THURSDAY 12TH OCTOBER 2023

NUPRC Optimistic Exxon Mobil, Seplat, NNPC Will Follow Due Process in Asset Sale Deal Says stalemate is commercial not regulatory

Peter Uzoho The Chief Executive of the Nigerian

Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, has expressed optimism

that parties to the Share Sale of the local unit of Exxon Mobil would engage themselves within Nigerian

law and follow due process if they are to conclude the effective transfer of JV assets from Exxon Mobil to

Seplat.

Komolafe, who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the Africa Oil

Week, in Cape Town, South Africa, Continued on page 10

Tinubu Appoints New CEOs for NIPOST, NCC, NITDA, Two Other Agencies... Page 14 Thursday 12 October, 2023 Vol 28. No 10410. Price: N250

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Bayelsa: INEC Assures of ElectronicVoting Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie

L-R: Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Zaccheus Adedeji; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen Atiku Bagudu; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI. Senate President , Senator Godswill Akpabio; Sen Olamilekan Solomon and Rep Abubakar Bichi during their meeting with the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja .. yesterday

The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), has assured Nigerians that it would implement the process of electronic transmission of results in the November 11 governorship Continued on page 10

Obi Wants More on Tinubu, BBC Says No Evidence of Forgery, Atiku Differs

President has no identity problem, APC replies opposition as controversy deepens Emmanuel Addeh and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, yesterday waded into the controversy surrounding the personal identity of President Bola Tinubu, demanding that it was time the Nigerian leader addressed the issues squarely.

Specifically, Obi who spoke during a world press conference in Abuja, urged Tinubu to personally speak to the issues surrounding his real name, birthplace, educational qualifications, his parentage, among others.

But in a swift reaction to Obi, the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday, said Tinubu has no identity problem, except the one contrived

by Atiku Abubakar and Obi. However yesterday, a report by the ‘BBC Global Disinformation Team’ indicated that there was no evidence that the diploma Tinubu submitted to the country's electoral commission was forged.

This was just as Atiku's Special Assistant on Public Communications, Continued on page 10

STRENGTHENING PUBLIC SECURITY...

Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar (left) and Kwara Governor/Chairman, Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq at the delivery/reception ceremony of multipurpose platform special mission (ISR) aircrafts to 303 medium group, in Ilorin... yesterday

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T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023

Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0809 7777 322, 0807 401 0580

NEWS

inauguration of Toronto Road...

R-L: Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Imo State Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma; Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, during the inauguration of Toronto - Road Safety in Imo State ... yesterday

Nigerian Content Key to Meeting Renewed Hope Agenda, Says Minister Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has identified the effective implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act 2010 as one of the key levers for actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Speaking during his tour of NCDMB facilities and projects in Bayelsa State on Tuesday, the Minister revealed that the key mandates of the NCDMB, which includes the promotion of in-country value addition in the oil and gas industry, incentivising local manufacturing in the oil industry, development of human and material capacities and job creation were major pathways for meeting the key aspirations of the current administration.

He hailed the Executive Secretary and the management of the Board for a sterling performance, highlighting the creation of the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) as one of the Board’s most impactful initiatives.

He noted that lack of access to affordable finance was one of the biggest challenges facing emerging

players in the oil and gas sector, noting that the NCI Fund which is administered by the Bank of Industry (BOI) would assist qualified oil and gas companies to access the capital they need to grow, build capacities, and create jobs.

Commenting after he toured the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) at Emeyal 1, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, the Minister described the park project as a game changer in the nation’s drive to catalyse in-country manufacturing in the oil and gas and linkage sectors and job creation.

He promised that the federal government would support the NCDMB in every possible way to achieve its core mandates. According to him, “Mr. President will do whatever he can to ensure that we achieve a lot more than had been achieved in the past from Nigerian Content.

"We are happy that Nigerian Content has made very strategic investments geared towards creating jobs. We need to redouble the achievements of the Board.

"We hope that NCDMB will help Nigerians to play a lot more prominent role in the oil and gas

industry.”

Referencing the ongoing plans by some international oil companies to divest from onshore and shallow waters and move to deep and ultra-offshore operations, Lokpobiri pointed out that indigenous companies have been able to step in and fill the openings courtesy of the systematic empowerment by the Board over the years.

“Nigerian companies are doing very well today, courtesy of the capacity-building strategies that were institutionalised by the NCDMB in the past years,” he asserted.

Lokpobiri, further extolled

the Board for constructing and maintaining the iconic 17-storey Nigerian Content Tower and the 1000-capacity NCDMB Conference Hall.

He indicated that the aesthetics and ambiance of the facilities surpassed most locations across the world and called for the sustenance of the culture.

He said: “I commend the Board for the maintenance culture it has on its facilities. I want to see the edifice having the same look down the line. The challenge of infrastructural development is the maintenance.

I will give all the support I can,

so we have the edifice maintained for the benefit of all Nigerians.”

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, gave the Minister a brief history of the Board, successive stages undergone, the strengths and accomplishments of the Board to date.

On the NoGaPS project, the Executive Secretary mentioned that the Emeyal- 1 park would be commissioned in the first quarter of 2024. He attributed the slight delay in the execution schedule to the devastating flooding that hit several states in the second and third quarters of 2022. Giving

At IMF, W’Bank Meetings, Jimoh Ibrahim Canvasses New Measure to Resolve Africa's Debt Crisis Obinna China in Marrakech, Morocco

The Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, has called for the swapping of Africa's debts with the disasters and other pains the continent has been undergoing due to climate change.

Speaking with journalists at the end of a session at the ongoing World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, Ibrahim, recommended that Africa’s debts, particularly that of Nigeria, be swapped for the pains of climate change coming from the United States of America, China, Russia,

Germany and other developed economies.

The Nigerian lawyer and businessman explained: "Africa is hugely in debt, using $50 billion every year to service debts without paying the debtor," which to him was worrisome to the entire world.

"What I told the IMF and World

At $30m Drilling Cost Per Gas Well, Operators Push for Review of Fiscal Policies in Sector Peter Uzoho

Nigeria's quest to increase its gas production and utilise the natural energy product to pursue its industrialisation and development agenda appears to be a mirage with the cost of drilling a gas well ballooning to as high as $30 million due to increasing fiscal burdens and other disincentives to the operators.

Operators under the aegis of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) raised the concern yesterday, in Lagos, at a one-day media parley and training session for energy reporters.

The lamentations by oil and gas industry operators in Nigeria over unbearable fiscal constraints, regulatory misalignment and other operational challenges have refused to settle despite the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) over two years ago.

Successive governments had taken several initiatives to unlock the potentials of the country's vast gas resources through increasing gas production for both domestic use and export for foreign exchange

earning. The recent of such initiatives and policies were the declaration of 2021 to 2030 as Nigeria's Decade of Gas, the launch of the Autogas Policy, the National Energy Transition Programme as well as the declaration of 2060 as Nigeria's NetZero target among others.

The current President Bola Tinubu, recently gave further impetus to the Autogas policy with the funding supports to activate the roll out of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles to deepen the adoption of gas as a cleaner source of fuel for transportation, a move intended to cushion the adverse effect of high transportation cost.

Lack of attractive fiscal terms to encourage producing companies to invest in drilling large gas wells and bring large volumes of gas to the surface has become a big encumbrance to the country's aspiration to use its gas resources to attain industrialisation and socio-economic development.

Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural gas, with over 206 trillion cubic feet (TCF) proven gas reserve waiting to be brought

further updates on the project, Wabote announced that several manufacturing firms and other vendors had expressed interest in operating at the parks. He said the Board is currently screening the applicants to select serious firms for the Bayelsa and Cross River parks.

As part of the facility tour, the Minister and his entourage inspected the NCDMB Fire Station, Creche, the three-star NCDMB Conference Hotel under construction, the Nigeria Oil and Gas Park Scheme (NOGaPS) facility at Emeyal-1, the NCDMB gas power plant at Elebele, and the NCDMB Gas Hub at Polaku.

to the surface and over 600TCF still yet to be proven which requires investments to unlock.

However, highlighting the challenges at the session, the Chair of Study Group on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, NGA, Chichi Emenike, urged the federal government to urgently review the fiscal terms in the PIA to encourage investment into the gas sector.

Haven spent over 25 years in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Emenike, who is the Head of Gas Ventures at Neconde Energy Limited, operator of the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 42, said companies need money to bring out the gas from the ground.

Also explaining that operators need funding to invest in infrastructure to distribute that gas, she insisted that the fiscal terms must be good enough to attract the needed investment.

"You have a challenged economy.

You have FX issues. You have gas you are selling in naira. You have a government that tells you that you have to do domestic supply obligations. We are talking of

multiple taxation," she said.

She criticised the multiple taxes and fees being imposed on the operators by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Emenike stated, "Today, you have DPR (Department of Petroleum Resources) that has been split into NUPRC And NMDPRA. "The gas business is a value chain. So, from that upstream all the way to downstream, you still have to repatriate what you have invested from upstream (down to the other chains).

"Now, if the chain is broken anywhere like you see most times, I have gas that I have supplied two, three years ago, I don't even have the money for it. What do I tell my partners?

"Today, at the upstream where I operate in the heart of the Niger Delta, to drill one gas well, it's about $30 million. Now, when you bury that money in the ground, of course, you have your plus or minus what your reservoirs are telling you, or

you do all your work and to a great extent estimate your volumes, you bring it up, you need infrastructure."

She also expressed displeasure with the current regulated pricing regime for gas, which allows the government to set prices rather than introducing a market-based pricing regime that would allow producers to sell their gas to the willing offtakers.

While welcoming the current government's focus on Autogas, she advised that Nigeria should refrain from looking at gas from a rent-seeking perspective and think of how to use it to transform the country.

"Unfortunately, all the fiscal's that we are talking about, and that is where the real economics is.

"There are so many taxes, royalties. So, how do you cope with your investors and then how do you repatriate those funds? It's a good resource. And when you travel to the rest of the world and you see the development they have done with resources they've taken from us, you just wonder what are we doing?", Emenike added.

Bank is that there is a climate change issue impacting the continent.

"The carbon dioxide is polluted by the plethora of cars in America and burning of fossils. This is really affecting Africans and their health.

The consequences should be paid by the pollutant and they should pay for the damages that erupts in the African continent, because disaster does not require a visa to travel. "Who is going to pay for the burning of fossils and pollution of carbon dioxide in Africa," he added.

He pointed out that if one quantifies the amount of damage done to Africa, "you can exchange it for Africa's debts."

According to Ibrahim, "the IMF is looking at this seriously and they asked me a question: How do we quantify the damages? But I told them, we have data. "We don't produce cars in Africa, but the whole world uses cars. These cars are produced in either Germany, America, Russia, China and India.

"Imagine the number of cars in the world and burning fossil oil is consequences of all the disasters we see leads to manipulation of carbon dioxide which is what we breathe in as oxygen.

"If you look at it, Africans that stay abroad, they reason better and look better than those of us that stay in Nigeria. It means that the whole carbon dioxide pollution is coming to Africa and for every conference you have on climate change, America finds it difficult to sign to the agreement of liability and we are saying we must get people to sign to the liability because he who pollutes must pay," the lawmaker added.

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NEWS

NDLEA BOSS VISITS TINUBU...

Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Major General Buba Marwa (rteD ) (Left) being welcomed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to his office, during a courtesy visit by the PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI. NDLEA boss to the Presidential Villa in Abuja ….yesterday

Tinubu: Government Will Continue to Nurture, Support, Empower Girl-child Education is weapon needed by girl-child to overcome discrimination, says First Lady Girls’ education will boost Nigeria’s development, Lawan declares Foundation offers N2m scholarship to girls in Abuja slum community Deji Elumoye, Emmanuel Addeh, Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Ugo Aliogo in Lagos President Bola Tinubu has given an assurance that his government would continue paying attention to supporting, nurturing and empowering the girl-child in the country.

The president gave the assurance yesterday, in his message to commemorate 2023 International Day of the Girl-child, posted on his

verified X handle, @officialABAT. Tinubu, according to the post, said, "she is not merely a gem; she is a treasure, a beacon of hope and resilience.

"The girl child is destined to grow into anything she dreams of, adding vibrant colors to our world.

"We are committed to nurturing, supporting, and empowering every girl, providing her with the opportunities she deserves. Let's create a world where every girl's potential is realised and celebrated.

"Happy International Day of the Girl Child," the president wrote.

On her part, the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said education was the weapon needed to give the girl child in Nigeria her freedom from discrimination and intimidation.

Mrs Tinubu spoke yesterday, at the National Girls Interactive Session with Policy and Decision Makers to commemorate the 2023 International Day of the Girl Child in Abuja According to a statement issued

by her spokesperson, Busola Kukoyi, the First Lady also said investing in the girl child was in the best interest of the nation.

She noted that the girl child must be protected from all forms of violence with a safe and inclusive environment provided for them to thrive.

According to Mrs Tinubu: "Our girls are not just the leaders of tomorrow; they are the leaders of today. It's high time we break down barriers that have held them back for long.

Experts Express Worry Over Poor Mental Health Services for Security Agencies Say exodus of doctors affecting health services

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Security experts in the country have raised concerns about the declining level of mental health services provided for military and paramilitary agencies engaged in the task of securing lives and properties in the country.

The concerned stakeholders said they were worried that the unbating exodus of Nigerian doctors and nurses abroad for greener pastures had further compounded issues with health services available for security personnel declining.

The Director General Office for the Strategic Preparedness and Resilience (OSPRE), National Early Warning Centre of Nigeria, Mr. Chris Ngwodo, who spoke at a consultative roundtable on mental healthcare for armed forces, security services and law enforcement personnel said there was need for the security agencies to pool resources to address the gap in provision of mental health services.

He said the authorities of the military and paramilitary agencies in the country and OSPRE came together in a collaborative effort, to convene a meeting of stakeholders in defence, security and law enforcement to addressing healthcare challenges facing the sector.

According Ngwodo, the collaborative effort was geared towards addressing issues pertaining to the mental health of security personnel who serve on the front lines, protecting and securing lives and

properties of Nigerians.

"The effort is to seek solutions to the lack of access to mental health for men and women that stake their lives on the frontline while we sleep.

We intend to collaboratively design solutions to the challenges of mental health confronting our personnel.

"We recognised that over the years that insecurity has placed great burden on our men and women in the security agencies to deal with the threat to peace and civil order in our country," Over the last decade, Nigeria has faced a myriad of escalating security challenges ranging from insurgency and banditry to violent crime, communal conflicts, and terrorism, which have led to the men and women of Nigeria’s military, security services and law enforcement institutions being tasked like never before in the line of duty.

"Combating these threats often carries the risk of sustaining life-changing injuries, becoming polytraumatised, and developing mental health conditions, " he said.

Ngwodo, also said the meeting was a sign of the federal government's commitment to improved mental and psychological health of men and women that put their lives on the line to serve the country.

He noted that the armed forces, security services and law enforcement agencies serve as the first line of defence against security threats to the nation, adding that, "the resilience of a nation’s security apparatus can

be no more than the mental and psychological resilience of the men and women mobilised to confront these threats."

While speaking at the event, Consultant Psychiatrist and Mental Health Expert, Synapse Services, Dr Vincent Udenze, said this was important bearing in mind that the country was grappling with the challenge of inadequate number of doctors, nurses and other health personnel.

He said: "We know that today in Nigeria, we do not have enough resources, we lack enough nurses,

we lack doctors and other personnel in the health services to look after the military.

"This is the first time that representatives of all military and paramilitary organisations are coming together not only to seek for solution, but to find a home-made solution.

"We are thinking of forming a special service known as Crest that will be able to provide medical services to our security men and women, what will this take and what resources will be required to achieve this are among the key issues we are deliberating on."

Education is the key weapon that we must use to ensure that every girl is free from discrimination and intimidation.

“This is one of the reasons I have taken it as a priority to encourage the girl child so she can achieve her potentials. Under the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), we are looking at promoting alternative high school for girls so that despite whatever misadventure they find themselves, they can still acquire education that could give them access to higher education. I urge all well meaning Nigerian to help show the girl child that there is a good way”.

She also advised the girls and boys present to join voluntary clubs such as Boys Scout, Girls Guide, Red Cross, among others.

In her remarks at the event, Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, noted that the federal government is now more committed to ensuring that harmful and discriminatory practices against the girl child are totally eliminated.

She added that it is no more business as usual for those who sexually assault girls as government will prosecute such offenders pointing out that the case of the eight year- old girl allegedly abused by her step father has been taken up by her Ministry for prosecution.

There was an interactive session with the girls which was an opportunity for the First Lady to share some of government’s vision, the mission of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI ) and also her dreams

for the future of the Nigerian girl.

The 2023 International Day of the Girl Child has as theme “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership & Our Well-being”.

Also yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, reiterated the commitment of the federal government to upholding the protection, education and empowerment of the girl child in Nigeria.

The presidential aide gave the assurance in a statement released in Abuja to commemorate the 2023 International Day of the Girl Child in the country .

Orelope-Adefulire underscored the importance of the day, stating that the future remains bright when girls are empowered. "Let's work together to break down barriers and create a world where every girl can thrive," she stressed.

In line with the commitment, she noted that the federal government had implemented a range of measures to actualise the rights, protection, education, and empowerment of the girl child.

"The government is determined to eliminate all forms of challenges that prevent the girl child from accessing quality education. This includes initiatives to address issues like early marriage, gender-based violence, and discrimination against girls.

Continues online

FG Directs All Contractors to Move to Site within 14 Days Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government through the Minister of Works, David Umahi, yesterday directed and appealed to all contractors to move to site within 14 days.

The minister gave the directive during a meeting with contractors, partners and stakeholders in the works sector at the ministry's conference room in Abuja.

Umahi called on contractors to desist from saying what will be done, saying that they should rather do what is expected of them.

"It is my ability to pay you and it's your ability to do the work that matters,” he said.

A statement by the Director (Information), Press & Public Relations in the ministry, Blessing Lere-Adams, stated that the minister therefore directed that letters be issued to all contractors to go back to site and do permanent jobs that will stand the test of time.

He informed that there would be no processing of certificates or payment of mobilisation fee to contractors who failed to obey the rules.

"If you want me to pay your mobilisation fee or process your certificate, please obey first. We want to know how you got your POP (variation). How your POP

probably occurred in labour, we want to know how much you spent on diesel, what is used in production of asphalt, in doing the work. “ So we want to know what the contractor is doing, we must know so that we can find out how we can come in to help," he insisted.

He maintained that without a programme of work, there would be no processing of certificates, explaining that if there’s any need of increase in contract sums, the minister must know. “ If you are waiting for payment, I will not pay, if you are waiting for certificate to be signed I will

not do it. The truth is it's our right to ask so that if I'm signing any certificate, I am bound to explain. “ So if they sue me it is not the directors, please give me the privilege to preserve my future by allowing me know because if I carry the Bible or the Qur'an, I will be able to say I know about it," he added.

The minister expressed displeasure over the sourcing of asphalt used, since research shows that the importation of bitumen into the country was not up to 5 per cent. “ Enough is enough. Nigerians are tired of game playing. They want to see 10 kilometres of good roads,” he added.

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MAN'S PRE-AGM PRESS CONFERENCE...

LR: Director Corporate Services Division of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. Ambrose Oruche; Chairman, Corporate Affairs and Strategic Planning Committee, Mrs Kofo Akinkugbe; President of MAN, Otunba Francis Meshioye; Public Relations Executive(MAN), Omotayo Okewunmi; Director General of MAN, Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir,mni, at the press conference preceding the 51st PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria held in Lagos …yesterday

IMF to Nigeria: Focus More on Policies to Safeguard Vulnerable Persons Urges country to end CBN's budget financing Says waivers costing country, others 5% tax to GDP

Obinna Chima, Eromosele Abiodun and Nume Ekeghe in Marakech The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday advised policymakers in Nigeria to focus on designing policies to safeguard vulnerable persons in the country.

The Washington-based institution also emphasised the need for Nigeria to discontinue the practice of funding part of it's national budget with financing from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Also yesterday, the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, reaffirmed the bank's commitment to promoting increased intra-Africa trade, highlighting its role as a catalyst for fostering inclusive growth across the African continent.

Banga, who was recently appointed President of the multilateral institution, also said his tenure would be focused on impactful projects across the globe.

Both the IMF officials and the World Bank chief made these remarks at the ongoing Annual Meetings of both institutions in Marakech, Morocco.

Speaking with THISDAY, at the end of a media briefing during the launch of it's 'Fiscal Monitor,' the Fiscal Assistant Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the IMF, Era DablaNorris said: “Our research shows that countries like Nigeria have a large untapped tax potential. This is not something that can be done magically overnight, but definitely over the medium-term by expanding the tax base and by reducing exemptions in value-added tax.

"Reducing tax expenditures, rationalising other types of taxes and strengthening the quality of your tax institutions are all steps that can be taken to effectively mobilise revenues in a progressive manner.

"And then channel that for priority spending by having appropriate monetary policies in place, doing away with any kind of central bank financing of the budget, and ensuring

that policies are working in the same direction. To bring inflation down is needed.”

According to her, across the world, the IMF had observed that fuel subsidies tend to benefit middle- or higher-income groups.

"So we need to protect the most vulnerable from the cost-of-living impacts. And there's a number of targeted programs that can be

ramped up and the poor, the really vulnerable populations protected by a number of other macroeconomic policies needed to durably bring inflation down.

"In the case of Nigeria, the revenue-to-GDP ratio is quite low relative to other emerging markets and developing countries. So, efforts will need to be made to do to increase revenue collections and to mobilise

revenue collections in an inefficient manner," he added.

Earlier, during the press briefing on Fiscal Monitor IMF Director, Fiscal Affairs Department, Vitor Gaspar, noted that tax waivers were hampering revenue shortfalls in Nigeria and other African countries.

He said: “We find that many countries have huge number of tax concessions, they have an income

tax, they have VAT but they provide so many tax concessions exemptions for certain industries, certain qualities and the revenue foregone from these measures is between two and five per cent of GDP. "There are studies on tax evasion, as relates to the failure to register, failure to remit tax, underreporting on Continued on page 10

Enugu to Establish 300, 000 Hectares of Farm Land in Each Senatorial District for Cultivation of Cash Crops for Export To set up airline for cargo freighting, passenger service

Chinedu Eze The Governor of Enugu state, Dr Peter Mba, has said the state has concluded plans to provide 300, 000 hectares of land in each senatorial zone for the cultivation of cash crops that would be processed for export.

Mba, said his administration has laid out the plans to actualise this goal in order to boost the state’s revenue, create jobs and also build associated infrastructure that would enable the state to be a net exporter of different types of farm produce.

To this end, the governor has initiated plans to build ultra-modern warehouse for the storage and processing of farm perishables at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu in collaboration with

the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

He also disclosed that the Enugu state government would establish an airline that would be focused on cargo freighting and passenger service, adding that he had set a target of 15 months to establish the airline and get it ready for certification by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Mba made these known yesterday when members of Aviacargo Roadmap Committee visited him at the Government House, Enugu. He assured them that he has already kickstarted the plan to develop agriculture as major source of foreign exchange earner of the state.

“Your plan to encourage export

of farm produce coincides with our plan to boost our revenue through the export of agricultural produce to realise our objective of increase the state’s earnings from $4 billion $30 billion within the next four to eight years.

"We have elevated our Ministry of Agriculture to Agro and Allied Ministry and we want to promote agriculture so that it will contribute about 40 per cent to our GDP. “We shall establish 300,000 hectares of farm land in the three senatorial zones of our state. We aim to export farm produce and we have designed a common export facility we intend to construct with quality assurance and standardisation procedures.

"We have also identified our constraints. We do believe that Enugu should have a cargo terminal and given the urgency with which

we want to realise our goals, we need the cargo terminal as quickly as possible.

"We intend to have cold chain facility and warehouses. We are also looking to start the export of some farm produce, including ose Nsukka (special pepper) which is in very high demand overseas. We are interested in value addition,” the Governor said.

Earlier in a speech, the Coordinator of Aviacargo Roadmap Committee, Ambassador Ikechi Uko told the Governor that there was need to increase the volume of cargo, especially agri-produce from Nigeria to boost foreign exchange and to create jobs for Nigerians, regretting that many argo planes that arrive Nigeria to drop products fly back empty because Nigeria does not have much to export; “yet we have airports all over the country

but we have not been able to use what we have invested to solve our problem.”

He said for Nigeria to increase its export of farm produce it had to adopt a new strategy, which include finding out what the international market needs, cultivating crops following standard processes as every produce that would be exported has a known origin or provenance.

So, traceability is very important because overseas you cannot consume what you don’t know the source to ensure that it was produced in a healthy manner and in a safe environment, he added.

“We have built airports that are carcasses, that do not have warehouses. Perishables will do very well in Enugu so we can do a cluster and that calls for the provision of basic infrastructure for farm produce in Enugu,” Ikechi said.

EnerixOne, NDPHC Partner to Tackle On-grid Inefficiency, Provide Stable Power Global NGO Blames Bad Governance in Enerix One, an innovative power solutions company, has officially partnered with the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) to provide stable and reliable on-grid power to meet all the needs of factories and consumers at targeted parts of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) reach.

According to a statement made available to THISDAY yesterday, the Project Framework Agreement was signed recently.

It explained that, the power project was a welcome development as it aims to leverage NDPHC stranded capacity for the benefit of the end users, "who for years have been underserved and may have resorted to self-generation and diesel generators which are,

by far and large, less economical than on-grid generation."

"The operating stakeholders on this project are the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) as the incumbent electricity distribution company in the Industrial Clusters; EnerixOne Limited as the private sector project developer set up to develop, finance and operate the project; and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) as the owner, operator of the Nigerian power grid.

"The project directly optimises investments of more than $5.6 billion in NDPHC’s power generation assets and mobilises capital to ensure that safe, reliable and cost-effective electricity is provided to industrial customers under technically and financially viable agreements.

"EnerixOne is not a stranger to such projects as this; they have pioneered key projects, through their affiliate company Millwater, to deliver round-the-clock, uninterrupted power supply to key industrial customers in Agbara, Ogun State, another in Lekki (potential power demand of 200MW) and to high volume users in Ikoyi, Lagos State," it added.

Speaking at the event, CEO, Enerix One, Mr Bayo Adesina, reiterated that energy partnerships such as the one with NDPHC would drive economic development via power cost optimisation for industries by up to 30 per cent.

According to him, other advantages include human capital and infrastructural enhancement across the entire grid-power value chain.

Nigeria on Lack of Moral, Ethical Standards Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja

The Country Director, Accountability Lab Nigeria, Odeh Friday, has blamed bad governance in Nigeria on lack of moral and ethical standards.

He made the disclosure in his speech titled, "Reinforcing Ethical Governance in Nigeria: Integrating Policies for an Enhanced Framework."

The Country Director stated that lack of moral and ethical standards were factors that encourage abuse of office and power by some politicians in Nigeria.

He said: "Nigeria's governance is marred by a crisis that undermines

ethical values, positive behaviours. and societal norms essential for effective functioning.

"Many politicians and public officials in Nigeria lack ethical and moral standards, engaging in practices such as abuse of office, nepotism, conflicts of interest, and misuse of government information."

He stressed that enforcing ethical standards in government was vital for preventing waste and abuse and prioritising public interest over private interest.

"However, fragmented policies and disjointed implementation often undermine efforts, such as the need for more general knowledge of the National Ethics

and Integrity Policy and the poor adherence of public servants to the code of conduct.

"This gap leads to inefficiencies in addressing ethical governance, including when high-ranking government officials are above these policies.

"While the Code of Conduct for Public Servants outlines ethical standards, the National Ethics and Integrity Policy focuses on values, causing enforcement challenges.

"Synchronising these policies and collaborating among government agencies, civil society organisations (CSOs), and the private sector in implementing ethical practices are not only opportunities but moral imperatives.

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Wabote: Oil Assets Divestments Will Boost Crude Production, Employment FG renews commitment to boosting local petrol refining

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, said yesterday that the oil industry will experience a boost in crude production, employment, and capital injection with the planned divestment of some assets by select international oil companies and expected acquisition by Nigerians.

The executive secretary spoke while delivering the keynote address at the 2023 Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja, according to a statement from the organisation.

Quoting the AfricaReport magazine, he stated that about 26 oil mining licenses had been divested or acquired by oil and gas companies in the Niger Delta Basin area of Nigeria in the past decade.

Some of the divestments currently on the cards include the plan by Shell and ExxonMobil to sell oil and gas assets worth billions of dollars, in addition to Eni’s announcement in September of an agreement with Oando PLC for the sale of its interests in six onshore blocks and Okpai gas power plant in Delta State.

Wabote argued that divestments of oil assets were not necessarily negative, but rather present an avenue for the local capacities

and capabilities that had been developed through local content implementation to be brought to bear in the upstream sector.

Wabote outlined several opportunities that would accrue from divestments, such as the injection of new capital, the rejuvenation of divested assets, and an increase in crude oil production through the investment in technologies by the acquiring firms.

Other direct benefits, he said, are the creation of direct and indirect employment opportunities by the indigenous companies and their service providers.

He reiterated that the divestments confirm that Nigerians and

indigenous companies had come of age and had acquired the technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to play in the “big league”.

“The involvement of our financial institutions on the transactions represents means of efficient capital deployment and capacity building on loans syndication on an international scale. This is also applicable to legal services, insurance, government relations, employee relations, community liaison, and others,” he said.

Aside the opportunities, the NCDMB boss equally highlighted challenges encountered in the divestment exercises.

These, he said, revolved around

the time required to get necessary regulatory approvals as well as the substantial interests from various groups covering political, legal, communities, and labour.

Among other challenges Wabote noted, include the potential for the disruption of oil and gas production, job losses, as well as access to latest technology, especially if the new investors lack the technical expertise or have no support from original equipment manufacturers. “ There are also issues around how to manage legacy issues or liabilities related to the environment, communities, and other social commitments and pressure on new investors to recoup investments on

Wabote time to offset loans and address other financial requirements,” he added.

Continues online

Obi Wants More on Tinubu, BBC Says No Evidence of Forgery, Atiku Differs Phrank Shaibu, lambasted the BBC over its fact-check report on the Tinubu certificate saga.

Since his days as the governor of Lagos State, the issue of Tinubu’s personal identity has been a matter of dispute, sometimes ending in the courts.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, had approached the Chicago State University (CSU), where the Nigerian leader claimed to have graduated from, to clear the matter once and for all.

While the University Registrar, Caleb Westberg, in a deposition had admitted that Tinubu indeed attended and graduated from CSU, he however wasn’t forthcoming on the certificate presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Tinubu had sought to block the release of the document until an American court ordered that the public interest should override any private reasons why the certificate should be withheld.

But in his intervention yesterday, Obi stated that he had personally become distressed as a Nigerian, having followed the "prolonged identity crisis," that played out in the American court system and the controversy surrounding the authenticity of the CSU credentials.

The former Anambra governor pointed out that in addition to the barrage of media frenzy that the matter had triggered at home and abroad, he had had the burden of responding to ‘embarrassing’ questions about the country’s overall

credibility as a nation to privileged audiences and individuals both at home and abroad.

“To outsiders, the entire Chicago State University matter as well as Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s many other lingering identity question marks have further worsened Nigeria’s less-than-glorious image internationally.

“Uninformed outsiders now see every other Nigerian as a potential fraudster, certificate forger, or identity thief. The controversy is unnecessary just as the implicit global embarrassment could have been avoided.

“In my opinion, Chief Bola Tinubu should have saved the nation and himself from this protracted embarrassment and undue anxiety. Even this late in the day, however, Chief Bola Tinubu still owes the nation and the world a simple debt of obligation that only he can discharge,” the LP candidate maintained.

He therefore demanded that to save the country from the ongoing shameful debates, Tinubu needed to be upfront with his explanations, personally done by him, rather than his lackeys.

The politician cum businessman insisted that if the matter must be brought to a close, the president must begin to address the issues one after the other, to remove every doubt over who he claims to be versus who he really is.

“I call on him to immediately and personally mount the rostrum of his present high office to perform a simple task once and for all time.

"He should reintroduce himself to the nation he governs and to the world for the avoidance of further doubt.

“He should let the world know

his name, nationality, his place of birth, his parentage, the primary and secondary schools he attended with dates as well as the actual universities he attended and certificates obtained.

“He (Tinubu) should indicate clearly where and when he did his National Youth Service (NYSC). In addition, if at any time he has had a change of name, he should clearly state so and the circumstances. That, in itself, is no crime.

“This simple task should take no more than a few minutes. It requires no affidavits, prolonged court processes, spokespersons, agents, or surrogates. This task is one that only Chief Bola Tinubu himself through a direct personal statement can perform.

“He must perform this task urgently in order to lay to rest, once and for the last time, the many lingering doubts and valid speculations about his true identity,” Obi said.

According to Obi, a leader cannot outsource a clear unambiguous personal statement about his identity to political surrogates, social spokespersons, lawyers, or any other persons no matter how highly placed.

A matter of the personal identity of a leader, he reasoned, was too sensitive and central to the functions of the office Tinubu currently occupies to be toyed with, outsourced, or disguised under the cloak of officialdom.

To the former Anambra governor, the current matter was one about integrity, morality, values, and the rule of law that defile the character of the nation and its people.

In his present capacity as a leader of a nation of over 200 million Nigerians, Obi maintained that

Tinubu’s true identity remains a matter of grave national and international interest.

“The people deserve to know for a certainty the true identity of their leader and this overrides whatever rights he may have to personal privacy. In addition, the international community deserves to know the true identity of the person with whom they will engage in Nigeria,” he stated.

Besides, Obi argued that having stood for an election to the elevated public office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Tinubu has implicitly undertaken to cede the rights of a private citizen in favour of a life of open disclosure of his true identity, and other circumstances that may be of public interest.

“His personal integrity demands no less. The legitimacy of the office he currently occupies demands that much and even more. Respect for the integrity and esteem of the Nigerian nation within the community of nations makes it even more incumbent and compulsory. It is time to do the right thing,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile, a report by the ‘BBC Global Disinformation Team’ has indicated that there was no evidence that the diploma Tinubu submitted to the country's electoral commission was forged.

“Some social media users in Nigeria allege that the deposition and the diplomas released by CSU confirm that the diploma submitted to INEC by Mr Tinubu was forged.

This claim was also repeated by one of Mr Abubakar's lawyers, Kalu Kalu, at a press conference last week. We found there was no evidence to support this claim,” the report stated.

NUPRC Optimistic Exxon Mobil, Seplat, NNPC Will Follow Due Process in Asset Sale Deal emphasised that the stalemate on the transaction was purely a commercial and not a regulatory issue.

He urged co-venturers NNPC and Exxon Mobil to play by the law.

The regulator had last year refused to approve the $1.28 billion sale, a deal some in the industry say is key to getting much-needed investment into Nigeria's oil and gas sector.

"We are very optimistic that parties to the transaction will go back, look at the position of the regulator and come back by abiding by the provisions of Nigerian laws and the right thing will be done," Komolafe said.

He said once Exxon had made proper agreements with its joint-

venture partners in the assets, "the regulator will do what it needs to”.

NNPC had opposed the sale, arguing it had pre-emptive rights to the assets. But talks have continued between parties since the advent of the administration of President Bola Tinubu some five months ago.

Nigeria, Africa's largest oil exporter, relies on petroleum for 90 per cent of its foreign exchange and half its budget. But production has declined in recent years due to underinvestment and theft.

Several international oil majors are looking to sell onshore assets, but those deals have run into legal and regulatory hurdles.

Seplat Energy recently said it remains committed to purchasing

the oil and gas assets from Exxon Mobil Corporation by completing the deal.

The Lagos and London-listed company is hoping that President Bola Tinubu, would adopt a different approach from his predecessor, who reversed an initial decision to approve the transaction.

“We’re still interested in the assets,” Seplat Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, had said in an interview at the firm’s UK office.

“We still like the company we’re buying. We think it’s a game changing operation,” he added.

Under the deal unveiled in February 2022, Seplat agreed to pay $1.3 billion for an Exxon unit that holds a 40 per cent operating stake in four

shallow-water licenses in a purchase that would almost quadruple the independent company’s oil output to more than 130,000 barrels per day.

If the transaction goes ahead, it would be one of the biggest divestments in Nigerian history since energy majors like Shell Plc started offloading unwanted assets in the late 2000s, the Bloomberg report added.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari, who doubled as Nigeria’s oil minister, had endorsed the sale before swiftly rowing back after the country’s energy regulator rejected his approval.

Africa Oil Week is attended by the crème of the oil industry from Africa and around the world.

IMF to Nigeria: Focus More on Policies to Safeguard Vulnerable Persons income and false claims for refunds.

All these issues together add up to two to four per cent of GDP," he added.

Also, speaking at the World Bank opening press conference, Banga expressed concern about the challenges in facilitating intra-Africa trade.

He said: “It is cheaper to take something from an African country to a completely distant offshore port and bring it back to an African country than it is to move the produce or that product from one African country to the other.

"That has everything to do with logistics. Not just that, but also to do with the simplicity of documentation across borders.

“There is so much work to be done. There is the African Free Trade Commission that the bank is an active supporter of. I have said this to African finance ministers, I believe this topic deserves much more attention.

"You cannot solve it for the continent as a whole, but you can solve it by starting with smaller regions looking at how you could promote intra-regional trade in Africa.”

Banga, who assumed the role of President of the World Bank Group in June, this year, laid out his vision for the bank, stating that his aim was to construct a larger, forward-looking institution that is focused on development.

He said: “I am trying to move the bank from being evaluated on dollars on projects funded to being evaluated on output, on impact; meaning how many went to school because of the schools we built, how many people got a better job than earlier because of the skilling institute that they were able to attend because the corporation we put in.

“How many carbon emissions were awarded because the work we did, how many private sector dollars got crowded for every dollar we put in as compared to how many projects and how many dollars we put in. Kind of move to an output rather than input and that will be really important for Africa."

“There are other issues to do from

the basics of education and healthcare, including skilling institutes as the children grow so they get a chance to be skilled appropriately for the kind of jobs that could be created in that country.

"That is another thing to be done.

In the middle of all these is the challenge of climate and pandemics.

“It is not just the access to vaccines that we all unfortunately saw firsthand during the Covid situation, I believe the correct long term answer for access to medication and devices in Africa, is for making those things in Africa for Africa.

"You need the technology and the partnerships of manufacturers and other pharma companies to come in here.”

It stressed that the allegations on social media were based on a comparison between the document Tinubu submitted to INEC and the 1979 diplomas released by CSU. “However, while Mr Westberg agreed with Ms Liu that the diploma in question does not look like the samples from 1979, he stated that the certificate actually looks like three of the diplomas CSU released to Mr Abubakar. Our analysis confirms this.

“It turns out that the discrepancy in the appearance of the diploma is down to it having been re-issued in the 1990s.

“Mr Westberg said the template of CSU's diploma has changed several times over the years. He said any request for a new diploma would resemble the current template at that time, no matter when the student graduated.

“As such, if Mr Tinubu had reordered his diploma in the late 1990s, what he would have been given would look like what was obtainable then...Diplomas CSU issued to students in 1998 and 1999. The one from 1998 appears identical to the diploma Mr Tinubu submitted to INEC,” it added.

Another claim it said, was that the diploma Tinubu submitted was

not from CSU as its diplomas do not include the phrase "with honors" under the degree name.

“But the BBC found that while this was not reflected in the other diplomas released by CSU, it does appears in Mr Tinubu's diploma issued in the early 2000s, which was authenticated by Mr Westberg during his deposition.

“It has the words "with honors" - a match with the diploma with the same detail submitted by the president to INEC,” it noted.

On the controversy over gender, the BBC recalled that Westberg had stressed that there was no confusion about the person who attended CSU as he was a male named Bola A. Tinubu, saying the university used other factors other than the name to authenticate the student's identity.

BBC said: “According to him, the Social Security Number (SSN) in the transcript from Southwest College matches what it has in other documents in which the student's gender is clearly marked as male” However, it admitted that the released documents did raise questions about Tinubu's birth date and the secondary school he attended.

Continued on page 37

Bayelsa Guber Poll: INEC Assures Nigerians on Electronic Transmission of Results

election in Bayelsa State.

The assurance was, however, contrary to insinuations making the round that INEC might insist on manual collation of election results in the exercise.

Bayelsa State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obo Effanga, who gave the assurance yesterday while speaking on the Morning Show of ARISE NEWS Channels, said he was shocked to read from online news report that INEC said it would no longer carry out electronic transmission of election results in the forth-coming election in Bayelsa State.

He therefore, called on Nigerians to disregard such information, which he said, was completely false and far from the truth.

According to him, “INEC will capture the election results and upload same, real-time on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, from the polling units. The Police will also beef up security during the election with the deployment of over 27,000 policemen to be spread across all the polling units in the state,” he said.

Effanga emphasised that INEC would leave no stone unturned in order to guarantee a successful electoral exercise, saying, "We are doing everything within our power to ensure everything goes smoothly."

He confirmed that there was ample time to ensure materials and personnel reach the designated locations ahead of the election, and also disclosed essential details about the electoral setup, adding that there were 2,244 polling units accommodating 16 political parties and a substantial voter base of 1.056 million in Bayelsa State.

The INEC commissioner assured Bayelsa people that all polls would open as scheduled and affirmed that thorough training and meetings had commenced with various stakeholders.

Highlighting the ongoing process

of handing over the voters' register to the participating political parties, Effanga said, “On Saturday, the mock exercise, where the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be used to do mock accreditations to see how it works and see the transmission of results on the INEC Result viewing portal (IReV).”

Addressing other controversies going on, Effanga said nothing had changed with how the elections were going to be conducted, stating that it would not be different from how it was conducted in the general election.

He further revealed that during the meeting, which was held a few days back, he was shocked that out of all the political parties, which were present, none of them said they had used the IReV or attempted to see how it works.

Further addressing concerns regarding the electoral process, Effanga elaborated on the IReV, saying, "The IReV is a portal, where polling unit results are uploaded.

It is not a collation center or a device but rather a platform where individuals can view results from individual polling units.”

Effanga also addressed previous technical glitches and reassured the people that measures were in place to prevent a recurrence.

He acknowledged past challenges during the presidential elections but emphasised that subsequent elections saw improved processes, while ensuring smooth result uploads to the IReV in the forth-coming Bayelsa Election.

“There is the inter-agency consultative committee on election security, which at the state level is chaired by the resident electoral commissioner and co-chaired by the commissioner of police in the state. The commissioner of police has assured everyone about their readiness and capability to protect people during this election and we hope that will be the case,” he said.

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Championing of a New Tribe in the Restoration...

L-R: Former Minister of Finance, Senator. Esther Nenadi Usman; Professor Patrick Utomi; former minister of education, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili; with Professor Emeka Aniagolu; during the championing PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE of a New Tribe in the Restoration of Nigerian Dignity held in Abuja Yesterday

BoB Chairman, Mary Peter-Odili, Tasks Lawyers on Protection of Legal System Says people's confidence decline when justice system fails Admits 1095 law graduates to bar

Alex Enumah in Abuja The Chairman of the Body of Benchers (BoB), Retirement Justice Mary Peter-Odili, has charged lawyers in the country to sustain the people's confidence in the justice sector by the way they conduct their affairs.

Peter-Odili, gave the charge yesterday, in Abuja, at the call to bar ceremony of successful candidates at the July 2023, Bar Final Examinations of the Nigerian Law School.

While harping on the, "new wigs" that the legal profession is theirs to cherish and protect, the retired justice stressed that, "we live above board as the public expects so much.

"When the public repeatedly see the justice system fail, the people's

confidence in the law will decline.

Therefore, if you see the system failing, propose changes in the laws or changes in the rules. You have the skills, training and ability to make a difference, to have an impact as good stewards of justice."

Besides, the former number two justice on the apex court, admonished the new wigs to use the law profession as a sword to fight all forms of injustices in Nigeria, so that the country can be more peaceful and habitable.

The BoB chairman, who noted that lawyers have the capacity to change the world, stated that the law degrees and call to bar certificates are not just pieces of documents to be hung on the wall or boast

about to others.

"These are credentials that you can wield as your sword to fight against injustice. They are shields that you can raise up to protect the innocent and uphold the rule of law.

As lawyers, you have the capacity to change the world for the better.

"Wherever you decide to apply your talent as a lawyer, you will be required to act with utmost professionalism and wisdom as your legal advice, your professional actions and even, your inactions affect the lives of your clients and the society at large.

"In your service as a legal practitioner, you must not forget to put into practice, the ethical and moral obligations of a lawyer that

has been imbibed in you by being civil and ethical.

Meanwhile, Justice Odili thanked the Secretary of the Body of Benchers, Barrister Daniel Tela and his team for the success of the ceremony and for being up and doing at all times.

Earlier, the Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Chiroma, presented 1,083 successful students at the July 2023 Bar Final Examinations as well as 12 candidates from previous Bar Final Examinations.

He disclosed that the 1,083 emerged successful from a total of 1,666 who participated in the July exams, adding that the figure translates to 65.09% success at the Final Bar Examinations.

Nigeria’s Oil Production Improved in September, Still Far from OPEC’s Quota Output is highest since January 2022

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Nigeria’s crude oil production improved in September, rising by a volume of roughly 165,429 Barrels Per Day (BPD) during the month under consideration.

However, analysis of the data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday, showed that the country is still far from meeting its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota despite the increase in output.

But while the current production allocation given to Nigeria by the international producers’ group is 1.74 million barrels per day, the information from the petroleum industry regulator showed that Nigeria was only able to drill 1.34 million bpd last month.

It would be the country’s highest self-reported crude oil output since January 2022 when Nigeria managed to produce 1.39 million bpd. The lowest production for that year was just above 900,000 bpd.

A THISDAY review of the data however indicated that the country under-produced by as much as 400,000 bpd in September, despite the jump in output.

As expected, much of Nigeria's increase came from Forcados terminal which resumed production recently after loadings of the medium sweet grade were suspended because of a

potential leak at the export terminal.

The terminal which has the capacity to produce between 250,000 bpd and 400,000 bpd is operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC). Production on the terminal rose from 3.7 million bpd in August to 7.4 million bpd in September, according to the NUPRC data.

The volume of crude oil drilled from Yoho also rose marginally from 901,163 bpd to 926,264 bpd during the month. However, production on other terminals remained basically stagnant or reduced marginally.

However, when condensates which are outside OPEC’s computation are added, the country produced 1.57 million bpd during the month under review.

In all, last month, Nigeria produced 40.3 million barrels of oil as against the about 52 million barrels that was projected for the period.

Despite several promises, the country has been unable to fulfil its pledge to Nigerians and to OPEC, which recently slashed Nigeria’s quota for next year to 1.38 million barrels as a result of its lack of capacity to produce the quota already given it.

Authorities in the country blame oil theft, pipeline vandalism as well as waning investment in the oil and gas sector for the inability to ramp up production and meet the OPEC quota.

The inability of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its partners to produce enough crude oil, has further worsened the crisis in the foreign exchange market where a dollar currently exchanges for over $1,000 at the unofficial window.

Nigeria, which gets about 90 per cent of its dollar earnings from the export of crude oil, recently approached the African Export-

Import Bank (AfreximBank) for a $3 billion debt-for-crude deal.

The deal remains pending due to unresolved issues.

The challenge continues despite the government’s handing over of multi-billion naira contracts to some entities in the Niger Delta to secure the pipelines, including a former warlord from the region, Mr Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo.

"I wish to assure all of you that we shall remain the gate keepers of our noble profession. As teachers and administrators, we will continue to uphold the standard and integrity of the bar," he said.

While congratulating them as new lawyers, Chiroma enjoined them to make the best of the legal profession by strictly adhering to the norms

and ethics of the profession.

The occasion was attended by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Wole Olanipekun SAN, Adegboyega Awomolo SAN and Professor Mike Ozekhome SAN, among others

Tinubu Appoints New CEOs for NIPOST, NCC, NITDA, Two Other Agencies Names Alubankudi his SA on technology and digital economy

Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate appointment of new and returning Chief Executives to fresh terms in office across multiple agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.

The appointees, according to a statement issued yesterday, by Media Adviser to the President, Ajuri Ngelale, include the EVC / CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida; MD / CEO, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Nkechi Egerton-Idehen; DG / CEO,

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi and National Commissioner / CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji and Postmaster General / CEO, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Tola Odeyemi.

Furthermore, in line with Tinubu's determination to maximally leverage on Nigeria's proven technological and digital economic prowess to reposition the nation's economy towards greater financial inclusion, approved the appointment of Idris Alubankudi as his Special Adviser on Technology and Digital Economy.

Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Matriculates Over 5,000 Students Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

No fewer than 5,187 students, cutting across 63 programmes of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma on Tuesday, took their Matriculation oaths in accordance with laid down rules guiding studentship at the Edo State-owned University.

Administering the oath on the Matriculants, the Acting Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof.

Asomwan Sonnie Adagbonyin, supported by Principal Management and Academic officers, enjoined the students to approach their studies with all dedication and commitment.

"The University will continue to expect that all admitted students meet their obligations to the University to matriculate. As you celebrate your studentship, my

dear matriculants, my admonition to you is to be individualistic in your approach to your studies.

"As the saying goes: “Those that walk, walk with many, those that run, run with few but those that fly, fly alone.

"Life is absolutely a race of individuality and this applies to your studies as well. Therefore, take your studies seriously as an individual. Eschew things that will bring you trouble or bring shame upon you, your family and your University.

"Do not join those saying or writing negative things about your University. This is where you have, on your own freewill, elected to come and take a degree. Do not demarket it as you will only be undoing yourself. Be a worthy

ambassador at all times.”

Adagbonyin, disclosed that "There has been a very strict adherence to the admission quota set by JAMB. This accounts for why the University has had to firm up its policy of admitting only the best into 63 programmes in the University.

"I wish to assure you that the University Management is ever ready to create a conducive atmosphere for learning and other recognised activities. To that extent, every student should be focused, disciplined and obedient to University rules and regulations.

You must handle your academic work with all seriousness.

"Your degree would be awarded to you based on sound character and learning. I advise you to always make your Student Information

Handbook your companion and always contact the ICT Directorate of the University and the University website for authentic information and guidance,”the AVC said.

On Security matter, the Acting Vice Chancellor enjoined the students to be more vigilant to happenings around them as "The University Management will always endeavour to provide the needed security to ensure the safety of lives and properties. However, every individual should be security conscious, both within and outside the University Campus.”

The 40th Matriculation ceremony of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, for the 2022/2023 academic session had its high points with students taking the matriculation oath and signing same.

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politics

Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com (08033025611 SMS ONLY)

Ohikere: APC Factions Need to Unite Ahead of Kogi Guber Poll

Former Commissioner for Information in Kogi State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Tom Ohikere, in this interview with Folalumi Alaran, speaks on the need for the national leadership of the party to unite all factions in the Confluence State so as to win the November 11, 2023 governorship election.

Y

spirit of peace and survival of the party in the state. Senator Adeyemi holds the four aces, he owns the case and he can manage it.

ou were quoted as saying that with the APC structure in Kogi State, Alhaji Usman Ododo will win the November 11 governorship election. Why are you so confident?

Yes, as of then but with the recent dynamics, it’s 50-50.

What has changed?

Presently I am expecting the leadership of the party in the state and the administration to articulate the collective interests of stakeholders and shareholders, aggregate preferences and channel maximum energy into the campaigns, but the prevailing circumstance is that we are seemingly losing touch with the realities. Typically, the governor rejects honest critics who hold up a mirror to him and speak the truth to power. Instead the governor surrounds himself with sycophants who tell him what he wants to hear. Over time, the governor loses the capacity for honest dialogues as others learn not to confront him with the realities or truth.

You once made a case for coordinated campaign and inclusivity devoid of disjointed campaign. Did the composition of the APC campaign council meet your expectations?

I faulted the manner of uncoordinated and disjointed campaigns but I think strongly that with the campaign council already in place, the disconnection and anomalies could be corrected. The party urgently needs to intensify its effort to use the modest achievements of the outgoing APC administration of Governor Yahaya Bello to campaign.

The governor has actually recorded some success stories in some key areas.

The campaign council should also be aware that the Kogi election is about APC versus APC as the other major contenders were major players in the APC before they were forced to take other platforms to contest.

For example, Muri Ajaka was the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party and a major contributor to the election of President Bola Tinubu, while Hon. Leke Abejide was a founding member of APC who was also forced to ADC for his ambition for the House of representatives but today, he is still very interested in APC as his significant contributions to Asiwaju’s presidential campaign. Or is it Admiral Jibril Usman (Accord Party’s candidate) who worked closely with Hon. James Faleke in the Tinubu Support Group and the APC presidential campaign council.

So the forthcoming election in the state is mainly about APC lords. This is demonstrated by the followership of these titans who are all APC members.

We can hardly blame anybody for antiparty activities today. This high level of political distrust and reduced party identification suggest that APC is still in crisis in Kogi state.

Political parties are prisoners of their history, that is, when you look at the present status of APC in Kogi State from the historical events, what we witness today are coming from the accumulated errors. The present is therefore a function of the past.

For example, the foundation of APC in Kogi Central was laid at my residence in Adavi by late Prince Abubakar Audu, he mandated me to lead the inaugural membership drive of the party and I have consistently worked for the party in the 2015 campaigns where I was the head of media and publicity and in 2019 when I served as the Secretary of the media and publicity of the campaign

Ohikere

council. Regrettably, I have been ostracized by the administration. So many stakeholders are also affected in the same manner.

So APC over the past eight years, in the state has been faced with the challenges of increasing popular disenchantment, and falling trust in leadership among other factors.

So the leadership must be able to look into these problems to ensure maximum participation in the forthcoming election.

What would you advise the APC leadership to do about the case at the Supreme Court filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against Ododo’s nomination?

The case of Senator Smart Adeyemi at the Supreme Court is a very serious case that the party was supposed to use its internal mechanism to resolve earlier and should not have been allowed to reach this level.

It is a case I followed very keenly as someone in Adeyemi’s

camp. In the course of Ododo’s visit to me, I advised his team to seek every legal alternative to reconcile with Adeyemi and a member of Ododo’s team who happens to be the present Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy, Hon Deedat Ozigi became confrontational and even challenged me.

To my understanding, Senator Adeyemi is a very responsive party man and a good listener but they did not approach him sufficiently. Senator Adeyemi is a frontline political player in this country and I don’t advise any leader to make him your enemy, as it’s always better for Adeyemi to be on the same page with you to enjoy his support and goodwill.

I can confidently say Adeyemi is one of the most honest players I have met.

He must have been mishandled by some younger players. So, APC needs his support for the election.

Isn’t it a little too late for any proactive reconciliation now that the supreme court has fixed October 23 date for judgment?

The party hierarchy and Governor Bello can do it in less than 24 hours.

They should approach Adeyemi in the

This is because it seems that citizens may be using the election to express their discontent, a phenomenon referred to as the “anger vote” which can be defined as the rejection of political parties, traditional elites and central institutions as people may be voting for newer political platforms created around political personalities and not party choice.

At this juncture, the health of APC in Kogi state should be serious concern to the president and the APC headquarters if we must emerge victorious in the November election.

You were a major voice in the agitation for power shift to Kogi West and close ally of Senator Adeyemi.

What is your stand now as a supporter of Ododo?

I was in the vanguard for power rotation to Kogi West because that is how it is supposed to be, for fairness and justice. Kogi East and Kogi Central must give Kogi West a sense of belonging in the Kogi project. I was in the camp of Senator Adeyemi because he is from Kogi West, he is very competent and prepared to serve, but after the primary election, I had no choice than to support Usman Ododo. And I don’t regret my support for Kogi West and Adeyemi.

My advice to the leadership of the APC in the state is that we should do the needful to avoid witnessing a vote of anger against the system as voters are approaching the polls with fatigue and discontent.

This is because it seems that citizens may be using the election to express their discontent, a phenomenon referred to as the “anger vote” which can be defined as the rejection of political parties, traditional elites and central institutions as people may be voting for newer political platforms created around political personalities and not party choice.

At this juncture, the health of APC in Kogi state should be serious concern to the president and the APC headquarters if we must emerge victorious in the November election.

What in your opinion should form the mainstay of the 2023 Kogi governorship election campaigns across party lines; the fundamental issues?

One, power rotation: Today, the candidates of APC, SDP and others are calling for Kogi Agenda but forgetting that the agenda is incomplete without Kogi West, thinking that Kogi West must enjoy the benefits of itsvshare of place in Lugard house. For equity, fairness and a sense of belonging, the issue of power rotation must be articulated and brought to the front burner. I expected that Governor Bello would put a deliberate effort in place, like legislating it and putting the framework in place. This will further facilitate the acceptance of Ododo.

Two, the achievement of GYB: This will be a major campaign point, for or against him. I am expecting that Ododo will x-ray this as a campaign lobby, while the opposition is expected to use this factor too.

To me, the governor has recorded modest achievements. Added to the issue of power rotation is the factor of contention. That, for example, after 19 years in Lugard’s house, are the Igalas supposed to be in contention?

That should the Ebiras continue in the government house after eight years as legalized? Three, the position of Kogi in the national poverty index: Has life improved under APC? In the areas of feeding, illnesses, and deaths? Four, the staff screening exercise and its results. Five, the relationship between the government and the people.

Six, the Greater Lokoja Waterworks established by former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Seven, what is the state of public infrastructures?

The untapped mineral potentialities in the state; the state of education, health and rural development? These are the fundamental issues in this election.

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T H I S D AY • Thursday, october 12, 2023

FEatures

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

As Africa Unites against Drug Barons The just-concluded 31st meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies in Africa sparked a great sense of optimism and renewed determination towards t,he fight against hard drugs in Africa, Mitchell Ofoyeju writes

Participants at the meeting

T

he conduct of the just concluded 31st meeting of Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) in Africa has sparked a great sense of optimism and renewed determination towards the African Union’s Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention and the broader framework of the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals. Obviously, the chair of the continental meeting and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), has continued to receive accolades for the seamless proceedings and the concrete resolutions reached at the end of the meeting.

The pleasant memories of the annual gathering, which was organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in Abuja from September 26 to 29, 2023, will certainly linger in the minds of delegates and observers alike.

The excitement for the host country is not unusual, as this is the third time that Nigeria has played host to this august body.

The fifth meeting of HONLEA, Africa, and the first in the country was held in Abuja, Nigeria, from May 18–22, 1992, while the tenth meeting of HONLEA, Africa, and the second in the country was held in Abuja from April 20–24, 1998.

In his keynote address, the special guest of honour, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who declared the meeting open, said that the drug threat transcends race, geographical location, gender, and social class. He commended member states for their sacrifices and commitments under the HONLAF platform to keep the world drug-free, sane, and safe. President Tinubu, represented

by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said: “Hosting the 31st HONLAF meeting here is to reassure you of our promise to participate in building a world not threatened by the infiltration of illicit drugs. The commitment to the fight against drug trafficking and substance abuse is not just a matter of policy but a moral imperative.”

He added that the government will continue to provide the necessary support, motivation, and tools for the NDLEA to fulfil its mandate. According to him, the conference was a beacon of hope and a catalyst for positive change across our continent and therefore called on participants to compare notes, collaborate, and build networks that would be several steps ahead of the criminal network of drug transnational organisations.

The eloquent speeches at the opening ceremony set the pace for a seamless meeting.

Her Excellency, Ghada Fathi Wali, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said in her statement that the world drug problem is

having a devastating impact on people and their well-being across borders and continents. She urged member states to translate commitments to tackle this problem into action through effective implementation and collaboration among practitioners.

“The meeting, which examines current trends, threats, and emerging challenges related to the world drug problem, is pivotal for international drug policy as the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will hold a mid-term review of all international drug policy commitments set forth in the 2019 Ministerial Declaration,” she noted.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, His Excellency, Camilo Ruiz Blanco, the chairman of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, noted that the 31st HONLAF was held at a time when the international community needs urgent progress against expanding drug challenges. He observed that the global supply and demand of illicit drugs is growing and opioids continue to cause harm, while the development of synthetic drugs is rising at an alarming rate.

According to him, “this problem is further exacerbated by the increased use of the internet in drug transactions, the negative impact on the environment, and climate change, which affects the Sustainable Development Goals. To counter these and other drug-related challenges, intelligence sharing and cross-border law enforcement cooperation, which the HONLEA meetings provide, are very important as the CND awaits the recommendations.”

Dr. Oliver Stolpe, the country representative of UNODC, also aligned with previous speakers, stating that the drug problem has changed from what it used to be 20 years ago. “Today, the picture is different; local consumption is increasing and becoming increasingly problematic.

We need a balanced approach to supply and demand reduction,” he stated.

Equally remarkable were the words of the honourable Attorney General of the

Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Justice Olasunkanmi Fagbemi. In his words, “the collective endeavour to combat the pernicious threats of illicit drug trafficking, crimes, and criminal organisations is anchored in a rich tapestry of international conventions and protocols and the extensive domestic legal frameworks within our nations. I want you to invest in cutting-edge tactics, including the use of technology”.

Fagbemi was represented by Nkiruka Jones-Nebo, the Acting Director of the International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department at the Federal Ministry of Justice.

While citing some key findings of the 2023 World Drug Report as they concern Africa, Marwa charged his counterparts across the continent to strengthen operational networks and raise the bar in the drug war. He noted that although the consequences of drugs are grave, the platform of HONLAF has the capacity to turn the tide against drug trafficking cartels.

“The 31st meeting will indeed provide an opportunity for us to raise the bar and break new ground in different areas of our operations and collaborative efforts. We have the capacity to positively shape our operations and redefine our cooperation at the end of this conference,” Marwa noted.

Nigeria was lavishly commended by delegates for a wonderful hosting experience characterised by the diplomatic courtesies and the unique Nigerian hospitality that provided a serene and conducive ambience for the meeting. African drug control administrators, at the end of the summit, resolved to strengthen the national drug control framework aimed at emasculating drug barons.

One of the recommendations was the adoption of adequate legal and regulatory frameworks for virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, to prevent and combat their use for

The government will continue to provide the necessary support, motivation, and tools for the NDLEA to fulfil its mandate. According to him, the conference was a beacon of hope and a catalyst for positive change across our continent and therefore called on participants to compare notes, collaborate, and build networks that would be several steps ahead of the criminal network of drug transnational organisations

drug-related crime and money laundering.

They also called for the establishment of national specialised courts and asset recovery offices dealing with organised crime and money laundering. This is targeted at supporting the tracing, recovery, and management of the proceeds of crime.

Member states also agreed to promote SouthSouth cooperation and the sharing of best practices in the confiscation of proceeds of crime, including drug-related cases. African leaders were encouraged to make effective use of existing platforms aimed at facilitating investigations and prosecutions of organised crime. Such platforms include the West African Network of Central Authorities and Prosecutors (WACAP), the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network for Southern Africa (ARINSA), the Asset Recovery Inter-Agency Network of West Africa (ARINWA), and the UNODC CRIMJUST programme.

Worthy of mention were thematic issues relating to the environmental impact of illicit crop cultivation, drug manufacture, and drug use. Governments were encouraged to empower indigenous people, youth groups, and local communities to protect the land, forest reserves, and water sources in their communities. Other recommendations include the promotion of research and monitoring systems to collect data and establish baselines on environmental impact, which will allow for evidence-based interventions and impact assessment. The need to strengthen capacity to safely dispose of seized drugs, chemicals, precursors, and drug waste was also highlighted.

At a gala dinner, participants were treated to a showcase of Nigeria’s rich cultural and culinary heritage. The dinner was attended by many dignitaries, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, among others.

Akume thanked the delegates for their commitment to a noble course. In his words, “I sincerely appreciate your sacrifices to the campaign against drugs in Africa and wish you a most memorable time in Nigeria.”

The SGF was represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Service Office, Dr. Maurice Nnamdi Mbaeri.

The 31st HONLEA Africa may have ended in Abuja, but the wide-ranging outcomes aimed at addressing the world drug problem will continue to be a nightmare to drug trafficking cartels in the continent and beyond.

Strict implementation of drug policies, training of practitioners, intelligence-led operations, evidence-based drug use prevention programmes, as well as bilateral and multilateral cooperation among member states, promise to be the game changer as the world awaits the mid-term review of all international drug policy commitments outlined in the 2019 Ministerial Declaration next year.

20 T H I S D AY THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2023 TR

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& RE A S O

Thusrday October 12, 2023 Vol 27. No 10410

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

LAGOS KAI AND THE COST OF URBANISATION

AYODELE OKUNFOLAMI urges KAI and other law enforcement agents to do their job with a human face

See page 21

NITDA AND RENEWED HOPE AGENDA

The Tinubu administration is laying the foundation for a vibrant ecosystem of digital enterprises, writes MUBARAK UMAR

See page 21

EDITORIAL

THE PERENNIAL FLOODING CHALLENGE

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The nation’s broadcasting regulator shouldn’t give credence to the allegations of bias and suppression, writes MONDAY PHILIPS EKPE

NBC’S RISK OF HYPER-REGULATION

The other day, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) addressed a letter to Arise Global Media Limited titled, “Preponderance of Derogatory and Incendiary Remarks: Final Warning”. The message is stern and unequivocal: NBC is fed up with what it sees as Arise News’ failure to host some of the quests on its shows creditably, particularly concerning the choice of words used in expressing their views. Specific names and instances are mentioned in the correspondence.

As expected, strong reactions have followed.

One of the earliest came from Amnesty International which condemned “the ‘final warning’ issued to Arise TV by the FG through National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). Targeting Arise TV simply for doing their work sends the wrong message that Nigerian authorities are not prepared to be held accountable. Nigerian authorities must stop the unrelenting quest to silence media organizations like Arise TV, which are crucial to ensuring independent and diverse media space in the country and fulfilling people’s right to information. Using regulations as a way to silence independent journalism is completely unacceptable. The media in Nigeria should be free to exercise their right to freedom of expression as protected by international law.”

That response is typical of the human rights organisation, a cue that was immediately grabbed by the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and other commentators to lambast the government of President Bola Tinubu a little. The “final warning” in the heading is a direct reminder of the military era which also witnessed an overuse of phrases like “with immediate effect”, “summarily dealt with” and “not be tolerated henceforth”. To some people, that sounds like a move to intimidate not only Arise TV but the entire private media. Even during the reign of terror in those days, the outcomes of similar cautions were mostly mixed and ineffective for the reason that there’s something about human nature and activities that can’t be controlled by fiat. Ask officials in prisons, correctional centres, military training grounds and slave camps. As regimented as those places are, tough-sounding words can’t always be trusted to elicit obedience and compliance. I can bet that much of the antagonism the Commission has attracted to itself since that mail went public is attributable to the tone. Well, just like the rest of us, NBC’s Director General, Malam Balarabe Ilelah, must be learning about the appropriate diction to employ in carrying out his responsibilities.

The point must now be made that the legality and necessity of the duties of NBC are not in doubt. Originally set up by Decree 38 of 1992, the regulatory agency has the backing of Section 39 (2) of the Nigerian Constitution, amended as an Act by the National Assembly in 1999. The framers of the law might have considered the peculiarities of the broadcast industry before conferring on NBC some powers that could actually degenerate to dictatorial tendencies if not

properly deployed. Oftentimes, broadcasting’s immediacy, wide reach, inherent magic of transmissions/airwaves and the capability of captivating illiterate or semi-literate audiences can provoke negative consequences if not adequately managed. The fact that, unlike newspapers and magazines, establishing radio and television stations in Nigeria requires the approval of the president instantly announces the uniqueness of the industry, a status that should be protected from manipulation by all means.

In the run-up to the last general election, the country’s political space was dense, made worse by the recklessness and toxicity midwifed by some media outlets. The NBC DG then attempted an explanation for sanctioning them thus: “Ethnic and religious profiling became awfully rampant. Invectives and counterblasts were thrown freely by guests on the platform of broadcast stations at the detriment of the Nigerian people. Subversive discussions and reckless comments, capable of tearing us apart as a people were broadcast freely without proper gatekeeping. Ethics and professionalism were thrown overboard. The commission wishes to remind you that we have one country. And if we pave way for anarchy, we will all be affected. We are only in business because we have peace. Our diversity should be our strength, our assets, our power.

We must guard this jealously.” Frankly put.

As credible as that submission might be, however, no mass media worth their names would just swallow whatever pills or hooks the government regulator throws at them. In March 2019, dozens of broadcast houses were fined for “unethical coverage of the elections.”

The dust of the 2020 “endsars” protests hadn’t even settled when Channels Television, African Independent Television and Arise

Anchors of television and radio programmes do owe the nation the duty to keep their interviewees from the path of false, abusive, inciting and hateful speeches. NBC should also restrain itself from bullying a sector that’s critical to the nurturing of democratic ideals.

News were charged for allegedly airing unverified materials and not being sensitive to national peace and security.

As expected, some civil society organisations reacted to the sanctions on the side of the penalised institutions. Media Rights Agenda (MRA) was emphatic in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Edetaen Ojo: “A situation where the NBC, which is so glaringly lacking in independence and subject to the direct control of political authorities, wrote the Nigeria Broadcasting Code creating the offences for which the stations were sanctioned and was the complainant in the allegations against the stations, prosecuted them and sat in judgment on the matter without even giving the stations any opportunity to defend themselves against the charges while also imposing a fine of N3 million on each of them, which it intends to collect and pocket, is offensive to any notion of fair hearing, equity or justice.”

This is where the Commission needs to take its own limits and prescriptions seriously. It should try to understand the environment in which it operates. Democracy is here now.

Free expression is an inalienable right that mustn’t be suppressed or be perceived as such.

Anchors of television and radio programmes do owe the nation the duty to keep their interviewees from the path of false, abusive, inciting and hateful speeches. NBC should also restrain itself from bullying a sector that’s critical to the nurturing of democratic ideals.

Some introspection by both broadcasters and monitors at this time won’t be a waste at all. The best place to start is reassessing the centrality of the media profession and the rationale for its supervision. How profound the impact of mass communication generally is on individuals, organisations, societies and countries has engaged relevant students, researchers and scholars down the years.

There’re conflicting standpoints but one rallying point is that the media do influence - in varying degrees - what people think about and say, or how they act and react to things. The media also validate or challenge people’s beliefs, convictions and prejudices.

Even before the present dispensation when internet has super-invigorated information and communication technology, ICT, in ways that were unimaginable only two decades ago, the mass media had established themselves as indispensable instruments of largescale dissemination of news and views.

On realising the enormous power of the media, rulers all over the world, of all shades, persuasions and periods have responded to it in different ways. Some have made efforts to woo the practitioners and relate with them as partners in progress. Others, especially those who have reasons to be scared or wary of public scrutiny, simply don’t have faith in that kind of finesse. To them, coercion and other forms of strongarm tactics are the more persuasive tools of media relations.

Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board

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THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2023

AYODELE OKUNFOLAMI urges KAI and other law enforcement agents to do their job with a human face

LAGOS KAI AND THE COST OF URBANISATION Days after videos showing uniformed Lagos State Kick Against Indiscipline officers seizing goods of street traders selling on the walkway went viral, was that of Governor Babajide SanwoOlu warning street traders along the proposed train line to pack their wares off the road. The KAI men were seen putting tubers of yam, buckets of tomatoes and other perishables into their truck. Those that owned the wares were not seen trying to beg the officers to save their goods as typical of Nigerians that sometimes strip themselves naked to prevent an arrest for traffic violation. One can only guess what might have transpired before the KAI officers were seen

seizing the goods for the sellers themselves to be absent even if it was to trail where their seized items would end.

No one is defending the street trading; however, one should not blame them. KAI and Lagos State government should be ready for another raid. The actions of KAI officers are no different from Governor Sanwo-Olu’s threat to the street traders along the proposed rail track.

What Lagos State and government at all levels in Nigeria should ask themselves is why enacted laws are repeatedly violated. Making laws more draconian or having different task forces with diverse appellations and colours everywhere changes nothing in a society that has been pushed to the wall of suicides.

The first question our leaders should ask themselves is why everybody seems to be trading one thing or the other. The naira continues to lose ground uncontrollably that exchanging it for goods that can be sold in future for a profit seems to be the easiest way to save. So instead of banking it where inflation will overtake any form of interest, the teacher trades in chin chin and other snacks that she can easily carry to school and sell to her students. The banker trades in shirts, ties, and other office clothing that he can easily put in his car boot to sell to his colleagues to make more gain than the investment packages the bank he works for advertises. While citizens of other parts of the world are making money from their intellectual property, Nigerians are selling property, land and used cars. Our leaders need to wear their thinking caps, if they have heads, to save the economy.

It is amid these austere times that there is competition for market spaces even if it is standing one’s umbrella or cart somewhere.

Ironically, it is this same period that Lagos State government is shutting down markets for “environmental” reasons. Bombata and Jankara are the next to be hammered. The environment needs to be taken care of especially for food markets neither are we saying the trains shouldn’t be functional but must it be at the cost of pushing subsistent traders more into economic agony?

The reason they are petty traders is because they

survive day to day on the little margins they make. Has government linked all these actions to the increasing crime rates?

One is even suspicious of the environmental abuse excuse given for demolishing these markets when one remembers the December 2020 flattening of Festac Market. Whether they are markets or shanties, it is a repeated script of erecting new structures in their stead beyond the purses of the poor that were expelled.

What happened to building low-cost markets?

All traders need is simple and decent wooden constructions with basic infrastructure where the security of their wares can be guaranteed.

Everything must not become “ultra-modern”.

If anything, it is our schools and hospitals that should be ultra-modern.

By the way, do the traders not pay taxes and levies for using those shops? Is it by destroying their shops that you prove their taxes are working? Why not rejig the ThursdayThursday market sanitation exercises if market environment means so much to you? More iniquitous is that hawkers pay dubious levies to the different local councils just to stand on the road. Lagos continues to pretend as if all these touts, agberoes and omoniles that issue “receipts” in the name of the government don’t exist only for them to now use KAI, another Lagos agency, to chase them away.

Has the government considered about how these actions would lead to increase in the prices of staple commodities because for anybody to remain in business, you will have to sell at replacement cost. So that man whose yam was seized on the pavement of Magodo or the vegetable seller whose market was brought down for renovation, will have to sell at the cost of the days he stayed without selling plus the cost of getting another item with one of the same or higher value. At the end, everybody is punished.

Inflation is not only dollar nor food insecurity about Boko Haram. Nigeria’s economic woes are more fiscal than monetary.

Lagos and other governments in Nigeria will continue to battle all these resistance from the people to their intentions because the people can’t connect with all these so-called projects.

Didn’t they tell us that we would be electrocuted if we cross the rail tracks? Why then is SanwoOlu shouting at illiterate street traders? He should just let technology do the job for him when the project is done. They told us Lagos is full of CCTV cameras to catch traffic offenders, yet LASTMA is still struggling steering with drivers killing people on Ago Palace way and going about spiked metals in 2023.

Road constructions take ages disrupting business and causing other noneconomic and unquantifiable losses. At the end of the day, all we hear are superlatives of superhighway, red rail, blue rail, grammar upon grammar, yet commuting time keeps doubling. The roads were built without traffic lights, pelican crossings nor signed adequately. So, pedestrians, drivers and passengers never see themselves in the project. We still encounter the same traffic jams.

Environmental concerns upon environmental concerns, yet let rain fall small, flood. Taxes are not the only way to generate income neither is borrowing. Being a smart city is not only by reclaiming the ocean, but also by giving specifics of how each and every of these projects have improved the liveability of citizens and the overall economy of the state.

Okunfolami writes fromFestac, Lagos. @ayookunfolami

The Tinubu administration is laying the foundation for a vibrant ecosystem of digital enterprises, writes MUBARAK UMAR

NITDA AND RENEWED HOPE AGENDA

In the contemporary global system, digital economy has emerged as a key driver of growth and development. Countries across the world are harnessing the power of technology to spur economic advancement, job creation, and innovation. Nigeria, a nation with immense potential, has taken significant strides towards realising its digital future through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which underscores the need to harness technology for socio-economic advancement.

At the heart of this transformation is Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

In the last four years, Inuwa has been instrumental in driving NITDA’s mission of promoting the development and regulation of the information technology sector in Nigeria.

As a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) with a deep understanding of technology and its socio-economic impacts, Inuwa has combined his expertise with commitment to innovation

and brought his wealth of technical experience to the country’s digital transformation journey.

Under Inuwa’s guidance, NITDA has played a significant role in shaping policies and frameworks that are conducive to the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy. The agency has worked tirelessly to foster a supportive ecosystem for technology startups and entrepreneurs, laying the foundation for innovation to thrive. Through strategic partnerships with both local and international organisations, NITDA has facilitated knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and investment opportunities, positioning Nigeria as a hub for digital innovation in Africa.

NITDA’s multifaceted approach to advancing Nigeria’s digital economy revolves around its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2021-2024) namely Developmental Regulation; Digital Literacy and Skills; Digital Transformation; Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Cybersecurity; Emerging Technologies and; Promotion of Indigenous Content.

The Agency has been instrumental in driving the expansion of digital infrastructure across Nigeria. Initiatives such as the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF), Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA), Nigeria Startup Act, among others, to foster an ecosystem that prioritises digital inclusion, innovation, and data-driven governance.

Furthermore, Innovation and entrepreneurship programmes spearheaded by Inuwa have provided a platform for startups to flourish; offering grants, mentorship, and access to resources to nurture a culture of innovation, resulting in groundbreaking solutions that address local challenges and drive economic growth.

To safeguard Nigeria’s digital assets, NITDA championed data privacy and cybersecurity

through regulatory instrument like the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), which gave birth to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission. These efforts not only enhance trust in digital services but also attract foreign investments and partnerships.

NITDA is actively empowering the Nigerian workforce with the essential skills demanded by the digital age.

Through a range of capacity-building initiatives, NITDA is extending its reach to civil servants, journalists, students, corps members, women, and youth. This strategic effort is aimed at closing the gap in digital skills and enabling individuals to effectively engage in the burgeoning digital economy.

Inuwa unfolded the potential in Nigerian farmers through federal government initiative of National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), a project aimed at changing the face of agricultural sector in the country.

NITDA also launched the National Adopted School for Smart Education (NASSE) to promote digital literacy and skills. Some 500 students and 30 teachers at Junior Secondary School Karshi benefited from the pilot scheme. The Agency also supervised the training of thousands of artisans across the six geo-political zones on digital literacy and phone repairs.

In addition to making an effort in IT development as well as enhancing the IT capacity of the citizenry, hundreds of IT Hubs, IT Parks, and Community ICT Centres were established, furnished and equipped with world class facilities across the states of the federation. The agency, through its strategic relations with techpreneurs, supported start-ups, IT hubs and ecosystems builders through Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV). Through his strategic vision, NITDA launched the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF) which set the stage for the review of curriculum from the kindergarten to universities. NDLF also target to achieve 95 per cent digital literacy by the year 2030 which aligns with the vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to create over one million jobs for youths in the digital economy sector.

NITDA has attained impressive feats in propelling Nigeria’s digital economy forward through showcasing Nigeria’s capabilities at significant events like the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) held in Dubai and Morocco, as well as the LEAP event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Numerous Nigerian startups have excelled in these events, securing prizes that empower them to become creators of jobs rather than job seekers.

On the other hand, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda will undoubtedly serve as the driving force towards Nigeria’s digital transformation across various sectors, with a keen focus on economic rejuvenation. Embracing the potential of the digital economy, Tinubu’s agenda aligns seamlessly with NITDA’s mission to harness technology for economic diversification, job creation, and improved public service delivery.

Umar writes from Abuja

22 4

T H I S D AY

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2023

EDITORIAL

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

T

THE PERENNIAL FLOODING CHALLENGE The authorities must do more to cushion the impact of floods

countries in recent times. It is therefore no surprise he National Emergency Management that in several coastal cities across the world, climate Agency (NEMA) at the weekend change is creating a situation where too much water alerted Nigerians to expect floods as comes at an unexpected time, or in unexpected places Cameroonian authorities release water causing serious problem. It is then little wonder that from the Lagdo Dam. Nine states, the densely populated, low-lying cities and towns according to NEMA, could be affected in our country have also become an environmental by the recent release of water from the dam, which is nightmare for most of the inhabitants on account of expected to last till the end of this month. Adamawa, flooding.

Taraba, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Anambra, Edo, Instructively, while Nigeria has many challenges, Delta, and Bayelsa are the states where flood could environment is not often listed as one of them. That wreak havocs. Already, in several parts of Nigeria only shows our national malaise of incompetence within the past one month, villages and farmlands and lackadaisical attitude to serious issues. It is are being submerged as more and more Nigerians therefore time Nigeria became part of the global join the growing population of the internally trend of putting issues of the environment on the displaced. front burner while the What compounds the relevant authorities should problem is the lack of be proactive in preventing The habit of the people plays a crucial role in what has been happening a coherent response. disasters.

And when Just recently, the federal over the years anytime it rains.

Most of the drains are blocked due to the they inevitably occur, government requested governments at all tiers, Nigerians, particularly indiscriminate throwing on the roads and drainages, disposable empty complemented by private those living along the organisations and wellbanks of the River Niger, cans, and sachet water nylons, among others endowed individuals, to immediately relocate should come to the aid of to safer areas. Not T H I S D AY the victims as we see in other parts of the world. many people heeded the warning as the flood now EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU But beyond the intervention of the government DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA come with a vengeance, fatalities and destruction MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO at all levels is the need for Nigerians to begin to of properties. However, it is not enough for the DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU imbibe the correct attitude to waste disposal because government to ask citizens to leave flood path CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI flooding in some of our major cities cannot be solely without providing any measures for their relocation.

EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN explained by the factor of nature. The habit of the There is need therefore to resettle those living close THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE people, indeed, plays a crucial role in what has been to the waters far from their flood-prone areas. That is happening over the years anytime it rains. Most of the solution to the challenge. Naturally, there will be the drains are blocked due to the indiscriminate resistance from people who would not like to move throwing on the roads and drainages, disposable from their present habitat, but they must be made T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D empty cans, and sachet water nylons, among others.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA to realise the consequences of whatever choice they These dirty attitudes quite naturally lead to GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, make - between accepting to be resettled and staying ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI blockages of canals and manholes resulting in the back in their endangered communities.

DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, type of floods that have been witnessed in recent However, this perennial challenge should not be ANTHONY OGEDENGBE weeks. There are also several buildings that have allowed to continue. Unfortunately, the situation is DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI been erected on drainage channels. This ugly trend SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH also avoidable in many instances. Elementary science must stop while state governments should ensure ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI teaches that as global temperatures rise, oceans get CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI that all those buildings are pulled down for free flow warmer and when water heats up, it expands, and DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO of water into the canals. sea levels rise as we have been witnessing in several 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.

LETTERS

UNDERSTANDING THE NEW ERA OF NEW MEDIA

Media has always been a tool of social emancipation. From the earliest times, any form of media will always disrupt the status quo, that disruption happens daily.

The invention of the Gutenberg press in the 1500s, changed the face of media and information dissemination. Martin Luther could start his revolution in the church, because information became available through the Bible. Everybody had access to the Bible which was a rarity then. The history of disruption keeps evolving, Lenin also harnessed the power of disruption in seizing power from the monarchy in Russia leading to the Russian revolution.

Benito Mussolini and other world leaders did harness the prowess of media and its disruptive capacity. In fact, I dare say, media is like dynamite and properly crafting a narrative is like a detonator to start any revolution. The media revolution now finds various forms of innovation with technology.

DARPA. Originally known as the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the agency was created on February 7, 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik 1 in 1957. By collaborating with academia, industry, and government partners, DARPA formulates and executes research and development projects to expand the

frontiers of technology and science, often beyond immediate U.S. military requirements. DARPA-funded projects have provided significant technologies that influenced many non-military fields, such as computer networking and the basis for the modern Internet, and graphical user interfaces in information technology.

DARPA is independent of other military research and development and reports directly to senior Department of Defense management. DARPA comprises approximately 220 government employees in six technical offices, including nearly 100 program managers, who together oversee about 250 research and development programs.

This scheme helped greatly with the advent of the internet. It was the precursor to the internet.

TIM BERNE LEE. A British Engineer at CERN had been working on the hyperlink protocol. Berners-Lee wrote his proposal in March 1989 and, in 1990, redistributed it. It then was accepted by his manager, Mike Sendall, who called his proposals ‘vague, but exciting’. He used similar ideas to those underlying the ENQUIRE system to create the World Wide Web, for which he designed and built the first web browser. His software also functioned as an editor (called WorldWideWeb, running on the

NeXTSTEP operating system), and the first Web server, CERN HTTPd (short for Hypertext Transfer Protocol daemon). This invention led to the World Wide Web and the internet greatly revolutionized the world.

The advent of the internet led to quicker information dissemination at the speed of a click, like Bill Gates called it “business at the speed of thought.“ In 1999, the dot com bubble did burst, and the aftershocks led to Social Networking sites and other forms of expression on line known as Social Media.

THE REVOLUTION. The series of protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa that commenced in 2010 became known as the “Arab Spring” and sometimes as the “Arab Spring and Winter,” “Arab Awakening”, or “Arab Uprisings”, even though not all the participants in the protests were Arab. It was sparked by the first protests that occurred in Tunisia on 18 December 2010 in Sidi Bouzid, following Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

23

T H I S D AY • Thursday, October 12, 2023

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

REPO

A T

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

08056356325

O c to b er

S & P INDEX

1 1 , 2 0 2 3

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

19.12%

INDEX LEVEL

611.31%

1/4 to daTE

-0.07%

N795.28/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

16.25%

1-DAY

0.03%

YEAR TO DATE

0.48%

*AS AT Monday, July 24, 2023

3-MONTH

15.75%

MONTH-TO-DATE

-0.7%

Despite Policy on Second Level Domain Name, Adoption Still Drags among Government Officials

Emma Okonji In spite of efforts made by the federal government to populate .ng domain name among government officials that work in different agencies of government, the adoption rate still remains low, according to THISDAY investigation.

The .ng country code top level domain name (.ng ccTLD) is the online identity of Nigeria on the internet, which has the .ng at the suffix of every official email address that originates from Nigeria. In the United Kingdom, all official email addresses end with .co.uk, in United States of America, they end with .com, while in South Africa, official

email addresses end with .co.za.

The .ng country code top level domain name also has second-level domains, which are industry-specific names like .gov.ng, .org.ng, and .edu. ng, which the federal government has tried to populate among government officials. The second-level domains also allow businesses, individuals, and organisations to describe their online identities using relevant domain extensions.

The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) manages the .ng domain and its digital assets and NiRA has equally carried out several campaigns to sensitise Nigerians on the need to populate .ng domain name, aside the efforts of the federal

government to populate .ng domain name among government officials, yet the adoption level remain abysmally low.

The federal government had in February 2022, unveiled the National Policy on Nigeria Government Second-Level Domains, which mandates that all government officials must refrain from using private emails for official purposes.

The policy also states that Federal Public Institutions (FPIs), must migrate their websites to the relevant government domains. The policy clearly stated that it was crucial for government institutions that operate in Nigeria to use the appropriate second-level domain.

The policy targets institutions and organisations that must use the.gov.ng, .edu.ng, .mil.ng, and .sch.ng domains. The policy aims to ensure that these institutions are regulated according to guidelines and operations in the country, promoting accountability and recognition of Nigerians that are online. The policy also ensures that the data of government institutions is secure and hosted within data centres within Nigeria’s borders, in order to foster growth in the digital economy.

Following the introduction of the National Policy on Nigeria Government Second-Level Domains, NiRA, which is the

body responsible for managing .ng domain name in Nigeria, commenced the implementation of the policy, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). They started last year with strategy meetings through webinars with key stakeholders to ensure the successful adoption of these domains by the federal and state government institutions, schools, universities, and the military. Both NiRA and NITDA set up awareness campaign committees to sensitise and to develop training programmes to educate individuals on the policy’s implementation process.

In spite of the implementation process, .ng domain name adoption within government and the private sector organisatons, still remain low.

With a population of over 200 million people in Nigeria and with a total telecoms subscriber number of 220 million as at August 2023, the total number of registration, renewal and restoration of domain names in Nigeria was just 189,158 in March this year and later increased slightly to 191,215 in April, before reaching 193,085 in May this year.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

Telcos Seek FG’s Intervention to Address Industry Issues that Impede Telecoms’ Growth Emma Okonji Worried about some identified industry issues that are impeding growth of the telecoms sector, telecoms operators (Telcos), under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has appealed to the House of Representatives Committee on Communications to support its drive for the federal government’s intervention in addressing the identified issues.

The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo during a visit to the committee presented critical issues

that are negatively affecting growth of telecoms operations, and called for urgent government intervention to enable its members deliver better quality of service to the nation.

According to Adebayo, the provision of telecoms service in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja has been hampered by the refusal of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), to grant permits to telecoms operators to build sites.

“Despite concerted engagement, FCDA has maintained that due to

the need to maintain the Abuja Master Plan, it will not grant approval to our members to build new sites in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Telecoms services depend on terrestrial infrastructure and without the infrastructure in place, the quality of services cannot be guaranteed.

“In view of the huge investment towards deployment of telecoms infrastructure in the FCT, our members are indeed concerned about this development, given its significant impact on their ability to meet regulatory obligations and consumer expectations in the FCT.

Given its position as the seat of government and host to several key functionalities of government, with an ever-increasing population, our members have been unable to match infrastructure deployment with the growth patterns and onground requirements of the FCT. This is evidenced by unsatisfactory service reception within locations in the FCT, resulting in dropped calls and complaints of unsatisfactory service experience,” Adebayo said.

Telcos also complained of multiple taxation emanating from government agencies, which they said, had adversely affected

telecoms growth.

According to Adebayo, ALTON’s members currently pay at least 49 different taxes and levies.

“Additionally, our members continue to bear the brunt of multiple taxation and coerced compliance with tax and levy demands that have no legal basis by sub-nationals. This threatens investment, sustainability and industry growth,” Adebayo said.

The Telcos also complained about non-review of pricing regulatory framework and called on members of the House Committee on Communications

to issue policy guidance to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to commence implementation of targeted interventions, starting with an upward review of the Mobile Termination Rate for voice services and institution of an interim adjustment of the industry floor price for voice and data services, pending the conclusion of a cost study and issuance of a substantive pricing regulatory framework in this regard.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

M a r k e t d ata A s at w e d n e s d ay, O c t o b e r 1 1 , 2 0 2 3 BONDS Description Price Yield Change Updated Time (%) ^13.53 23October 100.95 12.78 0.00 11, 2023 MAR-2025 October ^12.50 2298.78 13.11 -7,00 11, 2023 JAN-2026 ^16.2884 October 108.14 13.25 0.00 11, 17-MAR-27 2023 ^13.98 23October 99.32 14.18 0.00 FEB-2028 11, 2023 ^14.55 26October 100.15 14.50 0.00 APR-2029 11, 2023

BILLS

OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS

Maturity

Discount Yield

Change (%) Updated Time

Maturity

NTB 26-Oct23 NTB 9-Nov23 NTB 7-Dec23 NTB 25-Jan24

1.80

1.80

October 0.00 11, 2023

3.50

3.51

October 0.00 11, 2023

3.92

3.94

October -0.01 11, 2023

3.75

3.79

October 0.48 11, 2023

JULI CP II 25-OCT-23 ZEDC CP I 17-NOV-23 NSDL CP IIA 22-NOV-23 MTNN CP V 23-NOV-23

NTB 8-Feb24

5.81

5.93

October 0.00 11, 2023

NSDL CP IIB 23-NOV-23

Change Time Discount Yield (%) October 16.84 16.95 -9,00 11, 2023 October 14.69 14.92 6,00 11, 2023 October 19.21 19.65 8,00 11, 2023 October 11.29 11.44 9,00 11, 2023 19.21

19.65

October 9,00 11, 2023

Contract Current Tenor Contract Rate ($/₦) (Month) NGUS OCT 1 – 30 2024 NGUS NOV 2 – 27 2024 NGUS DEC 3 – 24 2024 NGUS JAN 4 – 29 2025 NGUS FEB 5 – 26 2025

Date

October 11, 2023 October 11, 2023 October 11, 2023 October 11, 2023 October 11, 2023

24

Thursday, October 12, 2023 • T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

e-BUSINESS

Enhancing Governance with Technology The need to make governance at all levels to become more productive and accessible to the citizens, while leveraging on emerging digital technologies, was the crux of this year’s e-Government Summit, writes Emma Okonji

G

iving the low state of e-Government deployment in Nigeria, coupled with the low rating of the country’s e-Government index survey by the United Nations in 2022, where Nigeria was ranked 140 out of the 193 countries of the world that were surveyed, technology experts have stressed the need for Nigerian government to step up her e-Government deployment strategies.

The experts spoke at this year’s annual Nigeria eGovernment Summit, organised by DigiServe Networks Limited in Lagos last week, and called on government at all levels to leverage emerging digital technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Blockchain, Big Data Analytics among others to make governance more productive and accessible to the citizens, especially in today’s digital era, where data is key.

Speaking about the theme of the summit: ‘eGovernment-Pathway to a Prosperous Nation’, the Executive Chairman, DigiServe Network Services, and convener of Nigeria eGovernment Summit, Lanre Ajayi, challenged the 52 speakers lined up for the summit, which is in its fifth year, to come up with solutions that government could leverage upon to provide digital services that are productive and accessible to citizens.

According to him, the theme is in tandem with the current mood of the nation where Nigerians have high hopes that the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will leverage technology to enhance government service offerings to its citizens in order to better their lots in a prosperous nation that they hoped for.

“We carefully chose the theme for this year’s summit and we assembled 52 speakers to discuss the theme that will further help government to leverage technology in providing services to the citizens. The summit is not just a talk show, as we expect certain outcomes from the discussions that will shape government service delivery. Some of the objectives of the 2023 e-Government Summit are to set agenda for the new Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, and to challenge participants to come up with strategies that will help in the successful implementation of eGovernment in Nigeria,” Ajayi said.

Productivity

Speaking on how to make governance productive, the Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services, Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Ibrahim Boyi, said e-governance must come with certain values such as efficiency, convenience, transparency, data security enhancement, promoting inclusiveness and wider industry participation. According to him, the values help in making faster decision, engage meaningfully with stakeholders, boost citizens’ confidence and also boost economic growth. He said SEC understood the significance of digital infrastructure and the role it plays in promoting e-governance, but added that Nigeria had long been faced some challenges in driving the eGovernment processes, such as poor quality of infrastructure, digital divide, digital exclusion, resistance to change, security apprehensions, budget constraints, among others. He said surmounting the challenges would involve full delivery of eGovernment services to all Nigerians. “Surmounting the challenges will amount to collaboration between the public sector and the private sector, including the civil society, to enhance infrastructure and elevate digital literacy in Nigeria.

Nigeria needs the right advocacy for the right policies and the right enlightenment campaigns to educate the public about the benefits of e-governance. SEC has some initiatives and strategies put in place like the e-Dividend mandate to support the growth of e-governance,” Boyi said.

Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecomms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said the progress made by the telecoms industry over the years, has been very significant, given the current contribution of the telecoms sector to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Nigerian economy. He however said Nigeria has lost several of its tech experts to foreign economies as Nigerians continue to leave the country in large numbers to foreign countries to attain better loving condition. Adebayo also decried the depletion of smaller telecoms operators as a result of the harsh and unhealthy competition introduced by the bigger telecoms operators, and called on the telecoms regulator to address the situation to avoid further extinction of smaller telecoms operators.

He therefore stressed the need for government to leverage technology in providing services for the citizens that will make them remain in Nigeria and become more productive.

Other participants who spoke at the summit, called on government to design strategies for implementing eGovernment processes, and to build a mutual beneficial relationship between government and technology service providers that would impact on citizens and the Nigerian economy. They urged government to encourage collaboration between it and technology service providers that will foster adoption of the right technologies for governance. They also called on government to

Tijani

Ajayi develop capacity building among citizens and boost local content development through the use of emerging digital technologies.

Accessibility

Addressing the issue of technology accessibility, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu, who was represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr. Tunbosun Alake, said the state government understood the importance of making technology accessible to the people and has leveraged emerging digital technologies in providing digital services to the people of Lagos State.

According to him, “Today, technology is evolving and we have technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Big Data, Data Analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Robotics, among others. These evolving technologies have the potential to change the way we live and work, and the technologies remain important facet of transformation in government. There are critical enabling factors such that if absent, they can pose great challenges that can reduce the effectiveness of deploying technology in governance.

The critical factors include talent/intellectual capacity, proper coordination and unified action plan among government agencies. Some of the challenges, most times, affect technology projects.

These challenges are not peculiar to Nigeria, as developed countries also face such challenges.”

The governor therefore challenged technology experts at this year’s Nigeria eGovernment Summit, to come up with solutions that government could use to address specific challenges in governance. “The Lagos State government will be glad to get unique solutions from the eGovernment Summit that it can tap into to address some of the critical challenges in governance,” the governor further said.

Infrastructure in Governance

In his keynote address, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who was represented by the Ag Director, eGovernment Development and Regulations at NITDA, Mr. Bernard Ewah, said the provisions of eGovernment services largely relied on nonstate actors like the industry stakeholders that attended the fifth Nigeria eGovernment Summit.

According to him, most of the infrastructure needed to provide eGovernment services are no longer in the hands of government alone, which clearly shows that all industry stakeholders and the government should play active role in providing digital services to the citizens, through the deployment of digital technologies. “Today, a lot of data is being generated by government, corporate organisations and individuals, and our role as a government agency, is to see how we can bring all of these together and create the synergy so that everyone has its role to play in providing digital services to the citizens,” Abdullahi said.

In another keynote address, Ag Executive

Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zaccheus Adedeji, who was represented by Dr. Richard Aboki from FIRS, said FIRS would continue to ensure coherent use of digital technology across policy areas and levels of government, designed to change every facets of human lives, by increasing productivity and in eradicating crimes from our society, and also to increase tax revenue for government.

He said government would continue to invest in cybersecurity and protect the data privacy of its citizens. He looked at the significance of digitalization, and stressed the need for adequate funding of infrastructure, software and human capacity building. He however said the benefits remained always higher than the cost of investment, after it has attained full maturity.

He therefore called for the development of a strategic digital government objectives and the reinforcement of institutional capacity to manage and monitor eGovernment project implementation, and the need to assess the existing assets to guide the procurement of digital technologies. He also called for the review of the legal and regulatory frameworks to allow digital opportunities to grow.

The Managing Director/CEO, Open Access Data Centres, Dr. Ayotunde Coker, in his keynote presentation, addressed the issue of infrastructure that is driving eGovernment in Nigeria.

According to him, eGovernment is a handshake between government and the citizen and it about government using technology to provide services for the citizens. He stressed the need for ubiquitous broadband access and penetration, to drive connectivity growth across Nigeria.

He said the broadband uptake of any nation largely depends on access to broadband and the enabling mobile devices. He said Nigeria already had close to 50 per cent broadband penetration with a target of reach 70 per cent penetration by 2025. According to Coker, Open Access Data Centres is concerned about connectivity through its mega data centre that is located in Lagos, with branches in other countries of the world.

He also talked about the converged open digital infrastructure that brings connectivity and data centres together.

Deputy Managing Director, Huawei Technologies Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Olanrewaju Odekunle, in his keynote presentation, said since Huawei entered the Nigerian market in 1999, it has been actively involved in the development of local infrastructure in Nigeria.

According to him, Huawei witnessed Nigeria transforming from 2G to 3G, and from 3G to 4G and of recent, 5G. He said Nigeria would therefore need digital literacy and human development campaigns to drive eGovernment initiative. He called on Nigerian government to develop the National eGovernment Cloud of China as a model for its National eGovernment Strategy. He also advised that all government regulatory agencies be modeled towards public service agencies that will be providing digital and essential social services to the people, just the way it is done in China.

Technology Transfer

Speaking about technology transfer during an interactive session at the summit, Odekunle said Huawei had in the past years, trained several Nigerian youths on new technologies, including its developmental project, where it trained Nigerian women on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). He said Huawei established massive training centres in Lagos and Abuja purposely for training Nigerians on ICT and to enhance technology transfer.

“In terms of technology transfer, we are also working with the federal government to execute its project that is designed to train one million Nigerians on digital skills. Some of the trainees will be sent to China for further training, while some will be employed by Huawei after the training,” Odekunle said.

Group Managing Director, Intertel Nigeria Ltd, Dr. Abdlrazaq Ayodeji Shittu, one of the participants who disagreed with the idea of technology transfer from foreign companies to Nigerian youths, said Nigeria must learn to develop its own indigenous technology through local content development, rather than waiting for technology transfer from China or United States of America, insisting that no foreign company would freely release its technology to another country, in the name of technology transfer.

Lagos State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr. Tunbosun Alake, who represented Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said the need to develop the school system was necessary in order to boost indigenous technology, insisting that no country will want to give out its technology to other countries for free.

According to him, the Lagos State government has over the past three years, formed Research and Development (R&D) initiative in tertiary institutions across University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State University of Science and Technology and Yaba College of Technology, and got its first patent in 2021 in the area of medical device.

International Best Practice

Among the five panel sessions that discussed various industry issues centred around eGovernment: Pathway to a Prosperous Nation, one of the panel sessions that was chaired by the Group Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi, discussed the sub-theme: International Best Practices in eGovernment. The lead paper for the panel session was delivered by the Public Policy Manager, Anglophone West Africa at Meta, Mrs. Sade Dada, while the panelists that were made up of industry experts, discussed the subject matter.

The panelists were of the view that Nigeria should emulate global leaders in eGovernmemt process like Estonia, According to them, Nigeria does not need to become one of the top global eGovernment nations of the world in order to effectively drive eGovernment process, but could emulate them.

The panelists said Nigeria would need to replicate the global industrial revolution, and address the issues of power and internet connectivity in order to effectively deliver on best practices in eGovernance.

The panelists advised both the state and federal governments to be more committed in leveraging digital technology to drive eGovernment services.

25

T H I S D AY • Thursday, October 12, 2023

BUSINESSWORLD

news

Huawei, Fouani to Address Carbon Emission with Power-M Inverter Emma Okonji Determined to solve Nigeria’s carbon emission challenges and to create alternative source of energy consumption, Fouani Nigeria Limited, in collaboration with Huawei Technology, has unveiled a smart solar solution in Nigeria, known as Power-M Inverter.

Both partners said the product, which comes in different categories, would be a game-changer, adding that they are engineered to provide efficient and reliable energy solutions for both residential and commercial applications.

According to them, the product’s advanced features aim to revolutionise energy consumption and management.

While unveiling the product, the Managing Director of Fouani Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mohamed

Fouani, said: “Recently, there had been a lot of demand on clean, affordable energy. The partnership with Huawei, will help to meet such demand.

“As we introduce this product, it’s already available in all our outlets nationwide, in nine major cities and over 50 outlets for retail.

The cities are: Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Asaba and Benin City. The product can meet individual needs like domestic requirements, as well as organisational and industrial needs.

It goes from five kilowatts to multimegawatt solutions, “Fouani, said.

Fouani further said: “The sun is God’s gift to us, it will shine on all of us and everybody will benefit from it and could get energy for free.”

Responding on how Nigeria’s power generation companies will react to the introduction of the

solar solution, Fouani said: “We are not competing with anybody, however, we are sure that even discos may acquire energy through solar solutions. So the whole world is going solar.”

He added that the market response had been positive, with technicians and engineers providing support and monitoring installations.

Director at Huawei Mr. Eric Yang, stated that the newly launched product remained a very profitable solution. According to Yang, “It is an innovative solution. It is less expensive than all other alternatives. Today, with the high cost of oil products and the difficulties in the energy distribution, solar solution is the only solution that can meet people’s needs. Therefore, we come up with the solution that does not only solve domestic needs, but also commercial and industrial needs.”

Google Unveils 11 African Startups for AI First Accelerator Programme Emma Okonji Google has unveiled the first cohort for its ‘Google for Startups Accelerator AI First programme.

The 11 startups selected from a vast pool of innovative talent, Nigeria had the highest number of startups.

The selected startups are; Famasi Africa from Nigeria, whose solution is on building the OS for pharmacies in emerging markets; Izi from from Nigeria, whose solution provides an end-to-end credit infrastructure via API for small businesses; Vzy from

Nigeria, whose solution is about revolutionising website building with AI-driven tools that craft sites in mere minutes; Avalon Health from South Africa, whose solution empowers patients with streamlined online healthcare access and offers doctors digital tools to enhance care; Chatbots Africa from Ghana, whose solution is about spearheading SMEs’ transition into the Social Commerce era with AI-driven online storefronts; Dial Afrika Inc from Kenya, whose solution is on tailoring customer support tools for global businesses, with a focus on African SMBs.

Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said: “At Google we’ve been working on AI for over a decade, and we’ve shown how useful AI is in our products and for developers externally. AI is not only a powerful enabler, it’s also a major platform shift. That’s why we’re focused on making it easy and scalable for others to innovate with AI. Our chosen startups for the ‘AI First’ program embody this vision, leveraging AI in pioneering ways to address both local and global challenges. We’re here excited to support and amplify their impact.”

CSR: TotalEnergies Marks 2023 DW Book Reading and Open Day

Raheem Akingbolu

Management of TotalEnergies and stakeholders in the Lagos State Education sector, have described the long hours being given daily to browsing and other social media activities as a major factor mitigating against reading among students.

Speaking at the weekend during the company’s “2023 DW Book Reading and Open Day”, with the theme, “A Chapter A Day Keeps The Brain Alert”, its Deputy Managing Director, Mr Victor Bandele, called on students drawn

from various public secondary schools in Lagos to imbibe the reading culture early to be able to pursue their desired dreams.

The Managing Director, who was represented by the Executive General Manager, Deep Water Field Operations, Mr Adeyemi Akinlalu, pointed out that reading helps in building mental alertness.

Bandele said TotalEnergies appreciated the place of education in development, hence the need to mentor the students to bring out their potential.

While emphasizing the importance of reading in students’ lives, he said it helps individuals acquire life improvement skills, gain more vocabularies as well as acquire new information and knowledge.

He said that former U.S. President, Barack Obama, would usually say, “Reading is the gateway key that makes all other learning possible”.

He said this was outrightly true as all learning from complex word problems, history, scientific discoveries and technological proficiency could all be made possible through reading.

RxAll Launches RXGO Outlet in Ilorin for Digital Access Emma Okonji As part of its mission to make quality healthcare accessible, RxAll, a health-tech platform that provides digital infrastructure to pharmacies, has established a new RXGO outlet in Ita Elepe community in Ilorin Kwara State.

Commissioning the RXGO outlet recently, Chief Kofar Mogaji of Ita Elepa, expressed his happiness and excitement with the RxAll initiative, stating that the move is another giant stride toward making the community stronger and more self-reliant.

According to him, “this pharmacy is not just a building; it is a symbol of progress, care, and unity. RxGO Pharmacy will be providing top-notch healthcare services right here at home.

No longer will our friends and family need to travel long distances to access essential medications and healthcare advice. Our community’s health and well-being will be in our hands.”

He commend Adebayo Alonge the visionary individual, who is dedicated to making it possible for people to have access to high-quality health care across the country, explaining that he has not

only built a pharmacy, but also a bridge to better health for all.

“This pharmacy is not just a business; it is a commitment to our community’s health. I urge all of you to support it, not just by filling your prescriptions here, but by spreading the word, by trusting our dedicated pharmacists, and by helping our neighbors understand the importance of taking charge of their health,” Mogaji said.

Speaking at the commission of

the RXGO outlet, Alonge said: It is essential to continue to move closer to the people as a result of the strong need for quality healthcare in the country.

According to him, the concept of RXGO is to ensure that we are available within the shortest possible distance towards ensuring that there is quality healthcare. It is our desire to to increase access to affordable, high-quality medicines for everyone across the world, starting with Africa.

CWG Holds Texcellence Conference to Boost Tech Innovation

Emma Okonji

CWG will today hold its Texcellence Conference 2023 with a renewed commitment to celebrating resilience, fostering innovation, and driving diversification.

This year ’s conference is set to bring together over 500 tech leaders, enthusiasts, and visionaries from across Africa for a day of immersive experiences.

The Texcellence Conference, organised by CWG Plc (formerly known as Computer Warehouse Group) has firmly established itself as the flagship event in the tech world, drawing decision-makers from leading tech firms, startups, investors, thought leaders, and policymakers. It serves as a platform for stakeholders from various sectors to engage in crucial discussions about the future of technology.

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BUSINESSWORLD

Development

Finland Digital Innovation Journey With the support of the Finnish Embassy, 11 journalists from different countries went on a media tour of Finland to explore the digital innovation and future skills in the country. Ugo Aliogo who was one of the journalists reports

I

n the 21st century, technology is playing a fundamental role in transforming our lives, from healthcare, transportation, social infrastructure, education and other things. Technological change requires people and businesses to acquire new digital skills and competencies.

A study by Eurostat has revealed that digital technologies are transforming the world people live and work in, adding that technology touches different aspects of people’s lives, from everyday tasks such as making phone calls and shopping to how businesses and public services operate.

The study also stated that digital transformation is one of the key priorities for the European Union (EU). The digital decade initiative sets out the EU targets that will guide digital transformation until 2030. According to the EU target, at least 80 percent of all adults should have minimum basic digital skills by 2030. To have at least basic overall digital skills, people must know how to do at least one activity in each of five different competence areas.

Finland is one of the EU countries at the forefront of driving digitalisation is Finland.

Overview

Finland is a global frontrunner in the field of digitalisation, also known as digital transformation or DX. According to the latest DESI index, Finland is the number one country in Europe. The country’s high degree of digitalisation is made possible by a strong digital infrastructure and the fact that Finns are highly educated and digitally literate.

The country sees digitalisation primarily as a tool to save time and effort. Digital services also have other benefits such as a reduced ecological footprint. The aim in Finland is to make everyday life better and easier for everyone, by freeing them from unnecessary paperwork and running from one government agency to another - for example when applying for unemployment or medical benefits.

Digitalization is a key tool in this.

Almost all interactions between citizens and civil servants such as tax officials and the police can now take place digitally. A large majority of Finns from all age groups and social strata use public and private digital services. The services are made available for everyone, regardless of their age, background, or geographical location. People who do not own digital devices can use digital services for example in public libraries. Face-to-face services and telephone assistance are also always available.

Trust and transparency are central values of Finnish society and cornerstones of public digital services.

Information security is of paramount importance.

Everyone’s privacy is strongly protected. Finnish authorities collaborate actively with Finland’s world-class cybersecurity companies to protect individuals, companies and the whole society from digital threats.

Like all Nordic countries, Finland combines wide-ranging public services with an open freemarket economy. Yet it can be argued that Finland is uniquely open to public-private cooperation and that innovative combinations of public and commercial services are an important factor in the digital Finnish society.

Finnish banks have worked on highly secure online identification solutions since the 1990s – and those same solutions are now also used at other public online services alongside government-issued digital identification cards. At the same time, companies benefit from largely the same easy-to-use digital services as private citizens do, saving the companies and especially their back-office staff time and money.

For example, companies benefit from the same

easy-to-use online tax services as ordinary citizens.

Companies can also utilise open public data platforms. For example, private health care providers use the same patient data as public services, and anonymized data has also been used as a basis for several new commercial health services and start-ups.

The next step in digital public services is not to make them more prevalent but to make them more invisible. Steps toward this have already been taken by for example Finnish tax authorities. Finns no longer need to fill out their tax returns as the tax authorities receive almost all necessary information automatically from employers, banks and other financial institutions. Everyone receives a pre-filled “tax proposal”, which for most already includes everything necessary. One can of course also amend one’s tax return by for example claiming further deductions. Roughly a fifth of Finns do so – some 90% of them online in a manner of minutes.

As part the commitment of the Finnish government to tell the story of their digital footprints across Europe, they organised a media visit tagged: ‘Digital Innovation and Future Skills’ from September 25-28, Helsinki, Finland that brought together 10 journalists from 10 different countries such as Nigeria, Spain, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Austria, Portugal, Peru and Columbia. The media visit gave the journalists the opportunity to visit some public institutions and explore how technology has been adopted to drive the growth processes in these organisations.

Development Policy

To understand the development policy directives of Finland, THISDAY spoke to the Senior Adviser, Development Policy, Team Leader, Mr. Aki Enkenberg, who stated that Finland has a strong financial and banking sector, which also has been in the forefront of digitalizing the payment ecosystem, adding that around 4 in 5 companies use electronic invoicing today.

He also stated mobile payments surpassed cash in popularity for the first time in 2022,

but people still mostly use debit or credit cards for paying at stores. Finland is part of the European Single Payments Area (SEPA).

He remarked that in Finland, digital and green transitions go hand in hand, noting that the government aims to be carbon neutral by 2035, noting that Finland has a national Climate and Environmental strategy for the ICT sector, “One good example are green data centres, in which excess heat is transferred to the municipal district heating system.”

According to him, “The ICT sector contributes to around 7 percent of Finland’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). By some estimates, the broader technology sector is responsible of almost one third of Finland’s GDP. The Global Gateway is a joint European strategy for promoting connectivity worldwide. The ambition is to mobilize 300 billion for this purpose, with half of this amount coming from the private sector and half from public sources. Digital connectivity is one focus area of Global Gateway.

Finland co-leads the digital working group on connectivity together with France. We have recently initiated a joint European project on data governance in Africa, totalling 58 million Euros.”

Helsinki Data Strategy

On his part, Head of Data, City of Helsinki, Tomas Lehtinen, said the vision of the data strategy is that by 2025, the data produced by the city of Helsinki will be the most usable and most used urban data in the country. He also stated that the benefits of the strategy are to promote the sharing of data which drives business and the utilisation of external resources.

He averred that another benefits the strategy will drive is that it will promote the city’s operations and resources are optimised with the help of data.

Lehtinen remarked that they have developed services based on data and AI for the benefit of people and with people in mind, adding that they communicate as transparently as possible how and where they use data and AI. “We can explain the general operating logic of a single result or algorithm in an understandable way. The basis for the use of data and AI

solutions is respect for everyone’s dignity and rights. For each service that uses AI, we assign a responsible party that our customers can contact.

We handle personal data carefully and securely throughout the life cycle of the system. The basis for the use of data and AI solutions is respect for everyone’s dignity and rights. Systems using data and AI are well protected and controlled. The person responsible is able to monitor and control the operations of the system and intervene, if necessary,” he said.

Finnish Social Security

A report by Kela, which is the Social Insurance Institution of Finland about Finnish Social Security revealed that the introduction of maternity grants was encouraged by concerns over declining birth rates and high infant mortality.

The report said Finland has long had one of the lowest levels of infant and maternal mortality in the world. Each year, Kela awards around 57,000 maternity grants, of which about 37,000 are provided in the form of a maternity package.

Digital Transformation

According to the Finnish Tax administration, in 2022, the government collected a total of €81.4 billion in tax revenue for society’s use. From the €81.4 billion, the government disbursed 61.7 percent to the State and 33.0 percent to municipalities, while 4.1 percent to Kela and 1.2 percent to parishes. The tax administration authority works effectively and the automation degree is high, while the ratio of net expenditure to gross tax revenue is 0.42 per cent.

In his presentation, the Director, Business Products, Product Management Unit, Finnish Tax Administration, Veijo Romppainen, said the Finland tax gap is among the smallest in Europe and it is only 3 percent, adding that the tax gap shrinks and the tax revenue grows.

He also stated that the Valmis software is the biggest IT project in Finland, and it has over 70 taxation systems, about 10 E-services, and four rollouts.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

NCC P u s h e s f o r More Data Centre Investments in Nigeria Emma Okonji The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) said it has become highly imperative for further investments in the data centre segment of the telecoms sector.

With over $1 billion data centre investment seen thus far, largely in Lagos, NCC noted that more data investment is required to further

deepen the broadband agenda of the Federal Government.

The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umaru Danbatta, said this during the Telecoms Sector Sustainability Forum (TSSF) 4.0 organised by Business Remarks in Lagos recently, with the theme: ‘Mainstreaming Data Centres in the Nigerian Digital Economy.’

Danbatta who was represented

by Head, Tariff Administration NCC, Dr. Sunday Atu, said mainstreaming data centres would require collective efforts.

According to him, there is need for support to ensure data centres not only operate to guarantee national digital sovereignty, but also prioritise contents reflecting the country’s cultural norms, contexts and ideological values.

Data is regarded as the new oil globally with increasing intensity in the context of the emerging digital economy.

Danbatta further explained that data had become a subject of special consideration by regimes, requiring appropriate structures and frameworks to truly tap and optimise the opportunities provided by this new order.

He noted that data centre services, no doubt, held the keys to the ultimate crystallisation of the new line of thinking within the ICT sector and by extension to the greater national economy of nations in so many ways.

According to Danbatta, “Recent developments point to the limitless treasure within this space. Africa has recently assumed

a new frontier and compelling destination for global big tech players. Tech giants, like Google with its Equiano subsea fibre cable spanning 15,000 km from Portugal to South Africa and strategic landing points in Nigeria and Namibia, are expected to increase connectivity more than five-fold within Nigeria while creating an expected 1.6 million jobs.”

giveaway scam, where people are prompted to register an account with the website that they visit. According to NITDA, subscribers are asked to enter a promo code was received on a TikTok video they have watched.

Once they enter the code,

the site will pretend to deposit Bitcoin into the user’s wallet.

NITDA however said when attempting to withdraw the free Bitcoins, subscribers would be forced to activate their account, which gives the fraudsters access to hack into the subscribers’ account.

NITDA Holds Cybersecurity Awareness Summit The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will organise an annual national Cyber security Awareness Summit this October, focused on how to stay safe and more secured online The National Cybersecurity

Awareness Month is an annual event observed every October in commemoration with the global Cyber-Security Awareness Month to promote cybersecurity awareness and educate individuals and organizations about the importance of cybersecurity.

This campaign focuses on informing individuals and organisations about relevant cyber security trends, threats, and proactive steps to increase security.

The Theme for this year’s Cyber Security Awareness Month is See yourself in cyber.

NITDA has been at the forefront in addressing cybersecurity issues in the country and has continued to warn Nigerians to be cautious while online in order not to fall victim of cyber criminals.

NITDA had warned Nigerians not to take part in the online

THURSDAY OCTOBER 12, 2023 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY • Thursday, OCTOBER 12, 2023

Health & lifestyle

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

Breast Cancer: C.O.P.E Eyes Collaboration with Ministry of Health, Subsidised Services

Since its establishment in Nigeria, the Care Organisation Public Enlightenment, C.O.P.E, has been at the front burner of giving succour to cancer patients and survivors and awareness to the public. In this interview with its Founder, Ebunoluwa Anozie, she expressed readiness to collaborate with the Ministry of Health in mitigating the breast cancer mortality rate in Nigeria and improving healthcare access and outcomes for all Nigerians. She also urges women to get free and subsidised breast cancer services at C.O.P.E this October. Rebecca Ejifoma brings excerpts

Y

ou have talked about a comprehensive cancer treatment centre for years. Do we have one now?

You are correct. Over two decades ago, we urged and implored the government to establish at least one comprehensive cancer treatment centre to cater for cancer patients in Nigeria. Currently, we can proudly claim the presence of at least seven comprehensive cancer treatment centres across the country, a stark contrast to the times when we had none. In addition, several private entities have also stepped in to help fulfill this critical need.

However, there is still much work ahead.

The reality is that when we address the imbalance in medical tourism and treat our citizens properly within our borders, it will become evident that our healthcare system is gradually aligning with international standards. For example, despite the availability of these comprehensive cancer treatment centres, the “Japa” movement within the healthcare sector remains a formidable challenge with grave implications in the years to come. Our best healthcare professionals are understandably leaving the country in droves for better remuneration, career advancement, and quality standard of living. The government has a lot of work to do to address this growing trend.

Radiotherapy is one of the cancer treatments. How many do we have in Nigeria, and are they functioning?

Again, the number we have, is it enough compared to the country’s population?

There’s a vast distinction between owning something and that thing being genuinely beneficial or operational. In Nigeria, we currently have at least six radiotherapy centres, some of which are privately owned.

However, the actual functionality of these centres presents a distinct challenge. It is evident that the number of operational machines is insufficient to adequately serve a country as large as ours, with a population of almost 200 million people and growing.

This challenge is further compounded by our current infrastructure and the ongoing struggle to experience reliable power supply, one of the primary obstacles responsible for impeding and incapacitating effective business operations.

Diagnosis is the heart of medical treatment, and C.O.P.E has been screening for a long time. What has the experience been like?

Diagnosis is indeed the heart of medical treatment. However, we are not a diagnostic centre.

Instead, we offer women subsidised nd free breast ultrasound scan screening services to detect the presence of lumps or abnormalities. Should we detect any, we recommend patients visit their personal physicians or diagnostic centres for further evaluation or tests.

I must also mention that over 28 years, our journey has been a roller coaster ride.

Throughout this time, we have taken on a pivotal role in the fight against breast cancer in Nigeria. Our commitment to reducing the mortality rate of breast cancer would not have been It is attainable without the unwavering support of our incredible partners, including Variant Advisory, Polaris Bank, Union Bank, Hardrock Café, SKLD, GE Healthcare, ASHOKA, Pfizer and the generous individuals who have stood by us through thick and thin.

As we continue our mission, we welcome additional local and international partners, both corporate and individuals, to join and support us on this journey and fight against breast cancer.

Together, we can make a significant difference in women’s lives in Nigeria.

The cost of cancer treatment is significantly reduced when diagnosed in its early stages.

For example, the least invasive cancer treatment would start at approximately two million, five hundred thousand Naira.

Again, treatment of cancer, which includes drugs, is not cheap, even people with abundant financial resources complain. This is also why we encourage women to have comprehensive health insurance to help with the cost of breast cancer treatment and healthcare treatment in general.

Now that Nigeria is faced with a forex exchange crisis. What is the impact on access to drugs, particularly on members of your support group?

There is no doubt that this will have an adverse effect on members of our support group. It will be challenging, and is actually difficult, for some of them to afford drugs recommended and prescribed by their physicians. We remain ever so grateful to our partners who provide financial support to our survivors who are still receiving treatments so they can live a healthy and fulfilling new normal life.

Founder of C.O.P.E, Ebunoluwa Anozie Misdiagnosis is also a factor in treatment. Have you had such cases in the course of your screening, and how have you been able to manage that?

Of course, misdiagnosis is a significant factor in treating breast cancer. However, it is important to again emphasise that we do not diagnose. We provide breast screening services with state-of-the-art equipment that detects lumps or abnormalities in women’s breasts. We are very particular in engaging the services of qualified and experienced sonographers/radiographers and have been fortunate to have skilled healthcare professionals work with and volunteer with us. We also provide regular training to address any issues related to the detection of lumps proactively and have generally received very few complaints related from our patients.

However, we recently encountered two separate incidents where one of our experienced radiographers did not detect lumps in two different patients and both patients brought it to our attention after seeking second opinions. In an abundance of caution, we initiated a review of all screening results for women who had undergone screenings performed by this particular radiographer during her three-year tenure with us. Additionally, as part of our commitment to ensuring the highest standards of care, we suspended her from her duties. Our guiding principle is the early detection of breast cancer, and we are dedicated to upholding it.

How cheap is treatment for cancer and breast cancer in particular? You can also look at the cost of undergoing radiotherapy treatment and how many sessions a patient requires to stay alive.

How much are cancer drugs, and can a poor man afford them?

The effectiveness of cancer treatment is heavily influenced by detecting it early and initiating appropriate interventions. Allow me to illustrate this with an example. During our routine free monthly screening in July 2022, we had a significant turnout. Among them was a remarkable woman who, just two months later, visited our office to purchase breast prostheses. As part of our standard procedure, we asked about the timing of her diagnosis and if she would be interested in joining our support group. She said she was and graciously shared her story with us.

She had taken advantage of our free breast screening service in July, made possible by Variant Advisory and SKLD. At the time of her visit to us, she was completely unaware of the presence of a lump but had noticed a sharp pain which persisted for three days, and she wanted to find out what was wrong.

Our radiographer detected a lump and strongly advised her to consult her physician for a thorough evaluation and potential removal. She did as advised, and the diagnosis revealed stage one carcinoma. She was presented with two treatment options: preserving her breast through chemotherapy and radiotherapy or opting for a mastectomy (complete breast removal) without further treatment. She bravely chose the latter! Her actions are an incredible testament to not just the importance of early detection, but also to patients adhering to our advice to consult their primary healthcare providers for further evaluation. Breast cancer treatment, as with all forms of cancer treatment, is incredibly expensive and it is important to be proactive with their health and detect any issues early.

Is breast cancer treatment covered in NHIA? As earlier mentioned, treatment for any type of cancer is very expensive. During the last regime, the scheme did not cover key treatments for serious ailments such as breast cancer. In most cases we have family members selling their properties trying to raise funds for treatments of their loved ones. It is heart-wrenching to see and hear about the difficulties cancer survivors are going through in accessing treatment for serious ailments like breast cancer. Thankfully, the Nigerian Cancer Society took a bold step by requesting funds from the federal government and assisting citizens in need. Access to affordable healthcare is a critical issue that affects the well-being of all Nigerians and the earlier we take the bull by the horns, the better it will be.

I know improving access to healthcare and ensuring essential treatments, including those for cancer, are available to all is a complex challenge that many governments around the world face. That said, the Nigerian government needs to provide tangible and sustainable solutions that ensure that Nigerians have access to basic and quality essential healthcare services without suffering financial hardship. We are glad C.O.P.E is able to fill some of these gaps for women in need dealing with breast cancer through the generous donations and support of our partners, and we continue to encourage others to support us.

What can you say about Nigeria’s rate of cancer survivors, are we having more cancer mortality due to lack of access to treatment and the high cost of drugs? Why is Nigeria recording more cancer cases presently?

There is no doubt that the breast cancer mortality rate is high due to a lack of access to proper medical care, ignorance, religious beliefs, poverty, unhealthy lifestyles, lack of exercise, late presentation and taboos.

The intersection of these factors contributes to the increase in cancer cases that we’re currently experiencing. The more people are informed, are proactive with their health, are conscious of what they consume, and have access to quality cancer treatments, the higher the rate of cancer survivors in the country. Addressing these issues requires the work of all relevant stakeholders, which is very important.

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

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news

Fertility

With Dr. Kemi AILOJE drkemi@lifelinkfertility.com www.lifelinkfertility.com +2348033083580

Pate Says Nigeria is Working on New Health Sector Agenda Autoimmune Diseases (Part 2) Chiemelie Ezeobi

To ensure the health security of Nigerians, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, has said the nation is working on a new health sector agenda.

Pate, a global expert on vaccines, who spoke virtually on Wednesday at the ongoing 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Dakar, Senegal, also emphasised on the importance of tailoring science and innovation around health challenges, adding that this will boost global health security.

Addressing a global audience of health and development experts, as well as innovators , regulators and funders, Pate whose keynote address was through a pre-recorded video, opened the plenary session on “Collaboration saves lives”.

Stressing that a unified approach is essential to global efforts to save lives, he said: “As Nigeria’s Coordinating

Minister of Health and Social Welfare, I find myself at the intersection of epidemiological challenges and a vast potential of healthcare advancement.

“This advancement also leads to medical industrialisation that will benefit not only our region here on the continent of Africa but also globally.

“Throughout my journey in health both within Nigeria and globally, I have had the privilege to witness the transformations brought about by scientific innovations. “ The average person now lives six years longer than just two decades ago, a testament to the profound impact of our collective endeavours.

“It is vital we continue fostering science and innovation around health challenges that we face in a shared spirit of solidarity and partnership. “ This will ensure health security for our populations, which is key to help improve the fundamental pillar of the Nigerian health sector agenda that we are now shaping.”

He urged the world to also recognise that the journey of innovation is ongoing and must be pursued with a clear sense of purpose.

He admitted that while there are challenges ahead, there are also unparalleled opportunities.

Pate added: “We can shape a future where everyone, irrespective of socioeconomic or geographical barriers, enjoy the highest standard of health, prosperity and wellbeing.

“As we look forward, collaborating to save lives while reflecting on our past to shape our future, I would like to quote Thomas Edison’s words: ‘A vision without execution is merely hallucination. The efforts invested in planning are wasted if not executed.’

“I urge us to take a unified approach and gently implement our shared vision of saving lives, working closely in partnership, a task that we must undertake together in order to succeed.”

Nirvana, Access CorporationOrganisesTraining for Health Providers onStrengthening Sickle Cell Care Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Non-Governmental organisation, Nirvana Initiative with support from Access Corporation has organised capacity-building trainings for health care providers in 72 primary health care centers across six states in Nigeria on strengthening sickle cell care.

The training which was carried out in Osun, Edo, Delta, Kaduna, Abuja, and Akwa-Ibom States facilitated the improvement of the care skills of healthcare providers with regards to management of sickle cell.

The Executive Director of Nirvana, Modupe Babawale said, “Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a global health concern that predominantly affects individuals of African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian heritage. It’s a hereditary blood disorder characterised by abnormal hemoglobin, causing red blood cells to take on a crescent or “sickle” shape.

This condition leads to complications like severe pain episodes, anemia, organ damage, and reduced life expectancy. Despite its wide impact, SCD faces challenges such as low awareness, delayed diagnosis, and limited access to quality care.

“In many areas, healthcare professionals lack sufficient

knowledge about SCD, resulting in misdiagnoses and inadequate treatment.

Additionally, individuals with SCD and their families often encounter social stigma and discrimination, hindering their access to appropriate healthcare and support.

“Recognising the pressing need for better care and support, the project “Strengthening Sickle Cell Care: Capacity Building for Healthcare Workers and Caregivers” aims to address these gaps and enhance SCD management.

This project aligns with Sickle cell awareness month, which occurs every september to raise awareness and advocate for improved SCD understanding and treatment.”

She further added that the project’s primary goal is to empower healthcare workers and caregivers to provide comprehensive SCD care.

By equipping professionals with updated knowledge, practical skills, and necessary resources, it aims to build empathy among health care providers by making the healthcare centers a conducive environment for warriors to be comfortable and a safe space to go to during pain crisis. This, in turn, will reduce complications, alleviate pain, and enhance the overall quality of life for individuals with SCD. Modupe stated that, “the

project included training programs, workshops, and awareness campaigns targeting healthcare workers, caregivers, and the general public.

“These activities covered areas like SCD diagnosis, symptom management, pain control, psychological support, and the vital role of caregivers in holistic care. Collaboration and networking among healthcare institutions, support groups, and advocacy organizations will be facilitated to bolster the support system for SCD patients and their families.

“Through strengthening the capacity of healthcare workers and caregivers, increasing awareness, and promoting collaboration, this project aspires to make a significant impact on the lives of those living with SCD. “ Ultimately, it seeks to contribute to a world where SCD is better understood, diagnosed promptly, and managed effectively, leading to improved health outcomes and enhanced well-being for those facing this challenging disease.”

Also speaking, Access corporation head of sustainability, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan emphasised the critical role that healthcare providers play in improving the lives of individuals with sickle cell disease.

FMC Keffi Introduces Smart Clinic toTackle Queueing System Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia The Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, last Friday said it has introduced a Smart Clinic to tackle the queueing system being faced by its patients.

Head of Public Relations and Protocol Unit of the FMC Keffi, Miss Esther Bature, disclosed this in a statement.

Bature explained that the new Smart Clinic paying system would improve the already existing paperless policy which would combat the delay being experienced at the hospital’s pay points.

She continued that the

new paying system would as well improve the hospital’s excellent services in the areas of Cardiology, Gynaecology, Pediatrics, Dialysis and VIP Clinic.

“In a bid to improve its services, management of the Federal Medical Center, Keffi, under the leadership of the Medical Director, Dr. Yahaya Baba Adamu, has introduced a new paying system to improve the already existing paperless policy which will combat the delay experience at the hospital’s pay points.

“The new paying system will as well improve the hospital’s excellent services in

the areas of Cardiology, Gynaecology, Pediatrics, Dialysis and VIP Clinic,” Bature said.

The Head of Public Relations and Protocol Unit explained further that the Smart Clinic would be responsible for creating wallet, which would be accompanied by s Smart Card through which deposits would be made and used for paying bills within the hospital.

“This will provide patients the opportunity of depositing monies in their wallets from the comfort of their homes, thereby avoiding the queuing system to its barest minimum,” she assured.

L

ast week, we started an interesting discussion on autoimmune diseases.

We explained autoimmune diseases, types of immunity and immunological infertility. This week, we will conclude with causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases.

CAUSES OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES GENETIC FACTOR A person’s likelihood of developing an autoimmune disease (such as type I diabetes or LupusErythematosusmay rise if they have a family history of the condition. The genetic makeup may predispose them to developing an autoimmune disease, but this is insufficient to cause the disease because environmental factors also interfere with the immune system’s capacity to ignore the body’s own cells and tissues.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR • Infections – Autoimmune diseases may develop when healthy cells are affected by immune system actions that the body is trying to defend itself against such as tonsillitis, strep throat, respiratory infections, and skin injuries.

• Lifestyle – Diet, chemical exposure, smoking and medication use are all risk factors for developing an autoimmune disease.

• Stress – if the immune system cannot handle the body’s level of stress, an autoimmune disease may develop. Stress may cause inflammation in the tendons and joints by exposing tissues to blood cells that should not be in contact with them. There are connections between autoimmune conditions like type I diabetes, celiac disease, and rheumatoid arthritis with stress-related disorders like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

• Pre-existing health issues – An autoimmune disease may develop as a result of a pre-existing condition for instance, treating cancer may result in the development of scleroderma, a condition that thickens the skin and connective tissues.

SYMPTOMS OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES • Joint discomfort and stiffness. Painful and weakened muscles • Skin conditions (such as rashes, sores, and dry or scaly skin) • Shortness of breath,Fatigue • Recurring fever DIAGNOSISOF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES • Antinuclear antibody tests (ANA): The immune system makes proteins called antinuclear antibodies (ANA). Systemic lupus erythematosus and other autoimmune inflammatory diseases may be linked to positive ANA tests.

• Autoantibody tests: They aid in identifying the autoantibody features of a variety of autoimmune diseases.

•Complete blood counts: These includeswhite blood cell differential and may be used to identify abnormalities in both red and white blood cells, as well as clotting issues. It aids in the identification of autoimmune hepatitis and type 1 diabetes.

• Comprehensive metabolic panel: These

tests help to determine the body’s metabolic rate and identifying the concentrations of minerals and electrolytes in the blood.

• Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR): This type of test looks at how quickly red blood cells settle to the bottom of a tube. Higher levels usually indicate inflammation.

• C-reactive Protein (CRP): Used to detect inflammation in the body, typically brought on by an infection or autoimmune disorder.

Higher levels of inflammation are frequently indicated by rapidly moving red blood cells.

•Urinalysis: In autoimmune disorders, urine testing is frequently used to evaluate renal injury.

TREATMENTOF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES While there is no known cure for autoimmune diseases, they may be managed by regulating immune response, reducing inflammation, and attending to underlying problems. Several treatment methods include: • Medications - Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and immunosuppressant medications are typically advised by healthcare professionals.

• Nutritional and lifestyle changes - They include consuming more foods high in nutrients, taking supplements may assist in supplying nutrients required for proper functioning and help to strengthen the immune system, cultivating mindfulness, enhancing sleep, spending time in nature, addressing mental health, and engaging in more exercise. Additionally, habits that cause inflammation such as smoking and drinking excessive alcohol should be avoided by those who have autoimmune diseases.

• Therapy - Although autoimmune disease symptoms like fatigue, muscle weakness, and chronic organ inflammation can be controlled with medication, physical therapy can also help to lessen the symptoms in some cases.

CONCLUSION It is critical to remember that these auto immune conditions are neither cancerous nor infectious or contagious. They frequently target families and have a profound long-term effect on a number of those family members.

Although it is likely that it will spread within the family, it is also likely that they will not all have the same autoimmune disorder. However, for illnesses like lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis, the risks might be greater. Autoimmune diseases are said to be the cause of 10% of deaths in women. Numerous autoimmune diseases exist in addition to the conditions already mentioned above others include autoimmune hepatitis,Lyme disease, vitiligo and alopecia areata.

Since neither conventional nor alternative treatments have been shown to be able to prevent the development of the disease or to be able to treat it, many people mistakenly believe that there is a cure for autoimmune diseases.

Despite the fact that autoimmune diseases cannot be cured due to their extensive genetic and environmental root causes, it is very likely that an individual with one may live a high quality of life, so it is advisable to avoidhabits that can cause inflammation such as smoking and drinking excessive alcohol etc. should be avoided by those who are predisposed or have autoimmune diseases.

30

THURSday, OCTOBER 12, 2023 T H I S D AY

business/MOnEYGUIDE

Oseni: Wema Bank Committed to Fostering NationalTransformationThrough Innovation

Ugo Aliogo

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni has stated that the bank is committed in fostering digital, national transformation through innovation, collaboration.

Oseni, who disclosed this recently at the maiden edition of the Hackaholics Digital Summit said the innovation is essential to sustainable success, urging participants to collaborate, innovate and leverage opportunities to sustain the growth of their businesses and innovative solutions.

He said: “This is just the beginning. We are deeply rooted in this journey of empowering lives and

fostering a digital and national transformation through innovation and collaboration. Rest assured that the Hackaholics Digital Summit 2024 will be bigger and much better. I thank you for your support all through our journey and I resound our commitment to you; We are with you, all the way.”

Commending Wema Bank’s record of sustainably empowering lives and businesses, the Chief Executive Officer, Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola expressed gratitude to the bank for consistently enabling fintechs and small businesses across Nigeria to thrive.

He said, “The Flutterwave story is incomplete without Wema Bank. Their

dedication and passion is inspiring and I say this because I have witnessed the sacrifices and support Wema Bank has given. We have grown sitting on the shoulders of this giant and the symbolic nature of Wema Bank as the infrastructure that not only drives innovation but also provides a platform for new innovations to emerge is second to none. I am excited about the Hackaholics Digital Summit and I conclude by saying this: If you want to go far, go with people. We are proud to go with Wema Bank.”

Wema Bank’s Head of Innovation, Solomon Ayodele, described the Hackaholics as the key to reshaping and transforming the future of technology in Africa.

SONTrains over 400 SMEs to Promote Export The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has said that it trained 400 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) on standards to enable them compete globally and earn forex.

This, it said, will further mitigate the forex crisis currently experienced in the country, “as more export earnings will help in revitalizing the national economy.”

The Director General of the organisation, Mallam Farouk Salim, who stated this during the question and answer section at the general sensitisation and training for MSMEs, themed: “Products Competitiveness: Driving Home-Grown Economy Via Standardisation,” noted that competition is what drives the world today.

He noted that in every sphere of life, there is serious competition going on and so if one has to compete, it means one must be ready, prepared and equipped to compete actively, effectively and profitably.

Salim pointed out that the county requires local products that are borderless; products that

Nigerians in the Diaspora, quite millions of them, can patronize; standard and quality products that are acceptable and competitive anywhere across the world, particularly in Africa, “now that we are preparing for the common market- African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Nigeria, the giant should not ‘carry last’ in AfCFTA.” ASalim explained that product competitiveness requires that the particular product must have been manufactured or produced in accordance with good manufacturing practice.

He appreciated the efforts of MSMEs towards growing their businesses and developing the economy, he, however asked them to do more. “Most of you have been working closely with SON to produce quality goods.

We are proud of this positive development-that SMEs and industrialists are producing good and quality products.

However, we need to do more.

We are encouraging all of us to do more; that is why we are bringing

standardisation closer to your doorsteps. Training workshops and sensitisation programs like this mean that SON encourages the growth of businesses and local industries.

He emphasised that substandard products pose grave dangers not only to lives and property but to economic development of any country, standardisation results in industrial and economic growth, global acceptability and competitiveness of locally made products a.k.a made in Nigeria products and overall national development and security, among others. “These are why SON insists on standards adherence for MSMEs across the country.”

In his goodwill message, Chairman, the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Adams Adebayo, applauded the program, saying this is the time the country needs standardisation, so that products can be widely accepted. “We need to be up and doing. Home grown economy could be achieved by us via standardisation.”

NPA Takes on NSC as 2023 Maritime Cup kicks off Oct. 24 Defending champions Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) will trade tackles with Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) on 24th October 2023 as the 13th edition of the Ships & Ports Annual Maritime Cup Football Competition kicks off in Lagos.

The Maritime Cup, which has recorded huge success since inception in 2009, was created by leading maritime firm Ships & Ports to foster unity and encourage competitive sporting activities among industry stakeholders.

Ships & Ports, in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday, announced that Maritime Cup 2023 would hold from October 24th to November 3rd, 2023.

The draws for the competition were also held Tuesday in Lagos where the 15 participating teams were placed in four Groups.

Group A is made up of defending champions Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), port economic regulator Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Comet Shipping Agencies and COSCO Shipping Nigeria.

In Group B, 2019 runner-up Josepdam Port Services will

trade tackles with 2014 champions National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), and first-timers National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

Group C has 2019 champions ENL Consortium, 2018 runner-up Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dynesty Shipping and leading terminal operator APM Terminals Apapa.

Group D parades 2009 champions Nigerian Navy, five-time champions Nigeria Customs Service and two new entrants – Blueche Lomado and Truck Transit Park (TTP).

Speaking during the draws held in Surulere, Lagos, Head, Technical Committee of the Maritime Cup, Prince Adesegun Kosoko, commended Ships & Ports Communications Company for sustaining the competition for the past 14 years.

Prince Kosoko, who is former Chairman, Lagos State Referees Council, enjoined the participating teams to familiarise themselves with the rules of the game.

He assured participants of

effective officiating and transparency in all the matches in line FIFA rules.

Also speaking, Coordinator of the Maritime Cup, Mrs. Oluwatosin Rotimi, assured the participating teams of an exciting competition.

She said as has been done over the years, the 2023 Maritime Cup, which is the 13th in the edition of the competition, will be officiated by approved FIFAbadge referees.

She said matches of the competition this year will be played at The Stable and NPA Sports Ground, both in Surulere, Lagos.

Past winners of the Maritime Cup since inception are the Nigerian Navy (2009), Micura Stevedoring Services (2010), Nigeria Customs Service (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (2014), Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (2015), Nigerian Ports Authority (2018, 2022) and ENL Consortium Nigeria Limited (2019). The competition was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.

L-R sitting: Maritime Cup Consultant, Godwin Udofia; Team Manager, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Rotimi Williams; Coordinator of the Ships & Ports Maritime Cup, Mrs. Oluwatosin Rotimi; Head, Technical Committee of the Maritime Cup and former Chairman, Lagos State Referees Council, Prince Adesegun Kosoko; and the Team Manager, Josephdam Port Services, Ezekiel Egbulam. Standing L-R: Coach of Admiralty Football Club, Nigerian Navy, Onwuka Chime; Team Manager, ENL Consortium, Charles Agada; Team Manager, Trucks Transit Park, Khalid Agboola; Team Manager, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Abubakar Adamu-Biu; Assistant Coach, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Henry Nwosu; Team Manager, Comet Shipping Agencies, Raphael Arowojolu; Team Manager, Blueche Lomado Shipping and Logistics, Anyanwu Nnamdi; Team Manager, APM Terminals, Debola Ogunteye; Team Manager, China Shipping Ocean Company (COSCO), Chukwu Chinedu and Team Manager, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Ajibola Saheed at the draws of Maritime Cup 2023 in Surulere, Lagos…recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS (MILLION NAIRA) August, 2023

Money Supply (M3)

65,445,154.2

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

552,553.58

Money Supply (M2)

64,892,600.61

-- Quasi Money

40,870,301.28

-- Narrow Money (M1)

24,022,299.33

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,295,309.10

---- Demand Deposits

21,726,990.23

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,144,158.92

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

58,300,995.27

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

87,273,966.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

32,511,333.17

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

54,762,633.63

--Other Assets Net

13,347,376.27

Reserve Money (Base Money

19,429,603.25

--Currency in Circulation

2,660,138.92

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

16,769,464.34 428,519.21

• Source - CBN

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

August 2023

Inter-Bank Call Rate

3.89

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

18.75

Treasury Bill Rate

5.13

Savings Deposit Rate

5.26

1 Month Deposit Rate

7.31

3 Months Deposit Rate

7.55

6 Months Deposit Rate

8.30

12 Months Deposit Rate

8.13

Prime Lending rate

13.99

Maximum Lending Rate

27.59

• Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE As At 29th September , 2023

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $97.48 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $97.08 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basrah Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

T H I S D AY • Thursday, October 12, 2023

31

mARKET NEWS

US Institutional Investors Eye Nigerian Capital Market

KayodeTokede

Institutional investors from the United States under the Institutional Investor Network have expressed interest in allocating their capital and exploring more direct investment opportunities in the Nigerian capital market.

This was the subject of discussion at an engagement between Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX)

and a delegation from the United States facilitated by Chapel Hill Denham, consisting of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Prosper Africa and Power Africa. During the engagement, which was marked by a Closing Gong Ceremony, the Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Alhaji (Dr) Umaru Kwairanga called for a deeper

P R I C E S MaiN Board

collaboration between the US and Nigeria.

The Chairman highlighted areas in which NGX Group has been engaging the government to further develop the capital market including removal of capital controls; legislation to enhance attractiveness of listings, pension reforms, policymaking to facilitate dollar-denominated market transactions, and the

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establishment of a private market.

“Significant opportunities for mutual economic expansion abound between the United States and Nigeria,” he said, concluding that NGX Group is positioned to facilitate more investment inflows.

The Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Temi Popoola emphasised the innovative activities of the Exchange around catalysing capital formation by both foreign and domestic

T R A D E D

value traded ( N )

MaiN Board

A S O F

investors. According to him, “We are working hand-in-hand with government to create an attractive environment for listings and also on product innovation that can creatively channel more funds into the market.

Popoola also mentioned NGX’s technology innovations including the Technology Board to encourage listings from tech startups, and digital market access that will

spur the younger generation of Nigerians to invest in the market.

On his part, the Senior Investment Advisor, Prosper Africa, Cameron Khowsroshahi, who led the US delegation to Nigeria stated the openness of US institutional investors in working with Nigerian institutional investors including pension funds to explore more avenues to invest in the Nigerian capital market.

octo b er / 1 1 / 2 3 DEALS

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 • T H I S D AY

₦

₦ ₦

33

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 08Oct-2023, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 271.90 273.05 43.66% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 8.14% Nigeria International Debt Fund 338.91 338.91 13.04% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 108.81 109.91 5.04% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.02% Anchoria Equity Fund 180.48 182.90 24.51% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.28 1.28 3.56% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com info@anchoriaam.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 28.96 29.83 31.95% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 637.19 656.40 22.25% ARM Ethical Fund 51.88 53.44 14.99% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.16 1.16 3.07% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 3.18% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.73% ARM Short Term Bond Fund 1.05 1.05 1.32% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 95.99 95.99 5.86% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,133.09 1,133.09 5.72% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.27 2.27 11.26% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.81 2.88 -24.12% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CHD Nigeria Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A CHD Nigeria Dollar Income Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.64% Cordros Milestone Fund 156.32 157.32 21.95% Cordros Fixed Income Fund 108.98 108.98 9.96% Cordros Halal Fixed Income Fund 110.06 110.06 11.70% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 113.75 113.75 7.17% CORONATION ASSETS MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 1.00 10.42% Coronation Money Market Fund 1.49 1.50 30.43% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.40 1.40 2.78% Coronation Fixed Income Fund EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.93% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.09 1.09 10.27% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.25 1.25 29.18% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 105.96 105.96 5.62% FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Bond Fund 1607.24 1607.24 11.79% FBN Balanced Fund 269.40 271.82 34.91% FBN Halal Fund 134.94 134.94 13.25% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.12% FBN Dollar Fund 126.56 126.56 7.47% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 248.46 251.74 50.03% FBN Specialized Dollar Fund 112.33 112.33 9.33% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.85% Legacy Debt Fund 3.55 3.55 -0.75% Legacy Equity Fund 2.54 2.59 27.12% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.31 1.31 4.14% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Balanced Fund 5,279.18 5,319.58 32.83% Coral Income Fund 3,929.88 3,929.88 7.57% Coral Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.76% FSDH Dollar Fund 1.18 1.18 5.91%

GUARANTY TRUST FUND MANAGERS LIMITED enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.gtcoplc.bank; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Guaranty Trust Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Guaranty Trust Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Guaranty Trust Equity Income Fund (VEIF) N/A N/A N/A Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com/funds/; Tel: +2348028496012 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 16.03 16.15 37.71% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.33% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 102.09 102.09 11.82% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 11.30% Norrenberger Dollar Fund (NDF) ($) 102.09 102.09 11.66% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 2.04 2.08 2946.00% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.08 12.39 933.00% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.00% PACAM Equity Fund 1.90 1.92 3380.00% PACAM EuroBond Fund 129.10 131.87 1575.00% SCM CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital The Frontier Fund 157.83 161.88 25.55% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.09 1.09 10.04% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 4,618.76 4,654.92 36.24% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 254.36 254.36 7.98% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.89 1.91 50.79% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 347.22 347.34 10.91% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 368.82 373.35 57.93% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.71% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 16,900.71 17,107.98 54.80% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.44 1.44 11.54% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 126.43 126.43 8.14% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 123.41 123.41 16.01% Stanbic IBTC Absolute Fund 4,898.88 4,898.88 15.16% Stanbic IBTC Aggressive Fund 4,859.68 4,919.59 74.78% Stanbic IBTC Conservative Fund 5,077.85 5,102.95 33.46% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 1.23 1.24 34.41% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.71 1.72 31.95% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.32 1.33 23.17% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.15 1.15 11.17% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.92 1.92 6.61% United Capital Eurobond Fund 122.85 122.85 5.62% United Capital Global Fixed Income Fund 1.06 1.06 8.45% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.53% Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 17.90 18.10 29.17% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 20.99 21.21 32.80% Zenith Income Fund 24.75 24.75 5.04% Zenith Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD funds@vetiva.com Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund 6.64 6.74 64.75% Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund 11.39 11.49 94.14% Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund 24.08 24.28 35.97% Vetiva Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.99% Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund 27.22 27.42 36.04% Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund 147.83 149.83 -6.26%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

123.55 55.51 101.48 9.87

8.57% 4.70% -13.57%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A 210.00 350.00 17.40 16.40

N/A 210.00 350.00 17.50 16.50

N/A 63.14% 247.05% 56.76% 67.04%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A

N/A

Fund Name

SFS REIT Union Homes REIT Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust UPDC REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS

Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund MERGROWTH ETF MERVALUE ETF

I N F R AST R U CT U R E F U N D

Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

34

GamingWeek

Thursday, October 12, 2023 • T H I S D AY

Edited by Nseobong Okon-Ekong | ikotibok@gmail.com | Tel: 08114495324

Africacomicade’s Gamathon: Navigating IP Landscape in Africa’s Growing Game Industry TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Iyke Bede writes that the recent fourth edition of Africacomicade Gamathon centred on the pivotal role of intellectual property (IP) in safeguarding the creative assets of developers and explored how it can be leveraged more effectively for growth

Participants at the Gamathon Ark Pitch, Odeya Centre, Lagos

A

s the fourth edition of Africacomicade’s twoweek-long Gamathon concluded, the conference focused on vital aspects of game development and the video game industry within Nigeria while highlighting the works of contributors from other parts of the continent. This encompassed discussions on the industry’s growth trajectory, recent innovations, and promising prospects.

Notably, the main event, which ran with the theme ‘Pathways’, gave due consideration to the pivotal role of intellectual property (IP) in

safeguarding the creative assets of developers and explored how it can be leveraged more effectively for growth. This particular aspect received thorough assessment during its Ark Pitch and Industry Gathering held at the Odeya Centre recently, where upcoming and established games studios exhibited full-blown games and concepts to potential investors and stakeholders.

Compared to developments attained in the entertainment industry for the protection of creative works, similar developments are also taking place in the gaming sector through

Cross-section of teen participants at Gamathon Teen Expo, Vibranium Valley, Ikeja, Lagos securing IP by game developers. While this is not a mainstream practice, the session emphasised the importance of registering one’s creation.

Often referred to as ‘creation of the mind’, IP in gaming covers the following areas: Game concept and idea, copyright for game content, trademark for branding, licensing and contracts, and publishing agreement, among others.

To help better understand the intricacies of IP registrations and protection, IP Commercialisation Specialist, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Margherita

Marini, via Zoom, delivered a presentation on the overview of the current endeavour of the organisation in advancing IP protection across the globe.

Providing insight into the significance of Intellectual Property (IP) within the African and Nigerian game development landscape, Juliana Oboh-Joseph, a solicitor and intern at WIPO, highlighted the pivotal role of IP education facilitated by WIPO during the Intellectual Property for Creatives and Business fireside chat with this reporter. She noted that initiatives of WIPO have been

Blockchain in Sports Betting:

A Revolution in the Making

Blockchain technology is revolutionizing many industries, and sports betting is no exception.

Blockchain has the potential to make sports betting more fair, transparent, and efficient while also offering new products and services to bettors. Davidson Abraham takes you through the intricacies of Blockchain in Sports Betting.

What is blockchain?

Alockchain is a distributed database that is secured by cryptography.

It is best known for its role in powering cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but it has many other potential applications. One of the key benefits of blockchain is that it is tamper-proof. All transactions on a blockchain are recorded in a public ledger, which is then verified by a network of computers. This makes it very difficult to alter or delete data on a blockchain. Another key benefit of blockchain is that it is decentralized. This means that there is no central authority that controls the blockchain. This makes it more resistant to fraud and interference.

their bets were settled.

Offering new products and services: Blockchain can be used to offer bettors new products and services, such as in-play betting and micro-betting.

Reduced costs: Blockchain can help to reduce the costs associated with sports betting. For example, blockchain can be used to automate the betting process, which can reduce the need for manual labour.

Improved security: Blockchain is a very secure technology. This is because all transactions on a blockchain are recorded in a public ledger, which is then verified by a network of computers. This makes it very difficult to hack or tamper with data on a blockchain.

How can blockchain be used in sports betting?

Blockchain can be used in sports betting in a number of ways. A few examples abound.

Recording bets: Blockchain can be used to record bets in a secure and transparent way. This can help to prevent fraud and ensure that bets are settled fairly.

Providing transparency: Blockchain can be used to provide bettors with more transparency in the betting process. For example, bettors can use blockchain to see how the odds were set and how

Challenges of using blockchain in sports betting: There are a few challenges associated with using blockchain in sports betting.

Regulatory challenges: Blockchain is a new technology, and there is still some uncertainty about how it is regulated. This might make it difficult for sportsbooks to adopt blockchain technology depending on their geopolitical and legal jurisdiction.

Scalability: Blockchain technology is still in its early stages of development, and it can

be slow and expensive to process transactions on a blockchain. This can be a challenge for sportsbooks, which need to be able to process bets quickly and efficiently.

Public awareness: Many people are still not aware of blockchain technology or how it can be used in sports betting. This can be a challenge for sportsbooks, as they need to educate customers about the benefits of using blockchain.

The future of blockchain in sports betting Despite the challenges, the future of blockchain in sports betting is bright. Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the sports betting industry by making it more fair, transparent, and efficient. As blockchain technology continues to develop and become more widely adopted, we can expect to see more and more sportsbooks using blockchain to power their betting platforms. This will offer bettors a number of benefits, such as increased fairness and transparency, reduced costs, and new products and services.

There are specific examples of how blockchain is used in sports betting today.

Augur: Augur is a decentralized prediction market platform that uses blockchain

technology to power its predictions. Augur allows users to bet on the outcome of a wide range of events, including sports events.

FunFair: FunFair is a blockchain-based gaming platform that offers a variety of casino games, including sports betting. FunFair uses blockchain technology to provide players with a fair and transparent gaming experience.

SportyBet: SportyBet is a sports betting platform that uses blockchain technology to power its betting platform. SportyBet offers a variety of features, such as in-play betting and micro-betting.

These are just a few examples of how blockchain is used in sports betting today. As blockchain technology continues to develop and become more widely adopted, we can expect to see even more innovative uses of blockchain in the sports betting industry.

Blockchain is a powerful technology that has the potential to revolutionize the sports betting industry, offering fairness, transparency, and efficiency like never before. Its impact on the world of sports betting is undeniable, and as blockchain continues to evolve, so will the betting experience for enthusiasts and industry players alike.

ADVISORY: +18 PERSONS UNDER 18 MUST NOT PARTICIPATE IN BETTING, GAMING OR LOTTERY ACTIVITY

instrumental in instilling a sense of protection for the creative works of game developers. Nevertheless, during her assessment, Oboh-Joseph also identified several challenges.

“Registering IPs can be a very tiring and long process. There are lots of bottlenecks to registering. However, I believe that these are some of the things that they ought to do if they understand the value of their IP,” Oboh-Joseph explained. “I believe that the Nigerian gaming sector is still growing and we are still trying to figure out many things. Yes, the process of registering here might not be so easy, but I would like to encourage everyone to persist.

He added, “There are some international filing mechanisms that you can take advantage of. That gives you the single filing system, where you can file using one filing, one payment, etc. You can also use it for patents. When you want to register, you can do that nationally, regionally, or internationally.”

While registration of IP internationally presents the easier option, Oboh-Joseph strongly advised against registering at the national level with relevant agencies that oversee such processes. She further disclosed that hiring a knowledgeable lawyer will help fast-track various processes while ensuring that game developers aren’t taken advantage of at any point.

She noted that the challenges “here, which are different from registering outside (overseas), would be the timeframe and bureaucracies.”

Oboh-Joseph said, “However, this is something that we are still working on as a nation, and not just for IPs. There are some jurisdictions where you can just sit on the laptop, do all the fillings and submit, and after a while, you get the certificates. For some of the IP registrations here, you can also do it online, but for others, even though you start online, you will still get to the point where you will have to interface physically.”

In recent years, particularly with

the commercialization of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for tasks like coding, there have been growing concerns regarding protecting intellectual property (IP). This is because results generated by generative AI might inadvertently resemble or incorporate elements of existing patented work, potentially resulting in infringement issues.

She mentioned that while this appears to create a clear-cut scenario of infringement and the need for appropriate consequences, blurred lines exist in cases where AI improves upon game developers’ original works.

Oboh-Joseph added, “There are numerous discussions regarding the ownership of IPs and trade secrets when utilizing Chat GPT and similar tools. We have individuals who collaborate on projects, incorporating them into Chat GPT to foster progress.

Once integrated, the content becomes public domain. Nevertheless, certain companies already caution their partners and staff, advising against sharing sensitive trade secrets on these platforms, as once shared, they are irretrievably exposed.

“Another ongoing discourse revolves around the question of ownership concerning the work. If you sit down and come up with something and you share it with generative AI to help you improve upon it, then who is the owner? That answer will depend on the jurisdiction where you are. However, in most jurisdictions at this point, they attribute authorship to humans. But that discussion is still ongoing, so we might get to that point in the future where we can say an AI can own authorship.”

As a follow-up to various paper presentations, nine studios took part in pitching their games, with Dimension 11 Studios emerging as the winner of the PC pitch and Inuv8 Studios winning the mobile pitch. Other studios included Raven Illusion, Juju Games, Isanja Board Game, 7th Dimension, Dash Studios, Deluxe Creation Studios, and Kairos

GAMINGWEEK TEAM Nseobong Okon-Ekong ikotibok@gmail.com | 08114495324 Iyke Bede ikennabede@gmail.com | 0703 044 7714 Akeem Lasisi lasaisai@yahoo.com | 08023687884 Vanessa Obioha vaysylver@gmail.com | 08069838305 Davidson Abraham davisiano.adm@gmail.com | +971 56 744 6013

35

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023

NEWS

STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIP...

L-R: Executive Director, Finance & Accounts, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC), Babayo Shehu; Executive Director, Legal Services, Dr. Steven Andzenge; IBEDC Interim Managing Director, Engr. Kingsley Achife; MD/CEO, NDPHC, Chiedu Ugbo; CEO, Enerix One, Bayo Adesina, and Executive Director Corporate Services, NDPHC, Nkechiyelu Mba, during a partnership between Enerix One and NDPHC…recently

Obasanjo: Only African Solutions Can Best Solve African Problems

James Sowole in Abeokuta

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, said Africa's problem couldbest be solved by using African solutions.

Obasanjo stated this while making reference to how ceasation of hostilities was achieved between the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF).

The former president spoke as hosted some students from Tigray Region, Ethiopia and some African countries, who were on a thank you visit to him at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State, for the role he played in achieving cessation of hostilities, which had led to reopening of schools in their country, earlier ravaged by civil war.

Obasanjo played a key role as he was appointed High Representative of Horn of Africa, which broker the efforts and agreement that led to relative peace in the Tigray Region.

The delegation, also noted the other peace building roles that Obasanjo hadplayed in Ethiopia and Africa at large.

Delegates to the visit included the President, Mekelle University Students' Union, Weldebrhan Azazi; Oli Bedane Wako for the Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions Students Union (EHEISU); President, United Youth of Africa Nation (UYAN), Dr. Daysman Oyakhilome; and President, All-Africa Students Union (AASU), Osisiogu Osikenyi E. While appreciating the delegation for the visit, Obasanjo said there were more grounds to be covered despite the cessation of hostilities, as many adverse situations that occurred during the hostilities, were yet to be resolved.

He said, "What is very important

and which I want you to take very very seriously is that the peace that we were able to achieve in Tigray between TKLF and the Federal Government of Ethopia is what you and I will regard as finding African solution to African problem.

And this is what our leaders have been clamouring for even from independence in the early 1960s.

"And how did it happen? AU decided that as our continental organisation, weshould not continue to fold hands where there is war raging or where there is fire burning in any of our countries.

"Then they decided to appoint what they called High Representative of the Horn of Africa, not only that all the leaders of the Horn of Africa supported the AU in seeking peace, in promoting peace, security, stability and enduring and sustainable development in the whole of the Horn of Africa.

"Not only that, we said to our development partners that they should let us be in the forefront, let us spearhead, leave us in charge, but whatever assistance you want to give, give it within the demand and the requirement of those who are in charge of the process and that was what happened and we were able to get what we are celebrating today.

"AU took the right step, the right decision at the right time.

That same organisation found the right instrument to use to achieve the right purpose that it wanted to achieve. Then our leaders in the region and in the continent backed up the process.

“Our development partners supported the AU effort, there was no question of working at across purpose. We all worked together and archieved together and we can all claim credit together and thank God together for what we

have been able to achieve.

"It is a great lesson for us to know that, yes, whatever may be our problem-political, economic, social in Africa we can solve them if we go about seeking solution rightly.

No problem in Africa is too great for us to solve.

"Where there may be problem of peace, problem of insecurity, problem of youths unemployment, youths lack of empowerment, youths lack of acquisition of skills, youths frustration and of course general bad governance.

"But let me deal with the specific issue raised with the situation in Tigray. I think we must thank God and appreciate the fact that since 2nd of November last year, when the Pretoria agreement for cessasion

of hostility was signed, there has not been a shot fired. But that is not enough. The fact that a shot has not been fired in anger does not mean that all is well and that is what you have pointed out.

“There should have been total demobilisation so that those who were conscripted during the civil war will be able to go home and start their normal life. There should have been nobody left in IDP camps. By now, they should have gone home and resume their normal life. All schools should have opened by now and then, of course, there should be continued provision of humanitarian."

The former president, stated that it was not enough to use some problems bedevilling any country or the continent to generalise and

units in communities in Ohaji/ Egbema local government area such as Ohoba, Umunwaku, Obogwe, Adapalm Obosima, Umuaforukwu, Umuakalabuo, Obokwu, among several others.

Prof. Ogbonna graduated from University of Port Harcourt with BSc in Accounting in 1995; an MBA in Accounting in 2001 and PhD in Accounting in 2012. He also holds a Masters Degree in Financial Management Technology (MSc). He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; Member

paint a sad and bad image.

"Where you have a population of 225 million people you must make allowance for a devil that will be among the saints and that happens in any country, not only in Nigeria alone."

In his remarks, Wako, who said, the African students' leaders paid a thank you visit to Obasanjo, said the deadliest war in Tigray region of Ethiopia has brought immense tragedy, claiming the lives of countless young individuals and leaving behind widespread destruction and trauma.

He, however, noted that the move initiated by Obasanjo had saved countless livesand provided a foundation upon which they could rebuild the war-torn region of Tigray.

Relief for Airlines as Night Landing May Begin at Owerri Airport in December Chinedu Eze

Airlines may begin to operate services at night at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, as the Imo state government moves to complete the installation of Airfield Lighting Facilities (AFL) at the end of October, 2023.

This was disclosed by the Manager of the Airport, Mrs. Rejoice Ndudinachi, while welcoming the Aviacargo Roadmap Development Committee on a fact-finding tour of the airport yesterday.

She disclosed that the AFL was the priority project of the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, adding that hopefully the project would be completed at

the end of October 2023.

Ndudinachi, said the airport has the highest passenger traffic in southern Nigeria outside Lagos and that currently the airport is almost the highest in air cargo business in the region.

Speaking further, the Airport Manager said the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, was strategically located and that the airport was close to the commercial cities of Aba and Onitsha.

He added that it also serves people from Edo, Anambra, Cross River, Ebonyi and Abia states.

She said the cargo terminal, which is the biggest cargo facility in Nigeria, could effectively and profitably serve the country’s desire

Ohoba Ward Holds Political Summit to Promote Growth, Devt

Arrangements have been concluded for the Ohoba Ward 2023 political summit to hold on Sunday, October 15, 2023.

The event which has Prof. G.N. Ogbonna of the University of Port Harcourt as its Chairman, is being convened by Dr. Goddy Esom Obodo. The theme of the summit which is, ‘The Political Growth and Development of Ohoba Ward, Ohaji Egbema LGA,’ would hold at Central School, Umunwaku, in Ohaji, Imo State.

Ohoba Ward is made of polling

condemn the entire continent or country.

"There are a lot of not so pleasant commentaries on Africa generally and on different countries. My point is that yes, there are many things going wrong in Africa but we cannot take one white brush and paint the whole Africa or the whole of a country and say Nigeria is only a country of cheaters. No, we have decent, honourable eminent Nigerians all over the world.

"I won't because of one apple in a basket that is rotten and say I have a basket of rotten apples.

I will say yes, I have a basket of apples but one is rotten. Yes, there are men and women, who will fall short of expectation in character, in morality, in integrity and in honesty but don't take a broad brush and

of Nigeria Institute of Management as well as the Nigerian Institute of Taxation.

He was the Acting Director, Revenue Bureau between 2007 and 2008 and was appointed the Assistant Director, University of Port Harcourt Business School in 2014. He was the Acting Head of Department of Accounting up to 2016. Prof. Ogbonna was appointed External Examiner to the Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa in 2014 and was appointed the Leader of the Accreditation Team

for Academic Sessions Review of 2012/2013, 2013/2014, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 of Abia State University, Uturu. In 2018, he was appointed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Ambassador. He is a visiting Lecturer/Adjunct Lecturer/ Resource Person and Consultant to many Universities, Institutes and other organizations within the state and outside the state. Ogbonna has been a Board Member to many companies and institutions and has participated in many conferences within and outside Nigeria.

to expand and boost international airfreighting.

Ndudinachi, commended the committee for coming to do a tour of the facilities at the Cargo Airport, adding that she was honoured by their visit.

Responding, the Coordinator of the Committee, Ikechi Uko, said the Committee which was constituted by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to look critically into the air cargo business in the country and recommend ways Nigeria can boost its cargo export by air and also encourage farmers to improve their cash crops so that more perishables can be exported from Nigeria to earn foreign exchange.

He said part of the committee's job was to see things by itself by touring cargo airports across the country and identifying challenges and potential there in.

Uko disclosed that 71 per cent of yam in Africa is produced in Nigeria but Ghana exports 95 per cent of all yam from Africa but produces only 11 per cent of the crop.

He said, “Nigeria produces 71. per cent of all the yam in Africa; Ghana produces only 11 percent; Ghana exports 95 per cent of all the yams in Africa, which means Ghana gets the other yams they export from somewhere else. "Cameroon is 1.5 per cent. Other people are 1.5 per cent. It's obvious that the yam Ghana exports come from Nigeria, and they actually export

most by air. So why are we not exporting?

"Why do 80 per cent of the produces from Plateau state rot away even when they are in high demand?”

This, he said goes to show that all is not well with Nigeria air cargo system.

All these, he said, necessitated the inauguration of the Aviacargo Committee.

According to him, “Unofficially, there are close to 20 cargo airports in the country. Almost all the states in the South have airports and almost all the states in the North have airports but we have not been able to use these airports to distribute cargo within the country.

"The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria feels that there is the need to take advantage of what we already have," Uko said.

He also noted that without domestic cargo operations and the experience therein, Nigeria cannot effectively do international cargo export.

“The committee's job is to identify things we needed to be done and set guidelines to show where we are and where we want to be,” he said.

The Committee Coordinator lamented that some years ago Jos operated 25 flights a day but today, the same airport is struggling to do one flight and the only one it does is a passenger flight.

36

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Neuroscience of Nigerian Youth Trends and Culture Report...

L-R: Executive Director, Growth, Nkiru Oguadinma; Managing Director/Chief Strategist, Israel Opayemi both of Chain Reactions Africa; Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso; CEO/ Lead Consultant, Ladybird Advertising, Bunmi Oke and Group Chief Executive Officer, Mediacraft Associates, John Ehiguese at the Distillation Edition of the periodic release of the Neuroscience of Nigerian Youth Trends and Culture Report themed, Aramanda which held at EbonyLife Place, Victoria Island, Lagos

EFCC Recovers N27.2bn, $19.1m, Probes Ex-Governors, Ministers, MDAs Officials Says it’s cheaper to prevent crimes

Goddy Egene and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has recovered N27.2 billion and $19.1million in the course of the ongoing investigations embarked upon by the agency this

year so far.

The anti-graft agency, which claimed it was cheaper to prevent crimes, has also launched vigorous investigation into the financial dealings of former governors, ministers and officials of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA).

The probe followed several petitions written against the former state chief executives and ministers.

The agency has also launched investigations into the monumental fraud involving some officials of Federal Ministry of Power and Agriculture with respect to Mambilla

and Zungeru Power projects and has recovered properties purchased by officials of the ministries.

Acting Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Abdukarim Chukkol, disclosed this yesterday during an interaction with journalists in Lagos.

Chukkol, who was represented

Insecurity: NAF Takes Delivery of Two Combat Aircraft To receive five attack planes soon

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigerian Air Force Headquarters, yesterday, said it had taken delivery of two combat aircraft, Diamond-62 (DA-62), procured by the federal government.

A statement by the Spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said combat the planes would add impetus to ongoing air operations across the country.

In his remarks during the ceremony held in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, said the process that

culminated in the reception of the two additional aircraft began about two years ago, when the federal government appropriated funds for the acquisition of four Diamond-62 aircraft for the NAF. He disclosed that out of the four aircraft, the first two were delivered between February and July 2023, while the remaining two were received yesterday.

Speaking further, Abubakar noted that the two DA-62 aircraft received earlier in the year had since been deployed to the operating theatres in support of the ongoing efforts to restore peace and stability in troubled

areas within the country.

While urging the air and ground crew that would handle the aircraft to remain disciplined and professional, he admonished them to also ensure the proper maintenance and operation of the aircraft in line with recommended best practices by the original equipment manufacturer. He also implored them to leverage the capabilities available on the aircraft to enhance NAF’s operational efficiency.

In paying glowing tribute to the federal government for its commitment to revamping the fortunes of the NAF and other services, Abubakar also noted

Court Convicts Pipeline Vandals for Killing Seven DSS Operatives in Lagos Wale Igbintade Justice Hakeem Oshodi of the Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja, yesterday, convicted two pipeline vandals: Clement Ododomu, and Tiwei Monday of conspiracy and murder of seven officers of the Department of State Security (DSS) at Ishawo Creek of Ikorodu area on September 14, 2015.

Delivering judgment, Justice Oshodi found both of them guilty but deferred sentencing them till November 14 after hearing of the allocutus plea of the convicts.

The court found the first defendant, (Ododomu) guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, murders, possession of firearms and felony, while the second defendant (Monday), was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and felony.

The state government had alleged that, on September 14, 2015, the Lagos State Command of DSS received a distress report from one Mr Steve Nwosu from the Sun

Newspaper about the kidnap of his wife at their residence.

The command immediately dispatched a nine-man team to carry out a surveillance operation to ascertain the location of the kidnappers, who were negotiating for a ransom.

However, in the evening, one of the team members, Mr Martins Ajayi, sent a distress text message to the station saying that they had been ambushed by vandals and their weapons had been seized.

The two suspects were thereafter arrested and were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on murder and possession of firearms contrary to Section 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law, Cap. C. A Vol. 3, laws of Lagos State 2015.

They pleaded not guilty to all the counts charge and the prosecution began the trial.

But Justice Oshodi, in his judgment, held that the defence claim that the defendants were in Lagos for the funeral service of their grandmother was a ruse because

they failed to provide essential witnesses to corroborate their claims.

The court also held that the prosecutor had not been able to prove the second defendant guilty of murder because the evidence before the court showed that itwas one Agbala and the first defendant that killed the operatives.

Oshodi further said the prosecutor was able to prove the culpability of the two defendants for felony, having participated in the ambush of the operatives.

"Upon the proper evaluation of the evidence before the court, the convicts are discharged and acquitted on counts of 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 because the prosecutor was unable to prove the allegations against them,” he said.

On the other hand, he noted also that the prosecutor was able to prove that the first defendant, Ododomu, was guilty of counts 1, 5, 7, 9 and 10 which borderedon conspiracy to commit murder, murders, possession of firearms and felony.

that the receipt of the two additional DA-62 aircraft confirmed the sincerity and commitment of the government towards ensuring that peace returned to hitherto troubled spots.

He further stated that the NAF would in no distant time take delivery of additional platforms that include the M346FA aircraft, AW109 Trekker light attack helicopter, AH-1Z Super Cobra, T-129 ATAK helicopters and the King Air 360i Beechcraft aircraft.

In his remarks, the Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrazak Abdulrahman, commended the NAF for its efforts, alongside other security agencies towards ridding the nation of its numerous security challenges.

He expressed his appreciation to the air force chief for making Ilorin the home base of the DA-62, which is indicative of the peaceful and conducive nature of the State.

by the spokesman of EFCC, Mr. Dele Oyewale, disclosed that out of the N27.2 billion recovered, N12.7 billion was from one individual.

The EFCC boss, who said the commission was progressing in line with its mandate, noted that the agency has received several petitions in respect of several public officials, including former governors, ministers and some ministry officials.

“Investigations are ongoing on those petitions. Details of their involvement and our investigations will soon be made public. So far, in three different cases, the commission has recovered N27,184,357,524.52 and $19,084,419.33. Also, investigations are ongoing in respect of monumental fraud involving some officials of Federal Ministry of Power and Agriculture.

“Funds meant for the Mambilla and Zungeru Power projects were diverted through sundry Bureau de Change operators. For now, several houses purchased with the funds in Abuja, Lagos, and Cross River State have been recovered,” he said.

Reminded that some former governors, who are now ministers in the current administration and current members of the National Assembly have allegations of frauds against them, the EFCC boss said investigations were ongoing.

He assured Nigerians that once investigations were concluded, those involved would be persecuted according to the laws of the land

irrespective of the office they occupy.

Chukkol explained that the agency was focused more on preventing financial and economic crimes, noting that it was more cost effective to prevent.

“Considering the cost involved in investigating and prosecuting financial crimes and their perpetrators, it is better we prevent them from happening. As a result, EFCC is intensifying focus on its preventive mandate. We shall be doing more in the area of public enlightenments and more jingles among others,” he said.

On Tuesday, Chukkol had called on Nigerians to be more focused and committed to the war against economic and financial crimes.

He made the call in Abuja while receiving post-Graduate Auditing and Forensic Management Students of Nile University, who visited him.

“Fighting corruption is not for the EFCC alone because no matter what we do on our own, we can’t win this war without the buying in of the people, and young people like you. You have a role to play in this exercise.

“One of our former chairmen said one of the most important stakeholders that we have in fighting corruption are the citizens, and you are all citizens, as you have a great role to play in this fight.”

“Corruption is one of the problems that is affecting the progress of our nation, there is nowhere you look at in our society today that you can’t find evidence of corruption.

Senate: Putting NSIP Under Tinubu Won't Stop Oversight Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate Committee on Special Duties has said the proposed movement of the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA) to the presidency would not stop the it from carrying out necessary oversight on the agency.

The agency is currently under the supervision of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.

But the Senate had Tuesday passed for second reading, a bill seeking to amend NSIPA Act 2023.

It was meant to transfer the agency directly under the supervision of the president.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Senator Kaka Shehu,

told journalists yesterday that his panel would carry out its oversight functions of the agency under the supervision of the President.

"If you look at the Order 96 of the Senate Rule, the jurisdiction of the Senate Special Duties Committees is clearly stated there, and the first is to oversight the Office of the President and the Presidency.

"So, transferring the agency to the Office of the President is still under the purview of the Special Duties.

We will oversight the agency even if it is domiciled in the Villa," Shehu told reporters after the inaugural meeting of his panel at the National Assembly.

According to him, "We are going to carry out our oversight function thoroughly. We will not leave any

stone unturned. We will ensure that the change mantra of the president is achieved. All hands must be on deck to ensure that we achieved the desired results based on our committee."

On the suspension of the N-power programme, which has rendered many Nigerians jobless, Shehu said, "We are yet to receive a report on the suspension of the N-power. We will look at the enabling act, and the bill we are presently working on now. Where the suspension is not in the best interest of Nigeria and Nigerians, we will bring it back.

"If there is the need for investigation, we will do it. Order 96 (55) started clearly that the first place of oversight is the president and others.

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NEWS

Inauguration of Borehole...

L-R: Representative of Near Foundation, Mamman Abdulmalik Bulakos, Representative of Ufuk Dialogue, Mr. Emrah Ilgen, Wife of Kebbi State Governor, Her Excellency Hajiya Zainab Nasare Nasir Idris and Hon. Commissioner, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Halima Hassan Kamba at the official commissioning of Borehole recently at Tarasa community in Birnin Kebbi Local Government, Kebbi state.

IPI: Cybercrime Act Undermining Media Freedom, Free Expression in Nigeria Dike Onwuamaeze The Executive Director of the International Press Institute (IPI) Global, Mr. Frane Maroevic, has stated that Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act was being used to undermine media freedom and free expression in the country.

Maroevic, also said the rich and powerful individuals in the society were deploying law suits as strategic tools to silence journalists, media organisations and those that seek to uncover the truth, express

dissenting opinion and hold those in power accountable.

He expressed these views yesterday in a virtual goodwill message he delivered to senior journalists in Lagos State, participating in a two-day training with the theme “How to Avoid Slapp Suits and Remain Ethical,” which was organised by the IPI Nigeria, in support of MacArthur Foundation, with focus on media law, ethics and fact checking.

Maroevic said: “Laws are essential but can be misused. We are

also looking at navigating Nigeria’s new cybercrime act and how it has been used to undermine media freedom and free expression.

“One of the key threats to journalism today comes from the legal tools deployed by the rich and the powerful in the use of strategic law suits that are intended to silence journalists, media organisations and individuals that seek to uncover the truth, express dissenting opinions and hold those in power accountable.

“Law suits are not just devised;

there are attempts to undermine the very foundation of free press by bordering journalists with legal and financial pressures with intentions to deterring them from pursuing important stories.

“This training will give you an insight on how these are developed and how you can equip yourselves with tools to navigate them.”

The IPI’s global executive director added that the training was meant to enhance media capacity and foster ethical journalism practice in demonstration of the IPI’s

long standing commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s media landscape.

He said: “For decades, the IPI has stood as the bastion for free press, for the protection of journalists and the empowerment of media in Nigeria.

“The IPI is an important part of Nigeria’s media landscape. It engages with Nigerian journalists and media organisations and government bodies to promote an environment for press freedom” by providing expertise, resources

and solidarity to journalists for their dedication to truth.”

According to Maroevic, the role of media organisations has become more critical today that information travel at the speed of light and driving change in the society. Therefore, “a well informed and empowered media not only serve as a bastion of democracy but also as bridge that connect societies and amplify voices that otherwise will remain unheard.

COVID-19. In 2009, columnist Mehdi Hasan wrote in the New Statesman that the BBC was biased ‘towards power and privilege, tradition and orthodoxy.'

“It is no wonder that in the last one year, the only news medium that was given exclusive access to interview Tinubu was the BBC. It is sickening that the BBC has decided to surrender its platform to a man who was accused of illegal drug trafficking in the United States.

“In the so-called fact-check report, the BBC decided to bury in the last paragraphs the fact that Tinubu claimed to have attended Government College, Lagos in 1970 when the school was established in 1974. Why didn’t these so-called fact-checkers reflect it on their headline?

“What is the essence of the report when it failed to uncover the most critical questions? If this report was aimed at fact-checking, it should have mentioned the year the certificate was obtained by Tinubu from the CSU and if the one he submitted to INEC is the same one he received from CSU. “Tinubu said at Chatham House that he had received a replacement from CSU when the school said in unambiguous terms that he had not done so. What was the date he applied for his INEC replacement certificate from CSU, and when was it issued to him?

“The investigation was clearly carried out with a predetermined goal, which was to clear Tinubu. But let us ask the BBC if they would employ anyone who has had a case of drug trafficking in the US before and if he had three dates of birth in his official records as well as two different genders as well as attending a secondary school before it was established.”

Shaibu called on the BBC and other fact-checkers to be more circumspect, adding that their job was too sensitive to entertain errors.

“On November 28, 2022, Africa Check, one of the highly funded fact

check organisations, claimed that the report by the opposition that Tinubu had lied that he attended Government College, Lagos was false.

“After Atiku Abubakar, through his daring court case, decided to blow open the lid, it turned out that the opposition was right all along. Till date, Africa Check has also not apologised for misleading the public. This is the new reality that we face. Who will fact-check the fact-checkers?”

Atiku’s aide advised media organisations to invest more in investigative journalism.

“If the BBC had invested in proper investigative journalism, it would have been the one uncovering some of Tinubu’s scandals instead of relying on Atiku for information on Tinubu’s certificates,” Shaibu said.

In the meantime, Shaibu lambasted Tinubu for holding just one cabinet meeting since taking office 135 days ago. He said it was ironic that Tinubu, who has the largest cabinet in Nigeria’s history, had decided not to meet with them.

Atiku’s aide said, “Tinubu is obviously not ready for governance.

After appointing 48 ministers – the highest in history – he has decided not to be meeting with them. This contravenes Section 148(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which expressly provides that the President shall hold regular meetings with the Vice President and ministers for the purposes of determining domestic and foreign policies of the government.

“It is bad enough that a man who claimed he would hit the ground running from day one took over 60 days to name all his ministers and took 84 days to inaugurate them. Even now, he has held only one cabinet meeting since the inauguration of the cabinet. For a man who has been gallivanting all over the place purportedly in search of foreign investors, it is laughable that he cannot even meet with his own team at home.

Meanwhile, concerned Nigerians are asking #WhereIsTinubu?

Continues online

O b i Wa n ts M o r e o n T i n u b u , BB C Says No E v id e n c e o f Fo r g e ry, Ati k u D i f f e r s “One of the documents stated that Mr Tinubu attended Government College Lagos in 1970. However, information available on the school website stated that it was only founded in 1974.

“Aside from the gender discrepancy, the birth dates in some of the released documents differ from the official birth date of President Tinubu, which is 29 March 1952.

“His transcript from CSU has his date of birth as 29 March 1954. His undergraduate admissions application form has his date of birth as 29 March 1955,” the report said.

Tinubu Has No Identity Problem, APC Replies Atiku, Obi

The APC insisted that Tinubu has no identity problem.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, stated this in a statement while responding to the media briefing by Obi. The dpokesperson said like a befuddled mind jolted out of deep slumber, Obi hugged a podium to echo a script authored by Atiku, who he described as his senior partner and co-traveller on a dark ignominious alley to nowhere.

According to him, at his press conference, Obi blathered on about Tinubu’s identity and academic record, like a broken voice note of Atiku Abubakar, cutting a pitiful profile as though forced to read a prepared was by his unimaginative handlers, and mendacious associates in the PDP. Morka added: "Unwilling to miss out in the orchestrated campaign of calumny against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his certificate from the Chicago State University, Obi jumped on the tailboard of Atiku’s bandwagon to satisfy his uncanny and insatiable thirst for cheap media attention, long after his Labour Party had dissociated itself from a bogus call to action by the former Vice President."

He said Obi demanded that the

president reintroduce himself to Nigerians, as though the 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him last February were all groggy when they made their free democratic choice.

Morka noted: "Mr. Obi must know that President Tinubu does not need a re-introduction. He does not have any identity problem, except the one contrived by the Atikus and Peters of our political firmament.

"The 8.9 million Nigerians who voted him into office were, and remain, aware of his outstanding record and accomplishments as a defender of democracy, freedom, social and economic justice for over three decades. Nigerians know President Tinubu as a thoroughbred professional and former auditor and treasurer of Mobil Nigeria, now ExxonMobil."

Morka emphasised that Nigerians know the president as a former Senator where he served as Chairman of the influential Finance and Appropriations Committee and they know him as a former Governor of Lagos State who designed and paved the pathway to the growth and prosperity of present day Lagos, the fifth largest economy in Africa.

He maintained that Nigerians know who they voted for as the 16th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The party spokesperson stressed that Nigerians voted for him with full faith and confidence that his track record and wide competences would help in the re-engineering of the country’s economy for the good of the greatest number of Nigerians.

He noted that in marked contrast, Nigerians have flatly and serially rejected Atiku and also denied Obi’s presidential bid in the last election.

Morka stated: "Beyond regaling Nigerians with false and embarrassing statistics for which he has gained notoriety, Peter Obi cannot be said to be known for any outstanding performance as governor of Anambra State for eight years with no worthy legacy standing to his name.

"As for President Tinubu’s

academic record at the Chicago State University, the facts are clear and settled except for those political jaundiced by the trauma of electoral defeat.

"The Chicago State University has unequivocally stated over and over again, and in a deposition, under oath, by the Registrar, Caleb Westberg that President Tinubu attended the school and graduated with Honours.

"Nigerians are now familiar with stellar academic performance of President Tinubu as evidenced by his transcript as released by the CSU with 18As, 10Bs and 3Cs grades."

Morka added that It was disturbing and utterly contemptuous of the courts of the land for the duo of Atiku and Obi to rail and pollute the public space with the very same issues that they have submitted to the court for adjudication.

He said they have continued to perpetrate public deception, operating, simultaneously, as accusers and judges in their own base cause.

The ruling party condemned "the sordid and disgraceful attempt by Obi, Atiku and their cheerleaders to use the mainstream and social media to intimidate the judiciary, incite the public to violence, and disparage Justices of the Appeal and Supreme Court."

The party urged all well meaning Nigerians to condemn this anti-democratic and irresponsible conduct of both political naggers.

Morka said the party's team of lawyers stand advised to explore all available judicial mechanisms towards bringing Obi and Atiku to justice for their ceaseless contemptuous conduct.

"In our democracy, the office of the President is not filled by intimidation, blackmail or reckless self help. It is filled by the people, by their lawful votes at the polls just as they did on February 25, 2023 when they elected Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," he said.

Atiku’s Aide Knocks BBC over Report

Meanwhile, Atiku’s Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, has lambasted the BBC over its fact-check report wherein it stated that there was no evidence to show that President Bola Tinubu’s Chicago State University was forged.

In a statement on yesterday, Shaibu described the resort as a hatchet job, adding that the outrage it had solicited from the generality of Nigerians was enough evidence to show that the BBC goofed.

Atiku’s aide said the BBC’s move was not surprising as it was in line with a previous statement he had issued wherein he had revealed that the Tinubu administration was set to unleash its full propaganda programme.

He said, “Sometime last week, when the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) issued a final warning to Arise News TV, we pointed out that the Tinubu administration was on the verge of launching a full blown propaganda and also intimidating ‘uncooperative’ media houses into discrediting and downplaying the CSU scandal. Sadly, we never imagined that it would be the BBC that would become the willing tool.

“It is unconscionable, appalling and preposterous that in this current information age, a foreign medium of repute could try to bamboozle Nigerians with a jaundiced report when the details are clear for everyone to see.

"Thank God young Nigerians have begun filing complaints against the hack writers who decided to soil their names for a bowl of porridge.

“We are not ignorant of the machinations of the BBC and its bias towards the current government. It is unfortunate that the BBC is not upholding the same standards as they would uphold in the UK where a Prime Minister was forced out of office for hosting a party during

thursday october 12, 2023 • T H i s d ay

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NEWS

NDIGBO UNITY ON THEIR MINDS...

L-R: Members, Igbo Think-Tank, Aka Ikenga, Tony Idigbe, SAN; Elder Delly Ajufo; Senator Mike Ajegbo; Board of Trustees (BoT) member, Okemili Charles Odunukwe; President Emeritus and host, Agbalanze Chike Madueke; President, Chief Don Ezeh; BoT member and Vice President, Anambra State chapter, Prince Tony Nwakeze, when they visited their immediate past President, Charles Odunukwe in Lagos…recently

Police Parade 54 Suspects, Recover 92 Firearms, 760 Live Ammunition Nab female robbery gang for murder of Ilorin socialite

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Nigeria Police yesterday, paraded a robbery gang of two females, Joy Adama and Vandora Oreoluwa over their involvement in the robbery and murder of a prominent Kwara socialite, Adeniyi Ojo. Parading the suspects in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer and Assistant Commissioner

of Police, (ACP) Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said on October 6, 2023, police operatives apprehended the two suspects, Adama and Favour, who are both students of Kwara State Polytechnic for their involvement in the robbery and murder of Mr. Adeniyi Ojo, the son of Chief Emmanuel Ojo, a prominent figure in Ilorin, Kwara State.

“Through meticulous

investigative work, our officers were able to track and apprehend these suspects in Mowe Ibafo,

Ogun State.

“In a tragic incident, the duo tied the deceased under the

guise of having a sex rump and demanded money from him. But when he was not forthcoming,

they resorted to drugging and suffocating him, leading to his untimely demise,” he said.

‘FG Will End Insecurity, All Forms of Criminalities in Nigeria’

HammedShittuinIlorin

Kwara State, during the official reception and commissioning of four Diamond Multi-Purpose Platform Special Mission Aircraft at the 303 Medium Airlift Group in Ilorin.

He said: “The induction of the platforms we are witnessing today is an indication of the sincerity and commitment of the federal

government in ensuring that peace and stability return to the country.

“The event we are also witnessing today began about two years ago when the federal government appropriated the funds for the acquisition of 4 x Diamond 62 Multi-Purpose Special Mission Aircraft for the Nigerian Air Force.

“Out of the fouzr aircraft, the first two aircraft were delivered between February and July 2023.

It is therefore a great delight to be here with you today to witness the delivery/reception ceremony of the last two Diamond 62 Multi-Purpose Special Mission Aircraft out of the four that were acquired.

National Primary Health Care Department Agency (NPHCDA) has disclosed that diphtheria has, so far, killed 20 in Kaduna State.

The Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the

agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib and Co-Chair of the Federal Task Team on Diphtheria, made the disclosure yesterday in an interview with journalists after visiting Kaduna Diphtheria Treatment Centre.

He also confirmed 156 cases of the disease in the state.

Shuaib, however, commended the Kaduna state government for its effort in combating the disease.

He said Kaduna is ranked among the seven states with the high number of diphtheria.

“We are at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital where mild to

moderate cases are being attended to before being admitted to the infectious disease hospitals,” he said.

According to him, since the outbreak of diphtheria in March, about 20 deaths and 150 cases were recorded in Kaduna.

Local government chairmen, vice chairmen, councillors and other top officials of the 57 councils in Lagos State will henceforth face strict monitoring to make them meet the yearnings and aspirations of their people.

The Speaker of the Lagos

State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, who gave the charge, said reports available to the House had shown that some of the council chairmen have not met the expectations of their people, so far.

In a statement signed by his

media assistant, Eromosele Ebhomele, the speaker warned that it will no longer be business as usual in the councils as the Assembly will now ensure strict compliance to serving the interests of the people.

At separate meetings with

the council chairmen, vice chairmen, councillors and senior staff of the councils in Lagos recently, the speaker frowned on the aloofness that these set of public office holders have exhibited at that level of government to the detriment of the expectations of Lagosians.

The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Vice Admiral Hassan Bala Abubakar, yesterday reiterated the commitment of the federal government to end insurgency and all forms of criminal vices in the country.

Abubakar stated this in Ilorin,

Navy Destroys Six Illegal Oil Refining Camps in Rivers ‘Diphtheria Claims 20 Lives in Kaduna, 156 Cases Confirmed’ Blessing Ibunge inPort Harcourt

The Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder, has destroyed six refining camps with three million litres capacity reservoir in Rivers State.

The illegal refinery camps located within Cawthorne channel 2 in Degema Local Government Area of the State, steals crude oil from a wellhead in OML18 operated by NNPC Ltd and Sahara Energy.

Commander, NNS Pathfinder, Commodore Desmond Igbo, who took journalists round the illegal refinery, said the oil thieves were

not only sabotaging the nation’s economy but destroying the environment.

Igbo explained that the illegal refiners installed a six inch pipeline running over 2kilometers from the wellhead to the 3million litres capacity reservoir, which distributes crude to the six illegal refining camps.

Igbo alongside his personnel ensured that the illegal pipeline was disconnected from the wellhead, and the camps destroyed. He advised youths in the area to involve in legal businesses and shun such risky and dangerous acts.

Lagos Removes Shanties Blocking Drainage Channels in Lekki Segun James

The Lagos State Government has commenced the removal of illegal structures and shanties on setbacks of drainage channels at Lekki Phase 2 Ikota Drainage channel.

The demolition exercise in highbrow Lekki II areas of Mobil road and Gedegede community followed the expiration of several contravention notices served on the property owners which were ignored.

Speaking with journalists

at the scene of the demolition, Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, said the outright demolition underscored the seriousness of the Sanwo-Olu administration about law and order restoration.

Wahab, who was represented by the Director, Drainage Enforcement and Compliance, Engr Mahmood Adegbite, said the state started serving contravention notices on the property owners since the year 2000 when all the structures were at foundation levels.

House Adjourns Plenary Over Death of Member Adedayo AkinwaleinAbuja

The House of Representatives Wednesday adjourned plenary in honour of a member representing Isa/Sabon Birni Federal Constituency of Sokoto State in the Green Chamber, Hon. Abdulkadir Danbuga who died yesterday.

The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary observed a minute silence in honour of the later lawmaker, and immediately adjourned, deferring the day’s order of business till Thursday in line

with parliamentary tradition.

However, the Spokesman of the House, Akin Rotimi, in a statement issued said Danbuga died early Wednesday at the age of 63, following a brief illness.

He said the late lawmaker has been buried in Sokoto State, according to Islamic rites.

Rotimi said Danbuga, a former Sole Administrator of Sabo Bini Local Government Council in Sokoto State, was elected to the Green Chamber in April 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following his victory at the supplementary polls.

John Shiklam in Kaduna

No More Business as Usual, Obasa Warns Council Chairmen, Others

Bandits Kill Village Head, Kidnap Several Others in Niger

Laleye Dipo in Minna

After weeks of respite bandits have, again, struck in the Zagzaga community in the Kabula ward of Munya Local Government of Niger State.

During the deadly assault, which took place on Tuesday

night, the village head Malam Usman Hussaini, was murdered while scores of villagers mostly women and children were abducted.

In the stampede that followed the invasion by the terrorists many other villagers were injured and are now receiving

treatment either at the General Hospital in Sarkinpawa town, headquarters of the local government or at the residences of traditionalists.

According to a report from the area the whole town has now been deserted leaving the bandits to hold sway there.

It was said that the bandits numbering over 50 stormed the community immediately the villagers finished offering the last Muslim prayer for the day shooting sporadically with some of them also wielding machetes, knives and other dangerous weapons.

The CLO made the call yesterday in reaction to the actions of the Nasarawa State Governor,Abdullahi Sule and some other notable people in the state, who are threatening the peace of the state as a result of the state governorship election petition tribunal which sacked the governor of the All Progressives

Congress (APC) and gave victory to David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The CLO President, Igho Akeregha, urged influential countries to, as a matter of urgency, impose sanctions on Sule and Prof. Ishaya Tanko.

“The CLO on Wednesday

(yesterday) petitioned the international community including 11 powerful countries to immediately impose strict sanctions and visa ban on the Governor of Nasarawa state, Abdullahi Sule and Professor Ishaya Tanko for their roles in the March 18 gubernatorial elections in Nasarawa State.

CLO Seeks Sanctions on Nasarawa Gov, Other Anti-democratic Elements OghenevwedeOhwovoriolein Abuja

The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has called on the international community to sanction all the antidemocratic elements in Nasarawa State, including the Governor, Abdullahi Sule.

Abia MDAs Reconnected to Grid as Govt Tackles Legacy Debts

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Abia State ministries, departments and agencies(MDAs) hitherto disconnected from public power supply due to huge debt overhang are being reconnected to the grid.

Commissioner for information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu,

made this known yesterday while briefing the media on the outcome of State Executive Council meeting.

He said that the MDAs were plunged into darkness following accumulation of unpaid electricity bills which caused the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to cut off the Abia MDAs.

However, Kanu said that unpaid electricity bills were part of the “legacy debts” the Alex Otti administration inherited from the past government.

He said that the Ministry of Power and Public Utilities was already engaging with the EEDC to find a way out of the problem, adding that it was

already yielding good result as MDAs are beginning to glow again.

Throwing more light into the engagement with EEDC, the Commissioner for Power for Power and Public Utilities, Ikechukwu Monday, said that the reconnection of MDAs commenced from the health sector.

39

T H I S D AY • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2023

THURSdaysports

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Maduka Okoye Gets Super Eagles Recall Ahead Saudi Friendly

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The Palestinian war with Israel led by the Hamas last Saturday has resulted in the recall of Maduka Okoye to the Nigeriian senior national team ahead of the two international friendlies with Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.

After Okoye committed careless blunders in Nigeria’s exit to Tunisia at the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon, the Udinese of Italian Serie A goalkeeper was overlooked ever since.

Even when he was invited for

the international friendly with Portugal last year, he was an unused substitute.

But yesterday, when it became obvious that both Adebayo Adeleye of Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel and Olorunleke Ojo of Enyimba will not be available , Super Eagles Portuguese gaffer had to resort to calling Okoye as replacement.

Adebayo is based in Israel and will have to re-route his flight ticket no thanks to the war going on at his base, while Ojo has yet to be granted visa to enter Portugal, where the friendlies will be played Cyprus-

based Francis Uzoho is currently the only goalkeeper in the Eagles training camp in Portugal.

Okoye was at a time the Super Eagles No 1 goalkeeper, but his time with the national team has been marred by costly blunders and serious threats to his person. His inactivity at English club Watford this past season also did not help his chances with the Eagles.

Meanwhile, Napoli star player, Victor Osimhen, as well as Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface are among the 20 players already in the Super Eagles training camp in Portugal ahead of friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.

Call-ups Francis Uzoho, Tyronne Ebuehi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Joe Aribo, Kenneth Omeruo, Semi Ajayi, Bruno Onyemaechi, Jordan

Torunarigha, Chidozie Awaziem and Wilfred Ndidi are also in camp.

Others in Portugal include; Samuel Chukwueze, Raphael Onyedika, Sadiq Umar, Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi, Moses Simon, Terem Moffi and Ademola Lookman.

Five players were still being expected; Kelechi Iheanacho, Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Adebayo Adeleye and Olorunleke

Ojo as at press time.

Eagles were scheduled to train at the gym Wednesday morning, while full training will begin by 5pm local time.

The Super Eagles will battle Saudi Arabia Friday, before they face Mozambique Monday in friendlies to prepare them for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe next month.

…Sports Minister, Enoh, Assures NFF Board of Ministry’s Support The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has assured the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of support in the task of developing the nation’s football.

The Minister spoke when he met board members of NFF led by the President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau in his office at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Wednesday.

He said the interaction was basically to enable him gain deeper insight into the present state of Nigeria football.

While dubbing the meeting a ‘family affair’, Enoh said he is prepared to show the leadership needed to take Nigeria football and indeed other sports, to greater heights.

The minister harped on

the need to make the nation’s domestic leagues better while also pursuing with passion and intention the development of the game at grassroots level.

He stressed that he is very much aware that his scorecard as Minister of Sports Development will weigh heavily on the performance of football, which he described as the “big cow in the house.”

Apart from ensuring that Nigeria qualify for the 2026 World Cup, NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau stressed that the NFF Board and Management will work diligently and assiduously to ensure the Eagles perform exceedingly well at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, for which the team has already adopted the mantra ‘Let’s Do It Again’.

Akon to Host AFCON 2023 Draw Tonight

Maduka Okoye (right) and Francis Ozoho to rekindle fight for the Number 1 jersey in the international friendlies with Saudi Arabia and Mozambique in Portugal

Inter Miami Insists No Transfer or Loan Move for Messi Lionel Messi will not join another team on loan when the Major League Soccer season ends, says Guillem Balague.

The Inter Miami captain, 36, has been linked with a return to Barcelona and a switch to the Saudi Pro League.

Inter Miami are out of play-off contention after Saturday's 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati and their season ends on 21 October.

Argentine World Cup winner Messi has only played 72 minutes in the MLS since early September due to injury.

After the MLS regular season ends, Argentina have World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil on 17 and 22 November and Messi is then expected to take a month's holiday.

"Messi will have around one month holiday, like other footballers.

So forget any move to Saudi or similar," says Spanish football expert Balague.

He will then return for pre-season in Miami with the MLS new season starting in February.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner joined Inter Miami from Paris St-Germain in July and guided the club to their first Leagues Cup

victory in August, before losing the US Open Cup. Although he has scored 11 goals in 13 games for the side, only one of those has come in his five MLS appearances.

Messi has been linked with a return to Barcelona ever since he left for PSG in 2021 after 21 years at the club.

Asked about the rumours after the loss to FC Cincinnati, Inter Miami manager Tata Martino said: "That's surprising. I know nothing about that.

If you're telling me that he's going to go visit Barcelona on vacation, yes, it's probable, but I don't have any information on the other part."

Global music star, AKON, will host the Final Draw of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 this evening.

The Final Draw will start at 19h00 local time/GMT (21h00 CAT at the breath-taking, brand-new Parc Des Expositions venue in Abidjan and be beamed live on CAF TV (YouTube).

The Senegalese hit-maker is a huge football fan and social activist whose ‘Akon Lighting Africa’ project seeks to use solar electricity to help African countries meet their basic electricity needs.

Akon’s hosting of the Final Draw, alongside Yaya Touré, adds even more star power to what is set to be a glitzy, glamorous, eagerly anticipated occasion, as the 24 qualified nations discover

Olympic Solidarity Boost Nigeria’s Hockey Coaching Devt with Level 2 Certification Lionel Messi...no transfer prospect

An Olympic Solidarity Technical course for coaches ongoing in Nigeria’s capital city Abuja from last Sunday October 8, will be concluded this Saturday, October 14, 2023.

A total of 30 national, state and club team coaches are taking part in

1XBET Cup: Bariga FC Wins DBI Conference

It took the heroics of top striker, Benjamin Friday, in the 15th minute of play, when he scored the only goal of the final match, for Bariga FC to emerge champions of the Lagos Mainland Conference Digital Bridge Institute winner in the 1XBET Community Football Championships.

Bariga FC on Tuesday came

their group stage opponents.

The Final Draw will be beamed in over 50 countries, with millions of viewers expected to tune in to the event on CAF’s Official YouTube channel, as well as across CAF’s Global TV partners.

The 34th edition of the biggest event on African soil takes place in Cote d’Ivoire from 13 January to 11 February 2024.

Cote d’Ivoire (hosts), Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia have all qualified for the football showpiece.

out tops as winners of Group B, and in Wednesday Conference final, defeated Group A winners, 1-0 to emerge the first grand finale qualifiers for Main 1XBET Community Football Championships, that would see, four others Conference winners joined by three best losers to set up the eight teams that would engage in the battle of supremacy in

the 1XBET Community Football Championship that would be played at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos.

G. Innovations Fc striker, Christian James emerged the Mainland Conference Highest Goal Scorer with five goals.

The General Coordinator of the 1XBET Community Football Championship, Ex International

and former Chairman, Lagos State Football Association, Engineer Waidi Akanni, said the train of the championship will now move to the Epe Conference, before the trip to Badagry, Ikorodu and the Lagos Island Conferences, where one winner each will emerge, before the main tournament at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos.

the course, featuring both theoretical and practical sessions.

The five-day programme being handled by International Hockey Federation (FIH) Educators - Tsoanelo Pholo from South Africa and Menyei Peter from Nigeria, is at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) Level 2 coaching course is designed for coaches looking to lead a series of group sessions within a club/school/community environment.

The South Africa Educator Coach is also working with the National Hockey Men and Women's Team who are in camp in Abuja preparing for the African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier Tournament scheduled for Pretoria, South Africa from October 29 to 5 November 2023.

Thursday, October 12, 2023

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Price: N250

MISSILE

John Kecheocha to Federal Government

“This is just simple arithmetic. If you removed the subsidy when a dollar was about N700 and today the dollar is more than N1,000, and you are still supplying and giving products at almost the same rate, what is the magic? They are spending billions of naira to subsidise products, because they know that this country may go on fire if Nigerians buy products at about N1,000 per litre. Why can’t they come out and tell the world the truth?”—IPMAN National Secretary, insisting that fuel subsidy is back

olusegunadeniyi the verdict olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Where is Abdulrasheed Bawa?

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ast Sunday, ‘Premium Times’ reported that President Bola Tinubu had decided to appoint Olanipekun Olukoyede as the substantive chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). A legal practitioner, Olukoyede served as secretary of the commission for two years before he was suspended along with Ibrahim Magu (then acting chair) and a few other officials in 2020. The concern raised by the online newspaper about the choice of Olukayode is anchored on Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act, 2005 which stipulates that the commission chairman “must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; possess not less than 15 years’ experience.”

According to the report, Olukoyede, “who has primarily played administrative roles in EFCC for less than a decade, cannot be said to have attained 15 years of cognate experience, especially when he has never worked in the mainstream law enforcement operations of the commission or any related agency.”

Beyond the issue of qualification raised by ‘Premium Times’, I have two additional concerns about the appointment. One, at a time the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) is chaired by Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, appointing another Yoruba man to head EFCC would be the height of recklessness. In case the president is not aware (a Villa disease, especially under his predecessor), most Yoruba people I know are becoming increasingly embarrassed by a number of his appointments. I have received many of those WhatsApp messages that list critical offices in the economic/financial sector and the ethnic affiliation of appointees. There is already a whispering campaign in Abuja of a budding ‘Republic of Oduduwa’, based on these appointments. I hope someone will bring the issue to the attention of the president.

Interestingly, barely three weeks after the current administration’s inauguration, on 20th June to be specific, I wrote ‘Tinubu and the Buhari Error’ where I warned the president not to play ‘Amunibuni’ with a rehash of similar counsel his predecessor failed to heed. “Of the several columns I wrote on the lack of sensitivity in critical appointments

by President Muhammadu Buhari, one stands out. I used a Yoruba word, ‘Amunibuni’, to situate my intervention,” I recalled in the piece with excerpts from the March 2021 column: “That making strategic concessions is beyond Buhari administration is an embarrassment, even for many northerners. That is because they are also aware that the appointments being cornered by a tiny clique is not to promote any ‘Northern agenda’ (whatever that may mean) but rather in pursuit of the personal interest by those who nominate these individuals. This explains why they go for their in-laws, kinsmen, friends, and the like. Yet nepotism in critical appointments engenders collective insults in the manner of ‘Abunibuni’”.

I went ahead to do a disquisition on what the Yoruba term means and the message it embeds within the context of Nigeria’s political arrangement before I concluded with an admonition for Tinubu three months

Bawa

ago: “Even when he did nothing to improve the material condition of the average Fulani man, the damage President Buhari did to people of that ethnic stock in eight years was enormous. And as a Yoruba man, I wouldn’t want President Tinubu to do that to me. I am aware that there are thousands of appointments still to make and most of these things ultimately even out. But signalling is also important, especially by a new administration. That is why presidential handlers need to be circumspect lest they attract insults to Yoruba people who have always advocated for a peaceful and secure Nigeria that works for all citizens and where there is equity and justice in the distribution of opportunities…In making critical appointments, I hope the president will be mindful of the ‘Amunibuni’ syndrome. His appointments must be inclusive and reflect all our diversities.

I shall be watching!”

Whatever may be his qualifications, it should be obvious that in a diverse society like ours, to appoint Olukayode as Chairman of EFCC will make no sense under prevailing circumstances. I hope whoever may be behind the idea will perish the thought.

The second point I want to make concerns the whereabouts of the suspended EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa. In a terse statement on 14th June this year, Nigerians were told that Bawa’s suspension was so he could answer to “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him,” with his office temporarily occupied by the commission’s director of operations “pending the conclusion of the investigation.” From that time till now, Bawa has neither been taken to court nor charged with any offense.

He was simply locked up by the Directorate of State Security (DSS).

Arresting and keeping people in incarceration indefinitely is the hallmark of military dictatorship. It is a throwback to the era of the late General Sani Abacha when every opponent was deemed a ‘prisoner of

war’ and dealt with accordingly. But we are now in a democracy and the only bulwark against tyranny is to apply the law and follow due process in a bid to safeguard the rights of citizens. The presidential system of government we practice in Nigeria is anchored on that sacred principle. Given Tinubu’s pro-democracy credentials under the military, he is the last person one would expect to trample on the liberties of others.

There can be no justification for what is happening to Bawa, whatever may be his alleged crime.

Even more dangerous for the health of our democracy is the insinuation in the ‘Premium Times’ report that Bawa may soon ‘resign’ to pave way for the appointment of Olukayode.

We should all be worried by these curious under-the-table resignations that mirror Mafia operations. It started with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Godwin Emefiele was last seen inside the courtroom holding a big bible, but Nigerians have since accepted the tale that he ‘resigned’ with his office already taken over by another person. The four deputy governors who served with Emefiele at the apex bank also similarly ‘resigned’ and have been replaced. In a true democracy, such an opaque way of handling serious state

matters is unacceptable. Unfortunately, we have a National Assembly whose members are not alive to their responsibility.

While nobody is shedding tears for Emefiele, who can be described as the architect of his own downfall, the Bawa case is slightly different. It is not lost on the international community that the helmsman of an institution created to tackle graft in Nigeria is himself caught in allegations of unwholesome practices. That only compounds our image problem as a country. But if after almost four months of incarceration no charge has been brought against him, it can only mean that Bawa’s ordeal is more political than criminal. That is a gross abuse of power. The federal government must therefore conclude its investigation regarding the “weighty allegations” against Bawa without further delay. Bawa must also be availed of his rights under the law.

And for President Tinubu and his handlers, I hope they understand the implication of their instinctive recourse to authoritarian impulses to even scores with those who may have rubbed them the wrong way while pursuing ‘Project Emilokan’: It can only imperil our fragile democracy. They must also understand that power is transient.

The Tinubu Divide

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wo weeks ago, a respected former Minister from the North (and an ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar) forwarded to me a WhatsApp message. In the message taken from an X (formerly known as Twitter) post, the writer imputed that the promised strike by the Labour unions was a deal with Tinubu to ensure that Atiku would be unable to register the papers from Chicago State University (still being expected at the time) at the Supreme Court.

Shortly before I received the message, I had seen a statement by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, which suggested that Labour had agreed with the federal government to suspend the strike. Since this is someone to whom I am close, I thought I should correct the misconception in the shared post. So, I replied to him: “I don’t think the strike will continue. I am reading something that they (FG and Labour) may have reached a deal.” His terse response came almost immediately: “Are you also dem dem?” with an Emoji which depicts suspicion.

Put in street language, I was being accused of having collected my share of ‘CORN-palliatives’.

As disappointed as I was by his message, I refused to take offense, knowing it goes with the season. I knew before the 2023 general election that the outcome would be divisive given the near-fanatical support enjoyed by three leading candidates. But I never expected the level of toxicity and hatemongering being witnessed on Nigerian social media landscape. In Nigeria today, it is difficult to sustain any meaningful conversation with political crusaders without being accused of impropriety, especially if you refuse to validate their prejudice. What I find even more strange is that young people are making enemies of one another because of support for either Atiku or Tinubu—two (former) friends who have done several things together over decades and whose children could still have their meeting

points for mega deals. This of course is an issue for another day.

Interestingly, while some of us run away from social media because we have neither the temperament nor the dexterity to handle those who wish to conscript us into their wars, former Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR), Dr Joe Abah appears to be an expert in navigating that terrain. Amid reports of men being assaulted in Abuja for ‘stealing’ the manhood of other men after a mere handshake, there has been animated discussions on X with Abah a protagonist. “If you say that someone made your preeq disappear, at least show people the blank slate before you ask them to start beating the person na,” he wrote in one of his interventions as others add their perspectives on this latest Nigerian contribution to the world of ‘science and technology’. In another post, Abah volunteered to be used as an experiment by those with the expertise of making ‘the thing’ to vanish. “I don born finish. I no too need am again like that,” he posted.

However, the whole conversation did not go down well with a young man who considered it his business to prescribe what others must discuss on social media. “Ezemmuo, we’re in the mood (sic) of a very national issue involving our president’s CSU certificate. What’s your position as a senior lawyer Sir?” Without skipping a bit, Abah responded: “The most important national issue is people allegedly losing their preeqs. As a senior lawyer, I say show us the blank slate before you start beating the person. If it didn’t actually disappear and is just unresponsive, we call a Figure-Eight witness to cross-examine you.”

I will not be surprised if the young man read the reply, shook his head, and probably muttered, ‘Chai, Ezemmuo too don chop agbado’! May God deliver our country from the toxicity of this season!

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