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Emefiele Woos Foreign Investors, Insists Prospects Abound in Nigeria CNPP, others tackle PDP over attack on CBN Governor Says party chasing shadows while its house is burning Obinna Chima Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has called on

Nigerians in the diaspora and other foreign investors to take advantage of the opportunities in the country.

Emefiele insisted that despite

the economic challenges, numerous investment opportunities with good returns abound in the country.

This is just as the Conference

of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has disowned the call by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Emefiele’s resignation.

But speaking at the USNigeria Investment Summit held in New York, on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly,

Emefiele advised Nigerians in the diaspora to begin to consider investing in their Continued on page 8

Oil Prices Rise on Tight Supply, Hit Three-month High... Page 5 Friday 24 September, 2021 Vol 26. No 9664. Price: N250

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PIA: Akwa Ibom Gov Calls for Upward Review of 3% to Host Communities Says oil producing areas in N’Delta hurt by paltry amount Supports states’ collection of VAT Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Udom Emmanuel,

yesterday called for an upward review of the three per cent allocation to host communities as contained in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He said oil producing communities in the Niger Delta were hurt by what he described as the paltry three per cent allocation in

the Act. The Act made a provision for three per cent allocation to oil producing communities and 30 per cent for frontier exploration which

has drawn severe criticisms from stakeholders in the Niger Delta.

Speaking on ‘The Morning Show’ on Arise News Channel,

as part of activities to mark the 34th anniversary of the creation of the state, the Akwa Ibom Continued on page 8

Against Mood of the Nation, PDP Retains Chairmanship in South How two groups emerge over zoning of offices Our mandate does not include zoning political offices, says Ugwuanyi 6,000 delegates to decide new national chairman Chuks Okocha in Abuja As predicted by many and against the mood of the nation, the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may have finally settled for its chairmanship to come from the South, paving way for a northern presidential candidate and dashing hope of those asking that the party fields a southerner to fly its presidential ticket.

Last night, at a longwinding meeting of its zoning committee, headed by the Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the committee could not summon the courage to go with the mood of the nation. Instead, Continued on page 8

ALL OSUN FORMER GOVERNORS WITHOUT AREGBESOLA...

R-L: Osun State Governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, with other former governors of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Bisi Akande, Col. Theophilus Bamigboye (rtd), Col. Anthony Udofia (rtd), and Dayo Olukoju, representing the first Governor of the State, Maj. General Seun Ajiborisha (rtd), during the banquet and award presentation to former governors and prominent personalities in the state in commemoration of 30 years anniversary of the creation of the state, in Osogbo ... yesterday

Three Kidnappers of 120 Bethel Baptist Students, 47 Other Crime Suspects Arrested... Page 11

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NEWS

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

GETTING READY FOR PDP NATIONAL CONVENTION...

L-R: Bayelsa State Governor/Deputy Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party National Convention Organising Committee, Senator Douye Diri; Adamawa State Governor/chairman of the committee, Umaru Fintiri, and their Oyo State counterpart/ Secretary, Electoral Committee, Engr. Seyi Makinde, during the inauguration of 15 sub-committees at the party's Legacy House in Abuja ... yesterday

Oil Prices Rise on Tight Supply, Hit Three-month High Goldman Sachs,Trafigura predict $90, $100 per barrel

OPEC: Higher natural gas prices will have marginal impact on oil demand Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Oil prices extended gains yesterday riding higher on growing fuel demand and crossing $76 for the first time since July this year.

The rally was fuelled by huge United States crude inventories drawdown as well as production challenges in the Gulf of Mexico.

Precisely, Brent crude, Nigeria’s oil benchmark, rose nine cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $76.28 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up four cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $72.27 a barrel, after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed the country’s crude stocks till September 17 fell by 3.5 million barrels to 414 million, the lowest total since October 2018.

Several OPEC+ countries, including Nigeria, Angola and Kazakhstanhave struggled in recent months to raise output due to years of under-investment or maintenance work delayed by the pandemic.

However, there have been assurances by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva as well as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, that the technical challenges were being fixed.

Both Nigerian oil industry leaders further noted that by the end of October or mid-November, the country would be able to meet its monthly allocation by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the country has written the cartel for a higher baseline.

Kyari recently said that as a resource-dependent nation, Nigeria was most comfortable with a price band between $50 to $60 per barrel.

In a sign of strong fuel demand as travel bans ease, East Coast refinery utilisation rates in the United States rose to 93 per cent, the highest since May 2019, the EIA data showed.

However, before declining, Brent crude had hit $76.50 a barrel, the highest since midJuly on last week’s massive

crude stock draws worldwide, particularly of floating storage.

On its part, Goldman Sachs has predicted that Brent could reach $90 per barrel if the weather in the northern hemisphere turns out to be colder than normal this winter, which is a $10 per barrel more than its current forecast.

The call for higher oil prices would come on top of the already too-high natural gas prices, which have sunk some natural gas power providers in Europe as industry leaders, including the NNPC insist that the natural gas situation will have a spill-over effect on the oil market.

The projection is that with natural gas in short supply, there would be more focus on crude oil as one of the only viable alternatives since wind and solar power are proving insufficient at this time.

According to Goldman, a colder winter in Europe and in Asia would have a profound effect on natural gas and oil demand, earlier this week, predicting that a colder winter could lead to 900,000 bpd in additional oil demand.

Meanwhile, global commodity

trading firm, Trafigura is maintaining its forecast for oil prices to potentially hit $100 per barrel late next year, despite the risk of short-term Covid-19 headwinds heading into the northern hemisphere winter.

Trafigura predicted earlier this year that crude prices were likely to return to $100, something the company said could happen "probably towards the back end of next year, if conditions are right".

The recovering oil market poses a new kind of challenge for discipline in the OPEC+ group of producers, as, “Those who want to produce more, can't, and those who can, don't want to," according to Trafigura.”

Signs of a tightening market were the result of an ongoing recovery in demand and the risk that high gas prices could have a knock-on effect on oil markets due to switching to fuels other than natural gas.

OPEC members and allies known as OPEC+ are expected to meet early October to decide whether to allow more production or continue with its current 400,000 bpd addition

which it earlier agreed upon in July.

In a related development, despite widespread belief that the ongoing crisis in the natural gas industry might hugely impact prices of crude oil, OPEC has said the effect will be marginal, given its own scenario analysis.

In a document obtained by THISDAY yesterday, titled: “Brief on Potential Impact of Recent Higher Natural Gas Prices on Global Oil Demand,” the oil producers' group, noted that the study was necessary given the recent rise in global natural gas prices, and the current low levels of natural storage in various hubs.

Various industry experts and institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently made statements to the effect that the rising gas prices might lead to its substitution with other fuels, especially petrol, resulting in higher crude oil prices by $10, according to the national oil company.

Natural gas serves as a fuel for industry, mainly for power generation in manufacturing, refining and petrochemicals

and residential sectors, but the report focused only on potential implications for industry because of the technical limitations it poses for residents.

It noted that recently, natural gas spot prices have risen sharply in the United States to reach $5.17/mmbtu on 20 September, compared with $1.34/mmbtu a year ago, due to freezing weather seen in the first half of the year and supply disruptions due to extreme weather conditions, in particular Hurricane Ida. In Europe, prices have also soared on myriad factors, including harsher winter season seen in the H1, 2021 , interruptions of supplies from Russia, concerns about the slow certification process of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe, lower-than-average storage levels, record prices for carbon emissions, and limited renewable power output.

Compared with $4/mmtu a year ago in South-west Europe, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prices have soared to $25.70/ mmbtu as of 20 September, according to Energy Intelligence, while current natural gas prices in Europe are equivalent to $150/b

of crude oil.

The in-house document showed that hikes in natural gas prices incentivises substitution to more affordable fuels, indicating that switching from natural gas to LPG was already taking place as evidenced by reports of some refineries already feeding their furnaces with refinery LPG instead of natural gas.

OPEC stated that an important underlying assumption in its September 2021 market report is that weather conditions forecast for the upcoming winter months would be normal in line with the average of the past 20 years.

However, it noted that assuming a harsher winter in the upcoming winter months, which is from October 2021 through March 2022, it will sustain natural gas prices at high levels and incentivise more fuel switching from natural gas to fuel oil.

But the cartel noted that switching is expected only in certain parts of Europe and Asia, where movement from gas-fired to oil-fired power plants in the power generation sector and from natural gas to heating fuel, might occur.

US-Africa Policy Chief Hails Buhari's Counter-terrorism Advice Says president's article roadmap for US international relations Peter Uzoho The Founder of Rosslyn Group, a Washington-based government relations firm specialising in Africa, Mr. John Rosenberg, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s August 15, 2021 article published in The Financial Times of London.

Speaking recently at 2021 US-Nigeria Investments Summit held in New York, a side event of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Rosenberg described that Buhari's article as a sensible roadmap for US international relations.

The Rosslyn Group founder, urged his audience at the summit to revisit the Buhari's

article owing to its “profound recommendations” for the United States in Africa, specifically concerning its approach to counter-terrorism.

In the article, president Buhari had stated that with the United States pulling out from Afghanistan and the subsequent fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Africa had automatically become the new frontline of terror and global militancy.

He had stated that for Africa to defeat the growing terrorism on its soil, it would require more than the United States military aid but the entire world coming together for its sake.

Buhari had also stated that the outbreak of COVID-19

provided some form of oxygen for insurgents to sustain their hostilities globally, reiterated that Africa’s fight against terror was the world’s fight.

In the article, he had expressed optimism that Africa would defeat the terrorists, “one highway, one rail link — and one job — at a time.”

The article was coincidentally published the day Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, the global hub of America’s terror war, fell to the Talibans.

Buhari had said, “Though some believe the war on terror winds down with the US departure from Afghanistan, the threat it was supposed to address burns fiercely on my

continent. Africa is the new frontline of global militancy.

But, Rosenberg, in his presentation at the US-Nigeria Investments Summit, profusely highlighted the importance of the president's article, said Buhari’s caveat regarding military departure causing terrorism threats to return was a lesson, not only for Afghanistan, but policy makers within Nigeria and the African continent.

Rosenberg served as a senior intelligence analyst in Afghanistan, as well as Washington lobbyist for the government in Kabul during the Donald Trump administration.

He also underscored Buhari’s

statement that “Africa is the new frontline of global militancy,” and without a bedrock of security, the prospects for attracting foreign direct investment remain dim.

Echoing Buhari’s call for increased US cooperation with Nigeria in terms of technical assistance, shared intelligence, aviation and other assets, Rosenberg tackled those in Washington who believe that investment and security support in Nigeria is wasteful.

Drawing upon his experiences in Afghanistan and other nations beset by terrorism, Rosenberg viewed the comprehensive partnerships laid out by Buhari as a sensible roadmap for US international relations.

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OUT-OF-HOME ADVERTISING CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION...

L-R: Permanent Secretary Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Belinda Aderonke Odeneye; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello; Special Adviser on Drainages Engr. Joe Igbokwe and Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) Prince Adedamola Docemo at the Out-of-Home Advertising Conference & Exhibition, Eko Hotel Lagos... recently

Fashola: FG’s 795 Ongoing Projects Will Lift Millions Out of Poverty Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday said the ongoing 895 contracts and 795 infrastructural projects nationwide were part of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Speaking at the 27th meeting of the National Council on Works and Housing, taking place in Bauchi State, the minister argued that embarking on building massive infrastructure remained the quickest way to create wealth worldwide.

He maintained that nations that are richer than Nigeria have more infrastructure than the country, stressing that in order to bridge the gap there must be deliberate investment plan. He said no nation would be able to grow bigger than its stock of infrastructure.

“When President Buhari committed on June 12, 2019, to taking 100 million people out of poverty in 10 years, his vision was not a federal government vision, but a national one, which has started with the work being undertaken in all states and FCT and to which the federal government is contributing through infrastructure.

“Currently, the federal government is executing 895 contracts in 795 projects spanning over 13,000 km of roads and bridges nationwide.

“Across all of these, engineers, geologists, surveyors, lawyers, bankers, suppliers, artisans and labourers are involved in an ecosystem of enterprise from which they earn a daily, weekly or other periodic income.

“But that is only part of the story, the employment.

The other parts include improved asset value, because everywhere a new road or bridge is built, the land value appreciates by up to 30 per cent creating enormous capital gain,” he explained.

Aside that, he noted tat on

completion, journeys that used to take days would take only a few hours, positing that in the definition of poverty, well-being, efficiency and the lack of access, are critical factors.

Speaking on the theme: “Infrastructure Delivery, the Maintenance Economy and National Prosperity,” Fashola noted that since the implementation of the Marshall plan in 1948, after the Second World War, it had become clear to any seriousminded economist or politician that infrastructure provision was critical to development.

The minister stressed that with proper maintenance, the life of the infrastructure

would be preserved, value for the money spent would be obtained, describing it as a critical contributor and driver of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in many economies around the world.

“Available data shows that in the ‘built industry’, only about 30 per cent of the manpower is employable by design and construction which lasts until the project is completed; while the remaining 70 per cent is employed in the process of operation and maintenance of the infrastructure,” he added.

He posited that in nine facilities that were assessed by the ministry, the conditions of fittings such as fans, air conditioners, light fittings,

toilets and wash hand basins, out of 41,800 installations, 12,459, representing 29.8 per cent was found not to be functioning.

“Currently, we are undertaking maintenance works on 41 bridges that have employed 1,157 people directly and created 3,309 indirect jobs and we have facility management contracts for 25 federal secretariats across Nigeria after we completed renovation works. Each facility manager employs at least 40 people,” he added.

Meanwhile, the minister has called on the people affected by the ongoing road construction project in Nasarawa and Benue states to embrace dialogue

in resolving issues related to compensation rather than recourse to agitations.

The former Lagos state governor, who made the call during his inspection tour of the ongoing “dualisation” of the 221 kilometres Keffi – Akwanga-Lafia – Makurdi Road, insisted that agitations do not solve problems.

He said the federal government was closely working with the two states to resolve the issues, pointing out that efforts were being made to ensure that the real beneficiaries get the compensation and not middlemen.

The minister explained that funding for the project was

secured through a China EXIM loan, adding that the decision to borrow the fund for the project was taken before the administration of Buhari.

“The decision to borrow this money was taken before our administration. So we just completed the process that had been started, a process that we own because this is money borrowed for investment to improve people’s lives,” he said.

The minister who was later joined by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Mr. Abdullahi Sule, also inspected the National Housing Programme (NHP) and Federal Secretariat Complex in the state capital, Lafia.

Poverty, Direct Cause of Insecurity, Says Finance Minister Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed has declared that a direct relationship exists between governance, poverty, and insecurity, stressing that poverty is a direct cause of insecurity.

She pointed out that insecurity in turn further exacerbates poverty and impacts governance.

Delivering the 19th convocation lecture of the The Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), titled, "The Governance, Security, and Development Nexus in Nigeria: Innovative Financing as an Essential Enabler," yesterday noted that there was a near-global consensus among world leaders, policy experts and academics that the fight against poverty was essential to ensuring global peace, security and stability.

"These mutually reinforcing phenomena have been coined the ‘doom spiral’; poverty is both a cause of insecurity and an outcome of it," she added.

The finance minister pointed out that any discourse on the link between poverty, security and development must be situated within the current

context.

According to her, the federal government recognises that peace, justice, and accountable institutions were critical to the achievement of Nigeria’s sustainable development agenda.

She, therefore, observed that the challenge was clear, adding that the biggest priority for African nations, including Nigeria, was to address the root causes of insecurity, and strengthen governance.

The minister submitted that to guarantee sustainable development, peace and stability, Nigeria must rise and tackle poverty decisively.

Signaling the importance of this, she noted that the federal government made it a national priority to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

She said: "We recognise therefore that peace, justice, and accountable institutions are critical to the achievement of Nigeria’s sustainable development agenda.

“Therefore, the challenge is clear, the biggest priority for African nations including Nigeria is to address the root causes of insecurity, and strengthen governance.

"To guarantee sustainable

development, peace, and stability, Nigeria must rise and tackle poverty decisively.

Signaling the importance of this, the Federal Government has made it a national priority to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years."

She identified good governance and security as critical enabling factors for sustainable development, adding that in the absence of security, the governance structures in a nation are vulnerable to collapse, thus undermining sustainable development.

The minister said the goal of attaining sustainable development across the African continent is further distilled in Agenda 2063, the African Union’s masterplan for the transformation of the continent.

According to her, the first aspiration of the Agenda was a prosperous Africa marked by inclusive growth and sustainable development with the second and third aspirations referencing a desire for good governance, peace and security.

She affirmed that these continental and global commitments to which Nigeria is a signatory align

with the federal government's short to medium-term development plans, which centre on economic, social and environmental sustainability issues.

Ahmed said: "Yet, with sustainable development as the goal, several underlying conditions in our domestic environment must be established and maintained.

Governance, specifically good governance, and security are critical enabling factors for sustainable development."

The minister explained that the concept of security is much easier to grasp as it affects the well-being of individuals, families, communities, and nation states.

However, she added that it extends beyond the safeguarding of lives and property to the protection of computer systems and networks from cyber-attacks and the use of resilient and flexible strategies to respond to the unconventional tactics of asymmetrical warfare.

She stressed that a consensus has emerged recognising security as a precondition for sustainable development, adding that defence and security agencies are an intrinsic and essential element

of the governance structure of any nation with the level of security determining the sustainability of development.

The minister said: "In the absence of security, the governance structures in a nation are vulnerable to collapse, thus undermining sustainable development.

Thus, security and good governance are foundational and fundamental to the attainment of sustainable development.

"They form a critical part of the super-structure on which economic growth and development can be achieved in any country."

The minister noted that Nigeria’s economy, like others, was not spared from the dual impact of the COVID-19 health crisis and the drop in crude oil prices, as well as the consequent disruptions to economic activity globally.

Even with what has been achieved so far, she regretted that the sobering reality was that the pandemic has had a significant global impact on financing for sustainable development, with domestic and external financing remaining insufficient, particularly for developing economies.

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PAGE EIGHT AGAINST MOOD OF THE NATION, PDP RETAINS CHAIRMANSHIP IN SOUTH the party resolved to retain its chairmanship in the South of the country, ahead of its national convention slated for October 30 and 31, after majority’s opinions supported the decision. What transpired in the committee meeting and ultimately, its outcome is seen as mission accomplished for norther members with presidential ambition.

Although no official would speak on record about what transpired at the meeting, several, however, spoke on the condition of anonymity and confirmed the development.

Mindful of the sensitivity of the matter, the party leadership has also decided to delay the announcement of the outcome, using the period between now and next Thursday to calm frayed nerves and to also use the next few days to consult further as well as sell the majority opinion reached at yesterday’s meeting to other members, who wanted the chairmanship to go to north.

THISDAY gathered that the PDP was able to swing the idea, because a majority of those, who made up the committee were sympathetic to the aspirations of the northern presidential hopefuls, thus making the decision a lot easier for those in support of retaining the chairmanship in the south.

A stakeholder, who pleaded anonymity and was opposed to the road being travelled by the PDP leadership, claimed that the eventual decision of the committee was not surprising, because they had simply worked to the answer, including through the composition of the zoning committee.

His words: “The outcome was not surprising, given that key members of the committee are either northern presidential candidates or are supporters of northern presidential candidates.

They include the secretary and Aliyu Mohammed, who is a Saraki supporter; Muazu Aliyu Babangida, who supports Atiku openly; Ayodele Fayose, whose interest is not clear, but some believe he is eyeing the chairmanship; Sule Lamido, who is a candidate; Boni Haruna,who supports Atiku, Attahiru Bafarawa, and Baraje who support Saraki.

“These members were nominated to please the said candidates, so, the outcome was supposed to be expected. Any talk that they are not zoning presidency to the region is a fallacy, because once you zone the chairmanship to the south, the presidency automatically goes

to the north. That is the tradition.

There is no way the chairman and the presidential candidates can come from same place.”

The meeting had earlier run into a dilemma as there was an open division amongst members of the committee over the zoning of the office of the national chairman of the party, leading to the emergence of two different groups with different positions.

Not surprisingly, however, while a group largely made up of northern members of the party preferred the south to produce the national chairman, some of their southern counterparts wanted a northerner to emerge the national chairman.

Ugwuanyi, after the meeting had clarified that his committee had no mandate to zone political offices such as the president or the vice President but strictly party offices.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the PDP National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, yesterday, hinted that over six thousand delegates were expected to elect new members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party at

their October national convention.

THISDAY is reliably informed that at its meeting yesterday, attended by 25 northern members and 23 southerners, it was four regions against two, as all the northerners, THISDAY gathered, spoke in support of the chairmanship to be zoned to the South as well as maintain the status quo in terms of zoning of other NWC offices.

They were joined by seven South West members thereby reducing the votes of the southerners, who wanted the chairman to come from the North to 16 against the 32 that wanted the Status Quo to be maintained.

The South West leaders, who aligned with their northern members, because their zone was strongly bidding for the chairmanship, included a former deputy governor of Oyo State, Hon. Taofeek Arapaja; a former Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Chief (Mrs.) Jumoke Akinjide; former governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayo Fayose; a former Lagos PDP chairman, Hon. Deji Doherty; Senator Hosea Agboola, Senator Duro Faseyi and Hon. Rita Orji (from Lagos).

It was also decided that the party should suspend discussion

on the issue of zoning of the presidential ticket as that was a bridge to be crossed when the time comes.

THISDAY gathered the chairman of the committee, Ugwuanyi, had allowed everybody two minutes each to speak and the majority spoke strongly in favour of retaining the status quo, a development said to be clear to all that a decision had been taken as far as the chairmanship of the party was concerned.

Interestingly, the announcement of the decision of the Committee after the voting exercise was allegedly delayed deliberately till another meeting scheduled for Thursday September 30, 2021 in Abuja, for strategic reasons, including subduing likely tension as a result of the outcome and to secure the buy-in of others, who were unhappy.

The party leadership, THISDAY learnt, had decided to appeal to all members not to rock the boat as the decision over where to push the chairmanship was openly and transparently debated.

That, nonetheless, the adjournment, other sources claimed, was to allow for more consultations.

The meeting was attended by 47 out of the 48 members.

The Southerners in attendance were 22 and the northerners were 25 members. While all the 25 northern members agreed that the national chairman should come from the south, their southern colleagues insisted that the national chairman must come from the north.

A former Senate President and erstwhile Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, led the group that wanted the office of the national chairman zoned to the north.

Another source claimed it was agreed that whatever position there was before the meeting between the north and south should be retained but that the zones should decide what position would go where.

"The office of the national chairman remains in the south, particularly, to the South West but remains subject to ratification, when we meet next Thursday September 30," a source said.

The two groups have emerged from within and outside the 48, originally 44 members, before four other members were added, bringing the committee

membership to 48.

The first group, identified as the ‘Maintain the Status Quo Group’ wanted all the party offices to be retained in the geographical side to which they presently were. The second group called the ‘Move Around Group’ wanted all the posts presently in the South to be transferred to the North while the ones in the North should move southward.

By the calculation of the ‘Maintain the Status Quo’ group, the chairmanship of the party would be retained in the South while the National Secretary would move to the North. But the ‘Move Around Group’ wanted the next chairman of PDP to emerge from the North while the South produced the Secretary.

Also, while the ‘Move Around Group’ believed that zoning the chairmanship to the North would make the presidential ticket to be automatically zoned to the South, they insisted that the issue at hand was party position and whenever the party got to the point, where it had to nominate the presidential standard bearer, the matter would be resolved.

Continued on page 10

EMEFIELE WOOS FOREIGN INVESTORS, INSISTS PROSPECTS ABOUND IN NIGERIA nation.

“Why am I here? I am here to convince those of you in the United States that it is time for us to begin to look back home.

The opportunities are there. I know you would say: How do I access credit facilities? Sometimes you find that the difficulty in accessing credit may be a problem, but you can come and start from somewhere because of the numerous opportunities.

“The important thing is that Nigeria is opening up and I can tell you that people all over the world are beginning to think of what they can do with Nigeria and not what they can do for Nigeria. We Nigerians must set examples by folding our sleeves and doing things for ourselves before we can expect others to support us. That is the word I have come with today, that we are determined to do it for ourselves,” the CBN told his audience during his 36 minutes presentation.

Emefiele pointed out that because of the desire to stimulate economic growth in the country, the country’s economic managers recently went to the Presidency and advised the government to take some bold moves.

He listed some of the initiatives to include the ongoing repositioning of the Nigeria Commodity Exchange, the

newly established Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCo) and the upcoming Nigerian International Financial Centre (NIFC).

He explained: “In the agriculture sector, we found that the big problem we have is the movement of goods from farm to market. It is a logistics and transportation problem.

We got approval from the Presidency to reposition the Nigeria Commodity Exchange which plays a pivotal role in the movement of goods from farm to market. Another important move is the creation of the Infraco.

You all know that infrastructure has been a problem in Nigeria.

“We are trying to set up a world class infrastructure to begin to see how to revamp Nigeria’s infrastructure without placing a burden on the federal government. So, the question now is where do you (Nigerians in the diaspora) stand? We would like you to come join and work with us,” he said.

He reiterated the resolve of the central bank not to allow cryptocurrency transactions in Nigeria’s financial system, just as he expressed excitement about the central bank’s digital currency, the e-Naira, which would be unveiled in few days’ time.

According to Emefiele, because of activities surrounding Nigeria’s

Independence celebration on October 1, the earlier planned launch of the e-Naira on same date would likely be rescheduled to October 4, 2021.

“The central bank would not want the event to take the shine away from the Independence celebration,” he said.

“We are going to be the first country in Africa to launch a digital currency. It is a novel idea because we think it will facilitate trade, Nigeria being the biggest country in Africa, this will set the tone to tell Africa that we are ready to lead and we would indeed lead in trade and we would make sure that happens. “Between all central bankers in ECOWAS, we are already working on certain collaboration to make trade, payment and banking system integrate in such a way to set example on the AfCFTA,” he added.

The central bank governor was optimistic that all the aforementioned initiatives would likely stimulate economic growth, probably higher that population growth, promote prosperity and increase output growth.

Earlier, Emefiele reviewed the performance of the Nigerian economy between 2015 and 2019, he cited the devastating impact of the COVID-19 on the economy and listed various

measures adopted by the fiscal and monetary authorities to support households and firms.

“Of course, we took a number of countervailing measures because we felt that there was a very big part responsibility on the part of government, talking about the fiscal and monetary authorities.

“We saw weakness on the part of the fiscal, because the fiscal space was very narrow; the deficit was narrow and space to release money to catalyse the economy on the fiscal side was very slim. So, the monetary policy thought there was a need from our side to see what could be done,” he explained.

He reiterated that the 5.01 per cent GDP growth recorded in the second quarter of 2021 was due to the base year effect, pointing out that the base year effect would have dissipated when the third and fourth quarters GDP figures would have been announced.

He, however, predicted a 2.86 per cent GDP performance for 2021.

“We feel that some of the things we have done are showing results and so we are going to push very aggressively,” Emefiele said.

Meanwhile, the CNPP has disowned the call by the PDP for Emefiele’s resignation.

Reacting in Abuja, the Secretary

General of the CNPP, Chief Willie Ezeugwu, in a statement, noted that the CBN Governor had not done anything to warrant the call for his resignation hence PDP does not enjoy the support of other opposition political parties in this call.

The statement by the PDP was curious because nowhere in the interview by Senator John Udoedehe did the National Secretary of the APC National Caretaker Committee mention Emefiele.

According to Ezeugwu, it should be more concerning to the PDP that its top and leading members had been resigning in large numbers, “due to the unattractive nature of the party on the watch of the current National Working Committee of the Party rather it is chasing shadows when its house is consumed by an inferno.”

“The Nigerian opposition parties are currently supposed to be undergoing internal healing and rebuilding so as to be well positioned to take over power in 2023 but the activities of the Uche Secondus led PDP has reduced the politics of opposition to child’s play and possibly being for hire to operators of BDCs who are fighting the Governor of CBN for the policy to stop sale of forex to the BDC’s.

going to do more.

"Secondly, we are developing a smart terminal building that would not only compete in Africa, but in the world. A smart terminal building that can process one million passengers every year.

“We are taking aviation development as a major gateway.

We are thinking of cargo terminal and also dominating the regional."

Meanwhile, speaking about the ongoing legal tussle regarding the collection of VAT, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, yesterday said the FIRS would continue to collect the consumption tax following the ruling of the Court of Appeal on the matter.

Malami, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, that the ruling of the Court of Appeal that FIRS and the Rivers Government maintain status quo, favoured FIRS. “The position of not only the federal government, but indeed the judiciary is the fact that status quo associated with the collecting of VAT should be maintained,” Malami said.

“And as far as the judicial

system is concerned, the status quo as at the time the parties approached the court, it was the FIRS that was indeed collecting the value added tax. So with that in mind, the federal government has succeeded in obtaining an order that establishes the sustenance of the status quo, which status quo is that the FIRS should continue collection. This is pending the determination of the cases that were instituted by states, particularly the Rivers State Government and the Lagos State government. The cases are being determined by the court.”

“But one thing of interest is the fact that the federal government had indeed taken cognisance of the fact that where there exists a dispute between a state and the federal government, it is the Supreme Court that should naturally have the jurisdiction to determine the dispute between the state and the federation.

“And we are taking steps to consider the possibility of instituting an action before the Supreme Court for the purpose of having this matter determined once and for all,’’ Malami said.

PIA: AKWA IBOM GOV CALLS FOR UPWARD REVIEW OF 3% TO HOST COMMUNITIES governor said the people of the state were agitated and unhappy by the allocation, a situation he said cost the state a lot in its bid to calm frayed nerves.

"If I want to speak about that, I might go a little bit harsh but it hurts us badly. For oil producing communities, a paltry three per cent?

“So what was the essence of going round to collect memoranda and it was not taken into consideration at all? It hurts us so badly and a whole lot of agitation down there and our people are not happy. I must let the whole world know that our people are not happy and it is costing us a whole lot as government to pacify our people to allow this go, hoping that the government at the center would look at it again", he said.

"But trust me, the three per cent that they are allocating to host communities is not enough by any ramification, and I don't want to sound alarmist but I am also trying to make sure that we pacify our people hoping that something will be done as soon as possible,” he added.

He harped on the need to review the allocation.

"Ignoring this issue will not make it go away. I think the earlier we address it and bring people back on board, the better for everybody. The host communities are not happy, the oil producing areas are not happy, so something should be done.

"I don’t think it would be right to ignore the people. You don’t go and wake up something and cause controversy and assume things this way by ignoring it," he cautioned.

He further warned that the issue must not be allowed to return to the era of resource control.

"Laws were made for man not the other way round so those who gave the wisdom of three per cent can also give the wisdom of five per cent or more. Even if they give us 10 per cent, it wouldn’t be too much.

“Let them not take us back to the era of resource control. We hope it would be looked into so our people would continue to live in peace," he said.

On the controversy

surrounding collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT) by states which had become a subject of litigation, he said VAT collection would be in favour of every state.

"Those who are saying that VAT collection by states would not favour them are not accurate because VAT collection by states would favour every single state in this country. No exclusion at all because its a consumption tax.

Are you going tell me wherever there are human beings, there must be activity, and when there's activity, there must be consumption and where there is consumption there must be VAT and where there is VAT, there is revenue", he said.

On the progress made by the state-owned airline, Ibom Air, he said the airline which started with three aircraft now operates eight commercial planes.

He said the oil producing state was developing a smart terminal that would process one million passengers every year.

"Anytime there is talk about aviation development in Akwa Ibom, I get very excited because in the face of adversity, when

others are saying is a casting down, that we are trying to let Nigerians know that there is a lifting up.

“I also want people to know that when we talk about adversity quotient is in every single human being, and you can bring that to bear in whatsoever you do.

"I appeared on a program one time and it generated a whole lot of questions. I said that as a people and as a state, everybody knows, we may not have cash, but we can create money and there are various ways of creating money," he said.

"If you look at the big countries in West Africa not even one has a national carrier; Nigeria does not have and it pricked my mind that this is not rocket science and as a state we can venture into", he said.

According to him, "I was sworn into office, May 29, 2015.

We started discussing Ibom Air immediately, I won the election.

After the election, by April, before I was sworn in April 2015, we inserted the concept to see what we needed to do and then today is a success story and we are

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HAS PDP DECIDED? L-R: Enugu State Governor and Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Zoning Committee for National Offices of the Party, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; former Senate President, Senator Iyorchia Ayu; former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; Deputy Governor of Zamfara State and Secretary of the committee, Barr. Mahdi Aliyu Mohammed, during the committee's meeting, held at the Government House, Enugu, ahead of the October 30-31 National Convention of the Party...yesterday

Ngige Hinges Implementation of Past Labour Agreements on Availability of Funds Reps meet minister over doctors’ strike

Onyebuchi Ezigbo The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said the federal government is basing its implementation of past agreements with various labour unions on availability of funds and capacity to fulfill their demands.

Speaking during a courtesy visit by the leadership of Federal Character Commission, led by its Chairman, Dr. Muheeba Dankaka, the minister lamented that the harsh economic situation in the country was creating serious labour unrest

thereby increasing the ministry's work load.

The Minister's explanation came just as a delegation of the House Representatives' Committee on Health held a closed door meeting with him on the industrial crisis currently rocking the country's health sector.

"Economic situation has worsened our labour disputes, peoples’ pockets have been eaten into and they are now remembering that they are being owed some money, that there were agreement reached in 2009, and like our

president has said, we are alive to our responsibilities, we are not owing any federal worker salaries. The president is strong on that and that is why we have not retrenched any worker.

"He is also strong on the fact that government is a continuum, if they now remember that previous government was owing them in 2009, we would not say no.

“We would say yes, but we will pay you based on the capacity to pay and ability to pay. So those allowances can be stretched and we pay them in tranches. That is what

we have been doing with ASUU and NASU, JOHESU, doctors, everybody.

"They are remembering 2009 agreements, when late President Umaru' Yar'adua did some and President Goodluck Jonathan did some. But we have not repudiated any of the agreements, we said we will pay but we negotiate with them and tell them to have patience,” he added.

Ngige furthermore, insisted that none of the striking resident doctors duly engaged were being owed salaries.

He drew the attention of the

Commission to complaints by Nigerians who apply for jobs in the federal civil service and fail to secure employment while some others with lower qualifications were given jobs.

In this regard Ngige urged the Commission to make parameters very explicit to Nigerians so as to dispel any misgivings.

"The Commission should also help us and get involved in the informal sector. Your efforts are concentrated only in the formalised sector or public sector. You have to get into the private sector.

“Nothing says that you cannot

enquire, there are some areas in the informal sector that you may need to look into, especially if the constitution is silent about it. The primary mandate given to you is to do things in a way that will promote national unity and loyalty.

"So, if you look at the area of public sector, why should some states in Nigeria employ foreigners, give them bogus salaries, which is five times of what they would pay a Nigerian for him to do that job?

Ngige said that checking such abuses was the work of the Immigration Services.

Osinbajo: Nigeria Must Focus on Knowledge-based Economy to Propel Economic Growth John Shiklam in Kaduna The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said that Nigeria must focus on the development of a knowledge-based economy in order to propel economic growth.

Speaking at the sixth edition of the Kaduna Investment Summit, with the theme, “towards a sustainable knowledge based economy,” held in Kaduna, yesterday, Osibanjo said a knowledge-based economy was dependent on intellectual capital.

According to him, a knowledge-based economy refers to how human capital, education and knowledge could become productive assets or business products to be sold for profit.

“It is simply the commercialisation of intellectual capacity rather than natural resources or physical efforts or physical labour.

“By the sheer versatility of technology today, it is possible to leapfrog from where we are to a knowledge economy.

Knowledge economy can enhance our performance and all the benefits we can derived from agriculture, manufacturing and services,” the vice president said.

He added, “In Nigeria today, our youths who are running digital businesses and services are making great strides.

Given these strides, Nigeria is surely becoming a technology investment destination in SubSahara Africa.

“So the knowledge-based economy is entirely dependent on

intellectual capital in workforce and in talent pool that is educated and dynamic and adaptable...”

He commended the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir elRufai, “for the brilliant innovation but more important for sticking

to a plan and for making sure that the plans get results.”

Osinbajo assured that the federal government would support and encourage the efforts of the Kaduna State government in to creating a stable

and predictable microeconomic business environment, providing infrastructure and ensuring security.

“As you know I followed your activities closely in Kaduna state because of the seriousness you

have brought to sub-national governance in Nigeria, the rigour and innovation that you and your team have brought to policy formulation and implementation is clearly exemplar of what is possible

in the states and indeed what is possible in the nation.

“KADINVEST has become a platform not just to market Kaduna, but Nigeria as a compelling business destination for investment.

AGAINST MOOD OF THE NATION, PDP RETAINS CHAIRMANSHIP IN SOUTH The ‘Maintain the Status Quo’ group held the opinion that the zoning committee should adopt the position of the Bala Mohammed Committee, which reviewed the performance of the party in the 2019 general election and declared that the presidential ticket of the party would be thrown open for aspirants from all the six zones.

Anyim, who led the Move Around Group, had the support of some elements in the Southsouth and Southeast zones. The ‘Maintain the Staus Quo Group, led by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had the buy-in of key leaders of the party across the Southwest, and the three zones in the North, making it four zones against the two of South-south and Southeast.

Also, a PDP governor from the North was said be supporting the former group, because he did not want a certain section of the North to produce the next President. But the Status Quo group enjoyed the support of another key governor from the South.

The ‘Maintain the Status Quo’ group has been anchoring its position on the fact that if the

party did mass transposition from North to South and Vice versa in the zoning, then, it would defeat the argument that some members of the current NWC led

by Uche Secondus were being removed from office, because of their performance in office. It was believed that a mass transposition system would make it obvious that the Secondus NWC was just a victim of politics.

“If not for the issue of performance, which some leaders raised against the continuation of Secondus and his team, the members of the current NWC would have been eligible to seek second term. We are prevailing on them not to seek second term, because we believe they did not do well and that there is need for change of strategy, approach, injection of new hands and some energy, vigour and wisdom into the party. So, to make mass switch across geo-political divide will defeat the argument,” the source said.

Another source, which condemned the ‘Move Around Group’ argued that, “This group consists of people, who want the presidential ticket zoned to their backyard. They are afraid

of going across the country to canvass for votes and seek support that will give them a popular party mandate.”

Ugwuanyi, while addressing newsmen after the closed-door meeting held at the Government House, Enugu, reiterated that, “We had a fruitful meeting and we adjourned to conclude next week,” but earlier, he cleared the air that the committee had no mandate to zone political offices.

His words: “Our Committee is strictly limited to the PDP National Executive Offices to be contested at the 2021 PDP National Convention scheduled for the end of October, 2021.

We have no mandate to zone political offices such as President or Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The Enugu governor maintained that the PDP remained the most credible platform to deliver good and accountable governance to Nigeria, adding that the work of the committee would contribute immensely “in this deliberate search for National Officers of our Party that will help PDP achieve the lofty ideals and goals

of our founding fathers.”

He encouraged members of the committee to be frank, open and constructive in their proposals and debates, as well as exhibit consistency with the weight of their mandate.

“The membership and leadership of this committee have been carefully selected as it is composed of very experienced, competent and eminent Nigerians, who are desirous of repositioning the PDP to play its role not just as the main opposition political party in Nigeria but to build a party that offers alternative policy proposals and hope to Nigerians that there is still light at the end of the tunnel,” Ugwuanyi said.

Members of the committee present at the meeting included the Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, who is the Deputy Chairman; the Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mahdi Aliyu Mohammed, who serves as Secretary; former Presidents of the Senate, Senator Iyorchia Ayu and Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, and former Governors of Niger, Ekiti, Sokoto, Jigawa and Adamawa States, Dr. Muazu Aliyu Babangida, Ayodele Fayose,

Attahiru Bafarawa, Sule Lamido, and Boni Haruna, respectively.

Also at the meeting were Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Hon. Sunday K. E Okoye, Chief Dan Orbih, Chief Ali Odefa, Mrs. Dr. Kema Chikwe, Chief Osita Chidoka, Chidi Lloyd, Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw, Senator Emmanuel Nwaka, andDonatus Udeh, among others.

In a related development, Fintiri, while announcing that over six thousand delegates were expected at the national convention, said all new members of the national conversations must first be elected as delegates to enable them contest as party officials in the working committee.

Though there were provisions for statutory delegates as provided for in the PDP constitution, the party also inaugurated a sub-committee on the review of the PDP constitution.

Fintiri, who spoke after the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, inaugurated the 15 various sub-committees of the convention, said the party was ready for the national confab.

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KADUNA ECONOMIC AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT...

L-R: Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo SAN and Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, at the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADINVEST 6.0) in Kaduna State...yesterday

Three Kidnappers of 120 Bethel Baptist Students, 47 Other Crime Suspects Arrested Police nab robbers of 50 Churches Recover 2,720 ammunition Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

into the recent spate of break-ins and theft in places of worship Fifty crime suspects including in the Federal Capital Territory three kidnappers of the 120 and other contiguous states led students of Bethel Baptist High to the arrest of three members School, Kaduna, were paraded of a gang that specialised in theft of musical instruments by police in Abuja.

One of the suspects said 50 from churches.

"The suspects revealed to the kidnappers on motorcycles were involved in the abduction of the police team how they broke into over 50 churches. The suspects students.

Among the suspects paraded were members of a criminal syndicate that robbed more than 50 churches within Nyanya and Karu axis of the Federal Capital Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa Territory.

The gang specialised in theft of musical instrument from churches. The Zonal chairmen of the Parading the suspects in Abuja, Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Force Public Relations Officer, Worldwide have said their Frank Mba, a Commissioner collective decision to call of Police, said the three key on President Muhammadu suspects involved in the Buhari to make Col. Milland abduction of students of Bethel Dixon Dikio the substantive Presidential Baptist High School, Maraban Coordinator, Damishi, Kaduna, were arrested Amnesty Programme (PAP) was by operatives of the Special anchored on Dikio's exemplary performance.

Tactical Squad (STS).

The leaders under the auspices Also, recovered from the suspects were 26 sophisticated of IYC Chairmanship Forum in firearms, including 13 AK47 a position paper they signed rifles, four SMGs, four locally yesterday stated that within one made revolver rifles and 2,720 year in office, Dikio transformed ammunition of different calibre. the amnesty programme and He said the suspects were adopted unique leadership style involved in different crimes that sustained the peace in the including kidnapping, banditry, region.

The leaders, who signed the unlawful possession of firearms and trading in illicit drugs, document were the Chairman, IYC Central Zone and Forum amongst others.

"Notable among the cases Chairman, Clever Inodu; is the arrest of three of the Chairman, IYC Abuja zone, key suspects involved in the Chief Diplomat Adam Marbo; abduction of students of Bethel Western Zone, Dr. Doubra Baptist High School, Maraban Okotete and Lagos Chapter, Damishi, Kaduna, by operatives Henry Oyobolo.

They declared that Dikio's of the Special Tactical Squad (STS).

"The suspects are Ishaku vision returned the programme Lawal, Muazu Abubakar and to its original beneficiaries and Adam Bello. Investigations by repositioned it to achieve its the Police team revealed how main mandate.

The IYC leaders said all Muazu Abubakar a.k.a Datti ‘m’ 27 years, the principal suspect, critical stakeholders were behind carried out surveillance of the Dikio because of his constant Bethel school and strategised with engagements and interactions his other gang members before with them through his backthey attacked and abducted the to-the-region tour programme.

They said Dikio and his students.

Ishaku Lawal, who was also team deliberately took their arrested in connection with the gospel of peace to the palaces incident, revealed how Ahmadu of traditional rulers, adding a.k.a Yellow, provided the firearms that the amnesty boss was and ammunition they used for known for gathering activists, the operation. One AK47 rifle leaders, and ex-combatants into was recovered from each of the conference halls in Akwa Ibom, suspects. Investigation into the Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Ondo states to deliberate on case is still ongoing," he said.

Mba said police investigations the essence of sustaining the

include one Monday Akawu ‘m’ 39, who impersonates personnel of the Nigerian Army to enable the gang move the stolen items to their intended criminal receivers and Joseph Orazulike ‘m’ 35yrs, who is a receiver of the stolen items.

"Over 30 specialised musical equipment and other electronic gadgets stolen from different

churches were recovered from the suspects", he said.

Following the arrests, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Usman Baba, charged police operatives across the country to sustain the tempo in the ongoing Operation Restore Peace in the country.

The IG, who noted that the special operation was assisting

in rolling back the negative trend of crimes in the country, commended police operatives for the recent arrest of 50 notorious criminal suspects for their involvement in different crimes including kidnapping, banditry, unlawful possession of firearms and trading in illicit drugs, amongst others.

The IG, while appreciating

citizens for their support, assured them that with the successes recorded in the fight against crimes and criminality in the country, the force would intensify efforts towards improving public safety and security in the country.

All the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigations, he said.

Group Urges Buhari to Make Dikio PAP's Substantive Coordinator peace in the region.

The IYC leaders also threw their weight behind the ongoing reforms in PAP and the verification introduced by Dikio to authenticate the real beneficiaries of the programme.

They said: "PAP office should not allow any camp leaders to shortchange any beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme. The Ijaw Youth Council, Chairmenship Forum of zones and Chapters are in support of the ongoing verification exercise to confirm the real beneficiaries of the 65,000 monthly stipends.

"Col. Milland Dixon Dikio (rtd), the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty programme always emphasise that violence and its destructive

implications should not be associated with the oil-rich Niger Delta. He was fond of asking the youths to devote their strength and creative energy to technology and acquisition of digital skills in order to become dominant forces in the world like their counterparts elsewhere.

"The office before now was a hotbed for incessant protests in the Niger Delta.

At the centre of the protests, which always culminated in the blockade of the biggest highway in the Niger Delta, the East West Road, was the issue of the non-payment of the N65,000 monthly stipends to beneficiaries of the programme.

“But since Dikio came, he has undertaken some reforms

to ensure that the office of PAP get it right and monthly stipends are always paid every 25th of the month. Since he took over control of the office, he has embarked on drastic measures to introduce reforms designed to put the PAP on the path of delivering results.”

They added: "The Ijaw Youth Council, Chairmenship Forum of zones and Chapters, sincerely believe that, Col. Dikio's desire is to transform the ex-agitators to entrepreneurs among others with the new vision of Niger Delta Stabilisation Programme (NDSP).

"We are very happy with his performance in the Presidential Amnesty Office. As a matter of fact, we are proud of him. He is extremely focusing on the core

mandate of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

“As critical stakeholders and leadership of zones and Chapters of IYC, we are quite happy with his clear vision and transformational leadership styles. He has brought genuine peace to the Niger Delta region as the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

"Therefore, we recommend that, he should be confirmed as the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs and Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Office.

This is the wide opinion of the majority of the Niger Delta stakeholders in the region because of his excellent performance."

With Extensive Industry Experience, Komolafe Set for New Task at Upstream Commission Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja With over many years of leadership at various levels of the oil and gas industry as well as the possession of three degrees in three different fields of academic research, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Upstream Petroleum Commission, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, is coming fully prepared for the new challenge, THISDAY can report.

The 57-year-old engineer from Ondo state, it was gathered, has been heavily involved in strategic policy formulation and implementation in the oil and gas industry where he clearly distinguished himself.

As managing director, Nigeria Pipeline & Storage Company

(NPSC), Komolafe was said to have initiated the reform and business model for maintenance and operations of NNPC pipelines and depot infrastructure efficiently on a private Joint Venture (JV) basis.

In a treatise he titled: “The PIA and burden of key appointments”, a Public Affairs Analyst, Mr. Aliyu Galadima, noted that as an accomplished engineer, lawyer, and technocrat, Komolafe has operated at the highest levels of the downstream and upstream sectors.

“The industry has ample records of how Komolafe’s steering of various downstream regulatory agencies yielded reforms that facilitated efficiency and attendant huge monetary value for Nigeria,”

he stated.

A Fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN and member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), he posited that Komolafe's expertise as a seasoned engineer and lawyer is required at this time to give the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) the needed impetus.

According to him the PIA needs professionals of stellar qualities like Komolafe who have an exceptional grasp of how to translate the potential benefits of the PIA into actual wins for Nigeria and Nigerians.

The accomplished oil and gas expert, was said to have initiated and coordinated various policies that generated and saved the

Nigerian federation billions of dollars in his various capacities and national assignments he was given.

He was Group General Manager, Special Duties at the NNPC, Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division and Executive Director (Commercial) Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company (PPMC).

In addition, he was General Manager , Operations, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), General Manager , Operations of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), among several others.

Aside being an engineer, Komolafe has degrees in law, industrial and labour relations and is a recipient of various awards.

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COMMENT

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

THE CRUCIFIXION OF FEMI FANI-KAYODE Fani-Kayode’s recent defection is a strategic political move, writes Bolaji Adebiyi

F

emi Fani-Kayode is the latest butt of jokes in several circles.

Many would say he brought this onto his own head. After verbally decimating the All Progressives Congress and President Muhammadu Buhari for about seven years, he eventually abandoned the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC he had vilified last week. Indeed, it was a surprise as no one saw it coming even though he had been hobnobbing with the leading lights of the ruling party for months, denying however, that he had the intention to do what Nigerian politicians do, decamp.

“The suggestion that I joined the APC is false and insulting. Those that are peddling this fake news should bury their heads in shame. With what we have witnessed I would rather die than join a filthy, rat-infested sinking ship like the Almajiri Peoples Congress (APC),” he said last December, and vowed: “I am committed to opposing the APC and those that are in their ranks for the rest of my natural life and I will NEVER join them no matter what! They are nothing but darkness whilst I stand for the light of God and truth: there can be NO fellowship between light and darkness.”

But last week Thursday, he took back all those words. Led by Mai Mala Buni, the Chairman of the APC’s Caretaker and National Convention Planning Committee, who is also the governor of Yobe State, Fani-Kayode was seen at the Presidential Villa, Abuja early in the morning. Moments after, a picture of him along with the president and the acting party chairman filled the media space. “The newest entrant into the APC,” was the caption the presidency that pushed it out, perhaps sarcastically, gave it.

Expectedly, the social media went burst, lashing out at Fani-Kayode for eating his own vomit. Memorable quotes of his past denials and harsh critique of the APC and Buhari were attached to their searing attacks on him. Some of the critics even went personal, saying Femi was a true son of his father, Remilekun “Fani-Power,” an astute First Republic politician, who moved around the leading political parties of the time also. One of the aggrieved persons was Babafemi Ojudu, the political adviser to Buhari, who described that day as the saddest of his entire political career. It ought not to be though.

But a deft politician that he is, Fani-Kayode had already anticipated this and had sought to douse the impending attacks. “The point is that I felt it was time to do the right thing, to put Nigeria first and appreciate the efforts that have been made, particularly in the last couple of years in terms of security; fighting insurgency and terrorism,” he had told State House correspondents who had ambushed him as he came out of the room where he met with the president, his erstwhile foe. “It is not always negative and when the time is right, we change direction to join forces and join hands to move the country forward,” he explained to the reporters who must have been flabbergasted by the unusual soothing words coming from his mouth. “Doing this doesn’t mean we are enemies to anybody. Even if we are in another party, the PDP or any other party or group, we can still work together across party, regional,

FANI-KAYODE HAS OBVIOUSLY EXERCISED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF ASSOCIATION AND THERE WAS NOTHING HIS ADVERSARIES COULD HAVE DONE ABOUT IT AS TO BLOCK HIM OR TO CONTINUE TO OVERTLY HARASS HIM WOULD IN ITSELF AMOUNT TO AN AFFRONT ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION THAT GRANTS EVERY NIGERIAN THE RIGHTS OF SPEECH, MOVEMENT AND ASSOCIATION

ethnic or religious lines,” Fani-Kayode concluded.

Despite his explanations, he has continued to receive attacks from everywhere, including members of his new party like Joe Igbokwe, the Anambra-born Lagos APC chieftain who described Fani-Kayode on ARISE TV last Thursday as lacking in political character.

While the public’s angst might be understood and passed off as genuine, the diatribe of his fellow politicians like Ojudu and Igbokwe are at best self-serving and hypocritical, most probably a push back at a potential threat to their own political interest.

Actually, Fani-Kayode’s latest move ought not surprise any perceptive observer of the emerging political realignment in the country. As the country inches closer to the 2023 general election politicians are positioning themselves for a better deal. Although all of them claim to do what they are doing in the interest of the people, it is a well-known fact that they all act in their own self-interest. Otherwise, what are South-eastern politicians like Ken Nnamani and Dave Umahi doing in the APC? Nnamani had been president of the Senate and held commanding public service positions during the 16-year rule of the PDP. Umahi was a deputy governor for eight years and governor for five years on the platform of the same PDP. So, it might be asked, what public service interest do they want to serve in the APC that they did not have the opportunity to accomplish in the PDP? Fact of the matter is that they have gone to position themselves for a possible bid for a presumed presidential allotment that might come the way of the South-east in the ruling APC. Yet, other regional politicians are also positioning and making deft strategic moves. Fani-Kayode’s move ought to be seen within this context. And if the internal opposition to his admission into the party is viewed critically, it would be seen that it comes from a political flank that probably feels that he has been brought in by a contending tendency to checkmate its strategic plan for 2023. Whatever it is, Fani-Kayode has obviously exercised his constitutional right of association and there was nothing his adversaries could have done about it as to block him or to continue to overtly harass him would in itself amount to an affront on the constitutional provision that grants every Nigerian the rights of speech, movement and association.

However, a pattern is emerging that founding members of the APC appear not to have taken note of, or that they have noted but do not know how to respond to. Since 2019 top PDP politicians have been regrouping in the APC. This may well be a strategic plan to regain power using the incumbency of the ruling party. For those who know the ways of the PDP, a direct confrontation between its erstwhile chieftains and their APC counterparts is likely to leave the latter worsted given the astuteness of the former in conspiratorial politics. That confrontation is imminent. It will begin with the impending national convention. And when that happens Fani-Kayode would most certainly be in a familiar terrain and in his best element.

Adebiyi, managing editor of THISDAY, is at bolaji.adebiyi@ thisdaylive.com

BUHARI’S VISIT TO IMO STATE

Declan Emelumba writes that the President’s visit is a victory to the governor, Hope Uzodimma

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he recent visit to Imo State by President Muhammadu Buhari has gone into history as a salutary watershed in the development of the state. President Buhari came, he saw and he trounced the rampant cynicism of a few opposition elements who threatened fire and brimstone against a simple but epoch making public occasion. Their brazen ploy to scare away well-meaning visitors fell flat on its monstrous face.

At the end of the day, Governor Hope Uzodimma and the good people of the state earned praise for the glad outcome of the presidential visit. After commissioning the strategic projects billed, the President raised Governor Uzodimma’s hand in sheer appreciation and commendation of his sterling developmental efforts. It was clear to all and sundry that the president approved of the visionary strides of the Imo State Governor. It was interesting to observe that those who accused Uzodinma of non performance did everything to prevent the world from witnessing first hand, the sincere efforts of the governor to positively rewrite the history of the state infrastructure wise. As the President commissioned the Naze/ Ihiagwa/Nekede/Obinze link road which had been abandoned for more than two decades, it dawned on people that this governor actually meant business. It is instructive that this particular road leads to two foremost tertiary institutions in the state, namely, Federal University of Technology, Owerri and Federal Polytechnic, Nekede. It also links four large communities spanning two local government areas. The realization of this particular project is a dream come true for the communities, staff and students of these institutions who had suffered greatly before now.

After beholding the 2.5km underground balloon driven tunnel at Dick Tiger road which will significantly check flooding in Owerri and after inspecting the Egbeada Bye Pass road, President Buhari shook his head in wonderment. Not that he never believed

that Uzodinma is a performing governor but the fact that he chose those projects carefully to impact positively on the state’s economy was the instructive chord. An obviously impressed President declared, “I am here to see what the governor is doing and from what I have seen, he has been working very hard. I believe in what he has been doing because his vision is in tandem with my own vision which is to provide infrastructure and safe environment for economic development.”

President Buhari was visibly impressed by the road project and the 2.5 km long, 1.8m diameter and 0.9- 11.5 m deep tunnel built by the Uzodimma administration to check flooding on the Dick TigerChukwuma Nwoha-Ihechiowa-Aladimma-Relief Market roads, into Otanmiri River, which he also commissioned. Evidently, Governor Uzodimma had embarked on the projects for utmost impact on the state economy. A second tunnel to discharge flood waters from the Akwakuma- Egbeada – Alvan Ikoku axis into the Nworie river is also on the way. The idea is to rid the state capital Owerri, of perennial flooding which adversely affects commerce and real estate.

A retrospective reflection of the state of infrastructure in the state before the birth of the Uzodimma administration will perhaps make it easier to appreciate the efforts of this action driven government of Uzodimma to ensure that the infrastructural deficit it met on ground is urgently reversed. How else can this be captured than to recall the weighty words of a former close ally of former governor Rochas Okorocha, Prince Eze Madumere, who rose from the position of chief of staff to Okorocha to become the deputy governor. Madumere had early in 2019, in an interview with Premium times, warned that the damage Okorocha inflicted on the socio- economic fabric of Imo State was “unimaginable “. He said it will take over 30 years for the administration coming after the Okorocha to fix the monumental damage.

Perhaps this explains why President Buhari was

impressed by the spirited efforts of the Uzodimma administration to reverse the extensive damage the previous administration inflicted on the state. And it also says why the people of the state are overjoyed with the frenzied developmental strides of the state government. The third project commissioned by the President was the Egbeada Bye Pass Road which diverts traffic away from the capital city for travellers going to Orlu area from Onitsha axis. The Chukwuma Nwoha road also built by Uzodimma’s administration, performs the same service for commuters from Umuahia going to Mbaitoli and Ikeduru local government areas. These are among the 46 roads built by the Uzodimma’s administration in less than two years.

President Buhari also commissioned a brand new, state of the art Executive Council chambers to replace a 40-year-old dilapidated and outdated one that was devoid of modern facilities.

Expectedly Governor Uzodimma used the opportunity of the visit to thank the President for his swift response to the recent security breaches in the state which he described as “politically contrived.”

The Governor also did not miss the opportunity of the auspicious presidential visit to harp on his macro worldview of Nigeria. Said he, “the aim of my administration is to build a mini Nigeria in Imo State in which all citizens have a sense of not only belonging but of unfettered accommodation”.

According to him, the APC government in Imo State, is providing equal opportunities for all Imo people and residents alike.

Indeed President Buhari’s trip to Imo State afforded Uzodimma the opportunity of killing the proverbial two birds with a single stone. The President used the occasion to meet with the cream of leaders from the South East including Igbo traditional rulers, led by the Obi of Onitsha, chieftains of Ohaneze Ndigbo, retired military officers and captains of commerce and industry, serving Ministers and National Assembly members. The calibre of

the stakeholders present spoke eloquently of the readiness of opinion leaders of the South East to engage the federal administration on the feelings of the people of the region on economic development and mutual co-existence. Expressing happiness for the visit, Professor George Obiozor, president general of Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide, opined that the visit would mark a new chapter of dialogue, cooperation and understanding between Ndigbo and the Buhari administration. The significance of this, he said, will form a new foundation for meaningful dialogue on critical issues of concern to the Igbo nation.

President Buhari responded by acknowledging the contributions of Ndigbo to the development of Nigeria. It is unthinkable, he added, that any Igbo person will consider himself not to be part of Nigeria. It is clear, he said, that the Igbos are in charge of the Nigerian economy.

Indeed, the President’s visit has catalysed a new dawn as evidenced in the visit to Owerri, a few days later, by the Minister for Water Resources who came to examine the potential of using the Otamiri River, where the flood water from the underground tunnel empties, to build a hydro power station.

Following on his heels came the Minister of Environment to consult with stakeholders on federal government assistance on erosion control in the state.

Add to this, the impending visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the Eastern Heartland to launch the federal government trader-moni empowerment programme. From all these, it is clear that Gov. Uzodimma has done his homework rather well and Imo State is poised to reap a glowing harvest from his spectacular leadership.

Yes, indeed, Governor Uzodimma has started well on the difficult task of undoing the damage done to Imo State by the Okorocha administration, and sooner than later, even his worst critics will begin to appreciate and applaud him.

Emelumba is Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Imo State

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

EDITORIAL

THE ORGANISED PRIVATE SECTOR AND VAT The OPS should continue to remit their VAT to the FIRS until the issues are resolved

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henever there is doubt on an issue, and an appellate court intervenes and rules that the status quo should be maintained, it is the position before the trial that stands. But since nothing is ever certain in Nigeria, manufacturers, and service providers under the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) have expressed concerns over how to pay the Value Added Tax (VAT) and to where the proceeds should go. “We are aware that by September 21 we will get penalised if we do not pay or remit the VAT for the month of August…The confusion in the public space is the reason we are calling on the government to come to our aid as we want to pay,” said OPSN Chairman, Taiwo Adeniyi.

We understand the concerns of the OPSN as a critical sector of the Nigerian economy. It comprises the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and THE STATES THAT HAVE Agriculture (NACPASSED THE VAT LAW CIMA), Nigerian Employers ConsultaSHOULD WAIT FOR tive Association THE OUTCOME OF THE CASES IN COURT BEFORE (NECA), Nigerian ENFORCEMENT TO AVOID Association of SmallScale Industries and CONFUSION the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

In the difficult times that we are in, government, at all levels, should make deliberate efforts to ensure businesses are not sadled with multiple taxations. Going by the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on 8th August this year, 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.”

Following that decision, the Rivers State House of Assembly quickly enacted VAT Law No. 4 of 2021 to

Letters to the Editor

end the authority of the FIRS to administer, collect and enforce the VAT Act, 2007 in Rivers State. Lagos State followed by passing a similar law while the Southern states, at their meeting last week endorsed the judgement.

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

owever, the order by the Court of Appeal effectively halts the implementation and enforcement of the laws passed by both the Rivers and Lagos State Houses of Assembly on VAT, pending the decision of the appeal. Both the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, have waded into the controversy by reaffirming that the FIRS remains the recognised revenue for VAT collection in the country. Members of the OPSN should therefore continue to file and remit their VAT payable to the FIRS pending the final resolution of the appeal by the Court of Appeal.

As we stated recently, we implore the states that have passed the VAT law to await the outcome of the cases in court before enforcement to avoid confusion. Besides, the federal government should put law enforcement agencies on notice to respect the rights of the OPSN members and avoid abuse of their fundamental right.

Meanwhile, the tax authorities must come up with clever ideas to address declining revenues. Real efforts must be made to expand the tax base while keeping the rates low. Our tax regime should meet the twin requirements of efficiency and equity, while adequate sensitisation and incentives should be provided to ensure voluntary compliance. And perhaps most importantly, the tax authorities must simplify the process of payments to meet with global best practices while tax expenditure must be transparently governed.

The bottom-line is that many people would gladly pay their taxes if “their money” is seen to be appropriately spent.

Ultimately, President Muhammadu Buhari and the 36 governors would have to arrive at an acceptable way forward on this VAT controversy. It is obvious that the status quo has become a problem for the peace and progress of the country.

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

EMERGING INTRIGUES OF ADAMAWA POLITICS

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he ward and local government congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the replacements at the wards and the preparation for the LGA congresses by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have brought to fore the emerging intrigues in Adamawa politics - the attempt to outwit each other in the control of the two-party structures among the party stakeholders is very clear.

The APC congresses, in most cases, were conducted based on Abuja’s directives of consensus and that the incumbents offer the Right of First Refusal including accommodating newcomers. While for the PDP – if you have held the office for up to eight years, death or resignation, your office is automatically vacant.

An interesting scenario in the APC is in Mubi North and Mubi South LGAs. The place has a former immediate governor – Bindow Umaru Jibrilla and a sitting Senator Ishaku Cliff Abbo. The two appeared to have been schemed out by Abubakar Jafaru, member representing Mubi North, Mubi South and Maiha Federal Constituency. For instance, while the Bindow and Cliff groups were at Yazaram Cinema waiting for the election to be conducted, the real election took place at Yelwa Primary School with Jafar having the upper hand.

What also weakened Bindow’s active participation was the issue of the leaked audio against President Muhammadu Buhari.

Another place of interest is Yola North, Yola South, Girei and Song LGAs. Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani, Adamawa Central, wanted to replace most of the Exco at those LGAs, but all her candidates lost woefully. Many people were surprised by Binani’s politics-The Excos Binani wanted to replace were in fact those that assisted her to get the senatorial ticket by narrowly defeating Aliyu

Wakili Boya, Sarki Matasa.

In the APC congresses so far, three governorship hopefuls - Muhammadu Umaru Jibrill Bindow, Senator Cliff Ishaku Abbo and Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani were casualties, while three other governorship hopefuls Modi Halilu, Nuhu Ribadu and Abdul Razak Namadaz appeared to have done their smart moves silently. Namdas doesn’t have any issues at his constituency. On the other hand, Boss Mustapha was not that enthusiastic – he only showed interest in one or two places in Yola North and Hong LGA. Former Governor Murtala Nyako played the role of a stabilizer and elder. The person that called the shots the most was Comrade Mustapha Salihu APC NorthEast Vice Chairman; he doggedly implemented the APC caretaker committee’s instruction of consensus, giving the incumbent the right of first refusal and accommodating newcomers. The big game will be at the state congress, and the state chairmanship position in particular- the big picture will be clearer. The grievances, crises and contentment from each of the stakeholders and the group, will be more open.

For the PDP, being the party in power in the state and having some big interest within it, its replacements at the ward level and preparations for other congresses were unique. Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri made some political attempts- Most of the loyalists of Chief Joe Madaki and former Governor Boni Haruna were blocked.

An interesting place is the Numan Federation, where the Deputy Governor comes from. Crowther Seth was made ineffectual at his base; the person that is pulling the string is the member representing Numan, Demsa and Lamurde constituency, Kwamoti Laori. He is Fintiri’s right-hand man. It is still a surprise to many that Crowther Seth was made ineffective at Numan Federation, but some pundits

said it shouldn’t be surprised- Seth as Deputy Governor still operates from his personal house of which the road to the house is not even tarred. Many people see Numan Federation as the big loser in the Fintiri government, despite being the joker for the PDP in the 2019 governorship election.

To be fair to Governor Fintiri, a sitting governor often dictates the direction of his party, and Fintiri’s politics now goes beyond Adamawa, it has national elements in it. So he must have ‘the home’ in his control. Fintiri has and still having some big PDP national assignments.

This is also knit with his political ambition and the Wike connection.

It was reported that Governor Wike flew to Yola twice or thrice in a certain week just to confer with Fintiri and left within some hours.

Any political tête-à-tête that cannot be done via a cell phone, is a big one.

There is a report that Fintiri will definitely try as much as he can to replace A.T. Shehu as the state chairman of the PDP. That’s why some politicians are of the view that Fintiri refuses to empower Shehu economically.

Fintiri means business, you can’t blame him. Recently, when the move to fill in the vacant position at the PDP Board of Trustee which was created by the death of former Governor Wilberforce Juta, Fintiri presented the name of Hamza Madagali, Adamawa PDP Organizing Secretary, but former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and PDP former National Chairman Uche Secondus intervened, and presented the name of Boni Haruna, being a former Governor as Wilberforce Juta.

As the intrigues in both the Adamawa PDP and the APC further unfold, we will analyze it from the angle of the moment.

Zayyad I. Muhammad, Abuja

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 •T H I S D AY

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

POLITICS

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

AUTOGRAPH

Beware! Demolition Man, Obaseki on Rampage Nseobong Okon-Ekong raises the alarm at the unchecked propensity of Governor Godwin Obaseki to wreak havoc

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ecently, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State threatened to bar people who are yet to take COVID-19 vaccine from public places in the state, despite a court order against the plan.

We are in September when the state government said it would make it compulsory for residents to show evidence of taking COVID-19 vaccine to gain access to public places. The governor later explained that the “directive is actually only a denial of access to public places of persons who chose not to be vaccinated.” This is how his mind is probably working, ‘if they do not want to take the vaccine, it is within their right, but they do not have a right to infect others.’

One may be tempted to ask if COVID-19 threat is the most urgent item on Obaseki’s agenda. Edo is not even the epicentre of the epidemic, regardless of the teeming number of Diasporan indigenes from the state, cases of COVID-19 in Edo State averages 5462 with 196 deaths compared to 22,562 cases and 220 deaths in Lagos, the centrepoint of the epidemic.

This indeed, has shown that Edo no be Lagos.

But Obaseki must deliberately exaggerate COVID-19 in Edo to deceive the people from looking at the myriad of pressing issues tasking the populace.

Obaseki was sworn-in on November 12 last year for a second tenure of four years, following a hard won victory snatched from the jaws of bitter rivalry.

The Edo Governor was denied the second term ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which sponsored his first tenure. Convinced that he could win the election on his own steam, he switched political party loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Obaseki won the 2020 Edo gubernatorial election, defeating his closest rival, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC. The 2020 governorship election brawl in Edo is one of the dirtiest exchange of brickbats on the political space. Obaseki’s godfather and former Governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole sided with Ize-Iyamu to ensure Obaseki’s ouster from the APC. Every kind of dangerous weapon and device was deployed in the Edo election.

The degree of brigandage unleashed on the citizens had never been witnessed.

Edo people were left with few choices.

Oshiomhole was not on the ballot directly, but assumed the role of leading Ize-Iyamu’s campaign from the front, because he sought an opportunity to grind the Edo governor ’s nose in dirt for daring to confront him. Between Oshiomhole and Obaseki, Edo people had a slim choice to chose the one with the ugliest face. They opted for Obaseki, the ugly duckling. At least, he was not clothed in khaki fatigue. Unlike Oshiomhole, Obaseki brightens his visage with a suit. The Edo Governor wears a suit, no matter what time of the day it is; morning , afternoon or night. That is how stockbrokers dress!

In the days leading to the election, Obaseki demonstrated a huge capacity to proceed in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects. He has no stomach for opposition. If Oshiomhole was callous enough to tell a hapless petty trader, “go and die,” Obaseki, his student, at the time, in the school of thuggery, was not that lenient. He crushes opponents with ruthless force.

He brought down a hotel owned by Tony Kababa, a supporter of Oshiomhole belongs to the faction supporting APC National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole. He was the revenue collector during Oshiomhole’s time

as governor. Obaseki disbanded them as he assumed office, forcing Kabaka to become a thorn in the governor ’s flesh with frequent criticism. But there is no pattern to Obaseki’s violent and uncontrollable manners. Lately, he reportedly destroyed a hotel owned by one of the die-hard supporters, Mr Victor Ighile, popularly known as Mojo.

The Edo Governor has slammed a revocation order on Garrick Memorial School land, belonging to the family of Kehinde Garrick, who was one of the directors in the APC gubernatorial campaign of Ize-Iyamu. He is not bothered that the school was built 60 years ago by Pa Garrick and his wife. The poor old lady is reported to have suffered a shock and died from the news. His main opponent in the gubernatorial election, Ize-Iyamu is

running from pillar to post, trying to figure out how to escape Obaseki’s Sword of Damocles hanging over his head in the form of a revocation notice on the land his multi-billion Naira farm stands.

Obaseki did not just transform to a tyrant overnight, the traits were there all along that he will become a cruel and oppressive ruler. One creepy night, Mr. Obaseki masterminded the inauguration of only 12 out of the 24 members-elect of the Edo State House of Assembly. He sealed it with a proclamation. Till today, 14 state constituencies are without representation in the Edo State House of Assembly because Mr. Obaseki is set to harm them in return for a perceived injury. The 14 lawmakers-elect had their seats declared vacant in December 2019.

When they attempted to stage a

Between Oshiomhole and Obaseki, Edo people had a slim choice to chose the one with the ugliest face. They opted for Obaseki, the ugly duckling. At least, he was not clothed in khaki fatigue. Unlike Oshiomhole, Obaseki brightens his visage with a suit. The Edo Governor wears a suit, no matter what time of the day it is; morning , afternoon or night. That is how stockbrokers dress!

comeback, Obaseki removed the roof of the state legislative house and blocked its entrance with a towering pile of debris.

Having got away with shutting elected lawmakers out from representing their constituencies, the Edo Governor has assumed the toga of invincibility. With only two persons, his Deputy, Phillip Shaibu and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Osarodion Ogie, to question him (but they are implicitly compromised), Obaseki has a free reign to sell Edo to retail and institutional clients. After all there is no legislature or executive council to vet and approve his proposals.

While One-Man-Show is not unheard of in the Nigerian polity, Mr. Obaseki has chosen a very bad model, which is made more traumatic to the people of Edo by his wanton savagery.

Obaseki is not the first chief executive to govern for a long stretch of time without a properly constituted exco.

Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, now Minister of the Interior, governed Osun State in his second tenure singlehandedly, until the 11th hour of his reign. President Muhammadu Buhari, on both occasions of his election, took his precious time in constituting his cabinet. However, these examples are markedly different from Obaseki because they had a functional legislature.

Not too long ago, Mr. Obaseki raised, what turned out to be, a false alarm suggesting that the Central Bank of Nigeria had printed and shared N60 billion. It may very well be that this colossal amount of cash is buried in the rubble of the Edo Governor ’s many demolition.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

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PERSPECTIVE

APC National Chairmanship: Why Yari Stands Out Abdulaziz Chivuzo: Footprints of the Multimedia Mogul and Philanthropist Chido Nwangwu extols the virtues of the late billionaire, Alhaji Abdulaziz Ude, who deployed his intellect and influence to impact on the development of media and publishing in Nigeria

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he death this mid-September 2021 of Abdulaziz Chivuzo Ude, multimedia executive, business mogul and philanthropist is, certainly, another major passing of an empowerment pillar, global educator and media heavyweight.

He lived his prime and senior life embracing and hoping and working towards an inclusive Nigeria.

He always chose hope and engagement over fear and anomie. He was a first class intellectual and very accomplished in various spheres of life.

He held the professional and personal friendships of personages such as the great Ugonabo Chinua Achebe, my mentor.

Abdulaziz excelled at Oxford in England and Columbia University in the United States; where he made new friends and expanded his network In New York, he deployed his intellect, influence and editorship at the American publishing powerhouse, Double Day, to attract several African American and African-based heavy hitters in literature, history, cultural studies and political science.

It extended to his own Nok Publishing Company.

I did not have a direct relationship with Alhaji Ude but impacted by his visionary engagement with a few, vital persons who made a difference in my quest to do better.

Let’s go back 33 years ago.

Almost four months before the conclusion of my NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) at the NASE unit of the 32nd Armoured Division of the Nigerian Army in the Sobi Cantonment, after graduation from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), I was given an opportunity to work for an arm of his corporation, Financial Post, in 1988.

Ashikiwe Adione-Egom, the inimitable self-styled “motor park economist”, was its iconic Publisher — at the time.

The Financial Post was new but the most compelling and incisive business publication in Nigeria’s media market.

There were several employment options for me.

Especially, when my cousin, Kenneth Orji, former General Manager of the Diamond Bank Nigeria, referred me to meet the distinguished but now late Dr. Stanley Macebuh.

At the time, Dr. Macebuh was the Managing Director and Editor-in-chief of The Guardian.

After a brief conversation, he recommended and sent me to Nigeria’s former presidential adviser on politics, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, who persuaded me to work with

him on the ‘Africa and the World Journal’ and be a foundation editorial staff of his (at the time) yet-to-launch news and informed insights magazine, Platform.

Chuba stressed the point that he could not match the offers from Abdulaziz Ude’s network and others,. But, “Chido, you will learn a lot from me — much more than money can pay for. I can tell after spending and exchanging ideas here with you for almost three hours, you’re very knowledgeable.”

I chose to work for the Professor of Philosophy and until his death one of the foremost political strategists of his time. I did learn quite a lot.

Chuba was right!

Later, I also learned that the same Abdulaziz Ude injected some funds into Chuba’s media project. Just like the man did in many places to support talent and the robust but constructive exchange of ideas and solutions for the improvement of mankind — across the African continent, the United States and Europe, primarily. He funded the Chic magazine edited by one of the world’s most prolific and creative masters, Eddie Iroh.

Eddie briefly wrote a column for USAfrica, The Newspaper and USAfricaonline.com Ude was also on the board of Newswatch, the most popular magazine in 1980s Nigeria.

He’s from Abor, in Udi LGA of Enugu State. He was born on September 30, 1940 and reported to have died on Thursday, September 16, 2021. He has been buried according to Islamic rites.

It is important to note that he did not carry his religious faith like a sword of Damocles over the heads of those who did not, like him, convert from Christianity to Islam. He believed, from my inquiries, in peaceful coexistence.

Overall, the intellectually sophisticated billionaire businessman has left indelible footprints in the sands of time.

The rest as, they say, is history.

-Dr. Nwangwu, is the Founder and Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline. com

He lived his prime and senior life embracing and hoping and working towards an inclusive Nigeria. He always chose hope and engagement over fear and anomie. He was a first class intellectual and very accomplished in various spheres of life.

He held the professional and personal friendships of personages such as the great Ugonabo Chinua Achebe, my mentor

Ibrahim Tajudeen writes in support of the ambition of the former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdul Aziz Yari to become National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress

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recent study conducted by a group of political reporters on why national chairmen of major political parties in Nigeria fail and get kicked out of office unceremoniously, revealed that the problem may not be entirely due to extraneous factors as widely believed.

While the report concedes outside forces do sometimes play some roles in getting at the chairmen, it was discovered that the main factors were due to inherent contradictions and lack of capacity to manage the affairs of the party.

Specifically, many of the chairmen, according to the survey, failed due to misplacement of priorities as they placed percuniary considerations over and above sacrificing for the party, while others have been consumed by pride and arrogance and ill treatment of party members.

Others have also been found to be wanting in submitting to team work and delegation of responsibilities while for others, it is the penchant for crass nepotism and lack of fairness that clips their wings.

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) will in the next few months elect a national chairman whose tenure will extend to 2023 when the general election is billed to hold, it has become imperative for the party to put its house in order in order to retain its winning streak at the elections.

This requires that the party puts all these factors into consideration in the election of a new national chairman for the party as it cannot afford internal divisions at such a crucial time.

In other words, the party has to take specific steps to ensure stability to build a formidable structure that will see it to victory in the next general elections.

But the question is if there’s any among the numerous persons that have indicated interest in the position so far that fits into the above description.

No doubt persons with these qualities can be found among the former governors, serving senators and others who have indicated interests but the challenge is in finding one who by virtue of his past record has combined all these qualities to the advantage of the party.

The right person for the position must, 1) be proven to be a loyal and committed member of the party, 2) not driven by hunger or lust for money but can even sacrifice his personal resources to lift the party, 3) one who is not proud and arrogant but accessible to all members of the party, 4) one who is a team player and delegates responsibilities, 5) one who is fair-minded and just to all members and 6) one who commands respect across the geopolitical zones in the country.

Fortunately, the former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdul Aziz Yari who is one of the top contenders for the position amply fits the description.

From Day One of his foray into politics, Yari has shown uncommon passion for party building believing that it is through team work and cooperation with other party members that the machinery can be no maintained to serve its purpose.

The former governor believes that the party is the vehicle for taking party members to their desired destinations hence must be placed on sound footing before individual interests and ambitions.

Hence as early as 1999, while others were scrambling for political executive and parliamentary positions, Yari chose to serve the party and contested and won as the Secretary of the then All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).

Convinced more than ever that the party needs his contribution to solidify and restructure to provide leadership, he

contested as Chairman of ANPP Zamfara State in 2003 and won from where he was able to build the party to an extent that it remained for a long time, the party to beat in Zamfara.

Even after building the party in Zamfara by ensuring it returns governors back to back, Yari felt the national body of the party needed him and went to become the ANPP National Financial Secretary and served in this position till 2007.

It was only when he was sure the party has been structured and put on a sure footing that he decided to contest as a parliamentarian and was elected as Member representing Anka/Talata Mafara Federal Constituency from 2007 to 2011.

It was no surprise therefore that Yari will follow that closely and contest as Governor of Zamfara State on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party(ANPP) winning the seat by an overwhelming majority votes and repeated the feat in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It was while serving as governor that his colleagues in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) elected him as Chairman of the forum.

Since he became governor, Yari has not only succeeded in making the APC more popular in Zamfara but in Nigeria with his ability to steer the affairs of the NGF with efficiency and class.

Under his leadership Zamfara as can be seen from the results of 2019 elections before it was set aside due to intra party disputes, returned its candidate, Mukhtar Shehu Idris with 67.41% of the total votes, defeating PDP’s Bello Matawalle who got a mere 23.89% of the total votes and trailed behind by a margin of 345,089 votes.

In that election, APC also swept the entire 14 LGAs of the state, defeating all the 42 other candidates.

Yari indeed has this Midas touch that gives any group or association he belongs to an advantage.

That is why many are calling on the APC to elect the former governor as national Chairman believing that with the Yari kind of pedigree the party has a lot to gain from his leadership.

Yari, as former chairman of the NGF has contacts across the nation and commands respect among political leaders in the country hence will have no problems expanding the party structure and making it win in all the geopolitical zones of the country.

He is urbane, suave and highly calculating.

With what the APC has gone through in recent times, it cannot afford not to take the right decision at this crucial time.

-Tajudeen writes from Kaduna

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 •T H I S D AY

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, ͰͮͰͯ ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

Brazil President Bolsonaro, COVID-19 Denier, Goes Into Isolation Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will remain in isolation for the next five days due to contact with Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga, who has tested positive for COVID-19, Xinhua reports.

The president’s special communications secretary Andre de Sousa Costa said Wednesday that all members of the Brazilian delegation that accompanied Bolsonaro and Queiroga on a trip to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly would also remain isolated.

Bolsonaro and the other officials are to be tested over the weekend. If the results are negative, they will be released from isolation and placed under medical supervision for 14 days since coming into contact with Queiroga.

Meanwhile, Queiroga will be quarantined for 14 days at a hotel in the United States.

Bolsonaro contracted COVID-19 in mid-2020 but recovered quickly. During his visit to New York, Bolsonaro reiterated that he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Organisers Cancel Nobel Prize Ceremony Again Due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s Nobel Prize laureates will receive their awards in their home countries for the second year running, the Nobel Foundation said here on Thursday.

The traditional banquet will be cancelled, but the award ceremony will be held at Stockholm’s City Hall on December 10 in the presence of a local audience. The event will be broadcast on TV and on the Nobel Foundation’s social media channels.

Each year on December 10, a ceremony is held in the Swedish capital to mark the anniversary of the death of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. On that day, the annual Nobel Prizes are awarded. Traditionally, the laureates attend the award ceremony and the banquet in person and participate in a series of Nobel Week activities, such as lectures and concerts.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 Nobel Prize winners received their awards in their respective countries, and the ceremony was broadcast online. Last year’s banquet was also cancelled.

Debt, Spending Dispute Pits Biden Against Legislators The Biden administration and congressional Democrats are facing what may be the most politically fraught moment since they took unified control of Washington in January.

Lawmakers are battling to avoid a potential government shutdown and a default on the national debt at the same time that Democratic infighting

is endangering two pieces of legislation meant to further the party’s key priorities.

For both the US economy and President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, the stakes could scarcely be higher.

A combination of a few missteps or delays in passing a budget resolution and raising the amount of money that the Treasury Department can borrow could have catastrophic economic impacts on the United States and the world economy. An estimate by Moody’s Analytics found that the worst-case scenario, in which the US defaults on its debts, could result in a loss of 6 million jobs and destruction of as much as $15 trillion in household wealth.

If House Democrats are unable to muster the votes to pass a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that the Senate has approved and a $3.5 trillion bill that would lock in spending on social services, climate change mitigation and other party priorities, they will face voters in 2022 with little to show for two years of Democratic control of Washington.

US, Australia, Japan, India To Meet In Washington Friday Leaders of the US, Japan, Australia and India are expected to meet in person Friday in Washington to discuss cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s growing power in the region.

US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan met virtually in March, but this would be the group’s first meeting to face.

“The Quad Leaders will be focused on deepening our ties and advancing practical cooperation on areas such as combatting COVID-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific,” White House spokesman Jenn Psaki said in a statement.

China has been steadily building military outposts in the region and using them to back claims it controls vital sea lanes.

The Washington meeting comes in the wake of a recently announced agreement among the US, UK, and Australia to supply Australia with nuclear submarines.

UK Pays £104 Compensation For Civilian Death, £662 For Donkeys Compensation payments for hundreds of civilian deaths linked to the British armed

forces have been revealed for the first time.

According to the BBC, the Ministry of Defence paid out £688,000 for 289 civilian deaths between 2006 and 2014, an average of £2,380.

But in one case, a family was paid just £104.17, less than others received for the deaths of a herd of donkeys.

In contrast, British forces paid out £110 for a lost mobile phone in Camp Bastion, £662 for the death of six donkeys after they “wandered on to a rifle range “, and £240 for damage caused to a property by an armoured vehicle.

China Wants G-20 To End Economic Sanctions Against Taliban Govt China’s top diplomat Thursday urged a virtual conference of G-20 foreign ministers to end economic sanctions against Talibanruled Afghanistan to help the country tackle a looming humanitarian crisis and an economic meltdown.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the conference, which took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session, that member states of the G-20 — as the premier global platform for international economic cooperation — are obligated to play a “constructive role” in helping the South Asian nation.

The Islamist Taliban’s return to power last month prompted the United States to freeze billions of dollars held in its reserve for Kabul while the World Bank and International Monetary Fund halted Afghanistan’s access to developmental funding.

The US and other countries have called on the Taliban to put together an inclusive government that includes respect for human rights and to desist from bringing back their harsh Islamist rule before any direct engagement or diplomatic recognition can occur.

Special Envoy Resigns Over US ‘Inhumane’ Treatment Of Haitian Migrants U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Daniel Foote resigned over the Biden administration’s “inhumane” decision to deport thousands of Haitians attempting to enter the country, multiple media outlets reported on Thursday.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed Foote had submitted his resignation to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday.

Foote wrote in a resignation letter that he “will not be associated with the United States inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti,” according to media reports.

“Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed,” he added.

Foote, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, was appointed as special envoy to Haiti in July.

The move came after images and footage emerged showing Border Patrol agents on horseback confronting Haitian migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to reach U.S. soil.

1,100 Killed, 8,000 Arrested, 23,000 Displaced Under Myanmar Junta: Report One thousand one hundred people had been killed, at least 8,000 arbitrarily arrested, and more than 230,000 forcibly displaced under the Myanmar junta, said a new UN report.

A UN investigator on Myanmar has accused the country’s military junta of systematic attacks against the people of Myanmar that may amount to crimes against humanity. The UN investigator called for coordinated international action and targeted economic sanctions against the junta. The report by the special rapporteur was submitted Wednesday to the UN Human Rights Council.

In a blistering attack against Myanmar’s coup leaders, special investigator Thomas Andrews presented documented evidence of mass atrocity crimes against the people of Myanmar. He said more than 1,100 people had been killed, at least 8,000 arbitrarily arrested, and more than 230,000 forcibly displaced. This, since the military junta, seized control of the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi February 1.

Andrews described in wrenching detail the killings of protesters in the streets, the beatings and torture of people in detention, of entire villages being attacked by bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. He said no one is spared, not even the children.

Andrews said the people are not taking the generals’ abuse lying down as members of the deposed civilian government and ethnic leaders have formed a National Unity Government as a legitimate opposition to the junta. He said civilian-led People’s Defense Forces are providing security for villages.

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

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REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

S E P T E M B E R

S & P INDEX

1 6 , 2 0 2 1

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

14.00%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

565.29%

1/4 TO DATE

6.06%

N412.08/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

14.50%

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

–0.11%

YEAR TO DATE

– 15.66%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.41%

Ex-NAL Workers Excoriate FG for Failing to Implement Nwazota’s Panel Recommendations over Demise of Airline

Chinedu Eze Former workers of the liquidated Nigeria Airways Limited (NAL), have severely criticised succeeding governments after the Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration for failing to implement the recommendations of the panel that investigated why the national carrier was grounded and eventually liquidated by the federal government in 2004.

The panel, known as Justice Obiora

Nwazota Judicial Commission that was set up in 2002 by former President Olusegun Obsanjo, identified the personalities that bankrupted the national airline, but up till now government had not implemented the panel’s report.

The ex-workers of the defunct airline, accused government of abetting corruption by allowing those who diverted NAL’s funds to still hold positions in their private business and government appointments.

The matter came to the fore recently when members of the House of Representatives passed a resolution to investigate those indicted for looting the resources of the liquidated national carrier.

This followed the plan to complete the payment of entitlements to the former workers of the airline, who had not been paid until the current administration started the payment in 2018 and had already earmarked funds to complete the payment.

The Mohammadu Buhari administration earmarked about N45 billion for the payment and plans to complete the payment of all the workers involved this year, as about N22.5 billion had already been paid.

Expressing disappointment over the non-implementation of the Nwazota report, former senior engineer of the Nigeria Airways Limited and currently the Director of Engineering, Ibom Air, Lukeman Animaseun, told THISDAY that the panel captured vividly what

led to the bankruptcy and eventual liquidation of the national carrier.

He expressed confidence that one day, the panel’s report would be implemented and those indicted for diverting the airline’s funds would be made to pay for their indiscretion and greed.

“What was captured by the Nwazota’s panel was the truth. At least 90 per cent of it was true and I believe that it is a matter of time that those involved would be punished for

what they did, but it is unfortunate that up till now no government has taken action,” he said.

Animaseun who is in charge of the payment of severance entitlement of the former workers of the airline said government would soon complete the payment of the workers by October, 2021.

He said what remain now are batches six to 16 to complete the Continued on page 24

Floating Dockyard: ICRC Delivers Business Compliance Certificate to NIMASA, Agency Set for Ballast Water Management Eromosele Abiodun The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has issued a Certificate of Compliance for an outline Business Case (OBC) for the operation of the Modular Floating Dockyard acquired by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Acting Director General of the commission, Mr. Michael Ohiani, led a team of ICRC officers to the NIMASA headquarters in Lagos to present the certificate.

Ohiani said the agency’s outline

business case for the Modular Floating Dockyard’s management contract to be operated, maintained, and transferred under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement was in compliance with the ICRC Act 2005 and the National Policy on Public Private Partnership.

This is just as NIMASA said Nigeria is taking proactive steps to address its exposure to the threat of ballast water because of the high tanker traffic in its waters.

Speaking while receiving the Certificate of Compliance, Director

General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, said the Modular Floating Dockyard was a national asset. Dr. Jamohassured that the Agency was committed to the careful deployment of the dry dock in line with relevant regulatory instruments to ensure wealth creation, job creation, and revenue generation for the Federal Government.

He also said issues, such as security, accessibility, and existing complimentary infrastructure on ground, were considered in the development of a business case for the dockyard, which will be managed

on a PPP basis with NIMASA and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), on the one hand, and a management company, on the other. ICRC would closely monitor the entire implementation process to ensure equity, fairness, and profitability for the Federal Government.

Jamoh stated, “It is one thing to have the Modular Dockyard, and another for it to enjoy patronage and be a profitable venture for government.

So many funds have been invested in the project and it cannot serve just as a workshop for an institution of

learning, as being inferred in some quarters.

“Detailed investigation has also confirmed that the dockyard cannot berth at an area earlier proposed for it.

We got approval from our supervising ministry to deploy the asset on a PPP basis and we are working in conjunction with the Nigerian Ports Authority. Our arrangement to utilise facilities at the Continental Shipyard in Apapa is still very much on course.”

He added that the seeming delay in the deployment of the Floating Dockyard was due basically to the

fact that attention was being paid to details to ensure due diligence, compliance with due process and the eventual durability of the project when it becomes operational.

“The floating dockyard is a national asset and we consulted the ICRC, which is the regulatory agency of government, to review the process of deployment to confirm that it is a worthwhile investment on a PPP arrangement, and today they have confirmed to us that we are on the Continued on page 24

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 2 1 FGN BONDS DESCRIPTION 12.175 FGNSB 10-OCT-2021 11.244 FGNSB 16-OCT-2021 10.296 FGNSB 13-NOV-2021 13.390 FGNSB 14-NOV-2021 9.091 FGNSB 11-DEC-2021

Price

Yield

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OTC FX F U T U R E S

Discount Yield

Change (%)

100.54

3.77

0.00

NTB 30-Sep-21

3.65

3.65

0.00

100.60

3.82

0.00

NTB 14-Oct-21

3.76

3.78

0.00

100.97

4.07

0.00

NTB 28-Oct-21

3.88

3.90

0.00

101.48

4.08

0.00

NTB 11-Nov-21

4.00

4.02

0.00

NTB 25-Nov-21

4.12

4.15

101.11

4.32

CONTRACT TENOR (MONTH) 1

Contract

Current Rate ($/₦)

NGUS SEP 29 2021 420.93

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NGUS OCT 27 2021 422.38

3

NGUS NOV 24 2021 423.83

0.00

4

NGUS DEC 29 2021 425.28

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5

NGUS JAN 26 2022 426.73

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MTNN CP III 20SEP-21 MREP CP XXXIX 20-SEP-21 CMBL CP XV 11-OCT-21 UBNP CP VIII 18-OCT-21 CMBL CP XII 31-OCT-21

6.71

6.72

1.12

17.70

17.74 1.12

7.15

7.19

1.04

8.76

8.82

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5.01

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

L–R: Director, Corporate Governance, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Dr. Nelson Anumaka; Chairman, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Prince Austin EnajemoIsire; Managing Director/CEO, Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Chizor Malize and Deputy Commissioner, Technical (DCT), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Sabiu Bello Abubakar at the FITC/NAICOM Executive Education Insurance Programme on “Accelerating Insurance Business Growth and Market Penetration: Leadership Imperatives for the Insurance Industry Post COVID-19” held yesterday in Lagos

African FinTech Foundry Targets 40 Successful Startups Businesses in Four Years Emma Okonji African FinTech Foundry (AFF), the Financial Technology (FinTech) arm of Access Bank, has said its target is to develop and grow as much as 40 portfolios of successful technology startups in the next four years, who will be addressing specific challenges with their solutions, while generating huge revenue and creating jobs for Nigerians.

Head, African FinTech Foundry, Mr. Daniel Awe, disclosed this in Lagos, during the pitching of the top 10 startups that graduated from the 2021 AFF Accelerator programme.

According to Awe, “In the next four years, we want to have about

40 portfolios of startups who will be addressing specific challenges with their solutions, and making money from the business that will drive job creation and employment for Nigerians and the entire world.

“We plan to further escalate that number such that in the next seven to 10 years, some of them will become a billion dollar worth of FinTech businesses. This is the kind of development that Access Bank is looking at in Nigeria. We may grow our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but we need to create new businesses in order to develop faster as a country and to further grow the Nigerian GDP and the economy.”

Executive Director, Business

Banking at Access Bank, Chizoma Okoli, while admonishing the top 10 startups from the AFF Accelerator programme who pitched their ideas in Lagos, said FinTech would continue to rule the world and it would be the way to go.

She advised the selected top ten startups to take advantage of the AFF Accelerator programme to further develop their business ideas, since lots of opportunities abound for them.

“Access Bank will help you achieve your dream through support and mentorship, we will be with you always as you grow your business and climb the ladder of success. It is true that businesses fail, but do not be deterred by the number of

failures, just be focused and believe in your dreams to succeed. The journey may be rough in the first two to three years, but after the trying and challenging moments, comes success.

It is not easy to grow a business to a point of success, but with the right support from Access Bank, you will surely be successful,” Okoli said.

Over 3,000 applications were received for this year’s AFF Accelerator programme, which was shortlisted to 357, and further shortlisted to 70, before selecting the top 10 for pitching and showcasing as the next startups that will receive further mentorship to become FinTech companies of global repute.

Awe further said: “ We brought all

the startups who applied and trained them for 17 weeks before the final selection process to brought out the top ten. We assembled the best of judges from investment companies as well as local and international investors and capitalists to listen to their pitches and make their choice of investments, depending on the solution that appeals to them the most.

“The investors and capitalists are looking for where to invest, and the startups from AFF is a good place to invest their money, to further develop the startups, hence we invited them to the AFF Accelerator programme to listen to the pitches from the top 10 startups. What AFF is doing with the

accelerator programme, is to showcase the best of FinTech talents to the whole world as potential startups that could attract investments.”

AFF is a platform to showcase potential startups to the world.

The startups need mentors at their formative stage who will not only fund their business ideas, but also guide them on how to generate money and reinvest such revenue into the business to further expand it, Awe added.

The startups were able to develop solutions that address specific challenges across various sectors like payment system, energy, education, governance, transportation, eateries, among others.

Customs Intercepts N9m Fake Malaria Drugs in Edo The Federal Operations Unit, zone C, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has announced that it seized fake malaria drug, Artesunate injection worth N9 million along the Benin -Ore Road.

In a press statement by the public relations officer, FOU zone C, Jerry Attah, he said the contraband intercepted between July and Augyst worth N120billion.

Attah, in the statement said the customs area controller, Compt. Yusuf Lawal, listed other contraband seized to include 130 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice valued at N5.4milion and 2,181 cartons of foreign cosmetic

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)

products without National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), registration numbers valued at N76million intercepted along the Okada/ Benin express way.

According to the comptroller, the cosmetic products included 457 cartons of simple sensitive skin expert; 790 cartons of facial wash, 232 cartons of Carotone Cream, 574 cartons of various brands of cosmetics and 128 cartons of Revlon Almay Godess Gloss.

Other seized items are 440 cartons

of Artesunate injection zensunate without NAFDAC number worth N9milion intercepted along the Okada - Benin expressway, 449 cartons of fan pop sweets worth N7.5million intercepted along the Lagos - Benin expressway and 161 jumbo bales of used clothing valued at N23million that were intercepted along the Enugu- Port -Hacourt expressway.

The comptroller who urged Nigerians to be wary of fake and smuggled products said that they are not only hazardous to human

health but also to the economy of Nigeria.

He added that his men and officers are fully prepared and equipped to combat all nefarious activities of smugglers especially with the festive ember months by the corner.

He thanked sister agencies as well as the media and the ComptrollerGeneral, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali for their hollistic support to the Service and pledged to continously checkmate the activities of smugglers in line with his constitutional

mandate so as to reduce smuggling in the zone to its barest minimum.

“We urge Nigerians to confirm the quality of a product before purchasing it for use because so many medicinal and cosmetic products are being smuggled into the country without a NAFDAC number. Those who use non NAFDAC certified cosmetic products stand the risk of skin cancer just as those who consume antimalarial drugs without a NAFDAC number are only experimenting with their lives. Our men and officers are

fully prepared to face smugglers head-on especially during the ember months in line with our mandate; we will leave no stone unturned”, he said.

He further said that the importation of foreign rice is against Federal Government’s agricultural policies and warned that smugglers will never have a filled day.

He urged Nigerians to cooperate with the Service as it continues to block all leakages, thwart antics of smugglers and sanitize the country irrespective of whose ox is gored.

FLOATING DOCKYARD: ICRC DELIVERS BUSINESS COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE TO NIMASA, AGENCY SET FOR BALLAST WATER MANAGEMENT right path,” Jamoh added.

Ohiani also described the Floating Dockyard as a profitable investment by government. He, however, noted that only deployment based on due diligence and effective implementation of the approved business case would ensure the durability of the project.

He stated, “The project is bankable and sustainable. The Nigerian government will get value for money

in the project. The next step is to get the best concessioner to provide the services and a full business case will be prepared and taken to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.

“ICRC will continue to manage the process and we hope to conclude the entire process before the end of the year. We will also ensure that the concessioner does not charge arbitrary fees when it becomes operational. It

is a total package we are delivering to Nigerians and we seek their understanding and patience.”

Meanwhile, speaking at the 10th Meeting of the National Taskforce (NTF) on Implementation of Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, 2004 Jamoh said, being an oil producing country, Nigeria was prone to the effects of harmful aquatic organisms transported across regions

by tankers. He said NIMASA, the Lead Agency for the implementation of international conventions, codes, and regulations of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), had in conjunction with other members of the NTF set up a plan for full implementation of the BWM Convention in the country.

Jamoh who was represented by the Director, Marine Accident Investigation

Unit, Mrs Rita Egbuche, stated, “As an oil producing country, we recognise the country’s susceptibility to the danger of ballast water and we have put processes and actions in place to deal with the threat in line with the resolutions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). We would continue to update and fine-tune our strategies as new developments emerge.

EX-NAL WORKERS EXCORIATE FG FOR FAILING TO IMPLEMENT NWAZOTA’S PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS OVER DEMISE OF AIRLINE payment, disclosing that the bulk of the payment had been done, adding, “by October everybody will be paid.”

Speaking about the nonimplementation of Nwazota’s panel report recommendations, industry stakeholder and the General Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), wondered why those indicted in the report have been allowed to be moving freely and alleged that they are still behind most of the problems in the aviation industry because many of them found their way to the position of influence and have been dictating some decisions

being taken in the sector.

“When you look at the aviation industry today, they were the people who destroyed the industry. Those who killed NAL are still there today and were behind the liquidation of Virgin Nigeria Airways Limited (VNA). They still have influence with the present Minister of Aviation,” he said.

Ojikutu noted that the plan to establish another national carrier might not succeed, as long as the federal government is playing a major role in its establishment because those who were involved in the bankruptcy of Nigeria Airways are also the “people

still influencing things today,” adding that from the promise that it would only have five per cent stake, the federal government is now the one bankrolling the financing of the planned national carrier.

“We need a national carrier; not a government carrier. I am getting worried more than before, as government is getting more involved in the establishment of a national carrier.

I recall the first stakeholders meeting we had at Sheraton, Lagos I suggested that government should have 10 per cent stake, but the Minister said that government would have only five per

cent, but today government seemed to be bankrolling the whole thing with huge government budget. Government is expected to have maximum of 10 per cent, 20 per cent will go to the stock exchange, the technical partner may have 40 per cent and the remaining will go to Nigerians,” he said.

But reacting to the implementation of the Nwazota’s panel recommendation, the industry consultant and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, said the panel’s report lacked legitimacy.

“Nwazota’s panel report is a document that will live in infamy. I

had said so when he was alive and now that he was dead. The panel’s report criminalised incompetence.

Obasanjo used the panel to justify the liquidation of Nigeria Airways.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) did not deliberate over the report, so there was not final position; so it was not gazetted,” he said.

On the scepticism that the new national carrier would fail, considering that government is fully midwifing it, he said: “The fact a wife had miscarriage two times, does not mean that the couple should not try again.”

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, ͰͮͰͯ ˾ T H I S D AY

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BUSINESSWORLD

AVIATION

Of Air Safety and COVID-19 Challenges The aviation industry was understandably one of the most adversely affected following the global lockdown triggered by COVID-19 pandemic. It was a challenge that shoved the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority into unchartered space. Amazingly, a year after the lockdown, the industry in Nigeria is firmly back to business. Chinedu Eze reports

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he major challenge that the air transport industry faced as the COVID-19 lockdown eased globally was how to ensure that aircraft resumed operations in good and safe condition. During the lockdown, virtually all commercial planes were grounded and put in storage, as the industry regulators, especially the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) kept a close watch on developments.

Before resumption of flights, airlines were required to observe COVID-19 protocols, train their staff and they had to be certified by the NCAA. In taking aircraft out of storage and putting them back to operation, the airlines and the regulatory authority had to work together to meet the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) novel safety protocols.

But the major challenge airlines faced globally, but acutely in Nigeria, was how to ensure that aircraft were airworthy. By the time the lockdown was lifted by the federal government, many of the aircraft that were in storage were due for C-check. Even before the lockdown, a lot of them had been ferried overseas for maintenance. Unfortunately, major aircraft maintenance facilities overseas were not in operation due to the lockdown. By the time Nigeria suspended its lockdown, quite a number of countries were still on lockdown, a development that stalled prompt resumption of operations.

It was a particularly acute challenge for Nigeria because the country lacked major local maintenance facilities where aircraft could be serviced. So, most of the aircraft due for maintenance were either left in maintenance facilities abroad, with huge costs to the airlines, or they were left at the airports in Nigeria as AOG (aircraft on ground).

With so many aircraft not flying, Nigerian airlines operated below capacity, even with skyrocketing airfares and schedule hiccups. NCAA had to work very hard to ensure that the airlines did not derail from the rules, as air safety is very sensitive and there could be temptations to cut corners in response to the challenge. What happened to one airline that was later suspended from operation indicated that the regulatory authority was effectively keeping tabs on the carriers.

But after over a year, Nigerian airlines seem to have come out of that setback and are now recording growth as evidenced by comparative indices and confirmed by the regulatory authority.

COVID-19 EFFECT

Recently the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, gave an update on what the agency had been doing following the lifting of the lockdown. He acknowledged that the COVID-19 had affected the air travel industry, and gladly the industry is steadily returning to the path of growth after the lockdown.

Aided by insecurity that makes land travel unattractive, Nuhu said there is a boon in air travel right now.

“COVID-19 has really changed our industry

significantly in all manners which is not peculiar to Nigeria, it is a global thing. And also right here in Nigeria the industry is growing, we have more airlines coming up and even the existing airlines are expanding their operations, frequency, ordering more aircraft, doing all sorts of connection.

The connectivity of the country has improved significantly and it is going to get much better.

“You can almost travel from any part of the country to any other part of the country; we are almost at that point. This is reminiscent of the days of Nigeria Airways where you can go from anywhere to anywhere, even now it is even getting better. I can travel from Asaba to Kano; it never used to happen. You can travel from Port Harcourt to Kano, I can travel from almost anywhere to Sokoto, to Bauchi, Gombe, it is really amazing,” he said.

The Director General said more airports are being built, as states have embarked on the establishment of new airports to deepen air connectivity.

“We have airports; a lot of state governments are building new airports. We have airports popping up all over the places, so that has increased the span of activities and responsibility on NCAA as the regulator of the industry. Our surveillance programme has increased. It is putting a lot of demands on us. And workload has significantly increased and it is just going to get worse as time goes and that has put a lot of stress on us,” Nuhu said.

MANPOWER CHALLENGE

Nuhu said that attracting technical staff and retaining them is a big challenge NCAA has because of the relatively poor remuneration, noting that in the aviation environment, the agencies may have the lowest salary scale for professionals in the industry.

“The issue of our technical staff is one of the biggest challenges we have. To attract the appropriate staff, train them and retain them, it is a bit difficult. Like flight operations inspectors, these are airline pilots we are attracting. Nobody is going to leave his job with airline X and come and earn maybe 20 per cent or 30 per cent of the salary he is earning with airline.

“At the end of the day we go for retired pilots to come and do the job for us. But I think we need to have a mixture of the young inspectors and the retired inspectors. We need to have the right mixture but it is a very difficult call for us to really attract the young guys. Because we cannot compete what the industry is paying. And also on the issue of airworthiness inspectors, we have them fresh from school, we train them, they come and work for eight years, and get all the training, they get all the experience and the next thing they tell you bye-bye. This is because somebody is

doubling or tripling their salary and you can’t deny them going.

“It is a very difficult situation we find ourselves in. We have been talking to the Ministry and we have gotten approval to see how we can review these conditions of service, subject to the approval of the appropriate government agencies. This is to enable us attract and retain the core technical personnel that does the work of NCAA. NCAA is a technical organisation; our core function is technical and we need the right personnel, properly trained and in adequate numbers. We are working on that. We hope some time soon, we will be able to get a handle on it because it is one of our biggest challenges right now,” the Director General said.

OVERSIGHT FUNCTIONS AND TRAINING

Nuhu said that the agency wants to automate its systems to make the work easier for the agency in order to easily tackle its problems. This would also relief the inspectors so that they would spend more time on the field to carry out oversight functions.

“Not only will it make our work much, more effective, and much more efficient, we will be able to cope in a better way with growth in the industry as the workload will reduce on the inspectors, the paper work and all that and hopefully they will be able to do more of the oversight function and the surveillance functions too. This is to ensure they deal with all the airports, all the airlines, all the ground handlers, all the caterers, the air navigation service providers, the state airports, the federal airports and everybody in between. We hope if we finally get all the approvals, hopefully before the end of this year we hope to start the procurement process. Hopefully by the end of this year or first quarter of next, we will start implementation.

He aid that there are mandatory training courses, which the technical official of the agency must undertake in order to meet ICAO expectations and certification. The Director General explained that with the scarcity of foreign exchange and also the high cost of the training overseas, NCAA decided to domesticate some of the training programmes to make it easy for the agency, especially at this period of COVID-19 where each country has its own protocol, which sometimes could be a hindrance to travelling to some destinations.

“On the issue of training, our inspectors have five core mandatory trainings. Because of the COVID-19 people are not able to travel out to go do training because of restrictions. What we have done is that we have domesticated the training. We started November last year and for the current batch it is going to run through first

quarter of next year. And during this process about 500 courses are going to be run. Some inspectors will do three, four, five of the courses. Because it is five mandatory courses, so we want to make sure all our current inspectors are fully qualified. Some are doing refresher courses and we are going to do this training in about 18 months.

“In the past, people used to be sent out. You cannot send out more than 50 or 60 persons because of the expenses and you can’t send all your people out and ground the system. So, based on the system in the past it would have taken us eight years or 10 years to do these trainings we are doing in 18 months. These trainings are being done by ICAO certified instructors.

Anyway, it is strange; we met the system where ICAO calls on Nigeria and requests for our instructors in certain areas to send to another country to go train them. Then we are sending our people out to go and train somewhere. So we decided that we would use what we have in-house to get what we want. What this does, apart from expediting the training and shrinking the time period, it also saves us significant amount of money and foreign training fees, allowances for the staff going on training and fight tickets,” Nuhu disclosed.

NCAA REGIONAL OFFICES

The Director General said that in order to make it easy and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, NCAA has embarked on the establishment of regional offices so that certain duties could be done at the regional level instead of coming to the headquarters of the agency.

This, he noted, would make it easier for the agency to effectively attend to the needs of the airlines and others.

“Another of our programme is the establishment of regional offices. NCAA has regional offices right now and we are repositioning the regional offices, we are going to equip them properly in terms of manpower in all the areas, in terms of appropriate office spaces, tools and equipment to do their job, so we get them closer to the airlines.

“For example, if you are in Port Harcourt, you don’t have to come to Lagos or Abuja to put in any application, you can start from the regional office in Port Harcourt. You can deal with the people there up to a certain level, then they can inform the headquarters.

“It brings us much closer to our stakeholders and also gives us much effective way to do our surveillance of the operators with the regional offices. And we are looking at adding a couple of more regional offices depending on the resources available to us. Whatever we do has to be appropriated by the National Assembly, so we are looking at that and we will put in the budget and ensure it will be approved,” he said.

Without a doubt, COVID-19 has ushered in a new normal in air travel, and given both the regulatory authorities and airlines a reason to improvise and innovate. Like most stakeholder admit, the COVID-19 protocol in air travel was a guided innovation that was inevitable.

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

MARITIME

Haven for Stolen Vehicles

Eromosele Abiodun posits that the federal government’s failed promise of backward integration, policy inconsistency, arbitrariness of tariff on vehicles are responsible for vehicle smuggling

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n Thursday, Aug 12, 2021, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed said a majority of vehicles imported into Nigeria were stolen.

Delivering a keynote address at the zonal sensitisation seminar on the National Vehicle Registry (VREG) policy in Abuja, Ahmed said, “the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed that between 2015 and 2019, Nigeria imported an average of 300,000 vehicles with an average of 48 per cent increase in import annually, while an additional 45 per cent of vehicles are smuggled into the country annually, thus evading duty payment of which 40 per cent of these vehicles are stolen.

“A case study also revealed that between October 2018 to September 2019 the country recorded over N1.8 trillion value of used vehicle importation. It was further revealed that Nigeria was the hub of stolen vehicles as Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of vehicles in the country were usually unregistered. Consequently, vehicles within the shores of Nigeria cannot be traced.”

She said the ministry conceived VREG to further shore up government’s revenues, adding that it is a means to leveraging technology infrastructure to maximise revenue generation for Nigeria, as well as to enhance national security such as curtailing kidnapping, identification of vehicles used in crime perpetration and terrorism.

She said VREG, as a national repository of vehicular information, seeks to provide a singular platform through which all relevant agencies shall reference vehicular data with a view to ascertaining ownership and value information, capturing vehicular exchanges and utilising the VIN of all vehicles in Nigeria.

“Additional value is also accruable to federal, state governments and related agencies via this policy,” she stated.

Five days after the minister’s comments, the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) fired back expressing disappointment over alleged comments by the minister describing Nigeria is a haven for stolen and smuggled vehicles.

The group condemned the alleged utterance, describing it as a blow on the nation’s image, noting that the comments sent a negative message to the world.

APFFLON, through its National President, Frank Ogunojemite, said the minister misrepresented the country and “blatantly pummeled” the country’s image.

Ogunojemite said no representative of any country openly puts the country in such a bad light, noting that it was a betrayal and a disservice to the entire country.

He said her utterance was a serious indictment on customs and other security personnel at borders as well as the entire country as it is now seen as a haven for stolen and smuggled vehicles.

Twenty days after, the Assistant Comptroller General (ACG) in charge of modernization of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Mr Saidu Galadima accused some Nigerian elite and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government of patronizing smuggled vehicles.

Galadima made the accusation during an interactive session held by members of the House of Representatives Committee on the NCS, on the efforts of the agency to reduce its long cargo clearing stages so as to decongest ports in the country.

The ACG while pointing out that the elites does not include members of the National Assembly, said officers involved in allowing such cars is being penalized.

His words, “Unfortunately today the big men today in Nigeria, I didn’t say national Assembly members, all their escort vehicle Hilux are smuggled vehicles.

MDAs patronize smuggled hilux vehicles. That is why if you go to our system, the number of hilux importation has dropped but you find hundreds of them in town. Mostly used as escorts, if you makes amendment to the next finance act to make an amendment to procurement act that before a vehicle is taken over, you verify the custom duty it would go a long way. NCS buy Hilux vehicles, but they do not take delivery until when the papers are verified that duty is paid. As I am talking to you now many officers are before the board meeting for discipline for this offence.”

DERISION OF TARIFF

Why the minister has a point, it is important to stress that the government’s policy inconsistency is what is fuelling smuggling.

For instance, in November 2013, the federal government announced the introduction of a new automotive policy, which was geared towards discouraging the importation of wholly assembled automobiles and encouraging local manufacturing.

Specifically, the policy allows local assembly plants to import completely-knocked-down vehicles at zero per cent duty, and semi-knocked-down vehicles at five per cent duty, while importers pay a 70 per cent duty on new and previously-owned vehicles.

The policy’s main thrust was to encourage local car production/assembly plants while cutting importation through raising import duties.

However, eight years after, the policies have failed to achieve the desired outcomes, as Nigeria’s domestic vehicle production capacity remains under-utilised.

The economic slump that the country suffered shortly after the automotive policy was introduced hindered resuscitation of the industry.

At about N160 to the dollar in 2013, and presently almost N550 in the parallel market, stakeholders note that the auto sector’s woes have been complicated by the slow backward integration exercise.

Following the failure of the policy and pressure from car dealers, customs agents and the NCS, who were fed up with the constant battle with car smugglers, the federal government decided to rethink the policy.

On December 31, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Finance Bill 2020, into law stipulating downward review of Excise Duty on tractors and motor vehicles. The NCS was then directed to commence implementation of tariff reduction on vehicles before the end of January this year.

In the draft 2020 Finance Bill, the federal government proposed reduction in duties on tractors from 35 to 10 per cent; from 35 to 10 per cent on vehicles for transportation of goods; and 35 to five per cent on vehicles for transportation of persons (cars).

The NCS Comptroller-General, Hameed Ali, who made the announcement, said the commencement of the policy followed the transmission of the directive to the NCS by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

The customs’ boss had at a different forum said the NCS was awaiting directives from the Ministry

of Finance, Budget and National Planning on the implementation of the Act. Ali said: “The Act has been transmitted to us.

We received the minister’s mandate this week, to start working on it, although we have to develop certain regulations and measures on how we intend to implement the law. We have to change our codes to fit into the new law. You know that commercial vehicles levy is the only levy that has been reduced from 35 per cent to five per cent.

“So we have to change the codes to fit into the new law and we hope we will finish that in two days and the minister will have to look at it and agree that yes that is what we should do. I hope not too long from now, by next week or next two weeks, this law will come into effect. We will circulate it to our own commands to begin to operate.”

The customs boss noted that the new law would help the country have vehicles meant for transportation with reduced duty for the benefit of Nigerians.”

He stated that the high duty paid had also resulted to increased smuggling of vehicles into the country.

Ali disclosed that statistics available to the service showed that about 300,000 to 400,000 vehicles coming into Nigeria first stop in Benin Republic before being smuggled into Nigeria.

PROMISE OF ENFORCEMENT

In a circular dated February 8, 2021, the NCS directed immediate compliance to the policy.

It said the reduction followed the decision to prune applicable levies and duties on vehicles in order to mitigate the rising transport costs and boost the mass transit industry.

The Deputy Comptroller-General (T&T), T.M. Isa, signed the circular on behalf of the Comptroller General of the NCS. The essence of the assent, according to the document, was to support implementation of the 2021 budget of economic recovery, which culminated in the changes of the fiscal framework in terms of importation of automotive vehicles into the country.

It read in part: “Pursuant to the assent by Mr. President to the Finance Act. 2020 to support the implementation of the 2021 Budget of Economic Recovery and Resilience, certain changes to the fiscal framework regarding the importation of specific automotive vehicles into Nigeria have been introduced.

“These reforms are designed to reduce the applicable levies and duties on vehicles, mitigate rising transport costs, and boost road transportation and mass transit industry.

“Arising from the afore stated, Section 38 of the Finance A chief, 2020 modified the First Schedule to the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), Etc (Consolidation) Act by amending applicable duties and levies as follows: reduction of Import Duty on Fully Built (FBU) of Agricultural Tractors (HSHS Headings 8701from 35 per cent to 5 per cent as applicable; reduction of Import Duty of Fully Built Unit of Motor Vehicles for the Transport of persons (cars) (HS Headings 8703 from 35 per cent to five per cent as applicable; reduction of Import Duty of Fully Built Unit (FBU) of Motor Vehicles for the Transport of Goods (HSHS Headings (HSBC Headings 8704)

from 35 per cent to 10 per cent as applicable.”

It added: “Furthermore, the Act also introduces fiscal incentives for the Aviation Sector. For the avoidance of doubts airlines registered in Nigeria, which provide commercial air transport services by owning or leasing aircraft are to enjoy free importation of aircraft, engines, spare parts and other components. Ensure wide circulation for immediate compliance, please.”

DOUBLE STANDARD

Meanwhile, contrary to its own directive, the NCS have failed to apply a uniform tariff for imported vehicles.

Customs agents and Nigerians have been at the receiving end of the double standard that recently led to a fracas between officials of the NCS and clearing agents at Tin Can Island Port in Lagos. THISDAY learnt that customs officials apply tariff depending on who imports a particular vehicle.

Speaking to newsmen on the development, the Vice-President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Kayode Farinto, accused the officers of the NCS for using various tariffs on imported vehicles to extort importers and victimise clearing agents at the ports.

Farinto, while reflecting on the need to get justice for a young Customs agent, recently shot by an officer of the NCS, said that absence of implementing uniform tariff on imported vehicles fuelling criminal acts and corruption among the officers of Customs at the port.

He alleged that the officers are deliberately frustrating the process of having uniform tariff because of their selfish interests even when the Ali (Rtd), had approved it in a recent meeting with stakeholders.

He added that Customs are sabotaging Ease of Doing Business of the federal government for imposing arbitrary charges on importers and clearing agents.

According to him, all efforts to make NCS to key into Ghana’s Customs uniform tariff on imported vehicles have always hit the rock.

“I have on several occasions begged the management of NCS to give us uniform tariff on vehicles. Nigerians need to know for instance, we have 2009 Camry, one at PTML, one at Tin Can Island and one at Apapa Port.

These vehicles despite the fact that they have the same year of manufacture, we never pay the same value just because we have arbitrariness of duty,” he said.

“We have received many complaints from our members over the arbitrariness of tariff on vehicles and we met with the management of Customs to give us uniform value. Ghana is an example, we even told them this that we are ready to sponsor Customs officers to Ghana and study their uniform tariff.

“In Ghana, what they do is that if you have any vehicles, what you have to do is to input your VIN into the system because with your VIN number, you cannot lie as par year of manufacture. Once you input you VIN number it brings out the history of the vehicle, and then you can now apply for appropriate rate,” Farinto said.

He lamented that present management of NCS is paying lips service to the issue of uniform tariff and they didn’t want to come out with a uniform value.

“I have it on good authority that the CGC has directed that there should be uniformity of value but this has not been implemented. We are tired of an arbitrary value, we are tired of giving bribes,” he said.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

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BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

How Nigerian Carriers Can Benefit from SAATM Chinedu Eze Air Transport Specialist and former Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Richard Aisuebeogun, has identified key factors that must be met for domestic airlines to benefit from the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in their West Coast operations.

Over the years, the West Coast, which comprises West and Central African destinations, has been a lucrative market for Nigerian airlines. But recently other players have joined the market, making it more competitive. Also, some countries in the sub-region in the effort to protect their own airlines, have introduced outrageous charges on airlines from other countries, despite the adoption of SAATM, which advocates liberalisation of the airspace and unhindered immigration protocol for African airlines.

But despite these challenges, Aisuebeogun said the key factors that would enable Nigerian airlines to succeed is using appropriate equipment, on-time performance, and consistency in service delivery and using diplomacy with the support of Nigerian government to overcome aero politics, which tend to inhibit smooth inter-country connectivity in the sub-region.

Aisuebeogun said that despite the incentives contained in SAATM to encourage air transport in Africa, some states still cling tenaciously to old ways of protection and closure of their airspace to African carriers outside their states, shunning the liberalisation principle of SAATM and using the worn-out rivalry between English and French speaking countries to create division.

This is a dichotomy, which the Yamoussoukro Decision (the first effort to liberalise African airspace), failed to pull down and which SAATM is yet to succeed in supplanting.

Aisuebeogun noted that Nigerian airlines had

dominated the sub-region in the past three decades with airlines like Okada Air, ADC Airlines and Bellview Airlines controlling over 80 per cent of that market. However, that dominance started waning when external factors like protectionism began to take root.

On the side of the airlines, he observed that internal factors like poor management, lack of understanding of the market in terms of yield and revenues, and operating aging aircraft became a hindrance to the airlines to maintain their dominance.

He however stressed that protectionism through arbitrary charges by various countries and lack of appropriate pricing were reasons that led to gradual withdrawal of airlines that operated from Nigeria to the West coast.

The market contracted further for Nigerian operators when some countries in the sub-region opened their airspace to fifth and sixth freedom rights to foreign airlines, thus cementing multiple designations in a region that was not fully liberalised

and this affected the profitability of Nigerian carriers.

“The charges became so unbearable for most of the operators from Nigeria but because they have customers, many of them maintained operations on the West Coast but at the detriment of their profitability. The cost of operating into the West Coast, especially Francophone countries, became unbearable, especially with regards to charges and many of the airlines could not sustain operations and the withdrawal syndrome began gradually with reduction of frequency of flights,” he said.

So one factor that will make Nigerian airlines succeed, according to Aisuebeogun, is for them to use the right aircraft for their operations.

He said, “Arik Air introduced modern aircraft, next generation aircraft Boeing 737-700/800 but with a higher capacity which implied the aircraft weight would be higher because they were operating a wide-body aircraft that attracted high charges in the West Coast. If I operate a Boeing 737 and you are operating a Bombardier CRJ, I would

pay more charges, very obviously, compared to you that operate a CRJ.” Aisuebeogun emphasized that using the wrong aircraft size was one factor that held Nigerian carriers back on the regional routes. So using inappropriate aircraft to service the routes would not have made their operations profitable; he said, while observing that most operators wanted to buy mid-sized aircraft for a route that could be sustained with a turbo-prop.

“Everyone wanted to buy a mid-sized aircraft at that time when a turboprop would have been good for sustainable operations. So, aircraft like the ATR-72-500/600 or the ATR42-300/500 would have been good. Then the CRJ-200, Embraer 145 would have fit sustainable operations on the West African sub region. Unfortunately, Nigerian airlines have a number of mid-sized aircraft that attract high operating cost.

“Even when you tanker out of Lagos, the cost of fuel in Freetown, in Monrovia, in Bamako or in Abidjan, in Dakar or in Banjul is extremely expensive. At a point they were double the cost of fuel in Nigeria,” he said.

Aisuebeogun said there are huge opportunities in the West Coast with its over 390 million population.

He said that is potentially a big market that has attracted airlines from other regions. And for any Nigerian airline to make money from the destinations in the sub-region, it must have to recognise and overcome the barriers, including ethno-political differences and protectionism.

“You can buy all the brand new airplanes but without solving some of these challenges you will experience what your predecessors experienced.

The prevailing conditions that happened in the 90s and 2000s haven’t changed; they are still there.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

FG Moves to Boost Animal Feed Production to Check High Cost James Emejo and Sonia Mayomi in Abuja The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Muhammed Abubakar, yesterday said the federal government is currently working to provide incentives to feed millers and agribusiness companies as well as support various research institutes in developing alternative feed ingredients for production of animal feeds.

The minister who lamented that animal feed accounted for over 70 per cent of the cost of animal production, thereby making it the most important consideration in a livestock business, said the government was determined

to check the high cost of feeds in the country.

Speaking at the opening of the maiden National Animal Feed Summit with the theme :”Developing a Roadmap for Animal Feed Security in Nigeria” in Abuja, he said if properly harnessed, the feed sector has the potential to engage over 20 million Nigerians, adding that the industry is yet to reach 25 per cent of its market size.

Abubakar said the sector currently engages over five million Nigerians directly or indirectly as technical or skilled personnel, distributors, fabricators of tools and machinery, input suppliers among others.

The sector, he said, generates

massive employment across various value chains and strengthens the national social safety net with copious contributions to food security, household income and poverty reduction.

According to him, as at 2016, the Nigerian feed industry produces an average of 5.5 million metric tonnes of animal feed per annum comprising 85 per cent poultry feeds.

He expressed optimism that with the emergence of commercial ruminant and swine feed in the industry, the sector will produce about 50 million metric tonnes per an um of animal feed.

Represented at the occasion by

the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, the minister said part of the measures towards addressing the high cost of animal feed as well as enhancing its production was to incentivise feed mills to locate in rural areas where feed ingredients are largely available.

He said the government was also working to improve on the level of education of farmers on modern animal and feed production techniques.

He added that to transform the sector, the country must embark on livestock feed production, industrialisation, feed value chain

development, development of national animal feed and feed safety policy as well as establishment of national strategic feed and feed ingredient reserve centre among others.

Abubakar further assured that the ministry would continue to give attention to the animal feed need of farmers through an enduring policy that would transform the country’s livestock and agriculture for the benefit of Nigerians.

He said, “Nigeria will succeed.

Nigeria will unleash hope for its livestock farmers, as it accelerates way forward for animal feed security.

“Nigeria must feed its animals to

feed itself. And if it fully unlocks its livestock feed potentials, Nigeria can help feed Africa.”

He said the feed sector constituted a challenge to animal husbandry practices, largely due to high cost of animal feeds, which are not readily available and not easily affordable by an average farmer if available.

He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on many sectors particularly the livestock sub-sector through reduced availability of animal feed ingredients, labour shortage, processing facilities, inputs and services, thereby reducing access of animal feed to markets and consumers.

Air Peace to Connect more Cities, Create more Oluwa Glass: Akeredolu Decries Importation of Glass, Sets to Resuscitate Factory Jobs with Delivery of Brand New Aircraft Airline Operators Exonerate NCAA of Bribery Allegation Chinedu Eze Nigeria major carrier, Air Peace said that it would connect to more destination in Nigeria, the West Coast and create thousands of new jobs with the delivery of additional brand new aircraft, Embraer E195-E2, which is the fourth of the 13 aircraft already paid for by the airline.

This is coming as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) exonerated the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of alleged bribery allegation and expressed confidence in the oversight activities of the agency.

The Chairman and CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema made this known during the reception of the delivery of the 4th E195-E2 aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and disclosed that three more of the brand new aircraft would be delivered before the end of 2021 from the 13 already paid for because of issues relating with foreign exchange, as it has become very difficult to obtain dollars due to the dwindling value of the naira.

Onyema said each aircraft delivered to the airline creates

additional 1000 jobs directly and indirectly; so the 13 aircraft when fully delivered would create additional 13, 000 jobs, which include those that work with the airline, suppliers and other service providers, adding that the objective of which he established the airline was being realised because he wanted to create jobs for Nigerians.

“Although we have paid for these aircraft, we need forex to pay for delivery payment anytime they want to bring in more aircraft. Because it is difficult to source foreign exchange, we have decided that we are going to bring three more aircraft before the end of the year. That will make it seven brand new aircraft.

“Each of these aircraft generates almost a thousand jobs. If older aircraft are doing eight flights a day, these ones can do about 15 flights a day.

We have increased connectivity and additional destinations. We are doing Port Harcourt, Asaba –Kano, Benin-Port Harcourt. We have started Lagos-Douala and we are going to connect to other destinations in the West and Central Africa,” he said.

Onyema said Air Peace decided to go for these new aircraft in order to give Nigerians what they deserve and make them comfortable, adding that the airline wants to make connectivity easy for Nigerians by interconnecting all cities in Nigeria so as to energize the country and provide jobs.

The director general NCAA, Musa Nuhu during his remarks congratulated the Chairman of Air Peace for being consistent and deliberate in his plans to renew the airline’s fleet with new airplanes and connect more cities in Nigeria.

“It gladdens my heart that Nigerian airlines are not only getting new aircraft but are getting the right aircraft. The connectivity in Nigeria has improved and it is getting better.

“These new aircraft have low maintenance and operational costs and are environmental friendly. This is the way to go. I believe with time, Air Peace will change all its fleet to newer ones,” Nuhu said.

He recalled that pre-COVID-19, 10 to 12 million passengers passed through the country’s airports per annum, which only amounts to 10 percent of the country’s population.

Jamoh Wins 2020 Zik Prize in Public Policy Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has been named winner of the 2020 Zik Prize in Public Policy.

Making the announcement on Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, in Lagos, the Chairman, Selection Committee Zik Prize 2020, Professor Pat Utomi said the capacity of the Director General to have extensively managed the restructuring, reformation and repositioning of NIMASA earned him the prestigious award.

Utomi stated that the Deep Blue Project and the Blue Economy initiatives Jamoh “continues to champion have brought massive gains to the Agency and the nation’s

economic diversification goals.”

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in its second quarter 2021 report had disclosed that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which had in recent times become the global epicentre for sea piracy, fell to the lowest since Q2 2019 after the Jamoh started enforcing the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.

Aside Jamoh, two other illustrious Nigerian technocrats that also won the 2020 Zik Prize in Public Policy include; Dr Akinwunmi Ayodeji Adesina, the 8th elected President of the African Development Bank Group. A 1st class scholar and bold reformer.

Dr Adesina was also a former

Minister of Agriculture of Nigeria, who the innovative electronic wallet system that he introduced ended 40 years of corruption in the fertiliser sector. The High 5s and the Africa Investment Forum initiatives that he has introduced as AFDB President have been a massive success.

Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Managing Director of NNPC will also join, Jamoh and Adesina to receive the 2020 Zik Prize in Public Policy.

In the political leadership category, former Secretary to the Federal Government and former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; and Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora were announced winners.

NIWA Commissions Three Patrol Boats for Lagos Waterways The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) yesterday commissioned three patrol boats that will be deployed on the Lagos inland waterways to enforce safety.

This is even as the authority inaugurated a task force team that will man the patrol boats and comb the Lagos waterways to ensure operators key into the Federal Government directive on safety.

Speaking after commissioning the boats, the Managing Director of NIWA, George Moghalu explained that the agency procured 20 patrol boats and decided to hand over three for the Lagos inland waterways.

According to the NIWA MD, “We have procured 20 patrol boats for

all the nations inland waterways.

We will be procuring more as the demand arises, but for now, we have twenty patrol boats and we have decided to deploy three of the boats for the Lagos inland waterways.

“We have also inaugurated a Task force that will man these boats. The responsibility of these patrol boats is to ensure compliance on the Lagos inland waterways by boat operators.

“One of our headaches is the penchant by operators to overload boats. Many of the accidents that have claimed lives on our inland waterways has been down to overloading issues.

“Another problem we encounter on the waterways is the refusal to

wear Life Jackets for passengers during ferry services by boat operators.

“It will be the responsibility of these Task Force to ensure compliance on our waterways henceforth. The three patrol boats will comb the Lagos inland waterways on a 24hpirs basis to apprehend operators who default on these safety rules. Anybody caught flouting these safety regulations will be arrested henceforth.

“We appreciate the collaborative efforts of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and other government agencies. We will continue to look forward to collaborating with sister agencies to ensure that water transportation is safe and efficient.

Fidelis David in Akure

THe Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has decried importation of glass into the country despite the huge availability of the needed raw materials for its production in the state.

Governor Akeredolu spoke on Thursday while receiving investors from the Horn Glass Industries from Germany led by the Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stephan Meindl.

The Governor recalled that when the Moribund Oluwa Glass was functional, it was supplying the then Peugeot glasses for windscreen and mirror as part of the production of the vehicles.

The Ondo State Government had signed a Public Private Partnership agreement with the ZMP Industrial Limited for the establishment of 600 Tonnes per day capacity float glass factory in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local

Government Area of the state.

Akeredolu said there is no better company to establish glass factory in the state than the Horn Glass Industries having been involved with the establishment of the Oluwa Glass over three decades ago.

He said: “You are involved with Oluwa Glass and you are the one that built it. I don’t think there is a better company to start a new state-of-the-art Glass Company than you.

“Importation of glass into this country is unfortunate.

Oluwa Glass was the one supplying Peugeot windscreen and glass. But government involvement in Oluwa Glass killed it.

“But today, we have equity participation. We are not going to stiffen anyone who is interest in developing the state.

Our participation will be minimal

so as to make it effective.”

Governor Akeredolu charged the investors to be time conscious, adding that time is of the essence.

“Time is of essence. We are running against time. Please start now. Undoubtedly, we are waiting.

The state will be glad to have a glass factory back after 35years,” he noted.

Horn Glass Industries Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stephan Meindl, said his firm is ready to establish the glass factory with modern technology and unwavering commitment.

The Secretary, Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency, Emmanuel Omomowo, who explained the process and terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed, said the Sunshine state is endowed with Silica Sands which has a the raw material needed for the glass production.

THIS WEEKEND WEEKLY MAGAZINE

NEWS METRO THISLIFE ART WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 07010510430

Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo: Propagating the Development of the Security Conscious Mindset

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COVER

Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo: Propagating the Development of the Security Conscious Mindset Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo is the 21st indigenous Chief of the Naval Staff. The 36 Regular Course member of the Nigerian Defence Academy has a Bachelors’ Degree in Economics from the NDA, a Post Graduate Diploma in Transport Management and a Master’s Degree in Transport Management-Logistics Option, from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso. Recently, he co-authored a gold mine of information on “Developing a Security Conscious Mindset”, which was launched at the 2021 Chief of Naval Staff Conference in Kano. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the book, among other things, delved into security strategies in relation to the human mind

CNS flanked by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State; CDS, General Lucky Irabor; Co-author, Abiodun Adebanjo and traditional rulers

Book cover

“I

f there is any lesson that has been ingrained in me as a career military officer, it is the fact that being security conscious is a mindset required for survival in any clime.” The above statement was written by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, as the foreword of the book co-authored by the 21st indigenous Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo and Mr. Abiodun Adebanjo.

The foreword was again read by the CDS at the recently held 2021 Chief of the Naval Staff Conference (CONSAC) held in Kano. Titled “Developing a Security Conscious Mindset”, the book was launched by retired and serving service chiefs; Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; CDS, General Lucky Irabor; Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi; members of Navy Committees in the National Assembly, and traditional rulers.

Describing the book as a scholarly piece of work which focused on security education in Nigeria, the CDS said the authors observed a general lack of individual security consciousness in the country and considered this as an anomaly to the overall security architecture.

Key Derivatives On what influenced the book, the authors said “the rising wave of insecurity today has brought to the fore, the reality that security is everyone’s concern. The need for a secure and safer society is therefore ever more important as globalisation continues to break barriers of distances and foster integration of people.

“This book presents a lucid and simple introduction to the subject of personal security and its relationship with the mindset of the individual. At its core, the mindset of an individual is a powerful tool that could create a false sense of security or indifference if one’s situation is

Co-author, Developing the Security Conscious Mind, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, Chief of the Naval Staff, flanked by retired service chiefs at his book launch in Kano not objectively evaluated.

“Developing a Security Conscious Mindset”, takes readers through this delicate journey in their most basic forms. It will help readers see the pitfalls in their lack of security awareness and the implications of their otherwise overlooked actions.”

According to them, the book is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond mere passive reaction towards security matters to the next step; contributing to the achievement of a safer and more secure society as the authors weaved a combination of simple security strategies and psychology with their personal experiences in the military and study of human mindset/behaviour in this masterpiece.

Breakdown of Chapters For easy readership, the book was segmented into three parts, which was targeted at the armed forces, other law enforcement agencies and the general populace who may desire to acquire some tips on their personal and environmental security.

While Chapter One dealt with Understanding Insecurity, Chapter Two harped on Understanding Mindset, Attitude and

Behaviour, Chapter Three treated Security in Perspective and Chapter Four tackled General Security Breaches and Tips on Preventing/ Addressing Them.

In Chapter Five, Current Global Security Threat: Insurgency and Terrorism was touched on while in Chapter Six, the book tackled Kidnapping: How To Prevent And Survive It, in Chapter Seven, the authors dealt on Cybersecurity while Chapter Eight talked about the Security Conscious Mindset where the Need for Security Education and Awareness was handled.

Commendation While stating that the book is considered a valuable knowledge and training resource and companion in the journey of developing a security conscious mindset, the CDS said the authors were able to conceptualise security and elaborate on the need for everybody’s participation to ensure its effectiveness.

Personally commending Gambo for his “grasp on security matters”, which he said has never wavered throughout their over three decades of being in the military, the CDS noted that “He has continually demonstrated excellent capacity in this field, reflecting the

The rising wave of insecurity today has brought to the fore, the reality that security is everyone’s concern. The need for a secure and safer society is therefore ever more important as globalisation continues to break barriers of distances and foster integration of people

self development attested to by the qualifications and experience acquired over the years. His ability to do proper justice to this book is therefore not debatable.”

The CDS also described the co-author, Mr Abiodun Adebanjo as equally “ a man of substance and his qualifications in the field of soft security are also exemplary”.

About the Authors Vice Admiral Gambo was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy on September 24, 1984 as a member of 36 Regular Course. Aside his first and second degrees, Vice Admiral Gambo attended the National Defence College in the Republic of South Africa in 2012.

He is a Fellow of the Certified Institute of Shipping (FCIS), member United States Naval Institute (USNI), member Institute of Safety Practitioners (ISP) and member International Institute of Professional Security (IIPS) among others.

In his illustrious career, he served at the Office of the National Security Adviser as Deputy and Acting Director Defence Affairs as well as Director of Procurement at the Defence Space Administration among other appointments before he became the 23rd CNS and 21st Indigenous CNS in January 2021. Vice Admiral AZ Gambo is happily married to Hajiya Nana Aishat Gambo and blessed with children.

His co-author on the other hand, Abiodun Adebanjo was educated at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Nigeria with a Master’s Degree in Political Science. According to his bio, his area of interest is “Analysis of Behaviour in Political Settings” with a focus on “Corruption as a phenomenon”.

Abiodun is a staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Department of Planning, Research and Statistics) and is married to Mrs. Mary Abiodun Adebanjo and blessed with children.

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Sanwo-Olu Bestowed with Outstanding Political Brand Icon Stories by Mary Nnah The Executive Governor of Lagos State Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu was honoured with the “Outstanding Political Brand Icon of the Year” award at the just concluded 2021 National Marketing Stakeholders Summit and Brands and Advertising Awards of Excellence organised by the Marketing Edge, an initiative of Nigeria’s leading industry magazine.

Over the last five decades, the marketing communications profession has evolved remarkably to become a window for the world to see the creativity that resides within them, so the evening was set aside to celebrate success, craft and achievements of marketing communications professionals who have continued to redefine space in the communication world through different media.

Everybody was enthralled by the beauty and statesmanship of the number one citizen of the state and his team as the governor was proclaimed the “Outstanding Political Brand Icon of the Year”.

Giving his keynote address, the elated Sanwo-Olu, who described himself as the Chief Marketing Officer of Lagos State, expressed gratitude

to the veterans of the marketing profession whom he acknowledged have toiled to build and give relevance to reputable trade.

While reiterating his readiness to support marketingrelated initiatives, which he said is not limited to the advertising sub-sector of the industry, Sanwo-Olu said his government is also committed to promoting and encouraging various specialist areas that make up marketing communications particularly the professionals because of their creativity.

Speaking further, he said: “I am not unaware that there was a time many of you needed to fly to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg before you could shoot a good TV commercial for your clients. Today, the story has changed.

“Let me assure you, it can only get better from here. The infrastructures we are creating are gradually giving you the scenic settings you require for great television commercials that can earn more prestigious laurels from across the world.”

The governor enjoined marketing communications practitioners to help tell the story of Lagos through the brands they manage.

Publisher/CEO of Market-

ing Edge, John Ajayi, in his speech expressed gratitude to the governor for honouring his invitation adding that, his company initiated the National Marketing Stakeholders’ Summit and Brands and Advertising Awards of Excellence as a

way of inspiring, exciting and igniting passion in the industry while stimulating positive and healthy competition amongst players and gladiators in the Nigerian marketing ecosystem.

Stating why his company bestowed ‘Outstanding

Political Brand Icon of the Year’ on Gov. Sanwo-Olu, Ajayi said the governor was spotted to have been a shining light in the current political space in Nigeria with his giant strides in all aspects and ramifications.

“This is in recognition and

celebration of his giant strides in turning around the fortunes of Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence in Nigeria; as well as his remarkable personality brand equity growth in the hotly competitive and historically intriguing Nigerian political landscape,” he noted.

From left, Gov. Sanwo-Olu; Wife of CEO, Marketing Edge, Mrs. Modupe Ajayi and PublisherCEO, Marketing EDGE, Mr. John Ajayi at the award ceremony abiodun ajala.

Symphonic Signs Moses Bliss in Global Distribution Deal Global independent music distribution and marketing company, Symphonic Distribution, has announced signing of Nigerian Gospel super talent, Moses Bliss, to a worldwide distribution deal. This marks the beginning of Symphonic’s emergence in the Nigerian market.

Creative Executive, Symphonic Distro, Tunji Afonja said Bliss is leading a revolution in Gospel coolness, swag, lyrical spice and mainstream appeal adding that the artiste comes with global

Moses Bliss star potential and he is in

line to be the next Gospel

superstar from Nigeria.

Bliss, who fell in love with music very early in his life, rose to prominence with his Gospel hit “Too Faithful” released in 2019.

When he was five years old, he started learning how to play musical instruments. He later joined the choir at Believers’ Loveworld Church, where things began to happen for him.

Thanks to the huge support in training, ministry and with resources at Believers’ Loveworld, Moses began to blossom.

In 2019, “Too Faithful” became his biggest hit till date as it was welcomed with great reception and fan covers from around the world. He followed it up in 2020 with another massive record, titled, “Bigger Everyday”.

He continued to impress with his ministry and in 2020 he was awarded the Song of The Year for “You I Live for” at the LIMA Awards, Gospel Music’s biggest night in Nigeria.

To cap off this inspired run, Bliss released his debut Gospel album in May 2021,

he titled, “Too Faithful”.

He described the album as an extension of his secret place. “Most songs came from the place of prayer and fellowship with the Spirit.

Some songs were born out of pain and tears, while others out of joy”, he said.

With Symphonic, Moses Bliss looks to spread his music on a global scale as the CEO of Symphonic Distro, Jorge Brea, noted, “We are super excited to help the award winning Moses Bliss achieve success on a global level”.

the respect they genuinely deserve while also providing a platform for them to aspire to newer stages of their professions, so boosting Nigeria’s ever-growing music industry.”

Organisers said interested persons can submit entries at www.thebeatzawards.com/ call-for-entry-2021/ for the

Eliworld for the sixth edition of The Beatz Awardstm, scheduled for November 28, 2021 For further clarifications visit The Beatz Awardstm website and also follow them on all social media platforms; Twitter, IG, and Facebook: @ thebeatzawards.

Beatz Awards Call for Entry as Don Jazzy Pledges Support The producers of The Beatz Awardstm, Eliworld, have invited professionals and industry players working behind the scenes in the Nigerian music industry to submit creative materials that were released during the year in review (September 2020 – August 2021) to be considered

for nomination.

This is just as Mavin Record CEO, Don Jazzy has revealed his decision to support Beatz Awardstm all the way.

This year’s edition promises to be superb as the organisers unveiled a new category titled, “Don Jazzy’s New Discovery Producer of the Year”, whereby

Mavin Record CEO, Don Jazzy will be giving out 1 million Naira to the winner of the newly unveiled category.

The Beatz Awardstm is a pioneer in honouring and recognising those who work in the music industry’s creation, business, and distribution.

Over 120 professionals have

been acknowledged by the platform, and she is now accepting entries for The Sixth Edition.

According to the Chief Executive Officer, Eliworld, Elijah John, “We have been at the forefront of supporting the acknowledgment of Unsung Heroes, giving them

eComX Tackles Unemployment among Youths Worried by the increasing rate of unemployment in the country and Africa as a whole, a young Nigerian expert in eCommerce business had developed a digital platform for Nigerians, especially youths to key in and learn how to make money for themselves.

The founder of the first Unique Drop-ship portal – eComX, Abiodun Oyetunji, apart from being a serial entrepreneur, owns a thriving logistics company for e-commerce businesses that offers doorstep deliveries nationwide in Nigeria and Ghana.

Speaking on why eComX

eComX Founder, Abiodun Oyetunji and colleagues was founded, Oyetunji, fondly called Abbey,

said the increased rate of unemployment in the

country, especially among the youth, led to the found-

ing of eComX. “With this platform, we want to extend the immense opportunity in Mini eCommerce business to as many young people out there in West Africa as possible, starting with Nigeria, then Ghana and others.”

According to Oyetunji, having run Mini eCom business for more than five years, he thought of extending the opportunity to others; hence he created a system that makes the process very easy for even a novice to come on board and make a good living.

Also speaking on the

firm’s targeted audience, he said, “Our target audience are the elite youths who are ready to take hold of their income by earning from e-commerce business either as a side hustle or full time business. Our target audience are also computer savvy, with a basic understanding of computer applications.”

Oyetunji said further that the Nigerian environment is much conducive for eComX as there was already an existing ecommerce business that is thriving already, adding “It is definitely a good ground for eComX to dominate.

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E-TRENDS

MUSIC SHOWBIZ

…Your weekly entertainment delight

NOLLYWOOD

AFRIMA 2021 Nomination: Battle Between Nigerian Superstars, Up-and-Coming Stars Vanessa Obioha The pandemic may have crippled entertainment activities last year but it showcased the talents of up-and-coming artists. Artists like Omah Lay, Tems, Ladipoe gained more prominence in 2020 as most people turned to entertainment to fight the ennui during the lockdown period.

The newly released All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) nomination list evidently showed the talents of these young ones who seemed poised to take the baton from the superstars.

While Wizkid is the most nominated Nigerian artist, with six nods, Omah Lay stands toe to toe with Patoranking and Davido with four nominations. He is nominated in the Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, Artiste of the Year, Best Artiste, Duo or Band in African Pop and Breakout Artiste of the Year.

The continental award for Artiste of the Year is one of the top honours in AFRIMA and it parades the best of African talents.

For the 2021 awards, the category boasts 11 talents out of which Nigeria occupied four slots. Omah Lay faces big weights in the Nigerian music industry like Wizkid, Burna Boy and Davido in this category. The odds seemingly are against Omah Lay whose musical career is incomparable to his contenders. However, winning this category at the awards scheduled for November will solidify his name in the industry.

The Port Harcourt singer and producer’s popularity reached new heights in 2020 following the release of ‘Bad Influence’. He was also featured in Olamide’s ‘Infinity’.

Similarly, the new female act on the music block Tems is facing known and established acts like Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade in the regional category Best Female Artiste in Western Africa. Tems, a 26-year-old singer, broke into the music scene with her catchy single ‘Try Me’ in 2019. She has since fol-

Wizkid and Omah Lay

lowed it up with other tracks and EPs. Her latest feature in Wizkid’s song ‘Essence’ was highly lauded. Tems recently inked an international recording deal with RCA. She is also nominated in the Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African R&B Soul, and Breakout Artiste of the Year.

Other up-and-coming acts vying for recognition at the AFRIMA awards include

Cavemen and the Isomers.

It will be interesting to see how these artists fare at the awards. It may signal their journey to superstardom and mark the beginning of a new music era.

The AFRIMA nomination list, released on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 was from the over 8,880 songs submitted for adjudication. It features over 400 songs

from artistes in the 30 continental and 10 regional categories cutting across African talents and creatives living on the continent and in the Diaspora.

AFRIMA in partnership with the African Union Commission (AUC) will be broadcast live on 84 television stations in 109 countries from Lagos, Nigeria from November 19-21, 2021.

The Real Housewives Franchise Heads to Lagos Vanessa Obioha NBCUniversal Formats and Showmax have announced that The Real Housewives franchise is coming to Lagos.

The Real Housewives of Lagos (RHOL) will be the first Nigerian instalment of the awardwinning franchise, which is distributed internationally

by NBC Universal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group. This also marks the 16th international version of The Real Housewives format and the third to be adapted in Africa. RHOL will build on the success of the first two African editions: The Real Housewives of Johannesburg and The Real Housewives of Durban

(RHOD). The former was one of the 10 most streamed local series on Showmax in 2019, while the latter broke records when it launched on the African streaming service in January 2021. RHOD has since launched with success in 50 countries across Africa, as well as in 27 territories internationally, including Canada,

UK, Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore and the Philippines.

Season 2 of the hit show will return to Showmax early next year.

“We’ve seen audiences across Africa devour The Real Housewives of Johannesburg and The Real Housewives of Durban,” says Candice

Fangueiro, Showmax’s head of content. “The Real Housewives franchise lends itself to localisation and we know our audience is going to love seeing the show reinvented Naija-style. We can’t wait to show the continent - and the world - another side of Lagos, with all the drama, high fashion and luxury you’d expect

from The Real Housewives franchise.”

RHOL will be produced by Livespot 360 and will be the second Showmax Original reality series in Nigeria, following the success of I Am LAYCON, starring Big Brother Naija S5 winner Lekan Agbeleshe. It is set to debut in early 2022 on the streaming video service.

New Series Coming to Africa Magic in October Vanessa Obioha Two new telenovelas, ‘Dilemma’ and ‘Venge’ are set for an October premiere on Africa Magic.

‘Dilemma’ follows the lives of two estranged lovers - Kaineto and Kanan. After years of separation, they find their

way back to each other and have to deal with a history they would both rather forget. It stars some of the finest talents in Nollywood like Shan George and Bob Manuel-Udokwu, and new faces like Treasure Obasi and Vine Ogulu. It also features BBNaija stars, Neo Akpofure and Daniel ‘Sir Dee’ Atteh.

On the other hand, ‘Venge’

tells a scandalous story of secrets, lies, and betrayals.

Viewers will get to go on a journey with Bibi as she unravels several conspiracies trailed by murder and fear on her quest for justice and revenge. The telenovela stars Michelle Dede, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Obehi Aburime, Uche Mac-Auley, and Ian

Wordi.

“We are excited to premiere these telenovelas on our Africa Magic channels as it once again underscores our positioning as Africa’s most loved storyteller,” said Executive Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Nigeria, Busola Tejumola. “‘Venge’ and ‘Dilemma’

explore modern-day themes that viewers will connect to at different levels. Each plot, twist and suspense will keep viewers from across Africa on the edge of their seats as they follow the drama and connect with the characters.”

Tejumola also disclosed that DStv and GOtv

customers should look forward to other exciting new and returning shows towards the end of the year on Africa Magic.

Both series will premiere exclusively on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv Channel 151) on October 4, and will also be available on the online streaming service, Showmax.

Double Threat Anwang Emerges Qtaby Season 2 Winner Iyke Bede In an evening of tough competition for the crown of Qtaby Talent Hunt, singer and dancer Janet Anwang defeated 15 finalists to clinch the night’s top prize of N1 million.

Anwang originally auditioned in the dance category; nonetheless, she pulled a

surprise performance by opening with her rendition of Adele’s ‘Set Fire to the Rain’. “I entered the dance category, but I remember the judge telling us to stretch our limits… so I am giving it my all,” Janet said right before performing the power ballad.

The second part of her performance saw her delivering

an elaborate dance routine that incorporated different styles. She also provided a voice-over that guided the audience. Performed within the allotted four minutes, the judges — Efe Omorogbe, Esegine Allen (Orezi), Omotunde Adebowale Lolo1, Femi Branch, and Schulz — were visibly impressed, showing

their approval by clapping, standing, or cheering her on – a rare reaction enjoyed by a few acts that evening.

The show’s runner-up, Sam Teddy (real name Ayodeji Samuel) gave his twist on 2baba’s ‘Outside’, infusing vocal ornamentations that turned the performance into a serenade fest for the ladies in

the audience. He walks away with an all-expense paid video shoot and promotion courtesy of Trace TV. The sophomore outing of Qtaby Talent Hunt which took place at Terra Kulture also embraced talents in acting, video directing and broadcast.

The show received entries from over 800 hopefuls via online

auditions.

The convener and CEO of the outfit, Victoria Nkong, elaborated on the show’s mission.

“Qtaby is about adding value to young talent who need a means of expressing their creativity. There is so much talent in Africa, but a lot of people do not know how to properly harness it.

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ART WEEKEND

…For pure art enthusiasts

Art for Brain Health Project Offers Hope for Nigerians In commemoration of the World Alzheimer’s Day, Kunle Adewale’s new project named ‘Arts for Brain Health’ is set to deploy artistic creativity to improve social engagement opportunities for persons living with dementia. Yinka Olatunbosun writes

F

rom 1995 to 2015, the number of dementia cases in Nigeria is estimated to have increased by over 400 per cent, according to experts.

In many homes, the early signs are often ignored or simply dismissed as part of the aging process.

But in reality, dementia-the umbrella name for chronic conditions of the brain- is characterised by deteriorating cognitive function. Caused by damaged brain cells, the most noticeable sign is memory loss.

Dementia often affects general thinking, orientation, comprehension, calculation, learning capacity, language and judgement. Older people with cognitive impairment in Nigeria frequently experience neglect and abuse, and suffer from loneliness, depression, and stigma.

These, combined with an absence of effective pharmacological treatments worldwide, necessitate psychosocial interventions to alleviate the effects of dementia and enhance quality of life.

While art cannot cure dementia, it provides a coping mechanism for the patients. Arts-based interventions have proven to be effective in reducing adverse psychological and psychosocial outcomes. This is where Arts for Brain Health Project comes in.

The project which has as its artistic director, the Nigerian social entrepreneur and visual artist, Kunle Adewale aims to utilise artistic creativity to improve social engagement opportunities for people living with dementia, ultimately transforming the healthcare experiences of patients, professional caregivers, and family members, with long-term ambitions to reduce stigma and to promote whole-person approaches to the treatment.

The project will benefit 20 health providers and 60 persons with cognitive impairments and dementia in Nigeria. Participants in the project would be recruited through partnership with the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Yaba, Lagos, GABI Williams Alzheimer’s Foundation, Arts in Medicine Fellowship.

According to Adewale, participants will choose either the Fine Arts or Performance Arts Track. Each will be comprised of a two-hour weekly session. The artists will collaborate with the professional caregivers to help them learn how to engage with the patients using an art form.

For the Fine Arts Track, participants will be engaged in arts and crafts, mural making and in digital painting through the use of iPads.

A New Horizon for Origami Society of Nigeria Yinka Olatunbosun

A therapy session with a patient

Participants’ sessions will be facilitated by junior artists who will serve as project assistants and who are skilled in the use of each medium.

Music and dance will be included in the Performing Arts Track with young community of musicians.

We will also explore the impact of music on an individual level through the use of iPods. Project staff will aide in creating playlists of favorite songs on the iPods for each participant,’’ Adewale revealed.

The project also includes the virtual reality arts as an observational form of arts engagement. The VR experience will be curated to include works of art, photographs of nature, and photographs of beautiful places in Nigeria, providing participants with a therapeutic experience that is culturally relevant. Adewale is an arts health practitioner and advocate with over seven years’ experience facilitating art engagements for different populations in Nigeria, including persons living with dementia and cognitive impairments.

In February 2020,Adewale partnered with

the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California and Northern Nevada (NCNN) to facilitate therapeutic Virtual Art for Seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Adewale leads Pop-Up Arts sessions, an initiative of the UCSF Memory and Aging Center for community brain health in San Francisco.

A senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, University of California, San Francisco, the artist led a 3D-Virtual Art Exhibition titled “Uplifting Spirits” that explored how art can change the perceptions and understanding of aging in a way that complements scientific investigations. This event showcased and sold his work to raise money for NCNN. Through the support of Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Society, and the Global Brain Health Institute for the Arts for Brain Health, the artist will help to broaden the area of arts interventions with older adults, especially for those living with dementia or other cognitive impairments, while solidifying existing relationships with nursing homes and non-profit organizations in Nigeria.

World Tourism Day 2021: Eko Oni Baje Festival Honours Sanwo-Olu, Others Yinka Olatunbosun Ahead of the 2021 World Tourism Day, the 13th Annual Eko Oni Baje Festival which kicks off tomorrow will honour Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor Yahaya Bello (Kogi State); (Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Hajia Sadiya Umar-Farouq and Mr. Allen Onyema, the Chairman, Air Peace as the recipients of its prestigious ‘Icons of National Cohesion Award’. With the theme: Peaceful Coexistence, the Honours committee of the cultural fiesta, revealed that that would be honoured for using their offices and activities to cement the ties of national unity.

The project coordinator of Castledown Arts Centre, curators of the event, Ozo Chinedu Idezuna, disclosed how the selected four got the highest number of votes from respondents in a poll conducted in June.

“Let me stress that the award holds a special place in this year’s festival, because, we are concerned about the state of the Nigerian nation today and believe that we need peaceful coexistence, which our fore fathers had

Fellows during an origami lesson for the elderly

been observing even before the Europeans came to Africa.

“We started a poll in June to know Nigerians whose activities are helping to unite us rather than divide us. Nigerians therefore believe that these winners have done well in uniting us, which is why as promoters of national unity through culture, we want to recognise them and encourage others to be like them, so that we can have a more united Nigeria. Our message is that Nigeria is one. The Festival has always highlighted what unites us as Nigerians, and that is our culture, expressed through sports, our cuisine, the new yam festival and our beautiful women. That is the message of the 2021 edition of the festival,” he said.

Highlights of this year ’s edition include the New Yam Festival, Soccer Competition, Children’s Art Competition/Exhibition, Beauty pageantry and Wrestling. The festival which kicks off tomorrow has grown to become a part of the cultural calendar of Lagos metropolis. It will run till Monday September 27, as part of the World Tourism Day festivities.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu

With the just-concluded maiden fellowship, Origami Society of Nigeria had advanced from therapeutic to pedagogic initiatives. The organisation marked the end of her maiden fellowship edition recently as part of its effort towards promoting the art of Origami.

With the theme, ‘Origami for Sustainable Development: The Power of People and Paper,’ the 8-week commenced with 50 applicants.

During his keynote address, Tony O’Hare the Chairperson, British Origami Society stressed the importance of Origami and how it could impact on health, education, science, art, and engineering sectors. He also pledged support for the Nigerian fellowship with BOS having been around for over 50 years. The lead and convener of the fellowship Oluwatobi Sodimu on his part charged the cohorts of the task ahead which would test basic life skills of consistency, patience, attention to minute details and mindfulness.

With 10 faculty members drawn from all over the world of Origami, fellows were educated in mindfulness, mental health, aesthetics, arts, peaceful co-existence, and Origami in healthcare. Some of the facilities include Dr. Lizzie Burns (Co-Founder Origami Pulse Oxford U.K), Dr. Sarah Ness (Founder Art in Health Institute U.S.A), Paolo Bascetta (Renowned Origami Designer and Mathematician), Oyindamola Fakeye (Founder, Soundmind Africa), Oluwatobi Sodimu (Lead, Origami Society Nigeria), Seda Altay (Teacher and Ph.D. student Turkey), Toshiko Kobayashi (Founder, Expressive Origami Therapy New York), Cheryl Gibbs (Origami Teacher S.A), Jooj Abreau (Guinness book of world record Holder and Artist S.A).

To mark the maiden fellowship, the society embarked on a physical outreach to a renowned Geriatrics Group in Mushin Lagos, Regina Mundi Home of the elderly. There, seniors were introduced to the Japanese Art of Origami as an exercise to treat dementia, improve their mood, aid social interaction and renew connection with their loved ones.

In her remarks, Wendy Zeichner the President OrigamiUSA shared some ways in which OrigamiUSA has adapted and harnessed the art over the years and how Origami Society Nigeria can explore some of these innovations.

Dr. A.A. Sulaiman, Ejeh Blessing, Imoh Usoro, and Ugonna Nwakunor were recognised with an Award of Excellence, based on their remarkable commitment and leadership throughout the fellowship.

The journey began back in 2020 at the peak of the lockdown when a passionate Nigerian Origamist kickstarted what was called “The Origami Therapy Challenge”.

His goal at the time was to bring hope to Nigerians at a time when people’s mental health was most under threat.

Sodimu was a recipient of the Covid HERO Award alongside the Commissioner for Health in Lagos state, Prof. Akin Abayomi and other outstanding Nigerians at the first National Health and Art Conferences initiated

by Arts in Medicine Projects.

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͲ, ͰͮͰͯ

ͱͲ

As Dignitaries Bid Ogun Governor’s Father Farewell As Late Dr. Emmanuel Adesanya Abiodun, a.ka Baba Teacher, father of Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, was recently laid to rest in Iperu Remo in Ikenne LGA, James Sowole reports that it was a turn up of dignitaries across board

Remains of Late PA Emmanuel Adesanya Abiodun being ushered into the premises of the church

Cross Section of Traditional Rulers at the Christian Wake of the deceased

F

or two consecutive days-Wednesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 9, 2021, the sleepy town of Iperu Remo in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, stood still, as the town played host to dignitaries from all walks of life.

The visitors, who had made their marks in the academia, administrative, political and business communities, came to the town, to participate in the burial programmes of Dr Emmanuel Adesanya Abiodun, a.ka Baba Teacher, the father of the Ogun Statement Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

Pa Abiodun, breathed his last on August 2, 2021 after spending 89 eventful years on earth.

Though the main burial programmes officially took place on Wednesday and Thursday, the ceremony changed the entire atmosphere of the town for more than two weeks that preceded the final event as different companies and organisations involved in the preparation trooped to the town.

The celebration, actually confirmed the statement of William Shakespeare that: “When beggars die, there are no comets seen, the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”

In actual fact, Pa Abiodun was a prince and events preparatory to his burial, actually shook the Iperu Town to its foundation.

For the uninformed about the life and times of Pa Abiodun, eulogies, comments and tributes on the deceased during his burial programmes, were natural being the father of a sitting governor and a wealthy and influential personality for that matter.

However, to those who had encounters with the late Baba Teacher as he was popularly called, more encomiums still needed to be showered on him in view of many lives he touched, even when Dapo never knew he would be somebody in life.

For instance, what testimonies does one need about the good deeds of Baba than those shared during tributes and Christian Wake by old students of several schools where he taught including old students of Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro in Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.

One unique feature that was noticed during the funeral programmes was effective traffic and security management provided by several uniformed and plain-cloth personnel while the programme lasted.

Unlike in some situations, when events of like magnitude usually cause discomfort to the residents

Cross section of state governors at the event

Governor Dapo Abiodun with mother, Mama Victoria Abiodun and wife, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun

particularly during crowd control and traffic management around the town, personnel and equipment deployed, were effective, polite but firm in discharging their duties.

Of particular note were comments by some commercial motorcycle operators popularly called “Okada” who commended measures put in place by traffic management personnel, without hurting their own business.

On Thursday, the event was a gathering of creme de la creme in all fields of human endeavours. The Vice President, Professor, Yemi Osinbajo, led other prominent Nigerians like the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to bid the deceased farewell.

Other prominent personalities at the ceremony were the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki; the Kwara State Governor, Abdul-Rahman Razaq and their Kebbi State counterpart, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu.

Other dignitaries at the service were the deputy governors of Nassarawa and Borno States, former Governor of Edo State and the immediate past National Chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomole; Chairman of the National Drug Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier General Buba Marwa (rtd); President, African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina and Chairman, Dangote Groups, Aliko Dangote, among others.

The funeral and thanksgiving service held at St. James’ Anglican Church, Iperu-Remo, also had in attendance the immediate past governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; one of the national leaders of the All

Progressives Congress (APC), Aremo Olusegun Osoba; another former Governor of the state, Gbenga Daniel; the acting National Leader of the Pan-Yoruba group, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, including some 120 bishops and clerics, captains of industry and top political functionaries.

In his sermon at the service, the Archbishop, Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos and Diocesan Bishop of Remo, the Most Rev. Dr. M. Olusina Fape, noted that death was a debt every mortal would pay and urged people to prepare well to meet their creator.

Pointing out that, “Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people”, the cleric further urged the people to live a life in expectation of making the heaven.

“Nobody has ever escaped the cold hands of death. And nobody gets to heaven’s prepared place by chance, you must work to get there.

We must prepare to meet our Creator. Inheriting the beautiful mansion is not automatic. If you don’t live and die in Christ, there is no peace for you after death.

“You should start thinking about your temporary existence on earth and start doing what will make you inherit heavenly mansions, when you die,” Bishop Fape stated.

He described Pa Abiodun as a great teacher and committed Christian, who dedicated his life to the service of God and humanity.

“Papa has worked and distinguished himself in his career and service to humanity.

He also passed the torch of Christian faith to his children. He was a loving father and husband. He was a humble man. And because of this, God indeed honoured and rewarded Pa Abiodun’s humility and dedication to God’s way, with blessed children.

“As a Christian, Baba has done well and he never preoccupied himself with earthly possessions, but dedicated himself to the service

Pa Abiodun enjoyed the grace of God, but did not take the grace for granted by giving back to his community via the teaching profession and service to God

of God and humanity,” he added.

Fape advised people to always think of what happened after they died, thus should not do anything that would impoverish the masses.

He said, “If the office you are occupying today had made you to become arrogant and make you feel on top of the world; if the position office you are occupying today has made people unsafe, if the position you are occupying has made people to be impoverished and people are suffering from poverty, you have to rethink now. You have to think of what happened after your death.”

Pointing out that “Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people”, the cleric further urged the people to live a life in expectation of making Heaven.

“Nobody has ever escaped the cold hands of death. And nobody gets to heaven’s prepared place by chance, you must work to get there. We must prepare to meet our Creator. Inheriting the beautiful mansion is not automatic. If you don’t live and die in Christ, there is no peace for you after death.

“Whatever will you be remembered for after leaving the office or position you hold on tightly to? If people are crying because you are a leader, God will judge you,” the cleric added.

While calling on the congregation to emulate the exemplary life of the deceased, Fape prayed God to strengthen the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Victoria Abiodun, his children and other family members.

Speaking on behalf of past and serving governors, Governor Kayode Fayemi, said the service was to celebrate Pa Abiodun, whom he described as “an exemplar and a great teacher”.

While noting that the deceased lived a good life, Fayemi urged the congregation to reflect on the message by the cleric and prepare very well in order to make heaven.

Delivering the message of President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo noted that Pa Abiodun enjoyed the grace of God, but did not take the grace for granted by giving back to his community via the teaching profession and service to God. In his remarks, Governor Dapo Abiodun, described his late dad as his mentor, moral compass and teacher, adding that he would continue to miss his father, whom he further described as his cheer leader and hero.

While thanking dignitaries, who attended the funeral service of his late dad, Abiodun submitted that he would continue to hold on tightly to the morals and values inculcated in him by his father while alive.

35

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͲ, ͰͮͰͯ

METRO

…Your city life in print

FOLA-ALADE: An Omoluabi Ekiti Daniel O. Omotilewa

I

n 1992, which was my final year as a Law student in University of Ibadan, I was mightily confused on how to finance my one year Law School Programme. I had just bought and read Robert Schooler’s eternal classic at a Book Fair. It is titled “Though Times Never Last But Though People Do”. That book inspired me to write letters to some prominent Nigerians to seek their kind aid in running the one year Law School Programme.

On the day I wrote my last examination in UI, I came to Lagos to discover that 5 letters were waiting for me, in response to my letter of solicitation for help. One of the letters came from Chief Isaac Fola-Alade.

I met with him at his office at the Tafa Balewa Square, Lagos. He told me he had been having Law School students in his house on Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island, since he moved to the house some years back. He promised to give me accommodation. Typical of that great man, he asked that I should give him some days to discuss it with his children. Right there, he invited Arc. Kola (a chip off the old block, so to say), to his office and introduced us to each other.

My second meeting with him was without any formality. He greeted me warmly as if I was a member of his Family.To my eternal gratitude, he informed me that he had secured the blessing of all his children to accommodate me for the one year Law School Programme. Right there he gave me the opportunity to either move to the house immediately to enable me familiarize myself with the environment or possibly wait till a few days to our resumption at the Law School.

Upon resumption of the Law School, I moved to his house where I stayed and was fed for the entire duration of the one year programme.

This was how destiny brought me into the life of this simple, loving and upright Ekiti son, whose generation is fast depleting by the day.

He lived a spartan, fairly regimented lifestyle.

On a regular day, he will wake up before anyone in the house. His room had an in built library cum study. If he was not reading, you can be sure he will have something to write or draw.

His glass of fresh fruit juice will be served on him in that study around 8:00am and that normally served as his breakfast. His only major food in a day comes around 5:00pm, after which he retires to his private sitting room to monitor the news.

He was of the old - school stock. A generation that was molded in the very best of colonial traditions. He was upright, transparently honest and a brutally frank man. He does not condone any acts of indiscipline, nor was he one to suffer fools gladly. In fact, I was told, a Law School student who lived in his house a year before me was summarily sent out of the house after he was caught watching a porn movie in the house.

As a young lawyer during President Obasanjo’s first tenure, I led a Commissioner of Police of Ekiti extraction to see him at home in Lagos.

After a short introduction, the Commissioner informed him of how he had been ordered to proceed on pre-retirement leave despite the fact that he was still having about 3 years left before his statutory retirement. He wanted Chief to help reverse the Police Authority’s directive by speaking on his behalf to either of his friends - General David Jenibewon, the then Minister of Police Affairs, or President Obasanjo himself.

As was his nature, Chief’s response was stubbornly and brutally blunt “if you have done the number of years you claim to have done without blemish, why don’t you want to go now that the ovation is still loud? Forcing yourself to remain in the service for these 3 years may lead to what will destroy your entire career”. He told us that General Jenibewon and himself, flew from Abuja to Lagos few weeks back, but he will not be interested in discussing such an issue with him nor with the President.

He admonished the Commissioner to go and face his post retirement life. That was the end of the meeting. That was the kind of stuff he was made with.

His life was rather ascetic. Money was a means to an end and never the destination in his dictionary. Ostentation was not a way of life for him. I remember a day I returned to the house to meet a brand new Honda Legend car, a top of the range then, parked at the garage. I congratulated him for the new acquisition. He promptly replied me by saying the car does not belong to him but rather to a friend of his

Fols Alade whose name he mentioned immediately. It was like the friend was not comfortable that there was no status car in Chief’s garage and then decided to buy the car for the use of this great man.

In the same spirit, one evening we were driving to Ebute Meta for the christening ceremony of one of his grandchildren. I was sitting with him at the back of the car and he was commenting on how people can be vain in their obscene display of wealth.

He then talked about the clothe (agbada) he wore that very evening, a clothe he said he had acquired 10years earlier for a particular event.

He was not very rich but he was a very contended man. To him, wealth should be an instrument to change the lives of others.

I am a testament to that fact! His taste was simple. But, his dress sense was unique. He was a total family man who succeeded in raising children that also adopt a humanist worldview. He resolved very early in his life to be close to the children, especially after the death of his loving wife, just 15 years into the marriage and with 5 young children,. He also resolved not to have any other children from any other woman, so as to protect the bonding with his children.

His achievement here was huge and you can only feel it when you see Chief relating with any of the children.

As a professional, he was massively successful. He was one Architect with his hand in so many projects, especially Federal projects across the country. Race Course, old Federal Secretariat in Ikoyi, one of the Federal Secretariats in Abuja, to mention a few, are some of his projects. His “trademarks” were circles and arcs, which you will see in virtually all his works. His Lagos home at Victoria Island then, the country home and the Civil Center, both at Aramoko Ekiti speak volumes about this. Largely, he derived satisfaction and happiness in his job than the wealth therein. He served humanity through his profession.

His thinking was Federal and I am sure he must have died an unhappy man by virtue of what is playing out in Nigeria today. I was in his house during the June 12 Election and its annulment. The man lost composure and was not himself. One day after the Law School was re-opened, following the crises that engulfed the country after the annulment, I entered the house and met him alone, in deep thought. He demanded where I was coming from and I

His life was rather ascetic. Money was a means to an end and never the destination in his dictionary.

Ostentation was not a way of life for him...He was not very rich but he was a very contended man. To him, wealth should be an instrument to change the lives of others. I am a testament to that fact!

told him I was having a group study with some friends somewhere in Ikoyi. “so you people can still read with what is happening in this country?” was the outburst from him. He was a total Nigerian and a very committed Ekiti man.

His love for anything Ekiti was legendary. A lover of pounded yam, especially with assorted bush meat. Chief will travel to Ekiti at least once in a month and on his journey back to Lagos, he will buy various bush meats, which will be generously used for his pounded yam soup.

The late Archbishop Abiodun Adetiloye, another great Ekiti son, used to visit him occasionally to enjoy a dinner of pounded yam with him. He thinks, speaks and acts Ekiti. He was always reminiscing of his friendship and time with the late Prof. Emeritus Kayode Osuntokun, another Ekiti pride, whom he said was irreplaceable.

The two of them stuck to each other like co-join twins from their first day in Christ School until death separated them.

He was always reminding me not to forget my parents and also my Ekiti roots. At every point he was always emphasizing that anyone who has seen the light should not hesitate in sharing it with others. On a particular Saturday, my wife and I visited him in Aramoko after he had relocated back home. To prove that my children are not Lagos children, he extracted a commitment from us that we shall bring the children to Aromoko to spend a whole weekend with him. Alas, that promise never saw the light of the day until he flew unto glory Mark Anthony in the play of Julius Caesar,

By William Shakespeare said of Marcus Brutus; “His life was gentle and the elements so mix’d in him That Nature might stand up and say to all the world ‘This was a man!”

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͲ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

36

POLSCOPE

áÓÞÒ ÎÎã ÎÓàáÜÓ ÏÎÎã˛ÙÎÓàáÜÓ̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט ͸΀͸ͽ ͻ͸; ΁ͻͽ;

VAT Collection and Resource Control Arguments

Gov Wike

A

t the beginning of the 4th republic, there arose the argument about resource control. It was triggered by then governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori. The entire South south governors soon latched on to the argument projected by Ibori. It became a major national issue that, in a way, shook the then Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

The oil-bearing states wanted to control their resources and probably pay tax to the federal government. It was seen as a harsh affront on the nation’s economy. The federal Government fought it and resisted it. The matter further got complicated when the issue of onshore-offshore dichotomy came into play When the court ruled on the matter, I remember that a state like Akwa-Ibom, under the governorship Victor Attah , at the time, was gasping and finding it difficult to pay its workforce. Eventually, a “political solution” was worked out as a way of addressing the issue.

In recent weeks, a similar argument like that has arisen. It is the argument on the remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT) to the Federal Governemnt. It was triggered by the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike. He has made a strong and convincing argument, backed up by clear statistics. His argument is straightforward: States which have provided the enabling environment for increased business operations should enjoy the Value Added Tax such businesses have generated.

It such an equitable argument. It is a logical argument that is aimed at avoiding what is described in pidgin parlance as monkey dey work, baboon dey chop.

Perhaps I must state clearly here that Gov Wike is a politician. I detest strongly his brand of politics, but truly, I love his courage. The courage that makes him unfazed, even if he is standing alone. He has taken on many fronts with the aim of challenging what he believes is historically wrong. The challenge on the remittance of VAT is just one of them.

In a way, he has triggered an enduring argument which seeks to approximate all the noise about restructuring. If he succeeds, he would become the father of a new fiscal order in Nigeria. I pray he does. He dared to challenge the culture of collecting tax in his own state and sharing the proceeds thereof to far flung states like Taraba, Katsina, Zamfara, Bauchi etc., all in the name of running a federation.

A Federal High court has permitted him and not the Federal Government to collect the VAT in his state. But this was reversed by the Court of Appeal. The matter has gone up to the Supreme Court. We await the verdict.

Perhaps it would not count so much as grave injustice if all other states bring some valuable returns to the sharing table. How is it that State ‘A’ struggles to grow its own economy, provide enabling environment for business operations, and thus generate so much money and then the federation collects all that is so generated and shares it to State B and co who literally idle away in the belief that State A will always surrender what it generates for all to share? There appears to

Chief Justice of Nigeria (Justice Tanko)

be a perpetual state of wanting to be given fish and not take up the task of catching fish by themselves.

What the federal government has been doing is akin to a father who has many children, and only one or two or three of the children are hardworking, while the other children are somewhat lousy, unfocussed, dependent and even wasteful. And at the end of every harvest season, the father compels the hardworking children to surrender all they have laboured for and shares it among all the children, sometimes even giving more to the ‘lousy’ children, just so the family can remain as one in pursuit of being your brother’s keeper.

If that practice continues, such a father would have instituted a culture of inequitable justice and worse still, damaged the economic initiative of the other children, who think manna will always fall from heaven. Gov Wike, in his revolt is saying there is indeed, no such heaven from where manna will always fall.

Let everybody hit the street to “hustle”.

Interestingly, Wike, so to say, opened the eyes of Lagos State which has frontally joined the Wike argument and is now challenging the unfair status quo. And this has nothing to do with politics or political affiliation.

The facts are as sacred as they are vexatious. Sometimes, the formulae applied in the sharing of the VAT allocation to states looks foggy. Take a look at some statistics: Adamawa State generates N3.689billion, but gets N22.260 billion; Anambra State generates N5.938billion and gets N25.001billion, whereas, Bauchi State which generates N5.309 billion (less than what Anambra generated), gets N25.613billion( higher than what Anambra got). In the same vein, Yobe which generated N9.445billion gets N20.525billion, whereas Rivers which generated N90.293billion gets a paltry N46.270billion.

Except there is a technical explanation to it, it does appear that the more you generate the less you receive, and the less you generate, the more you receive.

This will surely not encourage greater commitment to growing the various state economies. But the Gombe State governor, Gov Mohammed Inuwa Yahaya, in exercise of sheer banal sentiment urges Gov Wike and Gov Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State to be their brothers’ keepers. Yes, I will keep my brother, but my brother should neither be a leech nor a laggard.

As at today, only Lagos can meaningfully exist and stay afloat without federal allocation. With a monthly IGR of about N34 billion, whatever the federal Government dishes out will always look like “fuel money”. Across board, not up to ten states of the federation can say so.

My friend and boss, Simon Kolawole, last week, dwelt extensively on the rentier

status of the Nigerian economy. It is true that Nigeria is unjustifiably poor not because it does not have the potential to be one of the greatest countries on earth, but because its creative initiative has been deadened by the avalanche of freebies. The freebies being money coming from crude oil sales. We export almost nothing, (save crude oil) and import almost everything, including tooth picks. The weight of the unfavourable balance of trade has triggered the unprecedented collapse of the Naira. As at the time of this writing, the US Dollar was exchanging for N565 in the parallel market! Perhaps before I finish this column, it may have hit N570/$, with some predicting that it could get as bad as N700/$ by December.

Even when the Nigerian government knows that the said oil is a wasting asset, there is nothing being done to create a financial back up for the country, in case oil dries up tomorrow. Let it be said again, oil resource is not an eternal resource. It will get finished someday. What is the Plan B for the economy?

So, many states which look up to Abuja every month for the “assured” allocation will hardly do anything to grow their economies. Their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) remains low, not only because business operations are low, but are also blinded and held back by base sentiments of religious and cultural restrictions. I give just an example. A state government owns and runs a newspaper.

But the newspaper is forbidden from publishing advertorials on certain trades or businesses like a Brewery or alcohol products or brands, or beauty contests, even when the trade on it is booming in that state, preferring to wait for adverts from Ministry of water Resources. Not only does the state deny itself of huge revenue window, it is even more ironic that the same state which forbids such advertorials comes back to share from the proceeds of the tax from such businesses from states which permit it. So, it is like you claiming to forbid a certain food, yet you can afford to use your teeth to divide it.

What is worse? There is a blind and even foolish application of the resources they get.

It is ironical that it is the poorest states in the country that expend huge resources on frivolous endeavours like sponsorship of pilgrims to Holy Lands. Not only is it wasteful and unwise, it profiteth nothing.

Over the years, sponsorship of pilgrims have not exactly produced holier or more dedicated workforce. In fact, several cases of fraud have been recorded from such hajj or Pilgrimage commissions, established by government. There is no guaranty that because somebody visited Rome or Jerusalem or Jeddah or Mecca, that he/she will return a transformed and better worker for government. It truly profiteth nothing.

If the faithful of any religion is interested in visiting a certain Holy land anywhere in the world, it should be a private affair. Why should a state government expend huge sums sponsoring such a religious jamboree at the expense of education, health and other crying infrastructure in the state? It is needless to say that the monies spent on such pilgrimage sponsorship can tar many kilometers of roads, build hospitals or schools or even provide potable water to many communities in such states. Yet, it is money not laboured for! It is said that monies not worked for are bound to be spent with valueless spirit.

Then many states undertake what I call ego projects. They go into building airports, state universities, gigantic Government Houses that look like imperial palaces, stadia etc. There are many such projects that gulped huge resources and are of little or no benefit to the people of the state. How viable, for instance, are the airports in Bayelsa, Ibadan, Akure, Gombe and now the one being planned in Yobe?

Or must every state have a state university when it does not even have sustainable and reliable secondary schools? Isn’t that why the troubles with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) appear endless? Such states are biting far more than they can chew, simply because of desperation to tick certain ego boxes.

There are clearly no plans to make the economies of such states healthier. They produce nothing. Private businesses are not encouraged. There is nothing to meaningfully engage the youths. They are either idle or crime-attracted, or they simply embrace Okada riding. Over two-third of Okada riders in Lagos, for instance, are northern youths.

They see Lagos as their America, as their Canada, as their London.

In all, the Wike revolution is lauded, supported and encouraged not only because it is the justifiable thing to do, but also because it will encourage other states to look inward and discover their latent but ignored potential. After all, it is aid that necessity is the mother of invention. Let the arising hardship from being denied the VAT collection from other states be the necessity that will trigger the invention of their innate powers and capacities.

If the much desired physical and political restructuring in the polity will not take place, let the fiscal restructuring be allowed, It is remarkable that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is struggling to get the national legislators to amend some provisions of the law to enable it (FIRS) to keep collecting the VAT and dropping same into the federal vault for all to share.

But it is even more curious and remarkable that the case before the Supreme Court is simply to declare whether it is right, just and fair to rob Peter to pay Paul. That is the summary of the argument. On the case of the Onshore-offshore dichotomy, the courts failed the littoral states and the oil-bearing states.

This is another chance. Will the Supreme Court truly be the last hope of the common man? We wait. We watch.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

37

DISCOURSE The VAT Dispute is About Constitutional Issues and Not the Capacity of States to Collect It Samuel Omojoye

Government. Based on the judgments, it is pertinent to note that the Federal Government lacks the powers to collect VAT in Lagos State where goods and services are supplied in Lagos State. This includes the supply of goods and services at the Lagos ports on international trade.

Thus, where there is no constitutional basis for a Federal VAT, then there is no basis for the position or erroneous belief that the Federal Government can collect VAT on imports at the Ports or in the FCT. States should therefore endeavor to seize this opportunity for increased devolution of powers to reflect true fiscal federalism.

1. BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE

I

t is apparent from ongoing discourse that the judgment of the Federal High Court (FHC) in the case of Attorney General for Rivers State (“AG Rivers”) v Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) & Attorney General of the Federation (“AG Rivers case”) has turned many Nigerians into overnight Tax Consultants and turned some known Tax Consultants into daytime experts on Constitutional Law. It is important however that commentators and the general public are reminded, that the main issue of contention in the Value Added Tax (VAT) dispute is whether the National Assembly has powers to make laws on VAT/Sales Tax and the corresponding powers of the FIRS to administer the resulting VAT Act- a major Constitutional issue. Whether the States have capacity to collect VAT/Sales Tax and the effects are secondary issues but many people have turned the issues the other way round.

As we may recall, VAT was introduced in Nigeria under the General Sani Abacha regime(after having been initially passed under General Babangida government), when there was neither a legislature or any form of elected officials at the State or Federal level of Government. Thus by Military fiat and for close to three decades, the Federal Government administered the VAT in Nigeria at 5% of the sales value (although there was an unsuccessful attempt to increase the rate to 10% in 2007). Other than an amendment in 2007 by the National Assembly and the Finance Act in 2019 (which increased the VAT rate to 7.5%) and another Finance Act, 2020, there has been very little legislative action or scrutiny on the VAT Act Although the VAT Act provided for a VAT sharing formula of 15%, 50% and 35% among the Federal, State and Local Governments based on a derivation formula, a number of States such as Lagos State have been unfavourably affected by the distribution formula. For example, the quantum of VAT generated from Lagos state into the federal VAT pool sits as high as 55%, while the share of VAT distributed to Lagos State is lower than 10% of total VAT collection. Based on the foregoing, Lagos State, along with other stakeholders have over time contested the legality of the powers of the Federal Government to administer VAT. The legality of the VAT Act has attracted differing views from stakeholders over the years with various court decisions, most of which have largely centred around the supremacy of the VAT Act (i.e. covering the field) over the Consumption/Sales Tax imposed by States.

In recent times, however, the jurisprudence on the application of the VAT in Nigeria has advanced to the scrutiny of whether the Federal Government has any constitutional powers to impose VAT or Sales Tax ab initio. This gave rise to the recent decisions of the FHC, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in the case of Emmanuel Chukwuka Ukala v FIRS (“Ukala Case”) in December 2020 and the AG Rivers case in August 2021. In both cases, the Court held that the National Assembly had no powers to enact laws 0n VAT under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 Constitution).

Specifically, the Court held that the Federal Government is only empowered to enact tax laws, impose and collect taxes that relate to stamp duties, taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains only as contained in Items 58 and 59 of Part I, Second Schedule, 1999 Constitution (Exclusive Legislative List). The Court also held that these provisions must be read to exclude other species of taxes like VAT. The decisions clearly stated that imposition of VAT is not within the purview of the National Assembly / Federal Government. Thus, the imposition of VAT/Sales Tax is a residual matter, which falls within the legislative and administrative competence of the States.

2. HISTORY OF VAT IN NIGERIA The Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced in Nigeria in 1993 by the Federal Military Government via the Value Added Tax Decree 102. The idea of introducing VAT in Nigeria came from the Study Group set up by the

4. CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD

Muhammed Nami, Executive Chairman, FIRS

Governor Nyesom WIke of Rivers State

Federal Government in 1991 to review the entire Tax system. Following the recommendation of the Study Group, VAT was introduced as a Federal Tax which replaced the existing Sales Tax that had been in operation under Federal Government legislated Decree No.7 of 1986.

The year 1999 ushered Nigeria into the democratic era and the 1999 Constitution was enacted into law. Based on Section 315 of the 1999 Constitution, existing laws such as the VAT Decree (promulgated under the Military regime) were converted into Acts deemed enacted by the National Assembly. However, there was little to no scrutiny as to whether the 1999 Constitution empowered the National Assembly to make laws with regards to VAT or Sales Tax. A careful scrutiny of the Exclusive Legislative List in the first Schedule to the 1999 Constitution would reveal that the Federal Government lacks the powers to legislate on matters concerning Sales and Consumption Taxes / VAT. There was also a clear omission of such taxing powers in the preceding Constitution in 1979 even though the Constitutions of 1960 and 1963 provided powers to impose and collect sales taxes by the Regions (States) and the Federal Government.

Since 1999 however, VAT had been administered centrally by the Federal Government without constitutional backing.

3. VAT AND FISCAL FEDERALISM Nigeria is a federation comprising the Federal Government, 36 States, a Federal Capital Territory and 774 local governments.

Although Nigeria is structured as a Federal state, the Nigerian federalism is beset with a systemic imbalance. True federalism ensures the diffusion of power among a number of substantially self-sustaining federating units. Also, Fiscal Federalism allows for the allocation of taxing power, revenue and expenditures, to the different levels/components of government in a federation so as to enable them discharge their constitutionally assigned functions and responsibilities to their citizens.

However, Fiscal Federalism in Nigeria has been threatened over the years. A classic case of this threat is the VAT, which the Federal Government has collected over the years at the expense of the relevant state governments.

While some may argue that a Federal VAT is more appealing at a National level, the main issue is that there is no constitutional basis for the administration of the VAT by the Federal Government. Should this lack of constitutional competence be ignored in favour of ease of collection?

The answer in our humble opinion is NO. All efforts, should on the other hands, be directed at getting the States prepared to handle responsibilities placed on them by the Constitution. FIRS itself built the capacity over a number of years through training obtained locally and abroad. With the same resources available to the States, they can build their own teams.

In the absence of any constitutional provision authorizing the FG/FIRS, it only follows that the States be given their due powers and be allowed to administer the VAT or Sales Tax if they so wish. Suffice to say that the practice of administration of VAT at a State or Regional level is not a strange concept in the world over. The United States of America (U.S.) does not have a national VAT or Goods and Service Tax (GST). The U.S, however, has a Sales Tax that varies from State to State. Other countries such as Brazil, India and Canada have VAT/ GST systems at the federal/national and state/regional levels. As a matter of fact, allowing States collect their consumption taxes, will enhance citizen participation in governance, accountability and bring government closer to the people, which are all the distinguishing hallmarks of democracy.

In addition, where the States administer VAT/Sales Tax, each State can structure their laws to tax and collect VAT based on commercial activities taking place within their States as opposed to the procedure which obtained under the federal VAT system where VAT was charged and collected from the headquarters of organizations regardless of which part of the country the transaction was undertaken.

On the other hand, the State VAT system will increase and boost the revenue of various states as it will open revenue streams for such States which have not previously been explored or utilized.

These recent judgments of the FHC also offers an opportunity for coastal states to improve their revenue from import VAT previously collected by the Federal

As we know, Section 1(3) of the 1999 Constitution declares that the Constitution is supreme and any law that is contrary to its provisions will be void to the extent of its inconsistency. Thus, this legal dispute on VAT helps to advance jurisprudence in the area of taxing powers of the different tiers of government and their constitutional basis and also gives all stakeholders an opportunity to defend the fidelity of the constitution.

The law should not be read and interpreted with sentiments and if there is need for any amendments to the Constitution, Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution clearly provides for an amendment procedure, which includes the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of the two Federal Legislative Houses and approval by resolution of the Houses of Assembly of not less than twothirds of all the States. However, pending any constitutional amendments, stakeholders and commentators alike are to rely on the interpretation of laws rendered by the courts.

While we await further decisions of higher courts to finally lay all controversies to rest, one cannot help but reason that the exclusion of the VAT/Sales tax from the exclusive legislative list in the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions may just mean that a Federal VAT, sales or consumption tax, was never envisaged and that there was no omission in the Constitution.

At this time, what is important is that States should begin to improve capacity for collection of consumption taxes and other similar taxes. On the other hand, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), which seems to be more concerned about losing its four percent (4%) cost of collection on VAT (which amounted to over N60 billion in 2020 alone and much more than what most States collected) than upholding the Constitution, should be encouraged to wean itself of this undeserved windfall. FIRS should rather be looking to assist States improve capacity to collect their own sales or consumption tax, rather than angling to collect a tax that should never have been under its supervision in the first place. For those States that believe they will not have the capacity to collect their sales taxes, they may wish to enter into a collection agreement with FIRS to do so on their behalf. However, those that want to collect and have the capacity to do so, should not be denied the right to administer what is their constitutionally guaranteed right.

In conclusion, it is important that stakeholders be properly informed about the issues and understand them before rushing to issue lengthy, but erroneous articles. Professional service firms in particular should remain professional and provide objective and neutral viewpoints, rather than seek to advance a subjective and biased position as though they have been paid to do so.

As we pointed out above, the main issue in dispute is whether under the 1999 Constitution the National Assembly had powers to make laws on VAT thereby enabling FIRS to centrally collect VAT. If, as the Courts have held, that the National Assembly lacked this power, commentaries should be directed on how to empower the States to collect the taxes. Arguing for ease of collection against Constitutional provisions does not augur well for true federalism notwithstanding who is at the forefront of this argument. Moving Nigeria forward should be a collective effort. t 0NPKPZF JT B SFUJSFE QVCMJD TFSWBOU MFHBM DPOTVMUBOU )F XSJUFT GSPN 1BMNHSPWF -BHPT .BJOMBOE

34

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͲ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Asue Ighodalo: AfCFTA Will Enhance Africa’s Agribusiness, Trade Nume Ekeghe Chairman of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Asue Ighodalo has said the recent endorsement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by African countries will impact positively on the agricultural sector and trade on the African continent.

Ighodalo said this in Lagos while addressing participants at the opening of the 4th edition of the Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) recently which was hosted by the bank in collaboration with Saro Africa, AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, Leadway Assurance, Agriculture and Finance Consultants (AFC), Young Africa Works (MasterCard), Stears, Thrive Agric and Nestle.

He explained that the AfCFTA will undoubtedly achieve the objective of fostering agricultural transformation and advancement in the African region as part of the effort to promote food security and competitiveness through the improvement of regional agricultural value chains He noted that, “it is unacceptable and an ironic paradox for Africa to lack home grown agricultural produce and have food insecurity in the midst of so much fertile and arable land across the continent.”

According to him, when Sterling Bank started the ASA four years ago, it was conceived as a powerful advocacy platform to provide solutions towards rebuilding and transforming the agriculture sector into a resilience growth driver.

“In the last three years our bank has paid specific attention to and concentrated resources on the health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and transportation. These sectors, when put together, represent the HEART of Sterling and either by design or fortuitously, agriculture has been and remain the heart of the strategy,” Ighodalo said.

ASA, he said, has become much more than a summit for the bank. “It is now one of the major sources of providing powerful suggestions to drive the wheel of inclusive growth in Africa, create employment, reduce poverty and provide a strong base for the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy,” he said.

Ighodalo

China Aims High in Bilateral Relations, Trade with Nigeria Michael Olugbode ÓØ ÌßÔË Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun has said the bilateral relations and trade between China and Nigeria would soon reach a new higher level.

He made the revelation in Abuja during a media chat to mark the Moon Festival or MidAutumn Festival in China, one of the most important traditional holidays in the country.

He said: “Earlier this year, Nigeria and China co-celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. As the 14th Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria,

I have been here for nearly half a year, and I was deeply impressed that Nigeria is a treasure house, not only of natural resources but also of human resources. How to develop the bilateral relations based on achieved gains has always been a key question in my mind.”

He disclosed that: “In order to usher in an even brighter future for China-Nigeria relations, I have put forward the 5GIST Nigeria-China GDP Strategy.

Changing times require changing strategy. Solos and duets cannot meet the demand of our bilateral relations. The two countries need to form an orchestra to play a

symphony within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

“The 5GIST Nigeria-China GDP Strategy is consisted of 4 parts, which are 5G, 5l, 5S and 5T. 5G refers 5 Goals of the Strategy, which are political consonance, economic cooperation, military & security collaboration, international coordination and people’s communication. 5I refers to five words initialed with “I”, i.e. infrastructure, ICT, value-added industry, investment (such as in agriculture, aquaculture, mining, oil & gas, financial integration, etc), and import and export, those are the priority areas of bilateral cooperation.

NGX to Host InauguralTechNovation Conference Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is set to host the inaugural edition of its TechNovation Conference on Thursday, 30 September 2021.

In a statement, the NGX said TechNovation Conference is a flagship event that provides a platform for local and global technology leaders to syndicate conversations around technology, partnerships and innovation that can advance technology adoption in the Nigerian capital market.

“With the theme, “Technology, Platforms and Markets”, the event will be hosted by the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO), Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr. Temi Popoola, CFA and will feature leading industry experts across the public and private sectors including the Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda; Dr. Segun Aina, President, Africa Fintech Network; and Olugbenga Agboola, Co-Founder and CEO, Flutterwave.

“Key topics to be addressed during the conference are: The Future is Digital - Digital Transformation, New Tech and Emerging Markets; The Path to Exponential Growth

– New Technology, Platforms, Emerging Markets, Data & Regulation; and Beyond Tech – Partnerships, Business Models and Innovation. Some of the other confirmed speakers at the event include; Iyin Aboyeji, Founder & General Partner, Future Africa; Bayo Adekanbi, Chief Transformation Officer, Data Science Nigeria; Dayo Obisan, Government Relations, SEC; Abasi Ene-Obong, CEO, 54Gene; Oremeyi Akah, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Interswitch; Ini Akpan, Country Manager, Opay; and Andreas Itern, Co-Founder & CEO, F10, :the NGX said.

Bedouin Nation Rebrands, Introduces New Structure Sunday Ehigiator Leading media and experiential marketing agency formerly know as Bedouin Nation, has announced a rebranding of its name from the former to Bedouin Group.

The company equally announced that it has been restructured into an end-to-end, vertically integrated digital interactive technology company with its creative agency, digital studio, SaaP-enabled talent platform, and technology-driven printing firm.

They made this known yesterday, through a statement

signed by the company’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ayoola Gbade-Bello.

According to him, the move was to assert the company’s position as a “part business consultancy, part creative agency and part technology powerhouse with capabilities to support Africa’s visionary companies with digital products, talent and marketing solutions.”

He said the rebranding which coincided with the company’s 10year anniversary of the company, will enable the Group consolidate its businesses, enhance efficiency, and better deliver the changing

technology-enabled growth marketing needs of enterprises and institutions in Africa.

“Consequently, the company’s Board of Directors has announced the appointment of a new Board Chairman and two new Executive Board Members, including Wale Abba, a veteran product designer and technology thought leader.”

Providing more insight, Gbade-Bello, disclosed that “the new additions bring decades of combined experience across both public and private businesses in a variety of sectors and stages of growth to help propel Bedouin’s innovation and expansion plans.

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).

39

T H I S D AY ˾ ͰͲ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

Buying Interest in GTCO, Oando, Others Lift Stock Market by N11bn Darasimi Adebisi The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday closed trading activities on a positive note, halting the three consecutive trading losses as investors’ investment went up by N11 billion.

The positive performance was driven by investors’ buy-interest in Insurance, Oil & Gas, and Consumer Goods stocks listed on the NGX.

Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) grew by 21.44 basis points, representing a rise of 0.06 per cent, to close at 38,874.13 basis points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value gained N11 billion to close at N20.254 trillion.

The market positive performance was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Flour Mills

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

of Nigeria, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), Oando and Pharma Deko.

Furthermore, the market breadth closed positively, recording 16 gainers as against 12 losers. NAHCO recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N3.52, per share. Pharm Deko followed with a gain of 9.55 per cent to close at N1.95 and Veritas Kapital Assurance went up 9.52 per cent to close at 23 kobo,

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

per share.

Cornerstone Insurance up by 9.43 per cent to close at 58 kobo, while Chams appreciated by 4.76 per cent to close at 22 kobo, per share. On the other hand, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the losers’ chart by 4.17 per cent to close at 23 kobo, per share.

UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) followed with a decline of 3.68 per cent to close at N1.83, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI)

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

lost 2.83 per cent to close at N5.15, per share.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) declined 2.17 per cent to close at 90 kobo, while Prestige Assurance shed 2.08 per cent to close at 47 kobo, per share.

However, the total volume of trades fell by 19 per cent to 125.797 million units, valued at N1.266 billion, and exchanged in 2,990 deals.

Transactions in the shares

O F

of Mutual Benefits Assurance topped the activity chart with 13.715 million shares valued at N4.115 million. United Capital followed with 11.462 million shares worth N97.614 million, while GTCO traded 9.948 million shares valued at N270.928 million.

Zenith Bank traded 9.201 million shares valued at N210.477 million, while Transcorp transacted 7.573 million shares worth N6.878 million.

2 3 / 0 9 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

˾ FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2021

Friday, September 24, 2021 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index fell Advanced by 14bps 154bps The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ ϭϰďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index advanced 154bps to close

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

at 1,674.89 Ăƚ ϱϰϮ͘ϵϵ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ pointsĚƵĞ dueƚŽ ďƵLJŝŶŐ to sell-pressure ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ onŝŶ ZENITH GTCO (+1.3%), (-0.6%), WAPCO ;Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ UBA (-1.3%), and UBA;Ϭ͘ϳйͿ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞͲ (-0.7%). These stocks cumula-

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ly ƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϭϯ͘Ϯй͘ account for 15.1% of the index.

Current Price

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THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 BUA Cement Plc 3 Guaranty Trust Holding Co PLC 4 Zenith Bank PLC 5 Dangote Cement PLC 6 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC

Price Previous Current Change Price YTD Weighting Change

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

P/BV

5.2x

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

542.99

1.54%

-63.0%

-45.7%

15.0%

3.5%

715.00

0.0%

28.8%

-16.1%

-16.1%

12.3%

4.4%

0.7x

5.6%

ot Applicable

2.2%

15.7%

68.00

0.0%

10.8%

-12.1%

-12.1%

19.1%

11.2%

32.7x

6.2x

27.40

1.3%

8.6%

-15.3%

-15.3%

24.8%

3.9%

4.2x

1.0x

11.0%

24.0% 32.5%

3.1%

22.85

-0.2%

6.8%

-7.9%

-7.9%

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%

22.40

0.2%

3.9%

6.4%

6.4%

9.9%

7.1%

10.1x

1.0x

4.5%

9.9%

8.60

0.0%

3.1%

1.8%

1.8%

18.3%

1.5%

2.3x

0.4x

9.9%

43.4%

rose 11bps6bps to 39,550.36 to 38,874.13 points. points. ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ Accordingly, zd YTD ůŽƐƐ loss ŝŵͲ re-

8 Lafarge Africa PLC 9 Access Bank PLC

mained proved unchanged to -1.8% while at -ϯ͘ϱй ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ǁŚŝůĞ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ

10 United Bank for Africa PLC 11 FBN Holdings Plc

7.65

0.7%

2.6%

-11.6%

-11.6%

2.1x

0.4x

7.2%

47.5%

7.50

0.0%

2.8%

4.9%

4.9%

10.6%

1.0%

3.5x

0.4x

6.0%

28.6%

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%

39.00

0.1%

2.2%

3.3%

3.3%

17.4%

2.1%

8.4x

1.3x

10.5%

11.9%

-5.9%

-2.5%

ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ േϭϭ͘ϮďŶ േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘todƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ േϮϬ͘ϯƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ as ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϯϭ͘ϲй traded ƚŽ ϭϭϬ͘ϴŵ ǁŚŝůĞ value volume and ďLJ value fellƵŶŝƚƐ 19.0% and ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ƚŽ ϭϮϱ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϭ͘ϯďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϴϴ͘ϱй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭďŶ͘ The most traded stocks 16.1% traded by volume stocks were by dZ E^ KZW volume were ;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ MBENEFIT (13.7m & E, (11.1m units), ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ǁŚŝůĞ E ^d> ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕ UCAP (11.5m units), andƵŶŝƚƐͿ GTCO (9.9m units) while GTCO E' D ;േϮϳϬ͘ϵŵͿ͕ ZENITH ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϮϭϬ͘ϱŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ UCAP ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ;േϵϳ͘ϲŵͿ led by value.

Bearish Sector Performance Mixed Sector Performance Across sectors under our coverage, performance was WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ acrossgained the sectors within our bearish as 4 indices lost, 1 index ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &Z-/ d scope as 4 ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ǁĞƌĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ͕ ϭ ŶĞŐĂƟǀĞ͕ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ AFR ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ -ICT index remained unchanged.

The Insurance and Oiland & er 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Insurance indices, down 4.6% Gas ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ͕ ƵƉ Ϭ͘ϵй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϳй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞͲ ϭ͘Ϯйindices ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚ-ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> (ůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ hE/> s Z ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ >/E< ^^hZ ;нϯ͘ϱйͿ͕ 9.1%), (-3.5%), >/E< ^^hZ (-6.4%), D E &/d ;нϯ͘ϰйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;нϯ͘ϳйͿ͘ /Ŷ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ǀĞŝŶ͕ and D E^ Z (-Ϯ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ the Consumer Industrial Goods indices rose 8bps and ing indices fell and by Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůϭďƉ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ E/d, ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ &>KhZD/>> ŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K (-0.8%), (-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͘ ;нϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ W ;нϰ͘ϲйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ t W K ;нϬ͘ϮйͿ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ extended its loss from seser, upindex1.8% driven by previous price trading appreciasion, 19bps(+3.3%). as a result of sell-ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ ŽŶ d/ ;ƟŽŶ indown E' D Ϯ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ E/d, ;-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ Investor ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ Investor ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ Ăƚ 1.6x ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϰdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϳdž ĂƐ ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ stocks NA16 stockswhile advanced while 11 stocks advanced 15 stocks declined.

MRS declined. (+9.9%), MAYHCO PHARMDEKO VERIBAKER (+10.0%), (+9.8%), and HONYFLOUR(+9.6%), (+9.8%) and led gainers

14 International Brew eries PLC 15 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 16 SEPLAT Energy PLC 17 11 PLC 18 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

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 36 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 37 Oando PLC

1.4%

-19.3%

-19.3%

1.3%

12.9%

12.9%

710.00

0.0%

2.0%

76.5%

76.5%

3.1%

1.7%

-100.0%

7.4%

3.2%

NA HCO

-13.3%

0.7x

5.6%

18.8x

0.6x

5.8%

5.3%

0.0%

1.0%

14.3%

14.3%

37.4%

23.6%

7.7x

2.6x

6.7%

13.0%

2.41

0.0%

0.7%

-4.4%

-4.4%

12.7%

1.2%

2.1x

0.3x

9.1%

47.8%

5.15

-2.8%

0.6%

-14.2%

-14.2%

1.5%

0.1%

17.1x

0.2x

17.20

0.0%

0.6%

-2.3%

-2.3%

25.6%

12.1%

6.6x

1.6x

8.7%

15.1%

5.8%

2.96

0.0%

0.5%

-11.1%

-11.1%

1.49

-0.7%

0.3%

-27.0%

-27.0%

8.9%

0.8%

3.8x

0.3x

3.4%

14.15

0.0%

0.4%

-2.4%

-2.4%

20.7%

5.9%

14.1x

2.9x

2.8%

7.1%

0.90

-2.2%

0.4%

0.0%

0.0%

-1.3%

-0.3%

0.5x

1.1%

-2.4%

79.50

0.0%

0.3%

12.1%

12.1%

1.9x

2.7%

13.20

0.0%

0.2%

-5.0%

-5.0%

-4.2%

-2.7%

1.2x

5.75

4.5%

0.2%

8.5%

8.5%

5.1%

-3.6%

8.40

-1.8%

0.4%

78.3%

78.3%

35.5%

4.2%

6.4x

2.1x

8.2%

0.0%

0.4%

57.9%

57.9%

1.7%

0.8%

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

8.2%

30.3%

21.6%

3.3%

4.1x

0.4x

0.96

-2.0%

0.2%

-15.0%

-15.0%

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

0.76

-1.3%

0.2%

10.1%

0.0%

0.0%

3.7%

0.2%

30.3%

2.1%

15.8%

0.9x

1.5%

18.4% 23.2%

10.1%

11.7%

0.7%

4.3x

0.5x

5.3%

-100.0%

7.5%

0.9%

5.5x

0.6x

5.1%

30.3%

14.5%

2.6%

2.1x

0.3x

5.4x

0.7x

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%

8.7%

4.95

0.0%

0.0%

37.5%

37.5%

2.1x

-21.2% 2.0%

18.4%

0.8x T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

3.52

10.0%

M B EN EF IT

13.7

3.4%

11.5

-1.8%

1.95

9.6%

VER IT A SKA P

0.23

9.5%

GT C O

9.9

1.3%

C OR N ER ST

0.58

9.4%

Z EN IT H B A N K

9.2

-0.2%

CHA M S

0.22

4.8%

T R A N SC OR P

7.6

-2.2%

PZ

5.75

4.5%

ST ER LN B A N K

6.5

-0.7% 0.0%

OA N D O

4.82

3.7%

A C C ESS

6.4

LIN KA SSUR E

0.59

3.5%

OA N D O

5.4

3.7%

M B EN EF IT

0.30

3.4%

UN ILEVER

4.9

0.0%

WA P IC

0.50

2.0%

UB A

3.9

0.7%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

SOVR EN IN S

0.23

-4.2%

GT C O

270.9

1.3%

ET I

5.15

-2.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

210.5

-0.2%

T R A N SC OR P

0.90

-2.2%

UC A P

97.6

-1.8%

P R EST IGE

0.47

-2.1%

M TNN

81.0

0.0%

H ON YF LOUR

3.82

-2.1%

D A N GC EM

71.2

0.0%

A IIC O

0.96

-2.0%

UN ILEVER

64.6

0.0%

-1.8%

ST A N B IC

58.6

0.1%

54.8

0.0%

8.40

18.3% 48.2%

P H A R M D EKO

UC A P

15.6%

24.5%

6.3x

UC A P

ƚŚĞ ĮŶĂů trading session, weĂƐexpect theseason local bourse to ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ŵŝdžĞĚ͕ earnings gradually ĞdžƚĞŶĚ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ŵŽŵĞŶƚƵŵ ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĐŽŶͲ winds up.

26.6%

30.00

T o p 10 G a i n e r s T ic k er

0.9x

104.00

4.82

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 39 Beta Glass PLC 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

T ic k er

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

0.0% 1.2%

0.0%

19 Fidelity Bank PLC 20 Ecobank Transnational Inc

TASKAP (+9.5%) led(-8.3%), the gainers while SOVRENINS while ABCTRANS LASACO (-6.7%), and(-ϰ͘ϮйͿ͕ LIVEETI (-Ϯ͘ϴйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ TRANSCORP(-Ϯ͘ϮйͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ In STOCK (-4.8%) led losers. Yesterday, we expect the market

ƟŶƵĞƐ ƚŽ ďƵŝůĚ ƵƉ͘

4.80 29.35

P ric e C hg %

WEM A B A N K

0.76

-1.3%

A C C ESS

A F R IP R UD

6.45

-0.8%

UB A

29.4

0.7%

ST ER LN B A N K

1.49

-0.7%

SEP LA T

29.2

0.0%

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

Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

Damilare Asimiyu| dasimiyu@afrinvest.com

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021• T H I S DAY

41

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 22Sept-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 159.01 160.34 -1.79% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 6.90% Nigeria International Debt Fund 317.35 317.35 -15.98% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 107.65 108.70 -2.87% 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 3.29 3.45 -3.21% 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 8.07% Anchoria Equity Fund 132.59 132.59 0.44% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.15 1.15 -13.84% 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 19.41 20.00 7.04% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 429.56 442.51 7.29% ARM Ethical Fund 38.18 39.33 13.26% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.09 -0.92% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.98 0.98 -6.78% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.38% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 106.36 106.36 4.57% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,036.45 1,036.45 3.65% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.06 2.06 -6.22% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.13 2.17 -6.65% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.02 1.02 3.28% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.40% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 119.16 119.92 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 107.73 107.73 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 8.45% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.20 1.21 -0.03% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.42 1.42 -10.13% 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 7.50% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 8.43% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,161.37 1,179.29 0.86% 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 1,419.72 1,419.72 11.66% FBN Balanced Fund 190.56 191.79 1.54% FBN Halal Fund 112.89 112.89 9.45% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.60% 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

126.97 156.67

126.97 3.73% 158.67 3.63% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price N/A N/A N/A N/A

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 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 2.78 2.84 -2.53% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 153.34 153.62 -1.39% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.27 1.31 0.89% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.10 1.10 0.92% 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 1,152.37 1,152.37 6.09% 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 11.26 11.30 7.46% 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 1.59 1.61 7.51% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.61 11.61 -4.50% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.87% PACAM Equity Fund 1.69 1.70 6.54% PACAM EuroBond Fund 113.32 115.29 3.21% 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 10.06% 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 3,278.89 3,312.93 2.08% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 233.21 233.21 3.72% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.21 1.23 3.39% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 307.81 307.81 4.46% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 225.30 228.63 3.23% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.38% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,364.05 10,504.54 -1.27% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.27 1.27 3.95% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 115.73 115.73 4.19% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 103.96 103.96 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 1.79% United Capital Bond Fund 1.92 1.92 4.85% United Capital Equity Fund 0.86 0.88 8.39% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.33% United Capital Eurobond Fund 120.46 120.46 5.23% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.05 1.06 2.98% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.06 1.06 6.32% 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 7.73% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.10 14.24 15.48% Zenith Income Fund 24.39 24.39 1.67% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.59%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 53.37

10.62% 5.66%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.31

13.41

0.70%

119.97 96.13 17.11 18.18

122.95 98.25 17.21 18.28

-0.23% -3.10%

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

3.75 5.44 17.32 1.00 19.49 157.28

3.79 5.52 17.42 1.00 19.69 159.28

-0.61% -4.36% 6.73% 7.18% -5.00% -28.46%

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.

42

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Commercial Motorcyclists Kill Two Policemen, Injure Others in Lagos Chiemelie Ezeobi Attempt by police operatives at the Ajao Estate area of Lagos to impound some commercial motorcycles was met by stiff resistance as the riders popularly known as Okada went berserk, killing two officers with others injured yesterday.

Among the dead policemen was the Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Kazeem Abonde, in charge of B Operations, Lagos State Command Superintendent of Police (SP) while others were left with varying degree of injuries.

THISDAY checks revealed that the operatives had embarked on an operation along Asa Afariogun Road in Ajao Estate to impound motorcycles for flouting the State Traffic Law when the riders mobilised and attacked them.

They were said to have outnumbered the policemen, thus making it easier to first disarm the SP before using his service firearm to kill him.

Emboldened after shooting the SP, the riders were said to have stormed the police station

where they allegedly opened fire, hitting some policemen on duty.

Given the scale of violence, motorists and pedestrians,

including shop owners were forced to flee to safety, with the latter abandoning their wares.

Although it was not clear about the number of casualties

recorded, THISDAY gathered that tentative peace has been restored to the area as the police command sent reinforcement.

Expectedly, all commercial motorcyclists have gone into hiding for fear of reprisal by the police over the death and injury of their colleagues.

When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, promised to revert but did not as at press time.

HONOURING GAMALIEL ONOSODE…

L-R: Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Member, Board of Trustees, Gamaliel and Susan Onosode Foundation (GAMSU), Mr. Alfred Okoigun; Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; British Deputy High Commissioner, Lagos, Mr. Ben Llewellyn-Jones; Secretary, Board of Trustees, GAMSU, Mr. Spencer Onosode, and member, Board of Trustees, GAMSU, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, during the book presentation and panel discussion to unveil the Gamaliel Onosode classicus, an honourable life organised by GAMSU in Lagos… yesterday ABIODUN AJALA

UNGA: PDP Reports Buhari FG Considers Fresh Charges against Igboho to UN on Terrorism, Rights Violations, Corruption Chuks Okocha in Abuja As President Muhammadu Buhari is set to address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in New York today, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the world body and other democratic institutions to query the President on the role of his administration in the escalation of terrorism, violation of rights, electoral malpractices, corruption, national division and economic ruin of Nigeria in the last six years.

The PDP noted that the sanctity of human lives, freedom, respect for human rights, justice and rule of law; credible elections, democratic

governance promotion of peace, accountability in governance, economic development among others, which the General Assembly stood for had all been violated by the Buhari administration.

The party, in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, urged the General Assembly not to lose sight of the reports by credible international organisations including the US Department of State as well as Amnesty International, (AI) on cases of arbitrary arrests and detention in dehumanising facilities, widespread extrajudicial killings, sudden disappearances of dissenting voices and disregard to rule of law under President Buhari’s watch.

WHO: Africa Needs 150m Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Monthly Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja World Health Organisation (WHO), has said that COVID-19 vaccine shipments to Africa must rise by over seven times from around 20 million doses per month to 150 million each month on average if the continent is to fully vaccinate 70 per cent of its people by September 2022.

It noted that while Africa’s third wave continues to ease, 108,000 new cases were recorded, and more than 3000 lives lost in the week to 19 September.

According to WHO, 70 per cent target was agreed at the global COVID-19 summit hosted by the United States of America on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly this week.

WHO Regional Director for

Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, stated this yesterday at the virtual press conference of WHO Regional Office for Africa facilitated by APO Group.

She said the United States had pledged to share 500 million more COVID-19 vaccines to lowincome countries over the next year, bringing its total pledges to more than 1.1 billion doses.

“The global COVID-19 summit was a dose of hope for Africa and we commend pledges to share more vaccines, save lives and build back better.

It is the kind of international solidarity that will help to end the pandemic. This is about life and death for potentially millions of Africans so there is no time to waste in getting these shipments moving,” she said

Strong indications have emerged that the federal government may file fresh charges against Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho.

Ighogho was awarded N20 billion by an Oyo State High Court as “exemplary and aggravated damages” against the federal government after

he sued the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Department of State Services (DSS), and director of state services, Oyo state, demanding N500 billion in damages over the raid on his Ibadan home on July 1.

During the raid, two persons were said to have been killed,

while 12 others were arrested.

The federal government had said it would appeal the court’s decision. But speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, yesterday, the AGF, Abubakar Malami, said fresh charges might be filed against Igboho.

Malami added that the

position of the federal government on the judgment was about “law and jurisdiction”.

“As far as this matter is concerned, which court is it that has the jurisdiction to determine it? And as you rightly know, obedient to court orders and court judgments,” he said.

APC LG Congress: We’re Yet to Receive Petitions, Say Lagos Appeals C’ttee Segun James

The Appeals Committee set up by the national caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to look into complaints and grievances arising from the party’s local government congresses in Lagos has said it was yet to receive any petition arising from the exercise.

The committee, at a press conference held at the Lagos State Secretariat of the party, Acme Road, Ikeja and addressed by the chairman, Alhaji Akaje Ibrahim, said this notwithstanding, the committee had given aggrieved members three days to file their complaints. “So far, the committee is yet to receive any petition. All we demand is that all those with

genuine complaints should be decorous in their presentations,” he said.

Akaje, who was accompanied by caretaker executive members of the Lagos APC, led by the chairman, Tunde Balogun, said, “This particular committee is to attend to complaints or grievances arising from conduct of the party’s recent congresses held on Saturday,

September 4, 2021, here in Lagos State.

“Let me first of all, on behalf of the APC National Secretariat express our appreciation to you all for the adequate coverage of earlier proceedings of the Ward Congresses Appeals Committee, which report has already been submitted to our National Secretariat.

Global Services Trade on Recovery Trajectory, Says WTO

Dike Onwuamaeze

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has projected that the recovery being experienced in global services trade might extend into the third quarter of 2021.

The projection is contained in its Service Trade Barometer (STB), which was released yesterday.

The STB, however, noted that

the expansion could proceed along a lower trajectory if the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic disease turned out to be long-lasting.

The WTO’s report said: “The STB index has risen above the Global Services Trade Activity Index, and remains above the baseline value of 100 despite having turned downwards

recently. This suggests that the services trade will continue to recover in the second and third quarters once official statistics for these periods are available.

However, the expansion could proceed along a new, lower trajectory if the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic turns out to be long lasting.”

The latest barometer index

reading for the period under review was 102.5, which, according to the STB, was above the global services trade activity index and above the baseline value of 100, suggesting that the volume of services trade in the second and third quarters (for which official statistics are not yet available) would continue to recover.

Abiodun to Clear Pension Arrears, Releases N500m Quarterly

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has said efforts were on the top gear to clear the 2011 pension arrears and increase the quarterly release of N500million to defray backlog of pension arrears as the state

finances improve.

Abiodun disclosed this as a response to the protest last Wednesday by the state chapter of the Local Government Pensioners Association of Nigeria (LOGPAN) over outstanding gratuity owed its members.

The governor in a statement

signed by the Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kunle Somorin, said his administration was committed to prioritizing the welfare of the pensioners as well as the regular payment of their pensions despite the dwindling financial situation being witnessed in the state

and the country at large.

He noted that pension issues were not new to all stakeholders in the state, recalling that at the inception of his administration, robust dialogues were held with all the stakeholders on how to move forward on payment of pension arrears.

House Moves to Ease Electricity Contracts from Procurement Act Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives at the plenary yesterday passed for second reading a Bill which seeks to exclude the application of Public Procurement Act to contracts in

the power sector. The Bill also seeks for the establishment of Rural Electrification & Renewable Energy Agency and National Power Training Institute.

The proposed legislation titled, “Electric Power Sector Reform Act

(Amendment) Bill,” is sponsored

by Chairman, House Committee on Power, Hon. Aliyu Magaji.

In his lead debate, Magaji, who observed that the Electric Power Sector Reform Act was enacted as far back as 2005 as

a consolidated legal framework that regulates the power sector in Nigeria, bemoaned the delay in amending the law for about one and a half decade, until the emergence of various challenges that affect the efficiency.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

43

NEWS XTRA

Army Denounces Dehumanisation of Corps Member by Female Officer Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigerian Army yesterday denounced the dehumanisation of a corps member by an army officer in Calabar, Cross River State.

A video circulating on social media showed the female corp member kneeling down on the orders of the female officer while the latter poured dirty water on her head repeatedly.

The video has elicited wide condemnations on social media.

A statement issued last night

by Army Spokesman, BrigadierGeneral Onyema Nwachukwu, said the conduct of the officer was an embarrassment to the Nigerian Army.

“The Nigerian Army (NA) has taken cognisance of a video clip currently making the rounds on the social media, where a female officer was seen dehumanising a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Calabar, Cross River State.

“This act is not only condemnable, but unprofessional and against established precepts

of discipline in the Nigerian Army. The NA has remained undoubtedly the pride of the nation, a symbol of national

unity that has consistently being in the vanguard of respect for the fundamental human rights of the citizenry”, it said.

“It is against this premise that the NA condemns this unimaginable level of infraction by a personnel in its ranks.

The NA therefore, condemns in strong terms, this act of gross misconduct.

“Undoubtedly, the officer’s

actions have caused the Nigerian Army monumental embarrassment and is highly regrettable.”

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD’S CONVENTION…

L-R: Former Aba North District Superintendent of Assemblies of God Church, Rev. Kalu Emeaba; District Superintendent, Assemblies of God Lagos Mainland , Rev. Emmanuel Awazie; District Women Coordinator, Mrs. Charity Ifeyinwa Awazie;and Guest Speaker, Pastor Ebenezer Eyong Onyi, at the annual Shekinah Convention of the Church in Lagos… recently ETOP UKUTT

No Going Back on Bill to Curb Fake, Contraband Pesticide for Second Reading Electronic Transmission of Results, INEC Insists Udora Orizu in Abuja

James Sowole inAbeokuta The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said it would not go back on electronics transmission of results from polling units in future elections, unless the National Assembly enacts a new law to stop it from doing so.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Ogun State, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, stated this at a news conference at the state INEC headquarters.

According to Agbaje, who just resumed in as the REC, the INEC already had enough law that capacitated it to transmit election

results electronically.

Agbaje said: “We have enough law that capacitated us to go ahead but if the National Assembly says we cannot do it with the new committee that had been set up, we will stop and that will be a new law.

“However, it will be too bad if they are going to make a new law that will incapacitate us. With the shout by Nigerians, nongovernmental bodies, the media and many other stakeholders, I believe the National Assembly will do the right thing so that INEC can go ahead and transmit results electronically.

The House of Representatives at the plenary yesterday passed for a second reading a bill which seeks the establishment of the Nigerian Pesticide Council, to curb fake and contraband pesticides, which had found their way into the Nigerian markets.

The proposed legislation titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide for

the Establishment of Nigeria Pesticide Council, and for Related Matters’, is sponsored by the Chairman, House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services, Hon. Danduste Muntari.

Leading the debate on its general principles, Muntari said the bill is important to have a controlled mechanism to checkmate the agrochemical industry.

According to him, “There is rampant adulteration and faking of these plant protection products because of the absence of the Pesticide Bill, thereby causing colossal damage to the crop, soil and economy of millions of farmers in Nigeria, among others.”

He said the bill seeks to put stringent measures in the products purchase, use and application, as

well as be a catalyst to promote food security in the country.

The lawmaker added that the legislation, when passed, would empower and enable the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to have a data bank of approved pesticides, existing manufacturers and importers and also a compendium of agrodealers handling the products nationwide.

Customs Confiscate N200m Unregistered, Expired Drugs in Kano Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Kano/Jigawa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has confiscated over N200 million worth of unregistered and expired drugs smuggled into the area.

The Comptroller of the Area

Command, Mr. Sulieman Pai Umar, who disclosed this to journalists yesterday in Kano State, explained that 185 cartons of the unregistered and expired drugs had been confiscated and handed over to NAFDAC. According to him, the continuous efforts of officers of the command had yielded

various categories of seizure in the last three months, which include 707 bags of 50kg of foreign rice with duty paid value of N20,503,000, and 155 bales of second hand clothes with duty paid value of N11,625,000.

Umar added that 16 jerry cans of vegetable oil with value paid duty of N334,000; 130 spaghetti

cartons with duty paid value of N1,950,000, and 231 cartons of macaroni with duty paid value of N104,000 were also confiscated.

Other confiscated goods included 30 packs of Mosquito coil with duty paid value of N660,000, and 29 cartons of couscous with duty paid value of N337,000.

open the 27th meeting of the National Council on Works with the theme “Infrastructure Delivery, The Maintenance Economy and National Prosperity” held at Command Guest House, Bauchi.

Mohammed said that his administration had embarked on accelerated urban renewal and rural development programmes in an effort to improve the living

He said as a deliberate policy, the administration in the last two years, also embarked on the provision of Infrastructure that has direct bearing on the socio-economic life of the people.

“The hosting of the meeting

by Bauchi State could not have come at a better time, now that my administration is focused on reversing the trend

decay that has held back to the socio-economic development of the state.

“With all sense of humility, I make bold to say that the two years journey in infrastructure delivery can be described as one of the resolute pursuit of vision, mission, and innovative implementation in the face of fiscal challenges,” he said.

Ogun Judiciary Workers Bauchi Executes 200km Roads in Two Years Call off Strike yesterday when he declared conditions of the citizenry. of infrastructure deficit and James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), Ogun State chapter, yesterday called off the strike embarked upon over two months ago.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, disclosed the action of the judicial workers after a meeting between the government and Chairman of the union, Mr. Tajudeen Edun. The Chief Press Secretary to the state Governor, Dapo Abiodun, Mr. Kunle Somorin, in a statement said the meeting that led to suspension of

the strike was held at Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta, which was also attended by the state Head of Service, Mrs. Sellimot Otun.

Edun, in the statement after the meeting, called on all judiciary workers in the state to prepare themselves and resume fully.

The judiciary workers embarked on the strike over cut in their salaries, which was not pleasing to the workers.

Edun said: “There were series of meetings before the issue was finally resolved today (yesterday).

There was an agitation over the cut of our salary.

Plateau Lawmaker Berates Lalong over Livestock Transformation Bill

The member representing Langtang North-central in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Daniel Nanbol Listic, has urged the Plateau State executive arm of government, particularly the executive governor, Simon Lalong, to avoid making utterances that could portray the House in bad light.

In chat with newsmen in Jos recently, the member noted with concern on alleged comment by the governor to the effect that members of the House were

not considering the Plateau State Livestock Transformation Bill proposed by the executive (currently before the House)with degree of seriousness it deserved.

The member said that the House operates in line with the law establishing it stressing that every proposed Bill must pass through laid down procedures in the House which he said the governor was very conversant with, having been not just a member but a speaker of the House before.

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Bauchi State Government has said that it has completed over 25 roads that covered over 200 kilometers in urban and semi urban areas of the state in the past two years to curb slum development.

The Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, disclosed this

Police Present N22.7m Cheques to Families of Deceased Officers in Nasarawa Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia

The Nasarawa State Police Command, yesterday presented cheques worth N22.7 million to families police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The gesture miss an initiative of the Inspector General of

Police ``Group life Assurance`` aimed at supporting families of deceased Police officers who died in active service.

In a statement signed by the Nasarawa State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP. Ramhan Nansel, said that the Nasarawa

State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Adesina Soyemi, presented the cheque to families of the deceased on behalf of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba Alkali.

The statement said: “The gesture was also aimed at boosting the morale of all police

officers in the country in order to spur them to do more in protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria there by reclaiming public space from criminal elements as their welfare is of outmost importance to the current administration of the force.”

House Wants Agip to Contain Oil Spill in Niger Delta Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives has called on the Nigerian Agip Oil Company to immediately ensure the stoppage of the oil and gas leakages on pipelines passing through the

Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku in Rivers State, to avoid endangering the lives and property of the people living in the Niger Delta region. The House also called on the company to investigate and unravel the causes of

the leakages to avert future occurrences of the release of hazardous substances to the environment.

It further called on the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) to immediately visit the affected

area and liaise with the company to stop the flow from the pipelines to the neigbourhood.

The resolutions were sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Nnam Obi Uchechukwu at the plenary yesterday.

44

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

45

NEWS XTRA

Nigeria Committed to Food Security, Buhari Tells World Leaders Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has stressed the commitment of the federal government to attaining food security.

The president said this yesterday in New York, at the Food Systems Summit, which was part of the high level meetings of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA).

According to him, Nigeria had developed a food systemfocused development agenda that prioritises healthy diets and affordable nutrition, inclusive, efficient, resilient,

and sustainable, which will contribute to rebuilding our economy, creating jobs and spurring growth across sectors while sustaining our ecosystems.

A statement issued by the President’s Media Adviser, Femi Adesina, quoted the Nigerian leader as saying the plan was the outcome of a wide range stakeholder-engagement geared towards a better understanding of their food systems, experiences and needs.

According to President Buhari, “following the recommendations from the dialogues and our plan to lift 100 million Nigerians out of

poverty within a decade, Nigeria is committed to: investing in food security and nutrition knowledge dissemination, skills’ development, and information management systems to enhance agricultural productivity; building sustainable, responsive, and inclusive food systems; enhancing the productivity of smallholder farmers and empowering women and youths for greater access to food production; while strengthening climate mitigation strategies and conflict early warning systems that will reduce the many stresses and shocks to our food systems.”

OPEC: Higher Natural Gas Prices Will Have Marginal Impact on Oil Demand Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Despite widespread belief that the ongoing crisis in the natural gas industry might hugely impact prices of crude oil, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has said the effect will be marginal, given its own scenario analysis.

In a document obtained by THISDAY yesterday, titled, “Brief on Potential Impact of Recent Higher Natural Gas Prices on Global Oil Demand,” the oil producers’ group, noted that the study was necessary given the recent rise in global natural gas prices, and the current low levels of natural storage in various hubs.

Various industry experts

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as AWATIF HUSSEIN AMIN, now wish to be known and addressed as AWATIF ABDALLAH AMIN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as OLAIFA OLUFOLAKE ANIFAT, now wish to be known and addressed as AKINMADE OLUFOLAKE ANIFAT. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as NWOSE EKENE CHUKWUEMEKA, now wish to be known and addressed as NWOSE EKENEDILICHUKWU CHUKWUEMEKA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as EDEH NNENNA SYLVANA ORUNNA, now wish to be known and addressed as IYIDA NNENNA SYLVANA ORUNNA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to notify the general public that NWACHUKWU ADAOBI STELLAMARIS and NWACHUKWU STELLAMARIS ADAOBI is the same person, and now wish to be known as NWACHUKWU STELLAMARIS ADAOBI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

This is to notify the general public that NWACHUKWU MARIANNE AMARACHI and NWACHUKWU MARY-ANNE AMARACHUKWU is the same person, and now wish to be known as NWACHUKWU MARYANNE AMARACHUKWU All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

and institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recently made statements to the effect that the rising gas prices might lead to its substitution with other fuels, especially petrol, resulting in higher crude oil prices by $10, according to the national oil company.

Natural gas serves as a fuel for industry, mainly for power generation in manufacturing, refining and petrochemicals and residential sectors, but

the report focused only on potential implications for industry because of the technical limitations it poses for residents.

It noted that recently, natural gas spot prices have risen sharply in the United States to reach $5.17/mmbtu on 20 September, compared with $1.34/mmbtu a year ago, due to freezing weather seen in the first half of the year and supply disruptions due to extreme weather conditions, in particular Hurricane Ida.

Governors, Nwodo, Others Win Awards Hamid Ayodeji

Starlite Newspapers has conferred on notable businessmen, state governors, University vice chancellors, and many others the Leadership and Business Icons of the country awards.

Some of the recipients of the awards were the Executive Chairman and Founder of XL Africa Group Limited, Mr Charles Nwodo Jnr; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu State; Governor Willie Obiano, Anambra State; Governor Yahaya Bello, Kogi State; Prof Charles Arinzechuwkwu Igwe, Vice Chancellor University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) among others.

According to a statement, the awards were presented at the newspaper’s second annual award and lectures series held recently at the UNN, Nsukka, with the theme: “Economic

CHANGE OF NAME I, formerly known and addressed as SALIU ALABI, now wish to be known and addressed as SALIHU ABDULAKEEM OLAMILEKAN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ADEBAYO BALIKIS ADEJOKE, now wish to be known and addressed as FALADE BALIKIS ADEJOJE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as EGBOKHAN-OBADAN BLESSING ELIZABETH now wish to be known and addressed as OBADAN BLESSING ELIZABETH. Please note that all former documents remain valid. This notice is for the general public.

Diversification and the Selfsustainability options for Enugu State.”

According to the Newspaper’s publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Mr Harrison Ogara, the awards were presented to the individuals as recognition of excellent leadership and contributions to the growth of Nigeria’s economy through cross sectoral private sector activities in Nigeria and across West Africa.

“It is important to identify people who have contributed immensely to the economic growth of this nation as it is popularly said, give honour to whom honour is due” Speaking at the event, the chairman of the occasion, Prof.

Osita Ogbu, noted that the theme of the occasion is coming at a time when diversification for structural change is needed.

Diji Adedoyin Passes On Well known Lagos lawyer, Prince Adediji Adedoyin of Shagamu has passed at the age of 89. He is survived by two wives and children.

According to a statement, the funeral arrangements will be announced by the family.

Prince Adediji Adedoyin

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Building a Society characterized by Solidarity By: Islamweb.net

F

rom a social perspective, the teachings of Islam aim to bring together all Muslims to be a unified entity, in conformity with the words of the Prophet (pbuh): “The example of the believers as regards their mutual love and compassion is like that of a single body. If any of its parts aches, all the other parts share in the sleeplessness and fever.”

[Muslim] The strong among them support the weak, and the rich help the poor. Social solidarity manifests in the Muslim community such that its objectives and implications are realized. There are many Sharee‘ah (Islamic Jurisprudence) texts and provisions describing the Muslim community and how it should embody the spirit of solidarity.

There are multiple objectives for such solidarity that incorporate all the needs of the individual and the community, whether material or moral.

Social solidarity means that Muslims should work together, each through his position and status, to preserve the public interests of the community as a whole and the private interests of the individuals, so that everyone in the community would feel that his rights are fulfilled and he, accordingly, is eager to fulfill his duties and obligations towards other members of his community. The scope of this solidarity then expands to encompass all people (not limited only among Muslims). Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran 49:13] Allah, the Exalted, honored Man and commanded us to treat all children of Adam accordingly (with respect). He Says (what means): {And We have certainly honored the children of Adam.} [Quran 17:70] From day one, the teachings of Islam laid emphasis on fostering human ties, strengthening social bonds, and establishing equality among all people so that each and every Muslim would feel the bond of brotherhood with his fellow Muslims.

Islam also established a social safety net on the basis of solidarity to enhance the moral and physical building of the individual and community. It laid the foundations of the righteous Muslim individual, the virtuous family, and the integrated society to ensure the establishment of the Muslim community that provides security and safety for all its members.

The circle of this solidarity begins with every Muslim individual as he refines his own ‘self’, takes care of it and rectifies it, directing it to what is good for himself and for all people, and then he tends to the bonds that connect him with the members of his family. Each family member bears his own responsibilities and shoulders his duties, acting upon the words of the Prophet (pbuh): “All of you are guardians and are responsible for your subjects.” [Al-Bukhari] A man is a guardian in his family; he has rights and duties, and the same applies to the woman who has her own rights and duties. This critical task begins from the very moment a man chooses his prospective wife; he should choose someone from a righteous family to be a good building block for their family and be able to provide their children with a good upbringing that pleases Allah, the Exalted. This is why the Prophet (pbuh) said: “A woman is married for four [reasons]: her wealth, her noble descent, her beauty, and her religion. So win the religious woman – otherwise, you will be a loser.” [Al-Bukhari] The marital life should be founded on mutual kindness, as Allah, the Exalted, prescribed, acting upon the instructions of the Prophet (pbuh) when he said: “The best of you are those who are best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives.” [At-Tirmithi] As for the process of raising the children and taking care of them, it is a joint duty of both parents. Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means): {O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones…} [Quran 66:6] This includes directing them from an early age towards what benefits them in their worldly lives and the Hereafter, starting with the acts of worship and all good deeds. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “Command your children to perform prayer when they are seven years old, and beat them (for abandoning it) when they are ten.” [Ahmad] When these teachings are instilled within the individual at a young age, he has successfully taken the first steps in the right direction and recognized his position and status in his community. Islam is keen to foster solidarity among the Muslim individual and his community

and harmoniously preserves both the private and public interests to ensure that neither would undermine the other. An individual interacts and cooperates with other members of his community to maintain this harmonious balance. Allah, the Exalted, Says (what means): {And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.} [Quran 5:2] On the other side, the community is responsible for preserving the private rights of the individuals, and this contributes to maintaining public order for the sake of the community and all its members.

The scope of such solidarity is not confined to the interests of the individual, the community, or even the country, but rather extends to include other communities and future generations, as confirmed by the words of Allah. He Says, (what means): {And [there is a share for] those who came after them, saying, “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful.”} [Quran 59:10] This is how the humanness of man that Allah, the Exalted, intends for us Muslims is realized, and it is how the enjoined solidarity is realized with its temporal and spatial dimensions.

One of the most important manifestations of solidarity which Islam is keen to instill in our communities is how to treat the elderly and take care of them, starting with one’s parents, acting upon the verse that reads (what means): {And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months.} [Quran 46:15] Also, the Prophet (pbuh) said: “He is not one of us who is not merciful to our youngsters and does not respect and honor our elders.” [At-Tirmithi] Then comes the duty of caring for the orphans, the poor, and the needy, and supporting them. Allah, The Exalted, Says (what means): {They ask you [O Muhammad] what they should spend. Say, “Whatever you spend of good is [to be] for parents and relatives and orphans and the needy and the traveler. And whatever you do of good – indeed, Allah is Knowing of it.”} [Quran 2:215] This can be achieved by providing job opportunities for all members of the community rather than concentrating the employment opportunities in specific segments or groups, eliminating the obstacles hindering the poor, and empowering them to break free from the feelings of inferiority to their peers.

Another important manifestation of solidarity in Islam is the enjoined kindness towards neighbors by keenly fulfilling their rights and preserving their interests. The Prophet (pbuh) said: “By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer! By Allah, he is not a believer.” It was asked, “Who is he, O Messenger of Allah?” He (pbuh) said: “The one whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evil.” [Al-Bukhari] Another manifestation is honoring guests and offering them hospitality, and this applies to your private guests or those visiting your country, such as tourists or expatriates (guest workers). You should be hospitable to them all; the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be hospitable to his guest.” [Al-Bukhari] There are many ways by means of which the members of the community can contribute to the realization of this solidarity, including: Zakaah, charity, expiation, Waqf (Islamic endowment), Wasiyyah (will), ‘Aariyah (gratuitous loan of non-fungible objects or property), gifts, grants, and others. There are also other means which the government is responsible for, including: carrying out public projects, building infrastructure for the cities and villages, providing job opportunities for all members of the community, facilitating the fulfillment of people’s needs, organizing transportation and communication means, and the means of individual solidarity among the members of the community such as facilitating the establishment of centers for collecting and distributing Zakaah and facilitating their work, acting upon the verse that reads (what means): {Take [O, Muhammad] from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [the blessings of Allah] upon them.

Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them.

And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.} [Quran 9:103] These were some of the features and manifestations of social solidarity in light of the teachings of Islam, and there is no doubt that this topic deserves more detailing, but brevity is the soul of wit, and less is always more; and Allah Knows best.

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FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Victor Osimhen (left) and Napoli’s Captain Lorenzo Insigne celebrating the 4-0 away defeat of Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A...yesterday

ITALIAN SERIE A

Osimhen on Fire, Nets Brace as Napoli Crush Sampdoria 4-0 to Regain Top Spot Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, scored two goals and a third nullified as offside when

Napoli crushed Sampdoria 4-0 yesterday to regain the top spot of the Italian Serie A. The maximum three points from the victory lifted Napoli to

CONFEDERATION CUP

CAF Banishes Bayelsa Utd from Yenagoa Stadium Gives nod to Enyimba, Rivers Utd home grounds The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has banished Nigeria’s CAF Confederation Cup debutants, Bayelsa United from their Yenagoa home ahead of their all-important second round clash against top Tunisian side SS Sfaxien.

THISDAY learnt yesterday that CAF took the painful decision following the poor technical report on the Samson Siasia Stadium after Bayelsa’s 4-2 home victory against their Guinean first round opponents last weekend.

It was further learnt that the African soccer governing body has already forwarded the decision to NFF alongside the list of approved stadiums for continental games at the club level.

The Enyimba Stadium Aba got CAF’s nod alongside the Port Harcourt home of Rivers United who zoomed into the CAF Champions League second round after beating Young Africans of Tanzania by 2-0 aggregate.

Other stadiums approved

by CAF are the Mobolaji

Johnson Arena (Onikan Stadium), Teslim Balogun Stadium, Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba and the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

With this development, Bayelsa United would be forced to play outside Yenagoa unless the state government moves quickly to work on the Samson Siasia arena.

The Bayelsa State government had before United’s first game awarded the contract for the renovation of the stadium, but the contractor was alleged to have messed up the playing turf.

A video had emerged on social media showing how a tricycle popularly called Keke Napep was being used to work on the pitch constructed

by Monimichelle Group.

The CEO of Monimichelle, Ebi Egbe, a Bayelsa indigene has since dissociated his company from the shoddy renovation work being done on the 5,000-capacity stadium.

15 points, two above the Serie A champions Inter Milan and AC Milan who are tied on 13 points with the former having superior goals difference of 13.

For the Nigerian international, it appears he has regain the mojo that made the Italian club shell out $72million for his signature from Lille. He has scored three goals in his last two games in the Italian top-flight.

Osimhen now have five goals in his last three games in all

competitions.

A fair call denied him a hat trick in the clash with Sampdoria as one of his goals was adjudged to have been scored from an offside position.

The 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup winner with the Golden Eaglets fired Napoli into the lead barely 10 minutes into the game with Sampdoria the home team. He connected with a sliding a Lorenzo Insigne cross at the back post.

Osimhen thought he had

made it 2-0 moments later, but was clearly offside before lobbing Sampdoria goalkeeper Emil Audero.

In the 39th minute Fabian Ruiz doubled Napoli’s lead when he shot into the near bottom corner from outside the penalty area.

Osimhen returned to the scorer’s sheet for his second and Napoli’s third as he hammered home eight yards a low cross from Hirving Lozano.

By the hour mark, Napoli

got their fourth through Piotr Zielinski who finished off an assist from Lozano again. And the game was effectively over with Napoli returning to the summit of the Italian topflight once again.

In the other Serie A game for the evening, Ola Aina was in action for Torino in their 1-1 home draw against Lazio.

He played for only 62 minutes before he was subbed. Torino are 10th on the log with just seven points from a possible 15.

I’d Fight King Kong if I Had to, AJ Bullish Ahead of Clash with Osyk Anthony Joshua has said that he would fight "King Kong" if he was asked as he prepares to take on Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The WBA (Super), WBO and IBF champion defends his titles on Saturday against former cruiserweight champion Usyk.

A cordial press conference yesterday gave way to an intense face-off before a handshake between the pair.

Joshua, 31, said: "I'm not an easy fight for anyone, I like fighting."

He added: "If you tell me I was fighting King Kong I would give it a go. This is my job.

"I wasn't on the amateur scene long enough to know much about Oleksandr, but when I turned professional I did a lot of research and I love the Ukrainian style and the Ukrainian people.

"He was fighting 10 or 12

WBA, WBO, IBF DEFENCE years as an amateur before he went to the Olympics and worlds, so he is probably happy to be in this position.

The cream always rises to the top.

"I love throwback fighters. I do watch a lot of boxing and I don't fight good people just to get respect. I'm going to work. It's the best days of my life."

Anthony Joshua (left) and Oleksandr Osyk at Thursday’s press conference heralding tomorrow’s WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight title fight in London

Ukrainian Usyk, 34, was first to appear and the challenger arrived in style, dressed in a red three-piece suit and yellow tie.

Usyk, speaking through a translator, said very little, but appeared relaxed and full of confidence ahead of his bid to become a two-weight world champion after dominating the cruiserweight division.

He said: "Every fight makes history and I think me and Anthony will make another step in history, something that people will be talking about, remember and will be watching on television."

Joshua, dressed in his usual tracksuit and cap, cut a subdued figure until it was his turn to speak.

He is favourite on Saturday night with more than 60,000 fans expected at the UK's first big stadium fight since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

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SPORTS

SPORTS PEOPLE

Ronaldo Drives New £164k Bentley to Man Utd Training

C

ristiano Ronaldo who is currently rated by Forbes magazine as the richest footballer was snapped by UK’s Mirror driving a new £164,000 luxury Bentley to Manchester United’s training ground the morning after his side crashed out of the Carabao Cup. West Ham secured a 1-0 win over Mancchester United at Old Trafford, exacting revenge on the Red Devils following the 2-1 defeat at the London Stadium just days prior.

Ronaldo, who didn’t play in the game, could be seen in the crowds growing visibly frustrated as United squandered their chances.

The star could only watch on as his team struggled to draw equal before crashing out of the Carabao Cup in the third round.

Of United’s 27 shots, they only managed to get six on target, with both West Ham centre-backs putting in impressive performances.

After the cup clash loss, Ronaldo could be seen arriving at Carrington in his £164,000 supercar.

The Bentley Flying Spur is the “pinnacle of Bentley luxury” and only one of a number of supercars the

Portuguese forward owns.

According to UK’s The Sun, Ronaldo ensured that any property he moved into had ample space for his fleet of luxury cars, with a total value of £17million.

Despite costing five times more than the average UK salary, Ronaldo’s Bentley is cheap compared to some of his other cars.

Ronaldo owns a Ferrari Monza valued at £1.4m, a £2.15m Bugatti Chiron and a £1.7m Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport He was also gifted a £516k Brabus G-Wagon from his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez last year, with the Portuguese superstar posting an image of the car on his social media.

The 36-year-old has had a brilliant start to his return to Old Trafford after signing a two-year contract.

After completing his move on deadline day, he said: “I have a fantastic history with this amazing club.

“I was there at 18 years old and of course I’m so happy to be back home after 12 years.

So I’m really glad and looking forward to starting my first game.

“I think it’s the best decision that I have made. It’s right on point in my opinion."

Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tourney Not a Fluke, Says Edo Gov's Wife James Emejo in Abuja Wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, Thursday in Abuja said the Betsy Obaseki Women Football Tournament (BOWFT) whose maiden edition is scheduled to begin on Sunday September 26 through October 4 is not a "fluke or one-off" competition, adding that it will be an annual tournament that will be sustained in the state.

She said the competition was berthed after serious planning and projections for the future especially on its sustainability.

The wife of the Edo State Governor also clarified that the tournament is currently funded by development partners and not from the state coffers.

"We are embracing this initiative as a means of

HIFL 2021

UNIMAID Desert Warriors, AAUA Luminaries Qualify for Finals FUTMinna Transformers, UNN Lions to play the third-place match UNIMAID Desert Warriors of the University of Maiduguri and the AAUA Luminaries from the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akugba have qualified for the finals of the 2021 Higher Institution Football League.

In a pulsating match played at the Sports Complex of the Federal University of Technology Minna, the Transformers registered their first goal in the 6th minute through StanbicIBTC Man-of-theMatch Ndah Noble. Noble added the second to complete his brace in the 70th minute.

However, as the Transformers pushed for the third goal needed

to edge their opponent, tragedy struck in the 71st minute when the Desert Warriors scored a crucial away goal through Suleiman Saleh to put the aggregate scoreline at 2-2 meaning that the Transformers needed two more goals to qualify.

The match eventually became farfetched for the Transformers when they were caught off guard during an attack and allowed Ishola Ibrahim of the Desert Warriors to score a second goal in the 75th minute.

Although Delubem Luke immediately scored the third goal for the Transformers in the 76th minute, it was too late for the Minna varsity team as the Desert Warriors led by Coach Dauda Daniel put up a determined defensive display for the remainder of the game to deny the Transformers an opportunity to score more goals.

The match ended 3-2 in favour of the FUTMinna Transformers, but the Transformers lost out on the finals as the tie ended 3-3 on Prof. Olu gbenga Ige of Adekunle Ajasin goals aggregate. The University presenting StanbicIBTC Man- Desert Warriors had won the first leg 1-0 of-the-Match award to AAU Luminaries in Maiduguri. goalkeeper, Phillips Isaac...yesterday

In the game played at the Adekunle Ajasin University in Akungba, the home team AAUA Luminaries held their nerves to play a goalless draw with the visiting UNN Lions from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The Luminaries had played a 1-1 draw with the Lions away and thereby qualified for the finals on the away goals rule.

The AAUA Luminaries made history as the first state-owned university to qualify for the HiFL finals since inception.

The team ousted perennial Super Four qualifier OAU Giants and UNILAG Marines on their way to the finals.

UAM Tillers from the University of Agriculture Makurdi and UNICAL Malabites from the University of Calabar won the 2018 and 2019 editions of the league respectively.

achieving sustainable growth in the sports industry in Edo State," she said.

Mrs Obaseki said: “Obviously, this is not a fluke, it's not a one-off thing and in Edo State we don't do things to impress people.

"We do things with serious planning, projections for the future and for sustainability and that's what this government is known for.

"Anything that's happening in this government is meant, planned and designed to last for all time.

"So this is going to be an annual tournament and it has come today to stay."

Speaking alongside the state's Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, Mrs Obaseki said 12 prestigious women football clubs in the country had confirmed their attendance and participation.

She added that the medical team had been put on standby to carry out the rapid test on all the players and officials on arrival in line with COVID-19 protocols.

She said the tournament, themed:"Promoting the Girl Child," was part of her initiatives aimed at complementing the

achievements of the Godwin Obaseki-led administration in tackling the menace of gender based violence.

She pointed out that prior to the present administration in the state, human trafficking was rife with Edo occupying the ignoble position as being the foremost of the illicit trade.

Some of the clubs to feature in the inaugural edition include; Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Bayelsa Queens, Sunshine Queens, Robo FC,Heartland Queens and Royal Queens. Others are; Confluence Queens, Kaduna Queens, Naija Ratels, Fortress Ladies and Rolly FC.

Wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs Betsy Obaseki addressing the press in Abuja...yesterday

Nigeria’s U-19 Cricketers Get Free uLessonApp Offers Leading EdTech outfit, uLessonhas offered free subscription to the teenage members of the Nigerian Under-19 Cricket team throughout their preparation and campaign for the International Cricket Council’s Under-19 World Cup African Qualifying Series. uLesson’sVice President, Distribution and Marketing, Tayo Sowole, said the gesture was to help the players cover the gaps that their commitment on the cricket pitch would have denied them in the classroom.

“A couple of them are missing classes to be able to help qualify

the country for the Cricket World Cup, and the uLessonApp offers a robust curriculum that help them to catch up on the misses off the pitch” The Nigerian Under-19 team picked the sole ticket from the African Qualifying series in 2019 for the 2020 World Cup and they have a pedigree to live up to that challenge again when the Qualifiers for the 2022 Under-19 World Cup gets underway from September 27 to October 7, 2021, in Kigali, Rwanda.

General Manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation, Emeka Igwilo, said the players

have been in camp in Abuja for a while and would be proceeding to a two-weeks tour of Zimbabwe before heading to Rwanda for the Qualifiers and the uLesson Subscription has come in handy for most of them who have been looking to carry their academics along with their cricket game.

Sowole again stressed that the uLesson is designed to help students who are committed to making a success of their academic endeavor. It covers the Nigerian curriculum in every detail, while the subjects are treated with simplicity.

Nigeria’s Bobsled and Skeleton Federation to Name 10 Athletes for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Following the successful completion of its inaugural Olympics Trials in Lagos, on Saturday, the Bobsled and Skeleton Federation of Nigeria, has revealed that 10 athletes will represent Nigeria at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Games.

Technical Director of the BSFN, Dr. Seun Adigun, disclosed this in Lagos.

"Ten athletes will be named for the Winter Olympics.

"We will have two athletes for Bobsled, two in Djokovic the Monobob Women's team, two athletes for

the Bobsled men's team, two male Skeleton and two female Skeleton athletes for the national team," said Adigun who played a key role in Nigeria's debut at the last Winter Olympics Games, in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

President of the BSFN, Chief

Solomon Ogba stated that the team will be in Europe to train on ice ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

"This is the first stage of the preparation for the Olympics before the athletes train on ice", he said.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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Price: N250

MISSILE Afenifere to North “Since 1999, the arrangement of rotating the presidency between the North and South has been practised, any attempt to overturn that agreement remains unacceptable. Don’t let us change the narrative. We should not pretend as if we don’t know what the argument is about. It must come because that is the agreement, that is the practice, that is the issue” – Afenifere leader, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, reemphasizing the South’s legitimate demand for presidency, after Buhari’s eight years.

UT H

& RE A S O

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26 years

OKEYIKECHUKWU EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

Enemies of the Judiciary S

ome ill winds are hovering over the reputation and public perception of the judicial arm of government. These evil winds need to be dispelled, because of their negative impact on the image of the judiciary; and also because of their national security implications. In doing that, we must first make a distinction between the questionable, even possibly mischievous and reprehensible, conduct of some erring judicial officers and the profile of the judiciary as a responsible Institution of State.

A judge who acts arbitrarily in a matter before him is not necessarily the judiciary on display.

There are many possible reasons why such a thing might happen. But none of those reasons will include the judge having been guided unto such behaviour by the laws guiding responsible judicial processes. The action of some individuals should therefore not be presented in the public domain as institutional endorsement of judicial misconduct.

These observations are important, because an arm of government that is seen as the last hope of the average citizen should not be brought into disrepute by the conduct, body language and actions of a few of its members. The call here is for the gatekeepers and corrective mechanisms within that system to rise and be seen to be up and about in the discharge of their duties. Whereas it is a matter of record that only a negligible number of judges have travelled so far on the wrong road as to bring opprobrium upon themselves, it is a fact of our common experience that there is now a growing perception of the judiciary as a largely compromised institution of state. This is an unfair stigmatisation of the thousands of responsible and hardworking judicial officers all over the nation for the deeds of a few of their colleagues. That a particular judicial officer has brought himself into disrepute is one thing. That the misconduct of these few judicial officers

Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad should also bring undeserved opprobrium on their untainted colleagues, as well as the institution of the judiciary, is quite another.

It is not right that what should ordinarily be seen as an act of misconduct by an individual gets presented and advertised in the public domain as the brand stigma, and profile, of an institution. It is also not right that, notwithstanding the very few legal practitioners involved in sometimes reprehensible judicial pronouncements, the smear of impropriety is inflicted on thousands of responsible lawyers and judges, as well as the judiciary itself.

While it is true that public perception is hardly ever in congruence with reality, it is often always true that public perception, flawed or not, is the guiding beacon and marker for informed and

uninformed public thinking. The point to note here is this: It is not always the conduct of the majority of members of an Institution of State, a community, or even a family, that determines its image in the public domain.

The tentative good news in this matter is that the leadership of the judiciary is being progressively seen to be both concerned and proactive in dealing with the growing “odour of unsanctity” around some judicial officers. This is good, probably long overdue and likely to ring the bell for the gathering of wits once again. It is absolutely incomprehensible, for instance, that the spate of clearly irrational judicial interventions trailing the recent party primaries in Anambra State should be inflicted on us all. The judges knew what they were doing. Whether they, or some other colleagues of questionable credentials in propriety, had been at it in the past, the game is now up for the rented judicial pronouncements industry.

That is why the Chief Justice of the Federation must be commended for quickly rallying his colleagues, and the judiciary’s mechanisms for self-correction, to reign in some erring judges. The other point, of course, is that, beyond being stopped in their tracks for aggravated judicial misconduct, the judicial officers concerned should be seen by the public to have been duly sanctioned as well.

But the matter of concern here goes far beyond the question of what led to the curious judgments from certain judges. It also goes beyond the nowmuch-talked-about abuse of the system. The issue here is that we now have repeated reports of an emerging conspiracy to comprehensively undermine the impartiality of the judiciary in its handling of specific cases. There is now also the sneaking impression that court verdicts concerning cases with national security implications may end up looking as if they are determined along ethnically-driven lines. Questions have since been raised, for instance,

regarding the judgement given in the Sunday Ighoho case by a court in the South West; with many people suggesting that the development is not unconnected with the part of the country Igboho hails from and where the judgment was given. Such speculation should not be allowed to grow, or fester. But it is growing and festering with embarrassing luxuriance.

The recent allegations of a grand plan to undermine and also intimidate members of the judiciary in the developing story around the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is another cesspool with a stench of its own. The thing to really worry about here is that serious minded, law abiding judicial officers may now face more unsavoury pressures at both the personal and professional levels.

Threats to their lives and loved ones may come into play. Nigerians witnessed the untrammelled burning of offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The perpetrators were officially described as Unknown Gunmen.

These Unknown Gunmen targeted and brought down known INEC offices. They are presumed to still be at large. What should we expect if these allegedly Unknown Gunmen also decide to direct their attention to “known” courts of law? Are the courts sufficiently protected? Are our long suffering judicial officers sufficiently insulated for targeted, and even opportunistic hostility?

The frightening national security implications of the forgoing are difficult to ignore. That is why the leadership of the judiciary and the national security apparatus should spare no efforts in addressing what could bring the roof down on us all, if handled with kid gloves. The real enemies of the judiciary are not only those who are doing the wrong things as officers of the law. The other looming, but ignored, danger is that some groups may feel urged to adopt intimidation and violence in their desire for preferred judicial outcomes.

RIGHT OF REPLY

As Big Brother Settles In

Michael Orodare In his write-up of August 9, 2021, Okey Ikechukwu talked about the deteriorating moral values in society which, according to him, is gaining ample publicity on Big Brother Naija.

He described the models that participated at the MNET Face of as malnourished and not a good representation of Africa as the organisation posited. Perhaps, Ikechukwu attempted to address body shaming and unrealistic standards prevalent in the modelling industry globally.

His opening sentence about the housemates doing nothing meaningful in the house is curious.

But there are times when anyone who tuned in would have seen the tasks the housemates engaged in. This includes promoting the diverse cultures of Nigeria and showcasing their artistic skills. Take, for instance, the medical doctor Yerins who was recently evicted. He displayed outstanding intelligence on diverse topics, such that when he left the house, the housemates could not stop talking about his brilliance.

MultiChoice in Nigeria is a company that

has indeed helped Nigerians through the show.

Many people are engaged in the production of the show; from the production crew to the labourers and other service providers. These are individuals who would have stayed jobless due to the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria. The jeremiad on MultiChoice ripping off Nigerians through SMS voting is not entirely new. However, the company decided to scrap that mode of voting for the new season. Viewers can only vote via the DStv and GOtv mobile apps or the BBNaija website which is absolutely free.

Beyond Big Brother Naija, MultiChoice Nigeria has invested in the Nigerian creative industry in various ways. It was the company that helped the likes of the late renowned filmmaker, Amaka Igwe, and Mahmood Ali-Balogun, hone their filmmaking skills to compete with international standards through its initiative ‘New Directions’ in the 90s. The company is currently running a similar initiative MultiChoice Talent Factory, where young creatives are trained in the art and business of filmmaking. So far, 40 young filmmakers across Nigeria and Ghana, have

graduated from the factory, with some having won internships in prestigious international film companies. Some of the graduates, today, run their own companies and others have already produced critically reviewed films and documentaries.

An impact assessment by Accenture showed that between 2015 and 2019, MultiChoice invested about $428 million in local content production. The firm estimated that the company has contributed $2.1 billion to the Nigerian economy within the last five years. In addition, the show has been instrumental in promoting the Nigerian brand. In 2019, the show had indigenous automaker, Innoson, as one of its sponsors. The winner of that season, Mercy Eke, walked away with a brand new SUV. This move gave Innoson great publicity and earned MultiChoice commendation for choosing to run with a made in Nigeria brand.

Last year winner Laycon was not a known singer till he came on the show. Not only did he make his songs popular, but he also has a reality show. The first female winner of the show

Mercy Eke leveraged her win and popularity to establish herself as a businesswoman. Today, she is involved in real estate and oil and gas.

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, the host of the show and former housemate is another success story. He is a fashion icon, a respected TV personality and lawyer who also hosts a programme on Channels TV where he interviews prominent personalities.

The columnist should also be reminded that the show is for mature audiences only and viewers have the option to block the channel. As a verisimilitude, BBNaija allows the housemates to express themselves while promoting the good values of the Nigerian culture. The participants are a reflection of today’s society and its popularity rides on how the individuals are able to survive an estimated number of days with strangers in a confined place. The entertainment value of the show will be lost if housemates are told to act in a particular way. r0SPEBSF XSJUFT GSPN -BHPT

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