citizen and government a better understanding of problems and needs, opinions and priorities as well as promoted community representation in decision making. As citizens are involved in decision making through our productive and effective government-citizens engagement, we have facilitated an open and more accountable leadership that builds citizens’ trust in our government.

As a matter of fact, Osun remains one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria today, the standpoint which is not unconnected to the approach in the governor’s Civic Engagement efforts in managing the affairs of both the indigenes and non-indigenes. The institution of Civic Engagement has created a wider opportunity for government to get first hand information; security report and intelligence from the public which enhances government’s immediate action on security issues. This is one of the reasons why Osun is secured as a state despite the challenges of insecurity lingering everywhere.

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

20

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ 23, 2021

FEATURES

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

Stemming the Search for Greener Pastures

by Nigerian Healthcare Professionals

Zainab

Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu

O

n July 10, 2020, agents of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) prevented the departure of 58 Nigerian medical doctors from Murtala Muhammed International Airport (Lagos) on a chartered aircraft bound for London, United Kingdom.

This was at a time when the Nigerian airspace was closed to international air travel as part of the public health measures put in place by the Government of Nigeria to prevent the local spread of COVID-19, 56 of the doctors had travel visa waivers to travel to the United Kingdom as part of a recruitment drive.

In the last few months, there has been a renewed, persistent and systematic recruitment exercise targeting Nigerian health care workers.

On a daily basis, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, laboratory technicians are subscribing to application processes to relocate to the UK, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and other High-Income Countries (HIC). Nigeria’s medical brain drain is not new, however, it has been exacerbated by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The toll of COVID 19 on health systems across the globe exposed the frailties in healthcare delivery systems in both HIC and Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC).

The burden of COVID-19 on the healthcare system of countries such as the UK meant that advances in infrastructure and research could not compensate for the unprecedented need for highly skilled healthcare workers. The natural response was to headhunt medical personnel from countries like Nigeria with a history of providing human resources to the National Health Service, exploiting the significant remuneration gap between the two countries.

A UK parliamentary publication in 20203 reported 8,241 medical personnel with Nigerian nationality working within the NHS in England alone, 1,890 of this total are medical doctors. It is interesting to note that this number does not included persons of Nigerian trained medical personnel who are now naturalised British citizens.

I argue vehemently against the human resource for health flight even though some economists equally tell us that it offers real economic benefit to the nation in the form of foreign currency remittance. As a clinician who runs a medical diagnostic service provider, I find it difficult to accept their argument. In August 2021, we

lost three highly qualified and experienced doctors from our radiology unit.

The latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that Nigeria's physician-to-patient ratio is 4 doctors per 10,000 persons. In the US the ratio is 26 doctors per 10,000 persons, and 28 in the UK. This obvious disparity raises a moral question on the continued and deliberate poaching of medical talent from LMIC like Nigeria by High Income Countries.

I trained as a paediatrician in the UK and fully appreciate the advantages such a system offers. Better pay and working conditions, professional needs are met, and arguably better living conditions, etc. I had all of these. How about personal satisfaction in one’s heart? Surely, the extra burden on former colleagues as result of relocation must weigh on their hearts. Does the Hippocratic oath taken to serve the Nigeria populace still hold true for clinicians trained with unparalleled government subsidies? Fleeing Nigerian clinicians adding their skills to nations with double digit doctors per 10,000 people amounts to literally carrying coal to Newcastle. I need you to know dear colleagues that even if eventually granted the foreign passport, a Nigerian doctor will never lead the medical union in these countries or be a minister of health. Yes, we do get the odd Nigerian excelling in the politics of healthcare but that is far from the norm, they are the token few used to bait the many.

No pay cheque is worth your place in the Nigerian fabric, your pride of place is unequalled, your ability to save the

lives of your kinsmen, and teach younger doctors in your own country. On August 29, 2021, THISDAY Newspaper reported that Diaspora Remittances Hit $34bn. On 21st December 2020, Reuters reported that Nigeria's parliament passes a $35.66 billion budget for 2021. Nigeria's budget surpassed its diaspora remittances by a mere $1.66 billion. I am not oblivious to the economic value that professionals in the diaspora bring to Nigeria or the adverse pressures the lack of structured social safety nets places on those still fighting the good fight within our shores. We can make it work for both sides by negotiation and open dialogues between relevant governments, training bodies, and professional associations.

number of years before they are permitted to work in other countries. This will ensure that Nigeria is not subsidising health systems in other countries like it is currently doing- albeit unintentional.

r 'FEFSBM BOE TUBUF HPWFSONFOUT TIPVME as a matter of urgency increase health spending.

Despite Nigeria been a signatory to the African Union’s Abuja Declaration 19 years ago, to devote a minimum of 15% of the national budget to the health sector, allocations have consistently remained less than 8%. This is unacceptable.

We agree there are competing needs, but there is no need as great as equitable access to quality health services. Without good healthcare, all other systems will eventually fail. Governments across our three levels must also become more r /JHFSJB TIPVME BT B NBUUFS PG efficient custodians of our commonwealth, they utmost priority, begins to chart ways on must address the continued malaise of ‘ghost how to woo its diaspora population back workers’ and padded contracts. to Nigeria. I once read that more than 50% of the FDI received by China in the 80s and r "GUFS BMM JT TBJE BOE EPOF XF NVTU USBJO 90s were from returning ethnic Chinese in more qualified medical professionals to address the diaspora. Policy in practice must align our current human resource gaps. There is a with the professions of the political class, need to optimize medical professional education federal and state governments must prioritise in Nigeria, redesign our training programmes the delivery of enabling environments for to deliver a 21st century compliant curriculum economic growth. That means we must boldly that prioritises practice. and honestly tackle insecurity, corruption, At the early stages of the pandemic, I and bureaucratic inefficiencies. started getting a letter from the General Medical Council (the UKs regulatory body r 5IF GFEFSBM HPWFSONFOU TIPVME DPOTJEFS for doctors) offering me favourable terms to putting in place a system through designated return to work. After about 4 mails, I replied registration councils (NMDC-GMC) that declining the offer and got a terse understanding requires medical professionals trained in reply. I am still getting the same emails. I GON tertiary institutions serving a minimum was somewhat irritated not just because I felt patriotic enough to remain working here, but because it is immoral for countries with as much health resources as UK, US, and Saudi Arabia to target one with such paucity like Nigeria. While I totally understand the need to plan and expand their human resource pool, there should be clear policies against poaching from Sub-Saharan Africa.

When I jokingly told His Excellency the Governor of Kebbi State, an economist who is a proponent of the positive effect of diaspora remittance, that I would like to take up my offer from the GMC and head back to the UK, he declined.

I am not oblivious to the economic value that professionals in the diaspora bring to Nigeria or the adverse pressures the lack of structured social safety nets places on those still fighting the good fight within our shores. We can make it work for both sides by negotiation and open dialogues between relevant governments, training bodies, and professional associations

rDr Shinkafi-Bagudu, the First Lady, Kebbi State, Nigeria, is the Founder/CEO, Medicaid Cancer Foundation Board Member Union for International Cancer Control

21

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

#THISISNIGERIA -Rotimi Fawole

BudgIT at 10: Reflections on our Milestone

A

n indelible and beautiful memory of BudgIT was sleeping on the couch of my co-founder, Joseph Agunbiade, watching him seek that elusive tweak that fixes our broken website again. Something needed an improvement on our website and with a three-person team huddled on the table in Co-Creation Hub, we dreamt of putting budgets in the hands of the people and working to ensure service delivery for the underserved.

It was always a reminder of where we came from as the journey to hold the government accountable was crafted in challenges but we found fortune in a community willing to keep our dreams valid. With 81 people - editing articles, tracing projects, delivering programs, sharing a tweet, or fixing a code - we have come full circle in a mission to make public resources work for the people.

We have reaped the trust of our donors and partners, gained courage from our citizens, and found strength in the voices of civil society. I will be glad to share ten key points in our thinking over the last ten years.

1. Patience & Courage: We learnt that the answers that we seek would not always happen as planned. We had big dreams of taking the budgets everywhere, citizens knocking the door of elected leaders, and resource efficiency leading the way. We are not disappointed with our results but we are aware that change will take time.

We understand that the context is complex and still heavily wrapped around changing social norms and rethinking the incentives.

We have learnt to live with two thoughts in our head - the strength to last the next mile mixed with the urgency of now.

2. Culture is King: BudgIT went through a transition phase of being a flat organization of 10 people to a hierarchical structure that needed to manage over 75 persons and it was not an easy one. In the end, we understood the place of defining culture and emphasising it while also keeping it dynamic. The process of rethinking our performance management system, introducing a new Chief Executive, and rewriting our values was not an easy task. We had to accept that we needed a culture shift if we wanted to reach our goals. While there were mistakes, I am happy with the journey and how we have built a stronger, healthier, and efficient culture in the end.

3. Relationships: As leaders of an organisation that mainly depends on donor funding and impact investments, we had to be intentional about building relationships with our partners in the development world.

It is not a coincidence that BudgIT has had five key donors - OSIWA, Luminate, Gates Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and Ford Foundation - who had backed it at least twice. While we focus on the mission and ensure that we deliver value for money, we are always open to building relationships beyond funding. We are clear about our challenges, strides, and goals.

This has strengthened our ability to make an impact sustainably.

4. Modulating the Noise Level: We might come up as alarmists to those in government but that is the essence. The issue of creating awareness requires building up the emotional energy of citizens around the issues relating to abuse of public resources.

For example, we had a relentless push on #OpenNASS and were able to build the momentum out of the citizens when

we observed Senator Bukola Saraki’s interest in the issue. After building that awareness, we sat down and discussed with institutions. As an organisation, we have had to combine the awareness on the outside with conversations on the inside to build the right dynamics. This has been how we understand change.

5. Building for Context: While we build, there has been an interest to “fetishise” with new technology such as creating a mobile app. However, we have always asked ourselves if it was necessary and useful for the communities that we serve. When we built Tracka - a service delivery tracking platform - it was from our understanding of the need to grow beyond nice visualization to ensure that the budget delivers for the people.

We are mindful that a larger section of Nigeria just wants service delivered to them and every technology - radio, SMS, print - is valid. In the end, we are mindful that we just want to build for people with a core understanding of their realities.

6. Data & Design Matters: We have been conscious of our brand and that we must at all times be the mix of data and design. We are interested in being the voice of facts to Nigeria. This is why we try hard to bring the actual numbers to citizens and ensure that we remain a reference point where data is presented in a delightful manner. We have seen numerous organisations inspired by our effort and we are always proud to remain a pioneer of infographics in mainstreaming social issues across Africa.

We are committed to the power of what data and design can do to transform civic engagement.

7. Refilling the Community: As we marched ahead with our wins, we were not unmindful that we had a responsibility to provide support to new ideas.

This is why we created Civic Hive, an incubation space to bring together new ideas that need traction. We are proud of our story in the development of Gavel, one of Nigeria’s leading digital justice platforms and other support for ideas such as Fletcher Initiative, PLSI and Eduplana.

We are certain that we need to intersect the capabilities of leading institutions and emerging leaders for a functional society. We have also contributed our skills to the full development of non-profits through support for data analysis, design development and platform management.

8. Mutual Partnerships: Building strong partnerships are healthy for growth and validation. We have been mindful of the importance of working with peer organizations in delivering our results in a more systemic manner. We believe that our lone solution is not the silver bullet to Nigeria’s governance challenges and we need the strength and voices of other organisations to do incredible work. These partnerships span across media, civil society, government and multilateral institutions as found relevant to our mission. We have worked intentionally with organisations such as EIE Nigeria, PPDC, World Bank, NEITI and others in fulfilling our mission.

9. Scale Cautiously: Throughout the last ten years, we have heard people ask us to scale into different territories with constant validation that our work is applicable everywhere but we understand that we aren’t trying to sell solar lanterns or offer a payment solution. Governance systems and power dynamics in a society can be complex and we need to be grounded in proper listening before we hop off to other countries. This has guided our expansion plans and we finally opened offices in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. We have decided to take time and learn the terrain while we gradually plan to open up in new spaces in the next few years. We have applied optimism and also caution in expanding our offerings and reaching out on scale.

10. Periodic Reflections: We have had pauses to reflect on issues and our role in accountability and transparency across Africa. We are always hunting how to fully measure the impact of our work and how stories are central to how to communicate our work. We have prioritised flexibility in organisational culture and approach when necessary and also ended projects when we felt it did not contribute to our impact. We are constantly reflecting on what we can do better for our society at large.

I believe that BudgIT is an idea whose time has come and I am glad to be a steward.

I am fully persuaded that we have more impact to deliver in decades to come. I am eternally grateful for the gift of BudgIT. t0MVTFVO 0OJHCJOEF JT UIF %JSFDUPS PG #VEH*5 BOE UIF BVUIPS PG 5IF &YJTUFOUJBM 2VFTUJPOT

22

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 • T H I S D AY

23

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 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

2 0 , 2 0 2 1

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14.00%

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4%

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Experts: Africa’s Submarine Cable Market, Broadband Penetration Will Boost Critical Connectivity Options to Close Digital Divide

Emma Okonji With the expected eight additional new submarine cables projected to berth in Africa in the coming years, telecommunication experts have predicted an astronomical increase in Africa’s submarine cable market and broadband penetration.

The experts spoke at a recent webinar event, where MainOne, provider of connectivity and data centre services for businesses in West

Africa, joined founding submarine operators, Ciena to discuss Africa’s emerging submarine cable market and its impact on broadband penetration.

The telecoms experts were of the view that with the eight new cables projected in the coming years, the African continent would be presented as a veritable fulcrum for critical discourse among top industry players at any intercontinental event.

They said the development would help Africa to play a crucial

socio-economic role in the increase of critical connectivity options to close the digital divide, while connecting Africa to the rest of the digitised world.

“Over the last four years, Africa’s emerging digital market has recorded the fastest growth rate and is the clear leader of international bandwidth growth globally. The eight new cables projected in the coming years, will help to further deepen broadband penetration across Africa,” the

telecoms experts said.

They explained that as the world’s second most populous continent with 1.4 billion people and covering 20 per cent of the planet’s landmass, adequate availability of digital infrastructure across the African continent would play a crucial socio-economic role that would further enhance Africa’s development, given the fact that currently, only 25 per cent of the 1.4 billion African people are connected.

Citing different global statistics that discussed how Africa’s submarine cable penetration is driving broadband penetration across the African continent, the experts said Africa had the highest compound annual growth rate in broadband penetration across the world from 2016-2020, which they attributed to the faster coverage of submarine broadband cable across Africa.

One of the global statistics, as presented by the telecoms experts,

showed that Africa had the highest compound annual growth rate of over 55 per cent within the period of 2016 and 2020, followed by Asia, which had about 53 per cent growth rate and the United States of America and Canada, which had about 50 per cent growth rate, within the same period. The statistics also showed that the compound annual growth rate for other continents of the world, Continued on page 24

W’African Economies Suffer as Cross Border Cash Smuggling Increases Raheem Akingbolu Stakeholders in the fight against cross border bulk cash smuggling have again established that the dominance of cash in business transactions in West Africa and the informality of the economy make the region vulnerable and attractive to criminals.

The stakeholders, including the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Financial Action Task Force–Styled Regional Body (FSRB) responsible for combating the scourge

of Money Laundering (ML) and Terrorist Financing (TF) in West Africa and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, have also traced the challenges of identification, tracing and recovery of laundered proceeds of crime facing the security operatives in the region to cash transactions.

Speaking at a three-day Workshop/ training on ‘Prevention of Cross Border Bulk Cash Smuggling’ organised

by GIABA in Lagos, the Director General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group, Mr. Aba Kimelabalou, admitted that cross border bulk cash smuggling and smuggling of goods

have remained rampant criminal activities within West African countries, with adverse implications for the economies of member States because cash in business transactions and smuggling provide perpetrators with the anonymity they need to transact illicit businesses.

He said, “in particular, cross border bulk cash smuggling and cash transactions pose unique challenges to law enforcement efforts, and the effective implementation of AML/CFT regime in general. Recent Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report on ML through the Physical Transportation

of Cash recognized cash smuggling as a significant risk, and that it was an increasing problem. The report noted that cash is still widely used in the criminal economy and it remains the raw material of most criminal activity,” Kimelabalou also pointed out that the use of physical transportation of cash distances the criminal proceeds from the predicate offences that generated them, and breaks audit trails. According to him, these challenges coupled with the weak security control at points of entry/ exit; porous national borders; and

weak currency declaration and/or disclosure regimes impact adversely on national and regional efforts against ML/TF. “Typologies studies on Cash Transactions and Cash Couriers in West Africa undertaken by GIABA in 2007 underscored the vulnerability of cash transaction to money laundering and terrorist financing and the weak implementation of the currency/BNIs declaration regime in our region. The findings of the study are reinforced by the outcome of the mutual evaluations of GIABA member States, which show general deficiencies with the

requirements of especially FATF Recommendation 32 relating to cash couriers. In most member States, critical agencies, especially the Customs lack the necessary technical capacity, including equipment to identify and detect a breach of the obligation to declare cross-border transportation of currency and BNIs, as well as undertake necessary investigation to establish the possible links between the amounts seized and possible cases of TF or ML,” he stated.

Continued on page 24

D ATA S AT D AY, M AMRAKREKTEDT ATA A SA AT W EWDENDENSEDSAY, S EAPUT GE U MSBTE R1 12, 22, 022012 1 ONNDDSS FFGGNN BBO DESCRIPTION 11.668 FGNSB 12.175 15-AUG-2021 10-OCT-2021 10.301 FGNSB 11.244 16-AUG-2021 16-OCT-2021 11.150 FGNSB 10.296 11-SEP-2021 13-NOV-2021 12.364 FGNSB 13.390 12-SEP-2021 14-NOV-2021 12.175 FGNSB 9.091 FGNSB 10-OCT-2021 11-DEC-2021

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3.26 0.93 0.00 4.03

4

NOV29 242021 2021 425.28 NGUS DEC

3.37 0.88 0.00 4.15

5

DEC26 292022 2021 426.73 NGUS JAN

CCPs Ps MATURITY

Discount Discount Yield Yield Change Change(%) (%)

MREP CP XXXI MTNN III 2013-AUG-21 SEP-21 UNCP CP XXXIX III 27MREP AUG-21 20-SEP-21 VAAG CP IXV 27-11CMBL AUG-21 OCT-21 TTNG CP VIII II 31UBNP 18AUG-21 OCT-21 SIBP CP CMBL CPI 2-SEPXII 3121 OCT-21

9.02 6.71

9.03 6.72

4.26 17.70

4.27 17.74 0.00 1.12

10.20 7.15

10.25 7.19 0.00 1.04

4.59 8.75

4.60 8.82

0.00 1.02

4.13 4.98

4.14 5.01

0.00 0.97

0.00 1.12

24

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, ͰͮͰͯ ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS…

L-R: Registrar/Chief Executive, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), Mr. Tony Fadaka; President AIESEC Alumni, Ms Bunmi Abejirin; Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Chinyere Almona; Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, Ms Busola Alofe; President, AIESEC ETOP UKUTT Organising Committee, Prince Michael Nwosa, during a Press Conference to announce the 37th Omolayole Management Lecture series in Lagos recently

For Safety in Online Trade, FG Signs Pact with Konga to Aid Nigerians in Diaspora Emma Okonji Konga, Nigeria’s composite e-commerce giant, has signed a partnership deal with the federal government through the Diaspora Commission to further strengthen the relationship between Nigerians abroad and their relatives back home.

To this effect, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Konga and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) in Abuja, the federal capital territory (FCT), recently.

Present at the signing ceremony was the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, NIDCOM, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Chairman, Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, Co-CEO, Konga Group, Nick Imudia; Vice President, KongaPay, Isa Aliyushata as well as other senior officials of NIDCOM.

The terms of the MoU will see NIDCOM partner with Konga in offering Nigerians based in overseas, a credible platform devoid of the potential concerns of fraud and other unscrupulous practices. Consequently, through the synergy, Konga will place its huge resources, extensive reach, assets and credible database at the disposal of millions of Nigerians in the Diaspora in search of a reliable and robust platform to work with in the country.

In addition, the partnership will see Konga set up an exclusive Diaspora Marketplace to aid Nigerians abroad gain access to quality Nigerian products and services, while also helping them sell their own items locally.

Furthermore, NIDCOM will also leverage Konga TV, a cutting-edge Cloud TV soon to be launched by the e-commerce giant, to reach millions

of Nigerians across the globe.

The development is one, which the federal government believes will ease capital flight, while also boosting the scope of useful foreign exchange earnings through Diaspora returns.

Speaking, NIDCOM Executive Chairman, Mrs. Abike Erewa, said: “We are delighted to have signed this partnership with Konga which remains unarguably a world recognized and credible e-commerce leader in Nigeria.

Through this initiative, millions of Nigerians will have access to a reliable platform here in Nigeria to guide their investment decisions, while also offering them a chance to empower their loved ones through the numerous opportunities that abound on Konga Group. We are also confident that this partnership will encourage many Nigerians resident abroad to gain useful knowledge and consider major social investments

in Nigeria, a development that will further rub off positively on the economy.”

Also speaking at the event, Chairman of Konga, Leo-Stan Ekeh, commended the NIDCOM Chairman and her team for their efforts and professionalism in making the partnership a reality.

Ekeh, who pioneered e-commerce in Africa lauded the power of e-commerce in bridging gaps and growing the wealth of nations in the 21st Century, a role he stated that Konga was eminently positioned to play in view of its huge resources and growth trajectory in Nigeria and beyond.

He added that the partnership is expected to cause a change that would be a blessing to Nigerians in the 21st century.

On his part, Co-CEO, Konga Group, Nick Imudia also stressed the many opportunities that abound

for Nigerians in the Diaspora through the partnership with NIDCOM. ‘‘The opportunities are huge.

Many Nigerians abroad can now find credible merchants for their purchases in Nigeria or even set up their own stores on Konga. Also, they can access reliable information before committing funds or while making investment decisions. With Konga, Nigerians abroad can afford to extend support to relatives and their respective communities without stories. ‘‘Put simply, Nigerians abroad can order foodstuffs, medicines, and other products on Konga platforms and get them delivered to their families and friends without stories, no matter the location in Nigeria. All they need do is open a wallet on KongaPay, a Central Bank of Nigeria fully licensed mobile money platform. They can also use Konga platform to pay school fees,

monthly feeding allowances and pay contractors working for them in Nigeria etc. and receive alerts that their instructions have been carried out with 100% accuracy, ”Imudia said.

The partnership with NIDCOM comes just as Konga recently signed off on another partnership with the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development to empower millions of Nigerians youths through a job and wealth creation scheme known as Konga Jobs (KJ). The initiative targets the employed, under-employed and unemployed Nigerians. Konga also recently entered a strategic partnership with the Edo State government to launch the Edo Marketplace (EMP) on Konga as a major platform to take Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the state to the global marketplace and to better serve the unreached and under-reached.

UK Government Collaborates with Stakeholders on Nigeria Start-up Bill Emma Okonji The UK Government through its Africa Technology and Innovation Partnership (ATIP) programme and the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, has expressed its commitment to supporting the Nigeria Start-up Bill (NSB), which is a joint initiative by Nigeria’s Tech Ecosystem and the Presidency, driven by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

The Nigeria Start-up Bill project, which aims to harness the potential of the country’s digital economy through cocreated regulations, will improve the policy and regulatory framework to support growth and competitiveness in Nigeria’s Technology Ecosystem.

The UK government’s support will help fund engagement of relevant stakeholders across the country through town hall meetings and provide access to research and evidence to harness the existing opportunities for start-ups and address the challenges in the current policy

and regulatory framework. The Bill will ensure that Nigeria’s laws and regulations for startups are clear and work for the ecosystem.

Collaborative efforts between relevant stakeholders in the tech ecosystem led to the establishment of regional town hall meetings across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

These town hall meetings serve to broaden the scope of reach and ensure that every key player across the nation joins the ongoing conversation and contributes to the drafting and contents of the Start-up Bill. The

town hall meetings will also have in attendance, representatives from the Presidency, and Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of government.

Town hall meeting have been held in Kaduna, Yola and Kwara states with stakeholders also able to join the session virtually. These sessions are the first round of discussions in the North-west, North-east, and the North-central geo-political zones, to be followed soon after by the South-west, South-east and South-south zones.

Speaking on the UK’s support, Team Lead, West Africa Research and Innovation, Leanne Jones,

said: “Home to the most tech start-ups in Africa, Nigeria will be joining a growing number of African countries that have enacted a Start-up Bill, pushing for positive change and sustainability in the technology and digital environment. We are glad to support this process, which draws on research and evidence of what would work to improve the enabling environment for start-ups in Nigeria.”

The Country Director of the UKNigeria Tech Hub, Adaeze Sokan, stated: “We are really excited to be supporting this collaborative process. Nigeria has shown so

much growth and potential in the start-up space and it is impressive to see both government and that the ecosystem co-creating laws that will further boost its growth, as consensus builds trust and responsibility which are key ingredients needed to make laws work. The UK Government continues to partner with the federal government of Nigeria to deliver its vision to be a leading ICT player in Africa, through several programmes including the Africa Technology Innovation Partnership (ATIP), the UK’s Digital Access Programme and the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub.

W’AFRICAN ECONOMIES SUFFER AS CROSS BORDER CASH SMUGGLING INCREASES 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)

While reiterating the fact that cash remains strategically important to trade and will remain so in many years to come, especially in West African region, the DG stated that the goal of the workshop was not to discuss how to entirely eliminate the use of cash in

transactions in the country or within the region, but to provide a platform for stakeholders to deliberate on the implications of cash couriering and to consider options for addressing the problem. Thus, the primary objective of the programme was to

strengthen the operational capabilities of critical agencies in the country and provide a platform for sharing of experiences and fostering cooperation and collaboration toward effective implementation of the Currency/ BNI declaration regime in Nigeria.

Giving his opening remark at the training, the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Custom service, Col. Hammed Ibrahim Ali (RTD), represented by Comptroller –General, Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Mr. Elton Edorhe, said the theme of the

workshop is important now as the ECOWAS region is currently facing challenges of various trans-border crimes such as kidnapping, banditry and terrorism, adding that most of these crimes are linked to cross border smuggling of cash.

EXPERTS: AFRICA’S SUBMARINE CABLE MARKET, BROADBAND PENETRATION WILL BOOST CRITICAL CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS TO CLOSE DIGITAL DIVIDE within the same period of 2016-2020, were Europe with 48 per cent growth rate, Oceania with 43 per cent growth rate, Middle East with 38 per cent growth rate and Latin America with 33 per cent growth rate.

In Nigeria, which is the most populous country in Africa, its broadband penetration level reached 39.79 per cent, with broadband subscriptions figure of 75.95 million, as at July 2021, as released recently by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), a figure that

increased from 30. 04 per cent broadband penetration in December 2018. The growth has been attributed to the berthing of various submarine cables at the shores of the country,

by Glo1, MainOne, MTN WACS, Sat3 and 2Africa Consortium.

Giving further details about Africa’s submarine cable coverage that has driven broadband penetration on the African continent, the Chief Technical Officer of MainOne, Anil Verma, who joined Ciena to discuss Africa’s emerging submarine cable

market and its impact on broadband penetration, highlighted the critical role that MainOne has been playing in deepening broadband penetration and enabling digital growth in Africa.

He hinted that MainOne remains the only multinational to boast of service coverage in 10 West African countries, connected to IXs in London, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Marseille and Frankfurt, Lagos, Accra and Abidjan with three additional IP transit ports, with Tier 1 Internet Service Providers

(ISPs) in Europe.

“Bearing in mind that submarine cables carry close to 99 per cent of the world’s intercontinental electronic communications traffic, Africa requires access to this global submarine network infrastructure to fully benefit from an international digital economy.

In a bid boost connectivity, MainOne maintains over 50 Points of Presence (PoPs) across Africa and Europe that move data traffic across her network and her Tier

III data centre subsidiary – MDXi, with headquarters in Lagos. The company also lands her submarine cable in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire where she equally operates data centres in Accra and Abidjan,” Verma said.

The combination of a submarine cable network, terrestrial metropolitan fiber infrastructure, data centre assets, and broad interconnect ecosystem makes MainOne a key enabler of digital transformation across West Africa, Verma added.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, ͰͮͰͯ ˾ T H I S D AY

25

BUSINESSWORLD

e-BUSINESS

Advancing Telecoms’ Development Following the successful implementation of its Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) from 2015- 2020, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), last week launched a new Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, which seeks to advance telecoms’ development in the next five years, writes Emma Okonji

T

he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator, had in the past always chart a new course of action for the advancement of the telecoms sector, through its Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan (SVP), which are in tandem with the policy objectives of the federal government.

Having successfully implemented the 2015 2020 Strategic Vision Plan, the commission, last week, launched a new Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, which will define NCC’s strategic thrusts and also advance telecoms development for the next five years.

In 2015, NCC developed a five -year Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan called the SVP 2015-2020, which at that time, focused on telecoms development in the country, using various indices.

The strategic objectives of the SVP 2015-2020, which emanated from the result of a careful assessment of some existing policy frameworks, include: Facilitating Broadband Penetration; Improving Quality of Service; Optimizing Usage and Benefits of Spectrum; PromotinICT Investment and Innovation; Protecting and Empowering Consumers; Promoting Fair Competition and Inclusive Growth; Facilitating Strategic Collaboration and Partnerships; and Ensuring Regulatory Excellence and Operational Efficiency.

In developing the SVP (2015-2020), NCC leveraged various policy documents, which included Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan (2013-2018) that had set a target of five-fold increase in broadband penetration, from 6 per cent in 2013 to 30 per cent penetration by the end of 2018. Through the implementation, NCC recorded a broadband penetration of 31.48 per cent in December 2018, to surpass its 30 per cent broadband penetration for that year.

It also took cognizance of the commission’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2014–2018, which defined clear strategic results in terms of themes such as facilitating market development, regulatory excellence, ICT penetration, and strategic partnering.

Being an important stakeholder to the international community, NCC, had in the development of the SVP (2015-2020), also aligned with the global focus of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Expectedly, NCC leveraged on the Vision Plan (2013-2018) of the ITU, which had sustainability, inclusiveness and growth as the primary thrusts in defining the commission’s implementation items of the plan.

SVP 2021-2025 Having successfully completed the lifespan of the 2015-2020 SVP, the commission last week in Abuja, launched a new Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, which will define NCC’s

strategic thrusts for the next five years.

The commission used the occasion of the launch of the Strategic Vision (Implementation) Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, to also unveil the official book of the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta. The book is an official compendium that represents a collection of Danbatta’s various speeches and presentations over the period of his first tenure in office as Executive Vice Chairman.

The book is captioned, ‘Catalysing Nigeria’s Socio-Economic Transformation Through Broadband Infrastructure’, which underscore the centrality of broadband in Nigeria’s journey to a modern digital economy.

NCC also used the occasion to unveil its new media channel – NCC Global Connect.

In his speech, Danbatta said the need to re-invigorate the commission and take it to greater heights, informed the development of a new Strategic Vision Plan, which is a successor to the SVP (2015-2020).

According to Danbatta, “We have taken cognizance of the several notable advancements in the Nigerian telecommunications industry within the last five years, as well as the current global realities such as International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Strategic Plan (2020 – 2023), the Commission’s Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 for a digital Nigeria, the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government.”

Danbatta said the new plan had been guided by and aligned to the NNBP (2020-2025), the NDEPS (2020-2030), the SMP (2020-2024), the ITU Strategic Plan and the ERGP of the federal government.

SVP Objectives The new SVP 2021-2025 has five items, centered around the objectives of achieving the following: Organizational Renewal for Operational Efficiency and Regulatory Excellence; Facilitating the Provision of Infrastructure for a Digital Economy which fosters National Development; Promoting Fair Competition, Inclusive Growth, Increased investment and Innovative Services; Improving Quality of Service (QoS) for Enhanced Consumer Quality of Experience (QoE); and Facilitating Strategic Collaboration and Partnership.

To ensure strong commitment to its implementation, the new SVP also has

inbuilt initiatives, key performance indicators developed from inception and activities tied to an implementation responsibility matrix.

It also incorporates timelines and a robust monitoring and evaluation mechanism. It is equally outcome-based and recommendationdriven with follow-up actions to guide the commission in operationalising the plan and assessing its performance over time.

Speaking about the objectives of the new SVP, Danbatta said: “No doubt, the new SVP embodies several innovative elements deliberately designed to re-invent and transform the telecom ecosystem within the context of regulation. We will continue to do our best in the discharge of the Commission’s mandate, especially in facilitating broadband deployment which is central to diversifying the Nigerian economy and for national development in line with the National Digital Economy agenda.

Certainly, broadband infrastructure has become the most critical development infrastructure in a modern economy.”

He explained that under the leadership of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the industry would experience more quantum leap and retain its current leadership role in delivering the much needed development for the people of Nigeria.

NCC Podcast Channel The NCC’s Podcast Channel, also known as NCC’s Global Connect, was equally launched last week.

According to Danbatta, “Over the years, NCC has deployed various well-established conventional and social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Twitter (banned for now) - for our media and public relations activities. But we are not relenting in expanding our media frontiers.

We want to reach more and more of our stakeholders with our rich content to empower them and improve our visibility locally and internationally.

“Due to advancements in digital technologies, Podcasts have become increasingly popular as a medium of stakeholder engagement as they help increase these engagements in an organic and conversational way. In keeping with these advancements, we have created the Commission’s podcast channel, known as NCC Global Connect”.

Establishing the podcast channel is in line with our strategic initiatives to boost the corporate image and visibility of the commission via the

adoption of innovative channels of communication by developing audio and video contents to reach our stakeholders within and outside the country as well as using it to attract the attention of prospective investors into the Nigerian telecommunications market, Danbatta said.

He added that the NCC Podcast would complement NCC’s existing online media platforms in supporting the array of its communications activities and collaborations by offering additional innovative ways and tools to engage with stakeholders.

The audio content of the Podcast can be seamlessly accessed on various channels including Podcast Addict, Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, Google Music, iHeartRadio, Deezer, among others.

Stakeholders’ Views Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami and other critical stakeholders in the telecommunications sector have commended the NCC for the historic launch of its Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, aimed at advancing the digital economy vision of the federal government.

Pantami commended Danbatta on the success of the first SVP and said the current one would also help in delivering on objectives of national policies on digital economy.

The Minister said the new SVP, would lead the way in the implementation of the NNBP 2020-2025 and NDEPS, towards fast-tracking the attainment of national targets on digital economy vision of the federal government.

“This strategy of NCC has cascaded the two national policies that are relevant to it, most importantly, the national digital economic policy and strategy for a digital Nigeria and Nigerian national broadband plan. This is what the strategy is all about,” Pantami said.

The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, applauded the NCC for its futuristic vision, which he noted, was on the right course and capable of taking Nigeria to greater heights in the 21st century.

Also, Chairman, House Committee on Telecommunications, Hon. Akeem Adeyemi, extoled the SVP’s initiative and other projects of the NCC, noting that the NCC had consistently been a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the last few years.

In his address, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Galaxy Backbone, Prof.

Muhammed Abubakar commended Danbatta for his visionary leadership.

According to Abubakar, the initiatives would guide the transformation of Nigeria, digitally. He also lauded the minister for his efforts and support to the growth of digital ecosystem.

26

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, ͰͮͰͯ ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Restoring Nigeria’s Lost Ecosystem Ugo Aliogo writes that Nigeria, in line with the United Nations decree of ecosystem restoration, which spans 2021-2030, should Nigeria be committed to restoring her lost ecosystem

T

he basic component of an ecosystem is the living things (biotic) and edaphic (non-living) factors.

Examples of biotic elements are wildlife species or generally fauna and flora. Whether (micro or macro). The edaphic elements include the soil, temperature, light, air, and others. An ecosystem is an integrated zone of different size comprising vegetation fauna, microbes, and the environment. Different ecosystems possess well-defined soil, climate, flora, fauna and they have the ability for adaptation, change, and tolerance.

Examples of ecosystems in Nigeria include the Rainforest ecosystem (forest)-Tropical and Temperate, the Savannah ecosystem (desert), and the Marine ecosystem.

For human survival, healthy terrestrial ecosystems provide essential products (tangible) and services (intangible) benefits. Over 90% of foods are obtained from terrestrial ecosystems. Energy, building materials, clothes, medicines, fresh and clean water, and clean air are benefits from sustainable terrestrial ecosystems.

DECADE ON ECOSYSTEM

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, (IUCN), the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) challenges everyone to massively scale up restoration efforts that breathe new life into our degraded ecosystems.

The IUCN contends that ecosystem restoration manifests through actions as varied as new mangroves, grass or other plantings, natural or assisted regeneration, agroforestry, soil enhancement measures, or improved and sustainable management to accommodate a mosaic of land, aquatic, or marine uses.

It added that: “Any degraded ecosystem including agricultural areas, savannah, wetlands, protected wildlife reserves, fisheries, managed plantations, riversides, coastal areas, and many others may offer opportunities for improvement through restoration. Ecosystem restoration could focus on re-establishing ecological integrity on a hillside or a seagrass bed to the large-scale landscape restoration of a plateau or mountain range.

“There are already millions of hectares of terrestrial and marine ecosystems under restoration across the globe, supported by efforts like the Global Mangrove Alliance and the Bonn Challenge, with contributing regional initiatives such as AFR100 and Initiative 20x20.

The Decade will reinforce these and other restoration endeavours through improved access to financing, capacity building, and renewed drive for implementation.”

MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM

The mangrove not only cultivates sea life such as shellfish but also acts as a protective barrier between the land and sea. Experts argue that reforestation is very important in order to protect the ecosystem.

They contend that mangroves are essentially aimed at preventing soil erosion, holding back rising sea levels and marine ecosystems. But in the last 25years, Africa has lost nearly 500 hectares of its mangroves due to drought, deforestation, and construction. The latest landmark report by Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change, (IPCC) revealed that humanity’s damaging impact on the climate is a treatment of fact and stated that a rise in sea levels is approaching 2 meters by the end of this century.

The United Nation noted that its decade on ecosystem

restoration provides a unique opportunity to transform food, fiber, and feed production systems to meet the needs of the 21st century, and eradicate poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Revive ecosystem and other natural solutions could contribute over one-third of the total climate mitigation needed by 2030.

Restoration can also curb the risk of mass species extinctions and feature pandemics. Agroforestry alone can improve food security for 1.3 billion people. The restoration of forest landscapes, farming, livestock, and fish-producing ecosystem should primarily contribute to restoring them to a healthy and stable state so that they are able to provide ecosystems services and support human needs for sustainable production and livelihoods.

Around the world one-third of the farmland is degraded, and about 87 percent of inland and wetlands worldwide have disappeared since 1700. One-third of commercial fish species are overexploited. Degradation is already affecting over an estimated 3.2 billion people that is 40 percent of the world’s population. Every single year, we lose ecosystem services worth more than 10 percent of our global economic output. If we can manage to reserve this trend, scientists say massive gains await us.

To shed more light on the restoration of the ecosystem, THISDAY spoke to the Technical Director Programmes, Nigeria Conservation Fund (NCF), Dr. Joseph Onoja, who said one of the major factors responsible for the loss of the ecosystem in Nigeria is lack of planning and because of that, the land use is just half haphazard.

He hinted that there are some areas that are supposed to be designated as reserved, residential, industrial, and green areas, noting that even in those areas there is should be spaces for the green vegetation.

“In Lagos State, I am aware that 25% of the arable land should be spaces for green. But when you visit estates these days everywhere is occupied.

So the lack of enforcement of relevant laws is an issue affecting the loss of ecosystem,” he said He also stated that the mangrove ecosystem is very important and it is known as the green infrastructure of the coastline, adding that overtime that green infrastructure has been replaced with brown infrastructure because it has been destroyed and the consequence is only imagined, “which is what we are suffering in the coastline of Lagos.”

He further explained that the green infrastructure which is supposed to break the current of the ocean so that it prevents the coastline from being eroded has been removed, and that is why there is a lot of erosion that is happening.

According to him, “Apart from that the fact, the mangrove ecosystem provides the spurning ground for the different aquatic species especially fishes and if they are removed, the fish stock will be reduced as well because they will not find a good place to spurn. The mangrove ecosystem also provides a habitat for other species such as fowl and others, so if it is not there, it will cause a

consequential effect on another biodiversity. So it is very important that we maintain our mangrove ecosystem.

“To achieve ecosystem restoration, everyone must be aware of the importance of the ecosystem.

We remember that the ecosystem has been put there for our own survival because we are part of it and it is supposed to play its part. So if it is supposed to play its part and it is not playing its role, it will affect us negatively. So if we are aware of the importance, it will help us to start putting our efforts as individuals, corporate organisations, and government so we will be able to achieve ecosystem restoration. When we achieve ecosystem restoration, we will be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and it talks about human survival and wellbeing.”

RECLAIMING THE ECOSYSTEM

As apart of measures by the Lagos State Government to reclaim the ecosystem, the State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, disclosed the commitment of the administration to embark on a four-year redevelopment plan with massive tree planting, along Lagos-Epe and Badagry Expressway, aimed at ensuring a resilient and sustainable environment in the state.

He also stated that Lagos had witnessed tremendous social and economic development which had also brought negative impacts on the environment.

According to him, “These negative impacts have chopped down the forest, plowed the grasslands, slaughtered wildlife, filled in wetlands and polluted air and water. The causes of degradation are many and can have an impact at different scales. However, these impacts have pushed the ecosystem to the breaking point.

“Ecosystem can be restored by growing of diverse crops, including trees. These steps can rebuild carbon stores in soils, making them more fertile so the growing population can be fed. Restoring ecosystem large and small protects and improves the livelihood of people who depends on them. It also helps to regulate disease and reduce the risk of natural disasters.

“Restoration can help us achieve all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Hence, the reason why the state government, under the present administration will soon embark on the four-year redevelopment plan of Lagos Epe Expressway, commencing from Abraham Adesanya to Epe with the restoration of greenery to enhance sir quality of the environment and also serve as relaxation centers. For expansion, in the future, we will be moving to Badagry axis as part of ensuring sustainable environment across the state. There is the need to respond to the call for action that will last a decade in restoring our ecosystem and joining the rest of the world to combat the unsustainable consumption of natural resources.”

Also lending a voice of the issue, the State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, opined that the state government has planted close to 8 million trees in Lagos which is an indication of how active the state has been in

terms of combating the effects of climate change, “so we have been at the forefront.”

“There is a law in the past administration, but we have resumed now and we have taken the front seat, and we are recognised by the UN and several Africa countries in this regard,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the administration is ready to propagate the message of climate change as a way of combating its effects, adding that they are doing mitigation and adaption method, “and there are several processes in which we do that.”

He added that there is the issue of combating the effects of the Atlantic Ocean through the protection of the seashores and monitoring the coastal areas.

On his part, Onoja expressed confidence that the ecosystem can be reclaimed as long as humans are willing to pay the price, pointing out that though the ecosystem has already been tampered with it, therefore efforts must be made to build it back.

He argued that building back the ecosystem would be difficult, noting that it would take a lot of courage and strength of character to make that happen because “once you allow that the environment to develop, it strives on its own.”

“But now that it has been tampered with, we must make conscious efforts to build it back. For instance, we must walk our talk to ensure that we re-green the desert to be able to re-green the lost land,” he added.

Continuing, Bello said: “You know Lagos was not blessed with many lands. Lagos has the smallest landmass less than 20,000 square kilometers. The forest we have in Lagos is at the Epe, Ikorodu, and Badagry axis. In these forests, there are a lot of wetlands, so you have to preserve the wetlands first. Wetlands are swampy areas where the water passes through. For instance, River Ogun comes from Isheri, it goes through Opic Estate and then passes through behind Magodo, Mile 12, and other areas.

Those are the wetlands. The River Ogun splits into several areas. So you must separate those wetlands and preserve them because it helps to combat floods.

So what we are doing to reclaim the lost natural habitat is to control the population because Lagos is overcrowded and people are trooping in due to the affluence in the state.

“We are facing a lot of urban pressures from people encroaching into the State and you cannot stop them from entering to the state. We are trying to balance things and see how we can limit people from encroaching on some of these lands. So that is a challenge for us. For a state that has no control over the Police and security, it is a challenge to curtail the encroachment. So to prevent encroachment, you must have effective control over the security formation in the state.

“Under my watch, we have tried to carry out certain measures to control deforestation through close monitoring to prevent encroachment of our forest vegetation. We stopped people in Badagry and Ikorodu, through the efforts of the Ecology and Conservation department. We still need those green areas and wetlands because of their positive contribution to the atmosphere.”

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

27

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

BRAND & MARKETING

Growing Local Brand via TV Streaming In its 18 years of operation in the nation’s telecoms industry, Globacom has not only demonstrated the can-do attitude, but has also changed the game to attain a ‘Global brand’ status, Raheem Akingbolu writes

I

n the last two decades, the ambition to become global brands has remained a top agenda among African brand owners. Over the years, international brands have extended their business models into Africa, and set up shops. With such a move, they have invested in infrastructure through supply chains and distribution networks, creating employment, and relentlessly driving their brands in the market. Until recently, they enjoyed unbridled access, competing majorly with themselves. But not anymore! In the Telecom sector, Banking, Manufacturing and others, there are an array of African brands, jostling with and challenging the autonomy of the existing foreign brands.

For adapting global best practice in various sectors of the economy, African brands are today being regarded by their foreign counterparts as serious contenders. To this end, some of the African brands are now raising the stakes in many fronts and being invited to participate in global awards and exhibitions. Besides, many of them have appeared on the global rating list as among the best in the world.

DEEPENING PENETRATION

As part of the activities lined up to commemorate its 18 years in the market and in line with global trends whereby brands explore the market in unique ways to strengthen bond with patrons, Globacom recently launched television streaming service on its network, to boost customer experience, while on the move. Beyond its relevance to boosting brand-consumer experience, many analysts have since described the novel act as a strong positioning move that would give the brand an edge in the marketing place.

At the launch of the new product, the telecoms company admitted that the desire to offer subscribers premium television content for viewers of all ages, informed its decision to launch Glo TV, a first-of-its-kind mobile television app on Android, IOS and the web.

Globacom’s Head of Web Sales, Ugochukwu Ibe, who spoke at the event in Lagos, explained that the app was designed for watching live linear TV, Video-on-Demand and catch-up content, which will cater to the preferences of Nigerians across different socio-economic groups and offer them an exclusive opportunity to experience best-in-class TV content.

“This exciting product is designed to ensure that access to television programming graduates from computer and television to mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet computers and is available on the go and in real time. It can be considered as part of our 18th anniversary delight to our over 50 million subscribers,” Ibe said.

He also assured subscribers of a delightful experience on Glo TV service, adding that, “we are aware that fast and reliable internet is required to enjoy mobile TV contents.

If the internet is slow, it takes more time to load the video contents and this can be annoying to users. With Globacom’s 4G data powered by Glo 1, subscribers are assured a pleasant streaming experience”.

According to him, “Globacom is a network that is constantly re-inventing itself with innovative yet affordable products and services and promised that it will not rest on its laurels.

LARGER-THAN-LIFE IMAGERY

The story is that of not giving up despite all odds.

But the greater story of the Glo brand is never told by those who promoted it, but the alternative it gave to the

ultimate owners of the brand; the subscribers. Part of what has made Globacom a global brand is its engaging larger-than-life imagery. The brand has successfully established itself as ambitious, bold, daring and endearing. It has come to be regarded as a behemoth in Nigeria’s telecom space.

Right from launch, it demonstrated its intention to be a big player on the continent with a telling vision statement, “Building Africa’s biggest and best telecommunications network”.

Its mission statement was equally ambitious: To be the largest, most successful entertainment, information and telecommunications solutions provider, in Nigeria and Africa.

The two statements were fashioned in the mould of the company’s Chairman and Founder, Dr Mike Adenuga, Jr. Although a self-effacing billionaire, his business accomplishments in virtually every sector of the economy are legendary. He is known to think and dream big – a very tenacious and dogged entrepreneur who likes to grow his businesses to dominate the sectors he operates in.

Those who knew him well knew he meant business when he unfolded the mission and vision statements. It was not surprising that Glo quickly established itself as the pacesetter in the industry, despite commencing business two years after MTN and Airtel (then called Econet).

BRAND PROMISE

Starting with the pay-off line, Glo with Pride at launch in 2003, Glo promoted and built a sense of pride in every Nigerian by providing a world class indigenous telecommunications network which offered Nigerians the enablement platform to succeed in different fields of human endeavor.

The company later followed up with Rule your World, a message of empowerment that helped build confidence in Nigerians that they can achieve their dreams, rule their world and be the best that they want to be.

To mark its 10th Anniversary, Glo unveiled a new strap line, “Unlimited” which was meant to reaffirm the Glo brand promise to its various stakeholders as Glo journeys into its next 10 years of operation, the new strap line heralded a brave new world, a world in which subscribers and other stakeholder could achieve anything at all if they believe in themselves.

These slogans have helped in endearing the Glo brand to its subscribers and the general public as they inspire to dream, work hard, achieve their life objectives and rule their world.

Industry’s Game Changer Globacom became a game changer when it launched on per second billing which the older networks said was not possible. In doing that Globacom became the first network in Africa to launch a per second billing platform. Its Chairman, Dr Adenuga, became known as Mr. Per Second. The company became a household name in Nigeria and within 9 months it made history as the first network to amass a million subscribers in that space of time.

Globacom also made history by crashing the cost of SIMs from N20,000and N50 a minute respectively to as low as N200 and 5 kobo per second. The company

has thus ensured massive telephone penetration in Nigeria. By making telephony accessible to the common man, Glo has accelerated national development.

That over 170 million Nigerians in both urban and rural areas today have access to the telephone is attributable to the network’s intervention. The International Telecommunication Union, an agency of the United Nations, had in 2004 commended Globacom for playing a critical role in the revolution in the Nigerian telecommunication industry.

Globacom is reputed as the innovation leader in the industry in Nigeria and Ghana. It pioneered Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), mobile banking, mobile internet, vehicle tracking, prepaid roaming, in-flight roaming, etc.

TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

Beyond advertising and brand promise, if there is any other thing that has worked for the brand, it’s in products offering. For instance, Glo was the only operator in Africa to launch its operations on the superior 2.5G network which enabled the convergence of voice, data and multimedia technologies. Besides, the introduction of the 3G Plus technology marked the second time that Globacom has been in the forefront of pioneering the latest transmission network in Nigeria, having introduced the 2.5G technology at launch in 2003 when other operators were running on the 2G platform. The 3G Plus technology enables a much faster transmission of data, voice, broadband internet and multimedia services over a range of frequencies.

It allows customers to do video call, video streaming and high-speed mobile internet access, amongst others, from their 3G mobile handset.

Also, the Glo brand was the first network to launch a nationwide coverage of the 4G-LTE network in Nigeria, thus availing its subscribers enhanced data transfer rates, unmatched mobile broadband experience and high data speeds and reliability.

It also has the most extensive fibre optic backbone across Nigeria. The facility was built to further enhance voice and data transmission for mobile and fixed telephone operations in the country.

The brand has also contributed to boosting international connectivity in Nigeria by building and launching an international submarine cable, Glo 1. It was the first time a single company would implement such a massive undersea project in Africa. In addition to boosting the provision of services to telecom end users, the facility is currently providing the much-needed connectivity to critical sectors of the economy such as oil and gas, manufacturing, banking, commerce, education and health, among others.

NETWORK OF STARS

Glo has come to be regarded as a network of stars. No corporate organization has had the kind of constellation of entertainment heavyweights as its brand ambassadors as Globacom. All through the years, the cream of the country’s musicians, footballers, actors and comedians have either been signed on as brand ambassadors or featured in the company’s commercials. The long list includes Prof Wole Soyinka, Yusuf Maitama Sule, Osita Osadebe, Oliver d’Coque, King Sunny Ade, Ebenezar Obey.

Nelly Uchendu, Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, Osaze

Odemwingie and Emmanuel Emenike. Others are MI Abaga, D’Banj, PSquare, Rita Dominic, Ini Edo, Flavour, Wizkid, Davido, Basketmouth, Gordons, I go Dye, Juliet Ibrahim, Matter Ankomah, Joselyn Dumas, Michael Essien and, very recently, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Anthony Joshua.

While the commercials that featured these stars became popular among the general public, the stars themselves further spread the popularity of the Glo brand among their millions of fans.

GLO AS DISRUPTIVE SERVICE PROVIDER

Since Globacom commenced commercial operation in Nigeria in August 2003, it has carved a niche for itself as a pioneer of innovative products and services.

The first and, perhaps, the most memorable was the introduction of Per Second Billing (PSB) of calls. Until the arrival of Globacom, the other operators insisted that PSB was not feasible. Globacom disrupted the models that pre-existing operators intended to run for another couple of years, forcing them to switch to PSB, ahead of their plan, in the overall interest of telecom consumers.

This was a major plank in the strategy of Globacom’s founder, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., to liberalise access to telecommunications in Nigeria.

The brand followed up by crashing the cost of GSM SIM and tariff from N20,000 and N50 per minute respectively to as low as N200 and 5 kobo per second, thus helping to aggressively boost telephone penetration in the country. It was the first operator to introduce Blackberry service to Nigerian consumers at a time Blackberry was the undisputed king of business devices. It instantly became the compulsory companion of upwardly mobile business men and women and professionals in Nigeria. This service made it possible for telecom consumers to have access to their mails on the move through the then novel feature called ‘push-email’.

It also gave telecom consumers access to flat-rated internet anywhere they went within Glo network coverage. Other operators immediately jumped on the bandwagon.

In a related development, the brand also pioneered intelligent vehicle tracking device it christened GloWatch, making it possible for vehicle and other mobile assets owners to monitor their vehicles or mobile assets anywhere from the comfort of their offices or home. While other tracking devices had existed before then, GloWatch was the first device that made it possible for mobile asset owners to not only track, but also listen in to conversations in their vehicles, monitor speed or stop the vehicles’ engine remotely.

In 2010, the operator moved the banking sector a step higher when it launched mobile banking, making it possible for telecom users to check their balances and conduct banking transactions on their GSM handsets from the comfort of their homes without having to spend time and effort in traffic and banking halls. The service was flagged off by the then CBN Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, who commended Globacom for being the first to introduce the revolutionary service among telecom operators.

Globacom was also the first to accomplish a nationwide launch of 4G-LTE network in Nigeria in 2016. Other operators were content staying in the three major cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. Only recently, the company scored another first by introducing the novel concept of creating a dedicated path in its 4G LTE network for enterprise customers. This aligns with the company’s promise of delivering best-in-class solutions to its corporate clientele to enable them optimise efficiency.

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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, ͰͮͰͯ ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

PIA and Burden of Key Appointments Aliyu Galadima

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t is a child of destiny. It survived almost two decades of miscarriages and protracted labour to emerge as the best possible elixir to red flag issues in Nigeria’s petroleum industry. This child, the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, has been widely adjudged by most – and rightly so – as an important lever to drive a sound legal, fiscal, and regulatory framework in the industry. But even the soundest laws require the right people to achieve seamless implementation. To align with the huge expectations of Nigerians, this child, the PIA, must hit the ground running – on the strength of seasoned professionals and collaboration of all stakeholders.

While there are pockets of dissenting positions regarding some of the provisions of the PIA, the law gives the nation her best shot at optimising value from all segments of the petroleum industry.

President Muhammadu Buhari couldn’t have been more apt when he noted that the nonpassage of the law had stagnated the growth of the industry, costing the nation well over $50 billion worth of investment. Now, the stage is set for investments that would boost employment, revenue, and the development of other critical sectors of the economy.

It is apparent that the stage is set for key appointments into some critical positions created by the provisions of the PIA. The PIA has introduced a new Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission and Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

While the former will be responsible for upstream regulatory functions, the latter would regulate activities in the midstream and downstream sectors.

It would be interesting to see how these new regulatory organs will mould the sector according to the intent of the PIA. Of particular interest is the fact that effective oversight functions of the upstream, midstream and Downstream will set off a value chain that optimises benefits right from the mining of hydrocarbons to getting petroleum products to Nigerians – especially the

Gbenga Olu Komolafe informal sector which should the heartbeat of economic prosperity.

Consequently, we are looking to see value creation in exploration and production, supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products; enhanced development of infrastructure in the sector; fair tariff/ pricing for all stakeholders and overall best practice that will make the sector competitive regionally and globally.

Seeing that the pressure of aligning the provisions of the PIA to the well-being of the sector and Nigerians will rest squarely on the shoulders of the individuals who head the regulatory roles, Nigeria must get it right. The appointments must not

in anyway be ensconced in the politics of tribe and mudslinging. The individuals who emerge should be seasoned. We need our best hands to achieve the transformation of the petroleum sector.

The above shouldn’t be such a huge task as Nigeria has eminently qualified professionals that can deliver on the mandate of the law and expectations of over 200 million Nigerians. For this author, one name catches the eye, given that the individual comes with expertise that makes him stand out. An accomplished engineer, lawyer, and technocrat, Gbenga Olu Komolafe has almost 30 years experience in the Nigerian oil and gas

sector. He served in the nation’s Federal public sector, operating at the highest levels of the downstream and upstream sectors.

Working with with Dr. Oluwole Oluleye, Komolafe was the arrowhead that facilitated the creation of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in 2003 for effective regulation of supply and distribution of Petroleum products. Komolafe also served at various top positions at the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Nigerian Pipeline and Storage Company Limited and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), among others.

The industry has ample records of how Komolafe’s steering of various upstream and downstream regulatory agencies yielded reforms that facilitated efficiency and attendant huge monetary value for Nigeria. The PIA could do with Gbenga’s expertise to set the right foundation for implementing the law seamlessly.

A Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN and member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Gbenga’s expertise as a seasoned engineer and lawyer is required at this time to give the PIA the right impetus. Interestingly, the ‘jostle’ for Gbenga membership between the Nigerian Society for Engineers (NSE) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) represents a mark of distinction that every organisation needs to secure exceptional performance.

The PIA needs professionals of stellar qualities; individuals who have an exceptional grasp of how we can translate the potential benefits of the PIA into actual wins for Nigeria and Nigerians. This child of destiny needs the best form of nutrients at this most important point of implementation. It must be substance over sensation, professionalism over tribe, and sustainability over quick fixes. Nigeria, the PIA is a harbinger of new possibilities for the petroleum industry. We must not let this child die. t (BMBEJNB B QVCMJD BGGBJST BOBMZTU XSPUF JO GSPN ,BEVOB

UN Condemns Attack on Schools, Calls for More Efforts to Protect Students Ugo Aliogo

The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, has strongly condemned the incessant attacks on schools and kidnappings that have affected hundreds of children in a number of states in Nigeria.

In his statement on the 2021 International Day to Protect Education from Attack,

commemorated every September 9, Kallon noted that attacks on schools are a direct attack on the future generation, adding that it is traumatic for the children, undermines their individual dignity, and sometimes leads affected families to withdraw them from education entirely.

He expressed displeasure over the attacks, calling on the Federal and State Governments to do more to protect schools

Firm Partners Slum2School to Mark International Literacy Day Wat ‘N’ Go Limited, a leading QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) operator and lead franchisee for Domino’s Pizza, Cold Stone Creamery and Pinkberry Gourmet Yoghurt in Africa has celebrated International Literacy Day for the children residing at Tarkwa bay with the support of the company’s CSR partners, Slum2School.

Since 2017, the company has partnered the Slum2School- a non-profit organisation committed to provide sound education for underserved children across multiple communities in Nigeria.

Part of these activities was the pledge by the management to support in sending 1200 children to school this year.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Eat ‘N’ Go, Patrick McMichael, while commenting at the event, said, “We are delighted to be an active participant of such a formidable partnership, by providing a sound education for underserved children across different communities in the country, which gives them aspiration and hope for a brighter future through provision

of quality education.”

He also added, “This celebration of International Literacy Day with our Slum2School partner and these kids here at Tarkwa bay, offers an avenue to promote collaboration between the Private sector and NGO organisations in providing education to underserved kids.

This will make an indelible mark in the future of these young Nigerians to achieve greatness and purpose to the country and world at large.

Eat ‘N’ Go has consistently demonstrated its unwavering commitment in its corporate social responsibility activities as a company with a solid and intentional focus on education. In 2020, the Group supported 1,000 kids across various communities by donating N50million and has increased its pledge to supporting 1,200 kids this 2021.

As the leading QSR group in Africa, community touchpoints and outreach programmes are critical for the Group’s overall operations.

Now more than ever, with the ravaging effects COVID-19 had on education and learning.

from attack and to ensure that teaching and learning is safe and conducive in all schools in Nigeria.

The Resident Coordinator observed that whenever teaching and learning is disrupted, the impact on human capital development is enormous as the recovery period is always tortuous and longer than the length of the initial disruption.

According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to leave the situation of incessant attacks on schools to remain unabated.

“Children are traumatized; parents are scared; teachers and school administrators are afraid; attacks on schools are gradually spreading to areas not known to insurgencies.

With education under attack, the collective future of Nigeria

is under threat. This must stop now.”

He encouraged the government to review progress made in implementing safe schools under the declaration and fully put into practice commitments made in 2019 by taking decisive action to protect education from attack and give “this great nation’s children the chance to fulfill their promise.”

Kallon explained that too often, the right to education fell under attack, especially in conflict-affected areas, where entire populations could be denied learning.

He said further, “With over 10 million children already out of school, conflict has aggravated the situation and deeply affected education and the prospects of

many young people, especially it’s most vulnerable ones. In the last academic year, it is estimated that 1.3 million children have been impacted by attacks or abductions at schools in Nigeria.”

The statement remarked that across the north-east region alone, over 600,000 children remain out of school and some 1.1 million need educational support to stay in school. This has all been compounded by the setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the statement, “UN Agency for children, UNICEF has been working hard to expand the availability of classrooms and teachers in Nigeria’s most conflict-affected regions. Furthermore, the Agency has been supporting

the Government of Nigeria in its efforts to implement the Safe Schools Declaration which was ratified in 2019. Over the past five years, according to UNESCO, there have been 13,400 reports of attacks on education facilities worldwide with more than 22,000 students and teachers harmed or killed.

“The International Day to Protect Education from Attack is aimed at raising awareness of the plight of children in conflict-affected areas growing up without access to education.

Education is a fundamental human right, one that is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is an essential driver for fostering peace, promoting just societies, and supporting sustainable development.”

Africa Rising to Project African Brands to the World All is now set for the 2021 edition of the Africa Rising 4, a continental conference of the International Advertising Association (IAA), billed to hold from 28th – 29th, September, 2021.

According to a statement issued by the international advertising body, this year’s edition of the Africa rising 4, which will be virtual is conceptualised to further project African brands to the world and bringing together the best on the continent to discuss trends and key developments..

With the theme, ‘Africa to the World’, the organisation has assembled prominent experts within and outside Africa to speak on the theme and share their experiences working on brands in Africa and how the international community can tap into the hidden treasures in the continent to further grow global economy.

The statement which was signed by the President of the Nigeria’s chapter of the association, Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, indicated that considering the current state of the world, the 2021 theme will reflect true African brands and dial the relevance of Africa as a continent to the World especially Brands as ‘The Engine Of Economic Revival in Africa’ Meanwhile, the brochure released by the organisers indicated that this year’s conference will be focused on; strong African Brands living beyond the boundaries to become global icons, economic prospects through varying nations (AfCFTA), creativity and the Arts within the context of the rich characteristics of Africa and technology and the digital evolution. Other areas that will be focused are; next level of Marketing, what insights will

drive the success of the continent and leadership in a challenging arena.

Commenting on the proposed focused areas and how the previous editions of the conference have impacted the industry and the market, the IAA President said; “IAA Africa Rising is Africa’s region’s most anticipated MarCom conference that brings together the very best in the industry over a 2-day period to deliberate on topics propelling the industry and find new ways to uplift the industry on the continent. The 1st edition was held in 2015 in Accra, under the theme: “Africa Rising – the New Consumer Generation. Since then, themes such as Evolution of Brands and Consumers: Reinvent or Die!, Technology Trends vrs Consumer Choice! – Who’s determining the future? Have played a critical role in the

overall agenda of the IAA on the continent,” Since inception, the Africa Rising conference has played host to many influential speakers and participants. In line with this, the 2021 edition will also parade prominent speakers including Nigeria’s Folake Ani-Mumuney, Global Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications (First Bank Limited), Juliet Ehimuan, Director, West Africa (Google), Mitchell Elegbe Founder, Group MD & CEO (Interswitch) and Lara Kayode Managing Partner (O.Kayode & Co). Other confirmed speakers include; Joel E. Nettey, World President & Chairman (International Advertising Association) Declan Arhen, Director, Africa (Brand Finance) Gabor George Burt, Founder & Director (The Slingshot Group) and sixteen other industry players and brands custodians.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

IMAGES

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

L-R: Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Red Star Express Plc, Mr. Auwalu Babura; Company Secretary of the company, Mrs. Frances Akpomuka; Chairman, Board of Directors, Suleiman Barau; Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer; Olusola Obabori; and Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Mr. Victor Ukwat, during the 28th Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos…recently

President Muhammadu Buhari (left); Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffery Onyeama; and other officials at the opening session of the 76th United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United State of America...recently

L-R: Regional Operations Director, North Central Airtel Nigeria, Mr. ThankGod Otorkpa; Director-General National Identification Management Commission (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar; and Head Public Relations, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Erhumu Bayagbon, during the NIMC third National Identity Day in Abuja…recently

L-R: Executive Director (ED), National Centre for Agriculture Mechanisation (NCAM), Dr. Muideen YomiKasali; ED, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Dr. Patricia Pessu; Representative of Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and Director of Extension Services, Frank SatumariKudla; and Coordinator, Agricultural and Rural Management Technology Institute (AMTI), Dr. Abdulrazaq Yahaya, during the flagging-off ceremony for the distribution of improved storage facilities for vulnerable women and youths at the NSPRI headquarters, Ilorin, Kwara State…recently

L-R: Deputy National President, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Yahya Abdulahi; Chairman, Oyo State Council of the NUJ, Demola Babalola; NUJ National President, Chief Chris Iziguso; and Secretary of Oyo State Council of the NUJ, Sola Oladapo, during a campaign visit of the Iziguso’s re-election team to Oyo State Council of the NUJ in Ibadan…recently

L-R: Former Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) (rtd), Chris Ezike; graduating student, University of Hertfordshire, Miss. Olive Ezike; First Class graduating Law student, Mr. Chidubem Ezike; and wife of the former AIG, Mrs. Clara Ezike, at the Cathedral Abbey Church of St. Albans in England, to celebrate the graduation of their children from the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom…recently

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, EpiAFRIC, Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor; Clinical Quality and Training Advisor, Marie Stopes International Organisation Nigeria, Amaka Ifedi-Okonkwo; and Head of Communications, Nigeria Health Watch, Uche Nwagboso, during the EpiAfric Health Meets Tech Hackathon conference in Abuja…recently

L-R: Emerging Winners, Olanloye Obafolajuwon Adeayo, Sodiya Odunayi Kayode, and Aro Mubarak Temidayo, during the grand finale of the Regional Photography Workshop organised by the Special Assistant on Documentation to the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Oluwadamilare Fawole, in Osun State… recently

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T H I S D AY ˾ , SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE Tackling Vaccine Hesitancy Fuelled

by Misinformation, Propaganda

ÜÙßÚ ÏËÞßÜÏÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ Chiemelie Ezeobi ×ËÓÖ chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 07010510430

The next major challenge in tackling COVID-19 pandemic appears to be vaccine hesitancy. Several factors bordering mostly on misinformation, false prophecies and propaganda churned out by conspiracy theorists have discouraged people from taking the vaccines. To articulate strategies to counter these fake and negative narratives, the United Nations Children’s Fund recently organised a workshop in Kano. Onyebuchi Ezigbo, who was at the dialogue, reports

N

igeria like most parts of the world has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus brought with it panic and desolation amongst people, until scientists rallied to produce vaccines to help eradicate the scourge.

However, the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines has thrown up yet another challenge, that of hesitancy by a segment of the populace. Today, while Nigeria is grappling with the challenges of procuring enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for the eligible population, some people are busy disparaging and undermining credible health advisories meant stop the disease scourge.

One major concern is the issue of apathy against the use of the COVID-19 vaccine. The fact that some people are refusing to take the vaccine and at the same time failing to observe the health protocol against infectious disease is a source of worry to all who understands the looming danger posed by such act.

Accordingly, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF have cautioned that low vaccination rates might put the country at serious risk of the rampaging COVID-19 variants and may result in otherwise avoidable deaths.

Current vaccination figures in Nigeria is put at about 4,024,704 persons. This figure is a far cry to the projected target of about 70 million that will enable the country to achieve herd immunity to stem the ravaging COVID-19.

What is more worrisome is the fact that this vaccine hesitancy, as it has come to be known in medical parlance, is being fueled mostly by ignorance and mischief. Those who are not well informed about deadly nature of COVID-19 and what they stand to gain by taking protective vaccines are being deceived by a few mischievous ones and conspiracy theorists.

Media Dialogue Speaking at a two-day Media Dialogue on COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign organised

by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Child Rights Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Information (CRiB) to device advocacy measures to be adopted by government, UNICEF Communication Specialist, Mr. Jeffrey Njoku said several misconceptions, conspiracy theories and innuendos being peddled against use of COVID-19 vaccines are unfounded.

For instance, Njoku said there has not been any reported case of serious adverse effect from the COVID-19 vaccine on those that have so taken it in Nigeria. However, Njoku said that it behoves on the authorities and the media to device more effective means of debunking such erroneous postulations. Njoku enjoined government to embark on aggressive media and community advocacy to allay the fears and wrong insinuations about the COVID-19 vaccines so as to encourage people”s participation.

“More awareness is needed to convince people on the efficacy of vaccines as a means of eradicating COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, thereby encouraging them to take the vaccine jab”, he said.

Speaking on the topic, “Demand Creation on COVID-19 Vaccines” , UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Kano, Maulid Warfa said those who hesitate to take COVID-19 vaccine may have their reason for the hesitancy, even if such reasons are not factual. He said that the media and the community leaders have the role of giving them the right information about the efficacy of the vaccines.

One of the measures to improve vaccine patronage he said, is to debunk the misinformation trailing the current vaccination exercise.

Method of Debunking Misinformation about COVID-19 Vaccine A University don and the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Kashere in Gombe State, Prof. Umar Pate advised that the sensitisation campaign to support the vaccination programme should not be medicalised by allowing only medical professionals to drive the campaign. Pate who spoke in Kano during the workshop said

At the COVID-19 Vaccination Supersite located within the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital the message also should not be dominated by medical terminologies which will be complex and difficult for people to understand.

He said media professionals should be made to lead the campaign against anti vaccine advocates. Prof. Pate explained that using best communication tools and putting messages in simple, clear and concise manner will win the people over and get them to understand and participate in vaccination.

Pate also advised against allowing the issue to be highly politicised. “ Some politicians will try dabble into the issue and turn it into advantage and start giving it their own interpretations”. He however said that active leadership involvement is needed at all levels to ensure that right messages are sent to the people about the vaccines and it’s benefits. “ If you have quality leadership at every level of governance, then the followership will take the same form and probably correct information will be passed”.

Another aspect of the campaign according to the professor is community engagement. He said vaccine enablers should try to identify and participate in community activities. “ Through these community activities, one will be able to meet different calibre of people, those that are community leaders, opinion leaders, who can listen to you, believe in you and then be able to transmit the messages down to the grassroot”.

Pate said community engagement remains the effective means of getting the people to accept the vaccines. In addition, Pate spoke about importance of good media relations.

He said journalists should see himself as leader and somebody who is looked upon as one with the knowledge and credibility of making people to believe in the information

he disseminates. The Vice Chancellor urged the authorities in the health sector to form synergy with the media and employ the highly useful communication skills at their disposal to dispel whatever misinformation and false narratives against the application of COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

Understanding the Myth Behind COVID-19 Vaccines An Immuno-Pharmacology expert, Dr. Murtala Jibril, in his presentation at the media workshop tried to explain some myths surrounding the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines. Jibril started by explaining the make-up of the different vaccine types.

He said a single vaccine provides 100 per cent protection. According to him, vaccine only helps to fortify an individual to be able to withstand attack of infectious diseases.

He also explained the concept of Herd immunity, saying it had to do with idea of getting substantial population of given place vaccinated so as to weed out the virus.

But Jibril said that Herd immunity does not provide full protection to those who are not vaccinated. “It does not provide substantial protection to the unvaccinated”.

While dismissing the wrong belief that vaccine tampers with DNA of individuals, Jibril said: “These vaccines cannot tamper with an individual’s DNA because the DNA and RNA are not even in a similar compartment. It is like you have somebody opening your house and somebody is in your living room. And somebody is in the kitchen and you are saying that somebody in the kitchen will infect somebody in the living room.

“The DNA and RNA are not in the same

The aim of the media dialogue session is to stir up some kind of media activism that will shot down the negatives against the use of the COVID-19 vaccine by the populace.The message UNICEF is conveying is that getting vaccinated will save the lives of many and prevent the country from relapsing into yet another costly health emergency

compartment thus the COVID vaccine cannot alter our DNA and it is only the RNA that is being administered. And it is the RNA that carries the genetic information or the blueprint it ultimately translated by our body to produce the spike protein and it is the spike protein that will now stimulate the immune response and develop antibodies that protect us against the virus.

“Another misconception is that people think that when you get vaccinated it can cause infertility in women. It is not true. There is no similarity between the spike protein and the syncytin protein. We don’t have what is tagged Cross immunogenicity. Getting vaccination with the vaccine cannot produce the antibodies that will attack the syncytin protein.”

Jibril urged Nigerians to take the opportunity of the availability of vaccines in the country to get vaccinated in order to protect themselves, save more lives and reduce the chances of severe disease from the mutant virus. Jibril who is also a vaccine development expert at the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Bayero University, Kano, debunked rumours that vaccines have damaging impact on the fertility of women, saying that vaccines cannot transmit COVID virus as they are not whole pathogen vaccines.

The doctor explained that the earlier many Nigerians get vaccinated, the faster the country would be able to reduce further spread of the virus and in turn reduce chances of it’s mutating into more variants of the virus.

Amidst concerns over a possible outbreak of the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic, Jibril said that getting many eligible Nigerians to vaccinate will enable us achieve herd immunity and escape the dangers of mutant COVID-19 virus.

According to him, the vaccine effectiveness and efficacy of the vaccines tends to reduce.

Jibril said with Mordena vaccine now in the country, Nigeria has one of the best vaccines against COVID-19, adding that studies have shown that 3 million lives are saved annually in the world with vaccines.

Essentially, UNICEF Communication expert, Jeffrey Njoku said the aim of the media dialogue session is to stir up some kind of media activism that will shot down the negatives against the use of the COVID-19 vaccine by the populace.

The message UNICEF is conveying is that getting vaccinated will save the lives of many and prevent the country from relapsing into yet another costly health emergency. Also getting a substantial ratio of Nigeria vaccinated is key to getting herd immunity and reducing severe COVID-19 disease in people.

T H I S D AY ˾ , SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

31

NEWS

FERTILITY Physiotherapists Recommend Exercises for COVID-19 Patients DANGER SIGNS IN PREGNANCY (PART 4 ) Rebecca Ejifoma

The Chairman, Lagos Chapter of Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (EKONSP), Mrs. Adenike Sonuyi, has recommended daily exercise for COVID-19 patients after recovery.

This was her remark at the commemoration of the World Physiotherapist (WPT) Day at the National Orthopaedic )PTQJUBM *HCPCJ JO -BHPT )FS XPSET i&WFSZCPEZ needs physiotherapy for fitness at any point in time.

In fact, a physiotherapist should be seen as often as it is needed but physical activity should be done on a daily basis. You can’t do without it if you’re not active on a daily basis.”

With the theme of this year’s WPT Day as ‘Rehabilitation along COVID-19’, physiotherapists are creating awareness on the effect patients have after contracting the COVID-19 for a long period.

Sonuyi highlighted: “You know after recovering, some of the symptoms are still there. We can go through weeks, even months. That is what we are trying to look at how to manage such that the patient can have a good quality of life.”

She insisted that COVID-19 patients need management, which is what they do. “After they’ve

contracted it, even during the period, we manage them but this particular long COVID-19 is a condition that we have identified even after treatment.”

While noting that some symptoms still persist after COVID-19 treatment, Sonuyi said patients experience breathlessness, fatigue from time to time, tightness in the chest, and muscle weakness for a long time.

“That is why we’ve decided to look into this and talk about it deeply, go into studies and find out what can be done to help this group of people.”

To help such patients cope, the chairman encouraged having a daily plan of exercise to strengthen his or her body, muscles, ligaments, joints, and then breathing too.

According to her, by the time the patient does these series of exercises regularly, he or she will be able to cope with all daily activities.

“Physiotherapists have prescribed exercises including aerobics training, strengthening exercises for the body, for the muscles. The heart is made up of muscles. When you exercise it, it strengthens the heart and then your blood flow is improved and that way you’ll be able to cope,” she listed.

Sonuyi, however, called on the government to look into

the situation of the health sector and make sure that every new unit is addressed like physiotherapy.

“They need to look deeply into employing more physiotherapists, and put them in the limelight. Some therapists are not employed because the institutions are not taking them up, maybe because of the economy, but I know that by the time they employ them we’ll have enough to reach out to the populace.”

While many people have described Igbobi as a place where broken bones and limbs are fixed or a place of amputation, Mrs. Chinyere Oraukwu, a patient, says it is synonymous with empathy and care.

Oraukwu often visits the National Orthopaedic )PTQJUBM *HCPCJ GPMMPXJOH B ghastly auto crash this March that left her left knee and right arm. Since then, she has been a frequent face at the Physiotherapy department.

“Away from what we were told about Igbobi as kids, the physiotherapists are caring and compassionate,” she explained. “I’ve seen the effects of daily exercise. I have six types of exercises that I do here. They encourage you to do the same at home. The department is doing well.

They should continue with their good works and also try to improve”.

UNDP, EpiAFRIC, NHW, Reboot, Call for Submission to #Hack4COVIDWaste Sunday Ehigiator 5IF 6OJUFE /BUJPOT %FWFMPQNFOU 1SPHSBN 6/%1 JO partnership with EpiAFRIC, 3FCPPU BOE /JHFSJB )FBMUI 8BUDI /)8 IBT PGGJDJBMMZ announced an open call for TVCNJTTJPOT UP UIF )BDL4COVIDWaste.

In a statement over the weekend, jointly signed CZ 6/%1 $PNNVOJDBUJPO Lead, Alison Clement, and UIF )FBE PG $PNNVOJDBUJPOT /)8 6DIF /XBHboso, the group said the hackathon was designed to develop solutions that will combat the issue of poor management and disposal of COVID-19 waste.

According to them, “the hackathon will be a hybrid in person-virtual event and will take place at Ventures Park in Abuja from October 15 to 16, 2021.

“Technology enthusiasts focused on social impact innovation are encouraged to apply online from September 24, 2021 using the application portal. i)FBMUI GBDJMJUJFT BOE $0VID-19 centers in Nigeria are facing immense challenges in the disposal of infected masks, gloves, and other protective equipment as well as vaccine related supplies.

“These facilities often have protocols for the safe disposal of biomedical waste; however the poor handling

of this waste poses a hazard for health workers, patients, visitors, and communities around health facilities.”

5IF HSPVQ TBJE UIF )BDL4COVIDWaste hackathon will address the issue of Covid-19 biomedical waste management, and would also create a platform for health workers to collaborate with developers, business people and technology practitioners to develop viable solutions that will contribute to sustainable Covid-19 waste management in Nigeria.

“All submissions will be reviewed, and shortlisted teams will be invited to participate in the hackathon.

“The selected teams will be asked to take their ideas through a design thinking process and pitching sessions followed by mentorship by industry experts to refine their ideas in separate breakout rooms.

“After the first day, teams will have the opportunity to pitch their COVID-19 waste management solution to a panel of judges with the potential of making it through to the second day of the hackathon. Finalists will then pitch their refined idea to a panel of judges.”

Giving additional information, Crisis Prevention and 3FDPWFSZ "EWJTPS 6/%1 William Tsuma, said proper disposal of Covid-19 waste was essential and needs to

be addressed urgently. )F TBJE UIF NJTNBOBHFment of Covid-19 related waste can cause unforeseen knock-off effects on both human health and the environment. i"U UIF 6/%1 XF BSF QMFBTFE UP TVQQPSU UIF )BDL4COVIDWaste to enable the development of homegrown innovative solutions, as the safe handling and disposal of waste is a vital element in an effective emergency response.” Also speaking, the C.E.O EpiAFRIC, Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor, noted that the partnership came at an appropriate time, particularly with the increasing numbers of Covid-19 patients and the recent arrival of vaccines.

“It is of great concern to see the growing amount of waste generated from Covid-19 response measures, such as used facemasks on the streets and syringes/ needles improperly disposed of in health centers.

“Therefore, this timely intervention will leverage existing talent in the innovation community here in Nigeria and will go a long way in helping to solve the management of COVID-19 wastes.

“In addition, shortlisted participants will benefit from mentoring, training, networking, and other support to move their solutions from ideas to workable solutions.”

Info@lifelinkfertility.com; Website: lifelinkfertility.com 08033083580

I

n the previous editions, we have been looking at the likely signs to indicate danger to a pregnant woman. This edition aims at enumerating the danger signs a pregnant women should look out for in the late or third trimester: PROM and Post Term Pregnancy.

A “trimester” is, most simply, a period of time.

In terms of pregnancy, a trimester refers to three roughly equal portions of the time you are pregnant.

Since pregnancy lasts, on average, 40 weeks, a trimester lasts roughly three months, or 13 1/3 weeks. The concept of the trimester is used to help health care providers and expectant moms divide the process of pregnancy up into specific portions. During each trimester, mom-to-be and her baby have specific discomforts, nutritional needs, and physiological changes that will occur.

PREMATURE RUPTURE OF MEMBRANES (PROM): Rupture of membranes is a normal part of giving birth. It is the medical term for saying your “water has broken.” It means that the amniotic sac (water sac) that surrounds the baby has broken, allowing the fluid to flow out.

While it is normal for the sac to break during labor, if it happens too early, it can cause serious complications. This is called preterm / premature rupture of membranes (PROM). The cause of PROM is not always clear, but sometime genetic factor and infection of the amniotic membranes can be a cause Treatment for PROM varies. Women are often hospitalized and given antibiotics, steroids, and drugs to stop labor (tocolytics).

When PROM occurs at 34 weeks or more, some doctors might recommend delivering the baby. At that time, the risks of prematurity are less than the infection risks. If there are signs of infection, labor must be induced to avoid serious complications.

Occasionally, a woman with PROM experiences resealing of the membranes. In these rare cases, a woman can continue her pregnancy to near term, although still under close observation. The risks associated with prematurity decrease significantly as the fetus nears term. If PROM occurs in the 32- to 34-week range and the remaining amniotic fluid shows that the fetus’ lungs have matured enough, the doctor may discuss delivering the baby in some cases.

Availability of improved intensive care nursery services, many preterm infants born in the third trimester (after 28 weeks) usually survive.

POST-TERM PREGNANCY: About 7 percent of women deliver at 42 weeks or later. Any pregnancy lasting longer than 42 weeks is considered post-term or post-dates. The cause of post-term pregnancy is unclear, although hormonal and hereditary factors are suspected. Sometimes, a woman’s due date is not calculated correctly. Some women have irregular or long menstrual cycles that make ovulation harder to predict. Early in pregnancy, an ultrasound can help to confirm or adjust the due date.

Post-term pregnancy is not generally dangerous

to the mother’s health. The concern is for the fetus. The placenta is an organ that is designed to work for about 40 weeks. It provides oxygen and nutrition for the growing fetus. After 41 weeks of pregnancy, the placenta is less likely to work well, and this may result in decreased amniotic fluid around the fetus (oligohydramnios).This condition can cause compression of the umbilical cord and decrease oxygen supply to the fetus.

This may be reflected on the fetal heart monitor in a pattern called late decelerations. There is a risk of sudden fetal death when the pregnancy is post-term. Once a woman reaches 40+ weeks of pregnancy, she usually has fetal heart rate monitoring and a measurement of the amniotic fluid. If the testing shows low fluid levels or abnormal fetal heart rate patterns, labor is induced. Otherwise, spontaneous labor is awaited until no more than 42 weeks, after which it is induced. These options depend on the managing physician.

PREVENTION OF MATERNAL MORTALITY Recent studies shows that every day, approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths occur in low resource settings and most of them could have been prevented by focused antenatal care.

Maternal mortality is when a woman dies during pregnancy or up to 42days after the end of pregnancy from health problems related to pregnancy. Women die as a result of complications during and following pregnancy and childbirth.

Most of these complications develop during pregnancy and most are preventable or treatable.

Other complications may exist before pregnancy but are worsened during pregnancy especially if not managed as part of the woman’s care. The major complications that account for nearly 75% of all maternal death are: r 4FWFSF CMFFEJOH NPTUMZ BGUFS DIJME CJSUI

causes of bleeding include placenta Previa, placenta abruption and Placenta accrete, increta and pancreta.

Most of these can be can be diagnosed during routine ANC and appropriate management implemented. r *OGFDUJPO NBZ CF EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ PS DIJME birth): most infections can be prevented from resulting in complication by immunization and proper treatment. r)JHI CMPPE QSFTTVSF EVSJOH QSFHOBODZ r$PNQMJDBUJPOT GSPN EFMJWFSZ r6OTBGF BCPSUJPO r0UIFS BTTPDJBUFE EJTFBTFT TVDI BT .BMBSJB and AIDS. CONCLUSION Most maternal deaths are preventable, as the health care solution to prevent or manage complications are well known. Every woman going through the stress of pregnancy deserves to experience the joy of parenthood. Safe motherhood is key, all women need to access antenatal care in pregnancy and all birth must be attended to by skilled health professional as timely management and treatment can make the difference between

32

T H I S D AY ˾ , SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

NEWS

BASF Leverages Micronutrients Lab to Support SMS Entrepreneurs Mary Nnah BASF West Africa is supporting the food fortification agenda of the Nigerian government by collaborating with one of its key customers, EDCEL Limited, to launch Vitamin A premix for edible oils, targeted at small and medium scale entrepreneurs.

It has been observed that the edible oil industry is highly fragmented, with small millers being responsible for more than 60 per cent of the production of edible oils in Nigeria.

Recognising the aforesaid fact and also having identified that the edible oils industry is lagging in attaining approved compliance levels for fortification, BASF West Africa, in partnership with EDCEL Limited, is introducing the Vitamin A oil premix as an innovative solution which will give small and medium scale entrepreneurs access to an affordable pack size of Vitamin A with which they can fortify edible oils, irrespective of the quantities being produced.

Another major challenge supposedly faced by these micro millers is the lack of dosing equipment and analytical test equipment. Acquiring this equipment, they say, is costly and requires specialised technical skills to operate.

Interestingly, with its mi-

cronutrients testing laboratory opened on its Ilupeju site in 2019, BASF West Africa is rightly positioned to offer technical and analytical services for all large and small-scale millers across the country.

Speaking at the launch event recently, Managing Director for BASF West Africa, Dr. JeanMarc Ricca, said that with this innovation, Nigeria can look forward to improved statistics in reducing malnutrition and the elimination of hidden hunger, particularly at the base of the income pyramid.

Ricca said further that the lack of micronutrients in their daily diets results in children and young adults being more vulnerable to diseases and they are usually at greater risk of death.

“Poor nutrition also prevents children from realising their full potential stunting not only their physical and intellectual growth, but also their future ambition, educational and employment opportunities”, he added.

The MD who said that BASF’s food fortification efforts aim to realise the five UN Sustainable Development Goals, which include zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, reduced inequalities, decent work and economic growth,

and partnerships for the goals, added that more information about BASF Food Fortification can be found on it website: www.food-fortification.com.

Managing Director of EDCEL Limited, Mr. Cletus Chibuko, the producer of CEED Vitamin A premix, said that in developing countries such as Nigeria, a large section of the population has poor access to eggs, fish, dairy products, colourful produce and fortified cereals.

“CEED Vitamin A premix is set to address micronutrient deficiency of Vitamin A and Vitamin D through the fortification of edible oil, a primary ingredient in many food end-products, and which is widely used and available through all strata of the Nigerian society”, he said.

“Combating malnutrition through food fortification is critical for long term development and many countries across the region of Africa

implement fortification in food processing, which can be achieved together by industry, government development leaders and individuals”, he added.

BASF West Africa Limited was established in Lagos, Nigeria in July 2012. Industry portfolios represented in the West African region include chemicals, plastics, dispersions, agricultural products, nutrition, oil and gas.

BASF products are used

for industrial applications in a variety of sectors including paper, packaging, leather, detergents, cosmetics, construction, mining, agriculture, and automotive industries. In 2015 a construction chemicals production facility was opened in Lagos to serve the West African market, and in 2019 an African hair and skin care Application Technology Laboratory for personal care, serving sub-Saharan Africa, was inaugurated.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Minerals, Oil and Gas, Mr. Bernard Oigbokie; VP Finance, Seplat, Mrs. Eleanor Adaralegbe; Dep. Manager, Seplat JV, NPDC representing MD NPDC, Mr. Bassey Etim Bassey; Director, External Affairs and Sustainability, Seplat, Dr. Chioma Nwachuku; Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Health, Dr. Osamwonyi William Irowa; and Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. Birgitta Eno Okodugha, at the kick off of Seplat JV Eye Can See CSR Programme, at the Oba of Benin Palace... recently

Primary Healthcare in Nigeria - Challenges Emanating from Unrealistic Obligations Onyekachi Ifudu

T

he concept of primary healthcare as currently practiced was formulated at a conference in Alma-Ata, Russia, on September 12th, 1978, organized by the WHO and UNICEF and attended by 134 countries.

The declaration of Alma-Ata defines primary healthcare as “the essential care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable method and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost they and the country can afford to maintain in the spirit of self reliance and self determination.

It is supposed to be the first level contact of the individual and community in the national health hierarchy, thus bringing healthcare as close as possible to people where they live.”

National Primary Healthcare was launched in Nigeria in 1988. Over time, the envisaged objectives of the primary health care system have evolved, but include: r Improve collection and monitoring of health data rImprove personnel development in healthcare rEnsure the provision of essential drugs rImprove on immunization programs r Promote treatment of epidemic diseases r Improve food supply and nutrition r Improve material and child care, and family planning rAdequate supply of safe water and basic sanitation

rEducate people on prevailing health problems and the methods of preventing and controlling them.

Government health institutions in Nigeria include over 20,278 primary health centers, over 33,303 general hospitals, and over 60 teaching hospitals and federal medical centers. The federal government is responsible for tertiary care, state governments are responsible for secondary care, and local governments run primary care.

The Good News Compared to many African countries, Nigeria has created special cadres of primary healthcare personnel and dedicated schools to train them. Government has made a gallant effort to ensure staffing of primary healthcare centers. Also, Nigeria has a relatively large network of primary health care facilities that are evenly distributed around the country.

Recently, we have recorded improvements in percent of one-year olds who were fully immunized and in percent of children under 5 years who slept under an insecticide-treated net. Furthermore, the spectacular work of the Nigerian healthcare personnel who tackled the Ebola outbreak and COVID-19 pandemic reaffirms our capability and validates that when challenged, we can perform as well if not better than healthcare workers in more developed countries.

The Challenges i)Too much burden on the “Primary Healthcare” system Most of the problems in the primary healthcare system derive from the fundamental issue that we have “dumped” the entire burden of our public health problems on the primary healthcare system.

According to a report from the WHO, the top ten diseases responsible for most deaths and hospital visits in Nigerians, are all preventable diseases. Therefore, the thrust of our entire healthcare system should be “aggressive disease prevention”.

Because, irrespective of the core concepts of primary healthcare that were conceived at the Alma Ata conference, how much responsibility each attendee country defers to its primary care system will depend on its unique circumstances, like disease burden, level of development of public health infrastructure, etc.

Curiously, Nigeria entrusts the most important and consequential level of our health care system — primary healthcare — to the weakest tier of government.

total expenditure is allocated to health. Most of the expenditure is on personnel remuneration and very little allocated to maintenance of health facilities and other recurrent costs.

ii)Lack of community interest and healthcare not a priority among the healthy Individuals, communities and nations often demonstrate their priorities by how they allocate their resources. The widespread idea that government must “do everything” has lulled many communities into complacency and thus unable to ensure that their primary healthcare center is top-class.

For example, there are many communities, like mine – Eke - that have spent over one billion Naira in building houses of worship, but failed to invest even 1% of that sum in their primary healthcare center.

In 2001, African heads of state meeting in Abuja recommended 15% budgetary allocation for health. However, in 2012 the federal government allocated 6% to health, while the State government allocation varied from 3% in one State to 9.8% in another.

Furthermore, the issue is not just inadequate funding, but how available funds are deployed.

The Local government expenditure on health is low and varies across and within states.

In some local governments, only 3% of their

Rigid delineation into Primary, Secondary and Tertiary healthcare Harmful or Helpful Since most of the diseases that kill us in Nigeria and lead to most of the hospital visits are preventable, then all tiers of the healthcare system should be preferentially focused on “disease prevention”.

Unfortunately, our “secondary” and “tertiary” healthcare institutions do not view themselves as being in the business of disease prevention or implementing disease prevention programs in the communities they serve.

The next time a Newspaper headline rightfully applauds a successful kidney transplant by a teaching hospital, an appropriate follow-up question should be “What outreach programs do they have in the communities they serve to prevent kidney failure, or detect and control hypertension” Disease prevention is cost-effective and should be everybody’s focus - Primary, Secondary and Tertiary care levels. The next article will proffer solutions for our primary healthcare challenges. rIfudu wrote in via dodokinase@gmail.com

iii)Manpower Issues Local governments in Nigeria currently lack the technical and managerial capacity to run an effective primary healthcare system.

Many health workers are unwilling to render service in rural areas. iv)Other problems - Include lack of the basic equipment needed to do the job, poor infrastructure maintenance, unenforced mandates, limited scope of services offered as well as poor and uncoordinated referral system.

33

T H I S D AY ˾ , SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

INTERVIEW

Dr. Jeremie Zoungrana: Reaffirming BMGF’s Commitment to Support Nigeria’s Developmental Priorities Dr. Jeremie Zoungrana, who joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as Director, Nigeria office in January 2021, is a health sociologist and program management specialist who brings more than two decades of leadership and experience managing complex, large-scale family planning; reproductive health; maternal, newborn and child health; HIV; and community health projects across both the public and private sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. In this interview with Chiemelie Ezeobi and other select journalists, Zoungrana, while reaffirming the foundation’s commitment to support Nigeria to meet its development priority, also touched on COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine misinformation and hesitancy mandatory vaccination, challenge of insecurity on Immunisation, among other things

W

hat do you stand for?

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through our many partners helped to build back better and is sustaining essential delivery service, life-saving services to those who need them most. Together we have saved gains on routine immunisation, Primary healthcare services, maternal/newborn/child health, financial services for poor and agriculture. We also made a strong commitment to support Nigeria, to meet the minimum, the human capital development goal. Just last month, we had a Memorandum of Understanding review with six states and all of them are on track. We were able to review our collaborative effort to deliver primary healthcare services for the people.

At the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe that all lives have equal value. We envision a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy and active life.

In Nigeria, since 2010, working across health, agriculture, financial development, nutrition and more recently, on gender, all within the goal of supporting the country to advance its progress in achieving the sustainable development goal and ensuring health and productive life for all. At the foundation, I have to say that we have four main goals. One of them is to ensure more children and young people survive and thrive. The second one is to empower the poorest, especially women and girls, to transform their lives. The third one is combating infectious diseases that particularly affect the poorest, and the last one is to inspire people to take action to change the world.

The Gates Foundation doesn’t make a product or provide a service, we don’t do work in the field. Hence, what we do is deploy the funding that you know should be a catalytic way, our voice to advocate for what matter most and area of key concern; our convening power, mobilising other partners to support big efforts or big area, and also the expertise of our staff. By combining all of them, we hope it will act as the catalyst and spur positive actions to bring a big change in a systematic way.

I assumed office as the Nigeria Country Director since January 2021, and since then, I have met with several partners like I am doing right now with you this morning, to reaffirm the foundation’s commitment to support Nigeria to meet its development priority. We know that this effort requires support from the government, the private sector, the public, community, non-profit, individuals and of course, the media. We need all hands on deck, and I am happy that this morning the media has remained as usual, a trusted and reliable partner to work with through the years.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation commits huge amount of resources to a wide range of projects across Africa, and Nigeria in particular. What is your assessment of Nigerian public and private authorities’ commitment to these goals? Do you think there are areas they can improve, and what sort of improvement would you suggest for them?

Yes, we know the foundation committed a lot of money across… talking about the level of commitment of Nigeria public health as well as area of improvement. So, I have to say that in that area, when the foundation wants to make investment, or use any of our assets as I mentioned, it has been always in partnership with the government and we assess the commitment before engaging together because whatever we do, we have to do it with the government. And we saw it through different programme that become a priority for the federal government. We saw it through the polio virus eradication where we saw high commitment from different actors, down from the community level, and we are seeing it with the primary healthcare systems transformative endeavour. In the context of Nigeria, everything in the health sector as well as the productive sector remain priority and we are working together with the government to make sure that we accelerate progress on these areas to ensure that people are healthy, but also, they can contribute to a productive life.

What new programmes, if any, do you

we’ll get people coming to take the vaccine without being obliged to take it. I think it is a way that people are using, many efforts are being done to sensitise and educate people on the importance of the vaccine for them.

There are a lot of misinformation in the public space already, even before the pandemic, like cholera and other diseases, but the COVID-19 pandemic actually made misinformation worse. Is the foundation willing to fund projects to tackle misinformation in Nigeria?

The foundation is already working with different partners and entities to address miscommunication.

As you know, miscommunication is a big barrier and feed negatively, any effort that can boost development. And you right, the foundation is also considering helping, supporting any project that contributes to fighting against miscommunication.

As you can see, we have a communication team and this team is really following at different levels to address miscommunication and support any project in that area, as they are already supporting some of them at the country level and also at the regional level.

Zoungrana have in mind for sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria in particular?

Of course, it is not because I am a new director that everything should be new, so, I am here to ensure that we have continuity on our commitment. That remains on top, and I will not talk about new programme because our priority remains the same and we need to make sure that we fulfil them efficiently before moving to a new thing. But, of course, as we continue to implement and collaborate with different partners and the government, we need to make sure that we bring innovative approaches to accelerate progress. We also need to ensure that we tackle the most important issues that are critical to development. In the context of Nigeria, I think we remain committed to what we want to do, and we want to make sure that we accelerate progress because in the health sector for example, there is a need to really accelerate on maternal mortality reduction, strengthening routine immunisation so that we don’t get the polio virus coming back, reducing childhood mortality. Also, on the agriculture sector, we need to support small-holders to have more productivity, financial inclusion. So, there are a lot of tools and technologies that lead to development and these are areas we want to focus, of course with the ownership and collaboration with different partners.

Over the last 12 months, security in Nigeria has worsened, going by the numbers, and of course indices- kidnappings and killings nationwide. How does this affect the Gates Foundation’s immunisation programme here in Nigeria?

Before COVID, security has been a big issue and a big concern for all of us including the

foundation. It is clear that the security issue is not without negative impact on access to services, including service provision across the country. During our MoU review with states, we have many governors who attested that there are a lot of challenges with security and these impact to key essential services like immunisation. I think a lot of innovation have been developed together with partners to improve access in different ways. New points of services are being created for those who cannot have access and help is being proposed for some people to have some information, outreach activities are being developed. This is mainly for the internally displaced people, and also people who are in areas of difficult access. I know that other interventions are aligned to mitigate the consequence, which is also part of our area of concern, and we are working closely with states to make sure that essential services are made available.

What is the foundation’s position on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination?

We don’t have a position on what is happening at the state level, but what I can tell you is that vaccine has been a proven intervention to really bend the curve in terms of infection and it is evidence based.

What we need currently is to ensure that the country get enough doses for people to be vaccinated. Of course, a lot of behaviour awareness communication has been on that for people to get the vaccine to protect themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, vaccine hesitancy is a clear concern and many people are coming with different solutions to address it. I do believe that if we continue to emphasise on sensitising people and also clearing rumour on everything around vaccine,

At the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we believe that all lives have equal value. We envision a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy and active life.

In Nigeria, since 2010, working across health, agriculture, financial development, nutrition and more recently, on gender, all within the goal of supporting the country to advance its progress in achieving the sustainable development goal and ensuring health and productive life for all

There has been a lot of emphasis on COVID-19, but also, I know that the Bill Gates Foundation does a lot of work in the area of Agriculture. What has been the effect of the insecurity on Agriculture and food security? In what areas will the foundation be coming in, in that regard?

I think if we have to really develop on the COVID impact across every single sector, of course, agriculture is one of the main activities for many population has been greatly affected.

When you don’t feel safe, you cannot even initiate any intervention. You have to move, and when you move to a safer place, you do not have land to continue your activity. Consequently, you will see a reduced level of productivity and of course many people put in poverty and they do not have access to food. So, this is a cycle with consequences that are glaring, but you know that even though in Nigeria, we don’t have a big programme on food security, except through the nutrition and the productivity projects that we are supporting, we know that globally, the foundation is working with global leaders like World Food Programme, FAO, to ensure that every country at least gets the assistance to provide support to the poor, to the displaced people and those who are being affected. Most of these interventions currently are based on humanitarian aspect, the Foundation is not yet at the humanitarian area as we are tackling the development aspect, but we are working in collaboration with other partners to be sure that they are covering the gap, understanding that responding through providing food to displaced people is just an interim solution, as the long-term and permanent solution is to ensure that we tackle the security issue definitely and that involves a lot of interventions, because it is fuelled by different factors.

Another question on the vaccine-derived polio, which is on the rise. Do you see a situation whereby it could actually dissuade people from getting vaccines and then set Nigeria back on polio, which was eradicated last year?

Of course, if nothing is done, it will be a rare problem of concern, but I am happy to see that state leaders and the NPHCDA is really taking this seriously. I recently attended a meeting with traditional leaders to discuss about this fact because the gain on polio eradication needs to be maintained and it can only be maintained if we continuously support routine immunisation.

I am seeing a lot of efforts done at state level and at the ward level for people to really bring back children for routine immunisation. It is clear that Nigeria currently is the biggest country with immunised children and this is something that people are really taking seriously to address and I hope we will succeed.

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

34

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ, 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

A’Ibom: First Vehicle Assembly Plant in South-South to Roll Out Cars in 2022 Okon Bassey ÓØ ãÙ The Promoter of the Akwa Ibom based Vehicle Assembly Plant, Chief Valentine Okorie has assured that the plant under construction will roll out its first set of commercial vehicles in the first quarter of 2022.

Okorie disclosed this when journalists visited the assembly plant sited at Ikot Ukap Itam, Itu local government area to ascertain the progress of work during a facility visit.

According to him, when the plant is completed, it will have the capacity to produce 1,000 commercial vehicles yearly.

Okorie, who is the chief executive officer, Nimshack transportation technologies limited lauded the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel for creating a conducive environment for

private investors to come into the state.

He said the state government in keeping with its industralisation drive had acquired land for the sitting of the plant and also constructed a dedicated power line to feed the automobile plant.

However, he blamed the delay in the project completion to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and certain policies of the federal government.

He disclosed that the firm was working with an Israeli automobile manufacturer – Mervan, as its technical partner.

The partnership, he said, would assist in technology transfer and backward integration.

He called on the federal government to make more reforms in the area of ease of doing business

in the country.

“The plant is about 90 percent completed. Everything you see here is prefabricated and brought for installation, as you can see the electrical, the production area and the spraying area have been completed. We have fixed the offices, and I can assure you that in the next six months, commercial vehicles from this plant will be in the market.

“Our target is to produce 1,000 vehicles in a year. We must commend the state government for looking at other ways of generating allocation for the state, not just the allocation, but, something that can generate jobs and employment for the people.

The government has assisted us by providing this land free and we have a dedicated power line drawn to the factory, “Okorie said.

LAPO, SAKL to Fund Purchase of Tricycles in Nigeria Sunday Ehigiator The management of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Stallion Auto Keke Limited (SAKL) aimed at facilitating the introduction, distribution and funding of the purchase of the SAKL Bajaj RE250 tricycle product by Nigerians.

In a statement yesterday, the Head, Communications and Branding, LAPO, Oluremi Akande, said the partnership

would leverage on LAPO’s over 500 branch network, across 34 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, and its micro-credit loan disbursement intervention.

Providing more insight, Executive Director, Operations Division, Mrs, Faith Osazuwa-Ojo, said, “Our partnership with SAKL underscores an alignment of a common vision of social and economic empowerment through the provision of easy and reliable platforms to actualize the dreams of economic-dependency of an

average Nigerian in a sustainable manner. “As a leading Microfinance bank in Nigeria, we remain committed to our over 30 years mandate of social and economic empowerment of members of low-income households.”

Speaking on behalf of the Managing Director SAKL, the Bussiness Head, Mr. Mandar Ghadje, said, “Stallion Auto Keke Limited is a leading global player in the tricycle business, the Bajaj RE 250 is super durable with best carriage capacity with aftersales support.”

Operators laud SEC on Custody for Mutual Funds Capital Market Operators have commended the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its directive that clients’ funds for Mutual Trust should be domiciled with the custodian of the asset for optimal safety.

The commission had early this year issued new rules that clients’ fund for collective investment should be held in safe and secure custody or electronically administered.

The commission has reaffirmed its commitment towards full implementation of the new rule to ensure that a client’s asset does not co-mingle with that of the asset management company.

Market operators lauded

the commission for the rule, describing it as a necessary step to check abuse of clients’ funds and ensure accountability for both parties.

Commenting on the rule, the Managing Director, Futureview Asset Management Company, Ughochi Nnodi explained that the move would enhance investor protection and promote transparency in the market.

“The primary aim of this rule is to protect investors. Protection of investors’ funds begins from averting commingling as the funds and investments will be held by a Custodian and not by the Fund Manager. It makes the management of mutual funds

seamless and highly professional.

It is part of the commission’s regulatory oversight. The Commission should be commended for this strategic decision.”, says Nnodi.

Corroborating her, another stockbroker noted that the capital market thrived in investor trust, saying clear separation of clients’ assets from that of the fund managers enthrones transparency.

“The Nominee Company shall have no authority to demand for board membership of companies or to exercise any voting rights attached to shares registered in the Nominee company’s name unless instructed to do so by its clients.

FG Shortlists 390,000 for CBN Nexit Skill Training Olawale Ajimotokan ÓØ ÌßÔË The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq has said that 390,000 applicants for the CBN Nexit empowerment programme out of the 500,000 enrollees have been prequalified to receive different skills on entrepreneurship from next month.

She made the assertion yesterday when she discussed the social development and humanitarian challenges facing Nigeria, and the government’s responses to the ongoing humanitarian and

food crises in the country at the virtual Chatham House Africa Programme titled: “Responding to humanitarian and food crises in Nigeria”.

The Nexit empowerment programme is designed for exited N-power beneficiaries and will provide skills and funding to start up a business or support already existing business for the shortlisted candidates.

Farouq also hinted that the remaining 109,000 candidates are to be provided entrepreneurship programme at a later date.

She also stated that all the 36 states of the federation including

the FCT got federal government intervention in form of rice supplies to mitigate acute food shortage during the COVID -19 lockdown last year.

She said grains were also distributed to 28 states from the strategic national reserves.

The minister also disclosed that the over 300,000 Nigerian refugees displaced by insurgency and currently due to return from Cameroon, Niger and Chad are presently undergoing different processes and profiling by the Nigeria Immigration Service and Department of State Service (DSS) to ascertain their true status.

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 ˜ ͷ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $71.82 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $71.17 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).

35

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ, ͰͮͰͯ

Stock Market Down by N11bn on Loses in Banking, Consumer Good Shares Darasimi Adebisi Trading activities on the stock market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday closed on a negative note, dropping by N11 billion to take losses to the third consecutive day.

The negative sentiment was driven by investors’ profit-taking sentiments in the banking and consumer goods indices on NGX. In summary, the NGX All-

Share Index (ASI) shed 21.16 basis points, representing a decrease of 0.05 per cent, to close at 38,852.69 basis points.

Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value lost N11 billion to close at N20.243 trillion.

Sector performances were mixed today with the Banking (-0.83 per cent) and Consumer Goods (-0.02 per cent) sectors closing red, while Oil & Gas (+0.50 per cent) and Industrial (+0.01%) sectors closed green.

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; United Capital, Vitafoam Nigeria, Access Bank, Cutix and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO).

Furthermore, the market breadth closed negative, recording 17 losers as against 13 gainers. Transcorp Hotel recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent, to close at

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

N4.95, per share. Pharma Deko followed with a gain 9.88 per cent to close at N1.78, while Conoil appreciated by 9.84 per cent to close at N24.55, per share.

Cornerstone Insurance went up by 8.16 per cent to close at 53 kobo, while NEM Insurance appreciated by 5.26 per cent to close at N2.00, per share. On the other hand, Veritas Kapital Assurance led the losers’ chart by 8.70 per cent to close at 21 kobo, per share. United Capital

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

followed with a decline of five per cent to close at N8.55, while Chams shed 4.55 per cent to close at 21 kobo, per share.

Access Bank shed 3.37 per cent to close at N8.60, while Japaul Gold and Ventures depreciated by 2.13 per cent to close at 46 kobo, per share.

The total volume of trades declined by 15.8 per cent to 155.773 million shares, worth N1.510 billion, and traded in 3,256 deals. Transactions in the

O F

shares of Universal Insurance topped the activity chart with 19.041 million shares valued at N3.808 million. United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 18.779 million shares worth N143.098 million, while Zenith Bank traded 11.757 million shares valued at N268.831 million.

GTCO traded 10.016 million shares valued at N271.263 million, while United Capital transacted 8.520 million shares worth N74.569 million.

2 2 / 0 9 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

36

˾ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Thursday, September 23, 2021 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index fell shedby30bps 14bps The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ ϭϰďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index shed 30bps to close at

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

at 1,674.89 539.48 points points due due to sell to pressure sell-pressure on GTCO on ZENITH (-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ZEN(-0.6%), WAPCO ITH (-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ACCESS (-1.3%), and UBA (-ϯ͘ϰйͿ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞͲ (-0.7%). These stocks cumula-

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ly ƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϭϯ͘Ϯй͘ account for 18.4% of the index.

Current Price

Ticker

Losses ASI up 11bps in Fin-^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ^ƚŽĐŬƐ &ƵƌƚŚĞƌ ƌĂŐ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ͘​͘​͘ as DANGCEM Gains 3.3%

ASI down 5bps ƉƌŝĐĞ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕

ƵƉƟĐŬ

ŝŶ

,KEz&>KhZ

(+9.8%), E' D Yesterday, sell-ŽīƐ ŝŶ ĮŶĂŶĐŝĂů ƐĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ & E, stocks(+0.7%) - ACCESS bol(3.4%), stered ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽŶ UCAP (-5.0%), and the UBAlocal (-0.6%) bourse -as the further AllShare dragged the market index as the All-Sharerose Index slid 5bps by to

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

-0.30%

-63.2%

-46.1%

15.0%

3.5%

715.00

0.0%

28.8%

-16.1%

-16.1%

12.3%

4.4%

68.00

0.0%

10.8%

-12.1%

-12.1%

19.1%

11.2%

32.7x

6.2x

27.05

-0.2%

8.5%

-16.4%

-16.4%

24.8%

3.9%

4.1x

1.0x

11.1%

24.3% 32.4%

3 Guaranty Trust Holding Co PLC 4 Zenith Bank PLC

5.2x

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

539.48

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 BUA Cement Plc

5 Dangote Cement PLC 6 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC

Price Previous Current Change Price YTD Weighting Change

0.7x

5.6%

ot Applicable

2.2%

15.7% 3.1%

22.90

-0.2%

6.8%

-7.7%

-7.7%

21.8%

2.9%

3.1x

0.6x

13.1%

245.00

0.0%

6.6%

0.0%

0.0%

44.7%

17.5%

12.3x

5.3x

6.5%

8.1%

175.00

0.0%

5.5%

3.0%

3.0%

143.0%

12.4%

14.1x

17.8x

6.0%

7.1%

1,400.00

0.0%

4.0%

-7.0%

-7.0%

143.5%

17.1%

28.4x

48.6x

4.4%

3.5%

22.35

0.2%

3.9%

6.2%

6.2%

9.9%

7.1%

10.0x

1.0x

4.5%

10.0%

18.3%

1.5%

2.3x

0.4x

9.8%

43.4%

2.1x

0.4x

7.2%

47.9% 28.6%

11bps ĐůŽƐĞ to Ăƚ 39,550.36 ϯϴ͕ϴϱϮ͘ϲϵ points. ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ĐĐŽƌĚŝŶŐůLJ͕zd YTD ůŽƐƐ loss ŝŵͲ

8 Lafarge Africa PLC 9 Access Bank PLC

8.60

-3.4%

3.1%

1.8%

1.8%

proved was unchanged to -1.8%at while -ϯ͘ϱй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ĚĞͲ ďLJ

10 United Bank for Africa PLC 11 FBN Holdings Plc

7.60

-0.7%

2.6%

-12.1%

-12.1%

7.50

0.0%

2.8%

4.9%

4.9%

10.6%

1.0%

3.5x

0.4x

6.0%

12 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

48.75

0.0%

2.0%

-12.9%

-12.9%

5.6%

2.2%

40.9x

2.3x

2.0%

2.4%

38.95

-0.1%

2.2%

3.2%

3.2%

17.4%

2.1%

8.4x

1.3x

10.5%

11.9%

-5.9%

-2.5%

േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ ĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ േϭϭ͘ϬďŶ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘ to േϮϬ͘ϮƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ as ƚƌĂĚĞĚ volume ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ and ďLJ value Ϯϭ͘ϲй traded ƚŽ ϭϭϬ͘ϴŵ fellƵŶŝƚƐ 15.8% ǁŚŝůĞ value and ƚƌĂĚĞĚ 35.6% ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ƚŽ ϭϱϱ͘ϰŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϭ͘ϱďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϴϴ͘ϱй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭďŶ͘ The most traded stocks by traded volume stocks were by volume dZ E^ KZW were;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ UNIVINSURE (19.0m & E, (11.1m units), ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ UBA (18.8m ĂŶĚ K E K units),;ϳ͘ϯŵ and ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ZENITHǁŚŝůĞ (11.8m E ^d> units) ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕ while E' D GTCO ;േϮϳϭ͘ϯŵͿ͕ ZENITH ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϮϲϴ͘ϴŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ UBA ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ;േϭϰϯ͘ϭŵͿ led by value.

Bearish Sector Performance Mixed Sector Performance Across sectors under our coverage, performance was WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ sectors that we covbearish as 4 indices lost, 1across index the gained ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &Z-/ d er as 3 ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ͕ Ϯ lost, while the AFR-ICT index reŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ ŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ >ĞĂĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͕ ƚŚĞ index and ader 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Insurance indices, Insurance down 4.6% vanced ϭ͘Ϯй ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ E D ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚ-ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> (;нϱ͘ϯйͿ ĂŶĚ // K (-3.5%), ;нϭ͘ϬйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ (-6.4%), Oil & 9.1%), hE/> s Z >/E< ^^hZ Gas D E^ Z and Industrial Goods indicesƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ rose 0.5% and 1bp reand (-Ϯ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ KEK/> ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ ing indices ĚƵĞ fell byƚŽ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůand t W K ;нϬ͘ϮйͿ͘ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ and ConŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K (-0.8%), ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ E/d, (-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͘ sumer Goods indices were the losers, down 83bps and ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĂƐ ^^ ;er, up 1.8% ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐŽůĚ Žī ƐƚĂŬĞƐ ŝŶ driven by price appreciaϯ͘ϰйͿ͕ h ;-Ϭ͘ϲйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ s/d &K D ;-Ϯ͘ϬйͿ͘ ƟŽŶ in E' D (+3.3%).

14 International Brew eries PLC 15 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 16 SEPLAT Energy PLC 17 11 PLC 18 Okomu Oil Palm PLC 19 Fidelity Bank PLC 20 Ecobank Transnational Inc 21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 22 FCMB Group Plc 23 Sterling Bank PLC 24 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria 26 Presco PLC 27 Unilever Nigeria PLC 28 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC 29 United Capital PLC 30 Guinness Nigeria PLC 31 Custodian and Allied Insurance 32 AIICO Insurance PLC 33 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Wema Bank PLC

ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ϭ͘Ϯdž ĂƐ Ăƚ 1.6x

ϭϮ stocks advanced while 17 stocks declined. TRANSĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ stocks COHOT while (+10.0%), PHARMDEKO and advanced 15 stocks declined. MRS (+9.9%), (+9.9%), MAYCONOIL (+9.8%), (+9.8%) and led the gainers while VERITASKAP (BAKER HONYFLOUR (+9.8%) led gainers 8.7%), ABCTRANS UCAP (-5.0%), and CHAMS theLIVElagwhile (-8.3%), LASACO (-4.5%) (-6.7%),ledand gards. (-4.8%) /Ŷ ƚŚĞ led ŶĞdžƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͕ ĚŽ the ŶŽƚ market ĂŶƟĐŝͲ STOCK losers.

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Afrinvest West Africa Limited

1.4%

-19.3%

-19.3%

1.3%

11.5%

11.5%

710.00

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2.0%

76.5%

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1.7%

7.4%

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5.7%

18.8x

0.6x

5.8%

5.3%

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1.0%

14.3%

14.3%

37.4%

23.6%

7.7x

2.6x

6.7%

13.0%

0.4%

0.7%

-4.4%

-4.4%

12.7%

1.2%

2.1x

0.3x

9.2%

47.8%

5.30

1.0%

0.7%

-11.7%

-11.7%

1.5%

0.1%

17.6x

0.2x

17.20

0.0%

0.6%

-2.3%

-2.3%

25.6%

12.1%

6.6x

1.6x

8.8%

15.1%

5.7%

2.96

-0.7%

0.5%

-11.1%

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1.50

0.0%

0.3%

-26.5%

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8.9%

0.8%

3.8x

0.3x

3.3%

14.15

0.0%

0.4%

-2.4%

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20.7%

5.9%

14.1x

2.9x

2.8%

7.1%

0.92

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0.4%

2.2%

2.2%

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0.6x

1.1%

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79.50

0.0%

0.3%

12.1%

12.1%

1.9x

2.7%

13.20

0.0%

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1.2x

5.50

0.0%

0.2%

3.8%

3.8%

5.1%

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8.55

-5.0%

0.4%

81.5%

81.5%

35.5%

4.2%

6.5x

2.1x

7.8%

0.0%

0.4%

57.9%

57.9%

1.7%

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52.0x

0.9x

1.5%

1.9%

6.70

0.0%

0.2%

14.5%

14.5%

24.7%

7.5%

3.3x

0.8x

8.1%

30.3%

21.6%

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4.2x

0.4x

0.98

1.0%

0.2%

-13.3%

-13.3%

199.20

0.0%

0.3%

53.2%

53.2%

27.00

0.0%

0.2%

53.2%

53.2%

18.3%

2.4%

5.4x

11.6%

1.3%

0.2%

-1.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.2%

25.7%

2.1%

15.8%

0.9x

1.6%

18.4% 22.9%

11.6%

11.7%

0.7%

4.4x

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5.2%

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7.5%

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5.5x

0.6x

5.1%

25.7%

14.5%

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2.0x

0.3x

5.4x

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62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-38.7%

-9.5%

52.95

0.0%

0.1%

-4.4%

-4.4%

12.8%

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4.95

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P ric e C hg % 10.0%

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24.55

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N EM

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8.5

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0.33

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3.20

1.6%

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8.1

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0.77

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7.8

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6.4

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5.7

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8.55

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268.8

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CHA M S

0.21

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143.1

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A C C ESS

8.60

-3.4%

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78.4

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0.46

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UC A P

74.6

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4.70

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72.1

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17.50

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0.56

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67.8

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51.4

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43.1

1.0%

T R A N SC OR P

0.92

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UB N

4.95

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ET I

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com

18.4%

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4.95

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1.78

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26.5%

30.00

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-13.3%

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2.41

4.65

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 39 Beta Glass PLC 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

76.5% -100.0%

0.9x

104.00

0.77

36 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 37 Oando PLC

C ON OIL

Investor /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ǁĂŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϳdž ĨƌŽŵ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ

0.0% 0.0%

0.0%

P H A R M D EKO

Investor ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĂŶĞƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

4.80 29.00

Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

Damilare Asimiyu| dasimiyu@afrinvest.com

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021• T H I S DAY

37

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 21Sept-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 159.33 160.66 -1.59% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 6.70% Nigeria International Debt Fund 315.76 315.76 -15.98% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 107.99 109.04 -2.58% 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 9.35% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.28 3.44 -3.55% 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 7.90% Anchoria Equity Fund 132.58 134.22 0.43% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 -14.37% 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 19.43 20.01 7.12% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 429.75 442.71 7.34% ARM Ethical Fund 38.17 39.32 13.24% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.10 -0.65% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.98 0.98 -6.77% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.47% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 106.34 106.34 4.55% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,036.14 1,036.14 3.61% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.06 2.06 -6.27% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.13 2.17 -6.79% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.02 1.02 3.26% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.46% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 119.43 120.20 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 107.71 107.71 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.41% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.20 1.21 -0.36% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.41 1.41 -10.77% 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 7.73% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 8.43% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,159.93 1,177.80 0.74% 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 1,419.32 1,419.32 11.67% FBN Balanced Fund 190.73 191.97 1.63% FBN Halal Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.64% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

N/A 156.99

N/A N/A 158.99 3.84% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.98 1.58 1.19

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 6.08% 3.98 2.74% 1.61 3.69% 1.19 4.65% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price N/A N/A N/A

Offer Price N/A N/A N/A

Yield / T-Rtn 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 -2.26% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 153.31 153.59 -1.41% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.27 1.32 1.17% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.10 1.10 0.91% 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 1.43 1.45 4.86% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,152.43 1,152.43 6.10% 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 11.30 11.35 7.93% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 9.13% 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 1.68 1.70 7.10% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.61 11.61 -4.52% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.86% PACAM Equity Fund 1.69 1.70 6.65% PACAM EuroBond Fund 113.30 115.27 3.19% 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 131.03 133.27 8.24% 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 3,278.61 3,312.78 2.07% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 233.17 233.17 3.70% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.21 1.23 3.39% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 307.76 307.76 4.45% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 225.30 228.60 3.22% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.38% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,377.45 10,518.21 -1.14% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.27 1.27 3.93% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 115.72 115.72 4.18% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 103.94 103.94 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 1.30 1.32 1.87% United Capital Bond Fund 1.92 1.92 4.83% United Capital Equity Fund 0.86 0.88 8.44% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.33% United Capital Eurobond Fund 120.44 120.44 5.21% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.05 1.07 3.21% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.06 1.06 6.31% 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 12.79 12.90 7.76% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.16 14.30 15.97% Zenith Income Fund 24.38 24.38 1.66% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.60%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 53.37

10.62% 5.66%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.30

13.40

0.65%

120.48 96.28 17.11 18.18

123.47 98.38 17.21 18.28

0.19% -2.96%

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.78 5.44 17.34 1.00 19.49 157.01

3.82 5.52 17.44 1.00 19.69 159.01

0.16% -4.34% 6.86% 7.18% -5.01% -28.57%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.40

13.11%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

38

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 • T H I S D AY

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 • T H I S D AY

39

40

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

Deported Haitians Throw Shoes at US Jet Angry scenes broke out at Haiti’s main airport after migrants were deported to the country from the US. On Tuesday, migrants at the airport in Port-au-Prince rushed back towards the plane they had arrived on, while others threw shoes at the jet, says the BBC. Last weekend, the US started flying out migrants from a Texas border town which has seen an influx in recent weeks.

About 13,000 would-be immigrants have gathered under a bridge connecting Del Rio in Texas to Ciudad Acuña in Mexico.

Chaos unfolded at Toussaint Louverture airport as one man attempted to re-board the aircraft. The plane’s crew rushed to close the jet’s doors in time, Reuters news agency reports.

Video footage taken a the airport shows people scrambling for their personal belongings after their bags were dumped out of the plane.

There are reports that some migrants were not told they would be returning to Haiti.

18 Shots Fired In Attempted Assassination Of Ukraine President’s Assistant: Report According to the national police, gunmen opened fire Wednesday on a car carrying a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Zelenskiy, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, said in a video statement there would be a “strong response” to what a senior official described as an assassination attempt on presidential advisor Serhiy Shefir.

While the official said the attack might have been a message intended for Zelenskiy, another presidential advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, said it was in response to an effort to limit the influence of oligarchs.

Zelenskiy won the presidency after vowing to confront the country’s oligarchs and fight corruption.

“This does not affect the course that I have chosen with my team, towards changes, towards de-shadowing our economy, towards fighting criminals and large, influential financial groups,” Zelenskiy said.

A prosecutor said the car had been hit 18 times, wounding the driver but leaving Shefir unharmed.

Police said no arrests had been made but that they had launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of premeditated murder.

Controversy In Taiwan Over Chiang Kai-Shek Giant Statue A cabinet-level commission in Taiwan has

proposed removing a giant statue of its former president Chiang Kai-shek — the centrepiece of a memorial hall in Taipei dedicated to the military leader, who served as the island’s president from 1949 until his death in 1975.

But the proposal, part of the commission’s larger plan to convert the memorial into a reflection on Taiwan’s authoritarian past, has drawn mixed reactions.

Chiang’s supporters view him as a strong leader who led Taiwan to fend off the invasion of the Communist forces and initiated land reforms in Taiwan during his rule.

Critics, however, disagree. They point out that Chiang was accused of ordering the execution of more than 18,000 civilians in 1947 during what is known as the island’s period of “white terror.” The commission was established in 2018 to redress the wrongs of the island’s authoritarian era. According to Chen, it aims to submit its transformation plan, including the statue’s removal, to the cabinet for approval in May next year.

Biden Promises Nigeria, Other Developing Nations 500m COVID-19 Vaccines US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the purchase of 500 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries over the next year.

The United States had previously committed more than 500 million doses manufactured by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to developing countries by the end of June of next year. That will be a total of 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses the US is providing to the world.

“For every shot we’ve put in an American arm to date, we are donating three shots globally,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted Wednesday ahead of the announcement.

Biden announced the donation of the additional doses, also from Pfizer, at a virtual COVID-19 summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

President Fernandez Accuses IMF Of Giving Argentina ‘Toxic’ Loan Argentine President Alberto Fernandez criticized the “toxic and irresponsible loan” that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided to his predecessor’s government in a pre-recorded speech to the 76th UN General

Assembly on Tuesday.

Anadolu reports that during the speech, which lasted around 20 minutes, Fernandez also called for “a reconfiguration of the global financial architecture,” touched on the sovereignty of the Malvinas/Falkland islands and pledged to tackle climate change.

The president noted that “Latin America and the Caribbean allocate 57 per cent of their exports to the payment of external debt services.”

He argued that Argentina “has been subjected to a toxic and irresponsible indebtedness” with the IMF, which approved a $57 billion loan to the government of former President Mauricio Macri.

Fernandez described the 2018 IMF loan to Argentina as the equivalent of “all that the agency disbursed in the year of the pandemic to 85 countries in the world.”

He pointed to the lack of a multilateral framework for debt restructuring, which continues to be a “void in international financial governance.”

He noted, however, that “change, although difficult, is not impossible. We celebrate the expansion and distribution of the Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund, an initiative which has opened the door to hope. What a year ago was unthinkable, today is a reality.”

Trump Sues Niece, Newspaper For $100m Over Tax Documents Former US President Donald Trump is suing his niece and the New York Times over a 2018 article that alleged he was involved in “dubious tax schemes.”

The lawsuit, filed in New York, accuses Mary Trump and newspaper reporters of being “engaged in an insidious plot” to obtain confidential documents.

It alleges that Ms Trump, 56, breached a settlement agreement barring her from disclosing the documents.

In response, Ms Trump said the lawsuit was a sign of “desperation”.

“The walls are closing in and he is throwing anything against the wall that will stick,” she told the Daily Beast. “As is always the case with Donald, he’ll try and change the subject.”

Ms Trump revealed herself as the source of the story in a tell-all memoir in 2020.

Mr Trump has consistently rejected the claims

made in his niece’s book - Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man - and unsuccessfully sued to try to block its publication.

On Tuesday, a lawsuit filed in a state court accused New York Times journalists Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner of contacting and working with Mr Trump’s niece as part of a “personal vendetta” against him.

“A group of journalists with the New York Times, in the middle of an extensive crusade to obtain Donald J Trump’s confidential tax records, relentlessly sought out his niece Mary... and convinced her to smuggle the records out of her attorney’s office,” the lawsuit reads.

It alleges that Mr Trump “suffered significant damages” and states that he is seeking compensation of no less than $100m (£73m).

Taliban Apologises To Pakistan For Removing Flag On Wednesday, the interim government in Afghanistan apologized to Pakistan over a flags’ removal incident from aid trucks at the Torkham border, calling it “regrettable,” says Anadolu.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who is also the acting information minister, said all Cabinet members are shocked over the incident.

“It was an individual act and the government took immediate action, arrested those who were involved,” Mujahid told Anadolu Agency over the phone.

“We know our Pakistani brothers and sisters are hurt and we apologize to them,” he said, adding that such an incident would not happen in the future.

On Sunday, some Taliban border security guards posted at the Torkham border, and a few civilians removed Pakistani flags from trucks carrying aid to Afghanistan.

A video of the incident went viral on social media.

Pakistani officials did not immediately respond to the incident. However, the country’s embassy in Kabul said Pakistan would continue to provide relief to its Afghan brothers and sisters in this difficult time.

“Pakistan is in the forefront of countries providing relief assistance to Afghanistan to meet the current challenges,” the embassy said in a statement.

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DELIBeRATING STATE OF THE NATION...

L -R: Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu; Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Minister of State, Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, at the Federal Executive Council Meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja...yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

Adebanjo: North is a Minority Masquerading as Majority Says colonial masters stage-managed their population Insists restructuring is only way out

Leader of Afenifere, a Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Chief Ayo Adebanjo,Wednesday, said the north was actually a minority, but which has maintained a majority claim over the rest of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

An apparently flustered Yoruba leader, however, contended that it was the colonial masters, who stage-managed the northern population, thereby prompting their majority claim over time.

Adebanjo, therefore, insisted that the restructuring of the country was inevitable and that Nigeria needed a new

constitution for equity, peace and justice to reign, because the current document called constitution was a fraud.

The Afenifere leader, who further claimed everything was going on well in the country before the military incursion of 1966, went on to describe President Muhammadu Buhari as a pretender and Nigeria’s number one enemy.

Fleshing up the restructuring debate, Adebanjo, who spoke in Ibadan, yesterday, at a national seminar organised by The Yoruba Leadership and Peace

Initiative (TYLPI), with the theme:"Strategies and Statics for the Actualisation of a Restructured Nigeria", said Nigeria was going nowhere unless a new constitution was put in place.

"Restructuring is the only way to keep the sovereignty together.

I don't support secession and I don't oppose it either. President Muhammadu Buhari is a pretender and number one enemy of the country. I have invested in Nigeria more than Buhari, we signed a document with him on restructuring before his emergence in 2015 and yet he never fulfilled

it," he said.

Arguing that the present constitution was faulty and compromised by the military and as such, not sustainable, he said, the problem of the country was the current constitution, because it’s not been working for the progress of Nigeria.

"Everything was working until military came in 1966, the colonial masters stage-managed the population for the Northern part, and the minority are now claiming to be in majority, this has caused a lot of problem.

The constitution is the most

fraudulent constitution.

"What is the yardstick for creation of local government in this constitution? The issue of allocation is there unresolved.

Why would the population of Kano be more than that of Lagos if not for fraud in our population? Many people are beneficiaries of the corrupt system, that is why they can't talk.

Another speakers, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, said change was necessary at the federal level and that all the 36 states of the federation should be collapsed

and each region allowed to have its own constitution.

"Let's collapse the 36 state structures, because we can't survived it, the name 'executive' has to be changed so as to reduce the power of the executive," he said.

Also, contributing virtually, Prof. Godini Darah, said the mood of the discussion was in line with the emancipation of Nigeria, adding that restructuring remained the agenda of Nigerians at this moment, because there could not be Nigeria without it.

Senator Blames Nigeria’s Debt Burden on Past Administrations Dike Onwuamaeze The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola yesterday alleged that a huge part of Nigeria’s total debt stock estimated at N33 trillion were incurred by past administrations dating back to the military era.

Adeola, said this yesterday, during consideration of the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

He said majority of the loans being repaid presently by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration were ones accumulated from the times of the military to those of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) administration under ex-presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, between 1999 and 2015.

Adeola said this when asked by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, to make clarifications on concerns raised by lawmakers, particularly over Nigeria’s debt profile during deliberation on the report of the Joint Committees on Finance; Local and Foreign Debts; Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions; Petroleum Resources (Upstream); Downstream Petroleum Sector and Gas on the 2022-2024 Medium Term Framework.

Responding, Adeola said, “The borrowing you are saying is accumulated borrowing. It is not a borrowing of this administration alone, it is a borrowing that stems from the days of the military to

the days when the Democratic dispensation started.

“It is an accumulated loan, it is not a loan that says that it is the current administration of President Buhari that has borrowed.

“It is a loan that has been borrowed by the previous administration – the Obasanjo, the Jonathan, the Yar’Adua of this world.

“And since the business of government is a continuum, the President of the day has no choice but to continue to pay back all these loans that have been borrowed by the previous administrations.

“More than three-quarter of these loans you’re seeing were borrowed from the previous administrations, and we are

paying back – we are doing what is supposed to be done, the way it is supposed to be done.

“So, when my colleague said that for every sixty-seven naira of any loan that was borrowed, we are using to pay, he should know that more than sixty naira of it are loans borrowed by previous administration. And that is where we are.”

The Senate President in his remarks blamed Nigeria’s economic predicament on the failure of past governments to prioritise the provision of critical infrastructure.

According to him, the situation has left the present administration with no other viable option but to seek external borrowing to fund

capital expenditures in the national budget.

“I believe that we have learnt so much from the clarification which the Chairman of the Joint Committee gave.

“Let me say this, when you don’t make hay while the sun shines, this is the kind of thing you face.

“When we had plenty of money, we didn’t prioritise the construction of infrastructure in Nigeria. We wasted our resources when we had much.

“Today, we realise we need to construct infrastructure because that is the only way to develop the country. Unfortunately, we don’t have the kind of resources we had before.

“Now, our options are very limited because our revenues

are limited. I agree with all our colleagues who said we need to reduce borrowing.

“The Committee on Finance particularly has been doing a good job of ensuring that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), particularly Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs), contribute more to the national coffers than they normally do.

“And that is why we have more resources today, more revenues or funds in the Independent Revenue Contribution.

“Our Committees need to do a lot of oversight, because when we don’t do the oversight, we also come here annually to this kind of thing of non-remittance of funds.

“Committees are supposed to know how much a Ministry or Agency of Government receives and contributes or remit to the treasury. We actually need to up our game in the area of oversight,” he added.

Baring his thoughts on the raging controversy of Value Added Tax remittance to the federal government, the Senate President said, “I think there’s nothing wrong in continuing with VAT as part of our revenues, because there’s no finality in any judgment yet and, therefore, we shouldn’t confuse our system.

“Until there’s such a very clear cut definite judgment by the Supreme Court, we should go ahead with VAT as part of the resources available to us.

Fintechs Can Displace Oil as Nigeria’s Main FX Earner, Says Expert Dike Onwuamaeze The Co-founder and Partner of Verod Capital, Mr. Eric Idiahi, has said if the opportunities in financial technology (fintechs) companies are effectively harnessed in Nigeria, the subsector has the potential to displace crude oil as the country’s major earner of foreign currency for Nigeria.

Idiahi said this during an interview on Arise News Channel.

According to him, providing a platform for operators in the sector to render fintech services to countries that needed them could be a major foreign exchange (FX) earner for Nigeria in the near future.

Idiahi also added that the Nigeria Exchange Limited’s (NGX) hosting of, “Technovation Conference” could help highlight the advances going on today in the country’s tech space by showcasing, “the potential of what I call a revolution in Nigeria AND across Africa.”

He added: “Oil is still a big income earner for Nigeria. But I think we (fintechs) have the potential to do so and reach over 120 million very innovative young people in this market. Today I see a lot of developments around this industry as Nigerians reside in Lagos, Benin, etc., and working for companies in the United States of America and earning as much as $20,000 and $70,000 in a month.

The key thing is about bringing their money back into Nigeria.

“You will see more companies being built around outsourcing their services to foreign companies and earning in dollars. Overtime, the potential to be a big income earner for the country is possible.

We just need to harness the activities of people in that space.”

Idiahi also identified payment services as the hottest sector in the fintech market today.

“I say that because it is something we use every day as we buy and pay for things every day. You are going to see also a good amount of companies coming up as we (Nigeria) follow the examples of India and China and those markets in Asia used

develop their economies.

“India was heavily developed by outsourcing techs and I can see that development here. The playbook has been written and we just have to follow what has been done in other markets,” he added.

According to him, interesting things hav e been happening in Nigeria’s fintechs private equity space in the past two years in the sense that investors are coming on regular basis.

Idiahi said investors have been taking stakes in the future of Nigeria’s fintech market on the assumption that the country’s young population would have a lifestyle that would embrace techs driven services.

“A lot of money is coming into this market from America and Asia and these are investors who are betting on the assumption that we have young population that will adopt some of this technologies and fintechs in the near future.

“They are betting that these companies will grow over time to catch up where these valuations are. I tell people that from the banking sector to all sectors the biggest companies in the future are some of these starts up you are seeing today and those that will be formed tomorrow by these young people in their 20s and 30s.

You will see a lot of this because investors are betting on abilities to deliver in the future,” he said.

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Military Claims 8,000 Boko Haram Fighters, Family Members Surrendered US govt seizes $6.1m belonging to Nigeria over alleged arms deal Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Military authorities, yesterday, claimed 8,000 fighters of terrorist groups, Boko Haram and the Islamic State for West African Province (ISWAP), have so far surrendered to troops in the North East.

It said the insurgents notably the fighters, commanders and their family members were profiled and processed since they began to lay down their

arms in June.

This is as the United States government has reportedly seized about $6.1 million belonging to Nigeria after a hired arms supplier pleaded guilty to charges including, illegal dealing in militarygrade weapons and money laundering, court documents showed.

The Acting General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-

Fitch Affirms FBN Holdings, First Bank 'B-' Ratings Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of FBN Holdings Plc (FBNH) and its subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Ltd (FBN), at 'B-'.

But the rating agency in a statement yesterday assigned the financial institutions negative outlooks.

According to the global rating agency, the negative outlooks primarily reflected the corporate governance weaknesses highlighted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the financial institutions in April 2021, pertaining to long-standing and problematic related-party exposures at FBNH. “We understand that these issues have not yet fully been resolved by FBNH, which creates uncertainty surrounding further remedial actions that CBN may impose and puts pressure on the ratings.

“In light of the latter, and given FBNH's limited headroom above minimum capital requirements and thin capital buffer to absorb potential shocks, its weak capitalisation also drives the negative outlook,” the statement added.

FBNH is the non-operating holding company that owns FBN. “FBNH's ratings are aligned with those of FBN, its main operating subsidiary.

FBN's ratings are driven by its standalone creditworthiness.

Currently, FBN represents around 90 per cent of consolidated group assets.

“FBNH's long-term IDR is driven by its intrinsic creditworthiness, as defined by its 'b-' Viability Rating (VR). The VR considers the group's exposure to Nigeria's volatile operating environment, given the impact on its financial metrics. The negative outlook is driven by corporate governance weaknesses, which we consider to be a factor of high importance to the VR, along with modest headroom above the minimum regulatory capital requirements,” it added.

Fitch pointed out that operating conditions in Nigeria were gradually stabilising.

Therefore it forecasted a 1.9 per cent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the country in 2021, following a 1.8 per cent decline in 2020.

“Our baseline scenario is that business volumes and earnings should continue to rebound in 2021, while the rally in oil prices is also a positive factor.

Nevertheless, downside risks

linger, given the inherently volatile market conditions, with banks still exposed to foreign-currency shortages, potential further currency devaluation, rising inflation and regulatory intervention by the CBN,” it added.

In April 2021, the CBN removed the non-executive directors from the boards of FBNH and FBN - a domestic systemically important bank and replaced them with its own appointees. The CBN stated then that its actions were in the interest of financial stability and minority shareholders. It further stated that it acted because FBN had made significant executive management changes, including replacing the CEO, without prior notice or approval of the regulator.

The CBN had also highlighted corporate governance failings pertaining to long-standing and problematic relatedparty exposures, and failure to comply with regulatory directives.

“Loan quality remains a weakness compared with peers, although net loans were a low 32 per cent of assets at end of first half 2021.

“FBNH's impaired loan ratio (Stage 3 under IFRS 9) further improved to 7.6 per cent at the end of first half 2021, from a peak of 25.8 per cent as at the end of 2018, primarily reflecting write-offs, repayments and recoveries.

“However, as a result of the write-offs, coverage of impaired loans by loan loss allowances fell to 47 per cent (end-2018: 72%), one of the lowest levels among peers.

“We expect FBNH's impaired loan ratio to continue declining steadily in the near term due to rapid loan growth and recoveries.

“Our assessment also captures FBNH's sizeable Stage 2 loan book, which we estimate brings total problem loans (Stage 2 and Stage 3 combined) to around 33 per cent of total loans at end-1H21, a notably higher level than peers.

“Our assessment of FBNH's asset quality captures the group's sizeable investments in Nigerian government securities (B/Stable) and cash placements, which together represented around 50% of total assets, equal to nearly 6 times Fitch Core Capital (FCC),” it stated.

According to Fitch, FBNH's profitability metrics typically lag behind those of other large banks.

General Abdulwahab Eyitayo, made the disclosure in Maiduguri, saying contrary to insinuations there was no ambiguity concerning the intent of those, who surrendered.

“The genuineness of their intention to surrender are not in doubt considering that they turned in their families as well. There was no way they could have come out with their families if the intention was suspect,” he said.

He said the military was not leaving anything to chance as proper profiling of those, who surrendered were being conducted to separate them based on their extent of involvement in the killings and destruction that took place in the region.

He warned that there was still time for the recalcitrant ones to surrender as opportunity would soon be

closed after which the military would embark on a final offensive to flush them out.

He attributed the massive surrender of the terrorists to sustained air strikes and artillery bombardment of their enclaves and blockade of food and other logistics to their camps by the troops.

The GOC maintained that what the Army did in accepting the surrender of the fighters was in line with extant dictates of law of armed conflicts and Geneva Convention, which Nigeria was a signatory.

“We are not doing what we are doing in order to pamper the surrendered fighters. Far from it. We are known for our ruggedness and doggedness, 7 Division, is the fighting division of the Nigerian Army and we are not relenting”, he said.

Meanwhile, the United States government has reportedly

seized about $6.1 million belonging to Nigeria after a hired arms supplier pleaded guilty to charges including, illegal dealing in militarygrade weapons and money laundering, court documents showed.

Judge Erica Grosjean of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California ordered the forfeiture after Ara Dolarian, an unlicensed armed dealer, allegedly hired by the Nigerian government to help circumvent US ban on arms sale to Nigeria, admitted conducting arms sale without requisite approvals.

The report said Mr, Dolarian, who initially denied any wrongdoing, was arrested on May 15, 2019, and pleaded guilty on June 27.

His sentencing hearing would open on September 24, 2021, and might be concluded

on October 6, 2021, court filings indicated.

For pleading guilty, Mr. Dolarian might face years in prison and could also forfeit $6,024,806.45 cash trapped in various U.S. banks and entities under his name and his businesses.

A brand-new BMW vehicle was also confiscated and would be sold by the US government, documents added.

The documents further showed that Col Sambo Dasuki, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s National Security Adviser, contracted Hima Abubakar, the controversial promoter of Societe D’Equipments Internationaux (SEI), to help broker a deal for high-explosive bombs, rockets, military-grade firearms and aircraft-mounted cannons to be deployed against Boko Haram insurgents.

SANWO-OLU AND THE ANGLICAN BISHOPS...

L-R: Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Revd. Henry Ndukuba; Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, the Most Revd. (Dr) Foley Beach and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; during a courtesy visit to the Governor, at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja...recently

Parties Don't Have Power to Zone Elective Offices, Says Olawepo-Hassim Chuks Okocha in Abuja A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential hopeful, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has cautioned against the rising bickering over which region should produce the president in 2023, saying political parties had no power to zone elective offices.

The former presidential candidate explained that the bickering was adding a corrosively divisive ting to an already badly fractured polity, adding that, “While we recognise the freedom of expression of every Nigerian, utmost care is needed now more than ever before not to complicate the delicate situation of the country by pitching (sic) one section of the country against another.”

According to him, it was

the constitutional right of every Nigerian, who met the qualification criteria to stand for elective office regardless of their ethnic descent or religious persuasion.

“Any politician that wants to contest to be President from wherever can jolly well jump into the ring. There is no need to continuously blackmail the country by hiding under ethnic nationality groups. While political parties can zone party offices, they have no power to zone elective offices. There is no need to split hot air over this any further,” he said.

He also maintained that whatever hue and cry that were raised in the past about a section of the country being excluded from being President has been settled by our experience since thereturn to democracy in 1999.

He added that “of the 22

years since 1999, the nation has seen 14 years of President from Southern Origin – Obasanjo's 8 years and Jonathan's 6 years.

When Buhari by the Grace of God ends his tenure in 2023, we would have seen Presidents of Northern origin for 10 years.

This should be enough to lay to rest the divisive arguments about power rotation.”

Olawepo-Hashim admonished that, “While we recognise the freedom of expression of every Nigerian, utmost care is needed now more than ever before not to complicate the delicate situation of the country by pitching (sic) one section of the country against another.

This will be pouring gasoline into a raging inferno.

“If we allow ethnic nationality groups prompted by different factions of the political elites to continue to drive the

debate on our future, we shall soon arrive at 350 confusing pathways as Nigeria is made up of 350 ethnic groups.

“The other day, I saw a video of people speaking that even if the Yorubas are to produce a President, it cannot be from Ogun, Lagos axis again after Awo, Obasanjo, Abiola, Shonekan, Diya, Osinbajo and so on and so forth. This is what you get if you yield the polity to ethno religious tantrums,” he said.

He asserted that power rotation argument is always emotive and it tears nations apart.

“This is exactly what led to genocide in Rwanda causing the killings of 800,000 souls and same thing that ignited the collapse of Yugoslavia to an extent that virtually every county wanted to become a country,” he added.

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NEWS

N5bn Debt: AMCON Takes over Former Kwara Gov’s Property Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Following the order of Hon. Justice A.M. Liman of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) yesterday in in Ilorin, Kwara State took over the palatial mansion of a former Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, over indebtedness of nearly N5 billion.

But in reaction to the development, Ahmed has described the takeover of his property as, “unnecessary and overzealous due to ongoing talks to resolve previous transactions with two defunct banks.”

AMCON in a statement by its Head, Corporate Communications Department, Mr Jude Nwauzor, quoted Justice A.M. Liman, to have also ordered the freezing of the bank Accounts of the former governor and his two companies including Trans Properties and Investment Limited and Trans It Consulting Limited in Suit No: FHC/L/AMC/01/2021.

The former governor, who is one of the founders of the newly established third force in

Nigerian politics known as the Rescue Nigeria Project (RNP) is one of the high-profile obligors of AMCON. “Despite holding one of

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested one Okey Eze at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja with 350 wraps of cocaine with a street value of over N2.3billion.

A statement yesterday by the Spokesman of NDLEA, Mr. Femi Babafemi, said Okey Eze, 38-year-old, who claims to be a tiler by profession is from Orji River, in Oji-River Local Government area of Enugu State.

He said Eze was arrested on Wednesday 22nd September,

Political economist and management expert, Prof. Pat Utomi, has called on the federal government to build a stable economy that will promote, rather than kill existing businesses in the country.

Utomi, who spoke yesterday on the Morning Show of ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, accused the federal government for the failure of most businesses

Ohuoba & Co, one of the leading Asset Management Partners (AMPs) of AMCON who also received protective orders from the court, took

possession of the mansion belonging to the former Governor situate at Abdulfatah Street, GRA, Ilorin, Kwara State,” the statement explained.

L-R: Country Chairman/Managing Director, TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited Mr. Mike Sangster; President, Exploration and Production, TotalEnergie , Mr. Nicolas Terraz, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, during the courtesy visit of TotalEnergies top executives to the minister in Abuja...recently

2021 during an inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian airline flight number 911 enroute Bamako-Addis Ababa- Abuja.

Babafemi disclosed that the illicit drug weighing 7.70kilograms was concealed in eight packs tucked in different parts of Eze’s luggage.

He said that Eze, who is a resident of Bamako, Mali, in his confession, said he traveled to Mali through Seme border in Badagry, Lagos State since 2019, and further claimed that he came into Nigeria with the drug because he needed to raise money to take care of his late elder brothers’ four children.

Utomi Tasks FG to Stabilise Economy for Business Growth Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie

According to AMCON, “Early today and in compliance with the court order, AMCON through the Law firm of Chief Robert Ohuoba of Robert

COURTESY VISIT…

NDLEA Arrests Drug Trafficker with N2.3bn Cocaine in Abuja Michael Olugbode in Abuja

the highly exalted political offices in the land, he remained recalcitrant over the repayment of his obligation,” the stated added.

in the country, through its harsh regulatory policy implementation.

According to him, “The Nigerian government is the reason businesses fail in Nigeria.

The biggest risk of doing business in Nigeria is regulatory risk, because the regulator is dangerous in Nigeria, and there is a cultural problem. If you are given a uniform in Nigeria, you are defined as a bully. So, if you are an official of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) for instance, you will harass people.

EFCC Quizzes 25 Suspects over Alleged Oil Theft in Rivers Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt The Port Harcourt Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), is presently quizzing 25 persons over their alleged involvement in illegal oil bunkering in Rivers State.

The suspects, who were arrested by the Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, Bonny

Island, in the state, were handed over to the EFCC alongside two Vessels: MT Bright Hope and MV Johanna II on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at Bonny Island.

A According to the statement Wilson Uwujaren, the Commission Head of Media and Publicity Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, 12 of the suspects were arrested on board MV Johanna II on July 14, 2021 around IMA Oil

Terminal, Bonny Island, while the remaining 13 suspects were arrested on board MT Bright Hope on September 10, 2021 offshore Bonny Island.

MV was flying a Togolese flag and one of the suspects arrested with the vessel is a Ghanaian The suspects are Kenneth Ekpo and Moses Baron, captains of the two vessels.

Others are Lucky Onome, Edmund Asari Joseph, Asuquo

Okon, Itoro Effiong, Sunday Obonla, Melcm Agobiam, Imoh Timothy, Godfriend Bartheolomew, Promise Emmanuel and Patrick Oliseneku.

Others include: Matthew Osoro, Unyime Ekanem; Eddy Apeli; Gift Elenei, Benimo Paebi, Eddy Uhomanbhi, Ahmmed Onikosi, Ebibotei Mesihach, Victor Abedingo, Isaac Awa, Innocent Tymon, Obi David and Jude Ogbejele

Banditry: Youths Raze Commissioner’s House in Sokoto Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto Sokoto State Commissioner for Security and Career Studies, Col. Garba Moyi (rtd) said political opponents were behind the burning down of his house in Isa , Isa Local Government of the state. Moyi stated this yesterday in a telephone conversation with THISDAY.

He said the youths went to his house, overpowered the security man and burnt the house.

He, however, explained that though no life was lost but would not preempt anything for now as investigation is ongoing by the Police.

Confirming the incident Sokoto State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO)

Assistant Superintendent of Police Sanusi Abubakar said investigation is ongoing to unravel the causes of the incident.

Sanusi assured everyone that police would get to the root of the matter and urged the victim to remain calm.

The PPRO disclosed that already five persons have been arrested in connection about the

incident.

The angry youths had , on Tuesday, accused the commissioner of complicity regarding bandits attacking the area and razed his house.

The report also had that the youths burnt the vehicle belonging to the Traditional Ruler of Isa, Sarkin Gobir Alhaji Nasiru Ahmad accusing him of

FG Vows to Prosecute Boko Haram’s Sponsors Alex Enumah inAbuja The federal government yesterday said it will vigorously and intensively work to make sure no stone is left unturned in the prosecution of Boko Haram financiers and the fight against terrorism in the country.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN made this known in an interview with journalists in New York in

continuation of the ongoing 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Malami also explained why the said sponsors, many of whom are under investigation cannot be made public.

In a statement by his media aide, Dr Umar Gwandu, the AGF said the government was taking all steps to ensure a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria adding that Nigerian public will be properly

and adequately informed about the investigation and prosecution process at the appropriate milestones as they unfold.

According to the statement, the position, as it stands, is that investigation has reached advanced stage and the Government will make statement in that direction in due course.

The AGF noted that the time is not ripe for holistic disclosures so as not to pre-empt the investigation

process, adding that the prime object remains the attainment of peace and security of the nation.

“As per as terrorism funding and financing is concerned, we have succeeded in identifying those that are allegedly responsible for funding same and we are blocking the leakages associated with funding while embarking on aggressive investigation that is indeed impacting positively in terms of the fight against terrorism.

Corps Member Dies, One #ENDSARS: Senate Committee Expresses Shock at Injured in Edo Accident Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City A corps member, Oluwale Abidemi was yesterday killed while another person was seriously injured in a road accident at Ogba Bridge in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

The accident, as gathered, occurred when a tipper lorry, carrying sand failed brake and ran into a Lexus Jeep which

thereafter hit a motorbike conveying a woman and a serving corps member in the state.

It was learnt that while the woman sustained serious injury, the corps members was reported to have died immediately.

Confirming the incident, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kontongs Bello, said the accident happened at about 12:30 pm.

Level of Destruction in Cross River Almost one year following the nationwide mayhem unleashed by the #Endsars protests, the Senate Joint Committee on National Security & Intelligence, Defence, Police Affairs and Judiciary & Legal Matters, Tuesday, visited Calabar to assess the level of damage to property in the state.

Led by its Chairman, Senator Ibrahim Gobir, the Committee

expressed shock and sadness at the level of destruction of both public and private properties in the state.

The committee visited several places including the Tinapa Lake Resort, the Calabar International Convention Centre located at Summit Hills, the Calabar Garment Factory, Ayade Industrial Park, Federal Psychiatric Hospital and the

World Health Organisation (WHO) office, amongst other.

Speaking when the committee paid a visit on the state governor, Professor Ben Ayade shortly after inspecting the damaged properties, Senator Gobir said members of his committee were “saddened by the event and especially the mindless level of destruction visited on all the properties

we saw.”

The committee chairman said the committee felt the need to visit the state and see things for themselves before concluding its report. “Immediately we landed, our first port of call was Tinapa and what we saw was unbelievable because we never expected that kind of destruction we saw in that place.”

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THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS XTRA

Pensioners Protest over N68bn Outstanding Gratuity James Sowole in Abeokuta Pensioners under the aegis of Local Government Pensioners Association (LOGPAN) yesterday stormed the Ogun State Governor’s Office in Abeokuta to protest against the non-payment of N68 billion 10 years outstanding gratuity.

The pensioners, who arrived at the governor’s office as early as 8 a.m., blocked the two main gates of the secretariat, preventing the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi, and other civil servants from gaining entrance into the building for hours.

Armed with placards of various inscriptions, the protesters asked the governor to heed the advice of his late father, who advised him to take care of the pensioners.

Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: ‘Gratuities Are on Sales to Pensioners’; ‘Governor Dapo Abiodun Honour Your Father and Treat Pensioners Well’; Governor Abiodun, We Don’t Deserve This Worst Humiliation’, among others, accusing the governor of failing to keep his promises to the pensioners.

Addressing journalists, the state

Chairman of LOGPAN, Alhaji Sikiru Ayilara, lamented that some of them still earn paltry sum of N3,000 as monthly pension.

Ayilara described the quarterly payment of N500 million by the

The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, yesterday painted a graphic picture of how Nadabo Energy Boss, Abubakar Alli Peters and his company forged documents used to receive the sum of N1.4 billion from the federal government.

Led in evidence by lawyer to the EFCC, Mr. Saidu Ateh yesterday,

Bawa informed Justice Sebotan Ogunsanya of how the defendant forged all the documents leading to the subsidy payment of N762 million by inflating the quantity of the petroleum products he imported.

Bawa further told the court that the bank, which finance the importation explained that the LPO of the petroleum product financed by them was N666 million as against N1.4 billion claimed by the defendant.

people have suffered untold hardship as a result of the flooding, which had long ago been predicted by Nigeria Metrological Agency (NIMET) with the state featuring prominently.

According to him, “The Amaechi administration had put in place a drainage master plan for the city of Port Harcourt and was already being executed before he left office in 2015, but was however abandoned by Wike for political reasons.”

Emir of Gaya Dies in Kano

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

One of the first-class emirs created by Kano State in 2019, Emir of Gaya, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkadir, has died.

The news of the death of the emir was confirmed by Sarkin Fadar Gaya, Alhaji Bashir Gaya, yesterday, adding that the emir died early yesterday morning.

The first class emir, who was among the four emirs installed by the Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, at the wake of the creation of four

the governor seeking his audience to address their demands, “but the governor has remained recalcitrant and unyielding to their demands.”

He listed some of their requests to include non-payment of

gratuities, lateness of pension payment, non-increment in the monthly pensions and discrimination against the members of the association by the government among others.

GAME CENTRE UNVEILED…

Peterside Advises Wike to Reactivate Flood Control Plan in Rivers

The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called on the state Governor, Nyesom Wike, to urgently reactivate the drainage master plan put in place by his predecessor, Hon Chibuike Amaechi.

Peterside spoke against the terrible flooding being experienced in several parts of Port Harcourt, the state capital, and the state in general.

He lamented that the Rivers

monthly instead of payment of N500million quarterly which they said would take 34 years to clear the outstanding.

According to him, the association had written 13 letters to

L-R: Vice-Chairman, Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Awoniyi-Akere; Chairman, Mr. Usman Akanbi Hamzat; Leader, Legislative Arm of the LGA, Hon. Victor Onifade; and Chairman, APC Ifako-Ijaye Chapter, Mr. Banjo Omole, during the unveiling of Ifako-Ijaye Game’s Logo/website in Lagos... yesterday ABAYOMI AKINYELE

N1.4bn Scam: EFCC Boss Explains How Nadabo Energy Boss Forged Documents WaleIgbintade

governor, which according to him, would take 34 years to clear all the gratuities as “a wicked act” which is unacceptable.

He called for the review of the policy by voting N1billion

new Emirates of Gaya, Karaye, Bichi and Rano, in the state, was believed to be above 90 years before his demise.

He recently made the Secretary to Kano State Government (SSG), Alhaji Usman Alhaji, as the Wazirin Gaya, and the late emir was believed to be the oldest among the five other emirs in the state.

Before his ascension to the throne as the first historic Emir of Gaya, he was the District Head of Kunchi and Minjibir at different times.

House Urges NCC to Sanction SIM Swap Fraud Culprits Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives has mandated the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to as a matter of urgency sanction all mobile network operators whose agents are involved in aiding and abetting SIM Swap Fraud in Nigeria.

This, according to the lawmakers, would compel them to adhere strictly to guidelines as well as serve as deterrent to

future offenders.

The House had on July 25, 2019 resolved to investigate the alleged Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) swap by service providers in the telecommunication and banking sectors, following the adoption of a motion moved

by Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Ibezi, titled: ‘Increasing incidents of SIM swap fraud.’

The lawmakers had unanimously resolved to set

up an ad hoc committee to conduct an investigative hearing on the matter, with a view to determining ways that banks and telecommunications operators could collaborate in devising measures to combat the menace.

Approving the recommendations of the report of the ad-hoc Committee chaired by the Chairman Rules and Business, Hon. Abubakar Hassan Fulata, at the plenary yesterday, the lawmakers also urged the

NCC to grant Mobile Network Operators at least a (view-only) access to the SIM Registration Data and Biometrics during SIM Replacement/swap exercise.

They also agreed that there was need for the amendment of the relevant laws particularly the NCC Act 2003, to allow for Biometric SIM Swap as well as allow MNOs to collect, store and use (view only) customer information during the SIM Swap process.

Katsina CSOs Advocate Deployment of Technology to End Banditry Francis Sardauna in Katsina The Katsina State coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has advised the federal government to acquire and deploy necessary surveillance technology to tackle the menace of banditry and kidnapping bedeviling the North-west region of the country.

The coalition also stressed the need to promote international cooperation in terms of training,

technological fit-out and back-up for Nigerian security agencies in order to enhance their operational efficacy against the marauding bandits and other criminals.

Speaking in an interview with THISDAY, the state Chairman of the coalition, Abdulrahman Abdullahi Dutsin-Ma, said the region’s large ungoverned spaces were increasingly being occupied by the hoodlums as bases from where they launch

their criminalities.

He added that the deployment of surveillance technology, such as drones and satellite imageries, would pave the way for aerial monitoring of the ungoverned areas, as well as mobile phone tracking and tracing, thus making it possible to follow the movements of the criminals.

Dutsin-Ma advocated the training, empowerment and proper coordination of vigilantes in order

to address the manpower shortage hindering security agencies, and to sustain the achievements being recorded in the ongoing onslaught against the bandits.

According to him, “The recent measures taken by the government are yielding positive results.

However, the most important thing is how to sustain the gains.

The coalition, therefore, suggests that the security operations be more of proactive than reactive.

MOSOP Leadership Tussle Tearing Ogonis Apart, Says Group Blessing Ibunge in PortHarcourt The tussle for the leadership of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) which has caused disunity among the agitators is said to be tearing the Ogonis apart.

Since the past President of MOSOP, Lagborsi Pyagbara left office in 2019, the Ogonis are yet to have a united leadership of

the ethnic group struggling for recognition and development of the area. However, a coalition of Ogoni women under the aegis of “Ogoni Women Peace Forum” has called on the factional leaders of MOSOP to promote peace and stability in the area. The Ogoni women made the call at a peace meeting organised by Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, WANEP and

WICC, in commemoration for the International Day of Peace, held in Port Harcourt.

The group raised the concern on the rate of insecurity in the area, stressing the need to stop the incessant killing of indigenes of Ogoni in the land.

Coordinator of the group, who spoke at the meeting, Dr Patience Osaro-Ejiji, expressed worries over the disunity among Ogonis over

the leadership of MOSOP, stressing that such actions will not attract development to the area.

She said: “We are deeply concerned about the worsening state of insecurity in Ogoni.

Women and girls are daily being raped, kidnapped and some killed.

Chiefs are being targeted, youths fighting and killing one another and no action is being taken to stop these.

Economists’ Forum Links Naira’s Depreciation to Weak Export Earnings Stephanie Igben The North-South Economists’ Forum (NSEF), a focus group of development economists, has linked the continued depreciation of the naira to the low receipts from sale of crude oil and the non-export status of the Nigerian economy.

The body of economists, in a press release yesterday signed by its Chairman, Malam Ahmed

Abdulkadir and Secretary, Dr. Chima Eboh, also exonerated Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, from the continued depreciation of the value of the naira in the forex market.

Noting that Nigeria has witnessed two recessions, the first between 2015-2017 which was due to the crash in global price of crude oil, and the second between 2019 and 2020 (induced

by the Covid-19 pandemic), the group said none of these two major incidents can be traced to the CBN. According to NSEF: “Nigeria earns a huge chunk of her foreign exchange from the sale of crude oil but much of that is spent on the importation of refined petroleum products and other basic amenities most which could have been produced in the country.

“How is it the fault of any CBN governor or the CBN itself that the country cannot refine her crude for local consumption at least? Is CBN in charge of the refineries? Does CBN sell our crude oil? Is it the fault of CBN that Nigerians import rice, cereals, toothpick, tomato paste, beans, wheat and other basic products and agriculture produce all of which can easily be produced in the country?

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NEWS XTRA

Insecurity: Bauchi Community Seeks Help over Frequent Killings, Kidnappings Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi Some concerned residents of Birshin Fulani Community in Bauchi State have lamented over incessant killings and kidnappings by gunmen and appealed to relevant authorities to defend them.

In a press statement signed and issued to journalists yesterday by Abdulhamid Jibrin Birshi on behalf of the concerned citizens, the community, noted with dismay that despite the incessant attacks on them, no top government official have found it necessary to visit and commiserate with them.

According to the Concerned Citizens, on September 9, 2021, unknown gunmen struck Birshin Fulani community, killed a staff of the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, and his neighbour who were resisting being kidnapped by the gunmen.

They said that the kidnappers killed an imam and abducted his son and one other individual but released them after a heavy ransom was paid.

The press statement added that few days after the first incident, the gunmen struck again, and shooting sporadically to scare residents and abducted two more people.

They said in another incident, which is the third time the kidnappers stormed the community and kidnapped another individual, adding that the fourth and the latest incident happened on Thursday

the 17th of September where they ransacked the community, kidnapped eight-month pregnant wife of an AIT staff.

The statement further explained that all the attacks were carried out in less than

two weeks with the total number of two deaths.

On the latest kidnap incident, the concerned citizens said that the gunmen are demanding 50 million as ransom, adding that “they have only downsized

the money to 45 million after repeated pleas from the husband.

According to them, the gunmen had given a 24-hour ultimatum to the husband to give them the said amount or get his wife killed.

IPOB Threatens One-month Sit-at-home over Delay in Kanu’s Trial David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said that it might order a one-month sit-at-home in the South-east to protest the delay in the prosecution of its leader, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu.

The group said the one month long sit-at-home exercise would commence

if the Department of State Services (DSS) failed to produce Kanu in court on October 21.

The Media and Publicity Secretary of the IPOB, Mr. Emma Powerful, made this known yesterday in a statement made available to THISDAY in Awka, Anambra State.

He said that the IPOB has gathered from a reliable source that the DSS planned to keep

Kanu away from the court on October 21 as a ploy to continue to incarcerate him.

Part of the release read: “The attention of the IPOB has been drawn to the plot by Nigeria government and her DSS in Abuja not to produce our leader Mr. Nnamdi Kanu to court on October 21, 2021, the date he is due to appear in court to start his case.

“Their wicked plan is to perpetually keep him behind bars without trial to see if they can demoralise him and Biafrans but they are late.

“If the federal government refuses to bring him to court in his next court appearance on October 21, 2021, the entire Biafra land will be on total lockdown for one month.

steps that could rubbish or cast aspersion on the personalities of the members of the Governing Council of the university.

Olanipekun said this yesterday while addressing journalists in Ado Ekiti on alleged unruly action taken against Governing Council by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The ASUU had on Tuesday invaded the venue of the council meeting held on campus and

chaired by the Pro-Chancellor and former Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Prof. Bamitale Omole and disrupted the proceeding.

Ventilating his anger, the ASUU had accused the Governor Kayode Fayemi of slashing the subvention to the university from N260 million to N130 million, thereby making salary payment difficult from April, 2021.

The academic body also alleged that the institution of embezzling between N70 million and N100 million through illegal portal created to collect tuition fee from students, among other issues.

He also debunked the accusations, expressed regret at how the ASUU members had badged into the council meeting and brought it to a stalemate.

Police Arrest Man for Impregnating, Procuring Abortions for Niece EFCC Probes Ekiti University over N100m Fraud James Sowole inAbeokuta

The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 52 years old man, Mr. Jimoh Mutaliu for allegedly impregnating and procuring abortions for his 16 year old niece.

The arrest was disclosed in a statement that was signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) for Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi.

The statement said that the suspect was arrested following a report lodged at Adatan Divisional Headquarters by the victim’s father.

Oyeyemi said: “The girl’s father had reported that he discovered that his 16 years old daughter has been impregnated, and on an enquiry, it was discovered that his own brother who is also an uncle to the girl is responsible for the pregnancy.

“He reported further that, he also discovered that the man has

been having carnal knowledge of the victim for quite some time now and that he has procured abortions for her two times.

“Upon the report, the DPO Adatan Division, Abiodun Salau detailed his detectives to the scene where the randy uncle was promptly arrested.

“On interrogation, the suspect made confessional statement that he actually committed the crime, he also affirmed that he had procured two abortions for her with the help of a nurse.”

Oyeyemi said the victim has been taken to hospital by the police for medical treatment and report.

He said the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edward Ajogun, has ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to anti human trafficking and child labour unit of the state Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and prosecution.

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, Professor Eddy Olanipekun, has disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been directed to commence probe into allegation that some top management officials were using illegal portal to collect tuition fees from unsuspecting students.

Concerning some noticeable fraud and infractions in the collection of tuition fees, suspected to have caused alleged embezzlement of between N70 million and N100 million by some officials, Olanipekun said the matter had been directed to the anti-graft agencies for thorough investigation.

The vice chancellor also warned the academic staff of the university against taking

Diri Calls for Action on Insecurity in Niger Delta Michael Olugbode in Abuja The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Duoye Diri, has highlighted the need to address the root causes of crime and insecurity in the Niger Delta designing a pan-regional response to the crisis in the oil rich region.

Diri made the call at the Golden Tulip in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during a workshop to address crime and insecurity in the Niger Delta, a project being organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in collaboration with the Bayelsa State Government and the

support of the Government of Germany.

Diri, who was accompanied by members of his cabinet, including the Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government, Chief of Staff to the Governor, members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, and National Assembly Members to the occasion, said stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of crime and insecurity and the designing of a pan-regional response to the crisis, based on the traditional ties among the coastal communities across the Niger Delta and the wider Gulf of Guinea.

He pledged that “the Bayelsa State Government under my

leadership will support and work with the UNODC in actualising this project and propose to host the Gulf of Guinea Security Conference.”

On his part, the Country Representative of the UNODC Nigeria, Mr. Oliver Stolpe, expressed profound appreciation to the Bayelsa State Government for its hospitality and support.

Stolpe highlighted that the UNODC for several decades had provided extensive support to both government and civil society organisations developing laws and policies, strengthen institutions, build operational capacities of security and justice sector personnel.

Osinbajo, Kebbi First Lady Call for Adequate Investment in Girl-child

Sunday Okobi

In order to vigorously tackle challenges often faced in the Nigerian society, the wife of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, has stressed the need for adequate investment in the girl-child education.

Mrs. Osinbajo made the call in her address at the two-day Mass Literacy for Less Privileged and Almajiri Initiative (MALLPAI) Foundation 2021 Literacy Day with the theme: ‘Promoting Literacy for better education

in Nigeria’ recently in Abuja.

Also, the wife of Kebbi State Governor, Hajiya Aisha Bagudu, who is also founder and initiator of the non-governmental organisation, MALLPAI, used the occasion to call for adequate investment in the proper education of children to keep them away from crime.

Osinbajo decried the situation where the girl-child appeared to lag behind the boys in education and many other areas, saying more needs to be done to bridge the gaps in education between female children and their male

counterparts.

In her speech, she said: “When a girl is educated, she can read and write; when she is educated, she is aware of the law, she knows love and when her signs say danger.

“When a girl is educated, she is aware of her potential; she can read about Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

“An educated girl sitting on a chair in Kebbi State or Kano State, in Osogbo or Oshodi; in Awka or Uyo, understands norms, and expands her mind.

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THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY Anthony Joshua (left) and Oleksandr Usyk bracing up for their title fight on Saturday

WBA, IBF, WBO H’WEIGHT TITLES

AJ Facing Toughest Fight of his Career against Usyk, Says Hearn

A

nthony Joshua could face his "toughest-ever fight" when he defends the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles against Oleksandr Usyk in London on Saturday, the British boxer's promoter Eddie Hearn has said.

Joshua, 31, has height and reach advantages and will almost certainly be heavier at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but Hearn said he was nervous ahead of the bout.

"This is probably AJ's toughest-ever fight and I think he's going to prove to the world how good he is," Hearn told the PA news

agency. "He's ready for this fight but it's the ultimate challenge with someone that's very strong mentally.

"Mentally it will be draining (for Joshua) because he's going to have to think a lot, there will be a lot of feints from both men and reactions are going to be key.

"I just can't wait to watch it unfold. It's a real, real high-end heavyweight fight. (Usyk is) going to be a tough, tough nut to crack. AJ's got to break him down, beat him up and hopefully take him out."

Usyk, 34, a former undisputed cruiserweight world champion, won heavyweight gold at the London 2012 Olympics while Joshua triumphed in the

Oliseh Excited with Role in New Football Devt Road Map Former Super Eagles Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh, has expressed his excitement at the chance given to him to serve Nigeria again following his inclusion in the 17-man Committee constituted last week to draw a 10-year road map for the country’s football.

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development last week listed the former Nigerian Captain the 17-man committee constituted on the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari for a ten-year developmental roadmap for Nigerian football.

President Buhari had informed a delegation from FIFA led by its President Gianni Infantino that visited him in Abuja last week that the committee was a reflective of the government's drive to continue to provide a conducive environment

for the growth of the game in Nigeria.

Yesterday, in a social media post, the ex international wrote about how pleased he was to be part of such an important assignment.

"Pleased to confirm that I have accepted the gracious invitation by our Fatherland's President Buhari's charge, in the company of 16 top compatriots, via our Sports Ministry, to produce a Tenyear football development masterplan for dear Nigeria.

Honoured to serve Nigeria once again,” concludes Oliseh whose goal against Spain at France ‘98 World Cup remains evergreen in the minds of Nigerian football aficionados.

Oliseh, an Olympic gold medallist in 1996 and Africa Cup of Nations winner in 1994, played for the Super Eagles between 1993 and 2002.

super-heavyweight division.

Despite the stiff test offered by Usyk, Hearn has been impressed by Joshua's confident demeanour in the build-up the fight, expected to draw a crowd of more than 60 000.

"I've never seen him so assured about a fight, which is ironic because technically

this is his toughest fight," said the promoter. "He knows how tough this fight is, he wants to prove to the world that he's the best heavyweight in the world."

Joshua is taking on his WBO mandatory challenger after a potential bout with Tyson Fury, the British WBC champion, fell through.

It was announced on Tuesday that Joshua had signed a "career-long" promotional deal with Hearn's Matchroom Boxing organisation.

Joshua's career has been overseen by Hearn since he turned professional eight years ago and although the Usyk fight was understood

to be the last on the existing contract, the two parties have come to a new arrangement.

"We've never had one argument, we've never had one dispute, in eight brilliant years," said Hearn. "So if it's not broke then don't fix it and we're very proud that he's extended his contract with us for the rest of his career."

NWFL Congress Passes Vote of Confidence on Falode’s Leadership Nigeria’s topflight women’s league scheduled to start Dec. 2 Duro Ikhazuagbe The NWFL Congress has applauded the leadership of the country’s women’s topflight league and the role of it’s Chairperson, Aisha Falode in steering affairs of the body.

In a communique issued after its 2021 NWFL Annual General Meeting which held at the Beni Gold Hotel on Victoria Island, Lagos yesterday, it also commended the board of the Nigeria Football Federation headed by the President Amaju Pinnick for giving the NWFL the enabling environment to achieve successes and great development of the league.

It pointed at the wellorganized 2021 NWFL Premiership Super Six in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State as evidence of the positive revolution experienced last season.

The Congress also resolved that the NWFL Premiership with 14 clubs will be played on abridged format of seven teams each in the Southern and Northern zones respectively.

“Three teams each will emerge at the end of the season to have six teams for the NWFL Premiership Super Six Playoff,” the communique signed by Joe Amene, Matilda

Otuene, Modupe Shabi, Dapo Sotuminu and Tosin Ojo stated.

Other decisions reached at the Congress include; the NWFL Premiership season to start on December 8, 2021 at the two zones and end in May 2022 to fall in line with the WAFU B qualifiers for the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League.

“It was resolved that with the Abridged League, the NWFL takes the responsibility of the match indemnities for the league.

“It was resolved that, players welfare should be a priority for all clubs and clubs should ensure they provide befitting camp accommodation for their players and also take regular payment of salaries very important.

“It was resolved that, the fixtures for the NWFL Championship season will be released as soon as NWFL Premiership begins.

“It was resolved that clubs who attempt to compromise referees to get favourable results will be sanctioned to avoid bringing the league to disrepute.

It was resolved that, from this season, hosting of the NWFL Premiership Super Six will be open to all 14 clubs in the Premiership. Interested clubs should indicate interest.”

The NWFL Congress also commended the Minister for Sports, Chief Sunday Dare and the Minister for Women

Affairs, Dr. (Mrs) Paulen Tallen, for their support towards the development of the NWFL Leagues.

Aisha Falode...gets vote of confidence from the NWFL Congress at its annual AGM yesterday in Lagos

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SPORTS

AISHA BUHARI CUP FALLOUT

Banyana Banyana Coach Reveals Secrets for Victory over Falcons

D

esiree Ellis has revealed the secret to South Africa women's national team 4-2 victory over Nigeria as Banyana Banyana emerged champions of the maiden Aisha Buhari Cup in Nigeria on Tuesday.

The 58-year-old coach led the South Africans to a runners up spot at the 2018 TotalEnergies Women's Africa Cup of Nations, losing to Nigeria on penalties and has now gone on to lift her first ever title on the continent in Lagos.

After a 3-0 win over Ghana, the reigning COSAFA champions wrapped up their adventure in Lagos, with a historic triumph over the Super Falcons and Ellis spoke with CAFonline.comabout her winning strategies against the African champions.

"We have got footage of them (Nigeria) playing at the Turkish Women's Cup, different positions, playing in the Summer Series, in different positions also watched the game against Mali and we analyzed them really well, although a few people take analysis for granted, but it has helped us," started the former South Africa international turned coach.

"At a tournament (COSAFA Women's Cup) last year, the analysis helped the players understood what they were up against, we knew they could go with from on set or change into two, we knew the strength of the players.

"So we made sure the players understood what they were up against, but we didn’t focus too much on that, we focused on what was information, we gave them little information about our opposition and made sure our plans were executed today (Tuesday)."

The South Africans have endured a disappointing string of results against the African champions, losing six of their last 10 previous meetings since 2006, including the final of the 11th Women's AFCON in Ghana on penalties.

However, efforts of Linda Motlhalo, Gabrielle Salgado, Mamello Makhabane and Michelle Alozie's early own goal powered the visitors to their biggest and third win in history against their Nigerian counterparts at the six-nation invitational tournament.

And the reigning CAF Women's Coach of the Year gave a vivid account on how she set up her side tactically to pull off an upset win.

"We were not sure about what happened for the first ten minutes, because it wasn’t in the plan, but we decided we were going to stay two-two," Ellis continued.

"I know a lot of people expected us to play the long ball, but we wanted to be unpredictable and made sure that we control the tempo of the game, by doing that, we almost made Nigeria played the way we wanted them to play, except for that ten minutes when they bombarded us to make silly mistakes.

"But the team showed a lot of character and confidence, and when we were in control of the ball, we manage the game really well and when we were under pressure, we always knew we would get another chance and the counter attack was clinical and resulted into the penalty and that was the game itself.

"But Nigeria are fantastic team, so we just stayed on top of the game for the full 90 minutes, because we almost gave it away within that 10 minutes, but the players were just fantastic."

On her winning formation, Ellis further said: "We played two different formations in the game, but we felt that this young lady (Refiloe Jane) took control of the game in the centre, they (Nigeria) changed their formation and we changed ours too.

"We only needed to controlled the pace of the game, and in the last 15 minutes of the match, we kept possession of the ball, we didn’t rush. So this team is growing in leaps and bounds."

Besides claiming their biggest win, they have also won two of their last three meetings against Nigeria, including a 1-0 group stage win at the 2018 Women's AFCON. South Africa will begin their quest to compete in the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, with a first round meeting with regional foes Mozambique in between October 18-26.

Before then, they will seek to defend their regional title at the COSAFA Women's Cup, scheduled to hold from September 28 to October 9 in Nelson Mandela Bay, South

Africa.

...Sunny-Goli Hails First Lady over Tournament Sports loving member of the House of Representatives, Hon Israel Sunny-Goli has given a pat on the back to the nation’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari and the football governing body NFF for putting together the just concluded Aisha Buhari Cup. Sunny-Goli who represents BrassNembe federal constituency in the House of Representatives said the tournament was a good initiative that would help the girl child and develop women football in the country.

He noted that the six nation tournament has succeeded in serving as quality friendlies for the Super Falcons ahead of the African Women Cup of Nations.

Sunny-Goli who singlehandedly bankrolled a marathon race for his constituents last month stressed that the First Lady has through the tournament demonstrated her love for Nigerian ladies.

“The Aisha Buhari Cup was a fantastic initiative. I congratulate the First Lady and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for putting it together,” Sunny-Goli stated.

It would be noted that the Super Falcons won their first game in the tournament beating Mali by 2-0 only to bow to South Africa in the last match of the tournament by 4-2.

Desiree Ellis...fulfilled winning the inaugural Aisha Buhari Cup in Lagos on Tuesday

Basketball Legend Mutombo Meets WTO DG Okonjo-Iweala Two giants from the African continent, Dr Ngozi OkonjoIweala, the world’s first female Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and the continent’s first to be elected the DG of the GATTS and Congo DR-born American NBA Hall of Famer, Dikembe

Mutombo, took the social media by storm yesterday when the picture they took at United Nations headquarters in New York, USA went viral on Twitter.

Okonjo-Iweala could not but marvel at Mutombo’s 2.18m frame height as she stands

next to him for the picture.

Mutombo towers above her at quite a glaring imposition!

While Okonjo-Iweala’s brilliance with figures previously earned her the plum job of Nigeria’s two-term Minister of Finance before landing the WTO top post,

Mutombo played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association with Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets to become one of the legends of the game from Africa with the like of Hakeem Olajuwon.

EPL to Resume on Boxing Day after 2022 World Cup in Qatar The Premier League has agreed to break during next season after the weekend of November 12 to incorporate the Qatar 2022 World Cup, before resuming fixtures again on Boxing Day, Sky Sports News understands.

Players will have a week of preparations with their national teams before heading out to the tournament in the Middle East, and only eight days to recover in time for the league's resumption should they reach the final on December 18.

Executives of all 20 Premier League clubs were in London on Wednesday for a scheduled meeting, and the programme for 2022/23 was decided in discussions that lasted approximately four hours and also included a number of other issues.

Aston Villa chief executive

Christian Purslow called the idea of a winter World Cup "crazy" and expects the hiatus to bite clubs and fans in England once it begins next year.

He said: "Next season when we play in an equally crazy idea, which is a winter World Cup, we won't see any Premier League football at the peak of our season between November and December, which is something that people are going to have to get used to.

"These are decisions that get taken a long time ago. They bite, quite soon. Next season we'll all see that.

"I always have concerns about player welfare but I have more concerns for our fans missing Premier League football in the winter for five weeks, which is our great national tradition and our great national heritage."

TWO GIANTS FROM AFRICA...

DR Congo’s basketball legend, Dikembe Mutombo (left) and WTO DG, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the United Nations headquarters in New York, USA...yesterday

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MISSILE Governor Masari to Federal Government “From experiences of other countries, you need to liquidate banditry and insurgency completely. I said it before let me repeat it again, the issue of banditry in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, part of Niger and Kaduna States has no religious or tribal problem and tribal. So, if you take whatever action nobody will complain to you on religious or tribal grounds. We are the same people, same language, same culture and tradition. Today, in these forests of Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna going down to Niger, there are over 150 different camps of bandits each one operating independently.”

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OLUSEGUNADENIYI 2023 and the Familiar Song THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

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ith the way we are running our country, I said in my Platform Nigeria 1st May 2019 presentation, ‘An Economy on Life Support: Time to Pull the Plug’, a convulsion was inevitable at some point. “It’s either we have a conversation about the future of our country in an orderly manner or it is forced upon us when we may have little or no control. We are already living on borrowed time.” I then highlighted how different Nigerians were responding to our existential threats, before I zeroed in on “those who, like my friend Louis Odion would say, enjoy presiding over the seating arrangement in a sinking Titanic.”

That perhaps is the only way to interpret the statement by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) spokesman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, that the North “will lead Nigeria the way we have led Nigeria before, whether we are president or vice president, we will lead Nigeria.” Quite naturally, the statement has provoked the ire of several ethno-religious entrepreneurs across Nigeria, as perhaps it was intended. But what is clear to me is that the obsession with political power that confers nothing more than the opportunity to dispense patronage (sometimes without regard for our diversity) has not translated into progress either for the ‘North’ or the entire country.

Baba-Ahmed is a man for whom I have tremendous respect and he is not a frivolous person. I therefore fail to understand what motivated the outburst. A fierce critic of the current administration, Baba-Ahmed has, at various times, expressed concerns about the lack of development and the challenge of insecurity in the North. So, when he romanticises about Northerners leading Nigeria, especially at a time like this, I see it more as self-indictment. Given our enormous potential as a nation, nobody should be proud of what Nigeria is today.

For the record, this is the picture of the Northwest where Baba-Ahmed hails from, painted by his own Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday: “I represent the north-west zone in Human Capital Development Council. And as you know our part of the country is afflicted with the highest numbers of out of school children. Some of the highest poverty rates and some of the highest drop-out rates in our schools.

“As if that is not enough, many of our schools are now closed due to the insecurity around our boarding schools. In most of the states of the northwest, schools have been closed for a while, while security operations are taking place making our educational situation even worse. Our health statistics are not better. When you disaggregate the national data into zones and regions, most of Southern Nigeria have statistics that are middle income country nature while most of the Northwest have human development indices that are closer to those of Afghanistan.

Our region is in crisis.”

If the North-west from where the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari hails is in such a deplorable condition and the Northeast is held down by insurgents who have killed thousands of people, displaced millions and practically rendered the zone

Baba-Ahmed prostate, should we be singing from an old hymn book about the future of our country?

Should the prerequisite for leadership not change from where someone comes from to what they can deliver?

For the masses of our people (whether in the north or south) who understand that this elite game is never about them, what they desire in 2023 is a president who can make a difference in their lives regardless of which section of the country he or she comes from or the religion such a person professes. Even in the context of the ‘turn-by-turn’ politics that we play in Nigeria, the only legitimate conversation (and I intend to address this one day) is about the place of South-east (what I call the Ndigbo Question) in this whole arrangement.

Aside that, the debate about 2023 should be on how to rescue our country with one of the challenges we face today being that of mounting debts.

Last week, Dr Doyin Salami, who chairs President Buhari’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC), lamented that the debt service-to-revenue ratio stood at 97.7 per cent (January to May 2021).

From information readily available at the Debt Management Office (DMO), we are currently indebted to several multilateral institutions. They include International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD); International Development Association (IDA); International Monetary Fund (IMF); African Development Bank (AfDB); African Development Fund (ADF); Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF); European Investment Bank (EIB); European Development Fund (EDF); Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA); Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Bilateral creditors are Exim Bank of China; Agence Française de Développement of France, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Kreditanstait Fur Wiederaufbua of Germany, and Exim Bank of India.

We need a serious conversation about our debts. As at the time President Olusegun

Obasanjo took office in 1999 under the current democratic dispensation, Nigeria’s total outstanding debt was $28.04 billion comprising $20.51 billion to Paris Club, $2.04 billion to London Club, $3.93 to multilateral institutions and $1.49 in promissory notes. By the end of 2004 when Obasanjo subscribed to the Debt-Buy-Back proposition, Nigeria had a debt portfolio of $35.94 billion, of which the Paris Club alone accounted for $30.85 billion. Following Nigeria’s exit from the Paris Club in 2005, the Debt Portfolio became $20.48 billion. By the time we exited the London Club in 2006, Nigeria’s total debt had plummeted to $3.54 billion. From then there were marginal annual increases.

It was $3.65 billion in 2007, $3.72 billion in 2008, $3.95 in 2009, $4.58 billion in 2010, $5.67 billion in 2011, $6.5 billion in 2012, $8.8 billion in 2013, $9.7 billion in 2014 and $10.72 billion in 2015. While the increase to $11.41 billion in the first year of the Buhari administration (2016) followed the same pattern, the debt portfolio jumped to $18.91 billion a year later in 2017. By 2018, the hike was more astronomical: $25.27 billion. It increased to $27.68 in 2019 and

by December last year (2020), Nigeria had amassed a total debt of $33.35 billion!

Most of the loans we have taken in recent years were sourced from the Chinese Exim Bank. While the infrastructural projects, especially in the transport sector, that have been embarked upon by the Buhari administration are important, we need to discuss how the loans would be repaid. In my presentation, ‘Of China, Africa and Colonial Master’ at the 2018 edition of the Media Cooperation for Belt and Road in Boao, Hainan Province of China, I highlighted our indebtedness to China, and we have since borrowed more.

From the NigComSat 1- R project, a space satellite that has expired to the installation of 2000 CCTV cameras for Abuja and Lagos to the fully constructed Abuja-Kaduna rail that is working but at subsidized rates, there is no project that has the capacity for repayment. In fact, all of them would require funding from the federal government to be operational. So, repayment of these loans is tied to dwindling oil earnings.

Amid these challenges, we have lately been having a shouting match over Value Added Tax (VAT), following the judgement of the Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Port Harcourt. In the case filed by the Rivers State government, Justice Stephen Pam held that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) “has no constitutional authority to enforce and administer taxes not expressly stipulated under Items 58 and 59, Part I, Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Not surprisingly, it has become another NorthSouth brickbat, after both Rivers and Lagos States enacted VAT laws, with the latter acting “in line with fiscal federalism that we have been talking about.”

We have a serious revenue problem, and we can’t borrow our way out of it, as the present administration seems to be doing.

Neither will it be addressed by the catfight over VAT. Our revenue to GDP ratio is 7 percent whereas the level advised by the IMF and others is at least 15 percent. Of course, there is the issue of unsustainable

cost of governance, compounded by cost of servicing debts at a period the national currency is dancing Skelewu against the Dollar and other convertible currencies.

That we need a conversation on VAT and associated issues is therefore no longer in doubt. And it is not something we should play the politics of North-South with.

According to the State Commissioner for Finance, Dr Rabiu Olowo, Lagos alone contributed about 65 percent of the total VAT receipts in the country in 2020. His statistics further reveal that only Lagos, Rivers and FCT contributed more than they received while the remaining 34 states in the country received far more than they contributed to the VAT purse. Going by Olowo’s figures, the seven Northwest States (Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi) received N227 billion despite contributing N40 billion which means they got N187 billion more than they gave.

The six Northeast States (Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe) contributed N16 billion but received N143 billion, a net gain of N127 billion. The Southeast States (Abia, Imo, Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi) contributed N23 billion but received N123 billion which means they got N100 billion more than they gave. The six South-south States (Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Bayelsa plus Rivers) contributed N64 billion but got N163 billion, meaning what they received exceeded what they contributed by N99 billion. The Southwest States (Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, and Ekiti plus Lagos) contributed N828 billion but received N351 billion. That means they were ‘deprived’ of N477 billion. Ditto for the six North Central States (Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau and Benue plus FCT) which contributed N215 billion but received N151 billion thus earning N64 billion less than they contributed.

While Lagos indeed contributes a huge chunk of VAT, it is important for us to understand that statistics can be funny.

I have heard people say that it is like a Bikini: What it conceals is sometimes more interesting than what it reveals! For instance, the VAT payments for bank branches across the country and other businesses that have their headquarters in Lagos (and most do) are accounted as Lagos VAT. It is the same with payments from the telecoms’ operators.

All the federal employees in the state who pay PAYEE are counted as Lagos VAT. Some of the confusion that would arise (and the impact on businesses) from a situation in which every state is allowed to collect VAT is why some of us advocate a political solution to this problem.

Meanwhile, I fail to understand the solidarity of 15 of the 17 southern states with Lagos and Rivers because that is what their statement on VAT implies. Of the eight states that contributed less than N2.5 billion to VAT pool last year yet received ten times (or more) of that sum, four are from the South (Cross River, Abia, Osun,and Imo) while the remaining four are from the North: Taraba, Kebbi, Benue and Zamfara.

Besides, we also need a conversation around the issue of VAT collection. r/05& 1JFDF DPODMVEFE PO QBHF

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