FRIDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2023

FG, EU Sign N728 Billion Agreements to Boost Education, Energy, Transport, Others Tinubu seeks to deepen Nigeria-EU relations Receives EU energy, international partnership delegation Deji Elumoye, James Emejo and Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The federal government and the European Union (EU) yesterday signed a €900 million (about N728

billion) financial package to advance Nigeria’s green, resilient digital inclusive transition.

This was just as President Bola Tinubu yesterday, canvassed for the strengthening of cross-sectoral

partnership between Nigeria and the EU based on the principles of democracy, rule of law and freedom.

The signing of the deal between Continued on page 5

Naira Depreciates Further on Parallel Market, Now N1,160/$1... Page 8 Friday 20 October, 2023 Vol 28. No 10418. Price: N250

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Bode Agusto, Pioneer Budget Director, Dies at 68 in Portugal... Page 10

Israel Readies Troops for Gaza Invasion, US Reviews Security in Embassies Worldwide Biden appeals to Americans for $100bn funding for Israel, Ukraine, others in oval office address

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja with agency reports

Israeli authorities, yesterday,

ordered troops to be prepared for a ground invasion of Gaza just as new explosions rattled Southern Gaza.

This, however, came as French authorities yesterday, evacuated eight airports following fears over bomb and antisemitic attacks, even

as the United States ordered a review of security in its embassies worldwide following protests rocking Arab capitals over the

war between Israel and Hamas.

Protests had gripped Arab capitals, notably, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Syria

including United States, United Kingdom and France.

Continued on page 5

Presidential Election’s Grand Finale Begins at Supreme Court Monday Court lists Atiku, Obi, APM's appeals Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja The final legal battles over the disputed presidential election will begin on Monday, October 23, at the Supreme Court, following the listing of three separate appeals against the judgment of the presidential election tribunal, which affirmed the declaration of President Bola Tinubu, as winner of the February 25 election.

The three appeals pending before the apex court included that of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and the Allied People's Movement (APM).

This was as the Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku, Phrank Shaibu, has lambasted the President over his fresh attempt to block the release of the details of Continued on page 5

AKINTOLA WILLIAMS GOES HOME...

L-R: Grandson of the late Chief Akintola Williams, Mr. Adeniyi Williams and the scion of the deceased, Mr. Seni Williams, during the funeral service of the deceased at the Shell Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, before his remains were buried... yesterday

Sanwo-olu, Abiodun, Dangote, Others Bid Akintola Williams Farewell... Page 9

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Adedeji Forecloses Tax Increment Amid Renewed Revenue Drive James Emejo in Abuja The acting Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zacch Adedeji, yesterday assured that the service’s renewed drive to raise the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio to about 18 per cent would not necessarily result in an increase in current taxes.

His assurances came against the backdrop of concerns expressed by corporate organisations following Adedeji’s recent determination to improve the tax ratio from the current 10.86 per cent to 18 per cent within three years.

The taxpayers believed such an aspiration might require an increase in taxes or even introduction of new ones in order to meet the proposed threshold.

However, the acting FIRS boss, while addressing representatives of top large tax-paying companies in Lagos, insisted that such resolve would not necessarily lead to an increase in taxes.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Mr. Dare Adekanmbi, he pointed out that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration was determined to create a wholesome environment for businesses to flourish.

The growing speculations over a potential tax increase had unsettled the corporate entity in particular which is uncomfortable with any increase or introduction of new taxes at the moment partly given the already difficult operating environment.

Adedeji said, "Our belief,

understanding, and vision as a revenue-generating agency is not to introduce any new tax as we only want to use data to improve compliance” adding that the invited companies and those willing to voluntarily fulfil their tax obligations had nothing to fear.

He said, “Our plan is simple. We want to grow tax revenue and we only want to tax prosperity and not poverty. Therefore, it is not in our interest to kill the trees that bear the fruits. My first 'love letter' to you is to appreciate what you have done.

“So, you don’t have anything to be afraid of. We will not collect what is not due to us. But we don’t want anyone not to pay what is due to us. Fair engagement is our plan.

Rest assured that the 18 per cent

tax-to-GDP target will not translate to an increase in taxes.

"If you have been listening to Mr. Taiwo Oyedele who is the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, you will have known that part of the mandate of the committee is to reduce the number of taxes.”

According to him, the purpose of the engagement with the companies was to among other things factor their inputs into the strategic action plan being mapped out in order to address challenges hampering tax revenue collection.

He commended the companies for their high sense of responsibility, urging them to continue to discharge their tax obligation diligently.

Adedeji said, "I must also commend your commitment to upholding high tax compliance standards and responsible corporate citizenship, which sets you apart as the top taxpayers in Nigeria.

"This aligns perfectly with our vision of making taxation the pivot of national development through voluntary compliance.

"Your respective industries play a pivotal role in generating substantial tax revenue for the government and in shaping economic and fiscal stability of the nation.

"We are not unmindful of the challenges facing businesses in Nigeria with the ongoing reforms to improve economic performance.

These are painful but necessary choices we must make as a nation to attain

Adedeji our full potential.”

Further addressing stakeholders’ concerns on the multiplicity of taxes and duplication of tax oversight on corporate entities, he promised to resolve the issues raised.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION’S GRAND FINALE BEGINS AT SUPREME COURT MONDAY his criminal investigation by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

A notice of hearing in the appeals issued to parties, dated October 19 and signed by one of the Supreme Court registrars, Zainab Garba, stated that the appeals hadbeen listed for hearing on the stated date.

While Atiku and his party listed 35 grounds upon which they were seeking the setting aside of the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court for erring on the side of law, Obi and the LP on the other hand presented 51 grounds of appeal.

The former vice-president had on September 18, registered his dissatisfaction against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court, which on September 6, dismissed his joint petition with the PDP, for lacking merit.

The panel had in a unanimous decision held that Atiku as well as other petitioners against the February 25 presidential election were unable to substantiate their allegations against the poll conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Specifically, the panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, in their judgments held that, the documentary and oral evidences presented before them could not prove claims of irregularities, corrupt practices, and non-compliance amongst other claims for which Atiku had asked the court to void Tinubu's election.

Dissatisfied, Atiku, who claimed that the lower tribunal erred in law in affirming the outcome of the February 25 poll, in his appeal amongst others, asked the Supreme Court to set aside the entire decision of the tribunal.

Atiku, in addition, prayed the apex court to after voiding Tinubu's election, declare him as the authentic winner of the poll.

The former vice-president, who came second in the poll, claimed

that he and not Tinubu won majority of the lawful votes cast at the election, but that the electoral umpire manipulated the process in favour of Tinubu.

Besides, he had on October 6, filed an application seeking leave of the apex court to bring in fresh and additional evidence of proof that Tinubu stood disqualified from the poll abi nitio, because he violated the Constitution, having allegedly presented forged certificate to INEC last year.

He had also in his reply on point of law, pleaded with the final court in the land to consider his application in the interest of the country and turned down Tinubu's objection to the granting of the application.

In the Notice of Appeal dated September 18, and filed by his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the former Vice President, submitted that the tribunal erred in law by not taking into cognisance the "Doctrine of Legitimate Expectation" regarding the failure of INEC to conduct the election in accordance with its own guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2022.

The doctrine of legitimate expectation was first developed in English law as a ground of judicial review in administrative law to protect a procedural or substantive interest when a public authority rescinds from a representation made to a person.

In Nigeria, the doctrine of legitimate expectation demands that a public authority shall respect and apply its stated position or sustained practice in exercising its powers on members of the public.

Expatiating on this line of argument, Atiku told the apex court on ground seven that, "the lower court erred in law, when it failed to nullify the presidential election held on February 25, 2023 on the ground of noncompliance with the Electoral Act 2022, when

by evidence before the Court, the 1st Respondent (INEC) conducted the election based on very grave and gross misrepresentation contrary to the principles of the Electoral Act 2022, based on the ‘doctrine of legitimate expectation.”

Pointing out that the Electoral Act 2022, made the use of Bi-modal Verification Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC's Results Viewing (IReV) portals mandatory in the conduct of the 2023 general elections, he added that, INEC through its Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmoud, publicly gave guarantees, undertakings, clear and unambiguous representations to candidates and political parties, that polling units results were mandatorily required to be electronically transmitted or transferred directly by the Presiding Officers.

He argued that, "There was no evidence before the lower Court that the 1st Respondent altered its aforesaid Guidelines and Regulations to remove the said requirement of

electronic transmission of the results of the election directly from the polling units to the 1st Respondent's Collation System."

It was the submission of Atiku, therefore, that INEC "conducted the said presidential election based on the gross misrepresentation to the Appellants and the general voting public that the presiding officers were going to electronically transmit the results of the said election directly from the polling units to the 1st Respondent’s Collation System.

"Contrary to the above unambiguous representations, undertakings and guarantees, the 1st Respondent neither deployed the electronic transmission of election results nor the electronic collation system in the said election, sabotaging the ra/son d'etre for the enactment of the new Electoral Act 2022 and the introduction of the technological innovations.

"Rather than hold the 1st Respondent (INEC) as a public institution accountable to the

representations that it made pursuant to its statutory and constitutional duties, which created legitimate expectation on the part of the Appellant's, the lower court wrongly exonerated the 1st Respondent of any responsibility by holding that the use of the technological innovations to guarantee transparency was not mandatory."

On similar grounds, Obi and the LP, in their appeal filed on September 19, by their lead counsel, Dr Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, alleged that the entire decision of the lower tribunal was "perverse" in its entirety except in the rulings in its favour.

The appellants told the apex court that, "The learned Justices of the court below erred in law and thereby reached a wrong conclusion, when they found and held they did not in their petition specify the particular polling units where the alleged irregularities and malpractices occurred, or specified the figures of the votes or scores which they alleged have been suppressed,

deflated or inflated."

The appellants submitted that the details of the polling units were contained in the spreadsheets and forensic analysis reports, which they had incorporated and made part of their pleadings by reference.

In another ground of the appeal, Obi and LP argued that the striking out of certain paragraphs of their petition by the court below amounted to a blatant denial of their right to fair hearing and occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice.

Consequently, the appellants argued that the tribunal was wrong when it struck out the witness statements on oath of 10 out of the 13 witnesses called by the petitioners on the ground that the statements were filed after the expiration of the period of 21 days prescribed by the Constitution.

According to Obi and LP, the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, which Continued on page 36

ISRAEL READIESTROOPS FOR GAZA INVASION, US REVIEWS SECURITY IN EMBASSIES WORLDWIDE Some of the protests were either pro-Palestine or pro-Israel even as Israel maintained the Gaza Hospital bombing was the result of a misfired rocket by terror group, Hamas.

There were also new explosions in Southern Gaza, where 13 people were killed.

Israel's Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, told Israeli infantry soldiers on the Gaza border to be ready for a ground invasion.

He urged the ground troops to "get organised, be ready” for an order to move in, saying, “Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside. I promise you."

Meanwhile, in a worldwide alert issued yesterday, the US State Department warned Americans

across the globe “to exercise increased caution” because of “increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests.”

The State Department, earlier this week, raised its travel alert for Lebanon to "do not travel" citing increased tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group backed by Iran.

Conversely, President Biden, has appealed to the American people to continue funding Ukraine and Israel.

"President Biden plans to make a direct appeal to the American people to continue funding Ukraine and Israel amid their war efforts in

an Oval Office address Thursday, according to two administration officials.

"The primetime address will take place on the eve of the White House's requesting more than $100 billion from Congress to deliver aid and resources to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the U.S. border with Mexico.

"Biden is expected to make the argument that supporting Ukraine and Israel is a matter of U.S. national security when the world is at an inflection point.

"He’s going to make the case that the cost of inaction and the cost of walking away is much higher,' according to one official.

Nevertheless, Palestinians have continued to await humanitarian

aid as Gaza's overwhelmed hospitals tried to stretch out ebbing medical supplies and fuel for generators, as authorities worked out logistics for a delivery of aid from Egypt.

Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza stitched wounds by the light of mobile phones, and others used vinegar to treat infected wounds.

The Israeli military has relentlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for a devastating Hamas rampage in southern Israel almost two weeks ago.

Even after Israel told Palestinians to evacuate the north of Gaza and flee south, strikes extended across the territory, heightening fears among the territory's 2.3 million people that nowhere was safe.

FG, EU SIGN N728BN AGREEMENTS TO BOOST EDUCATION, ENERGY, TRANSPORT, OTHERS the federal government and the EU aligns with the government’s priorities and the Global Gateway, the EU’s positive offer to deliver sustainable and trusted connections with partner countries.

Developed jointly between Nigeria and the EU, the package would drive new programmes through the latter’s Global Gateway initiative.

Under the financing agreement, the sum of €29 million was earmarked for climate-smart agriculture, while sustainable energy would gulp €37 million.

Also, access to health services was allocated € 45 million, while €5.4 million was provided for the support of youth and education development in the North West.

This was expected to contribute to policy improvement of the teaching profession and build the capacity of teachers in the region.

Speaking at the EU-Nigeria Strategic Dialogue which culminated in the signing of the agreements in Abuja, thbMinister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, said the ceremony marked yet another milestone in the annals of the EU-

Nigeria development cooperation.

In a joint statement, he said, “The EU -Nigeria relations is one of the most vibrant development partnerships in terms of volume, thematic interventions, modalities and geographical spread in the deployment of resources.

“The EU-Nigeria Strategic Dialogue is happening at the take-off of the current administration in Nigeria and presents opportunities for proper articulation and consolidation of priorities in our partnership.”

In addition, the sum of €46 million was committed to building access to the Nigerian social protection safety net while €28.4 million will support border management and reintegration of returnees.

The agreement further provided €20 million support to the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of Boko Haram combatants in the North-east region as well as €30 million support to improving the criminal justice system, access to justice, and the fight against corruption.

The ceremony also witnessed the signature of loans issued to two

Nigerian private companies and banks by the European Investment Bank, as part of the Global Gateway strategy.

This included a “2X Challenge” €50 million credit facility with Access Bank for loans to female entrepreneurs and managers in Nigeria, which was expected to create jobs and growth in line with the green economy priorities.

Also, a €14 million loan for Emzor Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients to finance the construction of a manufacturing plant for the production of anti-malaria drugs in the country.

Earlier, Bagudu, said the meeting demonstrated the parties’ shared commitments for achievement of the mutual objectives of partnership and multilateralism in these challenging times.

The minister noted that the EU - Nigeria Development Cooperation remained one of the most vibrant development partnerships in terms of the volume, thematic interventions, modalities, and geographical spread in the deployment of cooperation resources.

He said, “Indeed, a recent survey shows that over 5,200 communities

benefited from various water, sanitation, energy, education, health, and other micro project interventions over the course of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP States from the year 2000 – 2020.

“Our partnership has come a long way on many fronts, namely collaboration on energy security, regional peace and security, migration management, trade and regional integration, environmental stability and climate change, humanitarian emergencies, and crisis management to mention a few.

“I am enthused that this Dialogue is happening at the take-off of the current Administration in Nigeria, for proper articulation and consolidation of priorities in our partnership.”

Bagudu said, “The current challenges in our sub-regions and the world at large are at the same time fraught with opportunities to make a difference in humanity if we all come to dialogue with honesty of purpose.

“Now, more than ever, a more coordinated response is necessary to assist us in adapting to proven

systems for sustainable development and effective integration of our economy into the global system.”

Meanwhile, Tinubu has canvassed for the strengthening of cross-sectoral partnership between Nigeria and the EU based on the principles of democracy, rule of law, and freedom.

Speaking yesterday, at the State House, Abuja, while playing host to a delegation of the EU, led by Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner in charge of International Partnerships, the President welcomed the signing of the eight financing agreements between Nigeria and the EU. According to him: "We need all of our partners' hands on deck to sail together. We look forward to strengthening our partnerships.

"Democracy is not an easy process, but we must fight for democracy and struggle for it to win at all times," the President said.

Tinubu, who emphasised the importance of economic cooperation with the EU in the areas of digital education, traditional energy, renewable energy, and broadband access, equally told the delegation that Nigeria’s economy was going

through several long-lasting reforms to render it capable of pulling millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

"We have a young and vibrant population, and we are determined to succeed. If we succeed, democracy succeeds. If we succeed, freedom succeeds," he said.

Earlier in her remarks, the EU Commissioner in charge of International Partnerships commended Nigeria for playing a pivotal role as a key partner of the EU, not only in politics and economics, but also in shaping the social landscape across the African continent.

The EU Commissioner explained that over the past four years, the EU has been working to transform the nature of its relationship with Africa by shifting away from the traditional donor-recipient dynamic.

According to her, the EU seeks to establish an equal and mutually beneficial partnership through the "Global Gateway" investment programme as a flagship example.

She noted that this strategy, agreed at the AU-EU Summit in Brussels last year, sets a goal of €300 billion in investments, with €150 billion allocated to Africa.

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NEWS

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

CONDOLENCE VISIT TO THE OGUNBANJOS...

L-R: Mr. Sola Adebajo; Regional Director Seymour Energy Consulting, Segun Senbanjo; Daughter of the deceased, Ms Mosun Ogunbanjo, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and Son of the deceased , Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo during Ogun State's delegation's condolence visit to the Ogunbanjos over the death of their father, Chief Christopher Ogunbanjo in Ikoyi , Lagos...yesterday KUNLE OGUNFUYI

Shettima Woos Foreign Investors, Says Nigeria Ripe for Businesses to Thrive Witnesses signing of $2bn MoUs between NASENI, Chinese firms Nigeria, China harbour seal contract on Lekki deep blue seaport Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday urged foreign investors to always consider Nigeria as a top investment destination, saying the country has never been this ripe for businesses to thrive.

Shettima, who is representing President Bola Tinubu, at the Belt And Road Initiative Forum in Beijing, China, also witnessed the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for new projects valued at $2 billion between the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and three Chinese partners.

The event also had the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Power, Works and other top government officials

in attendance.

The deal formed part of the heaps and bounds of dividends Nigeria was reaping from the 3rd Belt And Road Initiative (BRI) in Beijing, China.

Another $4 billion was the worth of letters of intent for new projects and investments.

This was just as the Federal Ministry of Works also signed an MoU with China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd for the construction of the Lekki Blue Seaport contract at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos.

Speaking on the occasion, Shettima who commended all stakeholders and their Chinese counterparts said Nigeria has never been this ripe and ready for businesses to thrive in.

According to him, with the painstaking efforts by the Tinubu administration to ensure a level playing ground for all investors following the removal of all bottlenecks, the coast was now clear for deepened economic and trade collaborations.

On his part, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NASENI, Khalil Halilu, said the crystallisation of the agreements was a fulfilment of NASENI's commitments towards boosting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) drive of the Tinubu administration.

According to him: “This is a very important day for us at the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure because it is a day

to show the results of some of the work that we have been doing in the last six weeks since I assumed the leadership of NASENI".

The MoUs to partner NASENI for investments in Nigeria were listed in a statement by NASENI to include: Shanghai Launch Automotive Technical Co Ltd – an MOU to establish a new energy automobile facility for the production of new energy electric vehicles; China Great Wall Industry Corporation – an MOU for the turnkey delivery of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) assembly line projects, and Newway Power Technology Company Ltd – an MOU for the transfer of technology on lithium batteries, electric vehicles and

US Introduces Integrated Measure to End HIV Threat By 2030 Michael Olugbode in Abuja The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) has reviewed its efforts to help Nigeria end HIV as a public health threat by 2030 and introduced its plans for an integrated health services delivery initiative.

This was done during its 3rd Biannual Program Performance Review and Stakeholder Engagement Meeting from October 17th to 19th.

According to a statement yesterday, the three-day meeting provided national and state partners

and stakeholders from the 19 US CDC-supported states a platform to discuss achievements and challenges in HIV programming in the last year and plan for state-led HIV responses, coordination, and sustainability efforts.

The statement added that the integrated health services platform would serve to enhance these efforts and improve the overall quality of and access to comprehensive healthcare in Nigeria.

According to the statement, throughout the meeting, US CDC Country Deputy Director Suzanne Theroux, commended national and state officials, implementing and

development partners, and other stakeholders for their efforts to close testing and treatment gaps and help Nigeria get closer to achieving the 95-95-95 targets.

She emphasised the US CDC's commitment to using science and data to guide the design and implementation of sustainable, comprehensive, state-led health programming.

US Chargé d'Affaires, David Greene, said the introduction and implementation of an integrated health service delivery platform was a novel idea with huge potential in Nigeria.

Building connections across

diseases, responses, and routine health activities like immunisation could only serve to strengthen the healthcare and public health systems in Nigeria and ensure efficient use of available resources.

Representing the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike, the Director of Public Health also recognised the importance and effectiveness of partnership in the HIV response. He highlighted the continued need to close identified testing and treatment gaps and emphasised the need to use data and innovative technology to improve health outcomes in Nigeria.

Any Company Not in Nigeria Will Not Succeed Anywhere Else, Says Chevron Peter Uzoho Chevron Corporation has eulogised Nigeria, recounting the country's immense opportunities and potential and its exalted economic position in Africa, stating that any company not present in Nigeria would not succeed elsewhere.

Also yesterday, roughly 15 years after its divestment out of Nigeria in 2008, American oil and gas downstream giant, Texaco has made a re-entry into the country's petroleum marketing arena with the relaunch of its lubricant brands in partnership with Tethys Limited, a Nigerian sales and marketing firm.

At the launch of the product and

partnership in Lagos, yesterday, Tethys Limited was announced as the exclusive Texaco brand licensee in Nigeria in a form of strategic relationship that grants it the right to exclusively manufacture, market and sell Texaco-branded lubricants in the country.

The launch of the products and partnership followed the signing of a Branded Business Development Agreement between Chevron Brands International LLC, owners of Texaco and Tethys Limited, which encompasses local production, distribution and marketing of Texaco-branded lubricants in Nigeria.

Chevron Corporation, owners of Texaco, which is its downstream

subsidiary, had divested from the fuel marketing business in Nigerian in 2008.

The then Executive Vice President in Chevron's global downstream business, Mike Wirth, had stated at the time that the sale was in line with their ongoing effort to concentrate downstream resources and capital on strategic global assets.

However, through the strategic collaboration, the new partners said motorists in Nigeria would have access to a wide range of locally blended Texaco-branded premium performance automotive and industrial lubricants, under the Texaco, Havoline and Delo brands.

This, they said, included engine

oils, transmission fluids, gear oils, greases and hydraulic fluids.

“Tethys is an experienced marketer in Nigeria, and we are proud to be entering into this relationship with them to introduce our exceptional range of lubricant products,” General Manager of Chevron Europe Finished Lubricants, Pat McCloud, said.

He added, “Texaco’s journey in Nigeria began decades ago. As we commence this strategic relationship with Tethys, consumers in Nigeria can look forward to the supply of quality Texaco–branded lubricants.

Together, we are committed to grow and adapt to meet the changing needs and aspirations of consumers in Nigeria.”

allied technologies.

The 10 Chinese firms who presented Letters of Intent to the Vice President to pull together $4 billion in investments were TBEA (solar products); DongFeng Vehicles Co. (vehicle design and production) and HiLong Energy (CNG, LNG, methanol) Others were Space Star Technology (Drone technology transfer); ENRIC (clean energy utilization technology); and Hidier Group (development of new industrial park), China State Construction Company (building technology and materials); CIMC (natural gas infrastructure delivery); Value Platform International Services Ltd (vocational training) and Acadia Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. (smart grids and microgrids).

During the signing of the MoU on the construction of the Deep

Blue Sea Port at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, said the project was yet another indication that Nigeria still remains an industrial haven for many investors.

The event which was held at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing later saw the Vice President meeting with several communications, tech, railway, power and construction giants.

They included the China National Electric Engineering Co. Ltd, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), China Railway Construction Corporation ( CRCC), China Communications Construction Co. Ltd (CCCC), HUAWEI Technologies, Senteng International Company Nigeria Limited, China National Electric Engineering Co. Ltd and Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co. Ltd.

Nigeria Can Reduce Cervical Cancer by 98% Through HPV Vaccination, Says Radiation Oncologist Bassey Inyang in Calabar A Radiation and Clinical Oncologist with Asi Ukpo Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Calabar, Dr. Kwis Samuel, has commended the federal government's measures to reduce cases of cervical cancer which is in the region of 12,000 new infections annually.

He said through the vaccination of girls and women, cervical cancer prevalence in the nation could be reduced by 98 per cent in the country.

Samuel who stated this in Calabar, Cross River State on Wednesday during a free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination of girls between 9 and 14 years said, "Global figure shows that in 2020, there were about 600,000 new cases of cervical cancer, with about 340,000 deaths.

"In this figure, about 90 per cent of the deaths were in low and middle income countries and in Nigeria, research shows that there are about 12,000 new cervical cancer cases annually and more than 50 per cent of this number may eventually die from the disease.

"The focus of the vaccine is on

young girls because cervical cancer unlike other cancers, has a known cause which is HPV commonly contracted during unprotected sexual activities."

Samuel said HPV was a common sexually transmitted virus which usually shows no symptoms but sometimes cause serious illnesses such as cervical, anal, and vaginal cancer, and other forms of diseases.

He said the federal government's move towards making HPV vaccines available in 16 pilot states including Abuja,Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to check the spread of the virus was laudable.

At the Asi Upko Comprehensive Cancer Centre where over 250 girls from primary and secondary schools across the state were vaccinated against HPV, the oncologist said vaccination against HPV was necessary because only two per cent of cervical cancer cases were not associated to HPV. Also speaking at the event, President of the Pink Africa Foundation, Dr. Nchiewe Ani, said cervical cancer ranks second to breast cancer among the leading causes of deaths among Nigerian women.

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EUROPEAN UNION MEETS PRESIDENT TINUBU...

L-R: EU Commissioner in charge of International Partnership, Kadri Simson EU Commissioner in charge of International Partnership, Ms Jutta Urpilainen; EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi and President Bola Tinubu during the visit of the European Union Delegation to the Presidential Villa Abuja ... yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

Naira Depreciates Further on Parallel Market, Now N1,160/$1

Nume Ekeghe

The naira sustained its slide against the United States dollar on the parallel market as it weakened to N1160/$1, lower than the N1,100 it went for the previous day.

However, on the official Investors and Exporters' (I&E) FX window, the naira closed at N860.23/$ yesterday, compared to the N883.56 to a dollar it closed the previous day, according to figures made available by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

On the official I&E window, intra-day trade from the data obtained by FMDQ showed that the highest spot rate exchanged

at N999/$1 while the lowest spot rate recorded was N701/$1.

Notably the official I&E window reported a daily volume turnover of $97.47 million, which was a 39.4 per cent increase compared to $69.88 million, it recorded the previous day.

Since the CBN last week announced the lifting of the forex restriction placed on 43 items on the official market, the nation's currency has been under intense pressure.

The central bank had said it would intervene in the foreign exchange market occasionally to boost liquidity, after ending the eight-year ban on the 43 p items that were restricted from accessing

Tinubu Makes Changes in Parastatals Under Information Ministry Names Issa-Onilu, Ali M Ali, six other CEOs of NOA, NAN, FRCN, NBC, four other agencies Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Bola Tinubu has effected major changes in the leadership of eight parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.

According to a statement issued yesterday, by presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, the President approved the appointment of eight new Chief Executive Officers for Parastatals and Agencies under the Information Ministry.

The appointees included National Orientation Agency (NOA) — Director-General / CEO — Mr. Lanre Issa-Onilu; Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) — Director-General / CEO — Mr. Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) — DirectorGeneral / CEO — Dr. Muhammed Bulama and National Broadcasting

Commission (NBC) — DirectorGeneral / CEO — Mr. Charles Ebuebu.

Others are Voice of Nigeria (VON) — Director-General / CEO — Mr. Jibrin Baba Ndace; Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) — DirectorGeneral / CEO — Dr. Lekan Fadolapo; News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) — Managing Director / CEO — Mr. Ali Muhammed Ali and Nigerian Press Council (NPC) — Executive Secretary / CEO — Mr. Dili Ezughah.

Tinubu charged the newly entrusted leadership in these important sub-sectors to innovate and create new opportunities for Nigerians to leverage upon through the effective reform of these key institutions of government which function to unify our people, reshape mindsets, and showcase this great nation to the rest of the world.

dollars on the official market.

The apex bank in June 2015, had initially included 41 items to the list of commodities which were not-valid to purchase FX from the market, citing the need to conserve the scarce forex and encourage domestic production for

self-sufficiency and exports. The list was thereafter expanded to 43 items.Some of the items listed then as not-fit-for forex included rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel products and vegetable oil, meat and processed meat products, vegetables and processed vegetable

products, poultry chicken, private airplanes, tinned fish in sauce, roofing sheets wheelbarrows, head pans, among others.

However, in last week's statement, the CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, said the

central bank would continue to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all participants in the FX market segment to ensure that market forces determine exchange rates on a Willing Buyer – Willing Seller principle.

Obaseki, Oramah, SIFAX Chair, Zambian President, ExKebbi First Lady Emerge Winners of Zik Prize Award Peter Uzoho Some African and Nigerian leaders including the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim-bank), Prof. Benedict Oramah; Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr Taiwo Afolabi; former First Lady of Kebbi State, Hajiya Aisha Atiku Baguda; and Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema, have emerged winners of the prestigious Zik Prize Award.

The Head of the Selection Committee for Zik Prize Award, Prof. Pat Utomi, in a statement issued yesterday, announced the eminent Africans and Nigerians as the winners for the combined 2021/2022 Zik Prize Award in different categories.

According to the statement, while Obaseki won the Good Governance category, Hichilema emerged winners of the Political Leadership category, Oramah won in the Professional Leadership category, Afolabl won the Entrepreneurial Leadership Prize and the ex-Kebbi State first Lady emerged winner in the Humanitarian Leadership category.

Providing the details, Utomi said Hichilema bagged the Zik Prize having, "distinguished himself as a great shining light, not only to his South African nation, Zambia, but the black race."

As an example of sheer doggedness and perseverance, he said the 61-year-old Zambian farmer,

businessman and now politician, contested five previous presidential elections between 2006 and 2016, before emerging victorious at the sixth time of asking in 2021.

Utomi pointed out that despite inheriting an economy dangerously spiralling out of control and prevailing global challenges, Hichilema had in two years remarkably halted the slide and ushered Zambia’s economy back to the path of growth, restored long-term debt sustainability and reinvigorated Zambia’s economy, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the continent.

"Zambia is ranked the 8th most competitive country in Africa on the Global Competitiveness Index and whilst in its recently released report, Forbes Magazine ranked Zambia the 7th best country with the ease of doing business among 54 African countries.

"Hichilema's leadership construct and political sagacity has marked him out as an outstanding political leader," the statement explained.

For the Year 2021/2022 Zik Prize in Professional Leadership, Oramah who has been the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, was announced as the winner of the prize.

According to Utomi, the Afreximbank boss has remarkably piloted Africa’s premier multilateral financial institution to deliver on its mandate of boosting economic expansion in Africa by financing

and promoting intra-and extraAfrican trade. and accelerating industrialization.

A key promoter of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) as Africa’s pathway to industralisation, Utomi said Oramah championed the introduction of a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. "He has also led the onboarding of 500 of the continent’s 600 regulated commercial banks into its Afreximbank Trade Finance Facility (AFTRAF) placing it in the vortex of the most extensive bank messaging network on the continent.

"The bank is also working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA", the statement noted.

He described Oramah as a global public speaker, prolific writer and subject matter expert on African Trade and finance, adding that he had authored chapters in several books and written over 40 professional/ scholarly articles on African economic, trade and trade finance issues.

On the other hand, Obaseki was announced as the winner of the Year 2021/2022 Zik Prize in Good Governance.

A financial and administrative

guru, Utomi explained that Obaseki has brought his wealth of experience in the private sector to bear in addressing the issues of governance in Edo State.

"Edo state is the most economic friendly state as Certificates-ofOccupancy are processed under 30 days for both individuals and businesses, a feat not yet replicated elsewhere "H.E Godwin Obaseki has come out as one of the most accomplished governors in the federation today," Utomi added.

For the Year 2021/22 Zik Prize in Entrepreneurial Leadership, Afolabi, who was described as an entrepreneur of note, was announced the winner.

Afolabl is the Chairman of SIFAX Group, a leading business behemoth with diversified interests in maritime, tourism and hospitality, energy, aviation, oil and gas, haulage and logistics.

"Notably, his massive investments in Nigeria’s terminal operations, especially its off-dock solutions, have positively affected the industry and catalysed economic growth.

"Dr Afolabi’s consistency in developing innovative business models and nurturing same to global acclaim has made him a leader in entrepreneurial endeavour", Utomi pointed out.

Also, for Year 2021/2022 Zik Prize in Humanitarian Leadership, Atiku Baguda's wife was announced the winner.

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NEWS

ONGOING RETREAT FOR SENATORS...

L-R: The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas; Dr. Akon Eyakenyi and Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele at the ongoing retreat for senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held at Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State … yesterday

Sanwo-olu, Abiodun, Dangote, Others Bid Akintola Williams Farewell He was an outstanding Nigerian, big Lagosian, says Lagos Governor

Segun James Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday joined his Ogun State counterpart, Prince Dapo Abiodun and Chairman of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, among other eminent Nigerians, at the funeral service of the first indigenous chartered

accountant in Nigeria and elder statesman, Chief Akintola Williams.

The funeral service held at the Shell Hall of the Muson Centre, Onikan by the Wesley Cathedral Olowogbowo, Lagos, was also attended by former Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; founder of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia and former Minister

of Foreign Affairs, General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), captains of industry, bank executives, bishops, priests, family, friends and associates of the deceased both home and abroad.

Speaking at the funeral service, Sanwo-Olu, described the late Williams as an outstanding Nigerian and big Lagosian.

He said: "At 104, how well would you describe a man that God first blessed with a long life and for a very long time, good health, and he had shown leadership at all levels? He was an outstanding Nigerian; a man who took his professional colleagues to enviable level worldwide.

"He was also a lover of God, a churchgoer, and a man who built

Sarah Alade: Non State Actors Crucial to FG's Poverty Alleviation, Economic Devt Policies Sunday Aborisade in Abuja A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who was also special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, on Finance and Economy, Dr. Sarah Alade, has urged the federal government to collaborate with the non-state actors to achieve economic development and ensure the success of its social investment programmes.

She stated this at the 30th Annual Development Forum organised by the Live Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) in Abuja, yesterday.

Also at the forum were political scientist, Dr Felix Oriakhi; Founder/ CEO, LAPO Group, Dr Godwin Ehigiamusoe and Dr Sampson Ebimaro who represented the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, among others.

Speaking at the forum titled, "The Role of NonState Actors in National Development: A case study of LAPO," Alade, said the involvement of non-state actors in the federal government projects was necessary.

Alade noted that organisations like LAPO would play pivotal roles in shaping the destiny of the country.

She said, "It is imperative to recognise why non-state actors, such as LAPO, should align with the national development agenda.

"The Nigerian National Development Plan emphasises the crucial importance of such alignment, particularly given the substantial financial commitment required to achieve our nation's developmental goals.

"This plan outlines ambitious objectives across various sectors, including infrastructure, healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation.

"To realise these objectives, a

significant financial commitment is essential. The government alone cannot shoulder the immense financial burden required to meet these targets.

"To put it in context, the estimated cost of the National Development Plan 2021 to 2025 stands at N348 trillion naira, with the government contributing N49 7 trillion and the private sector providing approximately N298 trillion, which accounts for about 86 per cent of the total required amount."

She noted for instance that a country like Nigeria, which relies on food and energy imports, non-state actors including LAPO, would play a crucial role in developing solutions to overcome barriers in the country’s supply chain operation.

Alade, who also acted as a CBN Governor, said, "It is essential to recognise that the participation of NSAs in all aspects of national life is crucial for sustainable progress.

"While private sector economic leadership is indispensable, NSAs should also address social challenges, including inequality, the digital divide, and the need for substantial investment in human capital.

"By promoting inclusive growth and workforce reskilling, NSAs can contribute to a functional and competitive society."

Other speakers on the occasion were unanimous in their position that there should be partnership between the government and the non-state actors in social economic development if the federal government policies to lift 133 million people out of poverty must achieve the desired objective.

They also urged the non-state actors to bring their ideas forward to government from conceptualisation, execution and implementation for a proper guidance and support

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs And Poverty Alleviation, had said in August this year that the federal government was committed to lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

Edu, had at a meeting with heads of agencies under the ministry, said the objectives would be achieved through different interventions and initiatives aimed at reducing poverty.

the altar of a church. He had all of the pillars to tick as a good man.

We can only wish the family all the very best.

"To the country, we have lost an outstanding Nigerian and for us in Lagos, we lost a big Lagosian. We will continue to have memories of the hospitable life that he lived. I will miss him personally. I believe he lived a good life."

Also speaking, Governor Abiodun said the footprint of the late Akintola Williams would remain in the sand of time for many years because of what he stood for during his lifetime.

He said: "Baba (Akintola Williams) was an exceptional Nigerian because the Almighty God granted him the grace to live up to 104 years old.

I am not sure we know many Nigerians that lived that long.

"He was a man after God's heart.

He was a big philanthropist and a lover of music. He was a man whose footprint will remain in the sand of time for many years for all that he stood for.

"On behalf of the government and the entire people of Ogun State and my family, we commiserate, congratulate and celebrate with the members of Baba's immediate family and friends, the government and people of Lagos State, and of course Nigeria at large. We pray that God Almighty will grant the family and well-wishers the heart to bear the colossal loss."

According to a statement, in his sermon, the Prelate Emeritus of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Makinde, urged family, friends and associates to immortalise the deceased by supporting the Akintola Williams Centenary Building Project of the Church.

Tinubu Names Abu Ibrahim Executive Secretary of NADF Withdraws nomination of Kashim Imam as FERMA chair Accepts resignation of Olukoyede Pitan as BOI CEO Names Olasupo Olusi as replacement Deji Elumoye in Abuja President Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate appointment of Mr. Muhammed Abu Ibrahim as Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF).

The president, according to a release by his Media Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, expected the new leadership at the Fund to successfully remove all barriers to efficient access to provisional funding in the sector for proven stakeholders nationwide, who would credibly contribute to the Renewed Hope Agenda's mandate in the attainment of complete self-sufficiency in local

food production and eventual surplus export.

Also, yesterday, President Tinubu directed the withdrawal of the nomination of Imam Kashim Imam as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).

Another release by presidential spokesperson, said all other appointments to the Board and Executive Management team of FERMA were not affected by the president's directive.

Imam's nominations withdrawal might not be unconnected with public outcry over his appointment last week with critics saying the 25 year-old ex-corper was inexperienced to head a parastatal

like FERMA. Relatedly, has approved the appointment of Dr. Olasupo Olusi as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BOI) for a term of four years in the first instance.

Ngelale, in a release, said the president's approval of Olusi's appointment followed the voluntary resignation of former BOI Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Olukayode Pitan.

President Tinubu tasked the new BOI Chief Executive to ensure that Nigerians, who were operating all sizes of enterprises across sectors, were given fair and equitable access to the much-needed support in order to bolster employment

generation and wealth creation amongst income groups in the country with special regard for lower and middle income enterprise operators.

Olusi had served as a World Bank economist and development finance expert over the past 20 years.

Between 2011 and 2015, Olusi, an alumnus of Hull University, United Kingdom, served as the economic adviser to then Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance.

He also obtained a Master’s degree in International Money, Finance, and Investment, as well as a Doctorate in Finance & Economics from Durham University, also in the United Kingdom in 2005.

Northern Governors Salute Gowon on His 89th Birthday

Segun Awofadeji in Gombe

The Chairman of the Northern Governors' Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has felicitated former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, Rtd, on the occasion of his 89th birthday today, 19th October, 2023.

Yahaya, described Gowon as an iconic figure in Nigeria's history, who

played a significant role in unifying the country and shaping the nation's destiny with his visionary leadership when he served as Head of State.

He noted the commitment of the former Head of State to peace building, stating that Gowon remains a shining example of a true patriot and elder statesman whose life is worthy of emulation.

"General Gowon's sustaining efforts in promoting harmony,

fostering cohesion among Nigerians through his National Prayer Movement initiative and other endeavours continue to inspire understanding, good neighbourliness and a high degree of unity and patriotism among the diverse people of the country. His dedication to the spiritual and moral well being of the nation is highly inspiring.

"On this special day, the Northern Governors' Forum, joins the nation

in celebrating this remarkable and iconic statesman. We wish General Yakubu Gowon a very happy 89th birthday and continued happiness.

"It is our sincere prayer that Almighty God will continue to preserve this humble and great leader in good health so that his wisdom, vision, and love for our country will continually guide us in our collective pursuit of a better and more prosperous nation".

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

NEWS

GALA NIGHT AT COWLSO'S 23RD NWC...

L-R: Wife of the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat; the First Lady and Chairman, Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO), Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Chairperson, Planning Committee, 23rd National Women's Conference (NWC), Prof. Olufunke Adeyeye during a Gala Night at COWLSO's 23rd NWC themed: “Unleash Your Potentials” at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, on Wednesday

At Senate Retreat in Uyo, Tinubu Pledges Commitment to Make Economy Strong Akpabio Pledges NASS support for economic growth

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja and Okon Bassey in Uyo President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, pledged commitment to make the nation’seconomy strong and back on track.

Tinubu said this while

declaring open, the retreat for Senators of the 10th National Assembly on Fiscal policy and Tax reforms, held at Four Points

by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene.

Also, yesterday, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has restated the commitment of

Elumelu Seeks EU, Others' Support to Curb Youth Migration James Emejo in Abuja The Founder/Chairman, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Mr. Tony Elumelu, yesterday, sought the assistance of development partners including the European Union (EU) and private sector players towards addressing the issue of youth migration in the country.

He also insisted that in the 21st century, the solutions to current socio-economic challenges were “not about handouts but economically empowering people so they can look after themselves”.

Elumelu, a well-respected businessman spoke at a dinner held for the visiting EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms Jutta Urpilainen in Abuja.

He said given that Nigerians leave the country to seek greener pastures overseas, they could be encouraged to stay back if the necessary environment and empowerment were provided for them in Nigeria.

Elumelu added, “We believe that at a time like this, our young ones should not be crossing the Mediterranean in very harsh conditions because they want to seek better living outside of the country.

“We want to see our young men and women live well in Africa in our lifetime and is this possible? Yes. But how do we make it possible? When all of us – successful rich Africans, friends of Africa like the EU – when we all team up to bring resources together, collaborate to prioritise young Africans, we will achieve that.”

He stressed that the long-lasting panacea to insecurity in the country was in the economic empowerment of the young population.

He said, “We believe the ultimate solution to insecurity is economic empowerment and we

believe that in the 21st century, it is not about handouts but about economically empowering people so they can look after themselves.”

He pointed out that the foundation had through $100 million commitment and partnerships brokered, impacted over 18,000 young African entrepreneurs by giving each of them a non-refundable seed capital of $5,000 as well as training 1.5 million young Africans and also appointed new mentors for them.

Elumelu said these beneficiaries have in turn created thousands of jobs, adding that over 400,000 jobs had been created since the commencement of TEF. He said, “The motivation of what we do at the foundation is the realisation that one, poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere.

“Two, that what counts at some point in life is not the dollars you have in your account but the impact, the legacies that you leave behind.

“And we know that there is no greater sense of fulfilment in life than helping another person to succeed. That is why we believe that we must work together to democratise luck – give our young ones the opportunity to succeed in life.”

He told THISDAY, “What is important is for all of us to demonstrate confidence and continue to push and advocate for better governance and the right enabling environment “There are so many global private capitals looking for the right investment destination. If we turn our country to the right investment destination, capital will come and when capital comes, we are able to develop the country to create employment, jobs and fix insecurity and in that process, we create prosperity for posterity.”

the 10th National Assembly to work towards economic reforms that would bring more revenue to the national coffers to ensure the survival of the country.

The president, who was represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, said he would do all within his powers to engender better life for all Nigerians.

He said it was unacceptable to him that 63 per cent of the Nigerian population and over 84 million people formed the multi-dimensionally poor.

Tinubu said he would pay close attention to building women and youths economically, adding that he would not achieve that alone but with the cooperation and support of the national assembly.

"The antidote to this is that, this government is committed to doing all we can to make Nigerian economy grow and achieve rapid, sustained and inclusive growth.I cannot do this alone, there has to be team network and of course legislators. The Senators have a key role to play.

"At this time, when we are considering the medium-term economic framework and fiscal sustainability programme. It is topical and timely that we should

be having this retreat, because after now, we will be considering the budget," he said.

Tinubu tasked the National Assembly to be committed as they are known for and ensure that the budget was considered, passed and signed before December 31.

Earlier, Akpabio charged his colleagues to work together in ensuring that the expectations and hopes of the people who voted them into office are not betrayed even as he explained that they will try not to work at cross-purposes with the Executive Arm. Akpabio said the major objective of the retreat was to improve the knowledge of senators and build their technical capacity to generate concrete and consistent legislation that would promote peace and sustainable development in tandem with the renewed hope and 8-point agenda of the Tinubu/Shettima Administration.

He added that the retreat was aimed at deepening participants' knowledge of public expenditure management, fiscal policy, and tax reforms.

His words: "We must unbundle the federal government. We cannot continue to vote money year in, year out for primary school construction, primary

education and the Federal government does not have a single primary school in this country. Why then do we vote billions of naira at the centre."

Akpabio traced insecurity in the country to the mining of natural resources across different states of the country, without proper regulation and remittances to the coffers of the government.

The senate president, therefore, called for a long term plan to improve on the internally generated revenue of the country.

In his remarks, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, said the retreat showed the commitment of the 10th Senate in making laws for the economic prosperity and well-being of Nigerians.

Eno, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, said already the state government had keyed into the prudent management of scarce resources by undertaking people -oriented and infrastructures projects.

"With a growing population, volatility of the crude oil market and the diminishing relevance of fossil fuels, it has become imperative for governments at all levels to explore alternative sources of public finance and adopt creative means of managing same in order to

keep meeting their obligations to the people.

"Permit me to say that the objectives of this retreat align with the policy of prudent management and transparency by our administration. We are irrevocably committed to transparency and accountability.

In his welcome remarks, Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, organizers of the retreat, said the focus on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms demonstrated the commitment of the National Assembly to align with fiscal and sectoral reforms.

He said the retreat would strengthen measures to further enhance legislature–executive relationships and address issues of insecurity, which have hampered meaningful development.

"Painstaking efforts have been made to ensure that all relevant topics that touch on the economy, globally and nationally were included.

"Also the 8-point agenda of the President, alignment of the legislative agenda with the programs of study g executive, security as well as electoral reforms are major areas that will also be discussed." Sulaiman said.

Bode Agusto, Pioneer Budget Director, Dies at 68 in Portugal Nigeria's pioneer budget director, Mubasheer Olabode Agusto, died yesterday in Algarve, Portugal, at the age of 68, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

A statement by the family, however, confirmed the news of his passing, stating he had since been buried according to Islamic rites.

"With deep regret and heavy hearts, but with total submission to the will of Allah, we announce the passing on to glory of our husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and beloved friend, Mubasheer Olabode Agusto. He was 68 years old.

"He passed on in the Algarve, Portugal in the early hours of today, Thursday 19 October 2023, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren.

"He will be interred in Portugal according to Islamic rites. We will hold prayers and a memorial service in Lagos, Nigeria, in due course.

"We thank all well-wishers for their calls and messages. We truly appreciate your love and support. We will communicate details of all funeral rites in the coming days," the terse statement closed.

Augusto

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POLITICS

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

Oyebanji Moves to Raise Bar of Governance in Ekiti Gbenga Sodeinde writes that residents of Ekiti State including members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have given kudos to Governor Biodun Oyebanji for his giant strides as he marks one year in office.

G

overnor Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti state has just clocked one year in office, but his performance has been stunning and astounding.

Ekiti people, including opposition party members, have described his one year achievements as suppassing what some Governors would showcase as scorecard in four years.

Putting it in succinct terms, this stunning performance has attracted accolades and appaluse across political and religious divides in the state. Those who matter in the scheme of things believed the Governor has revved the pedal of development and making Ekiti gradually to become a microcosm of development in all spheres.

To some people, his performance is surprising, amazing and unimaginable.

Others who have known Oyebanji for a very long time or those who knew his antecedents would not be surprised at this feat.

The reasons for this are not far-fetched. Firstly, for any one who is close to Oyebanji, or have known him for sometime would know that he is a brilliant and quiet goal getter.

Secondly, Oyebanji has a zeal for the development of Ekiti state from the onset considering his efforts and activities in the build up to the creation of Ekiti State, when he served as secretary to the committee for the creation of the state then.

Thirdly and most importantly, Governor Oyebanji, having served under two Governors in the state in various positions since 1999, has the cognate experience and astuteness to navigate the murky water of politics and deliver as an administrator.

Looking at his political and administrative trajectories, one could easily decipher that Oyebanji is a careful planner, who always has his eyes fixed to his dreams and patiently ascended the ladder towards them.

This feature conveys resilience, but also screams the importance of maintaining proximity to power.

For instance, he was first appointed a Special Assistant on parliamentary affairs to Niyi Adebayo, the state’s first elected governor, in 1999 and later became the chief of staff in the latter stage of the administration in 2003.

Then the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Ayodele Fayose came into power, and Oyebanji was on a six-year hiatus from public service.

He returned in 2009 but as the chairman of the governing board, citizenship and leadership training centre, federal ministry of youth and sports development - a position he held from June 2009 to December 2010.

After a court ruling that sacked Segun Oni of PDP in 2010 and threw up Kayode Fayemi as the duly elected governor in 2010, Oyebanji was first appointed the commissioner for integration and inter-governmental affairs before he was asked to head Ekiti’s Office of Transformation Strategy and Delivery (OTSD) a year later.

Thereafter, he was named the commissioner for budget, and economic planning in 2013 and held the position till October 2014.

In 2018, after Fayemi was elected for a second term, Oyebanji got back into public service and was appointed secretary to the state government (SSG), a position he held until he resigned to join the governorship race late 2021.

Oyebanji’s administration in one year has been able to initiate and undertake a number of projects with a lot of achievements recorded in his name, which include the following: Procurement of furniture items and office equipment for the newly established Customary Court of Appeal, renovation and remodelling of old Governor’s office building, Ado Ekiti, provision of five luxurious buses for mass transit scheme, and the granting of full autonomy to Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service (EKIRS).

Others are, payment of N29,278,008,353 as salary to state & local government workers, Oct 2022-July 2023 Disbursement of N267.07M as housing loan to 1,901 beneficiaries across the MDAs, Appointment of 14 permanent secretaries, appointment of 42 produce inspectors into the Ministry of Agric, appointment of 50

Forest guards/superintendents, normalisation of temporary appointment of 64 junior officers to different cadres in the civil service, repair of grounded vehicles in the local government

service, purchase of 38 official vehicles for the HLAS in the local government service, and renovation/remodelling of former Civil Service commission building to accommodate Custom-

ary Court of appeal, Ado Ekiti.

Governor Oyebanji also approved appointment of 102 junior officers across MDAs, recruitment of people with disability (PWDs) and sign language interpreters into the state civil service, Payment of N435,000,000.00 as gratuity to state & LG beneficiaries. (Oct 2022-July 2023, Commencement of free mass transit scheme for public servants and public secondary school students, procurement of 30 units of Toyota Yaris car for 28 permanent secretaries and two auditors-general in the Ekiti State Civil Service, renovation of the Deputy Governor’s Office.

Within one year, Oyebanji also undertook recruitment of 1,300 primary school teachers and approval for 500 teachers for secondary schools, procurement of new buses and refurbishment of damaged buses for the three special schools in the state, donation of student mattresses and iron beds, renovation of structures, relief palliatives, cash donations to the three special schools in the state, purchase of UTME forms and payment for WAEC registration fee for the students with disabilities across the three special schools in the state.

The Governor also approved payment of N200,000,000.00 to 3,500 beneficiaries under the Ekiti State Cash Transfer Unit (SCTU), enrolment of 1,326 beneficiaries into the Labour Intensive Public Works (LIPW) with N12,500 monthly stipend, distribution of N24,000,000.00 relief materials to the victims of the rainstorm disaster in Oke-Ako and Ijesa-Isu Ekiti, and distribution of N50,000,000.00 relief materials to beneficiaries through the Federal Government Special National Economic Livelihood Emergency Intervention (SNELEI) programme.

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

As APC Stakeholders Await Federal Appointments...

Some stakeholders of the ruling All Progressives Congress who contributed to the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu but were left out in the appointments so far made may receive favourable consideration from the President, writes Charles Ajunwa.

O

ne of the major selling points of President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential campaign is that he was a quintessential politician who knows how to reward party faithfuls. So far, that doesn’t seem to be the case as several major party stakeholders have been ignored in the appointments released so far by the President.

Some of the party chieftains who are yet to be accommodated in Tinubu’s government, state by state in alphabetical order include Ikechi Emenike (Abia), Aisha Binani (Adamawa), Akanimo Udofia (Akwa Ibom), Joe Igbokwe (Anambra), Musa Babayo (Bauchi), David Lyon (Bayelsa), Steven Lawani (Benue), Kashim Imam (Borno), Ben Ayade (Cross River) and Otega Emerhor (Delta).

Others are Ize Iyamu (Edo), Dayo Adeyeye (Ekiti), Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu), Jamilu Isyaku Gwamna (Gombe), Kashifu Inuwa (Jigawa), Muhammad Hafiz Bayero (Kaduna), Bashir Lado (Kano), Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), Aminu Suleiman TSO (Kebbi) and James Faleke (Kogi) and Alimi Abdul Rasaq (Kwara).

Also included are Babatunde Ogala (Lagos), Silas Agara (Nasarawa), Sani Ndanusa (Niger), Dimeji Bankole, Bayo Onanuga (Ogun), Olusola Oke, Akin Awodeyi (Ondo), Femi Fani-Kayode (Osun), Teslim Folarin (Oyo), Nentawe Yilwatda (Plateau), Magnus Abe (Rivers), Hon. Musa Sarkin Adar (Sokoto), Bwacha (Taraba), Mohammed Hassan (Yobe), Mamuda Shinkafi and Ahmad Sani Yerima (Zamfara).

Of course, the President does not have enough positions to satisfy everybody, but ignoring major stakeholders in the party and appointing what APC stakeholder called “second eleven or no eleven at all” is causing ripples across the states.

He gave the example of Senator Aisha Binani of Adamawa State who thrashed several so-

called heavyweights including a former governor and current National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. He asked “who among the female ministers is as qualified as her?

According to the stakeholder: “There is also the case of Chief Ikechi Emenike, a very hardworking and brilliant economist who had worked closely with both President Buhari and Tinubu in the past. Also to be mentioned is Chief Femi Fani-Kayode who has made life-long enemies both home and abroad in pursuit and defense of President Tinubu’s mandate.”

Leaving out these major APC chieftains by the President in his appointments so far have received mixed reactions from some states. For example, some members of APC in Oyo State have continued to lament that despite working assiduously for the emergence of President Tinubu, they have been abandoned.

They lamented that the ministerial slot of the state was given to the governorship candidate of the Accord party, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who is now the Minister of Power.

The state Chairman of the party, Hon. Isaac Omodewu, made their feelings known to the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, during a recent visit to the state secretariat of the party in Ibadan.

He said: “As events that heralded the last general elections are still fresh in our memory, we must inform you that Oyo APC remains an unsung hero because we got little support but we delivered beyond expectations. In spite of the fact that we had no sitting governor in Oyo, electioneering was quite challenging as we had to face a lot of hostilities from the PDP government in the state. All these attacks were documented and reported but unfortunately, the same people behind the attacks are now the one laying claim to our hard-earned victory at the February 25 presidential poll.”

The story was not different in Rivers State as APC members voiced out their displeasure over the way and manner the President went about appointing those from opposition that worked against the interest of the party.

Rivers State spokesperson of the APC, Darlington Nwauju, expressed sadness that members of the party in the state are yet to benefit from the present federal government, but noted that President Tinubu has the power to appoint anyone he chooses to be in his cabinet.

According to him: “We in the APC in Rivers State have always conceded to the fact that Mr. President has discretionary powers to appoint.

This is a presidential system of government and the bulk stops at the table of Mr. President. As a political party, the plank of our argument is that the President looks at the direction of the party given the abundance of human resources within our own fold.”

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

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POLITY

Renewed Hope: 28 Years After, Phantom Coup Victims Appeal to President Tinubu for Justice

Bayo Akinloye

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here was a thick air of hope in 1993.

The civilians dared to hope under the jackboot of a military dictatorship. In the army, not a few were considered sympathetic to a potential return to democratic rule. But the line between hope and hopelessness, many concluded in hindsight, was thin ice. Those who dared, their hopes were dashed: a new regime of dictatorship took over, and amid uncertainty and insecurity, there were accusations of coups and “phantom coup plotters.” Several civilian and military personalities were thrown into gaol. For a few, like ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, it was a blessing in disguise as he rose to power in the wings of his anguish in the hands of the last despot, General Sani Abacha.

Obasanjo ruled for eight years, instituted the Oputa panel but “ignored the travails and injustice of those of us, so-called phantom coup plotters, to languish in anonymity in despair, hoping to get justice,” said a former military officer who was incarcerated during the terror-filled days of Abacha. His files and those of many others gathered dust in the federal government’s archives for many years. Abacha Abiola Tinubu Many of the so-called phantom coup plotters were kept in this position for “close to allude to the SDP campaign mantra of the felt their comrade Obasanjo dealt them perhaps one hour, and by the time they were acclaimed winner of the 1993 presidential the hardest blow by overlooking the Oputa They hope Tinubu will consider their left off the hooks, their wrists, armpits election, MKO Abiola, ‘Hope ‘93’ as plight and grant them the long-awaited panel report. His successors, Umaru Yar’Adua and ankles had been terribly battered.” hope dashed. Yet, the ex-soldiers who reprieve. They point in the direction of the and Goodluck Jonathan, would do the same.

Several have waited for 28 years with see themselves as immediate victims of clear-cut facts and resolutions contained in Then, entered ex-Gen Muhammadu Buhari. hope raised, hope dashed, hope shattered, the fight for democracy saw hope in the the Oputa panel. They are convinced that The humiliated military officers felt he was flickered and now —hope renewed. They incumbent. their ilk and would be more sympathetic to justice delayed, which has left some of them are convinced of getting justice. Convicted their delusion, demoralisation and lengthened “I will urge President Muhammadu deceased and others disconsolate, should of crimes they repeatedly deny committing, Buhari, who has come to make some not be justice denied. humiliation. Years passed. Then, a glint of the so-called phantom coup plotters of 1995 changes in the country, to reconsider the hope shone: Buhari declared the Hope ‘93 Feeling left in the lurch, some of the and 1997 have yet to get the justice they recommendations and implement them,” victims told THISDAY that the Council of hero MKO Abiola a national protagonist and insist they deserve. Arrested and tortured noted Isa in 2017. “I learnt that the report State approved the compensation for the made June 12 a nationwide public holiday. by the late Gen. Sani Abacha regime, the is in the attorney general’s office. I hope victims of the phantom coup allegations, first Then, the files of the so-called coup plotters soldiers, in various interviews in 2017, someone can whisper it into the president’s in 2009 and later in 2011. They described were said to have inched closer to his desk, recalled the horrors and indignities they ear to take action on our behalf.” almost, said sources close to the insufferable their experiences in the hands of the Abacha had endured, the shame, deprivations, military men. Amid Buhari’s eight years, the It was the belief of many that then- hordes as “unjust, inhuman, satanic and and disillusionment of giving their all to President Muhammadu Buhari would grant callous acts of impunity against the said files that would bring reprieve moved too their country but getting almost nothing the phantom coup victims a reprieve. That victims of rights violations and oppression slowly, and it was said that the then-Nigerian in return. Not that they did not try to did not come despite several reports that cannot be wished away at all because it is president did not get to sign them off, giving hope, they said. They vowed they did. Buhari was more than keen to provide alive in the recorded annals” of Nigeria life to all the Oputa recommendations.

They pointed to the Oputa panel that recompense for them. At that time, those and “in international libraries.” exonerated them and the recommended close to the erstwhile attorney general of Gnashing of teeth In their enduring race for justice, the compensations that came with it. That the federation, Abubakar Malami, said the remaining so-called phantom coupists hinge reprieve remained a mirage for more paperwork would soon be completed. At their hope on the incumbent president, Tinubu The military men accused of coups they than a decade. repeatedly claimed they knew nothing about the expiration of eight years of Buhari’s and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, “to right When asked in 2017 in an interview reign, nothing moved in the eyes of the the wrongs of the past, heal past wounds and probably never existed other than in the about Obasanjo’s failure to implement victims and the long wait for justice must and wipe off sorrows and bewilderment mind of the late despot gasped for breath. the recommendations of the Oputa panel continue, they sighed.

Forlorn, they feared for the worse. Faint of from the life of the said victims of rights that the ex-president set up, one of the heart, they dread to dream again. Decades of violations and abuses,” it is time the federal soldiers convicted in 1995, Col Jibrin Isa, Renewed hope grit, gripping mental and physical pains, and government should “deal with the horrible said, “You know when you are in power, the gruelling reality that they have laboured and psychological debilitating debrief our you look at things differently. Perhaps my in vain for their fatherland appear a certain In the reprised role of Red in Shawshank national callousness during General Sani thinking is that since he was in power Redemption, Morgan Freeman said, “Hope Aba cha’s years of darkness, callousness, conclusion. The feeling, they said, gnawed at that time (between 1999 and 2007) if is a dangerous thing.” His somewhat grisly treachery and oppression.” their heaving hearts as they hold on to the he implemented the recommendations, grasp of his thoughts revealed several layers justice, in principle, that eludes them. people might have made a noise about it, of hope, some leap into a pleasant future. Victims’ prayers Some of the suspected phantom coupists which is natural. Maybe he was waiting They told THISDAY that fear of another left brutalised during the 1990s dictatorship for an appropriate time after he had left rejection could hold them prisoner but are included Musa Shehu Yar’Adua, Olusegun For their labour not to be in vain, the office. But since he had left office as the convinced that hope in Tinubu’s magnanimity victims of the Abacha dictatorship are seeking Obasanjo, Colonels Lawan Gwadabe, Olusegun president, I believe he should have taken can set them free. If the humiliated and “prompt action” that the incumbent president Oloruntoba, Gabriel Ajayi, Emmanuel more interest in the plight of people dumped out-of-service officers followed should endorse the reliefs and compensation Ndubueze, Rowland Emokpae, Bello Fadile, with whom he suffered unjustly in the then-presidential candidate Bola Tinubu’s recommended by the Oputa panel, its white Lt-Colonels Martin Igwe, Sam Oyewole, Happy hands of the Abacha junta. He should electioneering, their thoughts and feelings paper (Council of State Memo June 23, 2009, Bulus, Major Akinloye Akinyemi and Lt. Kayode have pushed the case further; what is might have vacillated between angst, deja Council of State Memo March 13, 2013, and Olowomoran. In the torture chambers of the remaining is the implementation of the vu and denouement. maximum ruler that held sway at the time, Nigeria Official Gazzete NO 33, VOL. 86, recommendations.” there was “the mass arrest of the Nigerians “This is it,” said one of the coup plotters dated 26 May 1999, in favour of the military He added that the matter went to the who did not want his name mentioned, and civilian victims to alleviate their 22 years earlier mentioned, and when it became clear to industrial court, which ruled that “all expressing the views of many of his comrades of trauma and psychological stress). the military junta that their coup plot allegation the recommendations of the Oputa panel that if anybody would come to their aid could not be substantiated, the suspects were Among other things, they seek promotion should be granted.” tortured, debased and dehumanised in its most at all in the worst of situations, it must be to their appropriate higher ranks in line with Since 2017, the so-called phantom coup incumbent President Bola Tinubu. But they their course mates in the Armed Forces. They ruthless ramifications” to extract “incriminating plotters have renewed their struggle to hesitated, not for lack of trust, but because stated that they were high-flyers before their statements from them.” get justice in the full sense. Death and time and pain have unsettled their once lofty careers were truncated. Added to that In most cases, suspects were “soaked in incapacitations have visited some of them. steady gait. They limp amid the uncertainty by the panel’s recommendation is a letter muddy water dead in the night, blindfolded, With time dulling the collective memories and failure of the past. handcuffed, shackled and left naked in the of apology for wrongful detention, torture, of many, the soldiers remain adamant. open air for hours.” This was followed by “We trust Asiwaju. We cannot stop to deprivation, and ruthless rights violations The soldiers’ hope seemed hopeless hope. That’s the only badge of honour we and comprehensive rehabilitation of all taking the suspects through various torture with Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’Adua, and carry,” one of them told THISDAY. modules. At a particular torture chamber, military and civilian victims caught in the Goodluck Jonathan’s emergence and exit as suspects had their upper limbs chained to their web of the phantom coup. There are other presidents. Then, President Muhammadu Unpacking the Oputa panel lower limbs symmetrically. After that, suspects recommendations by the Oputa panel. The Buhari won the 2015 presidential election. recommendation were suspended in a manner “characteristic ex-soldiers await their full implementation Their hope was renewed. Many often of a fowl prepared for roasting.” Suspects eagerly before this year runs out.

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The war in the Middle East increasingly justifies the action of the powerful against the weak, argues DAYO SOBOWALE

DEMOCRACY, POWER AND JUSTICE Global reaction has been one of unbelievable shock to the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, 50 years after 1973 October war in very similar circumstances when Egypt and Syria surprised Israel with unexpected speed and fury of their attack at the start of the Yom Kippur war .That reaction to the horrors inflicted on Israel this October and the retaliatory bombing of Gaza by Israel has however crystallised into an unbelievable fiasco that brings to mind the old theory of ‘ might is right’ , the Hobbesian theory that glorifies violence and justifies the action of the powerful, merciless and victorious at the expense of the weak, truth and justice into sharp focus.

I will illustrate this observation with the reactions of the EU president Ursula von der

Leyen, the Irish president Michael Higgins, and the American president Joe Biden to the invasion and bombings. I will seize the opportunity to compare the state of democracy and diplomacy in the three global powers namely the US, China and Russia as the Israeli bombings continue with the planning in place by Israel for a ground invasion of Gaza. Just as China is hosting the 10th anniversary of its Belt and Road Initiative in China with the Russian president Vladmir Putin very much in attendance. Both leaders seemingly oblivious, at least diplomatically, of the ongoing carnage and human tragedy in Gaza Let me start with some specific observation.

Both the EU and the American president blamed Hamas for its invasion without any thought on what motivated or incensed Hamas for its horrible action in terms of human cost of lives.

The EU president condemned Hamas roundly but was called to order by the President of Ireland who said she did not have the mandate of Ireland for what she had said . The Irish president said he had listened to debate on the crisis in the Irish Parliament and what the EU president said did not reflect Irish opinion and thinking on the matter . He even accused the EU president of violating international law and diplomacy on her utterances on the Gaza imbroglio .

Whilst this was going on, the lawmaking body in the US the House of Representatives was literally headless without a Speaker in the best example ever that portrays democracy , especially in a presidential system of government as the next thing to anarchy . Showing the inability of the majority to have its way when the minority has had its say and is now laughing at a majority that is groping in the dark to have its way and elect a Speaker. Such is the pathetic situation in the US House of Representatives today between the Republican Party which has the majority , albeit a slim one in the House , and the Democrats , the minority who are watching the saga of the

incapability of the majority to elect a Speaker as expected in the House . I doubt if the world has ever seen such a mockery of the concept of majority rule as the saga of an unelectable candidate for the office of Speaker in the one going debacle in the Republican Party of the US right now .

On the Gaza saga it is clear that in America’s eyes Israel can do no wrong in its dealing with the Palestinians . The American president visited Israel in the midst of the Hamas rockets and pledged American help to fortify the Iron Dome against rockets and gave orders for powerful American war ships to move towards Israel to protect it . On its part Israel meekly asked for a 10 billion dollar aid. Obviously the Palestinians are like orphans in their quarrel with Israel and Hamas intervention and invasion has brought untold hardship and violent deaths to this people , who biblically and historically, are kith and kin with the Israelis now bombing them .

Yet, the Palestinians could have had a godfather at least diplomatically if China and Russia had not been preoccupied with showing solidarity at the Belt and Road Initiative conference in China .

Both nations are at odds with US on many issues . Russia more particularly because of the US support for Ukraine over its invasion of that nation about a year ago . China is trying at the Belt celebration to showcase its rivalry with the US globally in providing loans and infrastructure for developing nations who historically have been tied to the apron strings of the IMF and World Bank in getting funds for economic growth and development . Nigeria is eating and smiling from both sides of the mouth in taking advantage of this global rivalry between the US and China in their solidarity to dominate the world politically and economically .Nigeria was led by the Minister of Finance to the recent World Economic Summit and the Vice President has led another delegation to the Belt Conference in Beijing, China .

However, what is important in all these is judicious and accountable use of the loans from both sides with affordable repayment arrangements that do not lead to inhuman social conditions which can spark human suffering or generate social anger and provoke avoidable political instability.

Meanwhile on the Gaza bombings, Iran has boldly spoken up for the Palestinians in Gaza even though the world knows it is a staunch ally of Hamas . The Ayatollah has warned that Iran cannot fold its arms in the face of Israel’s relentless bombing of Hamas positions in Gaza . But Iran is literally shouting foul from a safe distance and is wary of American power when invoked to protect Israel and Israeli fury when provoked.

Especially with a leader it considers crazy like Benjamin Netanyahu who has vowed that Iran will never be allowed to acquire the nuclear arsenal, still in power and now in charge of Israel’s new war in Gaza. In a bizarre development though , former US president Donald Trump has been vilified for saying that Hamas was smart .

Which some have condemned as praising Hamas but which was no more than a grudging respect for Hamas as the little biblical David and Israel as the Goliath in the ancient biblical fight between the two in which the Hobbesian theory and its practice of ‘might is right ‘ has been playing out since the state of Israel was created in Palestine in 1948 by the victorious Allies of the Second World War .

Sobowale is a News Analyst with Arise News

It is imperative that artists and creative professionals in Nigeria get their fair share of their wealth, argues JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA

FROM ART TO WEALTH: AFROBEATS AND NOLLYWOOD , RQFH UHFHLYHG DQ LQWHUHVWLQJ FRQWUDFW IURP focusing on intellectual property rights, D SXEOLVKLQJ SODWIRUP 2IWHQ WLPHV ZKHQ , JHW PXVLF SXEOLVKLQJ ÀQDQFLDO VXSSRUW DQG D FRQWUDFW , SUHIHU WR EURZVH WKURXJK EHIRUH international collaborations, Nigeria can HQJDJLQJ P\ ODZ\HU , ZDV GLVWUDFWHG E\ VRPH transform its musical success into economic SURYLVLRQV LQ WKH FRQWUDFW 3DUW RI WKH FRQWUDFW prosperity.

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FOCUS Ebenezer Onyeagwu’s Unquenchable Drive for Success Donatus Eleko writes on the leadership qualities of Ebenezer Onyeagwu

J

okonor F. Michael in his, ‘The Mission Statement of a Leader: To empower Potential Leaders, to Reach their Peak,’ notes that leadership is a concept that is learned by an individual who has positioned himself to breast the tape.

Just as the book points out, it takes a small spirit of determination fired by unquenchable taste that resists every power of laxity to succeed, it also notes true leaders are gifted with exceptional influencing and charismatic qualities which can drive others towards delivering their best.

That determination and focused leadership is why Zenith Bank Plc has continued to flourish under its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu.

Onyeagwu has an unquenchable taste for success and this reflects on the overall performance of the financial institution he leads as well as the level of human capital at the bank.

Today, Zenith Bank blazes the trail in digital banking in Nigeria; scoring several firsts in the deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to create innovative products that meet the needs of its teeming customers. Driven by a culture of excellence and strict adherence to global best practices, the Zenith Bank under Onyeagwu has combined vision, skillful banking expertise, and cuttingedge technology to create products and services that anticipate and meet customers’ expectations; enable businesses to thrive and grow wealth for customers.With a team of dedicated professionals, the bank leverages its robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to provide cutting-edge solutions and products through its network of branches and electronic/ digital channels.

Presently, Onyeagwu is the Chairman of the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers, Nigeria and Chairman of Zenith Pensions Custodian Limited and Zenith Nominees Limited. He is also on the Board of Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, FMDQ Holdings Plc and Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF).

He is a member of the International Monetary Conference (IMC), the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, member of the African Trade Gateway Advisory Council of the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and member of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

He also served on the board of Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, Zenith General Insurance, Zenith Securities Limited, Zenith Assets Management Company, Zenith Medicare Limited, and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).It is expected that with his inspirational leadership, Zenith Bank will continue to maintain its industry leadership position and continuously meet the expectations of its stakeholders and customers.

Indeed, Onyeagwu is unassuming and committed to his job.

Inspiring in silence and action, he is a sure-footed leader of men with a sense of corporate clairvoyance. Since assuming the Zenith Bank’s mantle of leader on June 1, 2019, Onyeagwu’s myriad exploits have solidified his sterling leadership qualities.

For instance, Zenith Bank recently announced its audited results for the half-year ended 30 June 2023, recording an astounding triple-digit growth of 139 per cent in gross earnings from N404.8 billion reported in H1 2022 to N967.3 billion in H1 2023.

The result was a clear reflection of the quality of its leadership considering the very challenging macroeconomic environment and persistent headwinds.

O n ye agw u

According to the bank’s audited half-year financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) , the triple-digit growth in the top line also spurred the bottom line as the Group recorded a 169 per cent Year on Year (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from N130 billion in H1 2022 to N350.4 billion in H1 2023. Profit after tax also grew by triple digits, growing by 162 per cent from N111.4 billion to N291.7 billion in the same period. The growth in gross earnings arose from both interest income and non-interest income.

Interest income grew by 72 per cent from N241.7 billion in H1 2022 to N415.4 billion in H1 2023, while non-interest income grew by 246 per cent from N149 billion to N515.7 billion.

In terms of efficiency, Zenith Bank’s cost-to-income ratio improved from 58 per cent to 38.5 per cent in the current period on the back of an enhanced income line.

Zenith Bank’s total assets also grew by 31 per cent from N12.3 trillion to N16.0 trillion in December 2022, while loans and advances also grew by 32 per cent from N4.12 trillion in December 2022 to N5.38 trillion in June 2023.

Presently, the bank’s reorganisation into a holding company structure has advanced, as the Group adds new verticals to its businesses and expands

into new frontiers.

Also, Onyeagwu’s outstanding career has led to him receiving multiple awards, including Bank CEO of the Year (2019) by Champion Newspaper, Bank CEO of the Year (2020, 2021 & 2022) by BusinessDay Newspaper, CEO of the Year (2020 and 2021) – SERAS Awards, and CEO of the Year (2022) – Leadership Newspaper.As Group Managing Director/CEO, Onyeagwu has led Zenith Bank to achieve tremendous feats and milestones in financial performance (including 47 per cent growth in the bank’s market capitalisation in four years), financial inclusion, corporate governance and sustainability.

In July this year, it was double honours for Zenith Bank at the London Stock Exchange as the bank was named the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria for the third year running and Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, for a second consecutive year at the World Finance Awards 2023.

These awards were presented to Onyeagwu, at the London Stock Exchange recently. The recognitions celebrated the bank’s tremendous feats and milestones in financial performance, financial inclusion, corporate governance, and sustainability.

Commenting on the awards, Onyeagwu had said that: “these

“Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 14th consecutive year…”

awards are a testament to our resilience and ability to adapt to the vagaries of the market as well as our innate capability to engender very stellar business performances through our innovative products and solutions. It also affirms our continued commitment to global best practices in corporate governance, sustainability and corporate social responsibility.”

Onyeagwu dedicated the awards to the Founder and Group Chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, thanking him for his mentorship and for establishing the basis for a resilient and highly successful institution. He also expressed gratitude to the board for their exceptional leadership, vision, and insight; to the staff for their unwavering commitment and dedication; and to the bank’s customers for making Zenith their preferred bank.

Also, on March 25, 2023, he was conferred with a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria’s first indigenous University, in recognition of his immense achievements as Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank as well as his contributions to the growth of the financial services sector in Nigeria and across the African continent.

The award was given during the 50th convocation ceremony of the University.

In his acceptance speech, Onyeagwu had expressed his gratitude to UNN for finding him a worthy recipient of the honorary doctoral degree in Business Administration of one of the leading universities in Nigeria, considering the rigorous selection process of awardees by the institution.

He said, “For me to have been considered and to have passed through the meticulous selection process makes it more dignifying because I have no connection with the university.”

Presenting the citation of Onyeagwu to the assemblage at the 50th convocation for the conferment of the doctorate in Business Administration, the orator of the university, Dr Ikenna Onwuegbuna, noted that the Zenith Bank CEO “is an alumnus of Auchi Polytechnic, the University of Oxford, England and Salford Business School, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom, Delta State University, Abraka.”

He added, “Also, he is an alumnus of Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, and the Harvard Business School of Harvard University in the United States.”

Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 14th consecutive year, in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for four successive years from 2020 to 2023, by the Ethical Boardroom; Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.

All these are testament to the fact that leading with a drive for results is the ability to be persistent and tenacious in ensuring that the overall organisational goals are achieved. Onyeagwu has continued to demonstrate that he is a problem solver with a deep sense of urgency whose satisfaction comes whenever the entire organisation wins.

23 4

T H I S D AY

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20, 2023

EDITORIAL

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

PROTECTING TELECOM ASSETS All stakeholders must do more to protect these vital assets of the nation

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The host communities should help by way of real-time intelligence and information to the security agencies. They should consider it a patriotic duty to join in the fight against the vandalism of critical national assets T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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

LETTERS ABDULKAREEM GARBA: ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR 7KH $GYRFDF\ IRU $OOHJHG :LWFKHV LV SOHDVHG WR DQQRXQFH 0U $EGXONDUHHP *DUED DV LWV $GYRFDWH RI WKH <HDU IRU 0U *DUED ZRUNV ZLWK WKH )HGHU DO 5RDG 6DIHW\ &RPPLVVLRQ +H LV DW WKH =DULDJL XQLW FRPPDQG LQ .RJL 6WDWH 7KH $GYRFDF\ IRU $OOHJHG Witches campaigns to end witch hunting and oth HU DEXVHV OLQNHG WR RFFXOW ULWXDO RU PDJLFDO EHOLHIV Those who entertain witchcraft fears and anxieties often act with impunity towards the accused. They DWWDFN NLOO O\QFK RU PXUGHU WKH DOOHJHG LQFOXGLQJ those suspected to be in league with those perpe WUDWLQJ VRPH KDUPIXO PDJLF 6XVSLFLRQV RI RFFXOW KDUP KDYH PRWLYDWHG SHRSOH WR SHUSHWUDWH VDYDJH DWWDFNV DQG WKH NLOOLQJ RI PDQ\ LQQRFHQW SHUVRQV $FFXVHG SHUVRQV VXͿHU KRUULÀF DEXVHV EHFDXVH LQ PDQ\ FDVHV QRERG\ LQWHUYHQHV WR VDYH RU GHIHQG WKH accused. No one tries to stop the murderers of sus pected witches or ritualists. People fear to restrain the lynch mob.

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24

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 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 18Oct-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 260.97 262.12 37.90% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 7.51% Nigeria International Debt Fund 339.70 339.70 13.29% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 108.95 110.05 5.17% 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 182.17 184.61 25.68% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.26 1.26 2.69% 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 29.07 29.95 32.49% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 638.60 657.86 22.52% ARM Ethical Fund 51.54 53.09 14.24% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.16 1.16 3.22% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 3.30% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.95% ARM Short Term Bond Fund 1.05 1.05 1.48% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 94.44 94.44 5.62% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,135.97 1,135.97 5.98% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 176.36 189.16 35.02% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.34% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) N/A N/A N/A CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.03 1.03 6.56% CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CHD Nigeria Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A CHD Nigeria Dollar Income Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.13% Cordros Milestone Fund 157.24 158.24 22.62% Cordros Fixed Income Fund 109.21 109.21 9.97% Cordros Halal Fixed Income Fund 110.24 110.24 11.60% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 113.89 113.89 7.15% 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 10.13% Coronation Money Market Fund 1.45 1.46 26.97% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.40 1.40 2.62% 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 12.97% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.09 1.09 10.25% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.25 1.25 28.05% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 106.11 106.11 5.64% 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 N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Halal Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Specialized Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 5,344.76 5,385.29 33.89% Coral Income Fund 3,935.57 3,935.57 7.55% Coral Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 10.56% FSDH Dollar Fund 1.18 1.18 0.00%

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 1.81 1.85 13.79% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,187.36 1,187.36 8.42% 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 15.79 15.91 40.45% 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) 102.38 102.38 11.89% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 11.79% Norrenberger Dollar Fund (NDF) ($) 102.33 102.33 11.67% 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 2.08 2.12 32.15% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.89 12.20 7.61% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 11.00% PACAM Equity Fund 1.92 1.95 35.25% PACAM EuroBond Fund 129.17 131.97 15.83% 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 156.99 161.31 24.88% 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 10.02% 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 254.59 254.59 8.07% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 1.90 1.93 51.98% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 347.12 347.24 10.87% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 369.58 374.13 58.25% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 1.00 1.00 9.47% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 16,983.90 17,192.26 55.57% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 1.44 1.44 11.73% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 126.61 126.61 8.30% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 123.66 123.66 16.25% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 4,909.65 4,909.65 15.41% Stanbic IBTC Absolute Fund 4,912.17 4,972.95 76.67% Stanbic IBTC Aggressive Fund 5,099.54 5,124.88 34.03% Stanbic IBTC Conservative Fund 5,096.70 5,122.01 33.96% 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 1.24 1.25 35.44% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.72 1.73 32.56% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.33 1.33 23.51% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.15 1.15 11.13% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.92 1.92 6.59% United Capital Eurobond Fund 122.99 122.99 5.61% United Capital Global Fixed Income Fund 1.07 1.07 8.42% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.32% Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 18.14 18.35 30.92% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 21.46 21.69 35.79% Zenith Income Fund 25.01 25.01 6.18% 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 6.87 6.97 70.41% Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund 11.51 11.61 96.17% Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund 24.15 24.35 36.37% Vetiva Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 10.21% Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund 27.48 27.68 37.33% Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund 147.83 149.83 -6.26%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

123.87 55.66 101.48 9.87

8.85% 4.98% -13.57%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

19.97 305.00 385.00 17.40 16.40

22.08 305.00 385.00 17.50 16.50

39.33% 136.95% 281.76% 52.41% 74.01%

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.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

25

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

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

08056356325

O C T O B E R

S & P INDEX

1 9 , 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%

Operators: How Dearth of Projects’ Continuity, Lowest Bidder Factor Hamper Oilfield Services Sector

Peter Uzoho Players in the Nigerian oilfield services sector, the critical area of the oil and gas industry providing support services, have raised concerns over some issues such as the lack of projects’ continuity and long gestation period, which have remained a major challenge to contractors in the sector.

Aside the issue bordering on project continuity deficit and long contracting cycle, THISDAY gathered that another discouragement to the local contractors that have built capacity and capability is the issue of lowest bidder, which some players condemned as adversely affecting

competent firms and quality of job delivery.

Oilfield services operators provide services such as oil well maintenance, completion, production, supply, and logistical support services in both onshore and offshore. Companies in the sector manufacture, repair, and maintain equipment used in the extraction and transport of oil and gas.

According to Meticulous Research, an Indian-based research and market intelligence gathering firm, the Oilfield Services Market is projected to reach $171.7 billion in 2025 from $138.9 billion in 2019, growing at 3.6 per cent.

Although the Nigerian

government had taken some policy measures to encourage more indigenous companies to participate in the upstream segment of the sector, particularly through the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010, but the players still believe there are still issues hampering their participation in the sector.

The Managing Director of Dorman Long Engineering Limited, Mr. Chris Ijeli, whose organisation had been around for the past seven decades, said opportunities abound in the Nigerian oil and gas industry while there are equally many challenges facing the industry,

particularly the oilfield services players.

Ijeli told THISDAY that the issue of long turnaround time of contracts was impacting the sector negatively, pointing out that some projects drag for more than 10 years before actual kick off and completion.

He mentioned the case of Asaa North gas development project, which is being carried out by Seplat and Shell in the Ohaji area of Imo State; the Nigeria LNG’s Train 7, and other such projects that had dragged for years before finally coming to light or still being delayed.

Ijeli explained: “The first challenge in the oil industry is the turnaround time of contracts. You

see a contract spend maybe more than 10 years to come to light. I will give an example. Asaa North that is just being about completed started in 2006.

“The FEED was completed in 2006, bid for, came up again, towards the end of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tenure, it was shut down, then it went into cooler.

And then, 2011/2012, it came up again and it’s nearing completion.

“Also, the NLNG Train 7 made us to invest in galvanising pond between 2007 and 2009. When did it come up? The project started fully last year. So, that’s a very big challenge in the industry -the gestation period of projects takes too long. Before a project comes,

some of the investments you have made would have run into problem.

“People took money to invest but the project will take long to start. So, we don’t have continuous project opportunities. So, one project comes, it dies, another one comes and the same thing happens”.

He said that a similar situation is being witnessed with the $13.5 billion Zababaza and Etan Integrated Development project, being carried out jointly by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO).

The story continues online on

www.thisdaylive.com

Stakeholders: BASA Disfavours Nigeria Because of Government Officials Preference for Foreign Airlines Chinedu Eze Stakeholders and experts in the aviation industry have said that the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) will always favour countries with mega carriers that operate into Nigeria because top officials of government prefer patronising foreign airlines to domestic carriers on international routes.

The experts said rich Nigerians and senior government officials have imbibed the habit of flying mega carriers,such as; British

Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Emirates etc.

This, they stated, explains why the Ministry of Aviation gives them more frequencies and multiple landing rights to different international airports in Nigeria.

The industry stakeholders regretted that when Nigerian carriers request for similar treatment from the countries whose airlines enjoy multiple frequencies to Nigeria, they would refuse.

THISDAY gathered that many

years ago, Arik Air battled the British airport authorities when they refused to grant the airline Abuja-London route and insisted that the Nigerian airline must pay for slots.

But British Airways neither paid for slots in its operations from London to Lagos and from London to Abuja, same as UK based Virgin Atlantic Airways, which does not pay for slots in its London-Lagos operations.

Arik Air was forced to pay for slots and while the two British Airlines operated 21 flights a

week, Arik Air was operating about four flights a week.

The imbroglio that erupted between United Arab Emirates (UAE) beyond Emirates Airlines’ trapped fund in Nigeria, was when UAE authorities refused to give Air Peace approval to operate about four times a week flight to Dubai or Sharjah, while the airline was operating 14 times a week to Lagos from Dubai and seven times a week to Abuja, making it 21 flights a week.

Indigenous airline operator who serviced international destinations

for years told THISDAY that even when the Nigerian airline is putting the best aircraft on the route, highly placed Nigerians, including top government officials would shun the Nigerian carrier and go to the foreign airlines.

“When I told the CEO of one of the Nigerian banks that we now go to London, Johannesburg and New York, he told me that he would tell his boys to be patronizing me but when he travels, he goes for the foreign.

For me, BASA operates on the principle of reciprocity; so, you

are expected to treat a country the way it treats you. But these other countries will continue to short change us because our airports are no busy. We cannot introduce slots. But they have slots and their government allows them to manage the slot without interference. As a local airline, when you fly international destinations, government officials will shun your airline,” one of the stakeholders said.

The story continues online on

www.thisdaylive.com

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 2 3 BONDS Change Updated Time DESCRIPTION Price Yield (%) ^13.53 23-36, October 101.40 12.14 MAR-2025 00 19, 2023 ^12.50 22-12, October 99.00 13.00 JAN-2026 00 19, 2023 ^16.2884 October 108.14 13.23 -1,00 17-MAR-27 19, 2023 ^13.98 23October 99.81 14.02 -6,00 FEB-2028 19, 2023 ^14.55 26October 98.98 14.82 -5,00 APR-2029 19, 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 19, 2023

2.57

2.57

October 0.00 19, 2023

3.92

3.94

October 0.00 19, 2023

3.50

3.53

October 0.00 19, 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

4.39

4.45

October 0.00 19, 2023

NSDL CP IIB 23-NOV-23

Change Time Discount Yield (%) October 0.00 19, 16.95 17.00 2023 October 14.71 14.89 0.00 19, 2023 October 19.25 19.60 0.00 19, 2023 October 11.27 11.39 0.00 19, 2023 19.24

19.60

October 0.00 19, 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 19, 2023 October 19, 2023 October 19, 2023 October 19, 2023 October 19, 2023

26

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

‘World Lacks Mechanisms to Tackle African Debt Restructuring’ Renowned economist and Nobel Prize Winner, Joseph Stiglitz and former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, have advocated international mechanisms for sovereign debt restructuring for Africa to assist the continent to achieve sustainable public finances.

The former Nigerian minister joined Joseph Stiglitz in a panel discussion on sovereign debt crises at the Columbia Global Centers in Paris on Tuesday.

Stiglitz stated that the lack of international mechanisms for sovereign debt restructuring has

hampered the prospects for Africa achieving sustainable public finances or being able to contribute to the clean energy transition.

He said, “The difficulty of coordination between diverse creditors including China and Western hedge funds who don’t trust anyone else makes debt restructuring more difficult. We have no framework for debt restructuring across sovereigns and the result is too little debt restructuring, too late.

“Private sector lenders have shown they are not good at assessing risk,

as evidenced by the Great Financial Crisis starting in 2008. Nothing has been learned by the West since. There are incentives not to learn and not to respond to what is predictable.”

Adeosun noted that the long periods needed to carry out debt restructuring such as that in Zambia have their roots in lack of action before a default takes place.

She pointed to a “failure to manage the pre-period”, adding that countries in debt distress are often reluctant to admit it due to the need to cut social spending, especially in democratic countries.

Fadeni: NAHCO Injecting Fresh Billions into Equipment West Africa’s foremost ground handling service provider, nacho aviance, has announced that it is injecting fresh billions into equipment purchase, according to its Chairman, Dr. Seinde Fadeni.

Fadeni who spoke during the hand-over ceremony of 21 new vehicles recently purchased for staff members, promised that the ground support equipment would

be delivered in a few months time.

“The scale of the GSE the Company is purchasing is so massive that what you have here in the terms of these operations vehicles is very small by comparison,” Fadeni said.

He noted that company officials have left no stone unturned in sourcing for the right equipment from the right sources even in the face of excruciating forex challenges.

Although NAHCO’s equipment purchase is 95 per cent dollar based, the chairman said the company remained committed to providing workers with the right tools so as to continue to deliver excellent service.

“We shall at all times be ready to provide the workforce with the right equipment to deliver exceptional service to our clients,” the Chairman stated.

FGN/ALAT Digital Skillnovation: Wema Bank Announces Call for Entries In what has been termed a major move to bridge the gap in helping small businesses access muchneeded funding and digital capacity development skills, Nigeria’s foremost indigenous bank, Wema Bank, and pioneer of Africa’s fully digital bank ALAT in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has announced the call for entry in the FGN/ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme for Youth and MSMEs. With a set goal of training 2,000,000 Nigerian youth and 1,000,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the

nation, the FGN/ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme launched on September 29th, 2023, is opened to Nigerians who are interested in developing their digital skills and enhancing their business portfolios across Nigeria and beyond.

This transformative initiative offers a comprehensive range of digital skills, equipping participants with the tools necessary to excel in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. From software engineering and product management to business analysis, cloud computing, and product design, the program will cater

to a diverse spectrum of digital expertise.

Announcing the call for entries, Wema Bank’s Executive Director Retail & Digital Business, Tunde Mabawonku, said the FGN/ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme is a transformative opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs, job seekers, and professionals across Nigeria. The programme will build a marketplace for young entrepreneurs to gain digital skills that would open doors to sustainable career development and expose small-scale business owners to funding and grants.

Keyamo, Fubura Others for NATCA’s 52nd AGM Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister, Mr. Festus Keyamo, will lead industry players to the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (NATCA) , holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.

According to a statement jointly signed by the President and the Secretary of NATCA, Mr. Abayomi

Agoro and Rev Felix Agbonlahor respectively, the theme of this year’s conference is ‘Airspace Management and Contingent Cost Recovery Plan: Proposing a New Approach.

The duo disclosed that Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubura, will be the special guest of honor; while former board Chairman of FAAN, Chief Sergeant Chidi Awuse

is expected to be the royal father of the day. Elder Gbenga Olowo will chair the occasion.

Chairman Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Nigeria, Dr. Alex Nwuba, will deliver a keynote address, while Mr. George Ureisi, COO Ibom Air and Capt Diepiriye Charles retired DC 10 pilot are the guest speakers.

Xejet Airline Takes Delivery of Bombardier CRJ200 Nigeria’s luxury airline Xejet has announced that it has taken delivery of additional Bombardier CRJ-200 with registration 5N-XEJ in its fleet expansion and business plan.

According to the airline, the additional aircraft arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on October 12, 2023.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the carrier, Emmanuel Iza, confirmed the arrival of the aircraft and stated that the equipment is part of the

operational expansion plan of the airline.

“The arrival of the equipment will boost our operation and it is in line with our operational strategy to make more seats available to our patrons both current and prospective.

We are indeed elated that we are taking this step to add more value to our services,” he said.

Iza reiterated the airline mission and stressed that Xejet would not relent in providing cost-effective and customer-oriented smart business

air travel options to passengers in a single-class of travel.

“We would also strive to provide a rewarding work environment for our employees and to become an employer of choice. We would be an airline that maintains excellent professional relationships with all our various suppliers and business partners. We will always work hard to maintain consistently high standards of safety by applying the latest training, industry best practice and technology available.”

Standard Chartered Launches Banking Academy in Nigeria Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited has launched an exciting proposition towards the professional development of women within the Banking sector. The Standard Chartered Banking Academy is part of the Banks’ commitment to strengthening diversity for women in the workplace and strategically positioning women to thrive in the financial services future workforce.

Speaking about the initiative, Head of Transaction Banking, Nigeria and West in Africa at Standard Chartered Bank, Ibiyemi Okuneye, said,‘‘We are very excited to be launching the first of its

kind Academy in the Nigerian Banking sector. The Standard Chartered Banking Academy aims at improving the diversity of senior management talent across the banking industry. With the support of our Academy implementation partners, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Nigeria chapter and the Association of Professional Women Bankers (APWB), the Standard Chartered Banking Academy is one way we continue to nurture the skills and talent of professional women in the banking sector and provides us with an opportunity to amplify potentials of more women toward

shaping a brighter future for all of us in the sector. For us at Standard Chartered, the academy is one of the many avenues through which we continue to reiterate that we are here for good, and we look forward to the positive impact it will have on all our beneficiaries and the financial services sector as a whole” The first cohort will focus on capacity development for female talent across West Africa in Transaction Banking and is open to staff of the Bank as well as other female employees in other banks and financial service institutions.

A I R WATCH

Ibom Air Opens Door to W’Africa with Inaugural Flight to Accra Chinedu Eze A young but highly promising Nigerian carrier, Ibom Air, kicked off its plans to extend its operations to African destinations on Tuesday with inaugural flight to Accra from Lagos, one of the major lucrative routes in West Africa.

Many industry observers say that Ibom Air has so far defied some well-known industry assumptions. It has defied the belief that governments in Nigeria don’t run good businesses and that governments in Nigeria cannot sustain corporate governance.

Although this is largely true but Akwa Ibom government, which owns the airline 100 per cent must be given kudos for maintaining a culture of economic growth and independence to the airline, which made the professionals in the young carrier to bring out their best to propel it to heights unimagined in its young age, four and half years.

What was remarkable about the event was the enthusiasm and the excitement which Ghanaian authorities and Nigerians in Ghana welcomed the airline with so much fanfare and dance troupe that indicates that Ghana is always enthused about Nigerian airlines and there is a special disposition and optimism that Ibom Air, the child of a visionary state government, will do well in Ghana.

The airline’s maiden flight touched down at Accra’s Kotoka International Airport at 7:36am local time on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

Ibom Air said the strategic expansion aligns with Ibom Air’s vision “to be a world-class African Regional Airline” by offering passengers an industry-leading travel experience thatencompasses schedule reliability, on-time departures, and excellent service.

Expressing his enthusiasm about the new route, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of Ibom Air, Mr. George Uriesi, said: “We are thrilled to commence our regional operations today, with the inaugural flight between Lagos and Accra. This is a significant step for Ibom Air as we expand our network out of Nigeria and into the African continent. This new route aims to enhance connectivity between Nigeria and Ghana, fostering tourism, trade, and tighter economic and cultural ties. Ibom Air remains committed to delivering exceptional services to our passengers, and we invite travellers between Nigeria and Ghana to choose Ibom Air and experience the best of our service offering.”

In support of the remarkable development, the Managing Director of Ghana Airports Company Limited, Mrs. Pamela Djamson-Tettey, said: ‘’We are indeed delighted to welcome Ibom Air to Kotoka International Airport, Accra, Ghana. We congratulate you on your decision to fly into Accra and are happy to have you on board.

Your entry into Ghana’s market will offer the travelling public more options for connectivity between Ghana and Nigeria. As Operators and Managers of Kotoka International Airport, we assure Ibom Air of our support in making their operations in Ghana a success.”

As Ibom Air expands its footprint across the region, travellers can expect a wide range of benefits, including promotional offers, exclusive fares, and special packages designed tomake this route even more attractive. With Ibom Air’s reputation for quality service and the support of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, travellers are set to enjoy anexceptional and efficient travel experience.

In a chat with Uriesi, he told THISDAY that

the inaugural flight to Accra was a milestone to Ibom Air. “Flying to Accra may be a small thing generally.

But for Ibom Air, it’s a very, very big thing. Very, very big thing because as part of the dream of Ibom Air, we want to be a total Pan-African airline.

We have no ambition to fly outside of Africa, but we want to cover the length and breadth of Africa from Cape to Cairo and Casablanca.

And so, this is the first step and it’s a giant step for us. The fact that we are finally flying out of Nigeria is great. In the four and a half years that we have been operating, we have established a reputation in Nigeria that stands for as excellent as you can get under the circumstances. Schedule reliability, on-time performance, excellent service.

We want to extend that outside Nigeria today. I said to our competitors, the other two airlines that operate on the route at the moment, AWA as well as Air Peace, that we are not here to compete with them, we are here to assist them.

And we want to work together because our competitive philosophy is, there is space for everybody to operate in this industry and thrive.

“We believe that all of us are going to thrive.

We are going to bring our best foot forward in Accra. We expect to eventually become a fivefrequency operation. Three from Lagos and two from Abuja and that is what we expect to do over the next few months. But we have started with two flights a day, one in the morning, one in the evening, to allow people to go and come as they please, and as it grows, we will increase from the CRJ-900 to the Airbus A220. We are picking up two brand new ones in November, and when the traffic permits, we will increase the aircraft and we will increase the frequencies as the traffic permits. So, we are looking forward to a very long and fruitful journey into Accra and we are going to make sure that we spread this gospel to the next destinations we going to after this,” he said.

Uriesi described the Lagos-Accra route as one of the most lucrative in Africa, saying that the route has got a lot of traction with passengers.

“There is a lot of traffic between the two destinations. A lot of it still goes via somewhere else. So, if you give the right product, the two airlines that are operating right now, they have more than enough customers. We believe we will also generate our own customers and we will all work together to thrive. So, Lagos-Accra was like the best first place to start. And it has worked out that we have started today. And we want to watch the numbers grow and we go along as the number continues to grow,” he added.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

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BUSINESSWORLD

MARITIME

NPA’s Operational Performance in Two Years Thoroughly equipped with a track record of excellence in Nigeria’s private sector led financial system combined with a hands-on public sector experience as Executive Director Finance and Administration who was responsible for leapfrogging the Nigerian Ports Authority’s revenue to unprecedented levels, Mohammed Bello-Koko had since coming into the saddle as CEO in 2021 deployed a three-pronged strategic artifice of: people, technology and infrastructure and equipment to turn the fortune of the NPA around, writes Eromosele Abiodun

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In addition to the above, the three-pronged transformational strategy of the Mohammed Bello Koko – led Management of the NPA has actualized the following:

he Nigerian economy has faced many challenges in the past several years with many players in the public private sector struggling to survive. However, a few have braved the odds, recording outstanding performance amidst tough operating environment. One of such institution is the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Even at the quickest glance it is evident that a new paradigm of public resource management is governing the affairs of the Nigerian Ports Authority. The NPA whose operational excellence is pivotal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision to unleash Nigeria’s marine and blue economy potentials for economic recovery and growth appears to have moved beyond rhetoric to value delivery.

Feelers from industry watchers reveal that the Chief Executive Officer of the NPA in the period under review, Mohammed Bello-Koko, thoroughly equipped with a track record of excellence in Nigeria’s private sector led financial system combined with a hands-on public sector experience as Executive Director Finance and Administration who was responsible for leapfrogging the agency’s revenue to unprecedented levels had since coming into the saddle as CEO in 2021 deployed a threepronged strategic artifice of: People, Technology and Infrastructure & Equipment.

NEW PORTS DEVELOPMENT In a bid to position Nigeria to optimize the comparative advantages that the nation’s maritime endowments as a littoral nation confers, the Authority provided the technical guidance and fast tracked the approval processes responsible for the commencement of operations of Nigeria’s first Deep Sea Port; Lekki Deep Sea Port which doubles as Nigeria’s first fully automated port at take-off.

The Lekki Deep Sea Port laid the groundwork for the recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) approval of Badagry Deep Sea Port, Ondo Deep Sea Port, Snake Island and Koko Port in Delta State.

TRADE FACILITATION, PROMOTION OF EXPORT

PEOPLE In a prompt response to the human resource imperative, the authority in the period under review, secured the necessary approvals for the increase in salary of its employees, which had stagnated for over fifteen (15) years. The combination of improved operational performance of the ports, tightening of collection mechanisms, plugging of income leakages and debt recovery resulted in unprecedented revenue generation and remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the federation, with revenues steadily growing from N317 billion in 2020, N333.5 billion in 2021, to N361 billion in 2022; and remittances progressively soaring from N80 billion in 2020 to N93.4 billion by financial year end 2022, which the authority is poised to surpass in 2023 based on the sum of about N90 billion already contributed into the CRF for January to August 2023 is rooted in the prompt response to the human capital needs.

In a confirmation of the validity of the authority’s fresh initiatives, the Bureau for Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in its 2023 evaluation of government agencies adjudged the NPA as a level 5 “Platinum Level” Organization due to the provision of an enabling environment for exceptionally high-quality of work in all essential areas of responsibility, resulting in an overall quality of work that is superior, exceptional, and unique.

To stem capital flight in the face of dwindling foreign exchange earnings, the authority reconstructed the dockyard training school, expanded the bridge simulator at the Port Training Institute and equipped it to international certification standards making it unnecessary to send employees for training overseas, thereby saving the country foreign exchange that would expended for foreign training. Linked inextricably to people management, is the administration’s uncommon realization that there is a cost attached to every hour lost to down tooling, which motivated its sustained engagements with Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC: TUC), Maritime Workers Union (MWUN:NLC) and other ancillary sector unions which has culminated in the industrial harmony being witnessed. In keeping with International Maritime Conventions on Shore Leave for Seafarers, the Authority recently reconstructed and equipped the Mission to Seafarers (MTS) facility in Lagos to best-of-its-kind in the region.

The MTS is a global index of port rating and national reputation.

TECHNOLOGY With technology being the linchpin of port

Bello-Koko efficiency, the authority’s sustained updating of ports systems automation as well as the ongoing collaboration with the IMO for the development of the Port Community System (PCS) signposts the current Management team’s seriousness to advance Nigeria’s trade fortunes.

The PCS which lays the groundwork for the National Single Window (NSW- the global benchmark of port efficiency), is a sector-specific automated system that eases information exchange between all parties that have activities related to the seaports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has been at the forefront of measurable actions steps necessary to operationalize the PCS. Although the PCS by its operational dynamics requires multi-agency actions, which have been time consuming, the NPA as Nigeria’s foremost trade facilitation platform has through advocacy and collaborations fast tracked the process and as at date completed the second phase of the consultancy under the technical guidance of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

To enthrone transparency and eliminate opacity, the Authority has also completed the automation of port-ship reception and billing payment with the Revenue invoicing and management system (RIMS), Deployment of Electronic manifest and Ship Entry Notice (ESEN), deployed electronic Traffic Management System (e-Call Up), currently operates Oracle Financials and Oracle HR and is on track for the procurement of software for harbour automation and is implementing an Authority-wide equipping and strengthening of Radio Signal Stations.

To assure Domain Awareness Capability to enable the Authority guide and provide safety information to vessels within its channels and ports approaches in line with the Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS) convention, the current management partnered with the NLNG Ship Management Ltd (NSML) for the deployment of Vessel Traffic Service which at its conclusive stage.

INFRASTRUCTURE & EQUIPMENT Ports sustainability is dependent on quality infrastructure and equipment. Whilst awaiting

the necessary approvals for the funding of the reconstruction of the aged Tin Can Island Ports Complex and rehabilitation of challenged aspects of all Port locations, the current Management team has in the period under review undertaken commendable steps in this direction as follows: - Acquisition of first-of-its-kind in Africa marine crafts such as the recently commissioned two units of Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) 8213 model 80 Ton Bollard Pull Tugboats to enable the berthing of very large vessels of 300 metres LOA and above.

- Equipping and Operationalization of state-of-the-art Control Towers for Lagos and Tin can Island Port Complexes.

- Procurement and deployment of Security Patrol Boats (SPBs) across all Port locations leading to enhanced channel security and address incessant attacks of vessels along the channels and at ports’ waterfronts which has resulted in unprecedented cargo traffic in the Eastern Ports especially Onne Port Complex.

-Acquisition of more Harbour Crafts (Tugboats, Pilot Cutters) to eliminate delays associated with berthing and sailing of vessels and improve efficiency at the Ports.

- Procurement and installation of navigational Aids and Buoys for Warri and Calabar Pilotage Districts, for proper channel marking and route mapping.

- Completion of the Road Network for the integration of Berth 9,10, &11 at Federal Ocean Terminal, Onne Port.

- Procurement and Installation of Marine Fenders Authority Wide. This is to boost the overall integrity of the quay facilities and serve as a precautionary measure to prevent any form of accident arising from direct vessel impact on the quay wall.

- Completion of Consultancy services for the shore protection and rehabilitation of the Escravos breakwaters.

- Survey and Mapping of Warri Pilotage District from Fairway Buoy-Warri-Sapele up to Koko Port to the prescribed standards of the UKHO Charts, which had been left unattended for decades.

Cognizant of the importance of balance of trade in strengthening the value of the naira, the NPA under Bello Koko’s watch certified and licensed 10 Export Processing Terminals (EPTs) in Lagos and Ogun states in the first instance. The EPTS were conceptualized to eliminate all procedural bottlenecks that hitherto made Nigerian exports uncompetitive in the international marketplace. The authority in the period under review also successfully enforced the Stevedoring Regulations, which in addition to deepening professionalism and adherence to global best practice in the maritime sector, created jobs and wrested huge revenue from International Oil Companies (IOCs) that was hitherto lost. Creation of new businesses and attendant job opportunities such as the Barge Operations services which apart from reducing pressure on the roads has grown into a N2 billion annual generation business both from direct investment and accompanying externalities. The NPA has also embarked on the Licensing of additional Truck parks to increase capacity of truck parks servicing the Lagos Ports. Also, there has been a significant reduction in truck turnaround time due to successful implementation of the E-Call Up System. The NPA has also ensured the enforcement of Minimum Safety Standards on trucks, which stipulates that all trucks accessing the Ports are inspected, certified, and issued safety assurance identification. Others are: 65% reduction in number of accidents recorded, arising from improved standards of trucks operating within the Port premises and tandardization of operational procedures for different activities such as barging, private jetties, pilotage, vessel berthing/sailing etc.

DIVERSIFICATION OF REVENUE SOURCES In a move that is indicative of the readiness and capacity to fit into the reinvigorated capacity optimization drive of the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy under the visionary ministerial direction of His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, and in a bid to surpass the current revenue performance, Mohammed Bello Koko and his team are already looking beyond sole dependence on revenue from core port operations and have already put modalities in place to create jobs and add value to the national economy from the following alternative sources of revenue through Public Private Partnerships; Ports Independent Power Production, Bunkering Stations, Fallow Lands for Logistics/Real Estate, Fresh Water Provision, Ship Repairs and Maintenance and Tourism and Hospitality.

Gleaned from the foregoing, it is evident that the Nigerian Ports Authority has been placed on sound footing to guarantee its growth, competitiveness, and future readiness to maximize the opportunities inherent in the the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY ˾ DAY Ͱͮ˜ ͰͮͰͱ

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

L-R: Operation Lead, RxAll, Ayanadre Ayanleke; and members of Ita Elepa community in Ilorin, Kwara State, Kofar Mogaji, Alhaji Oseni Ajagbe, and Ustaz Yunus, at the opening of a new RxAll Community Pharmaceutical outlet, as part of RX Go initiative in Ilorin, Kwara State…recently

L-R: Mrs. Caroline Isioma Omoregbe, Dr. Fred Omoregbe (JP), and Prof. John N. Nwawuogor at the investiture of Dr. Omoregbe on his honorary doctorate given by ICOBAC Centre for Peace Advocacy and Conflict Management, an affiliate of the Conflict and Peace Institute, Australia…recently

L-R: Ethics and Compliance Director, Africa, International Breweries Plc (IBPLC), Teresa Umeakunne; Managing Director/BU President, IBPLC, Carlos Coutino; and Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, IBPLC, Temitope Oguntokun, during IBPLC’s Ethics Month, with the theme: ‘Dare to Lead-Unlocking the Power of Ethical Leadership’, in Lagos…recently

L-R: Co-Pastor, House On The Rock church, Mrs. Ifeanyi Adefarasin; Senior Pastor, The Potter’s House, United States of America, Bishop T D Jakes; Managing Director, Rose of Sharon Group/Vice-Chairman, Famfa Oil Limited, Mrs. Folorusho Alakija; Founder/Chairman of Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko; and Metropolitan Senior Pastor, House On The Rock church, Paul Adeferasin, at the ‘Spirit Life’ conference held at The Rock Cathedral, Lekki, Lagos...recently

Osun State First Lady, Erelu Ngozi Adeleke, and Queen of Apomu Kingdom, Olori Janet Afolabi (middle), in a pose with Apomu market women during the ‘Rural Women Summit’ organised by Olori Janet Afolabi Foundation to mark the International Day of Rural Women at Alapomu Palace Hall, Apomu, headquarters of Isokan Local Government Area of the state...recently

A cross-section of female students of Premiere Academy, Lugbe in Abuja in a pose with the Programme Manager of Give Girls A Chance, Miss Onyekachi Ogba (in the middle on a white top and black pants), during a collaborative seminar by the school and the non-governmental organisation to mark the 2023 International Day of the Girl-child at the School premises in Abuja…recently

This

Weekend

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

BILL GATES:

Group Features Editor: CHIEMELIE EZEOBI chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com

07010510430

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& R E ASO

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE

Pushing to Accelerate Traction for 2030 Global Goals’ Target

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COVER

Bill Gates: Pushing to Accelerate Traction f o r 2 0 3 0 G l o b a l G o a l s ’ Ta r g e t On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 193 world leaders committed to achieve the 17 SDGs (Global Goals), a series of ambitious objectives and targets to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change, amongst others, by 2030. And from 2000 to 2015, these goals were aggressively worked on until the COVID-19 pandemic hurled whatever achievements recorded downwards as shown in the annual Goalkeepers Report for 2022 which pointed out that on the 18 indicators—from poverty to gender equality, education to food security, health to climate, the world is off track. But it’s not all gloom, Bill Gates, philanthropist and Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, BMGF, tells Chiemelie Ezeobi in an exclusive one-on-one interview at the sidelines of the recently held 2023 Goalkeepers event in New York. From commitment to advance the 2030 global target with 200million dollars, to the incredible innovation and interventions by nations and passionate changemakers, he believes the tide can turn. Amongst other things, he also delved into focus on improving primary healthcare, tackling maternal mortality, nutrition, funding, partnerships, philanthropy and the legacy he wants to leave behind to hear from trusted sources who were vaccinating their own children. This ongoing relationship with community leaders serves as a vital channel for disseminating essential information to families.

Collaboration is crucial, and no single organisation or country can address global issues alone. How do you strengthen your commitment to tackling these global challenges through the alliances you have established?

Early in our existence, we established the Global Alliance for Vaccines, and we contribute approximately 18 per cent of the funding. The rest of the funding comes from wealthy governments like the USA, UK, and Germany. We’ve also established global funds, where our foundation and governments collaborate on funding. In each area we operate, we form partnerships. In Nigeria, for instance, the Aliko Dangote Foundation is a vital partner. Aliko Dangote not only brings commitment but also a deep understanding of the medical issues. Our foundation’s expertise in healthcare, combined with his generosity and local insights, strengthens our efforts.

Nevertheless, we are continually seeking additional partners. Organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, with their distinct capacities, are instrumental in our mission.

We are particularly pleased that Dr. Pate, whom we are well-acquainted with and who possesses profound knowledge of Nigeria’s health challenges, has been appointed by the President to take on the task of improving healthcare.

Every year, countries make promises to achieve global goals, but they often fail to meet these targets. What’s the solution? How can we shift from just talking to taking meaningful action? rom 2000 to 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals era, we actually surpassed those goals. The world came together, addressing various health challenges.

We tackled issues like child vaccinations through initiatives like COVID-19 vaccine programs for children and the Global Fund’s efforts against malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. During this time, child survival improved significantly. However, Nigeria faced ongoing challenges in its primary healthcare system, including facility limitations, staffing shortages, and supply issues.

Despite these hurdles, there was remarkable progress. The number of child deaths decreased from 10 million to 5 million by 2015. In 2015, our foundation collaborated with the UN and set ambitious goals to continue this progress. Although the pandemic, the Ukrainian war, financial instability, and market fluctuations posed challenges, our dedication to these goals remained unwavering. Every life matters, and even if we fall short of our ambitious targets, reducing deaths remains crucial.

We focus on improving primary healthcare centers’ quality and ensuring staff availability. In this pursuit, we’ve developed seven low-cost interventions, some of which are new, while others have been pioneered in Nigeria. I had the opportunity to witness a doctor conducting a trial, and one particularly exciting intervention is the intravenous iron infusion. This innovative approach swiftly reduces anemia, benefiting both mothers and children significantly.

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Among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which one do you believe is making good progress, and which one do you think receives insufficient attention from world leaders?

Our expertise lies in health, and I may be biased, but I believe that health is fundamental. When a child suffers from malnutrition, not only does their risk of death increase fourfold, but their potential is also severely compromised. Malnourished children struggle to receive an education and contribute to their families and their nation’s development.

In the realm of health, we have access to very cost-effective interventions, such as the measles vaccine, which costs just a few dollars. Comparatively, the journey to finding a cure for diseases like cancer is ongoing, and we will get there eventually. However, when it comes to building and developing a country, the immense impact of providing affordable vaccines to all children cannot be overstated.

I recall when Dr. Pate (the current minister of health in Nigeria) was in the government, he initiated a health drive aimed at saving a million lives. Given the high child mortality rates in the northern regions of Nigeria, our country has a unique opportunity to make a substantial difference. By ensuring the basics are in place, including finances, staffing, and supplies, and then integrating these new, cost-effective innovations, the impact can be nothing short of dramatic.

In your recent panel discussion with President William Ruto of Kenya, he raised the issue of debt relief for indebted countries, emphasising that addressing debt is essential for progressing towards global goals. What specific steps do you believe should be taken to chart a way forward in this regard?

President Ruto, speaking on behalf of African presidents, and I’m confident President Tinubu would echo similar sentiments, has observed a decline in the amount of debt relief and aid reaching Africa, particularly since the onset of the pandemic and due to factors like the Ukraine war and the refugee crisis. In some instances, there seems to be a growing tendency to take development for granted, with a shift towards prioritising climate initiatives over fundamental development issues like prenatal care visits and essential healthcare practices that yield significant impacts.

Bill Gates It’s challenging to predict the exact amount African countries will receive, as many nations are turning inward, and there’s a growing sentiment of prioritising domestic interests, often referred to as “America First” and similar notions. While it would be reassuring to secure assistance for these debt-related issues, our foundation remains the largest global advocate for encouraging developed countries to increase their generosity towards developing nations, with Africa being a major focus of these efforts.

In your recent global report, you highlighted that 800 women lose their lives every day due to childbirth-related issues, and you proposed various interventions. How do you ensure that these interventions are customised to suit the unique circumstances of less developed countries, which may lack the same infrastructure as more advanced nations? Can you explain your approach to tailoring these interventions to meet the specific needs of each country?

Each of these interventions was developed in developing countries, like the IDR trial, which had contributions from multiple parts of Nigeria.

Even within Nigeria, it’s essential to consider regional differences, as the delivery challenges may vary significantly. We’ve extended these trials to places like Kenya to assess their practicality in different contexts. For instance, the aspect of conducting intravenous iron infusions, we’re examining whether healthcare facilities in the northern regions have the capacity to do it safely.

It’s an ongoing learning process.

Additionally, we’re exploring how to utilise cell phones equipped with sensors to simplify the training process and guide practitioners on where to make the insertion, reducing the skill required compared to current methods.

The foundation’s focus remains on addressing the most fundamental factors that can save lives, and many of our staff members have firsthand experience working in these challenging conditions.

Maternal mortality, particularly in Africa and Nigeria, is exacerbated by reported cases of abuse during childbirth by midwives and healthcare workers. Does your foundation not only provide funding but also offer training to maternal healthcare workers to ensure safe and respectful childbirth practices?

While our philanthropic organisation in Nigeria contributes significantly, we aren’t responsible for funding staff salaries. We collaborate closely with the government on this matter. The payment of salaries is typically managed by the government itself or through borrowing from other partners like the World Bank or the Development Bank. We are deeply involved in training programs to equip individuals with the necessary skills and knowledge. However, the impact only truly counts when these trained personnel can effectively apply their expertise in the field.

We are committed to simplifying processes, such as vaccine distribution, to make them more efficient than before. To achieve this, we conduct patient surveys to gather feedback on their experiences. We inquire about why they sought healthcare, whether they were influenced by rumors, their knowledge of health centers, and the overall effectiveness of their visits.

In some extreme cases, like when negative rumors about vaccines threatened the polio eradication campaign at the turn of the century, we engaged with traditional leaders to build campaigns. These campaigns allowed people

I’m curious about your motivation. Many wealthy individuals don’t engage in philanthropy to the extent that you do. What drives you to want to leave such a significant philanthropic legacy?

When I was fortunate enough to achieve incredible success with Microsoft, it generated an astonishing amount of wealth, exceeding a billion dollars.

My central question was how I could make the most impactful contribution back to society. That led us to conduct a study on child mortality in developing countries. We discovered that very little funding was allocated to critical issues like malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. While vaccines were readily available for affluent children, those at serious risk in nearly all of Africa were being left without this essential protection. This inequality troubled me deeply, and it became evident that both Melinda and I needed to make global health the primary focus of our philanthropic efforts.

We embarked on this mission by assembling a team of experts, including specialists in malaria, HIV, and maternal and child health. Today, you can see Dr. Obi on stage with me, who is an expert in maternal and child health. Together, we form a strong and knowledgeable team, leading the way in this field. Our work in global health is a full-time commitment. I visited Nigeria in June, and in October, I’ll be in Senegal for our Grand Challenges event. Although we are facing some challenges, especially in terms of funding for Africa, we remain dedicated to the cause. Every year, we strive to reduce the number of child deaths in Africa, and I take great pride in supporting exceptional individuals doing this vital work.

Talking about the Goalkeepers, how do you source for talents and how do you ensure sustainability of each projects they carry out in their respective countries?

We don’t shoulder the entire responsibility ourselves; instead, we aim to assist individuals and organizations dedicated to noble causes. We provide them with opportunities to learn from one another and develop local support networks. The world’s needs are vast and surpass our capacity to address them all comprehensively.

In the realm of healthcare, our primary focus is on reducing health inequities. This remains at the core of our mission. However, we also extend our support to those working on various other important issues.

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NEWS

Miss Hotlegs Nigeria 2023 Set to Celebrate, Empower Young Women Stories by Mary Nnah The Event Director, Miss Hotlegs Beauty Pageant, Mosy Oginni has said that The 8th edition of the beauty pageant will not just be a night of glamour but will also empower, and celebrate physical beauty and the exceptional talents of young women.

The London home of Miss Hotlegs Beauty Pageant, the annually organised entertainment show by Finishing Touch Events UK has remained the epitome of grace and ambition for youths across the world.

Scheduled to be held on Sunday, 26th November 2023, at Swiss International The Vistana, Lekki, Miss Hotlegs Nigeria, held in collaboration with Swiss International The Vistana, is a highly anticipated annual event.

With a rich history in West

Miss Hotlegs Nigeria’s past winner being crowned Africa and eight consecutive years in Nigeria, the Miss Hotlegs pageant has been relentless despite the economic vicissitudes across the world.

“As you know, we are a global brand, with the pageant across the

African continentandEurope. The money is in different currencies, and so are the expenses. What we do, is leverage sponsorships, and product sponsorships to beverage companies, telecoms, cosmetics, and hair companies,

we even extend it to the media.

The idea, is to enhance the experience for contestants and the valued audience, showcasing our commitment to empowering communities. This infuses vibrancy into our event, aligning with our partners’ dedication to community empowerment”, Oginni noted.

Oginni who spoke with committed passion, called on young African women to showcase their enthralling beauty.

“Our event goes beyond beauty, we champion confidence in youths, and talent, and challenge the entrepreneurial spirit of young women.

This is going to be our 8th edition, the pageant has continued to make a positive impact on the lives of contestants and the community. As we continue to provide a platform for women to showcase their talents and inspire positive change.”

Foundation Celebrates 10 Years of Impacting Lives Amidst Economic Downturn HandsUpforNigeriaProgramme,an annualeventorganisedbytheGrace Foundation,aregisteredNGOpassionateaboutthewell-beingofitshost community,recentlymarkedits10th yearofimpactingonlivesofpeople especially residents in the Satellite Town, Lagos axis.

Speakingduringthisyear’seditionof thetheevent,whichmarkedits10th editionandwasheldattheFirstBank Sports Field, Satellite Town, Lagos, thePresident,TheGraceFoundation, PhilipOkuabor, saidthefoundation has been able to reach over fifteen thousand people over the years withfreefood,clothing,educational materials and medicals despite the nation’s economic downturn.

Okuabor,whorevealedhowever that the last 10 years have not been withoutchallenges, noted,“Themain issuehasbeenhowtoreachcorporate

people to see actually what we are doing.Iknowtherearecharlatansin themarket-NGOsthatclaimtheydo thingsbuttheydovirtuallynothing.

Speaking further, Okuabor, who explainedthattheGraceFoundation isnot 10yearsold,noted,‘TheNGO itself was started in 2007. However, this particular programme, the HandsUpforNigeriaProgramme, is 10 years old. So, the NGO itself is older than that, because we have beendoingotherthings.Atthattime, mostly in the church, when we go tocampmeetingsandconferences, we feed students who cannot feed themselves. We were involved in that for many years before we started this flagship programme.”

He said further that the funding for the programmes has always come from the church. He noted however that the magnitude of

beneficiaries is getting larger and larger day by day.

“Looking at the economic situation of the country, donors are becoming a little more sceptical in bringing out their monies for programmes. It is not because there’snomoneyinNigeria,thereis money however, you have to do to reach where money is.”, he added.

“We can’t easily raise the money.

What we wanted was sponsorship from these companies. But we haven’t been able to get many major sponsorships for things like these and that is where there is a problem”, he lamented.

Stressing that getting money to take care of the numerous needs of the less privileged in the society has beenavivaciouscircle,theFoundation president said, “We, members wegeneratemoneyfromwithinus

and then we talk to people in the church. And this it is an advantage that we attached this to a church as such we have a base to solicit funds from and yet it has not been that easy.”

He said further that this year has been particularly more challenging,adding,Weallknowwhat the economic situation is. When the fuel price went up, all facets of the economy were affected. And people are complaining here and there; whilebusinessesarerunning at very low capacity. So people are withholding their money for their families. They are not so forthcomingwiththeirmoniesliketheyused to be.”

Hesaidhoweverthatdespitethe challenges,theFoundationhasbeen relentless with its mission to help the needy.

Travelwings to Expand Tourism Sector, Launches Corporate Office Travelwings, Nigeria’s leading travel company has made another significant strides with its plan to expand Nigeria’s tourism sector and equally contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP,through innovative measures to boost tourism.

The firm which made the revelation at the grand opening of its corporate office in Lekki, Lagos, aimed to showcase the Travelwings brand and provide customers with exciting travel opportunities, for travel enthu-

siasts and stakeholders creating a buzz of excitement throughout the country.

The Chief Business Development Officer of the firm, Sean Bradley, said Nigeria need sustained efforts to build a viable tourism economy, because tourism contributes significantly to the GDP, adding that although there are challenges in actualising this, the firm was prepared to surmount them.

“This is also about growing tourism in the region, and

Burger King Enters Wuse 2 with a Bang Burger King Nigeria, the globally renowned fast-food giant, has opened its second restaurant in the heart of Wuse 2, Abuja. This expansion marks another exciting chapter in the brand’s mission to bring its flame-grilled flavour and exceptional dining experience closer to its customers in Nigeria.

The grand launch event was nothing short of spectacular as Burger King treated attendees to an unforgettable experience filled with delicious burgers, free drinks, fun games, and a captivating promo that’s hard to resist.

To kick start the festivities and as a special treat, Burger King delighted its loyal customers by giving away a whopping 200 free burgers to those who shopped above 5,000. This mouthwatering gesture ensured that a lucky few enjoyed the iconic flame-grilled

goodness on the house, making the day even more memorable.

For those looking to showcase their vocal talents, Burger King hosted an exhilarating karaoke session. Laughter and applause filled the air as participants took their turn.

Also, every guest received a complimentary drink, adding flavour to their meal. It was the perfect way to elevate their burger experience.

The celebration continued after the launch event with an exclusive store opening deal that customers can enjoy for a limited time until the 31st of October 2023. This limited-time offer, contains 1 Rodeo cheeseburger, 1 Whopper Jr., 2 packs of potato cubes, 4 pcs of chicken wings, and 2 bottles of drinks for 8,999 only.

more importantly, contributing towards the development of the nation’s economy and increase the GDP, which in the long run, would contribute towards the development of infrastructural projects. We are optimistic and have a lot of prospects, though there are challenges, but we are focused on the opportunities”, Bradley said.

“We are constantly bringing products at various service levels to the consumer, that is, offering a compelling product in terms

of competitive pricing airfare wise, land arrangements, helping students get to their dream universities globally.”

“Also, we intend to create job opportunities for Nigerians, he said: “For young people, the more offices we open, the more opportunities, we would create for our young persons, to be employed as customer service agents. As they are absorbed into the business and equallygroomingthemtobecome Business Development Officers in the region”, he added.

GLG Communication Boss, Ogbe Wins Outstanding PR Personality of the Year Sunday Okobi ANigerian Public Relations expert and Managing Partner of GLG Communications, Omawumi Ogbe, has been recognised for her giant strides in public relations, as she emerged the winner of the coveted Outstanding PR Personality of the Year at the 2023 Annual Marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Excellence Awards recently.

At the glamorous gala, where she received the award held at The Podium, Lekki, Lagos, Ogbe, who expressed appreciation to the award organisers, said the recognition was a testament to her team’s hard work and dedication at GLG, who consistently push

the boundaries of possibilities.

The night of glitz, glamour and excellence had many top industry leaders in attendance, including corporate Chief Executive Officers, professionals in public relations, marketing, advertising and the broader integrated marketing communications sector, government leaders, corporate and notfor-profit organisations, captains of industry, media personalities, academia and C-Suite executives from across the country.

According to her, “This award is not just for me but the collective geniuses at GLG Communications. We are very proud of what we have accomplished over the years, delivering quality and award-winning campaigns for our clients.

EMENIKE’S REMARKABLE SERVICE TO NIGERIA Charles Ajunwa He doesn’t like praise-singing of any sort. He is focused and eyes alwaysonball.Apartfromhismilk ofhumankindness,heispassionate about the Nigeria Project.

He wants to see a Nigeria that works for the poor and the rich, and a Nigeria that works for the youngandtheold,andevenfuture generations.ThisisthelifeofHigh Chief Ikechi Emenike, a globally reveredeconomistcumpolitician.

The Abia-born international Emenike publisherhastraversedover50countriesandallcontinentsoftheworld wherehisskillsandexpertiseareneeded.Hehasworkedwithpastand present world leaders for a sustainable future for all.

Nigeria’s towering image in the international community resonated atthejustconcluded2023WorldBankandInternationalMonetaryFund (IMF) Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, thanks to Emenike’s remarkable dedication and hard work together with his team.

He was able to achieve this feat through his brainchild - The African EconomyMagazineandAnnualMeetingsDaily,whichispublishedonsite throughout the duration of the meetings, a tradition he has consistently maintained for over three decades non stop, and the only black official publishersoftheWorldBankandIMFAnnualMeetings,AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB) and other global financial institutions.

TheAfricanEconomy,whichhastheportraitofPresidentBolaAhmed Tinubu embossed on the it with the title- ‘Nigeria: Tinubu’sAudacity of Renewed Hope’ attracted the attention of participants who scrambled to get a copy of the magazine. It was a one-stop marketing for Nigeria at the highest level.

ApartfromshowcasingTinubu’ssustainableRenewedHopeAgenda, EmenikeusedtheAfricanEconomytowooforeigninvestorstoNigeria.

TheRenewedHopeAgendaisfocusedontheeightpriorityareasfor movingtheNigerianeconomyforward.Foodsecurity,endingpoverty, economicgrowthandjobcreation,accesstocapital,particularlyconsumer credit,inclusivityinallit’sdimension,particularlywithregardstoyouths andwomen,improvingsecurity,ruleoflaw,andfightingcorruptionare the core. Known for his grassroots mobilisation and political sagacity, Emenike who was theAbia State Coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima PresidentialCampaignCouncil,hascontinuedtoworktirelesslytoensure that the APC ship sails smoothly, with the firm belief that Nigeria will attain its manifest destiny.

Emenike, who is Pan Nigerian leader, while unveiling his 28-page manifestotojournalistsathisUmukabiaOkpualacountryhome,explained thathismissionplanis“torescueanddevelopAbia(RADA)”,notingthat it has always been his dream for Nigeria to join the league of developed countries.Ataskhehasrefusedtoshyawayfromorgiveexcuses,taking the bull by the horns.

Though at a great personal cost, Emenike has continued to sacrifice his time, energy and resources just to make sure that Project Nigeria works. Participants at the just concluded 2023 World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Morocco, all left for their various countries with a good impression about Nigeria, as a country with great potentials and readytodobusinessthatwillbringaboutprosperitytothewholeworld.

GLOBAL TECH AFRICA SUMMIT SET TO REVOLUTIONISE TECH INDUSTRY IN AFRICA GlobalTechAfrica,aleadingplatformdedicatedtofosteringtechnology and innovation inAfrica, through its flagship event, Global TechAfrica Summit, aims to empower the tech ecosystem, facilitate knowledgesharing, and drive opportunities for technological advancements in the region.

Global Tech Africa, an initiative of Future Map Global and implemented byAscend Studios Foundation, is in partnership with Future Map Foundation,Ascend Studios Foundation, National Information TechnologyDevelopmentAgency(NITDA),UnitedStates(U.S)Consulate, Venture Garden Group, HOW Foundation, Wigwe University, Business Sweden and RivExcel Health, is set to revolutionise the tech industry inAfrica. This ground-breaking event serves as a crucial step in our collective journey towards empowering the tech ecosystem and driving technological advancements across the continent TheGlobalTechAfricaSummitaimstounlockareasofmutualgrowth opportunities inAfrica’s digital economy. It will catalyze partnerships and collaborations between the private, public, and development sectors, fostering investments in crucial areas including technology infrastructure, tech talent capacity development, start-up funding and incubation, and promoting women and girls’ participation in technology.

Africa is experiencing a digital transformation, with technology emerging as a key driver of economic growth and development.

Recognizing the immense potential of the continent, the Global Tech Africa Summit provides a platform to bring together stakeholders from across Africa and the world. By uniting visionaries, thought leaders, and practitioners, the summit aims to create a vibrant ecosystem that nurtures innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent in the tech industry.

The importance of the Global TechAfrica Summit lies in its ability to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing. With panel discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, attendees will have the chance to engage with industry experts and gain valuable insights into emerging trends, best practices, and the challenges faced by the tech ecosystem in Africa. This knowledge exchange will empower participants to drive innovation, create sustainable businesses, and address the unique needs of the African market.

Tech infrastructure is at the heart of Africa’s digital revolution.

Through the Global Tech Africa platform, we aim to create a robust and sustainable technology infrastructure that will shape the future of the continent.

The summit will provide a unique platform for African and international stakeholders in the technology ecosystem to converge, exchange ideas, and establish partnerships that will drive advancements in Africa’s tech landscape. By harnessing the collective potential of industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and innovators, this event will propel Africa towards becoming a global tech hub.

32

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023 T H I S D AY

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Business Leaders, Experts Chart Path to Economic Reforms Funmi Ogundare A seasoned scholar and Executive Secretary of the Institute of Entrepreneurs, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, has called on Nigerians to collaborate with the government in ensuring a positive policy marketing that will boost the economy.

Oladele who made this known at a roundtable, themed, “Economic Reform Agenda: Implication for Businesses and Strategic Response for Survival,” hosted by the Business Club Ikeja (BCI), in Lagos, explained that Nigerians need to make individual business strategies to tackle the situation.

“Nigerians need to ensure

that they partner with the government, analyze the policies and how they are affected, as well as how they can benefit from it. Until individuals see the Nigerian economy as their own, the country will not go anywhere,” he stated, while commending the federal government over the fuel subsidy removal.

At the roundtable, moderated by the Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), Prof. Anthony Kila and Dr. Adesola Falaiye, a corporate law expert, spoke on, “Removal of Subsidy and its Impact on Business.”

Falaiye urged businessmen and women, as part of solutions

to the subsidy removal, to adopt alternative measures to energy while doing business.

A Human Resources expert and Director, Human Capital Management, PKF Professional Services, Nkeiruka Nnamdi who spoke on ‘Zero Cost Intervention’, urged business owners to be “empathic with their workers, be open to them so that they can have a feel of what the business is going through.”

In his remarks, the former Chairman Vitafoam Plc, Dr. Dele Makanjuola, urged Nigerian business leaders to study and emulate Asian and other expatriate leaders who are still making profits regardless of how harsh the economy is in the country.

Heirs Holdings’ Oil & Gas Becomes Heirs Energies HeirsHoldings Oil & Gas Limited (HHOG), Africa’s largest indigenous-owned integrated energy company, has announced a major rebranding, changing name to Heirs Energies Limited and with a refreshed logo colour scheme, reinforcing the strategy of meeting Africa’s unique energy needs in a sustainable manner.

With the urgency of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, Heirs Energies will utilise its extensive expertise, resources, and innovation to lead in transforming the energy landscape, while creating a lasting, positive impact on the environment.

Heirs Energies will continue its exploration and production, while leveraging on emerging technologies to cut carbon emissions by eliminating gas flaring, as well as investing in gas utilisation projects to harness the abundant energy sources for improved energy access, that will drive development on the continent.

Chairman of Heirs Energies, Tony O. Elumelu, commented: “This new brand identity reiterates our passion for innovation, growth, and sustainability in Africa. Heirs Energies signifies

our unwavering commitment to environmental responsibility, value creation in Africa, integration across our value chains, while working together with our community towards a shared destiny. We are excited to embark on this transformative journey, that will shape the future of the energy sector in Africa.”

Commenting, the Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Energies, Osayande Igiehon said, “Heirs Energies embodies our unique intention and approach to the energy sector.

L-R: CEO Heirs Energies, Osayande Igiehon and Chairman, Heirs Energies, Tony O. Elumelu after a meeting in 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

The Alternative Bank Debuts with Multi-city Launch

---- Demand Deposits

21,726,990.23

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,144,158.92

Nume Ekeghe

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

The Alternative Bank, the newest entrant into the financial services sector, launched by holding simultaneous launch events in three major cities across the country - Lagos, Abuja, and Kano, making it the first synchronised multi-city brand launch in Nigeria’s history.

The Alternative Bank is the ethical banking subsidiary of Sterling Financial Holdings.

Speaking from Lagos, Managing Director of The Alternative Bank, Hassan Yusuf, said: “We believe that banking should be

a platform for shared prosperity, where everyone benefits. And this explains why we refer to our customers as partners, because we believe we are on a journey of wealth creation where profits are shared, and customers are provided with funds without incurring interest charges.”

Speaking at the launch event in Abuja, Executive Director of The Alternative Bank, Garba Mohammed, said: “The Alternative Bank is here to create wealth-for-all in a sustainable way, by doing things differently and taking a different model to partnering

with its customers.”

The launch events featured the presentation of digital products to attendees, designed to bring more people into the formal financial sector with an albeit unconventional approach to e-commerce, investments, assets financing, and renewable energy with solutions such as AltMall for e-commerce, AltInvest for ethical retail investments, AltPower for affordable renewable energy solutions, AltDrive for new and pre-owned vehicle financing, and WasteBanc for the monetization recyclable waste.

Sueiman Harps Improved Infrastructure for Nigeria’s Tourism Industry Growth Nume Ekeghe Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Limited, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman has urged that the essential requirements for driving the growth of Nigeria’s tourism industry include addressing infrastructure challenges, fostering positive narratives about Nigeria, and active advocacy by industry stakeholders.

Suleiman made these remarks during Sterling Bank’s observance of World Tourism Day in Lagos over the weekend, held under

the theme “Tourism and Green Investments.”

In a statement, Suleiman identified three primary impediments hindering the advancement of Nigeria’s tourism sector. Firstly, he stressed that individuals interested in travelling for tourism must have essential amenities readily available. Secondly, he emphasised the importance of safeguarding tourists from any imperfections or deficiencies while simultaneously exposing them to inspiring aspects of the country. Lastly, he highlighted the critical role of stakeholders in advocating for

an enabling environment for the tourism industry.

He said, “The way we portray our homeland is a powerful tool and the moment we begin highlighting its positive attributes, tourists will be more inclined to visit.”

Suleiman also stressed the necessity of comprehensive discussions among trusted parties to curate the entire journey for tourists, from the moment they search for Nigeria on Google to their experiences at renowned destinations like Nike Arts Gallery and Olumo Rock.

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

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

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

Kano Hosts Northern Wealth Creation Conference Public and private sectors experts will on Thursday converge in Kano to explore ways of harnessing the productivity of the northern youths as a catalyst for regional and national development.

The Kano State Chapter of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF)

is organising a day conference and exhibition on harnessing the productive and innovative capacity of northern youths for wealth creation. The event, scheduled for Dangote Business School, Bayero University, Kano, is being held in collaboration with Dangote Business School and Media Trust

Limited. In a statement, Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Kano State Chapter, Dr. Faruk Umar, said the conference would be chaired by Chancellor, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU), Dr. Ibrahim Ida with eminent panels of speakers and discussants.

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 ˾ DAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

33

MARKET NEWS

Stock Market Down N240bn on Profit-taking in Stanbic IBTC Holdings, 24 Others KayodeTokede Investors profit-taking on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) stock market yesterday in Stanbic IBTC Holdings and 24 others down the market capitalization by N140billion.

Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index declined by 254.43basis points or 0.38 per cent to close at 67,098.80 basis points.

Also, market capitalisation

lost N140 billion to close at N36.864 trillion.

The downturn was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Nestle Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries, Nigerian Breweries and MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN).

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth closed negative as 16 stocks

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

advanced, as against 25 stocks that declined.

Learn Africa emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent to close at N3.30, per share. DAAR Communications followed with a gain of 9.52 per cent to close at 23 kobo, while UPDC appreciated by 8.00 per cent to close at N1.35, per share.

Thomas Wyatt Nigeria rose by 6.80 per cent to close

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

at N3.30, while SUNU Assurance appreciated by 6.67 per cent to close at N1.12, per share. On the other side, McNichols led others on the losers’ chart with 8.82 per cent to close at 62 kobo, per share.

Omatek Ventures followed with a decline of 8.70 per cent to close at 42 kobo, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings shed 8.49 per cent to close at N69.55, per share.

T R A D E D

VALUE TRADED ( N )

MAIN BOARD

A S O F

Champion Breweries went down by 8.09 per cent to close at N3.41, while Ikeja Hotel depreciated by 6.98 per cent to close at N2.93, per share.

The total volume of trades decreased by 24.9 per cent to 298.69 million units, valued at N4.48 billion, and exchanged in 5,453 deals.

Transactions in the shares of United Ban for Africa (UBA) led the activity with

56.288 million shares worth N1.054 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with account of 33.882 million shares valued at N282.309 million, while Access Holdings traded 22.174 million shares valued at N364.028 million.

Transnational Corporations (Transcorp) traded 21.824 million shares worth N135.262 million, while Ellah Lakes traded 20.195 million shares worth N81.726 million.

O C TO B E R / 1 9 / 2 3 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

NEWS

INSPECTION OF MODEL SKILLS TRAINING CENTRE… L-R: Head of Training, Model Skills Training Centre (MSTC) Abuja, Mrs Mary Igbur, Head of Finance and Accounts MSTC, Mr Christopher Tapgun, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Madam Abiola Arogundade , Head, Facility Management Technology Faculty MSTC , Mr Gilmore Ogbaje during an official site inspection to the Model Skills Training Centre, Wuse 2, Abuja by Madam Arogundade on Tuesday

AfCFTA: FG Says Efforts Underway to Boost Nigeria's Manufactures' Competitiveness Nigeria’s research institutes contributing nothing to industrial, national development, Aganga declares Dike Onwuamaeze President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the federal government is working towards having proactive engagements with members of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) that would lead to the resuscitation of the industrial sector.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Mr. Rabiu Olowo, gave the commitment yesterday as the keynote speaker of the “Third Adeola Odutola Lecture/ Presidential Luncheon” with the theme “Setting the Agenda for Competitive Manufacturing Under the AfCFTA: What Nigeria Needs to Do,” which was organised in Lagos by the MAN as part of the activities marking its three-day “Made in Nigeria Exhibition.”

Tinubu, said the development of MSMEs, access to roads and finance, electricity, were some of the steps his administration was taking to enhance manufacturers' competitiveness.

He said: "Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and the largest

economy. So, it has a crucial role especially when we talk about the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

"The AfCFTA represents a transformative development in Africa economic development.

As of September 2021, it has the potential to create a single market for goods and services over the continent, encompassing over 1.3 billion people.

"To harness the full benefits of the historic agreement, we must make strategic interventions about the manufacturing sector to enhance our competitive edge.

"We have four critical imperatives to share with you that are combined responsibilities of the government and the MAN. We have to build collaboration and partnership.

AFCTA is not just an agreement.

It is a platform for collaboration even beyond the wall of Nigeria.

“How do we reach for regional collaboration and partnership that will give us a competitive manufacturing sector? Nigeria must actively engage in regional collaboration with the following steps. We must strengthen our commitment to regional

integration by harmonising trade and manufacturing policies with other AfCFTA parties."

He added: "The second one is Public Private Partnership (PPP).

We must encourage a robust PPP to enhance the strength of both sectors. The private sector cannot do it alone, and government is showing willingness by listening to you who are the experts. You have been doing this for long and we are going to work with you in order to deliver sustainable growth, especially in the area of research and development.

"The third one is support for exporting SMEs. The government is giving its commitment to say that we are going to give our support and financial mechanisms to enable them meet quality and safety standards.

"The fourth is infrastructure and technology. They play pivotal role in promoting manufacture, whether you talk of electricity or roads. We have to upgrade our infrastructure.

We have to promote technology adoption. Manufacturers should be encouraged to adopt advanced manufacturing technology."

A former Minister of Finance and

Minister of Industries, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who was the guest speaker at the event, said that, “embracing competitive manufacturing under the AfCFTA is crucial for Nigeria’s economic growth and integration into the global marketplace.

“Nigeria may not be able to compete with China now, but by investing in infrastructure, innovation and skilled labour while addressing trade barriers, the business environment and promoting market access, Nigeria can certainly position itself as the manufacturing hub in Africa.”

Aganga, declared that Nigeria’s numerous research institutes were contributing nothing to the country’s industrial and national development in spite of the billions spent on them year on year from taxpayers’ money.

He also appealed to Tinubu to declare the Nigerian industrial sector a national priority sector and back it with plans, policies, and money because history has shown that industries multiply national wealth, creates jobs, is critical for exchange rate and balance of payment management and

NCDC: Confirmed Diphtheria Cases in Nigeria Hits 9,478 Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has said the total number of confirmed cases of diphtheria in country as at October 19, 2023 was 9,478.

The Centre said children between the ages of 1-14 recorded the highest number of diphtheria infections 6,777 which was 71.5 percent.

Speaking at a media briefing by the Taskforce on diphtheria surveillance in Abuja, the Director General of NCDC, Dr. Ifedayo Adetiba, said: As of today, the 19th of October 2023, there have been 15,060 reported suspected cases out of which 9,478 were confirmed cases from 137 LGAs in 20 States including the FCT." He gave the breakdown of the disease spread by states as follows: Kano - 7,747 (81.7%), Yobe - 841, Bauchi - 369, Katsina - 275, Borno - 164, Jigawa -24, Kaduna - 18, Lagos - 8, Zamfara -7, FCT - 7,

Lagos – 6, Gombe - 5, Sokoto – 4, Osun - 3, Niger - 2, Cross River, Enugu, Imo, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Taraba – 1 each The DG said that out f the 9,478 confirmed cases, 6,777 (71.5 percent) were aged 1-14 years, Infants: - 1 percent 1-4 years: 14.1 percent , 5-9 years: 30.6 percent 10-14 years: 26.8 percent, Adults - 20 years: 16 percent". Adetiba said that finalisation of the development of the National Diphtheria Laboratory guidelines is underway.

According to him, preparations for the sequencing of diphtheria isolates are also being finalised.

With regard to risk communication and community engagement, Adetiba said that NCDC will continue to develop and disseminate public health advisories on diphtheria.

"With the support of the World Bank, Breakthrough Action Nigeria and other partners we have been able to design, validate and distribute diphtheria social

behavioural change (SBC) materials to all states.

"We are currently airing diphtheria jingles and PSA on Radio Nigeria’s 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. national network news. "We continue to engage with state officials on the adaptation of diphtheria SBC materials (e-posters, flyers and jingles) to their local languages.

"We embark on regular media engagement such as this to proactively inform the public on raising awareness and addressing misconceptions about the diphtheria outbreak.

School heads on diphtheria prevention and control measures in communities have been engaged in Kano state.

"Through the state governments, the primary and secondary school authorities, community and religious leaders in high-burden states have been engaged in diphtheria prevention and control measures,' he said.

The NCDC DG further said

NCDC continue to conduct social listening on social media channels to address misinformation and disinformation on diphtheria.

Inaddition, Adetiba said the Centre has developed and disseminated Standard Operating Procedures for Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) use in health facilities and treatment centres. " With support from partners and in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health, we have established Diphtheria Treatment Centres/Wards in affected States.

"For the first time in any outbreak, the government has made DAT and now IV erythromycin available using its resources through the REDISSE funding and also supported by partners including WHO and MSF. These have resulted in a significant reduction in case fatality rate from about 40 percent during the earlier part of the outbreak when access to DAT was highly limited to about 6 percent now"

would make the Naira stronger.

Aganga said: “Nigeria has numerous research institutes across various fields, including agriculture, healthcare, technology, and more.

However, these institutes which are funded by taxpayers’ money have had little or no impact on national development, and in particular on our industrial development.

Earlier in his remark, the President of MAN, Mr. Francis Meshioye, highlighted the challenges faced by manufacturers, which included multiple taxation, high borrowing costs, lack of patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products, foreign exchange shortage and other issues.

The three-day AGM/Exhibition/ conference of the MAN ended yesterday and was attended by leading manufacturers like the

Dangote Group, the Cutix Plc that is a manufacturer and supplier of house wiring cables, all aluminum conductors and the Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals and Fertiliser Group According to the Group Head, Corporate Communications, Indorama, Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, the company showcased its polymer (petrochemicals) product grades for the production of various plastics and allied products as well as its Urea, NPK and Neem-coated fertilizers.

Nkwocha, said their marketing teams were able to receive many dignitaries, agricultural stakeholders and potential customers.

The company was presented an Appreciative Award for its support for the advocacy roles of the manufacturers association over the years.

LUTH Becomes First Organisation in Africa to Get BSAC GAMSAS Accreditation Mary Nnah

The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) management has announced that its goal of meeting the level of quality required by the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS) has been achieved.

BSAC GAMSAS is a global accreditation scheme that sets a high level of quality that any antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes must surpass to be seen as proficient in the safe and effective usage of antibiotics.

AMS is a collection of activities that supports safe and effective use of antibiotics without risks of harm or danger, which helps keep antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at bay.

Being the first organisation in Africa to achieve BSAC GAMSAS accreditation, LUTH’s accreditation demonstrates her dedication to reducing the threat of AMR globally by supporting healthcare personnel, who are responsible for the safe use of antibiotics.

Speaking on the recently achieved milestone by LUTH at a press briefing on Tuesday in Lagos, the Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, said, “We are proud to be the first organisation in Africa to achieve BSAC GAMSAS accreditation.”

He said that the accreditation process was supported by the BSAC GAMSAS team, and LUTH management acknowledged their assistance.

“BSAC GAMSAS accreditation is a valuable tool for organisations that are committed to improving AMS. It provides a framework for organisations to develop and implement effective and sustainable AMS programmes, and it helps to ensure that these programs are meeting high standards of quality,” Adeyemo, added.

Speaking further, he said, “LUTH is committed to providing high-quality care to its patients, adding that BSAC GAMSAS accreditation is a significant milestone in the institution's efforts to combat AMR and support antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). We are proud to be recognised for our work in this area.”

Chairman, LUTH Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee and Clinical Microbiologist, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Oyin Oduyebo, said, “AMR is a growing global health threat.

“It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites that cause harmful diseases, change over time and no longer respond to medicines that once could treat them effectively due to unnecessary use, inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics because of a lack of awareness of the public.

35

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT SON… The Out-going Director General /Chief Executive, Standard Organization of Nigeria, (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim (right), welcoming the new Director General /Chief Executive, Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke into the office in Abuja...yesterday

PDP Seeks Impeachment Process of Akeredolu You lack knowledge of governor’s duties, lawmakers reply APC group expresses confidence in governor Fidelis David in Akure The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State has called on members of the State House of Assembly to immediately begin the impeachment process of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for violating Section 193(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The party alleged that the state has been on auto-pilot for nearly six months, grounding all activities of the government due to the ill-health of the governor,who returned to the country on September 7 after his three-month medical leave in

Germany.

But the assembly has urged Nigerians to ignore the PDP because it lacked knowledge of the duties of a governor.

At the same time, youths in the Southwest zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have expressed confidence in the administration of Governor Akeredolu.

In a statement by the state Publicity Secretary of the party, Kennedy Peretei, the PDP called on the assembly to invoke sections 189(1) to cause a Medical Panel to be instituted to ascertain Akeredolu's

medical status and do the needful in the interest of the people of the state.

The statement, titled: "It Is Time to Impeach Rotimi Akeredolu" challenged the rationale of Akeredolu to govern the state from his Ibadan residence, instead of Ondo State, where he was elected to rule, describing it as irrational and unconstitutional.

"The time has come for the Ondo State House of Assembly to immediately begin the impeachment process of Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN for violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

"It is no longer news that Ondo State has been on auto-pilot for nearly six months, grounding all activities of the government due

to the ill health of the governor.”

The party alleged that, rather than tell the citizens the truth, most of Akeredolu's handlers had resorted to insulting the sensibilities of the people by making a public show of their ignorance, thereby robbing the Governor of public sympathy.

But reacting, the assembly through its Majority Leader, Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, urged Nigerians to ignore the PDP because it lacked knowledge of the duties of a Governor.

The House said the governor has been performing his constitutional duties and has not breached any aspect of the Constitution.

The lawmakers, who said the assembly has noted ongoing developmental projects across the state including prompt payment

of salaries and clearing of backlog of salary arrears, stressed that the PDP lacked knowledge whether the State Executive Council meeting is being held or not.

"The Governor is doing his duties. Everything is going on well in the state. We have met with the Governor and all those that want to meet with him,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Southwest APC youths through their Zonal Youth Leader, Kolade Lawal Paff, at a press conference in Akure, said they acknowledge the genuine concerns expressed by the people of Ondo State regarding the whereabouts of the governor, but that his decision to seek rest and adjust normal work schedule to allow him fully recover is a testament to his human nature.

"Recent days have witnessed

remarkable progress in various projects overseen by the administration, affirming unequivocally that governance in Ondo State is robust and resolute. Some of these noteworthy achievements include:Payment of Salaries and Leave Bonuses, "Payment of Salaries and Leave Bonuses: Governor Akeredolu’s administration has continued to show its unwavering commitment to workers’ welfare. We are aware that salaries are being paid up to date.

“Just last week, the governor gave approval for the payment of leave bonus. The administration's commitment to good governance and the welfare of its workforce is unparalleled, Palliatives for Vulnerables among others.”

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

decisive actions to arrest the fast degenerating security situation in the country.

He pointed out that reports from various parts of the country indicated an upsurge in acts of banditry, especially kidnapping.

It noted that since the terrorists were targeting farmers, road users, students, youth corpers, among others, drones should be deployed in various parts of the country while quick dispensation of justice for kidnappers and bandits must

be accelerated.

It, therefore, called for "Immediate establishment of state and local government areas’ Police Forces, boosting the morale of security officials in terms of remuneration, provision of modern equipment, proper kitting and technological innovations.

"To put an end to the risks faced by youths, especially youth corpers, these youths be allowed to serve their fatherland within their localities – within their states

of origin or within the state of domicile."

Afenifere stressed that this was to put an end to the corpers being kidnapped in the process of making a long-distance journey as happened to the corpers going to Sokoto from Akwa Ibom State.

It lamented that Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Imo, Rivers, Niger, Nassarawa, Kaduna, Benue, Imo, Enugu and Katsina were among the hot spots for banditry and kidnapping.

House Directs Health Ministry to Commence Basic Healthcare Provision Fund Insecurity: Afenifere Restates Call for Multilevel Policing

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Ministry of Health to commence full implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF).

The Green Chamber also directed the ministry to ensure that all the stakeholders played their respective roles to ensure a successful disbursement and utilisation of the funds.

It further mandated its Committee on Healthcare Services to investigate the hindrances to full implementation of the fund since inception and ensure that all bottlenecks to its successful implementation were effectively tackled, and reported back within six weeks for further legislative action.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary yesterday

by Hon. Julius Ihonvebere and Hon. Prince Okojie.

Moving the motion, Ihonvebere said the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) was established in the National Health Act to extend Primary Health Care (PHC) to all Nigerians by substantially increasing the level of financial resources to PHC services.

He explained that the BHCPF was funded from the federal government's Consolidated Revenue Fund and supplemented by grants from local and international donors, partners, the private sector, philanthropic

organisations, and funds generated from innovative sources such as taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.

Ihonvebere emphasised that the Act provided that half of the fund would be used to provide a basic package of services in PHC facilities through the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) while 45 per cent would be disbursed by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) for essential drugs, maintaining PHC facilities, equipment and transportation, and strengthening human resource capacity; and the final 5 per cent would be used by the Ministry to respond to health emergencies and epidemics.

He added that since the establishment of the National Health Act in 2014, only about N128 billion had been released from the Federation Account.

He, therefore, expressed concerned that disbursement of the fund to states was withheld because most of them failed to contribute the 25 per cent counterpart funding towards PHC projects, which is the criteria that made them eligible for fund donations, neither did they give a proper account of the funds released to them; The lawmaker, however, stressed the need to commence full implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and devise strategies to ensure accountability between the stakeholders at different levels of government.

A frontline socio-political organisation, the Afenifere Renewal Group, has restated its call for the establishment of state and local government police in order to tame the degenerating security situation in the country.

National Publicity Secretary of the group, Jare Ajayi, in a statement called on the federal government and security agencies in Nigeria to take more

Babalola: Poor Leadership Cause of Nigeria’s Problems ABUAD,TWU sign MoU Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti Legal icon, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, yesterday, reiterated that the major cause of Nigeria’s problems was poor leadership qualities.

He, therefore, urged politicians and African leaders to see their position as an opportunity to serve the people and sacrifice, rather than use the position to enrich themselves.

The elder statesman spoke at the University yesterday during an international conference on Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Change and Wealth jointly organized by ABUAD and Trinity Western University (TWU), Canada. lola, who is the founder of the Afe Babalola University, Ado

Ekiti (ABUAD), said Nigeria was facing so much challenges because politicians lacked the education of knowing that their offices were for service.

"Man, because of poor leadership, has gone through two World Wars (1914-1918 and 1939-1945). These avoidable World Wars led to the loss of millions of people all of which could be traced to bad leadership.

"Adolf Hitler derisively called the ‘bad guy of history’ was a tragic example of bad leadership.

We also have the tragic Russian invasion of Ukraine with Putin (the Russian leader) turning deaf ears to entreaties by the United Nations, the Security Council, the injunction by the World Court at the Hague and various appeals by

world leaders including the Pope "Africa is not left out of this tragedy. There have been series of coups and counter coups which happen almost every six months.

Again, the reason for all these is poor leadership.

"Since the rush to partition Africa in 1884, there had been no peace. Unfortunately, the poorest countries in the world are in Africa, including my own country, Nigeria, a country that is well-endowed in everything.

"Today, Nigeria is rated as number 2 poorest country in the world. The Naira has gone down to as much as N1,000 to a Dollar. There is no electricity, no water and most of the roads are impassable, which often leads to avoidable death," he said.

Meanwhile, at the event being part of the activities lined up for the 11th convocation ceremony of ABUAD, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two world class universities.

Babalola said the partnership with Trinity University would widen the hope of changing the mind of the students in Canada and the world.

On the view of politicians to their offices he said, "The answer is not a matter of debate. What is lacking is education which allows our leaders to see politics as the only lucrative business in town, when in fact, from the Greek days, politics has always be known to be for service to the people and not business.”

36

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

NEWS

17TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF UNITY BANK...

L-R: Non-Executive Director,Unity Bank Plc, Prof. Iyabo Obasanjo, Non-Executive Director, Mr. Sam Okagbue; Company Secretary, Mr. Alaba Williams; Chairman, Mr. Hafiz Mohammed Bashir; Managing Director/ CEO, Mrs Tomi Somefun; Hajiya Yabawa Lawan Wabi; and Non-Executive Director, Unity Bank Plc, Hajiya Halima Babangida, at the Bank's 17th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos yesterday

Abuja Airport: FG Officially Takes Ownership of 4.2km 2nd Runway Site Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Federal Government, Thursday officially took over the 4.2 kilometers site for the construction of the much anticipated second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), in Abuja.

The proposed second runway, government hinted aims to address the growing air traffic demands at the Abuja airport, effectively enhancing the efficiency and capacity of the airport.

Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, in his remarks at the official handing over of the portion of land by the Jiwa community to government emphasised the importance of the project in enhancing the country's aviation infrastructure.

He explained that the issue of the second runway, the Abuja second runway has been on the cards since the administration of Chief Obasanjo, stating: "It was a big issue at that time, and successive administrations have not been able to have a day like this where dreams become reality.

"Today is a day we must just thank the people of the Jiwa community. We promised so much because your traditional head here fought for you."

According to him, "Each time we met with him, he did not want to hear any other thing but the welfare of his people. He was always fighting for his people. And so, when we could not bypass the law, we wish you could pay more.

But, the moment we pay one kobo more for Jiwa, the whole of Abuja community will be affected. It will be like a ripple effect."

While assuring that the Ministry will do everything possible to ensure that the construction company engages locals, however said that in response to the community's demands for a compensation increase, "the N825.8 million initial compensation was regulated by law."

Keyamo said that the Ministry planned to utilise the resources from the 2024 budget to undertake significant projects within the community, including healthcare facilities, bridges, and roads as part of moves to further compensate the community.

"A health center is coming to Jiwa community. I think a bridge is also one of the most sought after bridges and is about five kilometers roads. So, many things we promised since we cannot bypass the law we said okay, let us follow the law and put these projects right in the 2024 projects.

"Apart from that, you can be sure that the benefits of the second runway will be immense. The second runway opens up so many other opportunities, more planes can land, more commercial activities.

So, for those who have lost their farms and other personal belongings like houses, I can assure you that you will gain double the value of those things you've lost.

"So, for the contractors, my last word for you, our brothers in the

Jiwa community are able bodied people so we don't want to hear that some wielders, or carpenters or any other artisan are coming from outside to work with you. It must be the sons and daughters of the Jiwa community that will work with you."

The handover ceremony which was held on Thursday in Abuja, was attended by top government officials, Chairman of the aviation committees in the National Assembly, aviation

stakeholders, and representatives of the host community.

In his earlier address, the Emir of Jiwa community, Idris Musa, urged to the government and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, (CCECC), to ensure involvement of community members, which according to him, would not only provide job opportunities but also empower local residents and foster ownership of the development within the Jiwa community.

While recognising the transformative impact of the anticipated project and its surrounding communities, called on the community youths not to revolt against the project.

"My farm was affected and many of you know that my farm is very big, and I know how much I collected it. I want to use this medium to say sorry for what happened to you. I'm pleading with you to be a little patient.

"I want to appeal to the House of Assembly to look at the prices of the compensation that is paid in FCT. This is meager and without you changing the way it's supposed to be paid, many people will die.

"The money given to us cannot even train our children, cannot even make us feed. The House of Assembly, you have to change and quickly review these things for us.

I want to thank the minister for his cooperation," Musa said.

INEC: It's Inappropriate to Assess Our Credibility on Number of Cases Filed Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has said it was inappropriate to solely assess its credibility or the conduct of the 2023 general election on the number of petitions filed by litigants.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, stated this while responding to a report in a national daily (not THISDAY), titled "INEC's credibility sinks as 94% contested posts awaits tribunal."

He said the commission would have ignored the report if it did not emanate from one of the country's

flagship newspapers, which had over the years established a reputation for the quality of its stories, incisive analysis, factual accuracy, balance and lately the innovative use of infographics.

Olumekun noted that while the commission wished to restate its continuing partnership with the media, it was prudent to state that the pen should be used to strengthen rather than impugn the integrity of public institutions, particularly where basic statistics demand that the media should be circumspect.

He further explained that the report under reference contained inaccurate figures, mix up of preelection and post-election cases, skewed comparative perspective

and a headline that suggests that election petitions draw from the action or inaction of INEC. The National Commissioner stressed that a basic fact check on the information regularly published by the Commission and available on its website would have shown that in 2023, elections were not conducted in 1,280 constituencies, including 782 State Assembly seats.

Olumekun added that on the contrary, elections were conducted in 1,491 constituencies across the country made up of one Presidential, 28 Governorship, 109 Senatorial, 360 House of Representatives and 993 State Assembly constituencies.

He noted that the claim that state assembly elections were held

in only 28 states of the country was made on the lazy assumption that no such elections were held in the eight states of the federation where executive elections were held off-cycle.

The National Commissioner stressed that every attentive Nigerian knew the tenure of legislators was tied to the legislative houses, which was a fixed term of four years from the date the assembly is inaugurated unlike the term of office of the executive which begins from the date they take the oath of office.

He wondered why the report blamed the pre-election cases arising from the conduct of primary elections by political parties on INEC.

records case, Christopher Carmichael, filed the motion, dated October 18, 2023, stating that he was a lawyer in good standing to appear in the case in the FOIA lawsuit underway in Washington D.C. Reacting to the development, however, Atiku’s aide said Tinubu’s constant attempts to hide details of his sordid past were unbecoming of a man ruling over 200 million people.

“I think it is time for all Nigerians to express serious concern about this man named Bola A. Tinubu, if at all that is his real name. Some members of the Tinubu family led

by Rafiu Tinubu, a former Lagos State Head of Service, claimed they don’t know him.

“Some schools he attended denied him; he has now kept mute over the primary and secondary schools he attended, and he has refused to reveal the identity of his father and even his past. He refused to come clean on the details of his settlement with American authorities amid his drug trafficking probe.

Now, an attempt is being made to reveal the true details of the criminal investigation, but he has gone ahead to try and block it.

“His surrogates led by Mr Festus Keyamo had said during the electioneering that the drug investigation launched against him back in 1992 was a tax related matter.

So, if that is the case, why is he afraid to let the FBI release the documents?

This is indeed shameful.”

Atiku’s aide called on US authorities to see themselves as the last hope of Nigerians since most Nigerian courts had blocked all attempts to expose Bola A. Tinubu.

He added: “Tinubu is a cornman. He has been able to deceive Nigerians by keeping his past as a secret. Sadly, every attempt by well-meaning Nigerians to expose him has been blocked by the courts.

In Lagos State, where he has ruled as Lord of the Manor for decades, the state has refused to honour FOI requests.

“Nigerians are now looking up to US authorities to do the needful so that they can, at least, have the true information on the man, who is presiding over their lives. We call on American authorities not to be persuaded by this corn-man. Enough is enough! His criminal files must be released.”

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION’S GRAND FINALE BEGINS AT SUPREME COURT MONDAY the PEPC cited in support of their decision did not apply to the facts of the case they had presented, adding that, in coming to the above decision, the tribunal refused to follow its previous decisions in many cases, to the extent that a subpoenaed witness need not file his statement alongside the petition and any such statement filed after the time allowed for filing the petition was competent and valid.

Responding to the position of the tribunal that they didn't call enough witnesses to prove allegations of corrupt practices and other irregularities, it was the claim by Obi and LP that the court below overlooked the fact that the petition ought to be read as a whole to discover the complaint or grouse of the appellants.

"The Court below failed to take into account that the Appellants listed the States and specific areas complained about in the Petition. The Appellants also tendered documents in satisfaction of Section 137 of the Electoral Act 2022," they stated.

Further on the ruling by the tribunal that failure of the appellants to call witnesses from the polling units, wards or other places where

irregularities andmalpractices were alleged to have occurred were fatal to their case, the appellants claimed that the issue of non-compliance by the INEC to its laws, guidelines and relevant statutes was a universal complaint because it was an infraction against the Nigerian people and the Nigerian state.

Addressing the issue of technology in the conduct of the 2023 general election, it was their submission that the tribunal erroneously overlooked the fact that the use of technology in the conduct of the poll was pivotal to the integrity/credibility and transparency of the election.

They, howeber, submitted that contrary to the decision of the tribunal, the use of BVAS to transmit the election results to IReV under the present legal regime governed by the Electoral Act 2022 was mandatory and not discretionary.

This, nonetheless, the APM on its part, sought the nullification of the tribunal's decision based on its submission that the lower court misconceived the material facts before it when it struck out its undefended petition against Tinubu's victory.

It prayed the apex court to hold

that the withdrawal of Kabiru Masari from the race amounted to automatic withdrawal and invalidation of Tinubu's candidacy in February 25 presidential election, adding also that the striking out of the 5th respondents (Kabiru Masari) from its petition and consequent dismissal of the petition on September 6, 2023 was in error, as Masari was a necessary party to the dispute.

"The grounds upon which its petition was predicated is that the 3rd respondent (Tinubu) was at the time of the election (February 25 2023) not qualified to contest the election in line with Section 134(1) (a) of the electoral Act, 2022," the APM stated.

However, following the replies of all respondents in the different appeals as well as reply on point of law by the appellants, the cases have now been set for hearing on Monday.

By law, the apex court has 60 days to hear and deliver its judgment in the appeals. The 60 days, which commenced on September 18, when the notice of appeal was filed would lapse on November 16, 2023.

But whichever way the decision

goes, it is certain to draw the final curtain on the 2023 presidential election.

Shaibu: Tinubu Wants to Stall Release of FBI Files Ahead of this month's planned release of documents by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on President Bola Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, has lambasted the president over his fresh attempt to block the release of the details of his criminal investigation by American authorities.

Earlier in the week, Tinubu’s lawyers in the US had filed motions to appear in an ongoing freedom of information action brought against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where records that may help answer questions about Bola A. Tinubu’s real identity and decades-long endeavours were domiciled.

One of the lawyers, who represented Tinubu in the recent Chicago State University (CSU)

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20, 2023 ˾ T H I S D AY

37

NEWS

LUTH GETS RECORD ACCREDITATION…

L-R: Chairman, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee and Clinical Microbiologist, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof. Oyin Oduyebo, and Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo, during a press briefing to announce LUTH as first organisation in Africa to get accredited for the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) Global Antimicrobial Stewardship Accreditation Scheme (GAMSAS) in Lagos…recently

Former LG Chairman in Kebbi State, 12 Others Kidnapped in Niger Suspected gunmen abduct three persons in Kwara

Laleye Dipo in Minna and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A former Chairman of Ngeski Local Government Area, in Kebbi State Alhaji Garba Hassan and 12 others have been kidnapped by gunmen.

They were said to have been abducted along Tegina -

Kontagora road in Niger state at about noon yesterday.

This is just as suspected gunmen have abducted three persons in Ayetoro community in Ekiti local government area of Kwara State.

The former LG boss and his co-travellers were said to be going to Kebbi state from Abuja in a commercial vehicle when the

Tinubu Signs AU Charter’s Instrument on Persons with Disabilities Rights

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu yesterday signed the Instrument of Ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa, which was adopted by the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the 29th day of January, 2018.

The president in signing the Instrument of Ratification stated: “I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President

of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, do hereby formally declare that the Federal Republic of Nigeria accepts the aforementioned Protocol and undertakes to faithfully perform and carry out the stipulations therein contained; “In witness whereof, I, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have set my hand and Seal of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on this Instrument of Ratification at Abuja on this 19th day of October in the year Two Thousand and Twenty-Three.

incident.

It was said that between Tegina and Kontagora town in Niger state the gunmen appeared from

into the bush by the bandits from where they were taken to unknown destination, it was learnt.

When contacted the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer DSP Wasiu Abiodun said: “ I will find out and get back to you.”

Marwa to NDLEA Officers: Stand Firm, Resist Temptations from Drug Cartels Agency arraigns NSITF staff

Michael Olugbode inAbujaand Wale IgbintadeinLagos

The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd)

has charged newly trained 2,500 personnel of the agency ready for deployment to stand firm and reject insidious temptations that will come their way from drug barons and cartels.

Speaking at the passing out

parade of the newly trained Narcotic Agents and Narcotic Assistants in Katsina yesterday, Marwa reminded the new personnel that they can’t afford to compromise on their work because their efforts will directly

impact the safety and well-being of their families, communities, and the country at large.

He said: “I believe that before you reported at the Academy, you must have read and heard about the good works of NDLEA officers.

Bayelsa Guber: Group Alleges Plan to Rig Election through Violence The Bayelsa Political Watch has to be complicit in the odious Nadione Harrison, who made that innocent Bayelsa citizens are alerted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies of a plot to rig the next gubernatorial election in the state.

The group called on the security agencies and the INEC to avoid any inducement

plot designed to sabotage the election in the state.

The group also urged the security chiefs in the country to prevent further violence in Nembe Bassambiri, Nembe Local Government Area of the State.

The Coordinator of the group,

the calls, equally tasked the State Government to collaborate with security agencies irrespective of political differences to protect lives and property on election day.

He urged the candidates in the November 11 polls to ensure

not murdered because of the desperation for political power.

Nadione noted that emphasis must be placed on the sanctity of the lives and property of Bayelsans at all time including the day of the governorship poll.

Alake: Foreign Investors Showing Significant Interest in Solid Minerals Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

Minister of Solid Minerals Sani Inaugurates Inter-Religious The Development, Dele Alake has revealed that Nigeria’s solid Harmony Committee there cannot be peace and security minerals sector has started John Shiklam in Kaduna Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has said that his administration will work with religious leaders to promote peace and development of the state.

The governor stated this yesterday at the inauguration of the Kaduna State Inter-Religious Harmony Committee, comprising Muslims and Christian leaders.

Sani called on religious leaders to support the government by preaching peace among their followers.

The governor, who noted that

the bush and stopped the vehicle in which Hassan and the others were traveling.

They were subsequently led

when 80 per cent citizens are poor, attracting significant international disclosed that his administration interest as foreign investors would roll out social interventions showing a keen desire to key into to address the situation.

Sani said religious leaders will play key role in the Oluchi Chibuzor implementation of the social interventions because of their Experts that spoke at the Federal closeness to the people at the University of Technology Owerri grassroots.

(FUTO), Alumni Association “We are having problems. That biennial lecture have stressed the is why I told you that there is poverty crisis in the rural areas, need for companies in Nigeria 80 per cent of our people there, to improve their investment are living below the poverty line.

That is the fact of the matter.

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

the country’s mineral resources industry.

He also said that President Bola Tinubu had expressed his commitment to increase funding for the sector through the ministry.

The minister, who spoke at the close out session of the Nigeria

Mining Week 2023 yesterday in Abuja, explained that the funding will facilitate the generation of essential big data to further provide both local and foreign investors with information to make decisions and judgments about areas of operation.

He stressed that lack of funding

and data deficiency, among other challenges, were major stumbling blocks in the sector.

He said: “ On our part, I can assure you that the president has given his pledge to increase funding into this sector through the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

Experts Harp on Investment in Research, Development and involvement in research development (R&D) ecosystem.

Speaking at the event, held and development (R&D) so as to drive industrial growth.

They also urged the federal government to focus on reintegrating brilliant Nigerians from diverse sectors into the universities’ research and

This, according to them, was because investment in science, technology and innovation (STI) was essential for economic development, social progress and plays vital roles in wealth creation and transformation in any society.

in Lagos, yesterday, the ViceChancellor, FUTO, Prof. Nnenna Oti, said the theme of the event was apt to address Nigeria’s economic and technological issues for the survival and progress of the country.

Ex-militants Call for Decentralisation of Pipeline Surveillance Contracts The group, while expressing

are familiar with the culture,

Addressing a press conference

of pipelines in their area, said the review of the contracts had become imperative for ex-militants to perform their surveillance and monitoring duties in areas they

from South-east or South-south on the South-west axis of the coastline which comprises mainly Ilaje and Ese-Odo local government areas of Ondo state.

immediately review the contracts for the surveillance of pipelines and decentralise the works for inclusion, capacity, justice and fairness for all stakeholders.

it would be unfair for other traditions and topology of the in Abuja, the President of the Johnvents Industries Redeems Ilaje ex- militant group, the Niger that ex-militant group from another people and their terrains.

Niger Delta Coastline Vanguard, The NDCV said they would Job Omotunwa (alias General Coastline Vanguard (NDCV) state and ethnic nationals to be N5.5bn Commercial Paper Delta yesterday demanded immediate given the contact of surveillance resist attempts to foist ex-militants Job) urged President Tinubu to Fidelis David in Akure

An indigenous agribusiness and manufacturing group, Johnvents Industries Limited has redeemed its series one commercial papers obligation totaling N5.5 billion.

The Group Managing Director of Johnvents Industries Limited, Mr. John Alamu, who disclosed this while speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, said the commercial paper was issued in December 2022.

Alamu explained that the

transformation of the company had been superlative since it came into existence in 2016, saying the revenues of the company has leaped from approximately N2.8 billion in 2019 to N59 billion in 2022.

He said apart from this, the company has grown from a small commodity trading operation to a full-fledged food and agribusiness group encompassing semifinished and consumer goods, commodities trading as well as logistics.

decentralisation of the pipeline surveillance contracts by President Bola Tinubu to ensure total peace and security in the Niger Delta region.

Group Tasks NAHCON CEO to Work with State Agencies, Operators Ahead of 2024 Hajj AhmadSorondinkiinKano A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), the Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), yesterday called on NAHCON Chairman, Jalal Arabi, to work in harmony with the state Pilgrims

Boards and Agencies and Tour Operators to see to the successful registration of pilgrims and the implementation of the road map to Hajj 2024.

IHR in a statement signed yesterday by its National Coordinator,

Malam Ibrahim Mohammed, made available to journalists in Kano, said the new NAHCON boss must work to implement programmes and policies of the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

He said as a retired permanent

secretary in the Federal Civil Service, he expected the new NAHCON chairman to put in place a comprehensive and sustainable hajj policy by working with the state pilgrim boards and hajj operators ahead of the 2024 Hajj.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 20, 2023 ˾ T H I S D AY

38

WORLD OF ISLAM NNPP National Chairman

NEWS XTRA

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Escapes Assassination Gaza Tragedy: A Step Chuks Okocha in Abuja The National Chairman of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), loyal to the founding father of the party, Dr Major Agbo, has escaped an assassination attempt in his office in Abuja.

NNPP had been in crisis, leading to the creation of two factions, both claiming to be the rightful owners of the party.

But Agbo, who is the National Chairman of the NNPP loyal to the founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, said he escaped the assassins in their newly opened office.

Speaking at a press conference in their office, Agbo said the attempt was made on his life while he was in the office on Monday 16th August 2023.

“The most critical reason for this briefing today is to bring you to speed with an attempt made to assassinate me here in this office on Monday. I walked in here at about 2.45pm and shortly after that two men walked in, ignoring the protocol advice from the desk boys in the front office.

“They walked in with weapons demanding to meet me, unknown to them they were talking to me. It was evident that

they never knew me physically, in fact my saving grace was that I was not seating on my chair.

“Pointing a short gun on me, they demanded that I produce ‘Major Agbo’ whom one of them claimed was his course mate at Command and Staff College, Jaji. I asked him if he would identify his course mate he was talking about if seen, he replied ‘yes’.

“I then told them Major Agbo was not around. They speedily withdrew, ran into their ash-colored Toyota Corolla car parked by the express roadside (to aid escape) and sped away.

NSCDC Arrests Suspected Kidnapper, Fake Medical Doctor in Bauchi Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

A suspected kidnapper, Muhammad Sani Rinji and a fake medical doctor, Usman Sadique Yelwa have been arrested by Bauchi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The disclosure was made

by Commandant Ilelaboye W. Oyejide yesterday while briefing Journalists at the Command Headquarters on the security situation in Bauchi state.

According to him, due to

intense security operation, kidnappers/bandits are now on the run in their enclaves at different locations especially within Lame and other forests in Toro Local Government Area.

The commandant stressed: “However, the Corps intensified efforts in its patrol and surveillance and luck run out of one the suspected kidnappers by name Muhammad Sani Rinji on 15/10/2023. “The suspect was arrested by our Officers working with Nasarawa State Command in Lafia, based on credible intelligence information.”

He further said that, “During interrogation, the suspect agreed to all the allegations that they were responsible for the series of kidnapping and armed robbery activities in Toro LGA and beyond. He gave a vivid account of his involvement in the kidnapping business.”

Also, a suspected fake medical doctor by name Usman Sadique Yelwa, working with the State Government General Hospital, Misau, was arrested based on credible intelligence and he is helping the corps in its investigation.

Closer to the Apocalypse (II) By: Spahic Omer/Iviews/IslamiCity This indeed is the crux of the matter. It is all about occupation and a culture of cruelty – nothing else. So much so that commencing from Israel’s founding, the Palestinians could neither dream of, nor experience, better scenarios. The most they were able to procure were some meagre benefits for which however they were asked to relinquish their dignity and most basic of human rights. In short, they had to compromise their values and make a pact with the devil, which for the honourable and proud Palestinians was not an option.

Making a Faustian bargain was out of the question, hence, the whole of Palestine, in particular the proudest and most principled Gaza, was turned into an open-air prison with no escape.

Due to this, Jonathan Cook, an award-winning British journalist, branded the latest Gaza uprising against the Israeli occupation as “Gaza’s (prison) breakout.”

It goes without saying that all discourses about the Palestinian issue are to be placed against the background of the occupation and perpetual tyranny. All other things are irrelevant. If not, problems could be muddled and developments misunderstood. Accordingly, the Palestinians are entitled to make recourse to all sorts of means and channels in order to end the occupation and punish the evil oppressors. Such terms as terrorism, criminality, rigidity, unwillingness to negotiate or compromise, etc., are not to be associated with the Palestinians in any way.

They are freedom fighters par excellence; they are heroes and beautiful examples to others; their dead are martyrs and inspiration to posterity.

Phone Robbers Kill Corps Member in Kaduna The West has no integrity

John Shiklam inKaduna

A serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Chalya Silas, has been killed by phone robbers in Kaduna.

It was gathered that Silas, from Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State and a graduate of Special Education from the University of Jos, was stabbed to death

last Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Barnawa area of Kaduna metropolis.

She was said to be jogging when three people riding on a bike stopped to snatch her phone but she resisted them.

However, one of the criminals stabbed her with a sharp knife and they made away with the phone.

An official of the NYSC in

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Kaduna State confirmed the incident in a telephone interview but did not give details.

Also confirming the incident, Mansir Hassan, spokesperson of the Kaduna State Police Command, said the incident happened at about 6:45 p.m. last Wednesday.

“The incident happened at about 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday. She was on a morning jogging exercise, which people do always,”, Hassan said in a telephone interview.

According to him, “The deceased was wearing an earpiece on both ears as she was jogging.

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I formerly known and addressed as OLAIDE PAUL, now wish to be known and addressed as ADEOYE PAUL OLAIDE. All former documents remain valid. Public should please take note.

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city Activities to mark the seventh coronation anniversary of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, have kicked off with free healthcare for Edo State residents.

The two-day medical outreach, which began last Wednesday, climaxed yesterday at the Oba Palace in Benin-city, where healthcare providers attended to people with various health challenges.

In a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to Oba, Mr. Osagbovo Iguobaro, in Benin-city yesterday, he said the lifeline is in continuation of Oba Ewuare II humanitarian gesture to improve the health conditions of his people, especially those who cannot pay for their healthcare.

The event, Iguobaro said, also featured public health enlightenment, counseling, free glasses and medicine to the beneficiaries, while some selected individuals with lifethreatening health conditions were slated for surgeries by a team of health personnel at a later date.

Given that the subjects of the occupation and oppression are overlooked, or at least discounted, especially in Western circles, the reputations of the occupier and the occupied are often viewed as equivalent, and the treatments of the oppressor and the oppressed accorded parity. They are judged by the same benchmarks and classified into the same grouping. Declining to realign its outlook, the Western world, clearly, has lost its bearings. Its reactions to the unfolding Palestinian catastrophe are often outrageous, bordering on utter irrationality and farce.

The word “hypocrisy” is becoming a cliché and people are growing to be unresponsive. In consort with its propensity to distorting narratives, the West is impervious to any ethical accountability.

As a result, the desperate legitimate defensive undertakings on the part of the dehumanised and caged Palestinians are perceived as a form of aggression against the Israelis who are regularly depicted as victims. Living in the vicinity of the violent Palestinians, they are endangered and so, must be protected. The corollary of this sentiment is that Israel is one of the most potent military forces in the world, whose muscles are mercilessly and on a regular basis flexed against the innocent and defenceless Palestinians. This is all done with the unreserved approval of the Israeli masters in the Western corridors of power, with regular exclamations that the cruel and uncivilised Palestinians should be “taught a lesson” and be “given hell.”

For illustrative purposes, following the latest defensive (liberative) surprise attack by Palestinian Hamas on Israel, the White House said in a statement: “The United States unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians. There is never any justification for terrorism. We stand firmly with the government and people of Israel and extend our condolences for the Israeli lives lost in these attacks.”

US military chief Lloyd Austin added: “Over the coming days the Department of Defence will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.”

Similarly, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted the following: “I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out

by Hamas terrorists against Israel. It is terrorism in its most despicable form. Israel has the right to defend itself against such heinous attacks.”

Singing the same tune, which appears almost as though written in advance and memorised beforehand, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “I strongly condemn the terrorist attacks which are currently hitting Israel. I express my full solidarity with the victims, and their families and those close to them.”

Th N th Atl ti T t O i ti lik i

condemned “terrorist attacks by Hamas against NATO partner Israel”, a spokesman for the defence alliance said. “Our thoughts are with the victims and all those affected. Terrorism is a fundamental threat to free societies, and Israel has the right to defend itself,” said spokesman Dylan White (Aljazeera.com).

However, the problem with the West goes further. Inasmuch as they regard themselves as the custodians of progress and universal values, the Westerners feel that their primary task is a mission to enlighten and civilise the rest of the retrograde world. They see such a task as a cosmic mandate. Which begs the question as to what type of guidance and wisdom those people can give. Are they even qualified to be teachers and exemplars? The conundrum is akin to the case of blind and illiterate persons trying to guide and enlighten another group of blind and illiterate individuals. Surely, the West’s lack of integrity is a ubiquitous phenomenon, encompassing and affecting in varying degrees virtually all aspects of the Western civilizational trajectory.

We ought to remember that this is the same West that colonised most of the Muslim world, imposing on it a variety of life systems. It was due to Muslims’ embracing of those systems that they made no remarkable progress throughout the 20th century, and it is the same systems that now constitute a major impediment to any Muslim renaissance initiative.

It is therefore incumbent upon Muslims to be prudent in their dealings with those who have a history of deception and maltreatment, that Muslims should exercise circumspection when engaging with the Western relativized and customised knowledge, that Muslims should be more selective when importing and applying the Western relativized standards and values, and - perhaps most importantly - that Muslims should be careful when studying history as the nucleus of all sciences as well as human pursuits on the basis of Western narratives, because it is the realm of history where the Western mastery of global manipulation and fabrication comes most readily to the fore.

Epitomising the Western position vis-à-vis history, Napoleon Bonaparte once remarked that history is a bunch of lies which a community agrees upon. The subject of the history of Palestine is an excellent case in point. The case denotes a centre of gravity around which the majority of other foremost issues revolve. The level and intensity of untruths applicable to the Palestinian case are expected to spill over and permeate the other either scientific or cultural domains.

That is why the triad – or unholy trinity - of Zionism, Islamophobia and Orientalism belong to the same family of a Western civilizational aberration. Although they had diverse origins and divergent performance metrics, the three continuously aided each other’s existence and functionality. Whenever it was needed, they carved out a plenty of convergence points where they could stand united and perform accordingly, appearing thus stronger and lending additional credence to the clouts of their respective spheres.

This means that despite its aspiration to become a global spectacle and despite its aggressive proselytising proclivity, Western civilization is compatible neither with the spirit of the Islamic faith nor the disposition of the Muslim mind. Whatever has been imposed on the Muslim biological, intellectual and spiritual existence, chiefly by way of the Western forceful expansionism and colonization, is of an artificial character. The same increasingly alienates Muslims from their religion, history, culture and identity, while at the same time does not bring them any closer to the actual orbit of the West and its civilizational legacy. Retaining the status quo does not bode well for the future of the Muslim world.

Western civilization belongs to the West. That is not a club for Muslims. The sooner Muslims start reducing their civilizational dependence on the West, Islamizing what is at hand and generally working on producing viable Islamic alternatives, the better. The West should be eschewed as much as feasible, and all focus should be directed inwards, towards rebuilding what has been lost or forgotten.

Islamic civilization was the most consequential in history. It did not die – in fact, it cannot die because it represents the truth and the truth does not die. Islamic civilization merely went into a hiatus. It declined as a consequence of the vicissitudes of time and space (the laws of the rise and fall of civilizations) and just waits to be resuscitated.

To Be Continued

39

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023

FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe

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Newcastle Keeping Tab on Rising Nigerian Star Boniface

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Cooper Rules Out Awoniyi from Luton’s Visit to Forest

Femi Solaja with agency report

Nottingham Forest Coach, Steve Cooper, yesterday confirmed that Super Eagles striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, will not be fit enough to play when they welcome Luton Town to City Ground as Premier League games return tomorrow after the international window.

Awoniyi sustained an injury just before Forest’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace two weeks ago and was not available in the two friendly matches played in recent FIFA window where Nigeria drew 2-2 with Saudi Arabia but managed 3-2 win over Mozambique.

Awoniyi was ruled out of action for four weeks. Nottingham Forest return to Premier League action this weekend, and during the pre-match presser, Cooper stated that Awoniyi is yet to return to full fitness.

“He’s progressing well; he’s not far off some training, to be honest. Let’s see how next week goes,” Cooper told Nottingham Post.

Awoniyi is Nottingham Forest’s highest goalscorer in the Premier League this season with three goals.

He has also supplemented with two assists to help the Tricky Trees to 13th place on the league table.

Chris Wood would have to start in the Nigerian’s place, and Cooper would hope that the 31-year-old delivers the goods against a Luton side that have conceded 15 goals in eight top-flight games.

In-form Nigeria and Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface, is believed to be on the radar of English Premier League side, Newcastle, and weighing up a possible move for the forward.

The 22-year-old has been a sensation in the Bundesliga this term, banging in seven goals in seven games.

That prolific run earned him a call-up for Nigeria during the international break.

According to UK’s SunSport, Toon scouts watched Boniface play in Portugal for the Super Eagles against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.

He didn’t score but was a handful against the Saudis, causing problems in their backline which forced an own-goal.

Newcastle Manager Eddie

Taiwo Awoniyi...to miss Nottingham Forest’s opening game after the international break due to injury

The Club bosses were reminded that no club official is allowed access to Match Officials before, during and after any fixtures.

"It has become necessary to remind our Chairmen, General Managers and other top officials of the clubs that no club officer is permitted to visit or talk to Match Officials in their Changing Rooms at halftime or at anytime in the course of a league match.

“Access to Match Officials is restricted and only appointed Match Commissioners and Referees are to be in the designated rooms at halftime", the memo emphasised.

Owumi appealed to the Clubs'

Leaders to provide enabling condition for a professional match management to avoid the ugly reports that have been coming out of some venues. He warned that the League administration will not hesitate to apply the full sanctions as provided in the Framework and Rules of the NPFL in proven cases of unacceptable access to Match Officials.

In a separate development, the NPFL wants club to avoid the penchant for requesting fixture rescheduling, noting that with the release of the full fixtures, all clubs have been placed on sufficient notice to plan their schedules.

"Please, be informed also that

the full fixtures of the season has been made available to all clubs with provision for two midweek fixtures for Match-day 6 and 12. It has thus provided sufficient notice for all clubs to put in place the logistics to honour the fixtures as the League would not entertain any requests for game rescheduling", the Clubs were informed.

Odion Ighalo FC players jubilating after winning the Epe Conference and picking the ticket to play in the final 8 of the 1XBET Grassroots Football Tournament in Lagos...yesterday

The stage is set for an exhilarating showdown in Benin City, the Edo State capital as Lagos-based Robo FC, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels and 10 other top teams from the Nigerian Women's Football League (NWFL) battle for the N60 million aggregate prize at the third edition of the Betsy Obaseki Football Tournament (BOWFT).

The tournament to be held in Benin City between Monday, 23rd of October and Wednesday 1st of November, 2023will be hosted in four sports facilities in the state, including the magnificent Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, University

Saudi Arabia Want to Host 2035 Women’s World Cup Monika Staab at the Leaders Week conference at Twickenham.

Saudi Arabia has been accused of human rights abusesand same-sex sexual activity is illegal.

There are also concerns over women's rights in the county.

Many women's football players are open about their sexuality, with several critical

of plans for tourism authority Visit Saudi to sponsor the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Those plans were eventually abandoned by FIFA after the host nations expressed their disappointmentwith the idea.

Amnesty International Australia campaigner Nikita

Odion Ighalo FC’s Michael Nwachukwu scored the only goal that decided the winner of the Epe Conference of the maiden edition of the 1XBET Grassroots Football Tournament yesterday.

The high-octane final game of the Epe Conference between Ighalo FC and De Elites was end-to-end actions and fans at the venue were on their toes throughout the encounter.

And it was not until the 53rd minute goal by Nwachukwu that the boys were separated from the men, with Odion Ighalo FC grabbing the lone ticket at stake.

Interestingly, that goal was Nwachukwu's fifth in two matches.

De Elites proved to be worthy finalists.

It took the daring efforts of the defence line of the Ighalo FC

that was marshalled by Justice Ohanusi and the dare-devil saves by goalkeeper Idowu Abiodun to stop De Elites from reaching the final of the tournament proper after the Conference playoffs.

Yusuf Fawaz also of Ighalo FC emerged the highest scorer of the Epe Conference with 6 goals.

A total of 40 goals were scored in 13 matches of the Epe Conference, making it the highest goals scored in the championship, so far.

Speaking after the final match, former Nigeria youth international, Pastor Michael Dominic commended Match International Limited, the organisers of the championship led by Engr. Waidi Akanni for a near-perfect football showpiece.

He also lauded the sponsors, 1XBET for taking grassroots football to a new height.

Edo Queens, Robo FC, 11 Others to Play for N60m Prize Money Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Saudi Arabia wants to host the 2035 Women's World Cup, says the technical director of the country's women's team.

The Gulf kingdom has already lodged a formal bid to host the 2034 men's World Cup. "I believe it's a bright future (for the women's and girls' game in Saudi Arabia)," said

Howe has been keeping close tabs on the striker, who joined Bayer from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise for $12 million in the summer.

The St. James’ Park chief is keen on adding some physicality to his frontline and sees Boniface as a top target who would complement the likes of Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson.

Isak is able to play wide following the long-term injury to Harvey Barnes.

Wilson turns 32 in February and will have just 18 months left on his contract by that stage.

Newcastle are also thought to be looking at raiding Arsenal for Emile Smith Rowe.

1XBET Cup: Odion Ighalo FC Win Epe Conference

NPFL Clubs Charged to Stay Away from Referees Changing Rooms Clubs hierarchy in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) have been charged to provide conducive atmosphere at all times during the matches of the 2023/24 season.

The charge came through a memo to the clubs and signed by the NPFL Chief Operating Officer, Davidson Owumi who observed that there have been a number of disturbing incidences reported around the Changing Rooms of the Referees at some venues.

"It is becoming increasingly worrisome that unauthorised persons are encroaching to restricted areas during matches of the ongoing season" the memo began.

TRANSFER NEWS

White said in February: "It would be quite the irony for Saudi's tourism body to sponsor the largest celebration of women's sport in the world when you consider that, as a woman in Saudi Arabia, you can't even have a job without the permission of your male guardian."

BOWFT 2023 of Benin Sports Complex, Western Boys Mini-Stadium and the Edo State College of Nursing and Health Sciences Mini-Stadium.

The N60 million total prize money will be shared among the overall winners, first runners-up, second runners-up, and other participating teams as consolation prizes.

The Chairman, Communication Sub-Committee for the tournament, Crusoe Osagie, in a statement, said the 2023 competition, which is a preseason tournament to prepare teams for the Nigeria women’s league.

The tournament is also targeted at raising awareness and generating public interest on the need to eradicate gender-based violence in all its forms. It is also aimed to spotlight the efforts undertaken by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in the past seven years to combat gender-based violence in the state.

Osagie listed other participating teams including Bayelsa Queens, Delta Queens, Naija Ratels, Nasarawa Amazons, and Osun Babes.

Others include; Confluence Queens, Fortress Ladies, Ekiti Babes, Remo Stars Ladies FC, and Heartland FC. Noting that all is set for the hosting of the yearly event recognized by the world football governing body, FIFA as one of the platforms promoting women's football across the globe, Osagie noted that the unveiling of the Mascot and the draws for the tournament is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, October 20th, 2023.

Listing the activities set for the tournament, he further noted, “The 13 teams who have confirmed their attendance and participation will be arriving in Benin City on Sunday, October 22nd, 2023. All the required facilities have been put in place as the participating team will be received on arrival on the same day at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

He further said, “There will be a press conference, unveiling of the Mascot and draws for the tournament tomorrow, Friday, October 20th, 2023. The draws will hold in the full glare of the media to ensure credibility and transparency.”

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Friday, October 20, 2023

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Red Cross to Nigeria “Issues like banditry, rising inflation, worsening economic conditions, the Russia/ Ukraine crisis and lack of access to farms in parts of Nigeria have all combined to make many Nigerians poorer and made access to food harder than usual. Like all great nations, we must prioritise the food needs of our citizens. It is not just a matter of dignity, but a matter of urgent National security” –President, Nigerian Red Cross, Oluyemisi Adeaga, alerting the nation on the prevailing precarious food crisis.

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OKEYANUEYIAGU GUEST COLUMNIST

Make Nigeria Work Again

I

n Nigeria, much has changed since we gained our independence from the colonial Britain, and mostly in the negative. The issues have been mostly and grievously, still the same, and they are getting worse by the day. The groundswell of discontent and the spiraling distortions, have become the prevailing norm of our lives.

“We are rich”. Those profound words were the common epithets around us proud Nigerians, and the view held by the entire world about us as a land of opportunity, and a haven for investors. But this was a very long time ago. We were a resources – rich nation, a favourite destination for everyone – from business persons to tourists. Lagos, our old capital, was a welcoming city, a gracious center of pride and joy filled with a conglomeration of our peoples from all tribes and tongues, and from all corners of our world, each bearing their beliefs and faiths without fear or favour.

Our country was a hub of first-rate infrastructural development – from the European – built and financed railway network to our airports and seaports which supported the ease of transport of persons and goods in and out of the country. Nigeria was a member in almost perfect standing, of a post independence system that had all the promises of success. But that was a longtime ago.

Then came the civil war, a devastating misadventure that decimated everything that we may have achieved post independence. The period of that rancid war, inexplicably, presented the darkest moments in the life of our country. We lost our sense of caution and humanity, and participated in a shameful vile goal that inflicted monstrous atrocities and beastialities on our fellow citizens. This period, signaled the downward spiral, decline, and fall of our country.

From the day that this war ended in 1970, the Nigerian State became a wasted opportunity without any promising or bright future. It became a kleptocratic State that is so divisively dysfunctional, with political structures that are not inclusive, and that are devoid of equality, fairness or equity, infested with tyrannical and incompetent leadership. Today, our country is faced with more anachronistic dimensional problems that appear to be even more deadly and detrimental than the 30 month civil war.

Our country has descended so dangerously into an anarchy State that the current combustible intensity of partisan animosities, tribal and religious bigotry, reflect amongst other disturbing issues, the effect of the growing polarization in our polity and our economy.

These contending variables convince me that our country may never be properly aligned with the politics and economics of nation building and growth.

How can we make our country work again as it did before it was polluted by our leaders?

The ultimate survival of our country depends on us all, even as it is abundantly evident that we are still deeply vulnerable to the pathologies that began to plague us when we started our fall to infamy. With the primitive and the gratuitously disgraceful actions and behaviour of our political actors, and the incivility of its leadership, we are thoroughly making a mockery of ourselves. We are, essentially, in such an alarming and catastrophic manner, denigrating our sensibilities to the critical elements that nurture, sustain and stabilize our institutions.

The myriad of problems confronting and hindering the growth of Nigeria are many. They range from political, social to economic issues like; leadership deficiency, followership blindness and docility, weak democratic structures, deficient power (electricity) supply, dilapidated road network, air, rail and waterways transportation inefficiency, insufficient domestic food production and processing, fuel and oil industry problems. These problems and others that include corruption and strifes and the killings that follow them, have continued to fester unabatedly, holding our country in a precarious

Tinubu stronghold and in a pinfall perfected by sumo wrestlers.

For well over 50 years, our country has confronted these deep – rooted problems and has failed, or has been unable to solve or resolve them. We have exponentially become poorer, weaker, despondent, wicked and more miserable. The variables that made us economically strong, rich and happy in the early 1960s, have all but disappeared. Recall that we used to be number 3 in the entire world in the production and distribution of cocoa, rubber, and palm oil, and that we were in the group of the world’s largest producers of textile, sugar cane, sorghum, cotton, magnesium, columbite and tin, among other valuable products. Until the cursed crude oil became a prominent feature in our economy, and on the menu of our thieving leaders, Nigeria had a strong, enviable, viable and potentially progressive economy that was the toast of the world. Today, we have become desperately poorer and may have no clue of how to scamper out of this quagmire, and how to return our country to greatness again.

There is not a single reasonable Nigerian citizen of age and maturity that can claim ignorance of the calamities that have befallen our country. We all know who the culprits of our collective doom are, and how they perfected their ruthful and rueful ruination of our country. These known “killers” of Nigeria with what appeared to be the success of their heterodox policies during our initial struggling days to the present times, helped to establish governing habits that became increasingly detrimental and destructive to the growth of the nation. They established many nightmarishly silly and redundant policies that discouraged investments and encouraged and fostered corruption.

Whether we achieve some level of consentiency on my positions here, or not, what is certain is that our country has reached rock bottom in all the spheres of our lives and existence. We have reached the appropinquate point that is very close to the cliff of no-return, and with a little shove, we may all be history. The apodictic of this my narration, even as bleak and hopeless as it appears, is unassailable and irrefragable. Without any doubt, we are irrebuttably in serious trouble.

In the past 5 decades or more, our country has been ladened with a retinue of bad, incompetent, corrupt and inexperienced leaders, who essentially did not, and do not understand the science of how to manage an economy. This presented clear limitation on how to create prosperity for the people. When the entire world was shifting grounds on the demand and supply sides of the world’s economy, our policymakers were clueless

and lacked proper economic thinking that would have kept us abreast and lifted us from poverty to prosperity.

Paradoxically, the weakness of our planners left us behind as our economy suffered. They were unable to grasp with dexterity, the intricate World Monetary Agencies predatory influences over us.

One of the critical purposes of this short essay is to provide a brief and objective account of our political and economic evolution since independence, and to examine the persistent problems of governance, dissecting how these intractable problems have held and strangulated the country, stunting its growth and advancement. It is painfully true that the analytical and prescriptive view of Nigeria, bearing in mind the total cognitive evaluation of our past and our present, paint a very contemptuous and consequentially dire situation for us. The real question then, is if in examining these problems we can find a way to make Nigeria work again.

I am frightened by the prevailing evidence today that Nigeria has become injuriously more fractious than at any time in our recent history. Not even the apocalyptic civil war atrocities and the after effects of that evil war match the vicious trend of the events we are witnessing in today’s Nigeria. Equally evident, is the waning and decline of trust in the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches of government. This distrust has become rather centrifugal, raising the already high stakes of hostility, disunity and crisis that have engulfed the entire country.

At this point, I will seek to offer a cautionary tale about how quickly a robust country can be weakened and destroyed when actions ignored and not taken can inimically bode ill for the smooth functioning of a country.

When we ignore to address the issue of good governance, lack of productivity, stunted innovative initiatives, poor management of natural resources, failure to diversify the economy away from the mono petro-dollar economy to a real sector industrial-based economy, we leave the fate of the country in a dangerous balance of endangerment.

What I ponder all the time and have sleepless nights over, is how Nigeria has overtaken India as the world’s poverty capital, despite being endowed with tremendous human and natural resources? Is this incredible paradox not heightened and made worse by the fact that we are Africa’s leading crude oil producer – the sixth on the OPEC list, and yet we are one of the leading importers of refined products, and in the process drain our foreign exchange reserves while conversely exporting jobs, economic opportunities and values.

Although so many extraneous factors are responsible for Nigeria’s downturn, I believe that the major factor is the issue of unstable governance and democratization.

The perception and the reality of pervasive institutional and structural disorder, portends for domestic instability and destabilization. I see a clear nexus between a stable and safe government and the growth and advancement of Nigeria. If the government is unstable and unable to formulate, foster and implement economic and social plans based on consistent and strong policies, both fiscal, monetary and in other terms, the political, social and economic growth of the country will suffer.

These, unfortunately, have been the bleak and depressing stories of Nigeria over many, many decades.

As we continue to question how and who will make our country WORK again, it is important to point out that the political and economic atmosphere in Nigeria today is deepened in despair and constantly fueling disenchantment that threatens the very fabric of our own very existence as a democracy. I believe that the exacerbation of non-democratic styles of governance are the greatest threats facing our democracy and forcing down our already battered-down precedents, leveling our established norms and ethos, and demolishing our constituted institutions. The shameful reality, is that our leaders have seized these moments of despair to inevitably eclipse power with the resultant destruction of all we hold dear and precious.

Now, we must ask ourselves, if the instability in our land, the hunger and starvation amongst our people, the

wanton killings and the lack of empathy and compassion for human life and dignity, the general desecration of our various structures and institutions, are responsible for our tolling misfortunes, and if we can ever make things work again.

Yes, we can make things work again, we can restore our country to glory when, and if the right leadership is preferred and motivated with the requisite knowledge and will to do the right things for a country tethering on a complete cataclysmic collapse. What do we need from our leaders? First and foremost, let us make conscious choices laid in firm and strong foundation, and allow it to be the basis of our political activity. Let our choices be determined and be made to obtain its origin in fair and equitable judgment and reason, rather than in the euphoria aroused by the vain pursuit of glory, power and the lure of money, a useless sense of rivalry, or a lack of compassion and the will to do good.

The reality of our circumstances is that our country is infested with people who have thrown themselves into public affairs and politics simply because they have no meaningful and useful private business or lives worthy of their attention. On just a whim, these people venture into politics and stay there perpetually without a clue of why they are there, and when to exit. They have nothing worthwhile to do, but to pollute our political and economic systems, denigrating everything in their way.

Those who enter politics on the basis of an unreasonable and a dishonourable judgment, and as a money-making occupation, are the trouble with Nigeria.

When our leaders venture into politics by way of rash and accidental actions, it is as if they have been blindfolded and cannot see, but those who have made proper descent into politics with deliberate and wellplanned preparation, are most likely to conduct our affairs prudently. The latter group of people are absent in our political landscape.

We know all the problems bedeviling Nigeria. Even a child in the elementary school knows that the country is suffering from many ailments ranging from political upheavals, to economic degradation; that our refineries are moribund – that we rely on imported petrol to survive, that our farmers are not producing food – that we depend mostly on imported food to be alive, that we have borrowed so much money to fund our expensive and extravagant lifestyles – that this child’s grand children will be ladened with repayment burden for centuries to come, that the rate of inflation has gone through the roof – that this child’s mother may be unable to purchase simple sustenance provisions for her household, that this child’s home may be swept away by flood – because government has not paid any attention to the climate change debacle plaguing the country.

This child in the elementary school is not oblivious of who fostered and bequeathed our country with these burdens. The child knows that our politicians, in addition to inflicting us with these festering sore wounds, have also foisted on us; nepotism, tribalism, electoral malpractices and violence, corruption, outright stealing, insipid and clueless leadership and other pervasive issues that have inexorably dealt devastating blows to the stability and growth of Nigeria.

What our country needs now is a rescue operation and this must be done, and soon. I believe that it is only through credible, reliable and knowledgeable leadership that we can make Nigeria work again. There must be a general disquisition on the importance of political and economic ideas. It is ideas and not tribal or religious bigotry, or nepotism that will bring us out of this quagmire. The prevalence of vested interest is a dangerous recipe for good governance. We may never achieve the greatest we deserve and need, however, unless we are willing and able to clearly confront all our problems beginning from choosing those that lead us with clarity of purpose.

•Dr. Okey Anueyiagu, a Political Economist is the author of: Biafra, The Horrors of War

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