MONDAY 10TH OCTOBER 2022

FG Wades into Dangote, Kogi Govt’s Dispute Adebayo writes Buhari, says incident capable of eroding investors’ confidence Makes mockery of ease of doing business, minister declares NECA condemns move by state Former NLC vice president calls for ceasefire Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin The federal government has waded into the raging

dispute between the Kogi State Government (KGSG) and the Dangote Group over the ownership of Dangote Cement Plc and the alleged

non-payment of taxes and revenues due to the state government by the company.

Also, while the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative

Association (NECA) has condemned the position of the state government on the matter, a former vice president, Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), Mr. Issa

badly needed investments into the country.

Kogi State government had

Aremu at the weekend urged the Kogi State government and the Dangote Group of Companies to cease-fire in order not to discourage the

Continued on page 5

PDP Kicks Off Presidential Campaigns Today in Uyo...

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PDP Kicks Off Presidential Campaigns Today in Uyo Invites Obasanjo, Jonathan, Sambo, Mark, BoT members, govs Atiku: APC beyond May 29 is burden too heavy for Nigerians Ikpeazu declares support for former vice-president Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will today flag off its presidential campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The presidential campaign, which is expected to hold at the Nest of Champions Stadium, Uyo, and scheduled to commence at 10 am, however invited party leaders and members across all categories, including former presidents.

This is as the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, said it would be extra burden too

heavy for Nigerians to bear if the APC continued in office after May 29, 2023.

At the same time, one of the governors loyal to the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, has declared that Atiku was his presidential candidate and had nothing against him.

However, according to the chairman of the Presidential Campaigns Council and Governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel, who signed the letters of invitation, the party extended courtesies to all former presidents produced by the

party, including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, former vice president, Namadi Sambo to the occasion.

Others invited included former senate presidents David Mark, Pius Anyim Adolphus Wababa, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki as well as all members of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

Expected at the event were all the PDP governors, former governors, former ministers, all former presidential aspirants of the party, all serving and

former members of the National Assembly.

Emmanuel, who was on hand to receive delegations at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, expressed delight over the hosting of the campaign flag-off and thanked the leadership of the party for entrusting him and other members of the campaign council with the task of driving the Atiku/Okowa rescue mission.

Giving assurances of the Campaign Council's preparedness for a grand rally to launch the PDP to victory, Emmanuel said, the

FG WADES INTO DANGOTE, KOGI GOVT'S DISPUTE last Wednesday sealed Dangote Cement’s factory located in Obajana over alleged tax evasion and equity ownership in an exercise that several staff of the Dangote Cement were pelted with gun bullets.

However, an exclusive interview with THISDAY at the weekend, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo, said the manner the KGSG was going about the imbroglio was capable of eroding investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy and could rubbish the federal government’s programme on promoting ease of doing business in Nigeria.

Adebayo said: “You are aware that we do not like situation like this because it makes a mockery of the ease of doing business programme of the federal government. I have no doubt that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, will reach out to the governor of Kogi State with the view of talking to him.

“The view of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) is basically that if there is a dispute between a state government and any industry within the state, we have the courts of law to deal with the issue. We believe that it is very wrong for the state governments to take laws into their own hands to address such situations. The courts are there.

“I understand that there is an original agreement between the state government and the Dangote Industries that called for arbitration in the event of a dispute. I believe that all these legal steps should have been taken rather than a state government taking the laws into its own hands. It does not portray Nigeria in good light for sub-nationals to be creating problems for people who have invested money in Nigeria."

The minister also said the manner the KGSG was addressing its relationship with the Dangote Group was a contradiction of the noble efforts of the Buhari's government to attract investments into the country.

He said: “You are aware Mr. President just returned from the United States of America where he went to address the United Nations General Assembly. And on the sidelines of that visit to America there was a business summit where Mr. President reached out to foreign investors and was inviting them to come and invest in Nigeria.

“These foreign investors follow the news on events that are happening in Nigeria and if they see that in Nigeria that a sub-national government is treating one of our biggest investors within Nigeria the way that they have done to Dangote Cement in Obajana,

it will not portend well for us as a country.”

Adebayo cautioned that, “nobody will be interested in coming to invest in Nigeria in such situation. It is incumbent on us as Nigerians, and as government within Nigeria, especially the sub-nationals to do things in accordance with the law as opposed to just resorting to self-help in troubled times.”

However, Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, has explained that the state government was constrained to take decisive actions due to Dangote Cement Plc’s intransigent attitude to resolving the dispute amicably.

Bello said the state government had tried for nearly six years to meet with Dangote Cement’s management over the vexing issues but to no avail.

He said: “We received several petitions from the general public about this particular subject matter. This is about five to six years now. And all efforts to sit down with the proprietor of Dangote conglomerate failed.

“We set up committee to look into this matter and the report came and all efforts to make those very important people, let us put it that way in quotes, to realise the impending danger that the operation of Dangote in Kogi State is posing to himself, his investment, the people of Kogi State and Nigeria generally all fell on deaf ears.

“And here we come to set up another technical committee to review that same particular report. This report was ready since September and I have gone through all. I have received a lot of accusations that I have interest; that every government that have come to this state have interest or have something to do in terms of shady deal with Dangote, especially as it concerns Obajana cement factory.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, I came into this office with my integrity and I will leave here with my integrity.”

Bello said that in a bid to clear himself of every suspicion, he directed the petitioners against the Dangote Cement to the Kogi State House of Assembly.

“Hence they went to the State House of Assembly.

And we have seen so far those results that come out from the state assembly after their investigations,” Bello said, declaring that “I am here to defend and protect the lives and livelihood” of the people of the state.

In his reaction to the matter, the Director General of NECA, Mr. Adewale-Smart Oyerinde, told THISDAY that the development at Dangote Cement’s factory in Obajana, Kogi State, was both unfortunate and worrisome.

Oyerinde stated that the Dangote Cement industry remains one of the major employers of labour in Nigeria and the location of the cement plant presented an awesome opportunity for the locals to be gainfully employed.

He said: If there are issues arising from ownership of the cement plant, the most responsible thing that should have been done is to explore conciliatory or legal options rather than the gangster option that was used.

"That action alone portends danger to our quest for foreign direct investment as a rational investor will be concerned about the security and legal system of any clime.”

The NECA, therefore, “condemn absolutely the steps taken by the state government and hope that reason and sound judgment will prevail. We also urge that the perpetrators of the dastardly act should be prosecuted.

“The signs to investors are bad. The natural expectation is that every state government will make his state attractive to local and foreign investors.

The action of the Kogi State Government will only send the wrong signal to investors.”

Former NLC Vice President Calls for Ceasefire Between Kogi Govt, Dangote In the meantime, Aremu at the weekend urged the Kogi State government and the Dangote Group of Companies to cease-fire.

Aremu who is now the Director General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, however said the ugly development portends a serious threat to the economic growth of the country if the issue was not resolved amicably in view of the number of people that the company had engaged at the cement company.

The former labour leader made the remarks in Ilorin, Kwara state capital on the commemoration of Decent Work Day earmarked by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with the theme, "Wage Justice."

The MINILS boss believed that the claim over 'decent work' was a ruse without work in existence for prospective employees.

Aremu, who urged the Kogi State government to encourage industrialisation in the state, called for amicable resolution of the misunderstanding that culminated in the closure of the cement factory.

He said, "You can't even talk of decent work without work first because it is only work that is in existence you can

make decent.

"But let me quickly express my concern and worry because I just read that last Wednesday, the Vigilante group of Kogi State allegedly stormed Obajana Cement Factory and from what I read, they wounded some of the workers."

Aremu added, "Obajana Cement is one of the biggest cement factory in Africa owned

by Dangote. I read that the problem is over alleged nonpayment of some taxes to the state government.

"Let me say that corporate organisations have the responsibility to pay their taxes but if you are found wanting for whatever reason, we should resort to legal and due process for the payment of those taxes and not to be using extrajudicial measures as reportedly used now in Kogi State to shut down business plant. I think it is important that we should do everything to encourage those who are creating jobs not to discourage them.

"So, I want to call for cessation of hostility between the Kogi State government and Dangote group. But unequivocally, the method being allegedly used is unacceptable. At a time we are re-industrialising, the best we can do is to encourage big industrialists like Dangote".

While expressing concern over the thousands of workers who are daily pushed into wage poverty globally, the MINILS Director General appealed to the government and employers of labour to increase employment opportunities for jobless youth.

Aremu applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for promoting decent work and pay for the nation's public servants.

He said, "Interestingly, the theme for this year is wage justice. The idea of justice for wage earners is that workers should be well paid.

"There is a new statistics that has just come out that after Covid-19, the world has produced close to 573 new billionaires, yet millions of people have been pushed into poverty.

"As a matter of fact, about 700,000 workers are pushed into wage poverty almost everyday while the world is turning out billionaires. So, this theme is very apt that there should be justice for the workers.

"I want to call on the government and employers of labour to work towards increasing job opportunities for teeming youth who are looking for jobs.

"The way to do this is to encourage industrialisation, promote value addition. We have to stop importation of goods that we can produce locally. Every time we buy not made in Nigeria, we are actually exporting jobs."

flag-off promised to be stunning, adding that the outstanding performances by PDP governors had given impetus to the party.

"Let me thank PDP for the confidence they have in us. If you see the whole affairs of the party is piloted by the governors.

It's a whole confidence in us that the party can derive the strength from what the governors are doing in different states. Talking about how prepared we are, rest assured this will be one of the best," he stated.

On his part, the VicePresidential candidate and Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who was part of those who arrived yesterday, said the campaign kick-off would be an extension of the loudly celebrated 35th anniversary of Akwa Ibom State creation and commencement of PDP's celebration of the 2023 victory.

He described Emmanuel's chairmanship of the campaign council as special, hence the party's anticipation of a great and exciting outing.

Similarly, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who was already on ground, lauded Emmanuel's ingenuity of bringing his private sector capacity, competence, skills and dexterity to bear in managing party and state affairs, thus reaffirming the party's confidence in his leadership ability.

“We are very pleased and proud of Governor Udom Emmanuel, who is the Chairman of Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign. We couldn't have made a better choice as a party," he said, adding that Nigerians would soon come to terms with the correctness in the choice of Okowa from the South-south zone as the vice-presidential

candidate of PDP. But, Atiku in his statement yesterday, said, "I believe that your being here is because we share a common belief that an extra day of the APC administration beyond May 29 next year, will be a burden too heavy for our country to bear.

"You are here because you believe, like I do, that Nigeria deserves a president, who is prepared and ready to lead from day one. You believe that Nigeria needs a UNIFIER and a leadership that leaves no one behind in our march to peace and prosperity.

"You are here because you believe that this is the moment that God has designed for this country to rise again. Tomorrow, on 10 October, I shall be joining other leaders of our great party – PDP – to converge on Uyo for the flag-off of our presidential campaign," he stated.

However, Ikpeazu, on his part, said, "There is no battle between the presidential candidate and I. He is my presidential candidate.

I don’t have any other candidate but at times, when one gets to a certain point in life, and a vehicle is put down for a journey, even the destination of the vehicle.

That is the question I am asking.

I am an apologists of the PDP since 1999 and needed to ask a question.

"The greatest need of Nigerians today is inclusiveness. Can we be sensitive to the feelings of other people? Can I be guaranteed a country where a criminal in Sokoto is a criminal in Abia and a criminal Abia is a criminal in Zamfara?

"Can I be guaranteed a country where my son will not be brutalised because his name is Okolie? Can I be", he asked.

CBN Reads Riot Act on Access to Discount Window James Emejo in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday insisted that certain categories of its authorised dealers are not allowed to access the discount window on specified transactions.

The central bank stated this in a circular to all dealers on the access to the discount window, which was dated October 7, 2022, and signed by the apex bank’s Director, Financial Markets Department, Dr. Angela sere-Ejembi.

The bank specifically reminded participants with successful bids at the Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions to refrain from accessing the discount window on the auction date.

The CBN warned that henceforth, failure for noncompliance to the directive shall result in the reversal of the allotment.

Similarly, the bank emphasised that successful bids at the government securities auctions, including the Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) FGN Bonds, and Sukuk, are not permitted to access the CBN discounted window on the settlement date.

The bank explained that the move was necessitated by the non-adherence to the provisions guiding access to the discount window in spite of two previous circulars on the subject in 2012 and 2016.

The CBN stressed that requests on Standing Lending Facility (SLF), Funding for

Liquidity Facility (FfLF) and Tenored Repurchase Transactions (REPO) would not be permitted.

It added that the Automated Repo Conversion (AREPO), and conversion of Intraday Liquidity Facility (IDF) to FfLF on the settlement date, as well as running REPO shall attract a penal charge of five per cent flat on the allotment value.

According to the central bank, the circular, which takes immediate effect, also stated that participants with successful foreign exchange bids and transactions are not to not to access the discount window on both auction and transaction settlement dates, warning that any contravention to the directive shall result in cancellation of the bids or transactions.

However, the 2016 circular directed all authorised dealers to refrain from accessing the discount window of the CBN on the settlement date for government securities auctions.

The bank further insisted that authorised dealers who come to any CBN’s windows are prohibited from the interbank foreign exchange market on the same day.

The apex bank stated that, “In view of the observed abuse of access to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Standing Lending Facility by authorised dealers, it has become imperative that some measures be taken to redress the trend and re-define the mode of operation by authorised dealers at the window.”

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Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 08074010580

ANNUAL LECTURE AND INDUCTION CEREMONY OF THE ACADEMY OF MEDICINE...

L-R; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Academy of Medicine (NAMed), Prof. Wole Atoyebi; President, Prof. Samuel Ohaegbulam; Chairman, Board of Trustees, Prof. Tolu Odugbemi and Vice-Chancellor, Nile University and Treasurer of the Academy, Prof. Dilli Dogo at the 2022 Annual Lecture and Induction Ceremony of the Academy in Abuja... recently

Subsidy Removal: Senators Disagree with Buhari, Insist on December 2023 as Deadline Say stopping policy in June will create crisis for new govt

Sunday Aborisade, Abuja Senators across political party lines have said the National Assembly would not pass the proposal on petrol subsidy removal as presented by President Muhammadu Buhari in order not to create crisis for the new administration that would succeed him next year.

Buhari had in the 2023 - 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP), proposed N3.6 trillion in the 2023 Budget for fuel subsidy, which was from January to June.

The Joint Senate Committee on Finance and Economic Planning which worked on the document

had while submitting it's report last week at plenary, slashed the N3.6 trillion subsidy provision to N1.7 trillion in order to reduce the fiscal deficit of N11.3 trillion contained in the MTEF/FSP. The proposal of the Senate panel on subsidy was however rejected at plenary but the House of Representatives okayed its Committee's recommendation which was N1.7 trillion.

Buhari, in the 2023 fiscal document he presented before the joint sitting of the two chambers of the National Assembly last Friday, had proposed that the subsidy regime would terminate with his administration on May 29, 2023.

However, some senators who spoke with journalists on the issue

Nigerian-Canadian Association of Calgary Honours Okonjo-Iweala, Oduoza The Nigerian-Canadian Association of Calgary (NCAC) has conferred its Distinguished Citizen Award on the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The association also honoured the Chairman and Founder of Nova Merchant Bank, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, in recognition of his sterling contributions to the development of the financial services sector in Nigeria and beyond.

The awards were conferred on them during NCAC's gala night event to mark Nigeria’s Independence Day in Calgary, Canada last weekend.

The President, NCAC, Dr. Patrick Etokudo, who spoke at the event said Oduoza and OkonjoIweala were honoured because of their distinguished services and contributions to the financial and economic development of Nigeria, Africa and the world at large.

“In these two Nigerians – Mr. Phillips Oduoza and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, we have esteemed personalities who have shown commitment to the growth of mankind and NigerianCanadian relationships with their contributions, thus representing the best of Nigeria,” Etokudo was quoted in a statement to have said.

Oduoza has over 30 years banking experience in major financial institutions and is the founder and Chairman of the board of Nova Merchant Bank Limited.

He is an internationally recognised and accomplished banker with diverse knowledge and experience in commercial and corporate banking.

While giving his acceptance speech, Oduoza thanked the association for the award, and called on Nigerians and Africans in Canada and larger diaspora to prioritise investments in Nigeria and on the continent, saying the situation at home was not as bad as being portrayed by some sections of the media.

He said, “Every country has its own peculiar challenges and Nigeria is not an exception. Nigeria is a country with enormous opportunities across all sectors.

I am convinced that Nigeria and larger Africa will get it right soon."

He also urged Nigerians in Canada to continuously touch base with the home country.

The NCAC marks the Nigerian Independence Anniversary annually in an event that not only brings together over a thousand guests to celebrate the country’s freedom but also showcases the Nigerian culture, excellence and successes.

It is the highest profiled Nigerian event in North America with professionals and businesses coming together to celebrate.

This year’s event was attended by leaders in business, public and private sectors including representatives of the Governor of Alberta and Nigerian High Commissioner.

vowed to extend the terminal date for the subsidy removal to the end of 2023.

They argued that stopping the subsidy regime at the time a new administration would be taking over power, would create a lot of crisis.

The senators pledged to rework the fiscal document to make sure that the terminal date for the discontinuation of subsidy payment was shifted to December 2023.

A Principal Officer of the upper chamber representing Enugu North Senatorial District, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, said his colleagues would not allow the subsidy regime to end midway next year.

He said, "The executive had proposed that the oil subsidy would end at the end of May next year.

"For us in the Senate, while passing the MTEF/FSP, we handled

the issue and in our own wisdom and said it was not feasible.

"We argued that it is better to make it one year. We have said it will end in December next year.

"This is because we don't want it to create a problem for the government that would succeed President Buhari.

"We don't want Nigerians to start attacking the new government from day one.

"It is therefore better to sustain it till December next year. The budget is now in the National Assembly, we have the powers and we have taken that decision in the MTEF/ FSP. " Utazi noted that the effective implementation of the 2023 appropriation bill would be determined by the way the government would tackle oil theft in the Niger Delta.

Similarly, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation,

Senator Barau Jibrin, said Buhari had proposed that the subsidy regime would end in June, but that the Senate would revisit the issue.

He said, the president submitted two scenarios. The first was to provide money to make it end June next year.

"The second scenario is for it to end in December but there won't be any money to fund capital projects.

By what was submitted on Friday, it is intended that it would end in June next year.

"As a parliament, we have the power of appropriation."

Jibrin commended the Buhari's government for improving on the nation's infrastructure development.

He said, "I was once Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation. Even when I left office, I was following what was happening in the appropriation process.

"This is the first government since 1999 that has invested so much in infrastructure.

"The government has done very well. It has performed in a manner that deserves commendation.

"There must be an enabling environment in place if a country wants to achieve economic growth and buoyancy. Infrastructure development is very important in the life of an administration. It is one of the fundamentals needed to achieve growth.

Also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Betty Apiafi, assured Nigerians that the nation's parliament would do the needful on the subsidy issue.

Apiafi said, "Revenue is dropping because almost 80 percent of our revenue is being stolen.

From the MTEF/FSP record we are losing one million barrels of crude oil per day.

NEITI: Why Nigeria’s Energy Transition Programme Must Be Driven by National Interest Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has urged the federal government to ensure that the current push for global energy transition is driven by the national interest.

The initiative, therefore called for a just, fair and equitable energy transition that prioritises the country’s needs in response to the transition process.

Speaking at a national dialogue on energy convener by NEITI in collaboration with the Africa Climate Foundation, BudgiT, and the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), Executive Secretary of the organisation, Dr Ogbonnaya Orji stated that Nigeria must identify the opportunities in its untapped oil, gas and mining resources.

“NEITI believes that Nigeria’s energy transition journey must be driven and strictly guided by credible information and data on the country’s energy security and most importantly, our strategic national interest.

“Nigeria must not rush into a hasty energy transition without a thorough analysis of

its comparative advantage and implications on our resources, economy, jobs and livelihoods of her citizens," he argued.

Orji stated there must be clarity on the risks it poses to Nigeria, strategy to manage the risks and plans to maximise the opportunities, including the diversification of the economy, energy security and its attendant technology needs.

The NEITI boss stated that as an agency with a mandate to promote transparency and accountability in the oil, gas and mining sectors, and a multi-stakeholder platform for dialogue on natural resources governance, NEITI has roles to play in shaping the public debates and government policy on energy transition.

"As the world transits from the use of fossil fuels to cleaner and sustainable energy, transparency and accountability must be mainstreamed into the process, including the reporting of emissions, disclosure of climate risks and overall governance of the energy industry to avoid the pitfalls of the past and present energy experiences,” he advised.

Orji pointed out that being an

oil and gas-dependent country, Nigeria is highly vulnerable and exposed to the risks and challenges of the energy transition with the recent announcement by 26 countries and some financial institutions concerning the debate.

According to him, the disclosure at the last United Nations Climate Conference, COP26 in Glasgow by some countries that they were ending financing of overseas fossil fuel energy projects by the end of 2022 pose considerable challenge to the country.

He maintained that this is an indication that the global energy transition agenda is already reshaping the oil and gas landscape.

Also speaking, Nafi Chinery, West Africa Regional Manager at the NRGI, said Nigeria’s emphasis on gas as a transition fuel aligns with the thinking of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the African Union Commission in the run-up to COP27.

Highlighting the huge energy poverty on the continent, she disclosed that Africa, with 17 per cent of the global population, accounts for only 3.1 per cent of

the over 26,823 terawatt-hours of electricity generated, and 3.3 per cent of the primary energy consumed globally in 2020.

She explained that the continent’s average per capita electricity consumption remains at about 600kilowatt hours per year compared with a world average of about 3,200-kilowatt hours.

In other words, she noted that while Africa consumes less and accounts for little of the global carbon emission, it is impacted more by the effects of energy transition and needs to act fast in considering alternatives, if it is to guarantee the future of its economies.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Bello, urged Nigeria to lead the conversation on energy transition for Africa, by developing a roadmap for the implementation plan for the continent.

Also in his goodwill message, the Chief Finance Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Umar Ajiya expressed the company's support for Nigeria's 2060 net zero emissions target.

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WALK/SENSITISATION TO COMMEMORATE WORLD FOOD DAY… L-R: Senior Special Assistant on Agriculture, Lagos State, Mr. Gbolabo Olaniwun; Director, British American Tobacco Nigerian (BATN) Foundation, Odiri Meggison-Erewa; Lagos State Commissioner for Agric, Ms. Abisola Olusanya; Area Head of Human Resources, BAT Nigeria, Sergio Berlanga; Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Olatokunbo Emokpae; and Special Adviser on Agriculture Lagos State, Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashola, during the walk/sensitisation to commemorate World Food Day in Lagos...recently

Hope Rises for Oil Production as NNPC Winds Up Repair of 180,000 bpd TNP Line in N'Delta OPEC explains 2m bpd quota cut, insists decision not political Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr Bala Wunti, at the weekend announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) had concluded the clamping of the damaged Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) in the Niger Delta.

It is believed that with the fixing of the pipeline which hitherto had up to 90 per cent of crude oil pumped into it stolen or spilt, Nigeria’s production will be substantially ramped up.

Recently, while leading a nationwide protest over the magnitude of vandalism and oil theft in the country, President of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, lamented that just between 5–10 per cent of crude oil metered from the operators gets to the terminal.

This has forced all operators injecting crude into the TNP to suspend export/injection thereby shutting-in production and declaring force majeure at various times.

The conclusion of the repair

is coming a few days after the NNPC announced the discovery of a four-kilometre or 2.5-mile illegal connection from the Forcados export terminal, which typically exports around 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.

Nigeria has been losing potential revenue from some 600,000 bpd of oil, mostly as a result of shut-ins due to vandalism, with crude oil exports falling to as low as 972,000 bpd in August for the first time since at least 1990.

But Wunti explained that the NNPC was determined to resolve all the outstanding issues blocking Nigeria from realising its full Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota.

With the renewed effort by all stakeholders to stamp out the oil theft menace, Wunti stated that Nigerians will begin to see a reduction in oil spill in the oil-producing areas.

Specifically, making public the latest development public on his Twitter handle after his visit to the area, Wunti noted that the repair around Bodo marked the beginning of a new era of revamping all the assets of the NNPC impacted by the activities of vandals.

He added that the NNPC’s efforts in rebuilding trust among its host communities was taking shape and paying off, explaining that with the completion of the repair, environmental remediation will commence in full.

Wunti stated that all parties had decided to respect the outcome of the open discussions that led to the fixing of the pipeline, noting that in the coming days, not only will the Bodo community indigenes live in a cleaner and healthier environment, but the nation will also receive some much-needed relief.

“Today, we achieved another great milestone on my second trip (within a week) to Bodo community.

The faulty section of the Trans Niger Pipeline was clamped, and the spillage successfully stopped.

With the completion of repairs, environmental remediation will commence in earnest.

“We will all go to bed feeling better tonight, knowing that the oil spill into the Bodo community has successfully been contained and that NNPC trust rebuilding efforts with our beloved host community has fully taken shape and paying off.“All the parties have respected the outcome of the open discussions that led to this moment. In the

coming days, not only will the Bodo community indigenes live in a cleaner and healthier environment, but the nation will also receive much-needed relief. “ Watching the contractors plug the leak and tighten the bolts to hold the clamp in place was gratifying. This memory will live with me for forever,” the NAPIMS boss said.

At the NNPC, Wunti stressed that the commitment to ensuring safety and safeguarding the well-being of the company’s host communities remains unwavering. “ Our appreciation and gratitude go to the members of the host communities, the community leaders that stood up to be counted, and the hardworking and indefatigable government security agencies, NNPC staff, and contractors involved throughout the process,” he added.

The TNP line, which could haul as much as 180,000 bpd takes crude from production fields to the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) joint venture terminal in Bonny Island in Rivers.

THISDAY learnt that the Bodo community had given both the SPDC and the industry regulators some conditions before granting

Pay FERMA Backlog of N1trn, Senator Bassey Appeals to FG Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Roads Agency (FERMA), Senator Gershom Bassey has urged the Presidency to pay up the backlog of about N1 trillion it owes the road maintenance agency.

Bassey, who is the representative of the Cross River South Senatorial district said the non-payment of the backlog to the agency had hampered its effective performance because it requires at least N300 billion yearly to maintain federal roads.

In a statement he made available to journalists at the weekend in Calabar, on his contributions to the debate on the state of federal roads, Bassey said he agreed with the position of Chairman Works committee, Senator Adamu Alero on the matter.

"I also add that at a time in this senate, we have proffered so many solutions to the executive on road maintenance in the short, medium and long terms. Some of

those issues are on the President's table for assent, issues like the Federal Road Authority, which are sustainable solutions to this road problem and I hope that he would sign and accent those bills that are on his table.

"At a time when we are having serious problems with our roads as attested to by many of my colleagues, it is curious and I want this senate to intervene in this...So while we had done an investigation in this senate, where we agreed that FERMA would require a minimum of N300 billion every year just to maintain our roads and there was a backlog of over N1 trillion that had not been paid based on the law that was passed in the senate in 2009 on FERMA," Bassey said.

Bassey said the budget for FERMA was slashed to N18 billion from N45 billion last year, saying, "We need to maintain the road infrastructure that we have. My colleague has talked

about rehabilitation, but that is very different from maintenance.

We need to maintain the road infrastructure we have and the maintenance contracts are for six months typically and this goes straight to the heart of the matter."

Bassey, who is also the Cross River Caucus Chairman in the National Assembly said, "there is need to do something about it and prioritise our roads, especially when it is probably the only means of moving goods, services and people from one point to another.

Air fares are too high and we don't have inland waterways, our only way of moving goods, people and services from one point to another is by road, therefore we must prioritise road maintenance and i want this senate to urge the President to take another look at the budget for FERMA because we need money to maintain our roads."

Bassey, also spoke on his expectations from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company

Limited (NNPCL) with regards to the supply of gas to Europe as disclosed by the company's Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari said: " I am happy NNPCL is proactive in trying to exploit those opportunities which will have serious consequences for foreign exchange earnings in Nigeria."

However, Bassey asked the GCEO to explain why was so difficult for the management of the company to identify those involved in crude oil theft.

"If we know all the legal tankers and badges leaving our shores, and we have the control room that monitors all of these, how is it that we cannot name and shame every single illegal operator in our waters?

"I would have liked a situation where, as a result of all these monitoring capacity, trackers and so on, we could sit down and identify the legal and illegal tankers and name the ships, owners and operators," he added.

them access to fix the asset.

Meanwhile, OPEC’s Secretary General, Haitham al-Ghais, has explained the reasons behind the decision to cut 2 million barrels per day starting in November till the end of December 2023.

The producer group insisted that uncertainty over demand and the health of the global economy were the reasons behind the cut, not politics. However, the decision has been met with criticism from the United States.

“We see several macroeconomic headwinds for the global economy and potentially now the likelihood of a recession. This is not something that just passes.

“And this is something that is almost a consensus between major global economic banks, financial institutions, the World Bank, the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Economic Forum (WEF),” he told Energy Intelligence.

He added that from past experiences, it was prudent to pre-empt and to be proactive and give clear guidance to the market to ensure stability.

“It's very clear we obviously don't want this to happen, but if there is a recession and some people are already saying we are in a recession, the first thing that will be affected as always is global oil demand. And hence the decision to be proactive and adjust production by 2 million bpd,” he noted.

But he said that since some countries are already having issues with meeting their current production targets, the net effective cut would be closer to 1 million bpd, rather than the whole 2 million bpd.

$25m SIG Fund Will Boost Enrolment, Beautification in Schools, Says Ekiti Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Ekiti State Government, has said the World Bank's $25 million School Improvement Grant (SIG) released to the state would spur enrolment, increase beautification and quality of education in the 203 benefiting schools .

It urged stakeholders in the benefiting schools to take ownership of the World Bank projects being executed, for the success of the programme.

The SIG, a brainchild of the World Bank, is being prosecuted under the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project.

The Project Coordinator, Mrs Oluwayemi Alokan spoke during a training on environmental and social safeguards with grievances redress mechanism and genderbased violence for principals and officials of various School Board Management Committee (SBMC) held across the three senatorial districts of the state.

Alokan, explained that the projects which would involve the renovation of schools in the state and provision of instructional materials and others would only be successful through the support and cooperation of the stakeholders.

She stated that the training was organised to expose stakeholders to the environmental and social

practices and help in reducing risks at the various schools for the overall interest of the students.

"The $25 million project when completed would in no small measure improve the level of enrolment and as well guarantee beautification and quality education, especially that of the girl child in the state.

"We put the training together in the three senatorial districts to sensitise our SBMC because they will play a very critical role in carrying out the implementation of this project. We brought them together to have the knowledge of ESMP practice, that is Environmental Social Management Practices of the project.

“Also, the training is on how to know the best practices in this area and of course the risk that can happen at the project site. In Ekiti state, we are doing renovation and we don’t want accidents in our various sites.

“The project has come to stay due to the giant strides of our governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi. If not because of his support we will not be part of the seven states selected in Nigeria to benefit from the World bank assisted programme.

"Let me tell you that this project will go a long way to improve enrolment in Ekiti because it has series of component they will invest in the state."

MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY FOCUS

Emerging Business Leaders from North, Matching Tech Unicorns of the South They are bold, audacious and ready to take Nigeria to new frontiers Contrary to widespread perception that the north is not strong in business, there is a new crop of business leaders ready to replace the likes of Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu, who are doing well in various sectors across the economy. They are excelling, innovative, and ambitious.

Either in terms of personal development or collective contributions to the larger economy, the north has in recent years doubled its stripes, and it is determined to level up with the rest of the country, nay the world. This, of course, is evident in the number of leaders – business and political – it has since raised as proof of this deliberate choice.

Here is a THISDAY focus on some of the business leaders from northern Nigeria, who have been quietly shaping the narrative, albeit positively, and with sound education to boot. Although there are quite a number of them, these 24 northern business leaders, who are 60 years and below and have consciously kept a low profile, readily come to mind, given their exploits in their respective fields, where they are believed and seen to have recorded huge successes. They are the heirs to expanding new frontiers, they are challenging the traditional ways and disrupting businesses with new ideas and fresh thinking, and they are busting business myths seamlessly. As new frontiers of businesses have evolved, they have innovated to continue to be at the top of their game.

It needs to be emphasised here that this short list is by no means exhaustive. It simply provides a guide to new players shaping and reshaping the business environment from a particular region.

Lazarus Angbazo is Managing Director of Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCo).

Before he was appointed to lead InfraCo, which is a special purpose institution established by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Angbazo was the president and chief executive officer of General Electric in Nigeria. Before assuming his role in Nigeria, where he doubled the GE revenue in the country by over $1billion, he led GE’s regional operations between 2008 and 2012 as President & CEO, West, East & Central Africa. He was also President of the American Business Council in Nigeria.

restructure a series of technology-related businesses that succeed in developing talents and creating employment for young Nigerians. In 2013, she founded Outsource Global, a contact centre business process outsourcing that now has offices in Abuja, Lagos, and Kaduna. Under her leadership, Outsource Global has emerged as the leading Nigerian contact centre provider, servicing the international market, turning the company into a truly global BPO giant, creating over 700 jobs, and putting Nigeria on the global map for contact centre business process outsourcing.

Farouk Gumel

Abubakar Suleiman

Dr. Lazarus Angbazo

Farouk Gumel is Chairman of Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). His nearly two decades of cognate experience spans consulting, audit, corporate finance, advisory services, and asset management.

Gumel, who is also a Group Executive Director, Strategy and Investment, for the Tropical General Investment (TGI) Group, presides over the Union Bank Nigeria Plc. and Wacot Rice Limited as chairman. Before joining TGI, Gumel was a Partner and Head of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) West African Advisory/Consulting business, which covers Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Angola. Between 2016 and 2020, he was an honorary consultant to the Presidency of Nigeria on agriculture and food security, and in August 2021, he was appointed CoChairman of the Benin Republic’s National Committee for the Development of Rice Value Chain by President Patrice Talon of the Republic of Benin.

Ibrahim Hassan

Mr. Ibrahim Hassan, the current Chairman of Guaranty Trust Bank, is a highly experienced petroleum geologist, economic analyst, serial entrepreneur, community leader, and philanthropist with over 27 years of professional experience in the oil and gas industry. He holds an MSc. degree in Oil and Gas Enterprise Management from the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom (UK). He is Founder/Executive Chairman of Summit Energy Limited, a foremost integrated energy contracting company.

Amal Hassan Usman

Amal Hassan Usman is a leading Nigerian techno-preneur with diverse interests across different technology verticals. In 2003, Amal set up the first organised ICT training institute in Kano that provides IT training to young Nigerians, especially, women. Her passion to unlock Nigeria’s development potential through technology-driven innovation and value addition led her to build, capitalise, and

Abubakar Suleiman is Managing Director of Sterling Bank. Suleiman had served as Executive Director, Finance and Strategy, before he was appointed the chief executive.

In 2012, he became the chief financial officer and was appointed to the Board in April 2014, with responsibility for the financial performance of the bank and directly overseeing the finance and performance management, strategy and innovation, brand management and communication, and human resource management departments.

Halima Buba

Halima Buba serves as Managing Director and CEO of SunTrust Bank Plc. She was previously the deputy general manager at Ecobank Nigeria. Buba, who hails from Adamawa State, holds a bachelor’s degree in Business management and MBA from the University of Maiduguri. She is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants.

Mahmud Bamanga Tukur

Mahmud Bamanga Tukur is the founder of Ashgrove Group that is into oil and gas trading, exploration and technology. He was the chief executive officer of Eterna Plc until 2021, when he handed over the mantle of leadership. He is also member of Institute of Directors and on the board of seven other companies. Tukur previously occupied the position of chief executive officer and managing director at Daddo Maritime Services Limited and memberGoverning Council at Nigerian Chamber of Shipping. He received undergraduate degrees from Cardiff Business School and the University of Wales. A young and dynamic goal getter by all standards, always leading from the front, he is never one to back down from challenge, but always itching for new frontiers to

explore and conquer. His privileged background notwithstanding, he craves for more challenges to prove his mettle.

Aminu Babangida

Aminu Babangida, son of a former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, is Chairman of Unity Bank. Aminu is an entrepreneur, co-founder/chief executive officer of Phoenix Energy, Abuja, and team member of the El-Amin International School, Minna. He has also worked on the trading floor of Trafigura BV, London, UK. He attended Regents Business School, London, and Westminster Business School, London, where he obtained a BA in International Business and MA in International Business Management, respectively.

Musbahu Muhammad Bashir

Musbahu Bashir, a graduate of the American University, London, also attended Harvard Business School in the United States of America (USA). He is Director at Jaiz Bank and Chairman of Althani Group of Companies, and Cobalt International Services Limited.

Bashir came to the limelight, when his telecoms company, Mafab Communications, beat Airtel Nigeria to win the bid for the 5G technology spectrum auction, alongside MTN Nigeria. Mafab is one of the technological subsidiaries of Althani Group of companies. The company has an IDA (International Data Access) License from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to terminate traffic to all destinations worldwide.

Mahmood Ahmadu

Mahmood Ahmadu is Founder and Executive Chairman of OIS, also known as Online Integrated Solutions Limited. He was one of the early pioneers of trading in the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) in Northern Nigeria. His business activities and operations span 53 countries and five continents.

Born on September 9, 1966, Ahmadu graduated from the Nasarawa State University, earning a UK accredited MBA. His further education came in the form of management, IT and communication industry courses. He has utilised these skills to start small businesses that trade products and services.

Hamid Joda Founder/Managing

Director/CEO of TAJ Bank Limited, Hamid Joda led a group to realise the vision of setting up the second non-interest bank in Nigeria. With

experience spanning 20 years in the financial services industry, Joda began his career at Niger Insurance Plc. in 1999 and moved to City Express Bank Limited the same year. He has also worked at Continental Trust Bank Limited and the defunct Oceanic Bank International Nigeria Limited. Joda was Divisional Head, Public Sector, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited.

Aminu Umar

Aminu Umar is Non-executive Director at Ardova Plc. He has over 20 years of experience in the oil, gas and energy sector and has played a significant role in shaping the maritime industry, serving in various roles and capacities. He is President of Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA) and a member of the Ministerial Committee on establishing Nigerian National Fleet, Ministerial Committee on Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee Member, and member, Advisory Council to the Executive Management of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Abdulmalik Madhi

Abdulmalik has over 14 years of cognate experience in banking and Real Estate. He has worked at First Bank of Nigeria Plc., GTBank Plc., and Jaiz Bank Plc. before leaving banking.

He worked in real estate as a relationship manager at Jaiz Bank responsible for growing the bank’s real estate portfolio and later as Managing Partner, Modern Shelter. As Managing Partner of Modern Shelter, he has led the company to become a market leader in real estate marketing, sales and mortgage brokerage.

Modern Shelter has become a one-stop shop for clients seeking to buy homes. The company has commenced construction of a 134-unit estate (80% sold-off plan) in Life Camp, Abuja, in partnership with Earth point Development Services Limited.

Etuh Thomas Akoh

Thomas Akoh Etuh is Chairman at Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc. and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Tak Continental Limited. Etuh is also on the board of Tak Agro, Federal Superphosphate Fertiliser Co. Limited, and Cape Cross Salt Pty Limited. He is Partner at Thomasses & Associates Limited, Member of Bank Directors Association of Nigeria, and Member of Institute of Directors. He was at a time a director at Unity Bank Plc. Schools he attended include Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi State; Lagos Business School, Lagos State; Business School of Netherlands, Netherlands; University of Continued on page 15

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SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY FOCUS

Emerging Business Leaders from North, Matching Tech Unicorns of the South Navarra, Barcelona, Spain; and London Business School, UK.

Nafiu Bala Rabiu

The son of an entrepreneur father, Alhaji Isyaku Rabiu, Nafiu Rabiu is Managing Director of Balnara Universal Limited. The 31-year-old Rabiu is on the verge of replicating his father’s exceptional success in business, with two companies of his own that are high flyers in their sectors of operation, and a third one coming on stream any time soon Born on August 23, 1990, Rabiu grew up under his father and started working at the age of 18 in his elder brother’s company, Ramu Unique Resources, a multi-billion-naira company and the number one BUA Cement distributor. Rabiu is still with Ramu Unique Resources as Executive Director, but he has equally established his own business, Balnara Universal Limited

Usman Dantata Jr.

Young and enterprising Usman Dantata Jr., who is married to Rukaiya Indimi, daughter of multi-billionaire Borno-born businessman, Mohammed Indimi, is the president/CEO of Anadariya Farms. The large poultry farm, located in Tiga, Bebeji Local Government Area of Kano State, was started by the late business sage of Kano, Alhaji Usman Sanusi Dantata of the Dantata dynasty, in the 1960s. A trader of various commodities in Europe before coming back to Nigeria, he has a background in investment and banking. He also has a certificate in feed production and broiler management obtained in North Carolina. Suffice it to say that he had equipped himself with the necessary training before stepping into the business.

Abdulrahman Bashir Rahamaniyya

Abdulrahman Musa Bashir (Rahamaniyya) is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist with primary focus on trading in oil and gas. In October 2003, he established Rahamaniyya Global Resources, which specialises in trading with specific focus on the Nigerian market. Rahamaniyya Group has a large depot strategically located in Apapa, Lagos. The depot has its own Jetty through which it receives large cargoes of

up to about 90000 MT of oil. It has a huge combined storage capacity of 81 million litres of AGO, PMS, DPK, LPFO, and ATK.

Hassan Usman

Hassan Usman, Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, graduated with a first-class in Accounting in 1985 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and became an associate member of ICAN in 1989. He obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Management in 1995 from the Maastricht School of Management.

Usman also attended the Oxford University Advanced Management Programme in 2002, and worked as Financial Controller of Nigerian Development Company Limited, Kaduna, until he joined NAL Merchant Bank PLC, where he served as Financial Controller and Treasurer between 1996 and 2001.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). He was appointed Managing Director of Jaiz Bank Plc. by the Board of Directors, effective June 1, 2016.

Kashim Bukar Shettima

Founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Nigeria’s Barbedos Group of Companies, Kashim Bukar Shettima oversees a diversified conglomerate of businesses active in the agriculture, oil and gas, automotive, and aviation sectors. At the helm of Barbedos Group since 2002, Shettima brings more than 20 years of relevant experience to his work, along with an impressive record of professional accomplishment in Nigeria and beyond. He established the Barbedos Group, which he has developed and expanded to encompass aviation and automotive divisions, the import and export of oil and natural gas, and the importation of food items, agricultural products, and fertilizers. In 2004, he added the position of director of Woodcraft Industries Limited to his resume.

Adamu Atta

Adamu Atta is the founder and Chairman, Fifth Chukker Polo Club Stock, with hundreds of horses, physical assets and personnel spread across four continents – Argentina,

South Africa, Nigeria, UK and Dubai. Atta has become a global polo icon and the indisputable king of African polo, who is revered and feted the world over.

He remains the most looked-up-to person in Nigerian polo. His presence illuminates tournaments and confers them with instant class and credibility. Beyond that, Atta and his fabulous Fifth Chukker polo and country club constitute the gold standard for Nigerian polo. Polo Royals and Aficionados readily acknowledge that he is the man with the Midas touch, always making it look easy.

Muhammad Jibrin

Muhammad Jibrin, a non-executive director at Sun Trust Bank Limited, has a rich experience in banking and management, having previously held positions at Union Bank of Nigeria and Citigroup N.A & Barclays Bank in four countries across Africa and Europe. Prior to joining Sun Trust as the pioneer Chief Executive Officer, he was an Executive Director on the Board of Aso Savings and Loans Plc., and at one time, the group head responsible for growing Bond Bank’s (now Skye Bank Plc.) business in Abuja and the North.

Jibrin, who holds an M.sc in Risk Management from the NYU Leonard N. Stern Business School, New York University, and MBA from the Imperial College, London, a Diploma in General Management from Harvard University, had served on various boards. He was at various times National Deputy President of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria, director, Premium Pensions Limited, Director, Federal Housing Authority Technical Board, and a member of the Presidential Committee on Affordable Housing.

He also served as the Chairman, Board of Directors of the Gombe Jewel Microfinance Bank Limited. Muhammad voluntarily stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Sun Trust Bank on August 1, 2018 to pursue other interests, but still serves on the board of the bank.

Abdullahi Bashir Haske

Abdullahi Bashir Haske, a serial entrepreneur, private investor, and philanthropist is the

founder and Group Managing Director of AA&R Investments, a long chain of oil-based companies that continue to stretch to new frontiers. Bashir was born in Yola, Adamawa State, got 51 per cent of the oil blocs left behind by Addax Petroleum. He had raised well over $300 million for the Addax but unfortunately his partners failed to raise their portion of the financing before the deal was called off.

The result-driven and future-thinking lifestyle of Abdullahi Bashir Haske is quite phenomenal and enviable. He has risen to become the focal point of discussion in several industries across Nigeria and Africa at large. He was born in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria on the 13th of December 1987 and he is an alumnus of the University of Abuja, where he bagged a Diploma in Political Studies and an MBA in economics from Lagos Business School. He owns huge hectres of rice farms in the north-east.

Auwal Lawal

Auwal Lawal is a Nigerian businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He holds the traditional chieftain title of “Sarkin Sudan of Gombe”. Lawal, the son-in-law of Ibrahim Babangida is the Chairman and CEO of Nice Corporate Services Limited registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, Nigeria since 2004, a company that deals in real estate development, commodities trading, and supply of agricultural machinery and fertiliser. He owns several jets for charter services. He humble, amiable and unassuming.

Faruk Saleh

Faruk Saleh is Group CEO of Metro Capital Advisory Group (MCAG), a conglomerate with interests in infrastructure, real estate development, healthcare, energy, project finance and advisory.

Faruk spearheads the long-term strategic plans of MCAG. He is an entrepreneur and serves on the board of several companies operating in various industry sectors and countries, where he brings to bear his experience in project delivery. Through MCAG and its subsidiaries, he has overseen the completion of multiple high-end infrastructure and property development projects in Nigeria.

NEWS

Senior Lawyers Express Views over De-recognition of Omehia as a Former Governor of Rivers Alex Enumah in Abuja

Reactions have continued to trail the signing of the legal instrument activating the resolution passed by the House of Assembly to de-recognise Mr Celestine Omehia as a former governor of the state by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike at the weekend.

Recall that the state assembly, in their resolution claimed that they acted in error when in 2015 they moved a resolution recognising Omehia as governor, having function in that capacity for five months before his sack in late 2015 by the Supreme Court.

The lawmakers claimed that their action was aimed at correcting the mistake of the last seven years.

However, the de-recognition had generated issues, for example whether the sack of an elected governor by the Supreme Court illegitimises his tenure?

Also, can a state government derecognise a governor who proclaimed the state assembly, sign bills, awarded contracts? Doesn't the law abhors vacuum?

Speaking on the issues, some senior advocates were of the views that the lawmakers whether in 2015 or now acted within their competence.

According to Mr Ejembi Eko (SAN), the Rivers State House of Assembly, has only acted in line with a judgment of the Supreme Court, which held that Omehia was never supposed to have been governor.

He said: "You cannot put something on top of nothing. The action goes to the root of his governorship which is the root of title to which he had ascended to that office."

Eko argued that going by the Supreme Court judgment, Omehia's tenure as governor was illegal as he was not supposed to be there in the first place.

On whether the state has powers to de-recognise a governor as in the instant case, the senior lawyer pointed out that laws can be amended and revoked, adding that the same lawmakers who passed the resolution to recognise Omehia as a former governor in another resolution are the same ones who have "now resolved that he should be removed completely from the archives of people who have ever been in that office, then I think it is within their competence and besides it is a legislative matter.”

He also held that since the resolution is a consequential relief, Omehia has to refund all the benefits accrued to him as a former governor.

"If you were never supposed to be in any position in the first place, that means everything that you have earned in that illegal position must be refunded", he said.

For Ahmed Raji (SAN), the Rivers State House of Assembly reserves the right and power to amend, vary or abrogate any law or resolution made by it.

"That is why it is often said that no parliament can fetter or bind its successor", he said, "If the supreme

law being the Constitution can be amended, how much less an ordinary statute or a mere resolution. I am unable to fault the legality of what the Rivers House of Assembly has done".

Raji argued that if "anyone is aggrieved, the best thing is to approach the appropriate court. After all it is a testable legal hypothesis which has no direct precedent on all fours to the best of my knowledge".

In the same vein, Mr Dayo Akinlaja (SAN) noted that it is the prerogative of the legislature to pass laws and that of the governor to give assent.

"In that wise, both have not done anything unusual. However, the Constitution has imbued the judiciary with the prerogative of determining whether or not a law of the legislative arm is constitutional, ultra vires, null and void.

"In the instant situation, it is near certain if not absolutely certain that the Omehia will turn to the judiciary for intervention and redress.

A number of questions have been thrown up by the rather novel scenario on hand. For instance, bearing in mind that the same House of Assembly was the one that gave the gentleman official recognition in 2015, would there be justification for asking him to refund what he had been given in terms of monetary entitlements sequel to that recognition?

"Again, the legality of the law directly affecting a person, and retroactively so, would come up

for interrogation. Of course, I have no doubt that the previous official recognition as Governor is indefensible and untenable in law against the backdrop of the decision of the Supreme Court that he was never validly elected into that office.

"All said, what we have can rightly be described as a mixed bag and what Shakespeare called a mingled yarn. For now, it suffices for us to keep our fingers crossed and wait with bated breath for how the situation will pan out in the court of law.”

However, to Reverend John Baiyeshea (SAN), the issue seems to be more political than legal because the Rivers State House of Assembly which in 2015 passed a resolution to recognise Omehia as a former governor, which Wike endorsed then, has now made a U-turn, to derecognise Omehia by another resolution in 2022.

He said: "The judgment of the Supreme Court the House of Assembly is now relying upon to cancel the 2015 resolution was of course in existence then. The judgment was passed by the Supreme Court in 2007.

"So, because Omehia was in their political camp in 2015, it was convenient then for the House of Assembly with the endorsement of Governor Wike to commit a 'deliberate error' of recognising Omehia as a former Governor of River State.

"Now that they are in different

political camps (bitterly for that matter), error has now been made a 'scape goat' for the resolution of 2015, and the resolution of 2022 has been hinged on to cancel the recognition of Omehia as a former Governor of River State".

Baiyeshea observed that if political enemies want to get at themselves, they will give reasons that on the surface appear justifiable and capable of being defended, adding that, "Now Governor Wike says they cannot continue with the error of recognition of Omehia as former Governor forever.

"Be that as it may with political issues, the effect of the Supreme Court's judgment in Rotimi Amaechi's case in 2007 is indeed that, Omehia was never Governor of Rivers State.

That was why Rotimi Amechi was in fact and in law declared as Governor of Rivers State.

"Therefore, Rivers State House of Assembly may not be wrong, but if not for the present political differences, the House of Assembly and Governor Wike were using that recognition as a 'reward', which they can withdraw at their convenience, which is now!

"If Omehia thinks he has a strong legal right to claim the status of former Governor, let him test it in court. I doubt if Omehia will take that risk because he is not in the same class as Dr. Peter Odili and Sir Rotimi Amaechi, who were legally former governors of the state," he added.

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NEWS

NDIC SPECIAL DAY AT THE 17TH ABUJA INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR… L-R: Representative of Etsu Kwali, Chief Victor Babachira; Legal Practitioners, Peter Ozoagu; Director, Communication and Public Affairs, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Bashir Nuhu; Vice President Finance, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Usman Balarabe, and Senior Manager, NDIC, Aigehiven Kennedy, during the NDIC Special Day at the 17th Abuja International Trade Fair in Abuja…recently

Presidential Amnesty Boss to Meet Niger Delta Govs, Tompolo, Ateke, Others Atala Oilfield: Diri commends Senate Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt The new Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Major General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) has concluded plan to hold crucial meetings with some governors from the region from October 14 this year.

A source from the Amnesty Office who pleaded anonymity said it would be Ndiomu's maiden official tour of the region and stakeholders' consultations since his appointment as the interim administrator.

The source disclosed that the amnesty boss would also meet some leaders of ex-agitators such as Government Ekpemupolo (alias Tompolo) and the King of Okochiri in Rivers State, Ateke Michael Tom. He said the amnesty boss would use the opportunity to unveil his plans for the programme and also address the alleged issue of winding it down which had been a subject of discourse since his appointment.

The source said Ndiomu would have special interactions with the leaders of phases one, two and three ex-agitators, traditional rulers

and security chiefs.

He said: "Already, there is tension in the region especially among genuine ex-agitators, who are apprehensive that the federal government is planning to shut down the programme.

"These planned engagements will help to douse the tension because the ex-agitators will have the opportunities to hear directly from the interim administrator and ask relevant questions."

Another source also disclosed that critical stakeholders from across the region would gather for a meeting in Yenagoa, the state capital where all issues bothering them would be tackled by the amnesty boss.

When contacted, PAP's Media Consultant, Donu Kogbara, confirmed the arrangement, saying the tour was part of Ndiomu's plan to have all stakeholders on the same page for the actualisation of the programme's mandate.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri has described as commendable the resolution of the Nigerian Senate on the Atala Marginal Oilfield

Peter Obi Explains Cancellation of Planned South Africa Diaspora Engagements Emameh Gabriel in Abuja The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) Mr. Peter Obi yesterday announced why he would no longer continue with his ongoing Diaspora engagements planned for South Africa.

He explained that he has shifted his foreign trips to a later date to enable him commence relevant campaign business.

Obi, who made the announcement yesterday in a tweet via his verified Twitter handle, was expected in South Africa, where he was scheduled to meet with the Nigerian business community.

The Labour Party standard bearer who was in the United States recently as part of his international consultations with

the Diasporas to deliberate with Harvard scholars and critical thinkers on the policy thrust that would drive his government if elected president next year, appealed to his South African supporters for any inconveniences his postponed planned trip may have caused them.

Obi twitted: "My pre-campaign Diaspora engagement schedule had included a visit to South Africa.

Regrettably, the exigencies and demands of campaign, makes it impossible for me to undertake a visit to South Africa in October as planned. However, I remain committed to visit at a later date.

"Any inconvenience caused to #OBIdients in South Africa due to this change of plan is regretted", he said.

owned by the state government.

The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on Thursday, after investigating the controversial revocation and sale of the Oil Mining Licence 46 (OML 46) to a private firm, resolved that the oilfield be returned to its original owners.

The committee had stated that the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Resources Commission (NUPRC),

formerly Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), failed to show proof that the president directed the sale of the oilfield to a private firm.

It had also chided the NUPRC for disobeying a presidential directive that the original owners of the oilfield be given the right of first refusal in the award of OML 46 in accordance with best practice.

In a statement issued by

his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, yesterday, Diri said the Senate’s decision met the expectation of the state government and the Bayelsa people.

He restated the position of the government that the oilfield was a prized asset of the state and that the people are sentimentally attached to it.

Diri maintained that the April 2020 revocation and the

eventual sale of the asset were controversially done and that it shocked people of the state.

He said he presented the state’s position during his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja last Wednesday and that the President assured him that the issue will be urgently treated.

The governor urged Bayelsa people to remain patient while awaiting the decision of the President on the matter.

Yusuf: Why It Took Us Six Months to Rescue Kaduna Train Abductees No ransom paid, CDS committee insists

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Secretary of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) seven-man negotiating committee on the recently rescued train passengers kidnapped on their way to Kaduna, Professor Usman Yusuf, yesterday, narrated how the panel had retreated when attempts to rescue the abductees became a matter of cash.

Yusuf, who spoke when he appeared on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm, yesterday, stressed that the terrorists did not initially demand any ransom. He said the committee was surprised that at some point a lot of money started changing hands.

Yusuf, a medical doctor, stressed that the arrest of the publisher of Desert Herald, Tukur Mamu, had nothing to do with the release of the last batch of 23 passengers.

He explained that the military led the operation and actually knew where the abductees were kept all the while.

However, Yusuf noted that if the military had attacked the area, there would have been many casualties, a situation that would have defeated the purpose of the operation. He noted that there had been progress in the North-east, but other parts of the country were still insecure.

Yusuf stated, “From the outset,

this committee said it was not going to be involved with paying ransom. So when we heard about people needing to pay N100 million or N80 million or N60 million, we stepped back.”

He denied payment of any ransom for the rescue of the abductees, and maintained that there was no way the last batch could afford such.

According to him, “They never mentioned money. Money came in and muddled everything. So we stepped back. We were not going to recommend a ransom for these people that have committed these crimes for them to go and buy arms and continue to do that.

So we stood back.

“The family members were doing what they did, so we have no connection with the trade of giving money to get people out.

And we rejected that from the outset. We told the terrorists that we were not sent to do that.

“Our brief was not to talk about ransom, but to see how we get them out.”

Yusuf said when Muhammadu Buhari became president, insecurity was mostly pronounced in the North-east, but all parts of the country were currently insecure.

He explained, “There have been lots of challenges and nobody can deny that. All six geopolitical zones are on fire. When he came in,

when this government came in, the North-east was on fire. We all knew that. But thanks to the military under his leadership, we are where we are in the north, whether you like this government or not, the military has done a good job.

“But then, we have had a flare up of banditry in the North-central and the North-west and, then, you have IPOB/ESN and you have cultism and armed robbery all over this country. All Six geopolitical zones have their unique security challenges.

“Military is overstretched, deployed to all 36 states in this country. The tour of duty of a soldier is too long in the trenches. My work during this time, getting the release of these 23, has given me an appreciation of the challenges the military.”

Yusuf stated that the CDS committee was set up on March 29, a day after the kidnapping, to serve as the non-kinetic part of the efforts to release the abductees, and it had been away from the families for six months and had been meeting in forests for six months.

According to him, without the military, there was no way the efforts would have yielded results.

He stated that the military always gave the backing for any move during the process.

Yusuf added that the committee comprised three retired military generals, academic, diplomat, and Fulani leaders, working with the Department of State Services (DSS), and state governments, among others.

He said, “The military essentially gave us an enabling environment for us to be able to sit down and talk. The military doesn't sit down and talk. It is not the job of the military, but it provided an enabling environment for us to be able to reach out and it wasn't in one place. It was all over the country, in forests all over the country, we sent interlocutors all over and across the borders to be able to get to people that will get to them. And that is how negotiations happen.”

He noted that having taken the burden of the 23 Abuja train abductees off the shoulders of the military, they could now concentrate on doing their jobs of going after the terrorists.

Yusuf stated, “So the military is continuing to do its job after getting the last 23 out. We have lifted that obstacle for the military to continue the operation.

“The military knows where they were, the military could see them but the military will not do an operation to go and kill or kill 50 and get 13 out. No, but they watch their drones flying over them.”

MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022

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Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE

POLITICS

Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com 08033025611 SMS ONLY

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

Activities Step Up in APC as Tinubu Returns With the return from London last week of the Presidential Flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the ruling party is due to release the full list of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) this week, while also laying to rest on the disagreement created by the release of the initial list.

Adedayo Akinwale reports

Adamu

Tinubu

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he presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, last Thursday arrived in Abuja after a 12-day rest in London. Tinubu, who left the country on Saturday, September 24, held several consultative meetings with various personalities, among whom were billionaire businessman Yemi Idowu, who is interested in investing in Nollywood and Toyin Subair, the owner of defunct Hi tv.

The former two-time Governor of Lagos state left the country after the secretary of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Hon. James Faleke, released a 422-member list of the council.

The PCC list, however, received knocks from party stakeholders, including the National Working Committee (NWC) and governors

who claimed they were not carried along.

Following the complaints from the leadership of the party, governors, and stakeholders, the Director General of the PCC and governor of Plateau state, Hon Simon Lalong, in a statement suspended all the campaign activities indefinitely.

“However, due to the expansion of the list to accommodate more stakeholders and interests within the APC family, we have decided to adjust the time-table of these activities in order to ensure everyone is on board before activities officially commence. Consequently, the activities earlier announced for the 28th of September will no longer hold,”

Aisha

Shettima

Lalong had said.

This did little or nothing to assuage the anger of the party stakeholders after a leaked letter purportedly written by the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu to Tinubu, where he demanded that the 422-member campaign list be withdrawn.

But less than 24 hours later, the party made a quick U-turn, when Adamu via a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Felix Morka, denied authoring the letter.

Interestingly, the meeting between the APC governors and the National leadership of the party led by Adamu last week failed to reach a compromise on the commencement date for the 2023 elections campaign.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on September 28, 2022, lifted a ban on electioneering activities.

The five-hour long meeting which was part of the efforts to get everybody on board; address the grievances of party stakeholders and also strategise on the campaign activities and timetable of the ruling party, could not agree on a flag-off date for Campaigns.

Addressing newsmen after the closed-door meeting, Adamu assured that the party leadership has established machinery to resolve whatever issues they have.

According to him: “We are very very comfortable, we have established machinery for resolving anything. We are together with the governors forum and NWC. I believe this meeting we had is more than useful to us. For us NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Now that 2023 Budget is Before N’Assembly...

Udora Orizu writes that following last Friday’s presentation of 2023 budget estimates by President Muhammadu Buhari, Senators and House of Representatives members are expected to engage Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Federal Government (MDAs) for defence of their budget proposals

Buhari

O

n October 7, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari presented to a joint session of the National Assembly the 2023 budget estimates tagged, “Budget of Fiscal Sustainability and Transition”.

The Budget which is his administration’s last, is totalled at N20.51 trillion, as against the N19.76 trillion projected in the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, already passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.

The budget is made against the back-

Lawan

ground of a depreciating currency, youth unemployment, insecurity, which have adversely affected economic activities.

Based on the fiscal assumptions and parameters, total federallycollectible revenue is estimated at N16.87 trillion in 2023. Oil price benchmark was pegged at 70 US Dollars per barrel; with a daily oil production estimate of 1.69 million barrels (inclusive of Condensates of 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day), exchange rate

Gbajabiamila

was pegged at 435.57 Naira per US Dollar; with projected GDP growth rate of 3.75 percent and 17.16 percent inflation rate.

The expenditure comprises of a statutory transfers of N744.11 billion, non-debt recurrent costs of N8.27 trillion, personnel costs of N4.99 trillion, pensions, gratuities and retirees benefits of N854.8 billion; overheads of N1.11 trillion; capital expenditure of N5.35 trillion, including the capital component of statutory transfers; debt service of N6.31 trillion; and sinking fund of N247.73 billion to retire certain maturing bonds.

A look at the budget draft showed that the

sum of N133,730,697,750 was allocated to the Presidency, while the parliament, information ministry, INEC got N169,000,000,000, N64,239,951,994 and N50,000,000,000 respectively.

Addressing the lawmakers, President Buhari disclosed that the sum of N470 billion intervention had been provided for in the 2023 budget estimates to fund tertiary institutions.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ DAY ͯͮ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

CITYSTRINGS

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Flood: Tales of Tragedy, Suffering as Anambra Communities Remain Under Water The riverine areas of Anambra State are not new to the yearly rituals of their homes being submerged by flood water, but this year's is adding death to its pain, reports David-Chyddy Eleke

Dr Amaechi Nwachukwu, House of Representatives candidate of Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, presenting relief materials to displaced indigenes of Igbakwu community, during a recent visit

O

ut of the 21 local government areas of Anambra State, about eight of them currently have most of their communities under water, as a result of flood. Though most of them are not strangers to water, as they are mostly refered to as the riverine areas of Anambra State, residents of the areas are already used to water, and have nothing to fear about it.

They are mostly fishermen, and are conversant with water.

The 2012 flood can be said to be one of the most devastating, but an elder in Omor community of Ayamelum, Mr Sunday Ibe during an interview with our correspondent that year had said: "We are not afraid of water, infact, the farmers and fishermen among us practically live in water, as most of them prefer to live in farm settlements, where they farm and fish, only coming into the communities when their products are due for sale, or at weekend.

"What is different about this year's (2012) is that, even though we are used to our farm settlements being submerged, and some houses around the area too, this year's flood spanned through every part of the community, submerging it," Elder Ibe had complained.

Since after that year (2012), it has become a yearly ritual for the riverine areas of Anambra to suffer flood. But what is different about the 2022 flood is that besides destroying crops, submerging farmlands and drowning residential houses, this year's flood is taking lives.

Last week, news of the death of a 70-year-old man, Mr Sunday Mesiobi, in Ogbe-Akpoma, Atani community of Ogbaru Local Government Area surfaced. Mesiobi was said to be the uncle of Mr Arinzechukwu Awogu, the immediate past Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbaru Council Area, who is also contesting for a seat in the House of Representatives, under All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to represent Ogbaru Federal Constituency. Awogu who disclosed of the death of the septuagenarian said he was found in his room which was submerged by water last week Wednesday.

According to report, the deceased had decided to stay back in his house to take care of it, after he had evacuated his wife and children. Though there are no explanation to his death, but many say he may have been asleep at night, when the flood surged and drowned him.

Awogu said his remains had been deposited at the Atani mortuary. “It was not clear the exact time the incident happened but family sources said that his lifeless body was found when one of them came to check on him and after calling his name repeatedly without response. They sighted his cloth floating on the water inside his room and when the cloth was pulled up it turned out that his body was under the water."

In Ayamelum Local Government Area, which is also in Anambra North Senatorial district like Ogbaru, all eight communities that make

up the local government areas are currently under water, while residents have been sacked from their residences, and are now taking refuge in school facilities, which have been converted to Internally Displaced People's Camps.

Dr Amaechi Nwachukwu, a House of Representatives candidate of Zenith Labour Party(ZLP) for Oyi/Ayamelum Federal Constituency who visited a camp at Igbakwu, one of the communities that make up the local government, raised alarm after meeting with the IDPs. Dr Nwachukwu, a renowned orthopedic surgeon said there was need for government and individuals to assist the refugees through provision of basic needs, but also that urgent steps must be taken to provide the people with health needs, to avoid outbreak of diseases.

Nwachukwu who donated relief materials, quickly mobilised for the erection of an emergency health centre in the camp to check the health of the IDPs, and also administer free drugs. He said: "The devastating effect of the flood especially on the social and economic lives of members of this community is enormous. It is a moral responsibility upon me and every other well-to-do person to assist the victims of flood in Anambra State, considering the number of disease outbreaks that can emanate from the flood.

"With domestic and farm products lost to the flood disaster, there is the tendency that after the flood, the people will commence life from scratch, so we need to help as much as we can. The medical services we are rendering to the people today is to prevent or treat diseases that may arise as a result of the flood such as malaria, typhoid, hypertension and other ailments."

Healthcare workers attending to displaced persons in an IDP camp in one of the riverine communities But the biggest of the tragedies arising from the flood happened in Ogbaru, last weekend, where no fewer than 76 persons were declared missing after a boat mishap occurred. The tragedy, took place in Umunnankwo community. Eye witnesses said the ill-fated boat, which had about 85 persons on board, took off from Onukwu Bridge and was heading to Nkwo market, Ogbakuba before it capsized.

The Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Mr Pascal Aniegbuna, while reacting to the incident, was not able to give a clear account of the number of persons that lost their lives in the incident, but said: "While some of the passengers were rescued, several others, unfortunately lost their lives."

THISDAY gathered that the capsizing of the boat was as a result of the flood, which caused water level to exceed its limit, while also causing increase in the water's tide. A former House of Representatives member, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene and current candidate of Labour Party (LP) for the next election, expressed shock and deep sorrow over the development.

He said, "This sad news of this terrible accident is numbing and painful to me as a person and must be very devastating, especially to the immediate families of the victims. This is a collective loss for Ogbaru as a whole and we are united in sorrow. My condolences go to the affected families and also Ogbaru people and communities, who have in recent times found themselves in the jaws of severe flood disaster that has practically submerged all our communities and displaced thousands of people."

He said almost every community in the local government area was affected by the flood, but listed the most badly affected to include; Ogwu Ikpele, Akili Ogidi, Obeagwe, Ossomala, Ogwuaniocha, Umunankwo, Ogbakuba, Ochuche, Umuzu, Akili Ozizor, Atani, Ohita and Odekpe.

Other areas devastated by the ravaging flood include Amiyi, Iyiowa, Ogbeukwu, Okoti and parts of Okpoko.

He added, "It is pathetic. It is a terrible sight in Ogbaru as a result of the flood disaster. The human and environmental conditions here are absolutely pathetic and requires urgent action from government in order to alleviate the sufferings of the despondent victims, most of whom have lost all their belongings to the flood disaster.

It is pathetic. It is a terrible sight in Ogbaru as a result of the flood disaster. The human and environmental conditions here are absolutely pathetic and requires urgent action from government in order to alleviate the sufferings of the despondent victims, most of whom have lost all their belongings to the flood disaster

"These flood victims that cut across several communities, urgently need relief materials and other assistance from government and its agencies, such as NEMA and SEMA. I therefore call on these agencies to rise up to its responsibility and bring urgent succour to the people of Ogbaru, who are currently besieged by flooding, so as to avert the outbreak of health challenges associated with such incident."

Meanwhile, many groups have started working to ameliorate the plight of the people of the area, when some of the affected persons have decried government's inability to put a stop to the sufferings of people in riverine areas, which have become an annual thing.

Anambra State governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, who condoled with the families of persons involved in a boat mishap through a condolence message to the families of the victims, signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Christian Aburime said his government just days before the tragic incident sent several interventions to the people of the flood ravaged area, who have all relocated to IDP camps for safety. He assured that government will continue to do its best to reduce the negative effects of the flood disaster in the state.

He condoled with the families of the bereaved, and Ogbaru people in general saying: "This development is still a shock to the government and good people of Anambra State. I sympathize with the families of people involved."

Meanwhile, in Anaku, the Local Government Headquarters of Ayamelum Local Government Area, flood submerged the entire secretariat, while motorists, residents and visitors to the area were also reportedly trapped, as there was no access way back to town.

Mr. Paul Nwauba, one of those trapped, said that the flood was an annual occurrence that needed permanent solution. He also called for assistance in the form of boats to rescue trapped people. “We have been experiencing such but it is worse now as it has submerged the Onitsha/ Ayamelum road, thereby trapping those at the Local Government Area, especially Anaku. The Ezu river has been submerged too, and the river covered by flood, thereby making it impassable for travellers and residents,” he stated.

Awogu, a former local government chairman whose uncle was killed by the rampaging flood said: “It has gone beyond asking people to converge in a particular location. We need more of a community based approach where community leaders, the President General will have more direct contact with victims everywhere including holding camps,” he said.

As at the time.of filing this report, the flood was yet to recede, just as more persons are displaced on a daily basis because of the rains. About 16 of the drowned passengers of the boat mishap have also had their bodies recovered, while an indigene of the area , Mr Gbugbulu assured that efforts were still on to rescue more bodies.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022

20

This Week In Tech 08097710984

nosakhare.alekhuogie@thisdaylive.com

Nosa

Alekhuogie

Uluocha: People Not Products Are Core of Our Business at Patricia Technologies Chika Uluocha is the Chief People Officer at Patricia Technologies. In this interview with Nosa Alekhuogie, she talks about her role, her fintech journey and shares her thoughts about what women are doing in the fintech space. Excerpts: What does your role entail as the Chief People Officer at Patricia Technologies Limited? he chief people officer oversees the business’s overall People strategy. I manage the strategy and processes related to attracting, developing, and retaining the human capital of Patricia. In other words, I am responsible for designing and managing the employee lifecycle from attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development, retention, and separation. On a day-to-day basis, my job involves strategic planning, employee communication, training and development, labour relations, and compliance with employment law, especially because we have several of our employees from outside Nigeria. In our industry, finding talent is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. It is even harder to retain them given the dynamics of the industry; high-value employees are always in demand and get juicy offers constantly. So, my job requires that I ensure that the workplace is conducive enough to support talent so that beyond financial incentives, there are other ways we can motivate people that will attract and engage them. Because of the way we have structured the workplace in Patricia, many of our employees have refused to be poached even when they get mouth-watering offers from other companies.

productivity and a more engaged workplace.

Our annual employee turnover rate has remained below 6 per cent for the past four years even when the global turnover rate for our industry is 13.2 per cent. It is obvious we are doing a few things right.

T

What is your priority as the chief people officer?

In simple terms, the right people doing the right things at the right time, enjoying what they do and achieving stellar results in the process, from the management team to entry-level employees. It is one thing to find the right people who are not only skilled for their roles but who also fit into our culture.

When we find such people, it then becomes our responsibility to keep them engaged and resourceful. This is a tricky one because of the fast-paced nature of our industry which is constantly evolving. So, we must find people who are skilled, aligned, and flexible enough to make the necessary changes required to stay on top of the game. This is what keeps me awake at night.

Why did you leave the banking sector for fintech?

In a sense, I believe I was always destined to be in tech. For instance, I interned at National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), where I worked with the Information technology team managing the network infrastructure and maintenance of the work tools. Then I worked with Fabrics.ng, a technology-powered textile marketplace where I was saddled with the responsibility of managing the vendor system plus, I had many years of collaborating with a community of Open-source enthusiasts and propagators, Free Software & Open-Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA).

PATRICIA was my ticket to fintech. I have always liked to build and nurture things and having the opportunity to do that while also having a ‘seat at the table’ was not something I was willing to pass on. When I joined Patricia, it was not yet a household name as it is today. In fact, it was barely registered when I came on board. And even though it was not immediately apparent to the casual observer, I could sense the potential and possibilities that the business had. The huge opportunities were too enormous to be ignored, so I took the leap. Honestly, I cannot say it was an easy decision. I mean, who leaves their job in a structured organisation, and takes an almost 50 per cent pay cut to join a business that was barely even registered? Looking back, it was a risky move that could have gone wrong if things went awry. But I was willing to take

What are the people operations pillars at Patricia that you attribute your low turnover rate to?

Respect, collaboration, support, and trust.

We understand that people, not products are the most important part of our business hence our HR core values and processes are centered around values that put people first.

It is easy for people to recognise and stay in an environment where they are valued. We do not just pay lip service to these values; we strive to live them out on a day-to-day basis.

What is your greatest challenge with managing people?

Honestly, people are both our greatest asset as well as our greatest liability. With machines and codes, you can predict output, but that is not the case with people. It is not unusual to find a team member who is highly productive today who suddenly changes tomorrow. This has been the greatest challenge. Humans are highly unpredictable. Understanding the fact that people are unpredictable has helped us manage our expectations better. We expect the best from our people, but we also know they are humans, so we also make room for their idiosyncrasies.

U l u o ch a the bet. Thankfully, it paid off.

What’s your thought about the budding fintech space and women’s milestones?

The tech space, in general, is one area where women can easily have a level playing ground. Thankfully, it is results that drive growth in the industry, not age or gender or even years of experience.

So, to see women hold their own here as Software Engineers, Founders, Product managers e.t.c truly inspires me. It is true that there are still challenges, like the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, which means little support and fewer role models, but the possibilities are still endless.

What major projects have you worked on as the CPO? I would say building the organisation from the ground up. When I joined Patricia in 2018, we were barely a registered company, so I would say defining the ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘where’ of the business over the past years has been my biggest achievement. I had no prior experience in human resource management, so I had to practically rely on sheer grit and determination, especially vision, to pull this off. It is the hardest work I have done in my entire life because even though there are guideposts gotten from core HR training and studying startups that are built elsewhere, applying the Nigerian context to our situation is where the real work is.

We grew rapidly and from less than 10 people when I joined, we now have close to four hundred people working across the different businesses within the group. This is no mean feat at all and requires a different mindset and skill set

than working in a structured organisation which already has laid down procedures and guidelines. In hindsight, I believe not having a background in core HR helped me a lot as I was free from following convention. However, growing at this pace also means that we have to also transition into a more structured organisation, and this is already in play so we can accommodate future expansion and growth.

What are you doing differently from other competitors and how have you been able to develop a profitable niche?

I would say I have a fairly deep understanding of the Fintech space and the roles that are required to bring products to life. However, what I consider my greatest strength in Patricia is a unique understanding of human behaviour. It is a combination of these perspectives that has enabled us to approach people operation issues differently.

We ensure we manage every employee differently. Yes, we have policies but a ‘one-size fit all’ approach is not an effective strategy for a company whose employees are largely Gen Z and millennials. We try to approach each employee as an individual with unique needs and qualities. Promoting shared vision is also something we do not take for granted.

We have an open-door policy which encourages communication, feedback, and discussions about any concerns employees at any level may have.

Over here, we are big on a performancebased reward system. We do not fail to recognise and reward individual initiatives.

These various initiatives have made sure we have a higher-than-usual job satisfaction rate which has translated into increased

The CPO has been said to be the ‘worst best job’ in tech because the role is coveted.

What do you have to say about this?

Probably because, for the CPO, the stakes are higher. You are expected to have influence beyond the people operations team, including budgeting, technology and product deployment, marketing, and internal/external communications. You are the most prominent culture champion, and you are expected to build and manage a team that thrives amidst high growth while remaining an attractive employer brand in a rapidly changing hiring landscape.

What other projects are you working on?

I recently started a travel brand, RoversKlub - that provides flight and hotel booking, Travel insurance, vacation packages, visa assistance, travel essentials, airport transfers, tours, and workspace in over 25 countries and a community of travel enthusiasts to ensure a hassle-free and satisfying travel experience. Our biggest product is the Nomad Project which is targeted at remote workers who would love to work and explore new countries on the go. We have built a solution where professionals can integrate adventure into their lifestyles and still work comfortably in an inspiring environment. Our vision is to help professionals be intentional with their time and achieve the perfect work-life balance by providing an outlet for remote workers to escape, explore the world and still do the job they love.

How has your experience in fintech impacted your new business?

Innovation, automation, and alternatives are the keys my experience in the Technology industry has handed me. Understanding technology means our products are automated and require little to no human interference. We can provide services that meet the needs of the new-age traveller who requires more than just flight tickets and hotel reservations. People want options, and with technology, they can pay how they want, including using cryptocurrency and digital assets.

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Monday October 10, 2022 Vol 27. No 10044

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES The environmental health council is promoting business models to support the economic diversification drive, writes BASHIR HASSAN

See page 24

A LAGOS WITH METRO LINE JOSIAH AKINYELE writes that Lagosians would soon be riding the Metro, 40 years after it was mooted

See page 24

EDITORIAL

THE PRESIDENT AND MENTAL HEALTH

See page 25

1

A leader’s actions inspire others to dream more and do more, writes LINUS OKORIE

INSPIRING OTHERS TO SUCCEED Have you ever looked up to someone or admired something about another person? Has someone ever inspired you to greater accomplishment?

Do you know that your job is beyond just your job description? This is the best kept secret of those who achieve superstar VWDWXV LQ WKHLU À HOGV $Q\RQH FDQ PHUHO\ JHW WKH ZRUN GRQH 7KH VXSHUVWDUV KRZHYHU GR WKHLU ZRUN LQ D ZD\ WKDW SURIRXQGO\ LQVSLUHV RWKHUV There are two major ways someone can LQÁ XHQFH DQRWKHU WKHLU FKDUDFWHU TXDOLWLHV DV ZHOO DV WKURXJK WKHLU ZRUN +HUH DUH steps you can take to awaken these same TXDOLWLHV LQ \RXUVHOI +HUH·V KRZ 6WLFN :LWK :KDW <RX /RYH 'RLQJ what you love makes you put in your EHVW HYHU\ WLPH ,W PDNHV \RX WR NHHS DW LW GHVSLWH WKH FKDOOHQJHV RU GL΀ FXOWLHV \RX HQFRXQWHU 2QFH \RX DUH GRLQJ ZKDW \RX ORYH \RX ZLOO QRW PLQG WKH QXPEHU of hours you have to spend to achieve WKH JRDO <RX ZLOO QDYLJDWH WKH P\ULDG RI FKDOOHQJHV RQO\ ZLWK RQH PLQGVHW ² , FDQ À QG D VROXWLRQ WR WKLV 7KLV NHHSV \RX DKHDG ZKHQ RWKHUV JLYH XS 7KLV EULQJV \RX LQWR WKH OLPHOLJKW DV D WUDLO EOD]HU 7KLQN %LJ DQG 1REOH 2QFH \RX establish a foundation for what you KDYH JUHDW SDVVLRQ VWDUW WKLQNLQJ ELJ How many people could you potentially inspire based on your niche of expertise? $UH WKHUH ZD\V \RX FDQ H[SDQG \RXU impact? $QRWKHU XVHIXO ZD\ WR LQVSLUH RWKHUV LV to support an established noble cause or SUDFWLFH VXFK DV VDYLQJ WKH HQYLURQPHQW RU IHHGLQJ WKH SRRU ,W·V PXFK HDVLHU WR JDLQ DWWHQWLRQ IROORZHUV DQG VXSSRUW for noble causes than it is for individual gain or what some might think are more VHOÀ VK UHDVRQV %H ([SUHVVLYH ([SUHVVLYH SDVVLRQ LV contagious because of the curiosity it stirs LQ RWKHUV <RX·OO JHW SHRSOH ZRQGHULQJ ZK\ \RX ORYH ZKDW \RX ORYH VR PXFK 1DWXUDOO\ VRPH RI WKHP ZLOO WDNH WKH WLPH necessary to understand what it is about WKH WRSLF WKDW PRYHV \RX 5HPDLQ DFWLYHO\ LQYROYHG <RX QHHG WR UHPDLQ DFWLYHO\ LQYROYHG LQ WKH À HOG LQ ZKLFK \RX LQWHQG WR LQVSLUH RWKHUV 8OWLPDWHO\ LI \RX UHDOO\ want to inspire others to do something WKHQ WKLV ¶VRPHWKLQJ· VKRXOG EH D ELJ SDUW RI \RXU OLIH <RX GRQ·W QHFHVVDULO\ QHHG WR EH DQ H[SHUW DW LW EXW \RX GR QHHG WR EH SDVVLRQDWHO\ LQYROYHG <RX FDQQRW KRSH to inspire while being phony or hiding EHKLQG D PDVN 7KH PRPHQW \RX DUH \RXU WUXH VHOI LPSHUIHFWLRQV DQG DOO SHRSOH VWDUW WR WDNH notice and listen to what you have to VD\ %H RSHQ DQG VLQFHUH +RQHVW\ EXLOGV trust and gets others to believe in your LQVSLUDWLRQ

The ability to inspire others is an LPSRUWDQW VNLOO RQH WKDW ZLOO KHOS \RX DFKLHYH WKH VXFFHVV \RX GHVLUH Keep your message authentic and KXPDQ WR DPSOLI\ \RXU UHVXOWV LQVSLUH RWKHUV DQG H[FHO LQ \RXU ZRUN OLIH .HHS DQ 2SHQ 'RRU <RX PXVW DOZD\V maintain an open invitation to everyone \RX HQFRXQWHU 3HUVRQDOO\ ZHOFRPH RWKHUV DQG OLVWHQ WR WKHLU QHHGV 2QFH \RX DUH LQYROYHG ZLWK WKHP NHHS it personal and always maintain a healthy OLQH RI FRPPXQLFDWLRQ 2Ϳ HU D KHOSLQJ +DQG *UHDW OHDGHUV RͿ HU D KHOSLQJ KDQG 7KH\ FKRRVH WR KDYH DQ LQWHUHVW LQ QRW RQO\ ZKDW SHRSOH GR but they also recognize their followers and utilise every opportunity to see them JURZ DQG FKDQJH DV ZHOO 2Ϳ HU WR VKDUH \RXU SHUVRQDO VWRULHV WHDFK WKHP WKLQJV \RX·YH OHDUQHG DORQJ WKH ZD\ WDON DERXW \RXU IDLOXUHV DQG DFKLHYHPHQWV DQG DVN WKRVH TXHVWLRQV DERXW WKHLU RZQ SURJUHVV +HOS WKHP DYRLG WKH PLVWDNHV \RX·YH PDGH LQ WKH SDVW DQG DOZD\V PDLQWDLQ a positive outlook on their forward SURJUHVV %H &RQVLVWHQW &RQVLVWHQF\ LQ DFWLRQV LQIRUPDWLRQ DQG PRUDO VWDQGDUGV LV DOVR H[WUHPHO\ LPSRUWDQW ,I \RX FRQVWDQWO\ FKDQJH \RXU PHWKRGV \RXU LQWHUHVWV DQG WKH À HOG LQ ZKLFK \RX KRSH WR LQVSLUH RWKHUV \RX ZLOO KDYH OLWWOH VXFFHVV 3HRSOH ZDQW WR VHH DQG DVVRFLDWH \RXU ideas with a reliable plan that they can IROORZ <RX QHHG WR GHPRQVWUDWH WKLV FRQVLVWHQF\ WKURXJK \RXU DFWLRQV EXW you can also compliment your actions ZLWK LQVSLUDWLRQDO VWRU\ WHOOLQJ 6WRU\ telling allows you to reproduce important past experiences as a means to guide and LQVSLUH RWKHUV 0DNH VXUH \RX XVH VWRULHV that embrace the consistency of your DFWLRQV 6WD\ 3RVLWLYH 7KH SURFHVV RI LQVSLULQJ others comes with no shortage of FKDOOHQJHV DQG QHJDWLYH QD\VD\HUV 7R JHW SDVW WKLV \RX PXVW VWD\ SRVLWLYH ZRUN SDVW IDLOXUHV DQG SUHVHQW RSWLPLVP openly to others no matter what the FLUFXPVWDQFHV DUH $QG WKHUH \RX KDYH LW 0\ WKRXJKWV RQ KRZ WR LQVSLUH RWKHUV ,·G ORYH WR KHDU \RXU IHHGEDFN WKRXJKWV

We truly need leaders with great mindsets that derive their inspiration from citizens rising and creating wealth for themselves

DQG FRPPHQWV RQ WKH VXEMHFW :KLFK RI these points have had the biggest impact RQ \RX" +DYH , OHIW VRPHWKLQJ RXW" 'R you have any personal experiences or inspirational stories to share? .H\ WKRXJKWV RQ LQÁ XHQFLQJ RWKHUV -DFN :HOFK VDLG ´%HIRUH \RX DUH D OHDGHU VXFFHVV LV DOO DERXW JURZLQJ \RXUVHOI :KHQ \RX EHFRPH D OHDGHU VXFFHVV LV DOO DERXW JURZLQJ RWKHUV µ 7R KDQGOH \RXUVHOI XVH \RXU KHDG WR KDQGOH RWKHUV XVH \RXU KHDUW µ (OHDQRU 5RRVHYHOW The most outstanding one for me in the ZRUGV RI -RKQ 4XLQF\ $GDPV ´,I \RXU DFWLRQV LQVSLUH RWKHUV WR GUHDP PRUH OHDUQ PRUH GR PRUH DQG EHFRPH PRUH \RX DUH D OHDGHU µ 7KH IRUPHU $PHULFDQ 3UHVLGHQW %DUDFN 2EDPD VDLG ´7KH EHVW way to not feel hopeless is to get up and GR VRPHWKLQJ 'RQ·W ZDLW IRU JRRG WKLQJV WR KDSSHQ WR \RX ,I \RX JR RXW DQG PDNH VRPH JRRG WKLQJV KDSSHQ \RX ZLOO À OO WKH ZRUOG ZLWK KRSH \RX ZLOO À OO \RXUVHOI ZLWK KRSH ´, GRQ·W ZDQW WR OLYH LQ WKH NLQG RI ZRUOG ZKHUH ZH GRQ·W ORRN RXW IRU HDFK RWKHU 1RW MXVW WKH SHRSOH WKDW DUH FORVH WR XV EXW DQ\ERG\ ZKR QHHGV D KHOSLQJ KDQG , FDQ·W FKDQJH WKH ZD\ DQ\ERG\ HOVH WKLQNV RU ZKDW WKH\ FKRRVH WR GR EXW , FDQ GR P\ ELW µ , KDYH LQYHVWHG RYHU \HDUV HPSRZHULQJ SHRSOH DQG , KDYH VHHQ people utilize the leadership capital NQRZOHGJH , VKDUHG ZLWK WKHP WR LPSURYH their lives and succeed in the real sense RI WKH ZRUG 0\ KHDUW LV XVXDOO\ À OOHG ZLWK MR\ ZKHQ , KHDU VWRULHV RI FKDQJH 7KHUH LV DOZD\V D NLQG RI IXOÀ OOPHQW WKDW , H[SHULHQFH , EHOLHYH LW LV WKH VDPH experience you feel whenever you have LQVSLUHG VRPHERG\ WR PRYH DKHDG LQ OLIH We truly need leaders with great mindsets that derive their inspiration from citizens rising and creating wealth IRU WKHPVHOYHV /HDGHUV ZKR JLYHV MR\ LV QRW WKH ZHDOWK DFTXLUHG EXW WKH KDSSLQHVV RI WKHLU FLWL]HQV ,W ZDV 'HVLGHULXV (UDVPXV LQ KLV $UW RI 3HDFH ZKR ZURWH ´7KH SULQFH VKRXOG ORYH WKH ODQG RYHU which he rules just as the farmer loves the À HOGV RI KLV DQFHVWRUV RU DV D JRRG PDQ IHHOV DͿ HFWLRQ WRZDUGV KLV KRXVHKROG µ You can be that leader whose love for others will inspire him or her to contribute KLV RU KHU UHVRXUFHV WR WKH ULVLQJ RI RWKHUV You must remember if a man does not KDYH D SXUSRVH IRU ZDNLQJ XS VOHHSLQJ EHFRPHV LQWHUHVWLQJ Okorie is a leadership development expert spanning 27 years in the research, teaching and coaching of leadership in Africa and across the world. He is the CEO of the GOTNI Leadership Centre

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MONAY OCTOBER 10, 2022

The environmental health council is promoting business models to support the economic diversification drive, writes BASHIR HASSAN

JOSIAH AKINYELE writes that Lagosians would soon be riding the Metro, 40 years after it was mooted

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

A LAGOS WITH METRO LINE

avenues for rapid return on investment as the practice areas are basic life supporting services owing to their preventive and promotive attributes.

Indeed, good leadership always PDNHV WKH GLͿHUHQFH DQG 'U %DED KDV to take credit for the accomplishments of the Council.

Who is Dr. Yakubu Mohammed Baba?

Born in Azare, Bauchi State, the 48year old is an interesting story of a real Nigerian. He has received his education from every part of the country - primary, secondary and diploma level training in Bauchi state; Higher National Diploma (HND) in Environmental Health technology at the School of Health Technology in neighbouring Gombe; a Master of Science (MSc),Environmental Health Management from Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, Oyo State; and, before then, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Health from Houdegbe North American University, Cotonou, Benin Republic.

He then headed east to collect a Master of Public Health (MPH), Imo State University Owerri, Imo State; and a PhD in Environmental Health and Safety, from Abia State University, Uturu. ,Q WKH &RXQFLO KRVWHG WKH ÀUVW National Environmental Health Summit, which brought together stakeholders in environmental health from across, which exposed a lot of people to into the country by the British colonial knowledge and global best practices in masters – it was largely through this that the profession and industry. One of the such public health problems, like yaws outcomes of that Summit was a roadmap that was hyper endemic, were contained. for environmental health practice.

It however remained as a mere “This roadmap is what we are going to occupation until the law establishing it follow religiously to be able to move the as a profession was passed in 2002 which profession of environmental health to established EHCON as the professional the global standards,” said Yakubu Baba regulatory body. The regulator got a on that occasion.

In line with the resolve to rebrand the boost recently with the assenting into law by President Buhari the amendment profession of environmental health and bill after languishing in the National the need to break barriers and unlock Assembly for more than a decade. The opportunities, EHCON has faithfully amended law upgraded the regulation followed the script. To demonstrate its of environmental health practice in the LQWHQW DQG LQ IXUWKHUDQFH RI LWV HͿRUWV to promote viable business models for country.

Since then, the Council has been environmental health in the country, the unstoppable. It has issued about 17 Council is organizing a three-day forum professional guidelines and regulations in Abuja for stakeholders in the sector that cut across various aspects of the with the theme “Developing Sustainable private practice - from guidelines to Environmental Health Business Model sanitation in the aviation industry, In Support of Nigeria’s Economic guideline for accreditation of academic 'LYHUVLÀFDWLRQ 'ULYHµ 7KH PDLGHQ programmes in training institutions to forum will address issues in the areas guidelines on pest and vector control – to RI ÀQDQFLQJ PDUNHWLQJ WHFKQRORJ\ the trail blazer, the environmental health transfer and mentorship. It aims to avail practice regulations which opened up stakeholders in environmental health the platform to discuss and explore areas the profession to the private sector.

The Council, in exercise of its role for collaborations to achieve common of environmental health practice objectives. regulation, has also opened a register The forum is scheduled for 11–13, and approved six practice areas, namely: October, 2022 at NAF Conference Centre, inspection of premises; public health Kado, Abuja. It will, among others, feature pest and vector control; waste collection; panel discussions, papers by experts and air quality monitoring, cleaning services exhibitions of products and services, and sewage collection. which will also facilitate interactions 9HU\ VLJQLÀFDQWO\ DFFRUGLQJ WR 'U between local and international players Yakubu Mohammed Baba, the Registrar in the environmental health industry, of the Council, these areas are open for DV ZHOO DV SURYLGH OLQNDJH WR ÀQDQFLQJ private sector participation. “We have opportunities. issued guidelines where people can come and invest,” he says. It is interesting Hassan to note that investment in such areas are writes from Abuja Only recently, Mr. President decried the lack of credit for the achievements of his administration. It was a poignant, even if indirect, criticism of government agencies for their inability to give credible publicity to their activities.

Come to think of it, although the nation is beset by a plethora of challenges, some agencies of government that are lucky to have competent leadership are doing great work for which the government is proud of, to the extent that they are redeeming the nation’s image.

Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON) is one such organization. It’s not as if the practice of environmental health is a recent development, having been introduced

If Lagos State is the economic nerve centre of Nigeria, Lagos Island would qualify as the heartbeat of the state. Boasting proximity to the major ports of Apapa and Tin Can, Lagos Island hosts headquarters of major banks, ÀQDQFH KRXVHV DQG RWKHU FRPSDQLHV /LNH Broad Street is synonymous with commerce, same goes for others, in varying degrees. And just over at Victoria Island lie the swanky R΀FHV KRPHV KRWHOV DQG WRXULVW\ VSRWV $ little beyond on the former Bar Beach lies the futuristic Eko Atlantic City.

For many years, the high cost of real estate in these areas ensured that while it was a permanent enclave for a few individuals, it was thronged on for work or leisure by majority IURP IDU ÁXQJ SODFHV DFURVV /DJRV $QG HYHQ beyond. It is common to see huge vehicular WUD΀F FRQYH\LQJ ZRUNHUV LQWR WKH ,VODQG LQ WKH PRUQLQJV ,Q WKH HYHQLQJV WKH RXWJRLQJ WUD΀F from the Island snakes as workers leave. A

Olu visited the US state of Wisconsin, to announce the purchase of two Talgo VIII trainsets for service on the Red Line. The trains had been ordered by Wisconsin for use on the Amtrak Hiawatha Service in 2009, but they were never placed in service, and were instead stored.

The Lagos Metro Line would be managed by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

Already, the tracks have been laid, bridges have been built, stations have been built DQG ÀQDOO\ WKH WZR JOHDPLQJ 7DOJR 9,,, trains and coaches which were bought in Milwaukee, United States, for use on the Red Line recently arrived Lagos. It was with a renewed promise of a less chaotic transportation system. Taking to Twitter to announce the arrival of the trains recently, Governor Sanwo-Olu, tweeted, “On 15th April, 2021, when I performed the ground breaking ceremony of our Red Line Metro Project, I announced that we would hit major milestones quickly.

“I am excited to announce that the twin Talgo intra city ten coach Metropolitan trains for the project have arrived in Lagos!”

Many Lagosians can’t wait to ride on it. And for good reason too. Since the GD\V ZKHQ 0ROXH WKH PRGLÀHG \HOORZ and black striped painted Mercedes Benz and Bedford truck-turned buses, packed commuters like sardines in a tin, public transportation has evolved. First was the phasing out of the Molue, which had become a nasty Lagos signature.

To replace it were luxury buses under a VLPLODU ÁRZ LV QRWLFHG ZLWK EX\HUV DQG VHOOHUV Bus Rapid Transportation (BRT) scheme. at the various markets and other visitors and Already, the BRT has achieved success and tourists. Motor vehicles were the main way is embraced by many Lagosians. The state people commuted between the mainland and government has also focused on water the Island of Lagos. transportation and built more jetties. Now, Hitherto, the single rail line operated by the with the coming of the rails, the vision of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) in Lagos an interconnected mode of transportation State began at Alagbado and terminated at the is set to become a reality. At the CMS, Iddo Terminus. But with the introduction of depending on one’s destination, people the Lagos Metro line by the end of this year, would have the choice of commuting by history would be made. The mainland would rail, road or water or any combination. be connected to the island by rail.

Other similar connections with the BRT Looking at the map of the Lagos metro exist throughout the rail corridors. system which is designed with red and blue With the high population density, brings to mind the colour scheme of the moving around in Lagos is hectic.

London Transportation map. The Red Line According to the Lagos State Motor which begins at Agbado would terminate at Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA), CMS. With a length of 37Km, it would have WKHUH DUH RYHU ÀYH PLOOLRQ FDUV DQG stops at Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, 000 commercial vehicles on Lagos roads.

Yaba, Ebutte Meta, Oyingbo, Iddo, Ebutte Ero The agency issues an average of 20, 000 and Marina. Then there is the 27.5km Blue Line licence plates monthly and controls more which begins at Okokomaiko and terminates than 60% of number plates issued in the at Marina. It has stops at LASU, Volkswagen, country. In fact, Lagos is the only state that Tradefair, Alakija, Festac, Mile 2, Alaba, produces number plates. It also records an Iganmu, National Theatre, Ebutte Ero and average of 227 vehicles for every kilometre Marina. It is estimated it would convey half of road compared to the national average a million people daily. In continuation, Lagos of 11 vehicles per kilometre of road.

State has plans to extend the metro system Coupled with a population of 20 million to cover a wider space with the introduction people, it is little wonder Lagos is plagued of Brown, Orange, Purple, Green and Yellow ZLWK PRQVWHU WUD΀F MDPV Lines.

A 2021 report by a Lagos-based research First proposed by former Lagos State institute, Danne Institute for Research, governor, Lateef Jakande, the Lagos metro hinted that Lagosians spent an estimated project was scuttled by the military regime 14.12 million hours lost by Lagosians while in 1983. Coincidentally, it was the present commuting to work daily. Professor Franca President, Muhammadu Buhari, that headed Ovadje, Founder/Executive Director, that regime. It would take the re-imagination 'DQQH ,QVWLWXWH SUHVHQWHG WKH ÀQGLQJV of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration in of the research at the virtual Transport 2003 to re-initiate the project. And through DQG 7UD΀F &RQIHUHQFH RUJDQLVHG E\ WKH several administrations, challenges and institute. setbacks, the idea of a Lagos Metro Line gradually started becoming a reality.

Akinyele In January 2022, Governor Babajide Sanwowrites from Lagos

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T H I S D AY

MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022

EDITORIAL

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

THE PRESIDENT AND MENTAL HEALTH President Buhari should sign the mental health bill into law

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he overriding objective of the World Mental Health Day being marked today is not only to raise awareness of a challenge WKDW D΁ LFWV KXQGUHGV RI PLOOLRQV EXW DOVR WR PRELOLVH HͿ RUWV LQ VXSSRUW RI WKH D΁ LFWHG Sadly, this is a challenge that has not been JLYHQ GXH DWWHQWLRQ LQ 1LJHULD GHVSLWH LWV SUHYDOHQFH -XVW ODVW PRQWK WKH 3UHVLGHQW RI WKH $VVRFLDWLRQ RI 3V\FKLDWULVWV LQ 1LJHULD $31 7DLZR 2ELQGR UDLVHG WKH DODUP WKDW DW OHDVW PLOOLRQ 1LJHULDQV ZHUH OLYLQJ ZLWK RQH IRUP RI PHQWDO GLVRUGHU RU WKH RWKHU 7R GHDO ZLWK WKLV SUREOHP ZH PXVW LQWHJUDWH PHQWDO KHDOWK LQWR SULPDU\ KHDOWK FDUH DFURVV ORFDO JRYHUQPHQWV LQ WKH FRXQWU\ :H PXVW DOVR HQVXUH WKDW HYHU\ JHQHUDO KRVSLWDO KDV D GHSDUWPHQW for mental health ZLWK DFFRPSDQ\LQJ SV\FKLDWULVWV SV\FKLDWULF QXUVHV DQG SV\FKRORJLVWV Mental illness is XVXDOO\ DWWULEXWHG WR three factors: biological, LQFOXGLQJ JHQHV RU EUDLQ FKHPLVWU\ IDPLO\ KLVWRU\ DQG OLIH H[SHULHQFHV VXFK DV WUDXPD RU DEXVH 2QO\ ODVW ZHHN WKH )LUVW /DG\ 0UV $LVKD %XKDUL GLVFORVHG WKDW XQNQRZQ WR PDQ\ SHRSOH KHU KXVEDQG DFWXDOO\ VXͿ HUHG 3RVW 7UDXPDWLF 6WUHVV 'LVRUGHU 376' IRU VHYHUDO \HDUV IROORZLQJ KLV LQYROYHPHQW LQ 1LJHULD·V FLYLO ZDU ZLWKRXW UHKDELOLWDWLRQ DQG PRQWKV GHWHQWLRQ ZLWKRXW charge, following his overthrow as head of state in a FRXS 376' LV D PHQWDO KHDOWK FRQGLWLRQ ZKLFK OLNH PDQ\ RWKHUV LV WUHDWDEOH :LWK RQO\ HLJKW IHGHUDO QHXURSV\FKLDWULF KRVSLWDOV LQ WKH FRXQWU\ VHULRXV EXGJHW FRQVWUDLQWV H[RGXV RI PRVW H[SHUWV LQ WKH À HOG ZKR VHHN JUHHQHU SDVWXUHV DEURDG DQG LJQRUDQFH LW FRPHV DV QR VXUSULVH WKDW PHQWDO LOOQHVV LV RQ WKH UDPSDJH LQ 1LJHULD $ 0D\ UHSRUW VXJJHVWV WKDW WKH FRXQWU\ KDV OHVV WKDQ SV\FKLDWULVWV 7R PDNH PDWWHUV ZRUVH WKH FRXQWU\ LV VWLOO RSHUDWLQJ D PHQWDO KHDOWK SROLF\ GRFXPHQW RI WDJJHG WKH ¶/XQDF\ $FW· D GRFXPHQW LW SLFNHG XS IURP FRXQWULHV WKDW KDYH ORQJHG DEROLVKHG LW 7KLV DUFKDLF GRFXPHQW FRQVLGHUV PHQWDO LOOQHVV DV

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As depressing as Nigeria’s mental health situation shows, there are surprisingly little efforts made to change the narrative, especially in the area of policy adjustment T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS 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 D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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

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26

MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022

27

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

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

08056356325

O C T O B E R

S & P INDEX

3 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

10.25%

INDEX LEVEL

613.31%

1/4 TO DATE

-0.85%

N416.86/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

9.56%

1-DAY

0.16%

YEAR TO DATE

7.64%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10.52%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.44%

E-payment Transactions Decline to N32.84trn on Network Glitches, Worsening Economic Downturn

Kayode Tokede Banks network malfunction, among other factors, contributed to N396.18billion or 1.19 per cent decline in Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) Instant Payment Platform (NIP) to N32.84 trillion in September 2022 from N33.2 trillion reported by NIBSS in August 2022.

The latest data released by the NIBSS revealed that total value of transactions worth N271.56 trillion were performed electronically in nine months of 2022, an increase of 26 per cent when compared to N215.76 trillion reported in nine months of 2021.

The NIBSS NIP is an online real-time Inter-Bank payment solution developed by NIBSS and Banks, Other Financial Institutions (OFI) customers preferred funds transfer platform that guarantees instant value to the receivers.

Meanwhile analysts believe worsening macroeconomic conditions contributed to decline in electronic transaction in September.

A finance expert, Mr. Rotimi Fakayejo attributed the decline in Instant Payment Platform (NIP) transactions in September to glitches witnessed by some banks in September, stressing that the exit of Information Technology (IT) staff caused unrest in the banking

sector daily business activities.

He added that the recent increase in electronic transactions shows that Nigerians, most especially the Youths are embracing the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

On his part, the Vice President, Highcap securities Limited, Mr. David Adnori said, “The marginal decline in electronic payment for September 2022 is because of worsening macroeconomic conditions which eroded the quantum of financial transactions by businesses and households.”

He added that the rising inflation has severely curtailed the financial health of all economic

elements, resulting in dwindling financial activities.

The data by NIBSS had revealed that the N33.2trillion report in August 2022 was the all-time high e-payments value recorded since 2018.

Compared to the N29.3 trillion recorded in July, this shows a 13.3per cent growth from the reported figure in August.

According to NIBSS, the decline in value of e-payment recorded was a reflection of the decline in volume of deals in the month under review.

The NIP volume dropped to 438.17 million in September, representing a decline of 2.2 per

cent over 448.13million recorded in August.

As electronic transactions drop in September, value of cheques transactions also fell by 8.52 per cent to N265.94billion from N290.69billion in August.

However, the Year-on-Year (YoY) performance of cheques transactions in nine months rose by 0.43 per cent to N2.39trillion from N2.38trillion in nine months of 2021.

The data by NIBSS showed that cheque transactions in 2022 have been hovering at an average of N265.56billion with March and July 2022 reporting the highest and lowest respectively.

On the contrary, an analysis of the nine months data just released

by NIBSS showed that the volume of cheque transactions dropped by 6.3 per cent to 358.193million in September from 335.786million in August, while YoY performance showed a decline of 7.6 per cent to 3.07million in nine months of 2022 from 3.33million in nine months of 2021.

Cheques transactions over the years have been dropping as most bank customers adopted e-payment means of transactions.

Specifically, the total value of cheque transactions dropped by Continued on page 28

Q2: Insurance Sector Premium Up 20.1% to N369.28bn Ebere Nwoji The insurance sector in the second quarter of this year 2022, recorded N369.28billion premium indicating 20.1 per cent growth compared to the performance in the same period the previous year and 65.0 percent quarter on quarter (Q-o-Q) performance.

This was contained in the latest sector performance statistics released by the National Insurance Commis-

sion (NAICOM).

Describing this as a notable performance, NAICOM said the performance analysis was an insight into the market behavior of the insurance sector in the period under review.

Giving a premium contribution analysis by each class of business, the commission said out of the N369.2 billion, life insurance contributed N150.0 billion, followed by oil and gas insurance which yielded N71.2

billion, Fire insurance yielded N45 .3 billion while Motor insurance yielded N32.4 billion.

Marine insurance contributed N26.9 billion premiums while General Accident policy yielded N24.0 billion.

According to NAICOM, the performance showed that the insurance sector grew 20.1 percent higher than the National Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.5 percent during the same period.

NAICOM, said the proportional participation of each class of business suggested the continued improvement of life insurance business as driven by its component of the individual life noting that the Non-Life segment maintained its primacy at 59.3 percent of the total premium generated.

“Insights in the segment show Oil & Gas was the leading driver at 32.5 percent with a distant second at 20.7 percent for Fire. Motor Insurance

stood at 14.8 percent while Marine & Aviation, Gen. Accident and Miscellaneous reported a share of 12.3 percent, 10.9 percent and 8.9 percent in this order.

“Life business on the other hand recorded 40.6 percent of the insurance market production as its share contribution, gradually closes up. The share of Annuity in the Life Insurance business logged at about 24.7 percent while Individual Life held a major driver position

at 41.8 percent of the premium generated during the period”, the commission said.

NAICOM, said operational confidence remained high in spite of economic challenges in the financial system and the economy at large, as demonstrated by the relevant retention positions in the sector.

According to the commission, Life business retention for the period was Continued on page 29

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 7 , 2 0 2 2 BILLS

BONDS DESCRIPTION Price ^14.20 14MAR-2024 13.53 23MAR-2025 ^12.50 22JAN-2026 ^16.2884 17MAR-2027 ^13.98 23FEB-2028

Yield

100.36

13.89

98.84

14.09

96.85

13.70

108.30

13.73

100.25

13.90

Change Updated Time (%) October 7, 0.00 2022 October 7, 0.01 2022 October 7, 0.00 2022 October 7, 0.00 2022 October 7, 0.00 2022

MATURITY

Discount

Yield

OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS

Change Updated Time (%)

NTB 10Nov-22 NTB 26-Jan23 NTB 9-Feb23 NTB 9-Mar23

5.91

5.94

0.00 October 7, 2022

6.51

6.64

0.00 October 7, 2022

6.62

6.77

0.00 October 7, 2022

6.84

7.04

0.00 October 7, 2022

NTB 27-Apr23

7.22

7.52

0.00 October 7, 2022

MATURITY FSDH CP VII 27-OCT-22 SIBP CP III 27-OCT-22 DLMG CP IV 11-NOV-22 FDHP CP III 17-MAR-23 VHPL CP III 1-APR-23

Discount Yield

Change Updated Time (%)

11.14 11.21

0.00 October 7, 2022

10.29 10.34

0.00 October 7, 2022

13.64 13.82

0.00 October 7, 2022

12.67 13.42

0.00 October 7, 2022

17.17 18.71

0.00 October 7, 2022

CONTRACT Current TENOR Contract Rate Updated Time ($/₦) (MONTH) NGUS OCT 26 449.69 1 October 7, 2022 2022 NGUS NOV 30 451.43 2 October 7, 2022 2022 NGUS DEC 28 3 453.18 October 7, 2022 2022 NGUS JAN 25 4 454.92 October 7, 2022 2023 NGUS FEB 22 5 456.67 October 7, 2022 2023

28

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Vindmbres: Insecurity Threatening EU’s €11m Agric Project in Nigeria Gilbert Ekugbe The European Union (EU) has stated that the worsening insecurity situation in the Northeastern part of NIGERIA is threatening its Nigeria Competitiveness Project (NICOP), noting that the situation is hindering efforts of the E U to boost food production in the country.

The Head of Project NICOP in Nigeria, Ms. Ana Vindmbres, made this known in an interview with pressmen in Lagos where she said that EU and its core donors, funded NICOP with a €11million funding that was meant to aggregate and also act as a catalyst

for agric development in Nigeria, in its quest to attain food security in the nation.

Vindmbres explained that NICOP has been supporting the country’s food basket with funding, grants and interventions since it was designed to support key value chains in Nigeria, focusing on tomato (including pepper and chili), ginger, leather and garments.

According to her, NICOP’s aim is to promote structural transformation, to overcome coordination and linkage failures and to improve access to regional and international markets while taking social and environmental

concerns into account.

In addition, she added that NICOP has been assisting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to take advantage of opportunities to add value and migrate to new and higher-level tasks along selected value chains.

She pointed out that NICOP is working at federal level and in seven focal states, namely Abia, Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Plateau.

Vindmbres added that the project would also work in any other state in Nigeria where there is an opportunity to achieve sustainable results in any of the selected value chains.

What You Should Know About Use of Retirement Savings for Residential Mortgage (II)

Glo Launches MoneyMaster PSB with G-Kala, set to Bridge Financial Inclusion Emma Okonji Determined to further bridge the financial inclusion gap in the country, Globacom, at the weekend, launched its payment service bank business called the MoneyMaster PSB. The PSB had since commenced commercial operations on May 30, 2022.

In a statement shortly after the launch in Lagos, the telecom company said: “Our over-arching business objective remains to empower Nigerians by providing them with unlimited opportunities.

MoneyMaster extends that objective as it targets the unbanked and under-banked with G-Kala its

flagship product in order to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.”

MoneyMaster PSB was granted a payment service bank license by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on August 27, 2020. Payment service banks can, by virtue of their licenses, facilitate payment and remittance services within Nigeria, accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, issue debit and prepaid cards, operate electronic wallets, inbound remittances, and carry out other services in line with CBN regulations. They however differ from commercial banks in the fact that they cannot grant loans.

Money Master, according to Globacom, will be leveraging

on its pan-Nigerian spread and pervasive agents’ footprint in the rural and urban areas as it begins its massive roll-out. To open an account, all the customer needs to do is dial *995# then follow the prompts from a Glo line or from any other telecommunications network as MoneyMaster PSB is network agnostic.

Just as Globacom revolutionized the telecom industry with cuttingedge technology and unique products when it started operations in 2003, MoneyMaster PSB is poised to redefine the payment service banks’ landscape while driving financial inclusion in Nigeria, Globacom said in the statement.

Lagos Signs Agreement With WACOT To Manage 32MT Imota Rice Mill Kayode Tokede Affirming trust in the expertise and competence of the leading rice-producing company, WACOT Rice Limited, subsidiary of TGI Group, the Lagos State Government has signed an agreement with it to manage the Imota Rice Mill.

The 32-metric tonnes Imota Rice Mill will be handed over to WACOT Rice Limited in the next few months, with commercial operations commencing under the company’s management.

At the agreement-signing event, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu explained that the Government decided to let WACOT manage the mill because of its expertise

and competence.

He added that Lagos hopes to benefit from WACOT’s experience and expects improvements in quality, capacity, packaging, and general rice production at the Imota Rice Mill to meet the state’s increasing demands.

Sanwo-Olu said: “Lagos State Government has set up two lines of 16 MT/hour capacity rice mill, in Imota, Ikorodu, Lagos State (the “Mill”), to meet the high demand for consumption of rice in Lagos State thereby pushing Lagos State towards self-sufficiency in the area of rice production and processing.

“Lagos State Government is desirous of operationalizing the Imota Rice Mill through the technical

services of WACOT Rice Limited, a subsidiary of TGi Group, of providing commissioning and kick-off operationalization support services.”

Head of Corporate Communications, TGI Group, Rafiat Gawat, said, “We are happy to partner with Lagos State as our economic core. Since setting up the WACOT Rice Mill in 2017, we have produced premium quality Big Bull Rice which is available across the country. Currently we are expanding to double our production capacity in coming months. Though our factory is located in Argungu, Kebbi State, much of our rice is demanded in Lagos. The Lagos Government’s partnership with us is a testament to our capability.”

E-PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS DECLINE TO N32.84TRN ON NETWORK GLITCHES, WORSENING ECONOMIC DOWNTURN 11.45per cent to N4.13trillion in 2019 from N4.66 trillion reported

by NIBSS in 2018. It further dropped to N2.99trillion in 2020 and closed 2021 at N2.95trillion.

The CBN in December 2001, introduced the cashless policy in a move to reduce the amount of physical cash in circulation thereby encouraging the use of electronic platforms for settlement or payment for goods and services.

The apex had introduced cash-based transactions which stipulate a cash handling charge on daily cash withdrawals that exceed N500,000 for individuals and N3,000,000 for corporate bodies.

The policy on cash-based transactions (withdrawals) in banks, aims at reducing the amount of physical cash (coins and notes) circulating in the economy and encouraging more electronic-based transactions (payments for goods, services, transfers, etc.)

The pilot was run in Lagos State from January 2012 while the policy took effect in Rivers, Anambra, Abia, Kano, Ogun and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on July 1st, 2013.

The policy was implemented nationwide on July 1st, 2014.

Analysts attributed the steady decline in cheque transactions to individuals and Corporate bodies adopting NIP championed by the apex banking regulating body.

The President, the Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN), Dr. Uju Ogubunka in a chat with THISDAY had explained that, “Cheque transactions will never go out completely from the banking sector. In advanced economies, people are still using cheques and there are certain transactions bank customers will want to do that require cheques.

“The law on cheques in Nigeria is very strong. We have the Bill Exchange /Cheque Acts and both are fundamental laws that

can never be repelled from the banking sector. The old generation still cherish their chequebooks and transact businesses with it as long as banks are offering them. We await the day bank will totally suspend cheque transactions and I do not see that happening very soon. Cheque transactions will gradually be phasing out in the system but not completely until the generation familiar with cheque transactions are out of the system.”

He added, “It is not a surprise that cheque transaction between 2018 and 2021 has dropped amid the CBN policy of cashless policy.

There has been a shift in ways bank customers transact business and the decline in cheque transactions is another change everyone must embrace.”

The CBN in June 2022 raised the limit for ‘Highly Secured Online Funds Transfers from N100 million to N250 million for Companies and from N10 million to N25 million for individuals.

PENCOM DG, Aisha Dahir-Umar As reported on this page last week, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) recently issued Guidelines on Accessing Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Balance towards Payment of Equity Contribution for Residential Mortgage by Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Holders. Key highlights of the Guidelines, such as eligibility for participation, the maximum amount to be applied as equity contribution for residential mortgage and the general ground rules for the implementation of the pension for mortgage policy, were covered.

This second part focuses on the application and documentation process and remittance of the equity contribution.

APPLICATION AND DOCUMENTATION PROCESS

The Guidelines provide that an interested applicant is required to obtain an offer letter for the property from the owner or approved agent and approach a Mortgage Lender to fill an application form. The Mortgage Lender reviews the application form and verifies the genuineness of the property offer. The burden of due diligence is on the Mortgage Lender to ensure that the property is genuine and has a valid valuation report. When the property offer letter is confirmed, the applicant approaches their PFA and request for their RSA Statement for the purpose of accessing the 25% of their RSA balance for payment of equity contribution.

In a joint application, each party shall apply to their respective PFA’s with copies of the verified property offer letter.

The PFA is required to issue a duly endorsed RSA statement to the applicant, which the applicant forwards to the Mortgage Lender.

Upon receipt of the duly endorsed RSA statement, the Mortgage Lender verifies if the 25% of the applicant’s RSA balance will be sufficient as equity contribution. Where 25% of the RSA balance is sufficient as equity contribution, the Mortgage Lender issues a mortgage offer letter to the applicant. If on the other hand 25% of the RSA balance is not sufficient, the Mortgage Lender is required to request for the payment of supplementary equity contribution from the applicant. Upon confirmation of the payment of the supplementary equity contribution, the Mortgage Lender shall offer a mortgage loan to the applicant. Consequently, within two working days of the issuance of the mortgage offer letter to the applicant, the Mortgage Lender must forward to the applicant’s PFA copies of the mortgage offer letter, the mortgage application form, and verified property offer letter. Additional information required include the loan amount, equity contribution required, bank account details

of the Mortgage Lender and indemnity by the Mortgage Lender to the PFA on the use of the equity contribution. In addition, the Mortgage Lender is also required to provide evidence of payment of difference where 25% of RSA cannot cover the equity required.

After two working days of receiving a mortgage offer letter, the applicant is required to approach his PFAs to request for payment of his Equity Contribution. The applicant shall obtain and fill an Application Form for 25% of his RSA balance and provide an indemnity to the PFA. In a joint application, each party shall apply to their respective PFA with a copy of the mortgage offer letter. The PFA also computes and validates that the requested amount is not more than 25% of the RSA Balance. All Applications that pass the PFA review shall be forwarded by the PFA to the Commission within two working days of successful review and validation. The PFA reviews the application form and the supporting documents received from the Mortgage Lender and the details supplied by the RSA holder in his application form. If any exceptions or discrepancies are identified during the documentation review, the PFA shall communicate the exceptions to the Mortgage Lender within two working days of identifying such exceptions.

REMITTANCE OF APPROVED EQUITY CONTRIBUTION

After the notification of readiness for disbursement, the PFA issues a payment instruction to its Pension Fund Custodian (PFC) to remit the approved amount to the Applicant’s account with the Mortgage Lender within two working days. The PFC is required to remit the approved amount for equity contribution to the account within two working days upon receipt of the PFA’s instruction. For a joint application, the PFA of each applicant issues a payment instruction to its PFC to remit the approved amount to the applicant’s account with the Mortgage Lender within two working days. Upon receipt of the equity contribution, the Mortgage Lender shall issue a confirmation letter to the PFA, confirming receipt of the equity contribution within one working day of the receipt of the equity contribution.

In Part III, we will continue our presentation on the key highlights of the Guidelines on Accessing Retirement Savings Account (RSA) Balance towards Payment of Equity Contribution for Residential Mortgage by RSA Holders. In the meantime, the Commission has invited interested RSA holders to contact their PFAs for more information and guidance.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022

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STATUS REPORT

Unilever: Revenue Growth Boosts Shareholders’ Return

Kayode Tokede

T

he financial year ended December 31, 2021 was a recovering year for Unilever Nigeria Plc as the global and domestic economy emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, investors needed to be cautious buying into the company’s stock, mainly due to the increasing price competition in the Home and Personal Care (HPC) segments from its brands amid the tight consumer purchasing power.

The company emerged from 2020 losses to impressive performance in 2021, driven by significant increase in revenue and dividend payout to shareholders but cost of sales and operating expenses remained a threat, calling for caution.

The Directors recommend to the shareholders the payment of a dividend in respect of the year ended 31 December, 2021 of N2.87billion that is, 50 kobo gross per share.

Unilever Nigeria grew its revenue by 35.07 per cent to N70.52billion in 2021 from N52.21billion in 2020, primarily driven by the company’s HPC that gained 47.1per cent, while the Food segment dropped by 10.6 per cent.

Suitably, the HPC segment in 2021 contributed 56 per cent to revenue from 43.6 per cent, while that of the food segment contributed 44 per cent from 56 per cent in 2020.

Unilever with 93 distributors in 2021 as against 102 in 2020, the company reported a domestic revenue (within Nigeria) growth of 37.1 per cent to N69.8billion in 2021 from N50.89billion in 2020, while Export (outside Nigeria) revenue dropped by 42.7per cent to N756.5million from N1.32 billion reported in 2020.

The company’s revenue growth might be supported by higher volumes from its tier four products (launched in 2020), increased investment in its distribution network and marginal price increases in some products.

In addition, increased credit sales to distributors as management loosened its tight credit policy might also support revenue growth.

REVENUE GROWTH OFFSET COST

The impressive revenue growth offset Cost of Sales (CoS) that grew by 22 per cent to N50.16billion in 2021 from N41.14billion in 2020 as raw materials and consumable contributed 50 per cent.

The company grew its raw materials and consumable

by 33 per cent to N37.97billion in 2021 from N28.53billion in 2020. Unilever Nigeria’s high exposure to foreign exchange risk remains a key downside risk as the company imports 50per cent of its raw materials into the country.

Consequently, the proportion of CoS/Revenue dropped from 78.8 per cent in 2020 to 71.13 per cent in 2021.

The interplay between revenue and CoS lifted gross profit to N20.36billion in 2021, an increase of 84 per cent from N11.07billion reported in 2020.

The growth in revenue and gross profit contributed to 28.9 per cent Gross margin in 2021 from 21.2 per cent in 2020.

As regarding operating expenses, Unilever Nigeria reported a 39 per cent increase in selling & distribution expenses in 2021, while marketing and administrative expenses also grew significantly by 42 per cent.

Selling & distribution expenses moved from N2.39billion in 2020 to N3.32billion in 2021, while marketing & distribution expenses increased to N3.32billion in 2021 from N2.39billion in 2020.

For the marketing & administrative expenses, brand and marketing reported in 2021 grew by 77 per cent to N4.82billion from N2.73billion in 2020, while overheads hits N8.44billion in 2021 from N6.6billion in 2020. Royalties and Service Fees also grew by 42 per cent to N1.87billion from N1.32billion reported in 2020.

Unilever Nigeria has Technology & Trademark agreements with Unilever UK Plc to manufacture, distribute and market its international brands. In consideration for this, a royalty of two per cent of net sales value and 0.5per cent of net sales value is payable to Unilever Plc for technology and trademark licences respectively In line with the approval from the regulatory authority, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, the royalty payment for these agreements are capped at N3.47 billion and N 0.87 billion respectively per annum.

Also, Unilever Nigeria has a central support and management services agreement with Unilever Europe Business Centre B.V (previously Unilever Plc) for the provision of corporate strategic direction, and expert advice/support on legal, tax, finance, human resources and information technology matters. In consideration of this, a fee of two per

cent of profit before tax is payable as service fees In line with the approval from the regulatory authority, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, the royalty payment for central support and management services is capped at N 0.11 billion per annum.

From the profit0 & loss figures, Unilever Nigeria’s finance income, thus, dropped by 34 per cent to N1.03billion in 2021 from N1.55billion in 2020. The decline in finance income is due to net exchange gain on translation of foreign currency denominated balances to N436.6million in 2021 from N1.34billion in 2020.

With finance income dropping, finance cost also dropped by 68per cent to N95.7million in 2021 from N294.99million in 2020.

With the growth in revenue, the company closed 2021 financial year with profit before tax of N1.88billion from N4.54billion loss before tax reported in 2020. Unilever Nigeria’s profit for the year migrated from a los of N3.97billion to N3.41billion in 2021.Consequently, Earnings Per Share (EPS) turned positive at N0.59 (including gains from the tea business disposal) compared to the loss per share of N0.65 in 2020. Adjusting EPS for the disposal gains, EPS outturn was still positive, albeit lower at N0.12.

OTHER PAYABLES ON INCREASE

As Unilever Nigeria grew total assets by 18.33 per cent to N108.3billion in 2021 from N91.52billion, as contribution from trade and other payables played a critical role.

Although the company’s long-term assets dropped by 19per cent to N22.4billion in 2021 from N27.54billion in 2020, short-term assets grew by 34.27 per cent to N85.91billion in 2021 from N63.98billion in 2020. Trade and other receivables from short-term assets increased to N14.99billion in 2021 from N12.96billion in 2020.

Unilever Nigeria disposed of its tea business to Unilever Tea MSO Nigeria Limited, a related party within the Unilever Group, for a considerable amount of N5.4 billion in 2021.

The Unilever tea business was included in the discontinued operations segment of the financial statement, which revealed that the company had also disposed of property, plants and equipment as well as long service award obligations.

Before the company’s business was discontinued in October 2021, it had a turnover of N9.05 billion from January – to September 2021, a 7.17per cent decline from what it generated in the corresponding period of 2020. However, the tea business moved from a loss position to rake in a profit of N2.72 billion in the nine-month period of 2021.

Trade and other payables closed 2021 at N39.74billion from N27.42billion in 2020, to thrust current liabilities to N40.22billion, an increase of 45 per cent from N27.8billion reported in 2020.

It, before closed 2021 financial year with long-term liabilities of N2.31billion from N1.59billion in 2020.

In addition, total liabilities grew significantly, by 45per cent to N42.53billion in 2021 from N29.39billion in 2020.

Subsequently, total equity gained nearly six per cent to N65.76billion in 2021 from N62.13billion in 2020.

ANALYSTS VIEW

According to analysts at Cordros securities, “Overall, we expect the company to maintain positive earnings in 2022E, underpinned mainly by double-digit topline growth. With a revised target price of N12.63, we retain our “HOLD” recommendation on the stock.”

The company added that, “Volume-led growth to support sales in 2022E: For 2022E, we believe management’s strategy to focus on the mass mainstream segments by reinvesting heavily in its tier 3and 4 brands with lower prices bode well for volume expansion in the HPC segment.

“Thus, we forecast revenue will grow by 6.3 per cent in 2022E. Further out, we estimate a revenue CAGR of 5.5per cent over 2022 – 2026E. “Although management stated its intention to source raw materials locally to abate its FX losses, we do not expect a material impact on earnings in the near term. Thus, we model a 55basis points decline in the 2022E gross margin, reflecting the impact of elevated cost pressures.

“Nonetheless, we forecast a 97 basis points increase in EBITDA margin to 7.6per cent, as we estimate a lower OPEX-to-sales ratio (2022E: 26.1per cent | 2021FY: 27.3per cent). Overall, we estimate that EPS will decrease by 55.5% y/y to N0.26 in 2022E. Adjusting 2021FY EPS for the disposal gains ( EPS: NGN0.12), we estimate 2022E EPS will grow by 116.7per cent y/y.”

Q2: INSURANCE SECTOR PREMIUM UP 20.1% TO N369.28BN

93 percent while non-life recorded a ratio of 55 percent as the industry average stood at about 70.5 percent.

The Commission, said retention in the non-life despite reporting an above average level, relative to its prior position of 59.4 percent in the corresponding period of the preceding year, would require a focused attention for improvement

as it declined by over four points representing eight per cent, year on year.

The commission said the sector during the period witnessed only 0.2 percent growth in claims compared to the corresponding period of 2021. It said the industry’s statistics for gross claims in Q2 of 2022 stood at N174.8 billion,

representing 47.3 percent per cent of all premiums generated during the period.

“This occasion reflects the professional underwriting capacity of the industry as driven by the intensified regulatory activities of the Commission. The net claims paid on the other hand stood at about N148.2billion, signifying an

84.8 percent of all gross claims reported during the period. The Life Insurance business recorded a near perfect point of about 88.90 per cent claims settlement as against the reported claims while non-life segment stood at about 76.8 per cent”, NAICOM said.

According to the commission, the performance in the Oil &

gas in terms of claims settlement recorded some improvement when compared to quarter two of the previous year.

The commission was optimistic that a sustained market development and growing confidence in the industry would eventually improve the negative peculiarities and challenges of that section of

the market.

Profit wise, NAICOM said the Insurance market remained profitable during the period, recording an overall industry average of about 56.9 percent thereby maintaining a relative position 57.7 percent recorded in the corresponding period of preceding year.

30

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

FAO Highlights Priority Areas for Boosting Global Agrifood Systems Gilbert Ekugbe The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), has identified four key priority areas vital to boosting global agrifood system.

Speaking at the beginning of a three-day Asia-Pacific symposium,

aimed at fast-tracking agrifood systems, the FAO’s Director-General, Mr. QU Dongyu, stated the need to focus on outcomes that would yield better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all while also ensuring no one is left behind.

Dongyu highlighted that providing immediate support to the vulnerable through social protection systems, “especially in rural areas and among vulnerable groups; boosting agricultural production by ensuring that family farmers have affordable access to seeds

and fertilizers, working capital and technical assistance, and links to markets and facilitating trade in agricultural products and inputs to prevent further disruptions to food production and investing in climate-resilient agriculture to address and reverse the effects of

the climate crisis are the key areas to transform the failing agrifood systems.”

The FAO boss, however, warned that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) would not be achievable unless there is a collective will to defeat hunger as a priority in a post-pandemic region.

According to him, rising food prices, floods, drought, water scarcity, increasing climate-related disasters, the global pandemic and conflicts, are driving food insecurity

across the region, pointing out that these challenges directly impact the most vulnerable people, including smallholder farmers, others depending on the land for their livelihoods and millions of urban poor.

He pointed out that ongoing crises, including the impacts of COVID-19, the climate crisis, droughts and floods, conflicts and war have disrupted the world’s supply of grains and other essential commodities.

R I F Tr u s t L a u n c h e s C a m p a i g n , Pa r t n e r s Tania Omotayo, Others Sunday Ehigiator

L-R: bCODE Store Marketing Officer,Temiloluwa Tijani; Commercial and Intelligence Manager, Bella Adeleke; and Marketing Manager, Tunde Muyibi, at the official launch of the Reebok Brand, New Website and bCODE’s First MultiPHOTO: ETOP UKUTT brand Store held at the company’s headoffice in Yaba Lagos recently

MTN Nigeria, TD Africa Partner to Deepen Broadband Penetration Emma Okonji MTN Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa’s leading distributor of technology, services and lifestyle products, TD Africa, have partnered to further deepen broadband rollout and penetration across Nigeria.

Both partners decided to further provide access to broadband, when they co-sponsored an event where channel partners drawn from TD Africa’s database, as well as other attendees, were given an opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of MTN’s fixed broadband propositions.

The session, which was held

recently at Yudala Heights, Victoria Island, Lagos, is in line with MTN Nigeria’s dedication to creating shared values aimed at positively impacting Nigerian businesses through mutually beneficial partnerships targeted at accelerating broadband penetration in Nigeria.

Representatives of MTN Nigeria hosted a discussion on the propositions under the MTN Home broadband umbrella, whilst assuring the distributors of the various opportunities that are available to them as MTN partners.

Speaking at the event, General Manager, Fixed Broadband MTN Nigeria, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, said:

“As we all know, data is the new oil. Our key role as operators and players in the industry is to ensure that we are effectively positioned to assist the Federal Government to achieve the ambitious goal of 70 per cent broadband penetration by 2025. The only way to efficiently achieve this objective is through continued collaboration among all the ecosystem players. For us at MTN, we believe very strongly in the fact that everyone deserves a modern connected life and we are continuously finding ways to make the customer’s life brighter.

This means our broadband services are second to none and there is value

for not just our customers, but our partners as well.”

Highlighting the enormous opportunities that ICT offers, Coordinating Managing Director at TD Africa, Chioma Chimere, said: “You look at today’s world where it appears things are not working as well as they should, but if you look deeply, you would find that embedded in all of those seeming low lights, there are lots of opportunities. And if you are lucky like we are privileged to be in the ICT sector, you would find that our own opportunities are even larger because we are in an industry that is evolving, moving up every day.”

FG Sensitises Farmers on Use of Organic Fertiliser to Checkmate Rejection of Nigerian Produce Gilbert Ekughe The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has sensitised farmers in the country to embrace the use of organic fertilizers to boost the quality of their produce and address the high level of reject faced by the nation’s agriculture produce at the global scene.

Indeed, the nation’s non-oil export has continued to face scrutiny at the international market over issues bothering on standards.

The advocacy came during a training workshop on “Zonal Promotion of Organic Fertilizer and Use at the Local Level, Using Eco-friendly Agricultural Technologies” organised by the Department

of Farm Inputs Support Services (DFISS) at Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, recently.

The Director, DIFSS, Mr. Muhammad Kwaido, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Organic Fertilizer Quality Control, Mrs. Afusatu Babalola, stated that the programme would provide an ample opportunity for increased advocacy for the use / adoption of organic fertilizer in Nigeria and to halt the current rejection of Nigerian produce in the International markets.

In his words: “Nigerian farmers I believe are well prepared to adopt the use of organic fertilizers as the country is blessed with abundant raw materials

such as plant residues, poultry, livestock waste, biogas residue and agricultural by-products that are readily available locally.”

In his presentation, the Head, National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI) Nyanya Substation, Dr. Innocent Onyekwere, highlighted the objectives of promoting organic fertilizer production and its uses at the local levels using eco-friendly agricultural technologies.

One of the participants at the Workshop, a small holder farmer, Mrs. Aishatu Gunde, thanked the ministry for the initiative and enlightenment workshop, expressed delight for being part of training workshop.

According to her, “I have gained knowledge on how to prepare local organic fertilizer and its benefits instead of using the chemical fertilizer.”

In a similar vein, the Department of Farm Inputs Support Services also sensitsed farmers on the provision of the National fertilizer Quality Control (NFQC) Act. The Director, FISS, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Inputs use and National Agriculture Growth Scheme, Mr. Ishaku Buba, revealed that the Fertilizer Act and the Regulations contained provisions to address any abnormality that could be perpetrated by any player operating in the fertilizer sub-sector.

Leading international Citizenship and Residency by Investment advisory firm, RIF Trust, has partnered with Celebrity Fashion Designer, Tania Omotayo, Top Brand Developer, Osa Seven, Nigerian on-air personality and a television presenter for MTV Base Africa, Stephanie Aderinokun and Advisory Board Member for TW Magazine, Arese Ugwu in newly launched #HelloToFreedom campaign.

According to the company in a recent statement, the partnership was necessary following the successful business operations of RIF Trust in the Nigerian market for over a year.

Confirming the collaboration, B2B Regional Director and Managing Director RIF Trust Nigeria, Ranny Muasher, noted that the collaboration with the personalities was also based on their intimidating dossier in the Nigerian creative and entertainment industry.

According to him, “We are delighted to collaborate with Osa Seven, Tania Omotayo, Stephanie Coker Aderinokun

and Arese Ugwu on this new campaign because they have firsthand experience as Nigerians that need global mobility and access in all their respective industries.

“With their unique individual talents, Osa, Tania, Stephanie and Arese are prime examples of leaders in the Nigerian creative and entertainment space today.

With this new campaign, we have reaffirmed our commitment to providing Nigerians with second citizenship that improves their quality of life and enhances their ability to access more opportunities globally.

“As the leading Citizenship and Residency by Investment advisory firm, I want to encourage entrepreneurs and individuals who believe they can take on the world to say Hello to Freedom with RIF Trust. Osa, Tania, Stephanie and Arese are promoting RIF Trust’s core messages of, Hello to Freedom and S.M.I.L.E. which stabds fot Security and Safety, Mobility, Investment Opportunities, Lifestyle, Employment and Education.

AFRAA Launches a Route Intelligence Portal Chinedu Eze The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in partnership with the leading African marketing intelligence provider – Milanamos has launched a dedicated Aviation Route Intelligence Portal. The databacked portal is a gateway to airlines to access useful market insights on networks within Africa and routes from Africa to the rest of the world.

The AFRAA Route Intelligence Portal will be useful in providing insights and reports on the following: traffic demand analysis on routes, analysis of revenue forecasts per route, airlines’ opportunities for beyond connections, analysis of potential route partnerships, insights on underserved markets and analysis of tourism future demand Speaking at the launch, AFRAA Secretary General, Mr.

Abdérahmane Berthé stated: “This partnership between AFRAA and Milanamos is anchored on data intelligence which is AFRAA’s 5th strategic objective under the Association’s 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.

I invite airlines to subscribe to the AFRAA Route Intelligence Portal that will facilitate datadriven decision making on connectivity opportunities, passenger/cargo capacity, and route profitability to effectively meet the needs of the growing African aviation market.”

“AFRAA with this portal is supporting the African carriers like no other airline association,” added Christophe Ritter, the CEO of Milanamos.

“Benefiting from specific market intelligence reports is of paramount importance in the challenging African aviation market, and Milanamos is proud to be a partner of this strategic initiative launched

by AFRAA”.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022

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NEWS

Food Production: FG Reaffirms Commitment to Climate Smart Agriculture Gilbert Ekugbe The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has restated its commitment to support the push for climate smart agriculture to boost food production in the

country.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Farm Animals Day and World Animal Day while also advocating

for climate smart agriculture.

The commemoration themed “Good Animal Husbandry Practice is Climate Smart” was held in Abuja.

He pointed out that the climate smart agriculture strategies which included sustainable

FG Unveil New Employment Guidelines on Labour Administration Issues Ugo Aliogo The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has released for implementation the Guidelines on Labour and Administration Issues in Contract Staffing/Outsourcing Non-Permanent Workers in Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions.

The Guidelines was signed into law on September, 8 by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris N. Ngige, pursuant to the powers conferred on the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment by Section 88 (i) (e) and (g) of the Labour Act, Cap L1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004.

Speaking at a media briefing

in Lagos yesterday, the President of Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, (ASSIBIFI), Oyinkan Olasanoye, said the employment guideline provides in clear forms good industrial relations principles and key terms and conditions of employment to be observed by stakeholders in the Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions.

She further explained that the identified principles include entry requirement and minimum pay for non-permanent employees, career path and development, the right to unionise and to collective bargaining, trade dispute resolution procedures, and disciplinary procedure, compliance with standards and labour requirement

and exit procedure and benefits for the workers.

Olasanoye remarked that the guideline would improve job satisfaction and staff performance, reduce incidences of frauds traceable to discontented casual workers in the financial sector and generally reduce exploitation and other unfair labour practices capable of escalating industrial conflicts and crises in the work place.

She added that the guideline would regulate conditions of employment and standardize non-permanent employment, especially in the areas of career progression, salaries and wages, disciplinary measures, health and safety, corporate performance and productivity.

Infinix Ultra, Zero 20 Smartphones Launched in Nigeria Emma Okonji Infinix has launched two premium smartphone devices, the Infinix Ultra and the Infinix Zero 20.

The launch dubbed ‘Capture Your Own Story From Zero’, was held at Legend hotel, Airport road, Lagos and was attended by key tech and lifestyle experts and budding content creators.

With the growing trend of remote office meetings, the rise of TikTok videos, and the increase of live broadcasts, there has never been a greater need for

an accessible product that offers a high-definition and stable front camera and the Infinix zero 20 smartphone launched by Infinix offers just that as it is the first device in the world with a 60mmp OIS front camera, thereby, making it a perfect fit for aspiring and budding content creators and vloggers.

Attendees of the event had the opportunity to experience the zero 20 smartphone first hand by taking pictures with it and also feeling it.

According to the smartphone

company, from now till October 13th 2022 with N20, 000 one can pre-order the zero 20 which goes for N212, 000 and stand a chance to win, a phone holder with tripod or TWA Bluetooth airpods.

The smartphone has 8GB+256GB large memory to keep the device running faster and to allow for plenty of storage space for apps, pictures, music, and videos. The ZERO 20 provides Extended RAM Technology of 8GB+5GB (equivalent to 13GB) for a far better experience under heavy usage.

Arik Air Celebrates 8th Anniversary of Affinity Wings Arik Air is celebrating the 8th anniversary of its frequent flyer program, Arik Affinity Wings with exciting discounts offered to loyal customers.

Registered and intending members of the program have the opportunity to travel more and pay less by taking advantage of the anniversary promotion.

Existing members can enjoy a 20 per cent discount on any flight booked between October 1 and October 31, 2022, while

new members will be welcomed into the Affinity Wings family with a 15 per cent discount on flights booked within the same period.

To enjoy these amazing offers, customers must book their flights via affinitywings@ arikair.com.

The Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, said: “Arik Air is proud to achieve this milestone with our highly esteemed customers.

These offers are unique due to

the timing, as we are using this promotion to celebrate our valued customers this season.

It’s the month of Nigeria’s independence and also the 2022 customer service week.

We cherish the patronage of our customers, and this is our own way of showing appreciation.”

The Arik Affinity Wings was launched in October 2014.

There are currently over 150,000 members earning and spending miles on the platform.

Sambo: CVFF Requires a Special Purpose Vehicle to Gain Traction Esther Oluku The Minister for Transportation, Mr. Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has said that the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) would require a Special Purpose Vehicle to gain the needed traction it is hoped to generate for Nigerian maritime stakeholders.

While fielding questions from journalists regarding the delay in disbursement of the fund, Sambo stated that with the resources currently in the CVFF coffers, not much would be achieved in terms of vessel acquisition aimed at establishing the long sort after national fleet. Speaking on the financial straits, which the Ministry has to deal with to ensure its disbursement, the Minister noted that for robust impact, a special

purpose vehicle is required to provide funding which would generate the needed impact that the indigenous stakeholders crave.

He said: “The law is very clear how the funds should be disbursed.

Luckily for me since I came on board, I have had this conversation with the DG NIMASA. We have only about $350million and that would not be enough to do everything we want to do. So, we must think out of the box.

“How can we get this fund tripled or quadrupled so that if we have an entity, through some financial arrangements that would be able to say, look, for every dollar you pay, we are going to provide four dollars to your stakeholders. That is the kind of thing we are working on right now. So, let’s say for example if we

have about $350million, we want to say this entity has $1.5billion,” he said.

With the resources generated, Sambo said, the Ministry can then look into the kinds of vessels to be invested in thereby stimulating active indigenous participation in shipping.

“Then, we can look at different classification of vessels. From fishing trawlers to cargo carriers. If we have Nigerians own these vessels, we are in an indirect way establishing a national fleet. What is a national fleet? Being owned by Nigerians and flagged Nigerian flag. We are working on this day and night. I am passionate about it. We will disburse this fund and Nigerians would be happy with us. If it is the only thing I achieve, I would say God, I thank you.”

livestock production systems was to address environmental issues while ensuring improved productivity, enhanced resilience, reduced greenhouse gas emissions amongst others.

In her remarks, the Director Animal Husbandry Services Department, Mrs. Winnie Solarin, noted that the mission of the WAD was to raise awareness, sustainability and profitability

of animal production as well as animal protein in nutrition for healthy living.

Solarin emphasised that the mission was in tandem with the mandate of Department of Animal Husbandry (DAHS), and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) in general, stressing that WAD embraced all animals including domestic animals.

In his goodwill message, the

Registrar, Nigeria Institute of Animal Science (NIAS), Prof.

Eustace A. Iyayi said that animals play a vital role in agriculture and other sectors hence generates income for the economy.

Iyayi reiterated that this is the first time Nigeria is celebrating WAD with other countries, pointing out that, what we are celebrating today is to create awareness and sustain the economy.

Samsung Nigeria Unveils Galaxy A04s Smartphone Samsung Nigeria, on Wednesday, officially launched the Galaxy A04s into the Nigerian market.

The launch of the device reinforces Samsung’s commitment in providing affordable yet quality devices that addresses the daily needs of consumers.

The smartphone is packed with 4G/64 GB and 4G/128GB storage variants expandable to 1TB and runs on a One UI Core 4.

The device supports Dual SIM and is built with a glass front and plastic back with side mounted fingerprint sensor.

It also comes in attractive colour variants of Black, Green, Copper and White.

Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director, Samsung Nigeria, Charlie Lee, said: “Today is quite remarkable

as we introduce Galaxy A04s, codenamed ‘The Eagle’.

People want a device that is convenient, safe and affordable.

Customers want a device that is a one-stop shop to enjoy watching movies, playing games and be productive at the same time. The Galaxy A04s speaks to these needs. Galaxy A04s, another pocket-friendly mobile device from Samsung has been launched in Nigeria to edge out competition, ahead of other emerging markets. The Galaxy A04s is an impressive device at excellent value that builds on our growing Galaxy A Series portfolio.”

Lee further said. “With the Galaxy A04s, our customers can experience next-generation performance, demonstrating Samsung’s commitment to providing accessible devices without compromising on

quality.”

Speaking about device specifications, Samsung Product Manager, Stephen Okwara, said: “Galaxy A04s, ‘The Eagle’ has a 50MP front facing camera and 5MP selfie so that you can click some life-like pictures. Features on the rear camera setup include Digital Zoom, Auto Flash and Touch to focus.”

In addressing the current economic situation, the HOD MX division, Joy Tim-Ayoola, added that Samsung through ‘a pay small-small’ scheme called Flex Pay, has provided the opportunity for consumers to buy the device and pay in 3-12 months installment with as low as N11,000 per month.

And that is not all, customers can also repair their screens as low as N12,500 with no limits to frequency or time.

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MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022

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HOMES&DESIGN

DAKKADA TOWER

Uyo’s Shining Smart Skyscraper The Dakkada Tower in Uyo, Akwa Ibom, is infused with every bit of technology that qualifies it as a green and smart building. Bennett Oghifo writes he 21-storey smart office complex is a massive and exquisite edifice located in the central business district of Uyo, Akwa Ibom. The state government recognised this unique aspect of the tower, fondly naming it Smart Building when it was inaugurated in 2018.

The building occupies a land area of 48,200sqm and a total built area of 18,639sqm. The gross lettable area is yet to be confirmed.

Construction works on the development

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commenced in the second quarter of 2017 and were completed in 2020. It was developed by the Akwa Ibom government, which appointed VKS Construction Limited as the main contractor.

The 21-storey development is 108.8 meters high, making it the tallest building in the South-south region of Nigeria upon completion. The ground floor is designed to harbour banks and cafes/restaurants with a floorto-ceiling height of seven meters. The

second to 20th floor will offer office space that, according to the governor, will be leased out to international oil companies and world-class corporate organisations.

The 21st floor serves as a terrace offering the occupants a great panoramic view of the city of Uyo. The amenities and features of this building include 500 parking bays, four elevators, access control systems, humidity and temperature sensors, a central cooling system, electric fire

pumps, technical rooms E30 cabling for S90 fire, boom barrier for cars and a mechanical floor that controls sewage and takes care of waste disposal.

Dakkada Tower has increased automation and integration and advanced electronic and information technologies.

In addition, it has an integrated structure, with a system, service, energy-efficient and management, with enhanced connectivity through the wire and wireless networks and advanced sensor systems. This is the reason it is called smart.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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BUSINESSSPECIAL

Editor: Obinna Chima obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078

‘Nigeria Requires Strong Fiscal, Monetary Policies to Overcome Its Challenges’ The Regional Head, Financial Markets in Africa and the Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank, Mark Price and Head, Financial Markets Nigeria & Rates & Credit West Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Ayodeji Adelagun, in this joint interview highlighted some of the challenges affecting the Nigerian economy and stressed the need for improved fiscal and monetary policy alignment. The representatives of the global bank also expressed the commitment of the financial institution to the Nigerian economy. Obinna Chima brings the excerpts: been a pullback from high-yield-and-risk investments and that hopefully will turn at some point, and then it’s more about, as Deji said, ‘What can I do or be doing in this interim period to attract investors when they become more interested in taking the risk again?’ As you’ve probably seen with what’s happened certainly over the last few weeks across equity markets, currency markets, etc, there is a lot of risk aversion happening at the moment, globally. It’s not Nigeria-specific.

What are your comments on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and how well has the country weathered the pandemic storm? delagun: GDP growth has risen to a healthy level in the last quarter, where it was about three and a half pe rcent on a “going forward” basis due to headwinds witnessed from electricity cost, logistic cost, and the contractionary policy. What contributed the most to our GDP is the non-oil sector, and that is tracking very well and continues to do so. It does look like that trajectory will continue. Therefore, we can comfortably say that Nigeria is more than able to weather the storm properly post the pandemic. However, we do need to see very strong support from both fiscal and monetary policies to ensure that we maintain this positive trend; especially with FX supply challenges increasing the risk to hinder industrial or manufacturer activity, which would probably begin to taper the economy. Despite that and looking at the big picture, it does look like we are out of it.

Price: I would add to that and say, as an outsider, it looks as though the country is doing very well, considering some of the challenges that they face. Elections are coming up with ample opportunities which may rise from potential reform. After that, the country is clearly well placed to grow even faster than the current GDP if some of those decisions are made. Perhaps they are on pause at the moment and because we are so close to the elections, we may have to wait to see them come through. But at least we start from a relatively strong performance especially when compared to other markets.

So, it is very helpful that it can be even better going forward.

A

What are your views on rising the crude oil prices and how sustainable is this?

Price: I think it was something like $120 a barrel at one point. It is now close to about $85-$87 at the moment. When I look at our in-house research, we think that it is probably fairly priced now for quite a sustainable period – somewhere between $80-$100 a barrel, probably, for the next 18-plus months, which I think is good if that is the case because there is some certainty for revenue projections on the fiscal side from the government perspective here in Nigeria. It means that if there is spare capacity that can be brought online from a sort of cost-of-production capacity, there is enough time to do so and to benefit from that. But at the conference today, we’ve heard comments around the supply wastage and clearly the more the government can do to improve that situation, not only will they benefit from the higher oil prices, but they’ll benefit from keeping all of the potential benefits from having such a strong surge.

What is the outlook and what are the likely benefits the country is expected to harness from this?

Price: I think it’s a complex web at the moment between what the government receives in terms of royalties, in terms of the economic system of the conventions the government has, and what it taxes the companies. That is on the positive side. On the negative side, there is obviously the oil wastage. So, I’m not going to dwell upon the oil industry taxation side, but I do think that clearly the plans for the Dangote Refinery means more of the refined products staying on-shore or perhaps be sold off-shore at a much higher price. It’s clearly of value to the country and that is something I look forward to seeing being completed as quickly as it could be so that the country does benefit from that.

Furthermore, I’ve already mentioned that the government is doing a lot to reduce crude oil wastage. The thing that I learnt about that is of interest to me is that wastage and the

Price potential for increased production off-shore is there, and investing in that in a way that means that we can grow off-shore production in Nigeria. And clearly, if you can refine it yourselves, it means that it’s a significant uplift that can be achieved.

If the on-shore wastage is not easy to tackle, then switching focus to off-shore production seems like an obvious way to potentially improve that.

What are your thoughts about the country’s ability to attract portfolio flows at this time and what does the country need to do to attract significant flows?

Adelagun: We have seen a significant slowdown in portfolio flows in the past 12-18 months and the reason is simple: most investors would like to come in and exit when they want to, but that ease is not happening at the moment. So, we know for a fact that for about 24 months, investors were waiting to repatriate their funds and they couldn’t. If you take that and look at the fact that Nigeria is not insulated from what is happening. The Foreign Direct Investment that would ordinarily have come in is also being used elsewhere.

As such, what needs to be done as a country is to get to a situation where we have ease of entry and exit. That would be the first step. Once that is done, backed by a few other things happening, the

government would be able to have better flows coming into its reserves. Then we would begin to be able to accommodate any exit from this country. There will be a time lag between now and when investors will come despite the ample improvements and reforms, as investors were battered. So, it has to be that they can see that it’s sustainable. But when we begin to have that free and fair market condition where flows can come and go and investors will begin to get interested, let’s hope that the global backdrop would be good then.

In a nutshell, attracting investors is a combination of multiple variables and as soon as that begins to clear up, we can be hopeful that investors will come in. Of course, there is the need for us to continue to give, at the minimum, double-digit interest rates for them to look inwards.

Price: I’ll just add to that and say if you look at all of the asset classes around the globe: debt markets, development market equities – basically the only asset that has appreciated this year is the US dollar currency itself. All the investible assets have depreciated or underperformed this year, and therefore, as Deji said, it’s not so much about Nigeria, it is rather the global scene.

Most investors have either retreated to cash or have things that are difficult to sell. So, I think globally there has

What are the underlying reasons behind the acute dollar illiquidity in the local forex markets?

Adelagun: We are all aware of the reduction in the supply of forex from the central bank. We all agree that the country is going through difficult times, so it’s not necessarily a problem of the central bank, so long as we’re not creating these portfolios on demand. Furthermore, crude oil wastage means that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) isn’t getting as much dollar flows into its reserves from which it can then make sales to meet the in-country demand.

The reason is simple: until we get there and flows improve, we can’t do much, but we must applaud the central bank thus far.

They have introduced a few solutions and several measure that supported the stability of the currency. So, this scarcity, I believe, will continue until there are improved flows, which will be a holistic solution that comes from the government. We depend too much on imported goods and services at a time where manufacturing is heavily relying on imported dollars. So, that demand is increasing and supply is decreasing. It’s a simple demand-and-supply formula and once that improves, things will get better.

Price: Clearly, at the moment, the prices of some of those goods and services operate at a different level from the official rates and whatever the central bank can do to close that gap would be of benefit. Therefore, in the case of people that have sat on dollars in bank accounts, off-shore, etc., that can attract the dollars back to the country or release the dollars that are trapped because people have more comfort that the official rate is where goods and services are actually transacting. Clearly, removing that artificial (deterrence) would be helpful to the country.

The more that the central bank can do on top of the already great work it has already done, the more the country will benefit.

Given the macro-economic situation with forex liquidity being one of major business concerns of most corporates in Nigeria, what is the outlook of management in taking on further forex exposures in Nigeria? Is there a cap?

Adelagun: We like to say that we’re here for good. We’ve been in this market for very long and we understand the peculiarity of Nigeria. Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria is here for good. We will continue to support the good efforts of Nigeria. We do take the cases one by one to assess them and we have a very robust presence. And so long as we are here, we will continue to support the country’s efforts.

Price: At a regional level, I completely agree with Deji. It’s an important market for us. It’s our second largest across Africa and the Middle East. We are fully committed to the country and we have a robust risk appetite towards the country. As such, we are keen on ensuring that our efforts are well placed and are going to the right clients that help power the economy. So, we remain committed, we are here for good, and we look forward to continuing to support Nigeria going forward. This is an important market for us and we look forward to continuing the engagement going forward.

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FEATURES

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

Tackling the Hydra-headed Challenge of Corruption in Public Service Kingsley Nwezeh reviews the fourth National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Service, with focus on the education sector, organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, in collaboration with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHSoF, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, and the Ford Foundation at the Presidential Villa in Abuja

Stakeholders at the event

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hat the nation is beset with endemic corruption in all sectors of governance cannot be over-emphasised.

Even with the existence of anti-graft agencies, this systemic scourge has continued to ravage the country.

The manifestation of this challenge in the education sector is not any different.

Corruption in education manifests in different ways such as recruitment of unqualified or unfit persons to teach at primary, secondary or tertiary levels, admission racketeering, examination malpractice, diversion of revenue for and within the sector, operation of illegal academic institutions especially at the tertiary level, abuse of power and procurement rules by management and governing councils both of academic or regulatory institutions among others.

Waging against War against Corruption In view of the foregoing, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has remained relentless in waging a vicious war against the hydraheaded monster.

It was in furtherance of this objective that the agency organised the 4th National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Service.

Speaking at the summit themed: "Corruption and the Education Sector", held at the Conference Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Chairman of ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), said the summit organised by the agency since 2019 was a reflection of the commitment to fight corruption as one of the significant developmental global challenges of our time.

"This year we have chosen the theme: 'Corruption and the Education Sector' because corruption in education has been rightly described as stealing the future education being the medium for transmission of knowledge and values.

"Once education sector is corrupted the foundation for future ethical leadership and labour force is destroyed. In response to the

L-R: Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba; the recipient of Integrity Award, SP Ameh; President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof Bolaji Owasanoye

recent epidemic of sexual harassment in the education sector. ICPC has constituted a special team on investigation and prosecution of sexual harassment in secondary and tertiary institutions", he said.

Owasanoye noted that "in collaboration with civil society, we are in the process of introducing a model policy on sexual harassment for academic institutions to

adopt we have also secured some major convictions including a professor.

"ICPC has escalated its prevention mandate in the face of costly, time consuming and unpredictable outcomes of investigation and prosecution.

"In this regard, we are strengthening the Anti-corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit (ACTU) in MDAs. For the education sector, we collaborated with other institutions including NUC and NBTE and much more

Corruption has fought back in different ways - by attacks on the chairman, board, management and officers including threats of physical and or psychological attacks, blackmail, sponsored campaigns of calumny, mobilisation of political figures to cut down our powers and budget, infiltration of the commission by fifth columnists, compromise of unethical staff

recently with JAMB our co-host for this event.

"With JAMB and DSS, we conducted last year a series of undercover operations across the country on corruption in the university admissions processes leading to the busting of syndicates and arrest of its leaders responsible for compromising IJMB and JUPEB".

He said the ICPC had intensified its scrutiny of personnel and capital cost of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) leading to proactive restraining of surpluses or duplications in the budget.

"Just last week the commission in collaboration with the budget office and stakeholders met with some MDAs on the recurring surpluses in their payroll to determine proactive measures to improving the budget process", he said.

He said the measures were designed to separate outright fraud from administrative lapses.

"We also actively review the budget to prevent abuse by senior civil servants and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), who sometimes personalise budgetary allocation for direct benefit. In one case, a PEP successfully increased the budget of an agency in order for the agency to buy a property from him.

"In another case, the PEP inserted soft projects worth over N7 billion for a catchment population of about one million people in the name of empowerment. Both cases are under investigation", he said.

He further stated that ICPC reviewed special funds meant to improve education delivery such as UBEC and TETFUND which revealed continued abuses and breach of procurement standards and compromise of statutory mandates while a system study and review on SUBEB in six states for 2019-2020 revealed that the intention of UBE law to support states to improve basic education was frustrated by lack of commitment by state governments in not providing matching grants amongst other defaults.

"The capacity and commitment of states Continued on page 37

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T H I S D AY ˾ DAY ͯͮ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

FEATURES

Tackling the Hydra-headed Challenge of Corruption in Public Service

L-R: Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari; ICPC Chair, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye; President Muhammadu Buhari; SGF, Boss Mustapha; NDLEA Boss, Brig-Gen Nina Marwa (rtd); and former INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmud Jega at the summit

Participants at the summit

and tertiary institutions to access UBE fund and TETFUND respectively as anticipated by law remains highly questionable.

"In support of government’s effort to improve revenue generation the commission continues to investigate diversion of tax and other statutory revenues as part of routine investigation and has recovered N1.264 billion this fiscal year", he said.

As part of the efforts to sanitise the public service and upscale integrity he said, the commission had collaborated with the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to flush out fake appointments and screen candidates for appointment to position of permanent secretaries amongst other initiatives.

"The findings thus far indicate that many prospective appointees are implicated for financial impropriety, corrupt practice, failure of code of conduct standards and substance abuse. The commitment of the head of service to clean up the stable by effective pre appointment screening is commendable and ICPC will continue to play its part.

"We are vigorously exploiting technology solutions to some of the systemic corruption we have unearthed" in collaboration with the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA).

Owosonanye also said that the ICPC management had received threats and sponsored attacks and campaign of calumny.

"Corruption has fought back in different ways - by attacks on the chairman, board, management and officers including threats of physical and or psychological attacks, blackmail, sponsored campaigns of calumny, mobilisation of political figures to cut down our powers and budget, infiltration of the commission by fifth columnists, compromise of unethical staff, etc.

"In all these, we have remained resolute on our mandate and promise to Mr President and the nation to do our best. We hereby renew that pledge", he said.

Buhari Accuses ASUU of Corruption President Muhammadu Buhari, who was a special guest of honour at the event, pointedly accused the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of involvement in endemic corruption in the education sector just he declared that corruption in the sector undermined federal government's investment in education.

He said incessant strikes by unions created the impression that government was underfunding education.

He said contrary to such assertions, the academic unions were no less complicit in the systemic corruption in the sector.

Buhari asserted that all lol FCT corruption from the basic to tertiary levels of education greatly undermined government's investment in the sector.

He also called on stakeholders to demand accountability in the administration of academic institutions and for unions to interrogate the bloated personnel and recurrent expenditure of their institutions even as he implored the unions to work with government to put faces and identities to names on the payroll.

"Incessant strikes especially by unions in the tertiary education often imply that government is grossly underfunding education,

but I must say that corruption in the education system from basic level to the tertiary level has been undermining our investment in the sector and those who go on prolonged strikes on flimsy reasons are no less complicit.

"Government and stakeholders in the educational sector are concerned about the manifestation of various forms of corruption in the education sector. I am aware that students in our universities for example, use different terminologies to describe different forms of corruption they experience on our campuses.

There is sorting or cash for marks/grades, sex for marks, sex for grade alterations, examination malpractice, and so on", he said.

"Sexual harassment has assumed an alarming proportion. Other forms of corruption include payroll padding or ghost workers, lecturers taking up full time appointments in more than one academic institution, including private institutions, lecturers writing seminar papers, projects and dissertations for students for a fee, and admission racketeering, to mention only the most glaring corrupt practices.

"I am happy to note that ICPC is investigating and prosecuting sexual harassment as abuse of power in our educational institutions. I approve and encourage them to continue to do so", he said.

Buhari affirmed that government will continue to fund education within realistically available revenue and urged stakeholders, including the media to advocate for transparency in the amount generated as internally generated revenue by educational institutions and how such funds are expended.

"Corruption in the expenditure of internally generated revenue of tertiary institutions is a matter that has strangely not received the attention of stakeholders in tertiary education, including unions.

"I call on stakeholders to demand accountability in the administration of academic institutions and for unions to

interrogate the bloated personnel and recurrent expenditure of their institutions. Let me also implore the unions to work with government to put faces and identities to names on the payroll", he said.

"I believe that the role of government in education is to guarantee access and establish minimum benchmarks for quality education.

Due to declining resources, government cannot bear the cost of funding education alone. I task our academics to attract endowments, research and other grants to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education similar to what obtains in other countries", he said.

Jega Raises the Alarm In his keynote address at the summit, former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, raised the alarm that the education sector was tottering on the precipice following deep-seated graft in the system.

As a result of the situation, he said, Nigeria is perceived as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

He said the effects of corruption in the education sector undermined national capacity to develop requisite national social capital for socio-economic development, adding that no nation developed without adequate and appropriate investment in education. .

He stated that the Nigerian education sector had suffered neglect, chronically underfunded and engulfed in crisis, corrupt practices in the tertiary education sector, especially universities, which he said statutorily enjoyed some relative autonomy.

"There are examples of how reform policies, formulated with good intentions are often circumscribed by endemic corruption in the public sector, and in their application in the education sector, create their own dynamics of corrupt practices. This can be illustrated with examples of how three reform policies by the federal government compel many vice chancellors of federal universities to become somewhat ‘compulsorily’, even if in some cases reluctantly, involved in or with endemic corrupt practices in the wider public sector.

"The first reform policy of measure is the Procurement Act 2007, which requires that contracts of certain threshold should seek for approval either at the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) or at the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).

"The second is the requirement by Members of the National Assembly that every vice chancellor must appear before them to defend their budgetary proposals before funds would be appropriated to their universities."

"The third, which is relatively more recent, is the requirement by the federal government

I call on stakeholders to demand accountability in the administration of academic institutions and for unions to interrogate the bloated personnel and recurrent expenditure of their institutions. Let me also implore the unions to work with government to put faces and identities to names on the payroll

that no university should recruit any staff, even to fill existing vacancies, without at least three layers of approvals by the federal bureaucracy, at the NUC, at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation", he said.

Jega noted that all three policies in spite of the good intentions, which may have underlined them, not only undermined the relative autonomy of the universities, but have also introduced extraneous relations and influences laden with corrupt practices.

Education Minister's Position In his submission, Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said Nigeria must fight corruption to be liberated, adding that differences could be made in all sectors no matter how bad it is perceived.

"Nigeria has a bad reputation of being a corrupt society. Nobody will change that except us. At a moment you see people condemning corruption and the next moment, they engage in it. We have to sincerely fight it otherwise this nation is doomed", he said.

Award for Integrity In order to encourage acts of honesty, President Buhari conferred the prestigious 2022 Public Service Integrity Award to Superintendent of Police (SP), Daniel Amah, for rejecting a $200,000 bribe from robbers.

Amah is the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Nasarawa Division in Kano State.

The decision to confer the award on Amah was based in the recommendation of the Chairman of the ICPC, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye last month.

The ICPC said: "On 24th April 2022, a matter was reported to him that a suspect, one Mr. Ali Zaki convinced Bureau De Change Operators that he has $750,000 which he could sell to them at the rate of N430 to give him the equivalent N322,500,000.

"After a bank staff confirmed the availability of the money at the bank to the victims, the transaction took place. However, the suspect arranged with armed robbers to track and rob the victims while they were transporting the money.

"When the matter was reported to the Police Division in Kano State where SP Daniel Amah was the DPO, they recommended investigations. In the course of the investigation, they traced the principal suspect, Mr Ali Zaki, who offered $200,000 to the SP to kill the case, through a bank staff.

The offer was rejected, the bank staff was promptly arrested which led to the arrest of the principal suspect. The $200,000 was recovered and registered as exhibit.

"For this and other acts of integrity, SP Daniel Itse Amah is being conferred with the 2022 Public Service Integrity Awards", he said.

Conclusion It is expected that constant interrogation of the menace of corruption in the public sector by stakeholders would go a long way in containing graft.

As rightly noted by the ICPC boss, "once education sector is corrupted the foundation for future ethical leadership and labour force is destroyed".

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Fofack: AfCFTA Will Address Urgency of Africa’s Financial Architecture Ugo Aliogo Afrexim Chief Economist, Dr. Hippolyte Fofack has urged West African countries to build greater cooperation to strengthen the financial architecture for global and regional market integration.

Fofack disclosed during a virtual media briefing on the 6th Annual Babacar Ndiaye Lecture with the theme; ‘Africa’s Road to COP27 and beyond outlining the priorities and opportunities for the continent.’

He hinted that the impact of the AfCFTA global market economy would address the urgency of African financial architecture and expand the size of market investment to boost trade volumes for global delivery.

He stated that the trade and political issues were weakening bargaining powers while he said that the AfCFTA regional trade would consolidate Africans voice to strengthen integration with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to address issues of future events.

Fofack opined that the corporation is working strenuously with its partners to foster fruitful conversations on regional integration initiatives to develop regional value chains, “and adapt to climate change in order to build climate-smart strategies that contribute to development of the African continent.”

“The second is the huge amounts of funds required to adapt to climate change, which

is why regional integration must be emphasized through the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is the largest free trade area in terms of the number of participating countries and which can provide the necessary capacity to attract investments to Africa in higher value-added production and generate growth driven by innovation and entrepreneurship,” he stated.

In the same vein, Director of Neighboring Countries Operations at the European Investment Bank (EIB), Lionel Rabail, revealed that Africa is rich with opportunities, and that the European Investment Bank seeks to provide long-term financing for African countries in green projects, including Egypt.

Comercio Partners Counsels Investors to Focus on Money Market, Dollar Mutual Funds Comercio Partners, has advised investors to allocate a significant portion of their portfolio on money market and dollar based mutual funds in order to benefit from the interest rate hike by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, as well as risk of further depreciation of the naira.

Co-Managing Partner/Founder, Comercio Partners, Nnamdi Nwizu gave this advice in the Comercio Investors’ Education Series report.

The report, among other things, explained the meaning and types of mutual funds.

The report which can be accessed on the firm’s website also differentiates mutual funds from other types of investments such

as equity, fixed income and bonds.

“Mutual Funds are “structured”, they are “tailor made” to meet the desire and taste of the pool of investors in the fund. Because they are structured, they can be designed to satisfy various investor needs. Mutual funds can be structured either as Equity, Debt or a Hybrid Fund, ”the company explained.

The major types of, it explained further, are Equity Funds, Debt Funds, Hybrid Funds, Money Market Funds, adding that other types include Income funds, Taxsaving funds, Capital protection fund and Pension funds.

“Mutual funds can also be classified based on risk such

as Low risk, medium risk and High-risk funds, Emerging market funds, Global funds, Foreign or International Funds, ”Comercio Partners added.

While noting that mutual funds in Nigeria recorded 11.02 per cent increase in Net Asset Value, NAV to N1.388 trillion Year to Date, yearto-date, June 2022 from N1.250 trillion in the corresponding period of June 2021, Comercio Partners however noted that Money Market mutual funds dominate, accounting for 41.93 percent of the total NAV of the entire market, growing to N582.296 billion as at June 2022 from N477.494 billion in the corresponding period of 2021.

bCODE Lunches Reebok Franchise, First Multi-brand Store, others Sunday Ehigiator Leading Nigerian fashion and lifestyle company, bCODE, has partnered with global sportswear brand Reebok to stock its footwear and apparel at its newly launched website and multi-brand concept store in Surulere, Lagos.

This was made known yesterday by the company’s Commercial and Intelligence Manager, Bella Adeleke, during a press conference held at the company’s head office in Yaba, Lagos.

According to her, with the partnership, multi-brand store and website, customers can

now shop a range of authentic Reebok footwear and apparel for their lifestyle, fitness, sports, and fashion needs at bCODE’s, in addition to other products from their other partner brands Adidas, Skechers and Havaianas.

She said, “This partnership includes footwear for men, women and kids, and some styles by the global footwear brand rarely seen on the open market. This new partnership earmarks bCODE’s launch of its first-ever multi-brand concept store in Lagos and cements the brand as a fast-growing fashion retail business. Reebok joins bCODE’s already impressive

portfolio of multinational brands such as ADIDAS, Skechers and Havaianas.”

Also speaking, bCODE’s CEO, Wonuola Okoye expressed excitement with the new partnership, multi-brand store and website.

According to her, “We are very excited to add Reebok to our growing portfolio of international partners.

“At bCODE, we aim to provide quality footwear and apparel at affordable prices across Africa and inspire a new approach to fashion, sports, and athleisure. Opening this multi-brand concept store is one step towards hitting our goal.”

WECARE Foundation Gives N1.2m Grant to 12 Nigerian Startups The Wisdom Ezekiel Cares (WECARE) Foundation has given N1.2 million grant to 12 Nigerian emerging entrepreneurs, each getting N100.000.

The grant, which is part of the Entrepreneur Empowerment Initiative of the foundation, was presented to the startups during the Empowerment Summit organised by the foundation recently, with the theme ‘Roadmap to Success in Entrepreneurship’.

Out of the over 100 registered businesses that applied for the grant, the recipients were Trashbank Recycling, Royal Totebags, Chef Yinsky Ventures, Divine Melody Music, BrandHead Footwears, and CrownArc. Others were Fabjoh Food, IyaOpe Grinding Machine, Quickcart Africa, Otunba Clothings, and the Bus Public

Speaking Academy.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the foundation, Mr. Wisdom Ezekiel, who gave the grants as part of activities marking his 40th birthday, stated that the 12 startups were selected because they are structured and traceable.

“The people who got our empowerment fund today were people who we have verified that they are really into business and that the sum of N100,000 can make an impact in their business,” said Ezekiel.

Ezekiel, who owns several businesses and mentors young people under several platforms, added that the beneficiaries of the grant have automatically become part of his mentorship series. One of the beneficiaries, Ms. Blessing Sunday, I the founder and lead coach of Bus Public

Speaking Academy said: “I feel very excited and blessed. Our startup is currently organising an oratory competition for young people, and we were looking to get help and sponsorship. Being listed among the 12 winners of the grant today gives me so much joy. It has taken a major burden away from our shoulders, so I’m very happy.”

The founder of Trashbank Recycling, Mr. Abiodun Olatubosun, said: “I am so blessed and opportuned to have won this grant. I am into the recycling economy space, and have a factory where we recycle plastics. With this grant, I will be able to do take away more waste from the community and get more materials for plastic manufacturing companies for their production.”

Chairman of the WECARE Foundation, Mr. Wisdom Ezekiel (right) and his wife, Mrs. Temitope Ezekiel (left) with one of the 12 winners of the entrepreneur empowerment grant of N100,000

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JUNE 2022 Money Supply (M3)

48,865,823.53

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

167,956.2

Money Supply (M2)

48,797,867.32

-- Quasi Money

28,405,330.1

-- Narrow Money (M1)

20,392,537.22

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,722,785.91

---- Demand Deposits

17,669,751.32

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

6,242,394.29

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

42,623,429.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

57,267,178.05

---- Credit to Government (Net)

17,996,690.06

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

39,270,488

--Other Assets Net

5,566,430

Reserve Money (Base Money

11,320,304

--Currency in Circulation

3,259,269.15

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,320,303.72 384,377.56

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

June 2022

Inter-Bank Call Rate

11.10

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

13.00

Treasury Bill Rate

2.45

Savings Deposit Rate

1.38

1 Month Deposit Rate

3.48

3 Months Deposit Rate

4.55

6 Months Deposit Rate

4.97

12 Months Deposit Rate

5.30

Prime Lending rate

12.29

Maximum Lending Rate

27.61

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 27 SEPTEMBER 2022

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $89.50 a barrel on Monday, compared with $92.67 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

39

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022 2022

MARKET NEWS

Stock Market Down N661bn on Profit-taking in Airtel Africa, Others Kayode Tokede The bearish momentum in the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) increased further as sustained profittaking activities in Airtel Africa plc, other stocks drove the market to its fifth consecutive weekly decline.

The NGX All-Share index dropped by 3.41 per cent to close at 47,351.43 basis points, the lowest level since April 2022.

Similarly, market capitalisation declined N661 billion to close at

N25.791 trillion.

Notably, investors profit-taking in Airtel Africa, Okomu Oil and Presco drove the weekly loss.

Airtel Africa recorded a loss of N752 billion last week to rank among the top losers of the week, following sustained sell pressure witnessed on the stock.

During the week, Geregu Power listed 2.500 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N100.00 per share on the main board of NGX. Performance across sectors

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

was largely bearish, as losses in the Banking index shed 3.4 per cent week-on-week (W-o-W).

Insurance index declined by 1.2 per cent, while Oil & Gas down by 1.0 per cent W-o-W. Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods indices recorded a weekly loss of 0.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively, reflected the overall market sentiment.

The market breadth for the week was negative as 11 stocks appreciated in price, 46 equities

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

depreciated in price, while 100 stocks remained unchanged.

Multiverse Mining & Exploration led the gainers table by 21.95 per cent to close at N4.50, per share.

Geregu Power followed with a gain of 20.90 per cent to close at N120.90, while Livestock Feeds went up by 11.76 per cent to close to N1.14, per share.

On the other side, NASCON ALLIED Industries led the decliners table by 13.64 per cent to close at N9.50, per share. Cornerstone

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

Insurance followed with a loss of 10.71 per cent to close at 50 kobo, while Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals declined by 10.00 per cent to close at N1.26, per share.

Overall, a total turnover of 586.939 million shares worth N8.837 billion in 17,183 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.005 billion shares valued at N10.406 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 17,844 deals.

O F

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 393.814 million shares valued at N4.660 billion traded in 9,168 deals; contributing 67.1 per cent and 52.73 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The ICT Industry followed with 48.178 million shares worth N1.203 billion in 1,294 deals, while the Conglomerates Industry traded a turnover of 40.135 million shares worth N44.406 million in 513 deals.

0 6 / 1 0 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

North Korea Fires More Missiles after US Warship Leaves Peninsula North Korea has conducted an uncommon late-night missile test on the eve of an anniversary marking the founding of its Workers’ Party.

The test came hours after a US aircraft carrier task force wrapped up a second week of naval exercises with South Korea. The carrier’s return to waters off the Korean peninsula – prompted by North Korea’s launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan - was characterised by Pyongyang as “of considerably huge negative splash to the regional situation.”

Two short-range ballistic missiles were fired between 1:48 and 1:58 a.m. Sunday, South Korea’s military said, from the Munchon area into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. They flew 350 kilometres and reached a top altitude of 90km, it added.

Japan’s Senior Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino announced similar figures. He said the missiles, after being launched at around 1:47 a.m. and 1:53 a.m. landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone after gliding some 350km at an apogee of 100km. The possibility they were submarine-launched ballistic missiles was being studied, he said.

Munchon, located along North Korea’s eastern coast, hosts a naval base that in 2016 was seen undergoing renovation.

Violence Fears Overshadow US Midterms Election When voters in Jefferson County, Colorado, cast their ballots in the November 8 midterm election, security guards will be stationed outside the busiest polling centres.

At an election office in Flagstaff, Arizona, voters will encounter bullet-proof glass and need to press a buzzer to enter.

In Tallahassee, Florida, election workers will count ballots in a building that has been newly toughened with walls made of the super-strong fibre Kevlar.

Spurred by a deluge of threats and intimidating behaviour by conspiracy theorists and others upset over former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat, some election officials across the United States are fortifying their operations as they ramp up for another divisive election.

A Reuters survey of 30 election offices found that 15 have enhanced security in various ways, from installing panic buttons to hiring extra security guards to holding active-shooter and de-escalation training.

Until recently, such threats to safety were seen as hypothetical in a country that had seen few instances of election-related violence since the civil rights battles of the 1960s, when the presence of armed officers sometimes intimidated rather than reassured Black voters.

Now those risks are seen as real, said Tammy Patrick, a senior adviser at the Democracy Fund, a nonpartisan public-interest group founded by entrepreneur and Democratic donor Pierre Omidyar.

13 Killed, Dozens Wounded in Russian Attacks on Ukraine A barrage of Russian missiles overnight killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 60 others in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials reported Sunday, as Moscow attempted to enforce its claim to the illegally annexed territory that Ukraine still controls.

The attack on apartment buildings and houses came hours after a truck bomb explosion Saturday caused the partial collapse of the Kerch Bridge linking mainland Russia with the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014. The bridge has been a major munitions and troop supply route for Russian attacks in southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials strongly suggested they had carried out the attack without directly claiming responsibility.

In a video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indirectly acknowledged the attack but did not address its cause.

under state auspices of torture and other abuses.

Taiwan, EU Hold Fifth Human Rights Consultation

“Today was not a bad day and mostly sunny on our state’s territory,” he said.

“Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea.

Although it was also warm.”

Russia’s Military under Fire over War Performance in Ukraine Russia’s defence ministry is coming under criticism from “increasingly diverse actors within the Russian system,” according to an intelligence update posted on Twitter on Saturday by Britain’s defence ministry. The growing criticism is a result, the ministry said, of “continued battlefield setbacks for Russia over the last two weeks.”

Critics of Russia’s military performance in Ukraine include “Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Wagner Group private military company owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, state-approved TV presenters, pop stars, and an increasingly vocal community of ultra-nationalistic military bloggers.”

The British defence ministry said, “criticism remains focused at the military high command, rather than senior political leadership, but it does represent a trend of public voicing of dissent against the Russian establishment which is being at least partly tolerated and which will likely be hard to reverse.”

Russia says a truck explosion on the combination rail and highway bridge connecting Crimea to Russia has destroyed part of the roadbed. The blast also caused seven fuel tankers on a train crossing the bridge to catch fire.

German Minister Urges EU Sanctions over Iran Crackdown Germany’s foreign minister is calling for European Union entry bans and asset freezes against those responsible for what she described as brutal repression against anti-government protesters in Iran.

The most sustained protests in years against Iran’s theocracy are now in their fourth week. They erupted on September 17 after the burial of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who died in the custody of Iran’s feared morality police. Amini had been detained for an alleged violation of strict Islamic dress codes for women.

Since then, protests have spread across the country and have been met by a fierce crackdown, in which dozens are estimated to have been killed and hundreds arrested.

“Those who beat up women and girls on the street, carry off people who want nothing other than to live freely, arrest them arbitrarily and sentence them to death stand on the wrong side of history,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was quoted as telling Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Ukraine: UN General Assembly Holds Special Session Russian Annexation The UN General Assembly will convene Monday (today) in a special session to discuss Russia’s recent attempt to annex four regions of Ukraine. The session could reveal whether Russia’s international isolation is growing as its war grinds on.

“The UN Charter is clear: Any annexation of a state’s territory by another state resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on September 29, a day ahead of a theatrical Kremlin ceremony to incorporate the territories into Russia.

Guterres said any attempt to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia would have “no legal value” and would be a “dangerous escalation.”

The following day, Russia exercised its veto in the UN Security Council to block a resolution condemning its actions.

That has spurred a move to the General Assembly, where no state has a veto.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia circulated a letter to member states on October 4, calling the move to the General Assembly “clearly politicised and provocative.”

UN Condemns ‘Heinous Killing’ of Migrants in Libya The United Nations mission in Libya condemned Sunday the “heinous killing” of 15 migrants near the Mediterranean coastal city of Sabratha, accusing smugglers and demanding justice.

The bodies were found on a beach on Friday morning, most of them burned inside a charred boat, according to the UN and the Libyan Red Crescent.

“While the exact circumstances remain to be determined, the killings reportedly resulted from clashes between rival traffickers,” the UN mission UNSMIL said in a statement.

It urged authorities in the North African nation “to ensure a swift, independent and transparent investigation to bring all perpetrators to justice.”

Libya was a key route for clandestine migration even before the 2011 uprising that overthrew dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

The lawlessness that ensued bolstered its position on the world’s deadliest migration route across the Mediterranean to Europe.

People smugglers from the western city of Sabratha — just 300km (185 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa — continue to play a key role.

Migrants often face horrific treatment at the hands of smuggling gangs.

Rights groups have repeatedly accused authorities and armed groups operating

Taiwan and the EU have held a fifth human rights consultation.

Taiwan’s minister without portfolio Lo Ping-cheng delivered opening remarks and co-chaired the meeting with the EU special representative for human rights, Eamon Gilmore, head of the human rights division, Luisa Ragher and the head of division for China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Mongolia Dominic Porter in attendance.

The annual consultation provided an opportunity to review recent developments in each side’s respective human rights situations and update their respective policies and priorities for action. Taiwan and the EU reaffirmed their firm commitment to promoting and protecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Taiwan presented its first National Human Rights Action Plan and the Action Plan for Fisheries and Human Rights, which were released earlier this year, including a briefing on establishing the Department of Human Rights and Transitional Justice.

The EU welcomed recent measures taken by Taiwan to advance human rights, reiterating its longstanding position against the death penalty, and called upon Taiwan to pursue efforts towards its abolition.

Taiwan and the EU held in-depth discussions on specific human rights issues, such as gender equality and rights of LGBTI persons, business and human rights, and human rights in the digital sphere.

On gender equality and rights of LGBTI persons, the EU and Taiwan reviewed progress and challenges which remain to be addressed to achieve effective human rights protection for girls, women, and LGBTI persons.

The EU and Taiwan also discussed progress in business and human rights, with Taiwan elaborating on implementing the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.

Austrian President Secures Reelection, Avoids Runoff Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen secured a second six-year term in office by winning more than 50 per cent of the vote in an election on Sunday to avoid a runoff, according to initial projections issued soon after voting closed.

Neither of the main centrist parties fielded candidates in the election, and senior figures from both backed Van der Bellen, a 78-year-old former leader of the Greens. The far-right Freedom Party was the only party in parliament to put forward a candidate against the president.

A projection by pollster SORA for national broadcaster ORF, based on a partial count of 64.8 per cent of votes, put Van der Bellen on 55.4 per cent with a margin of error of 1.9 percentage points.

His nearest rival was the Freedom Party’s Walter Rosenkranz on 18.4 per cent.

Initial projections in Austria, based on the count from the polling stations that closed earlier in the day, have proved reliable in the past. The last polling stations to close include those in the cities of Vienna and Innsbruck.

A separate projection by ARGE Wahlen for national news agency APA put Van der Bellen on 55.9 per cent and Rosenkranz on 17.9 per cent, based on 62 per cent of votes counted.

The Austrian president largely performs a ceremonial role but also has sweeping powers that mean overseeing periods of transition and turbulence. Van der Bellen has built up a reputation for having a steady hand and calm manner, particularly in times of crisis.

MONDAY OCTOBER 10, 2022 • T H I S D AY

41

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2022

42

NEWSXTRA

FUNERAL CEREMONY...

L-R: Former Presidential Aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Charlie Ugwu; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of CDV Properties and Development Limited, Dr. Charles Mbah, during the funeral ceremony of Fabian Ozioko, in Orba, Udenu Local Government Area of Enugu State…recently

2023 Presidency: Northern Christians, Muslims, Leaders Unite, Move to Adopt Consensus Ticket Atiku’s campaign raps opposition, makes more appointments Chuks Okocha in Abuja Concerns generated over the Muslim-Musilm presidential preference of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), have been taken to a different level as northern Christians, Muslims and political leaders, have started to consider a possible consensus presidential candidate to defeat APC’s same faith ticket of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.

This followed a meeting, weekend, of Northern Christians, Muslims and political leaders, who agreed to work together.

But the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign has advised Nigerians to decipher and critically examine the conduct and character of the people and parties that seek to lead Nigeria.

However, the Northern Christian leaders of APC, led by immediate past Speaker of the

House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, have resolved to work with their Muslim counterparts in the North to adopt one of the presidential candidates in a bid to defeat the same faith Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the APC. Their resolution was contained in a communique jointly signed by former Deputy Governor of Sokoto State and Minister of Water Resources during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mukhari Shagari and Yakubu Dogara.

The communique was the outcome of their consultative meeting and dialogue between Northern APC Christian leaders and Northern Muslim political leaders held on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at NAF Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.

The meeting was in line with

the APC Northern Christian leaders’ communique issued on July 29, 2022, which solicited an agreement between it and Muslim brothers and sisters across the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

At the end of the meeting, it was resolved that, “We have agreed to work together with a view to fostering unity, peace and national cohesion.”

The communique noted that the meeting further resolved, “to work together and jointly adopt a pan-Nigerian political platform that will engender unity, inclusiveness and a sense of belonging among the Nigerian citizenry.

“Conscious of multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural configuration of Nigeria, we believe that same faith ticket and voting along religious lines may trigger dangerous dimensions of negative consequences among our disparate peoples in ways

that will hamper nation building.

“Consequently, we have agreed to channel our energies on matter that unite us more as a people instead of encouraging attacks on sensitives issues bordering on religion in the name of politics. In view of the above, we have agreed to set up a committee with the mandate to fashion out strategies for advancing the objectives set forth in this resolution.”

The dialogue and consultative meeting had in attendance, HE Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, HE Boni Haruna, HE Abdulfatah Ahmed, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, Engr.

Babachir David Lawal,Hon Damishi Sango, Senator Idris Ahmed Umar, HE Yomi Awoniyi, HE Simon Achuba, Hon. Ummara Kumalia, Hon Baba Shehu Agaie, Air Marshall Monday Morgan (Rtd),General Ishaya Bauka (rtd), Mohammed Sani Sidi, Hon John B. Bawa and Dr. Iliya Stephen Msheliza.

Others were Sarah AllabehNanpon, Shina Ibiyemi, Dr. Auwalu Anwar, Dr. Yakubu Tor-Agbidye, Hon Hassan Jonga, Hon Dauda Bundot, Alhaji Abdul Abubakar, Alhaji Musa Bello, Ishaku Pennap, Hon Leah Solomon, Mohammed Alhaji Yakubu, Professor Salamatu Machunga, Barrister Mela Nanghe (SAN), Reverend Joseph Hayab, Dr. Mrs Ruth Magaji,Reverend Innocent Solomon, Reverend Habila Tengya, Hon Haruna Mohammed and Hon Gwamna Dimas.

While former governors Ibrahim Shehu Shema, Senator Adamu Aliero, Capt. Idris Wada and Senator Umaru Tsauri, Imam Sani Ishaq, Sheik Halliru Maraya, sent in apologies, they, however, said they agreed with all decisions and resolutions of the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Atiku presidential campaign has said it is becoming increasingly apparent

Nigeria-Egypt Trade Conference Begins Today in Cairo El-Rufai, ministers, others to attend two-day summit Trade volume between both nations hit $141m Deji Elumoye in Abuja The maiden edition of Nigeria– Egypt Trade Conference and Exhibition (NETCE) would begin today in Cairo, Egypt.

The two-day conference has as its theme, “For Africa, By Africa, exploring the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”

The conference was organised by the Nigeria-Egypt Cultural and Socio-Economic Forum (NECSEF) in collaboration with the Embassy of Nigeria in Cairo, Egyptian African Businessmen’s Association (EABA) under the auspices of the Government of Egypt.

Speaking on the conference, President of NECSEF, Mahmood Ahmadu, welcomed all delegates to NETCE 2022.

According to him: "Twice we have had to postpone this meeting but we are excited it is happening and it is providing limitless opportunities for us to enhance trade between Nigeria and Egypt to a new and enviable height.’’

The conference would bring

together government ministers, governors, ambassadors from Nigeria and Egypt along with over 300 delegates, visitors and exhibitors.

Confirmed speakers at the event include Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Minister of State for Works and Housing, Umar Ibrahim El-Yakub; Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu; Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Katagum; the Executive Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Dr Ezra Yakuzak; the Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, Mrs Saratu Umar, and Dr Kassim Gidado, representing Nigeria-Arabian Gulf Chamber of Commerce.

Others are: Dr Yousry El Sharkawy, chairman of EABA; Walid Gamal El Din, Chairman of the General Authority, Economic Zone, Suez Canal; Dr Sherif El-Gabaly, Chairman, African Affairs, Egyptian House of Representatives and Engr.

Tarek El Gammal, Chairman,

Redcon Construction.

In the course of two days in the ancient city of Cairo, businessmen and women from Africa’s two largest economies would engage in Business-to Business sessions, exchange ideas and attend exhibitions from participating Nigerian and Egyptian companies, showcasing their products and services.

An industrial tour, scheduled for October 12, would afford the Nigerian participants to learn about the industrial environment and the latest technology in Egypt.

Earlier yesterday, the organisation took advantage of the gathering to inaugurate its corporate office in Cairo.

The building co-locates Online Integrated Solutions (OIS), a multinational company also owned

by Mahmood Ahmadu, which provides services for Nigerian Foreign missions, Nigerians in the Diaspora, and NECSE. Speaking at the occasion, the Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt, Nura Abba Rimi, put the current trade volume of the two countries at $141 million.

He expressed optimism that with the successful implementation of reforms promoting transparency and efficiency in the business environment as well as economic diversification into real sectors like agriculture, mining and manufacturing, Nigeria is ready to work towards achieving much higher levels of bilateral trade with Egypt.

The envoy said the high population growth rate and the size of the two largest economies in Africa present a win-win situation for the two countries.

Jonathan Mourns Ogbulafor, Ex-PDP Chairman Former President Goodluck Jonathan, has expressed sadness over the death of Chief Vincent Eze Ogbulafor, a former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Jonathan, who stated this in a condolence message to his family, government and people of Abia State, described the late

Ogbulafor as a patriot, who contributed considerably towards deepening the roots of Nigeria’s democracy.

The former President noted that Ogbulafor, who served as chairman and secretary of the PDP, was a leader “committed to contributing his own quota towards the development of

our nation.

“Chief Ogbulafor will be remembered for his dedication to the good causes he believed in and for his commitment and contributions to the growth of the nation’s democracy.”

Jonathan also prayed God to comfort members of his family and grant his soul eternal rest.

that the APC was neither ready for election nor structured to govern, though its members were desperate to retain power.

In a statement by one of the spokesperson of the campaign, Senator Dino Melaye, the campaign said, "Sadly, the undiscerning is oblivious of the usual media hypnotism that the APC engages to confuse and mesmerise the unwary.

"I once had a cause to describe the APC as an NGO and not a political party. Even now that it has managed to have a contrivance called Party Executive, it remains formless, unstructured, uncoordinated and unorganised.

"It's not surprising, since as you may recall the coronation of the chairman of the party was a mere formalisation of the appointment approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the life wire, navigator and camp commandant of the APC. "As an indication of the unpreparedness of the APC to lead Nigeria, the party in its nearly 10 years of existence, has no Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is usually referred to as the soul or the conscience of the party. Without a soul, the party has remained rudderless, floundering, reactive and retrogressive.

"Before Ahmed Tinubu emerged as the flagbearer of the party against the run of play, he had in his usual entitled fashion been addressed as the leader of the party. However, neither he nor any other was good enough to lead the BoT, so, the structure has remained sterilised," Melaye stated.

This, nonetheless, Atiku has announced more appointments with Chief Dan Ulasi, being the latest on board as Technical Adviser on Contact & Mobilisation (South East), while Dr Don Pedro Obaseki as Media Presidential Consultant.

In a statement by Pual Ibe, all appointments were with immediate effect.

Ulasi, who hails from Anambra State, is an experienced politician, who has served the PDP in different capacities, both in Anambra State and at the national secretariat of the party.

Pedro, on the other hand, is a seasoned media personality from Edo State, with rich experience in political communication.

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NEWSXTRA

PFN 5TH EDITION OF GREATER NIGERIA PROJECT CONFERENCE… L-R: Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Lagos, Enyinnaya Okwuonu; CAN Chairman, Lagos chapter, Bishop Stephen Adegbite; National President, PFN, Bishop Wale Oke; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; National Deputy President, PFN, Archbishop John Praise Daniel; National Vice President South-west, PFN, Archbishop John Osa-Oni; his wife, Revd. Enitan Osa-Oni and others, during PFN 5th Edition of Greater Nigeria Project conference, at the Vineyard Christian Ministries, Ajao Estate, Lagos... recently

APC PCC: Businessmen, Deductions from Political Appointees, Not Buhari Will Fund APC Rallies Assures state machinery will not be deployed against opposition Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Governor Simon Lalongled All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council at the weekend disclosed that the party’s campaign will not be funded by the President Muhammadu Buhari government.

Instead, it maintained that the nationwide rallies to solicit for votes from Nigerians will be partly financed by businessmen as well as deductions from the salaries of political appointees.

Over the years, there have been insinuations that governments usually dip their hands into the public coffers to fund elections or direct its agencies and parastatals to donate monies to the campaigns.

But during an appearance on state-owned Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) , a panel comprising Lalong, the APC council spokesman, Festus Keyamo (SAN) as well as the National Woman Leader of the party, Dr Betta Edu, agreed that Buhari will not sanction the use of state resources to fund elections.

Specifically, Keyamo argued that if the APC defeated a sitting government when it was in the opposition without state funding, the ‘essential Buhari' will not allow the practice of using public

funds for national polls.

“We have had two rounds of election behind us and so in 2015, we were not the governing party.

We were in opposition. And we ran a successful campaign against the ruling party because of the love for the APC. “And the way people came out and supported the APC at that time, we defeated the ruling party from the position of an underdog at that time. In 2019, I remember I was also the director of strategic communication and spokesperson and I followed every speech issued by the president at that time. I was the one that pushed them out.

“The president consistently said in 2019 when he was on the ballot that nobody should ever go to any government department.

In fact, he was instructing government departments not to answer anybody who comes to drop his name that the president said money should come out from this department.

“He did that in order to clear himself that he has not sent anybody anywhere to raise any money within the system. That was the first time a president will make such a bold statement since 1999 to say nobody should drop his name to collect money from the system.

“So you should understand the essential Buhari, who is actually still in charge. Did you see that even non-state actors came to that primaries of our party? Our party members bought forms for N100 million. They are not people in government, they are private businessmen.

“That’s not to talk of the money they used for mobilisation.

So, we have these Nigerians, businessmen, passionate supporters. And it is not true that we don’t make contributions. As a sitting minister, they take money from my salary every month. If I bring my salary slip, you will see deductions,” he maintained.

Keyamo was responding to a question on where APC was getting its funding.

Quoting Lalong, who is the Director General of the campaign council, Keyamo noted that even without funds being released yet, people had already started printing banners for the candidate of the party, Bola Tinubu.

“If you know the essential Buhari, you will know that no money has changed hands,” he insisted.

Keyamo also defended the APC primaries saying that there was no evidence that money exchanged hands, insisting it was free and fair.

On his part, the Plateau state Governor stressed that Buhari was committed to a free and fair election and will not support rigging.

“We went to the United Nations and we just came back.

His speech at the United Nations was emphasising a free and fair election. How many presidents have done this before? In Nigeria I have not seen it. This one has come up before the United Nations to say please assess me on the basis of free or fair elections.

“Now free and fair election involves everything you are talking about. For us at the campaign, we are not thinking of using the muscles of government.

We are not thinking of using security personnel. We're not thinking of using the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“We are going to campaign on issues and let Nigerians have the opportunity to decide. That's why I told you, we're starting from the grassroots,” he said.

He insisted that the grassroots has enjoyed the current administration, stressing that even the youths have the assurance that there’s hope for the future.

Lalong stressed that there’s so far no record of an APC

Babalola: Education Remains Most Potent Weapon to Change the World Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Pro-chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Kola Daisi University, Ibadan Oyo State, Mr Remi Babalola, has described education as the most powerful weapon that can be deployed to change the world.

The former Minister of State Finance and former Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings, made the statement at the second convocation ceremony of the university in his address to the graduating students.

Attributing the statement to the former President of South Africa, late Nelson Mandela, Babalola told the graduates that they were in possession of the most powerful weapon to change the world and urged them to use it for good.

He therefore tasked the fresh graduates to challenge themselves

to their full potential as they step out into the new world of possibilities and opportunities. ‘’As you step out into the new world of possibilities and opportunities, challenge yourselves to your full potential; do not limit your dreams and boundaries. In the words of late Nelson Mandela, ‘education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world'.

“Now that you are about to open a new chapter of your life, you are in possession of the most powerful weapon to change the world. So, go out there and conquer,’’ he charged the students.

Babalola counselled the graduating students to contribute their quota to the greatness of Nigeria by the ‘intellectual’ transformation they had gone through at the university.

While noting that the world is currently battling fundamental challenges and Nigeria in particular is confronted by unusual existential issues, he explained that the students would require higher levels of determination, courage and selfbelief to become value creators.

He said: “As you become custodians of a high standard of performance, be ready to contribute to the greatness of our country, Nigeria and the world, by extension, make the world a better place by the intellectual transformation you have undergone in the past few years of your academic pursuits.”

Babalola, who described private tertiary education as a special privilege anywhere in the world, urged the graduating students not to underestimate its importance but strive to make the best of

their intellectual endowments.

He tasked them to be deliberate in doing the right thing and making the right choices, adding that they need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

He added: “As you go into the real world, remember you are our ambassadors, our KDU name-bearers; always be deliberate to do the right thing and make the right choices.

“You may need to occasionally be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Make an impact, add value, and do something good wherever you find yourselves.”

The event had in attendance the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka who was guest lecturer, the Founder and Chancellor of the University, Kola Daisi, among others.

government state stopping people from advertising or using public facilities for rallies, asking anyone who has been so treated to come forward with evidence.

“If there's a complaint like that, there are regulations and guidelines from the electoral law.

So it's for people to write and complain to INEC that this is what is happening. But at the level of our campaigns, we're going to make this very clear to everybody, we're going to ensure that we comply with the

regulations guiding election,” he assured.

Lalong stated that Buhari, who is the Chairman of the APC Campaign Council will not tolerate the oppression of the opposition whether at the state of federal levels.

In her comments, Edu said advertising is actually contracted out to a firms that run them for government, noting that in Cross River where she comes from, all the government is interested in is advert revenue.

NAFDAC Issues Alert Over Children Killer Cough Syrup in Circulation Says medicine has caused death of 66 children in Gambia Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned healthcare providers and the public against the use of four substandard and contaminated cough syrups which have caused the death of 66 children in Gambia.

They include Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip Cold Syrup.

It disclosed that the dangerous paediatric cough syrups were being circulated in Gambia.

In a public health advisory issued by NAFDAC yesterday, it stated it never registered the medicines, therefore it should not be in circulation in the country.

The advisory added: "We are notifying healthcare providers and the public of the death of 66 children in Gambia following the use of four substandard cough syrups as reported by WHO in September 2022.

"The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup."

NAFDAC said laboratory analysis of samples of the four products confirmed that they contain, "unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants."

It explained that Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed

and could prove fatal.

According to NAFDAC, toxic effects could include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.

The agency gave the name of the manufacturer of these products as Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited (Haryana, India).

"To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products.

Product Details "The details of the substandard cough syrups are as follows: Product Manufacture Product name -Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited (Haryana, India) Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.," NAFDAC further said all batches of the products listed should be considered unsafe.

"The substandard products in this alert are unsafe and their use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death.

The products are not registered

by NAFDAC, therefore should not be in circulation.

"To date, these four products have been identified in The Gambia, but may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions.

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ABIODUN GETS SUPPORT FOR SECOND TERM...

L-R: Husband of Ogun State former Deputy Governor, Otunba Abiodun Onanuga; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and immediate past Deputy Governor, Mrs. Yetunde Onanuga, when she formally returned to the mainstream of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and also expressed commitment to the Second term agenda of Gov. Abiodun at Iperu...yesterday

Buhari Grieves as Anambra Recovers 16 Bodies in Boat Tragedy Directs rescue agencies to speed up action at incident scene

Deji Elumoye, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and DavidChyddy Eleke in Awka President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, expressed sadness over the boat accident in Anambra State, in which dozens of people were killed.

No fewer than 16 dead bodies have been recovered out of the 76 passengers declared missing in the boat tragedy that happened in Ogbaru Local Government Area.

The boat reportedly carrying 85 persons had capsized, following rising floods in Ogbaru area of the state, with emergency bodies confirming a death toll of 76.

Following the tragedy, the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), had embarked on rescue and recovery missions expeditiously.

As more details were awaited, President Buhari, in a release by his spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, expressed sadness by the boat accident and directed that all possible efforts be made to account for all the passengers.

While directing all other rescue and relief agencies to rush to the site of the accident, the president also directed the relevant agencies of government to check the safety protocols on the transport ferries to make sure such incidents were avoided in the future.

“I pray for the repose of the souls of the deceased and for everyone’s safety, as well as the wellbeing of the family members of the victims of this tragic accident,” the president said.

Though there were conflicting figures, a former Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government, Mr Arinze Awogu, gave the figure

of recovered dead bodies as 13.

One of the indigenes of the area, Eze Ogbugbulu, who claimed to be on ground at the rescuescene, insisted 16 bodies had been recovered, including children.

Ogbugbulu said majority of the people on the boat, were not from their area in Osamalla, but farmers working in farm settlements, who were going back for the weekend.

"To tell you, the truth, majority of the people in that capsized boat are from Okpolodu camp in Ogwu-anocha, the last Community before Rivers State and Mputu. It is difficult to recover those bodies, because some of the bodies will hang in some of the metals and trees inside the river.

"But as we talk now, we learnt 16 bodies were recovered late Saturday and we're still waiting today (Sunday) to see what will happen. It's a difficult situation

for us,” Ogbugbulu said.

Bayelsa Task Force Visits Affected Communities The Bayelsa State Task Force on Flood Mitigation and Management, at the weekend, visited some affected communities for an on-the-spot assessment of the impact.

Communities visited in Yenagoa and Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Areas included Tombia-Ekpetiama, Odi, Sampou, Kaiama, Gbaranma Sabagreia, Okoloba, Biseni and neighbouring communities as well as some areas within the Yenagoa metropolis.

Speaking after the exercise, Commissioner for Environment and Chairman of the task force, Iselema Gbaranbiri, lamented the impact of the flooding in Biseni community, which he said was almost totally submerged.

Gbaranbiri sympathised with people of the area on behalf of

Police Lost 389 Personnel to Insurgency in 11 Years, 450 Injured 24 police barracks, 30 stations razed IG travels by road to six states, commissions new stations, barracks Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Commissioner of Police in Borno State, Mr Abdu Umar, said at the weekend, that 389 policemen paid the supreme price while 450 others were injured in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency since 2011.

He also said over 24 police barracks and 30 stations were razed or destroyed, while several fighting equipment carted away or destroyed by the terrorists.

Umar spoke during the inauguration of the newly constructed police station and barracks at Beneshiek, headquarters of Kaga Local Government Area of the state.

He spoke as the InspectorGeneral of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, toured police formations in six states, travelling by road.

He commissioned state-of-theart projects completed by his administration, including modern police stations with barracks attached to them, renovation of vital police infrastructure such as police training schools, buildings for tailoring department and the band section among others.

The commissioner, who recalled that many police barracks and stations were destroyed by terrorists, said, “It will be recalled

that at the height of the insurgency, precisely between 2011 and today, over 30 police stations/formations and 24 police barracks burnt or destroyed by the insurgents.

“389 policemen lost their lives, over 450 policemen injured while several crime fighting equipment carted away or burnt. The losses suffered by the police command in the state attracted numerous interventions amongst which we are witnessing one of such interventions today.”

He commended the IG for his interventions towards providing conducive work environment and bringing the service of the police closer to the people, adding that the command would ensure proper utilisation of the facilities for maximum result.

While the police boss reportedly lauded the state government for its support to the police, adding that the government reconstructed some of the vandalised police stations across the state, the commissioner further commended donors and development organisations for their contributions towards rebuilding destroyed police structures and other facilities in the state.

He listed the organisations to include the Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative, Victim Support Fund (VSF), Nigeria

Police Trust Fund, North-East Development Commission (NEDC), North-East Regional Initiative (NERI), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The IG, while speaking, reiterated commitment of his leadership to the improved welfare of the police and tasked them on good maintenance culture.

He thanked the state government for sustaining its support to the police and urged the people to embrace community policing by supporting the police with credible information on suspicious persons and movements in their localities.

The IG, who informed that the recently recruited 10,000 police constabulary were deployed to their respective states to promote community policing, urged politicians to play the game according to the rules in 2023 general election, even as he advised political parties and candidates to adhere to security advice and regulations for a hitch-free electioneering.

“We (police) are preparing, training and equipping ourselves to see election come and go free, fair and credible,” he said.

On the tour, a statement by Force Headquarters stated that,

"In the course of commissioning the projects and engaging community stakeholders as part of a confidence building exercise, the IG and his team travelled by road and conducted patrols from Abuja to Kaduna; Kaduna to Kano; Kano to Kazaure [Jigawa State]; Kazaure to Dandagoro [Katsina State]; Kano to Damaturu [Yobe State] [traversing parts of Jigawa and Bauchi State to Benisheik to Maiduguri in Borno State."

The IG, who assured police officers of his administration's commitment to entrenching sustainable drives for the protection of lives and property within the country, noted that a similar road trip to commission projects in the Southern part of the country would commence in earnest.

He, however, reiterated the commitment of the Nigeria Police to harness all means of improving internal security architecture of Nigeria through better condition of service, rejigged standard operating procedure and robust human and community relations.

Governor Babagana Zulum of the state applauded the IG for his commitment towards addressing challenges confronting the force, adding that the gesture was key to sustainable growth of the Nigeria Police Force.

the Governor, who he said was passionate about their wellbeing hence the setting up of the task force on flood mitigation on Wednesday during the state executive council meeting.

Also, the Director of Operations, Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA), Mr. Ayii Aziowei, sympathsed with those affected, stating that the government would do its best to provide relief for victims.

On his part, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has described the boat mishap as a “disaster of monumental proportions.”

A statement by his media office in Abuja, said the former Anambra State governor expressed “deep sadness and grief” over the tragic incident.

Ngige said, “On behalf of my immediate and extended family, I send my deepest sympathies and condolences to the government and people of Anambra State on the loss of scores of lives in the fatal boat mishap which occurred in Ogbaru.

“As a former Governor of the state, it was very distressful and agonising to me when I heard that over 76 precious lives were lost in the accident. The tragic mishap is a disaster of monumental proportions.

“I understand the pain and anguish that those, who lost their loved ones in the tragedy are experiencing at this time. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased, while I wish the injured, quick and speedy recovery. “

Sanwo-Olu Charges Religious Leaders to Preach against Electoral Violence, Advocate Tolerance Segun James Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged religious leaders to educate people on the importance of shunning electoral violence and other acts that were inimical to democracy.

He gave the advice at the 5th edition of the Greater Nigeria Project conference of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) held Friday at the Vineyard Christian Ministries, Ajao Estate, Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu, who announced a donation of N25 million for the ongoing building project of the secretariat of the Lagos State Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, called on the clerics and Christian leaders “to educate our people on the importance of shunning electoral violence and other acts that are inimical to democracy.”

Addressing the theme: ‘Greater Nigeria: A New Dawn, Revival and Transformation’, Sanwo-Olu said, the theme “is very significant and timely for a nation like Nigeria that is destined for true greatness, and that must continue to press forward in the face of many obstacles, towards that unshakable greatness.

“And we must never be slow or ashamed to seek divine help on this journey. As Psalm 127 verse 1 tells us: ‘Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor

in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.’

“As important as our work as nation-builders is, that is, from our various sectors and walks of life, we must always acknowledge the place of the Almighty God in bringing blessings and impact to that work. Otherwise, all of it will be in vain. The New Dawn that awaits the nation of Nigeria will not happen by human labour or striving or wisdom alone.

“Isaiah Chapter 43 and Verse 19 tells us: ‘Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth: shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.’ This is the promise of God for us and our nation, however before we can enjoy the manifestation of this newness, we must be completely revived and transformed; fully rededicated as agents of change for a greater Nigeria.

“That national change that we seek, I daresay, must begin inside each one of us. A transformed Nigeria will not happen without transformed Nigerians.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu, who spoke passionately about his administration's achievements in the last three and a half years, said the Greater Lagos he promised the people of Lagos State was on course.

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INTERNATIONAL HONOUR WELL DESERVED…

L-R: Senator Annie Okonkwo; Mayor of Dallas City, United States of America(US), Eric Johnson, and a US-based Nigerian entrepreneur, Mr. John Egbuna, when the Mayor conferred the Honorary Citizenship of the City of Dallas on Peter Obi…recently

Experts Seek Media, Auditors’Synergy to Fight Corruption, Fraud in Govt Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City In order to entrench accountability and transparency in the

expenditure of public funds by the executives of the three-tiers of governments, media and financial experts have called for a

Bamidele: Vote Competence and Not Sentiments in 2023 Presidential Poll DejiElumoyeinAbuja

Chairman of the Southern Senators’ Forum, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has called on Nigerians to vote for a candidate with scientific knowledge and understanding of the problems at hand with required solution during the February, 2023 presidential poll.

Bamidele, who gave this advice at the weekend inAbuja while speaking with newsmen, said sentiments of whatever form should be jettisoned

by Nigerians in electing who becomes the next president of the country.

The ranking Senator emphasised that based on myriad of challenges facing the country, a leader with

scientific understanding of the problems and required solutions to them, is what is needed and not one banking on any form of sentiments to get to office.

His words: “My own understanding of what Nigeria needs right now is a president who has the scientific understanding of what’s to be done, scientific understanding of what is wrong, the antecedent of having been able to fix broken communities, broken states, broken situations and who has a scientific understanding of the workings of the economy because a lot of the problems that we have, are traceable to the economy.

coordinated synergy between the media practitioners and auditors.

The experts in a two-day workshop on Audit Reporting organised for journalists in Benin City at the weekend by the FrontFoot Media Initiative, noted that the synergy will ensure that the governed have access to information on how their local government chairmen, governors

and president make use of public funds entrusted in their care at the end of every fiscal year.

The training was a collaborative media engagement for Development Inclusivity and Accountability Project, a targeted training of journalists, with support from the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WScIJ) and the MacArthur Foundation.

The media and financial experts which comprises Sully Abu, Chido Nwakanma, Emeka Izeze and Sonala Olumhense, as well as financial experts like Chief Chukwuemeka Joe-Nsika and Mr. Godswill Omenogor were unanimous in their submissions that the synergy between the two professions will ensure that those in governments audit their financial

accounts as when due at the end of every fiscal year and also make same available for the media for the purpose of reporting.

They opined that would ensure accountability and transparency in the management and expenditures of public funds thereby eliminating corruption and fraud in the government establishments and the financial system.

Ezekwesili: Nigeria’s Leadership Problem is Caused by Distorted Political Structure KuniTyessi in Abuja Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has linked the root cause of Nigeria’s leadership problem to distorted political culture where leaders place personal interests above public good.

According to her, there must be a change of mindset by leaders to tackle the growing economy and

security challenges in the country.

Ezekwesili stated this, weekend, at the 2022 Graduation of the School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG) with the theme: “Designing Our Global Future with Africa in Mind” held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.

Ezekwesili, who is also the founder of SPPG, observed that character, competence and capacity were the missing link

in producing good leader in the African continent.

She therefore, stressed the need for disruptive thinking in the nation’s political space.

She said: “ What we found is that not just Nigeria, but across Africa, there is a political culture that is distorted.

It’s the political culture where those who are in public leadership subordinates the public good. That is the common good for their

personal and narrow interests.

And so what it means is that the common good and public good is not served by people who should be serving. So in order to correct that, you have to basically customise a new leadership mindset.

“So, the training that we gave at the SPPG is one that has the content to reset the mindset of those who wish to lead in public service.

I’m Ready to Debate Restructuring with You, MOSOP Tackles FG for Converting Okotie Challenges Presidential Candidates debate the presidential candidates For some time now, Okotie has He rejects what he calls the adhoc Pollution Remediation Project SegunJames over the contentious issue of been at the forefront of a campaign approach of the all the presidential for restructuring through the candidates to restructuring, which he As the race towards the 2023 general restructuring. to Political Reward In a statement by his spokesman, adoption of what he calls, Aboriginal said, merely scratched the surface. election gathers more momentum,

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has alleged that the federal government has converted the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to political reward.

The pan-Ogoni group described the action as fraudulent and detrimental to the cleanup of oil polluted Ogoni environment.

MOSOP made the allegation in a communique released by its

Steering Committee signed by the President, Prince Birra, and made available to Journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Birra stated: “The Steering Committee condemned in strong terms seeming conversion of the agency to a mere patronage dispensing board, where politicians, high profile government functionaries, national parliamentarians and their cronies as well as HYPREP officials, their relatives and friends are fraudulently serviced to the detriment of the clean-up project.

Boom Platform Goes Live to Facilitate E-commerce

Boom, a marketplace, which enables buying and selling and other activities is now available in Nigeria.

Boom is on a mission to enable financial inclusion for all Nigerians by taking its e-commerce without banking solution to the masses. According to the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of Boom, Mr. Peter Alfred-Adekeye, “Our app, Boom that is a blockchain

powered e-commerce without banking application, is now live and available to all Nigerians from the 1st of October 2022. The Boom application can be downloaded for free in both IOS and Android in the Apple Appstore and Google Play store respectively.

Boom is available in Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba in addition to English, French and Spanish.”

advocate for an interim national government in the country, Rev Chris Okotie has challenged all the leading presidential candidates to a debate on the way forward for the nation.

Okotie said he is also prepared to

Ladi Ayodeji, the former presidential candidate under the Fresh Party (FP) said the debate, which will basically address the issues of restructuring,is imperative for the change the nation needs at this critical state of its democracy.

Democracy.

Okotie has said on several media platforms that to continue with the present transition is, ‘to embrace an elusive phantom’, adding that the presidential system is a terminological deceit.

“Aboriginal democracy is the holistic approach to the recreation of a workable system, that incorporates all our political, cultural and economic realities under the prevailing circumstances,” Okotie argued.

Labour Party Condemns INEC over Omission of Candidates’Names in Ogun James Sowole in Abeikuta Labour Party (LP) has called on its members in the Ogun State not to feel disenchanted over missing of some candidates’ names in the list recently released by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for the 2023 Election, sayingthe list is not the final.

The assurance was given by the LP in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, saying the party would contest all the elective positions in the next general elections in Ogun State and Nigeria LP said the omission is an aberration which is been challenged in the court of

law, adding that it has already began the legal fireworks.

Arabambi said contrary to what the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Abuja claim that we were late in submitting names of the party’s candidates through the unconstitutional electronic submission

platforms and which is not known to the Electoral Act,, the party, did what was required by the law.

He said: “We have approached the court because LP is a law-abiding party, we kept to electoral guidelines, and the Constitution also gave us 90 days window to election before the door of substitution could close.

Flood: Residents Flee Homes, Communities in Bayelsa Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Hundreds of residents have fled their homes and communities as the flooding intensified in most parts of Bayelsa, including the state capital, Yenagoa. Many of the residents, who have lost

their homes and properties to the surging flood lamented that government’s failure to clear the canals and drainages worsened the situation in most parts of the state capital.

Many others who home have been sacked blamed the state government for not taking quick proactive

measures since the warning of the flood from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), who produces the seasonal climate prediction (SCP) annually in fulfilment of its statutory responsibility to advise the government.

Most of the canals and drainages in the state capital

are still blocked as of the time of this report without any plan by the government to clear them.

It was only last week that the state government set up a Task Force to mitigate the flooding which has already devastated many communities and neighbouring states.

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OBARO OF KABBA BURIES FATHER…

The Obaro of Kabba, Kogi State, Oba Solomon Dele Owoniyi (left), and his wife, Olori Marie Owoniyi, at a reception to commemorate the completion of the final funeral rites of the traditional ruler’s father, Pa Timothy Ajayi Owoniyi in Kabba, Kogi State…recently

NDLEA Intercepts N1bn Tramadol in Lagos, Drug Kingpin Jailed Seven Years Michael Olugbode in Abuja Attempts by drug cartel to smuggle into the country an estimated N1.04 billion worth

of tramadol have been foiled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Also, an attempt by traffickers

NBS, World Bank Partner to Train Enumerators on Unemployment Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan In its bid to have comprehensive data on unemployment, employment and job situation in Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said that it has commenced training for enumerators to collect data that would reveal dependable information on unemployment and job situation in the country.

The Statistician General of the Federation and Chief Executive Officer of the NBS, Mr. Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, made this disclosure in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, while declaring open the training of enumerators for Nigerian Labour Force Survey (NLFS).

Adeniran explained that one of the aims of the re-evaluation was to produce more labour market indicators and analysis that would inform government about the employment and job situation in the country.

He added that the newly enhanced NLFS is expected to produce national figures on a quarterly basis with interesting labour market statistics.

Adeniran, while addressing the participants at the training organised in conjunction with the World Bank, said that the NBS has been working with World Bank’s staff to design a new approach for the conduct of the NLFS survey in the country.

Expert Harps on Importance of Water forhealthy Wellness living which should be Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The proprietress of Spaholic, an Indian citizen, Mrs. Vandana Kaushal, has reiterated the benefits of water in and outside the body, saying it is unarguably one natural remedy for wellness, beauty and preservation.

Kaushal, who stated this in Abuja during the unveiling of a branch of Spaholic, a beauty parlour that takes care of the physical, social and mental well-being of both men and women, said spa, which means health through water, is not only a need but a necessity for

over 2,465,000 tablets of the pharmaceutical opioid in 225mg and 250mg, weighing 2,356 kilogrammes with an estimated street value of N1,040,000,000 through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, were foiled by operatives of the antinarcotics agency.

Babafemi, while noting that the

seizure of the drug last Friday came barely a week after about N13.5 million pills of the same drug worth over N8.8 billion were recovered by NDLEA operatives from one of the mansions of a billionaire drug baron in the highbrow residential estate, Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lekki Lagos.

He said following credible intelligence, the agency had shown interest in the consignment of 52 cartons that came into Nigeria from Karachi, Pakistan, with six different airway bills via Ethiopian Airline flight, comprising seven cartons of 250mg of a brand called Tamral, and 45 cartons of 225mg branded as tramaking.

Gunmen Attack Police Station, Kill Two in Enugu

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

Gunmen yestderday attacked the Inyi Police Divisional Headquarters in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State killing two people, including a police officer and an unidentified resident of the area.

According to eyewitnesses,

the gunmen, numbering about six, stormed the police facility in two vehicles and immediately opened fire on some officers, killing one of them and a civilian.

Some video clips which have now gone viral on social media, show the police station going up in flames, having been razed by the gunmen.

The clips also showed some residents gathered near the facility and crying as they watched the remains of the victims.

Some of those who spoke in the video said that they were asked by the gunmen not to run as they were not the problem but the police officers. Some motorcycles

seen in the video were also destroyed.

Although the police public relations officer in the state, Daniel Ndukwe confirmed the incident, he could not give more information on the killing of the officer and the unidentified resident. He only said that the Police were already on the trail of the gunmen.

Police Arrest Three Armed Robbers in Kwara Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command over the weekend arrested three suspected armed robbery gang that have been terrorising the students of Kwara State University, Malete.

A statement issued in Ilorin

the concern of everyone.

Emphasising that beauty is about women empowerment, the proprietress said women Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogoin must take care of themselves Umuahia first in order to be fit to take care of their spouses and The leadership of the Abia State Chapter of the All Progressives children.

She said with the services Congress (APC) at the weekend available, women, especially, “energised” the party’s 24 state can gain more confidence with assembly candidates and 184 well cultured nails, beautiful exfoliated skin, brushed and proper groomed hair, as well as other body pampering, which Laleye Dipo in Minna is needed to boost both mental The Labour Party (LP), and psychological health. has inaugurated its state secretariat in Minna just as the party has also begun a free membership registration.

The registration would be Ecommerce store in a one year done manually and on line mutually beneficial partnership. with hundreds of people Mr Macaroni expressed his excitement at the collaboration, saying: “I am very excited to begin this journey with a Wale Igbintade brand that has shown true resilience and growth over The Chairman of Zinox the years. It is a privilege Technologies Limited, Leo to be associated with such a Stan Ekeh, has vowed not to prestigious platform. Drinks. succumb to cheap blackmail and ng and Mr Macaroni are doing an attempt to tarnish his image well”. following media reports alleging

Drinks.ng Relaunches Platform, Signs Mr.Macaroni Brand Ambassador Drinks.ng has relaunched its pre-drinks platform, ‘Meet Me At The Liquor Store’ in Lagos and has announced Adebowale David Ibrahim Adebayo, popularly known as Mr. Macaroni, as its Brand Ambassador. Mr. Macaroni, who has built his career as one of Nigeria’s most famous, vibrant and dynamic voices, will collaborate with Nigeria’s biggest beverage and

to smuggle a consignment of 1.30 kilogrammes of cannabis concealed in reconstructed engine blocks to Dubai, United Arab Emirate was foiled.

A statement issued yesterday by the spokesman of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said desperate attempts by the tramadol cartel to smuggle into Nigeria

on Sunday and signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO,) Mr. Okasanmi Ajayi, stated that the suspects were arrested at their different hideouts at Malete town.

The statement reads: “Due to reports of armed robbery/ rape cases received by Malete Divisional Police Headquarters

from attacked students and residents of Malete, a university town in Kwara State, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Paul Odama, pursuant to his earlier assertion that lawlessness of whatever nomenclature would not be allowed in Kwara State while in office

as the commissioner of police in the state.

“A crack team of detectives was set up that comprised the anti-cultists, anti-kidnapping, anti-robbery and personnel of Malete Division with the mandate to break the suspects’ foothold and bring the culprits to justice.

Abia APC Leadership Prepares for Grassroots Campaigns ward chairmen in readiness for grassroots campaigns.

The leaders performed the infusion of courage, boldness and self-confidence into the candidates and grassroots leaders at a meeting with them at Umukabia Okpuala in Umuahia North Local Government.

It was a fine-tuning of strategy preparatory to the commencement of governorship and state assembly campaigns. The Abia APC leaders of the party said they would take the campaigns to every nook and cranny of the state in order to achieve its 2023 goal of liberating

the state from perpetrators of bad governance.

To effectively penetrate the grassroots with its message of “rescue and develop Abia,” the party also took step to strengthen its structures in all the 184 wards for Abia.

Labour Party Inaugurates Secretariat, Begins Free Membership Registration in Niger queuing up to obtain the membership cards of the party.

The LP’s Niger State Governorship Candidate, Mr. Joshua Bawa, said after the inauguration of the secretariat and commencement of the registration that “a huge number of loyalists are

expected to collect the membership cards of the party.”

Bawa, who was optimistic of victory in the governorship polls because the ruling party has not fulfilled its promises to the electorate, said that the LP in the state would introduce a new narrative to

governance that would bring satisfaction to the people of the state.

He said: “The state is not being well managed. Our roads are in bad shape, the schools are dilapidated,” adding that “everything will be done to right the wrongs when we get to government.”

Alleged N170m Fraud: I Will Not Succumb to Blackmail, Says Zinox that he, his wife, Chioma, and some of his staff members were charged to court with alleged N170 million contract fraud.

A statement issued by his lawyers, Matthew Burkaa and Co., stated that some online news platforms published

malicious stories about him, his wife, and some members of his company.

He wondered “how a straightforward business transaction between two corporate entities, Technology Distributions Limited (TD) and

Citadel Oracle Concepts Limited, has been skewed in a manner to give the erroneous impression that a personal business was transacted by individuals, to wit: Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, his wife and his named staff with one Mr. Benjamin Joseph.”

47

MONDAY, ͹͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Bumper Sunday for Nigerian Teams in CAF Competitions Rivers Utd one more win or draw away from $40,000-a-man bonus Plateau Utd, Kwara Utd fight back to earn victories

Duro Ikhazuagbe Nigeria’s flag bearers in the CAF Champions League, Rivers United and Plateau United, put up impressive performances coming from behind to beat their North African oppositions. The wins have brighten the chances of the Nigerian teams making it to the money spinning Group Stage.

In Port Harcourt, Rivers United upset Moroccan cup holders Wydad Casablanca 2-1 with goals by Malachi Ohawume in the 34th minute and Paul Acquah eight minutes into the second half.

Interestingly, it was the visitors who gained the advantage in the 32nd minute when Bouly Sambou shot Wydad into the lead.

With the 2-1 win, another victory or draw in the return leg in

Casablanca next week will guarantee Rivers United players a $40,000-aman bonus should they qualify for the money spinning group stage of competition.

The story was the same at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja where Tunisia’s Esperance also got the curtain raiser after 27 minutes through Anice Badri.

But with Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, and newly elected NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, on hand to cheer them on, the Jos-based team dug deep to fight back.

Their resilience eventually paid off when Ifeanyi Emmanuel drew the home team level after 35 minutes. Mustapha Ibrahim got the winner in first half stoppage time for Plateau United to also take a

slim 2-1 advantage into the second leg in Tunisia next week.

Both Nigerian teams will now have to defend their slim leads in North Africa next weekend to advance to the mini-league stage of the lucrative Champions League.

In the CAF Confederation Cup clash at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena

in Lagos, Kwara United FC were a goal down to Cup holders RS Berkane of Morocco after just seven minutes. But the Ilorin team just like Rivers United and Plateau, came back strong in the second half to fire in three goals to take a comfortable 3-1 victory to the second leg next week.

Speaking on the good outings on the first weekend he took charge of Nigerian football, Gusau told reporters in Abuja that the country’s representatives in the continental campaigns have done well so far.

“Our teams have done well in the first leg matches, but I want them to go all out in the return

RESULTS CAFCL Rivers Utd 2-1 Wydad Plateau Utd 2-1 Esperance

CAF CONFED CUP Kwara Utd 3-1 RS Berkane

Premier League

NIGERIANS IN EUROPEAN LEAGUES

Cry’Palace 2-1 Leeds West Ham 3-1 Fulham

Iwobi’s Goal Not Enough as Ronaldo’s 700th Goal Seals Victory for United It was a bitter sweet evening for Alex Iwobi who scored Everton’s opener against Manchester United.

The Super Eagles midfielder capitalized on Casemiro’s gaffe early in the fifth minute to put the hosts ahead for his fifth Premier League goal in 93 appearances for Everton.

On the evening Iwobi had his Uncles, Austin Jay Jay Okocha and his elder brother, Emma, watching from the VIP stand, it was ironical that same the former Arsenal player was the one who lost the ball to Casemiro who sent a

long through ball that sent Ronaldo running towards the Everton goal for his landmark 700th club goal.

It has been a frustrating season so far for Ronaldo, who has been reduced to the role of substitute after failing to get his hoped-for summer move away from Old Trafford.

But introduced as a first-half substitute after Anthony Martial suffered another injury just three games into his comeback from the last one.

The goal was the 37-year-old's first goal on this ground since 2005.

Eze’s Winner Settles Maximum Points for Crystal Palace Eberechi Eze scored a fine goal as Crystal Palace came from behind to beat Leeds 2-1 at Selhurst Park and end their winless run in the Premier League.

The visitors had deservedly taken the lead early on when Pascal Struijk drove in after Brenden Aaronson hit the post following excellent work inside the box.

Crystal Palace were struggling to impose themselves and Patrick Bamford, making his first Leeds start since August, forced a save out of Vicente Guaita.

But the hosts equalised midway through the first half when Odsonne Edouard headed in from Michael Olise's free-kick.

Eze however secured the three points with a superb individual strike, running across the edge of the area before firing low into the back of the net.

The win - Palace's first in five Premier League games - moves them up to 15th and three points clear of the relegation zone, level on nine points with Leeds, who are 14th.

Arsenal however regain the leadership of the English topflight after the 3-2 defeat of Liverpool yesterday. The Gunners are on 24 points from nine matches with Manchester City (23) and Tottenham (20) second and third respectively.

Lookman Salvages a Point for Atalanta at Udinese Atalanta were provisional leaders of Italian Serie A after Ademola Lookman scored one of the goals for them to salvage a 2-2 draw at Udinese.

Atalanta on 21 points from nine matches however dropped back to second spot after Napoli defeated Cremonese 4-1 away to

regain the top spot on 23 points.

Super Eagles Cyriel Dessers scored Cremonese only goal.

Lookman scored his third goal of the season in the 36th minute to put Atalanta ahead. The visitors increased their lead in the second half before the home team fought back for a draw.

Moffi’s Eight Goals Same as Neymar, Mbappe Terem Moffi continued to take the French Ligue 1 by storm when his brace for FC Lorient yesterday saw him tie on the top of the goals chart on eight goals same as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

The as well as lift FC Lorient to

second spot on the table.

FC Lorient, who in the last two seasons battled against relegation, shot to second place on the table with 25 points from 10 matches on the back of yesterday’s 2-1 win at Brest.

games because North African playgrounds are usually difficult ones for most teams. Our teams showed the Nigerian spirit in an excellent ways to come from behind to record victories. They will need this spirit even in more pronounced manner in the second leg matches,” observed the new NFF chief.

Arsenal 3-2 Liverpool Everton 1-2 Man Utd

LaLiga Sociedad 1-0 Villarreal Valladolid 0-0 Betis

Serie A Udinese 2-2 Atalanta Cremonese 1-4 Napoli Torino 1-1 Empoli

Ligue 1

700 GOALS AND COUNTING...

Montpellier 0-2 Monaco

Cristiano Ronaldo emerged the first player to score 700 club goals as he scored the winner in Manchester United’s 2-1 defeat of Everton at the Goodson Park...yesterday

Brest 1-2 Lorient Rennes 3-0 Nantes

Sports Minister Commends ICC, NCF over World Cup Qualifier The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare, has commended the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Nigeria Cricket Federation(NCF) over the excellent organisation of the just concluded ICC Under-19 Men Africa Division 2 World Cup Qualifier held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja..

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the qualifier on Saturday, Dare praised the Nigeria Cricket Federation for being a focused and strategic federation that is carrying out the vision of government for sports development to the letter.

He said the pace and the dedication of the NCF to youth development and facility upgrade

Peak Milk Celebrates Nigerian Para Powerlifting Team Peak brand, Official Partners of the Nigerian Para Powerlifting Federation, has reiterated its commitment to sustain its long-term support to the Federation’s athletes as they continually strive to win medals for Nigeria in international competitions.

The Team, also known as “the Unstoppables”, sustained their impeccable performance streak at their latest exploits at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England; and the 22nd African Championships in Saint Pierre, Mauritius where they posted credible, medal-winning performances.

At a Peak Breakfast event recently in their honour at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, the Managing Director, FrieslandCampina Sub-Saharan Africa Cluster, Ben Langat affirmed the continued backing

of the Unstoppables by Nigeria’s foremost milk brand.

The event also saw the Federation receiving new sets of top-of-the-line wheelchairs, in addition to nutritional support to nourish the athletes to even greater performances in upcoming competitions.

The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Akin Dare, represented by the Deputy Director and Liaison Officer, Mrs. Ekanam Mbora, was full of gratitude to the Peak brand for its support to the Para Powerlifting Federation and its athletes, as well as Nigerian sports in general.

In attendance at the ceremony were members of the newly inaugurated Board of the Nigeria Para-Power Lifting Federation (NPPF), led by the President, Mr. Charles Ezenwanne.

is commendable, stating particularly that he is impressed with the investment in and upgrade of the twin cricket ovals at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.

His words: “The facility here and what it means to sports development, especially cricket is a major win for the country and I commend the Nigeria Cricket Federation for the vision and the investment. I also commend the ICC for the quality of administration and the trust in Nigeria to host this event. We look

forward to working with them on the development of the game in Nigeria.”

The Minister encouraged the Nigerian U19 team who lost the keenly contested final of the qualifier to Kenya to bounce back from the loss and put the lessons learnt from it to good use during next year's Division 1 World Cup playoffs in South Africa.

Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone will join Uganda, Tanzania and Namibia in next year's U19 Cricket World Cup playoffs in South Africa.

KBFN Plans New Vision for Kickboxing in Nigeria The Kickboxing Federation of Nigeria (KBFN) rose from it's Executive Board meeting on Friday in Lagos pledging to chart a new course for the sport in the country.

President of KBFN, Okon Wilson Godwin, disclosed this at the end of their one-day marathon meeting held Saturday inside the board room of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development Secretariat, National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Okon who was recently elected into the Executive Committee of the African Kickboxing Confederation(AFKC), said the board had discussions on various issues affecting the federation, including the appointment of a Technical Director.

"As it is right now, the Federation

does not have a Technical Director and to us, that is not good if we must move forward. We need a Technical Director right now and the board is working on that as we speak. We also reviewed the various Sub-committees set up in order to have them ratified," the president hinted.

Having held four championships back-to-back since the inauguration of the new board this year , the President revealed that the federation which appears to be on the fast lane, may still stage two more Championships before the end of the year irrespective of International engagements.

He promised to use his position in the continent to promote Kickboxing in the country.

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Monday, October 10, 2022

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Price: N250

MISSILE INEC to Politicians “We shall not pander to any partisan whims and caprices. We pledge to discharge our duties with the highest sense of responsibility and integrity.

I wish to restate once again, the commitment of INEC to credible elections.

Votes will continue to count and will be the sole determinant of electoral outcome” – INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, reiterating his promise to deliver credible, free and fair general elections in 2023.

MAHMUDJEGA VIEW FROM THE GALLERY

Five Dramas in One Week I initially thought last week was going to count as a happy one in Nigeria’s recent history, what with the release on Wednesday of the 23 remaining train passengers held

by Ansaru terrorists for 191 days. They were the last ones of the 61 passengers kidnapped on March 28 after an attack on the Abuja-Kaduna night-time train.

According to the official announcement, the previously not known Chief of Defence Staff Action Committee [CDSAC] secured their release. No ransom was paid, according to Transport Minister Mu’azu Jaji Sambo. That makes sense because if government had intended to pay ransom all along, it could have done so much earlier, should not have allowed victims’ family members to shoulder the burden of paying hundreds of millions of naira to the terrorists, and probably would not have involved the military in a ransom-paying scheme.

During a meeting with editors and newspaper publishers in Abuja about a month ago, Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor dropped broad hints that the kidnapped persons will soon be out. It was confidential, so no newspaper reported it. It sounded as if a military operation was underway.

We do not yet know exactly how this freeing operation was done, but it was the happiest national news in Nigeria last week.

Quickly overshadowed by four sorry events. Midweek, Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited [NNPC)] Mele Kolo Kyari announced that a 4-kilometre-long illegal oil pipeline connecting Forcados oil export terminal directly to the high seas was recently discovered. This pipeline, which could send out 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, went undetected for nine years, Kyari said. Depending upon how one tends to view things, this story caused both elation and shock in Nigeria. Elation, because theft of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of crude oil had been brought to an end. Shock, because for nine years, a pipeline that siphoned off more money than ASUU ever demanded operated undetected for a decade.

One online story last week suggested that ex-Niger Delta militant Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, helped make the find as part of his N4 billion monthly surveillance contract to police oil installations. If so, then Tompolo has proved that placing the fox to protect the chicken coop was not a bad idea after all. Pictures released by NNPC showed Kyari and Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor wading into oil soaked creeks while engineers dug up the illegal

Mele Kyari

pipeline. Now, such a pipeline, buried in the creeks and far into the ocean, could only have been built by the most astute engineers. Who built it, who owned it, who protected it all this while, who knew about it but did not squeal, and who brought the ships that stood far from the shore and bought the stolen oil? The authorities promised an investigation; we are eager to hear the answers.

At least as shocking as the discovery of a nine-year-old illegal oil pipeline was the capture in Lagos of a nine billion-naira illegal drug consignment. On Tuesday last week, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency [NDLEA] agents stormed a mansion at highbrow Victoria Garden Estate in Lekki area of Lagos and found 13.4 million pills of tramadol 225mg worth N8.8billion in street value. The mansion was said to belong to Ugochukwu Nsofor Chukwukadibia, Chairman of Autonation Motors Limited, described by NDLEA as a “billionaire drug baron.”

NDLEA said preliminary investigation showed Chukwukadibia has six mansions within VGC. He lives in one, uses one as his office, and uses a third one to warehouse tramadol consignments.

Five exotic vehicles were found in the mansions, including two Sports Utility Vehicles [SUVs] and a bulletproof jeep.

We should not jump to convict this man in the media but a lot of Nigerians will say, if I have a fraction of that wealth, what am I doing with tramadol?

Two months earlier, NDLEA found a methamphetamine lab in another residence in the same estate belonging to Chris Emeka Nzewi. 258.74 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine and various precursor chemicals used for the production of the

toxic drug were recovered from Nzewi’s home during his arrest, NDLEA said.

Questions begging for answers include, how did so much drugs enter the country; did they come by ship, air or land borders?

How did they come into this estate and, did anyone designate Victoria Garden City as a drug depot?

Are we to celebrate, that so much lifedestroying drugs have been found, or to cry, that some people do not care how many youthful lives are wasted as long as they can make money out of drugs?

NDLEA under Brigadier General Buba Marwa is doing a smashing job. It is back in the good news for the first time since the days of Major General Musa Bamaiyi, and is at least erasing some of the national stain from the Abba Kyari drug involvement scandal.

An even more bizarre drama unfolded in Nigeria Wednesday last week when an estimated 500 vigilante agents of the Kogi State Government, in what one writer described as “Hollywood stunt fashion,” invaded Dangote Cement Company’s Obajana cement plant in the state. An altercation ensued; the company said seven of its workers were shot and many others were injured, that some of its machinery and facilities were destroyed and production was halted.

Dangote Cement said the thugs were sent by Governor Yahaya Bello, who did not deny it because he charged the company with tax evasion and also of “unresolved ownership” issues. Among the flurry of claims and counter-claims between the two, two issues stood out.

KGSG accused the cement plant, the single largest industrial plant in the state after the comatose Ajaokuta Steel Company, of not paying tax. Dangote replied that it pays a billion naira in Pay As You Earn taxes to KGSG annually and does not owe anything.

The second, more complicated issue is ownership. Dangote says the plant belongs to it 100%, having bought it from federal and Kogi State Governments in 1992. KGSG says it cannot find evidence of payment or even the transfer of ownership. So as far as it is concerned, it owns 10% of the plant but has not been paid any dividends since the 1990s. Ego plays a part in this dispute. Kogi State Assembly invited the cement plant to discuss with it; Obajana Cement sent a senior manager but the Assembly said Aliko Dangote, billionaire chairman of its parent company, must appear in person.

We will only be able to sift the chaff from the grain in these charges and counter charges after a full public enquiry, by the National Assembly, another federal agency or a court of law. We can however say right away that it was reckless in the

extreme for Governor Yahaya Bello to send thugs to close such a major industrial plant, which employs thousands directly and indirectly and is a major contributor to the state’s and national GDP. If the order to close it were legal, the police should be the one to do it, not thugs.

In the event, police had to move in and disperse the thugs.

Governor Bello’s methods spoiled his case, if he has one. Has he tried the court option? If Dangote cannot prove in court that it acquired KGSG’s shares, a court can restore them, even though there is the question of why Federal and Kogi State governments stood askance for three decades when Dangote cement trucks can be seen on the road every day, ferrying Obajana cement to its depots.

Bello’s method damaged the prospect for his colleagues who are travelling abroad every day, soliciting for foreign investment in their states. It also added ammunition to those who are skeptical about amending the constitution to allow for state police forces.

And then, to cap events of the last tumultuous week, there was the Court of Appeal order to striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities [ASUU] to return to work after eight months, empty handed as it were, because no agreement has been signed between government and the nation’s most restive union. To put matters in proper perspective, the Appeal Court didn’t say ASUU should return to work; it said it will not entertain ASUU’s appeal against a National Industrial Court order to return to work until it first obeys that court’s order [which, many Nigerians will say, amounts to the same thing].

Nor can this ruling be appealed to the Supreme Court, one lawyer said, because the Appeal Court is final judicial arbitrator in industrial matters.

It was the second body blow to ASUU in one week because Dr. Chris Ngige’s Ministry of Labour registered two new academic staff unions, Congress of Nigerian University Academics [CONUA] and Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics, NAMDA, with the clear hope of breaking ASUU’s ranks.

Government may yet have more tricks up its sleeve, such as “signing an agreement” with CONUA and NAMDA in return for their “calling off” the strike.

The trickiest one is the Appeal Court order. Will ASUU obey it and return to classes “while negotiations [and the court case] continue,” when it previously said government did not fulfill even the agreements that it signed? Or, will ASUU leaders be sent to prison for disobeying a court order? Drama no dey short for Naija here.

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