WEDNESDAY 28TH OCTOBER 2020

Emefiele: Banks Disbursed N2.32tn Loans with Moveable Collaterals CJN seeks speedy dispensation of justice in commercial transactions

Alex Enumah, James Emejo and Folalumi Alaran in Abuja The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday said the banking sector gave

credit facilities amounting to N1.80 trillion, $1.36 (N515.7 billion) and €10.92 million (N5.394 billion ), totalling N2.32 trillion to 273,435 large companies, individuals and Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises (MSMEs) registered under the National Collateral Registry (NCR).

He said the figures, which were generated from a total of 113,153 financing statements registered on the registry in

respect of movable assets offered as collateral, comprised 262,904 individuals; 1,421 large firms; 4,260 medium firms; 1,433 micro-businesses and 3,417 small businesses.

The NCR came into effect

in May 2016.

Emefiele spoke in Abuja at a virtual workshop on "Secured Transactions in Movable Asset and Credit Reporting Reforms in Nigeria," organised for judicial officers.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, at the occasion, promised that the judiciary will ensure speedy dispensation Continued on page 9

The Economist Endorses Okonjo-Iweala to Lead WTO... Page 8 Wednesday 28 October, 2020 Vol 25. No 9333. Price: N250

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FG Insists on Regulating Social Media Udora Orizu in Abuja

IN SOLIDARITY...

L-R: President of Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN), Mr Guy Murray-Bruce; Publisher, Guardian Newspaper, Mrs. Maiden Ibru; Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, THISDAY & Arise TV, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Publisher, Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu; Publisher, Source, Ms. Comfort Obi; Provost, Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; and President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr. Chris Isiguzo, during a solidarity visit to The Nation Newspaper, in Lagos…yesterday abiodun ajala

Despite public outcry, the federal government yesterday launched a fresh campaign to regulate social media, especially in the wake of the #EndSARS protests that were largely driven by digital campaigns.

Leading the charge is Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed, who said yesterday that the federal government feels compelled to regulate social media to curb the spread of what he calls fake news.

The minister spoke in Abuja while responding to questions Continued on page 9

Despite Sanwo-Olu’s Denial, Army Insists Lagos Govt Requested Troops Deployment Deniesshootingcivilians Govneverdeniedinvitingsoldiers,claimsaide Policecommand count losses, say six personnel killed, 38 injured, 71 force vehicles, 62 exhibits destroyed 520 suspects arrested for arson, rioting South-west senators to lobby FG to compensate Lagos Chiemelie Ezeobi A week after it triggered a global outrage over its alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters in Lagos, the

Nigerian Army yesterday broke its silence on the incident, denying that it fired at the marchers.

It also disputed the claim

by Lagos State Governor, Mr.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, that he knew nothing about troop deployment in Lekki Tollgate where soldiers were accused of shooting protesters for allegedly flouting the curfew

imposed on the state to curb the social unrest unleashed by hoodlums who had seized the #EndSARS protest.

However, a statement by the Acting Deputy Director,

81 Division Army Public Relations, Major Osoba Olaniyi, which provided further clarification on the troop deployment during the protests, categorically denied

that civilians were shot at.

Sanwo-Olu, in his first reaction after the shooting, had blamed the shooting on Continued on page 9

In Historic Move, Buhari Nominates Yakubu for Second Term...Page 5

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Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

In Historic Move, Buhari Nominates Yakubu for Second Term

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

In a historic move, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday presented the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, for a second term of office.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement.

He said: "In a letter to President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, the president said in accordance with the provision of Section 154 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), ‘I am pleased to present for confirmation by the Senate, the nomination of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu for appointment as Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for a second and final term.”

Yakubu was first appointed

by Buhari in November 2015.

He is the first chairman of the commission to be nominated twice.

Meanwhile, the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has congratulated Yakubu on his reappointment for a second term of office.

In a statement issued by the spokesman of the CUPP, Mr. Ikenga Ugochinyere, CUPP said that they received the news of the reappointment of Yakubu with caution.

"We heartily congratulate him on his reappointment for a fresh term of five years.

This is because we see this opportunity given to him as the only chance he would have to set our electoral processes on the right path."

According to the CUPP, "We, therefore, urge him to use this second term appointment which is novel in the political history of Nigeria to cleanse our electoral process and consolidate on the gains of Edo and Ondo elections.

"The shifted elections earlier scheduled for 31st October 2020 would be the first test of what this second term would be for Nigerians will expect nothing less than a very

credible, free and fair 2023 general election from him.

CUPP also called on

the Senate and opposition lawmakers to confirm the appointment so as to allow

him to have the needed neutrality to oversee the upcoming bye- elections

and adequate time to start the cleansing process of the electoral process.

COUNTING LOSSES...

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; and Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, during a condolence visit by South-west senators to the governor in Lagos…yesterday

Buratai Tasks Military on Transparency, Accountability Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has tasked officers and men of the Nigerian Army to imbibe the culture of accountability, transparency and probity in the management of financial resources.

Buratai spoke yesterday in Abuja at the opening of a workshop on "Compliance with assets declaration and code of conduct for officers and soldiers of the Nigerian Army."

The workshop was organised by the Nigerian Army in collaboration with the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to sensitise the personnel on the need to entrench accountability in their work.

Buratai said the workshop

would afford army personnel the opportunity to fulfill their obligations as public officers in line with the provisions of the fifth schedule of the constitution.

He said the army under his leadership was desirous of maintaining the high standard of accountability in the conduct of its activities.

According to him, it is consistent with the requirements and behaviour of public officers, which conforms to the high standard of probity, public morality, transparency and accountability.

“Accordingly, I have directed that the same workshop be conducted in the six Nigerian Army divisions nationwide.

“My directive is premised on

the belief that every person of Nigerian army entrusted with leadership responsibility must understand the primacy of asset declaration and code of conduct for public officers and complying with all its provisions and requirement.

“This is so because accountability is a prerequisite for driving the fight against corruption which is one of the major focus of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

“It is gratifying to note that one of the main objectives of this workshop is to educate and sensitise officers and men of the Nigerian Army on asset declaration and code of conduct for public officers as well as the consequences of non-compliance.

“As members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, strict compliance with the provisions of the code of conduct is a constitutional responsibility that must be respected,’’ he said.

Buratai stated that he always canvassed and pursued a system that emphasised judicious utilisation of scarce resources to optimise value for money.

He added that the Nigerian Army has complied with the requirements of the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP), thus enhancing transparency and prudence in financial management.

The COAS also said that efforts had been made to minimise waste and ensure judicious application of funds by the army.

This, according to him, is in consonance with his vision to have a professionally responsive Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional roles.

He urged the participants to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the workshop to understand the requirements for asset declaration and code of conduct for public officers.

The Chairman of CCB, Prof.

Muhammed Isah, represented by a member of the Board, Prof. Samuel Ogundare, said the bureau was desirous to promoting ethical conducts among public officers.

Isah said the workshop was part of the efforts of CCB towards building an ethical structure as a modality expected

to be in place for public officers.

He called on the Nigerian Army to put in place a management body to look at the ethical structure as well as incentives for living in a high level of morality.

Earlier, the Chief of Army Standard and Evaluation, Maj. Gen. Habila Vintenaba, said the CCB in carrying out its primary function deemed it necessary to acquaint army personnel with the nitty-gritty of assets declaration and code of conduct.

Vintenaba said the workshop was a demonstration of Buratai’s unwavering commitment to entrenching the culture of responsiveness, probity, prudence and accountable responsibility in the Nigerian Army.

Gunshots, Air Patrols in Abuja as Hoodlums Raid NYSC Camp Three looters feared killed at Customs College Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Gunshots rent the air yesterday as soldiers and policemen made spirited efforts to ward off hoodlums who invaded the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Orientation Camp in Kubwa area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, carting away mattresses, utensils, electronics and other items.

Also, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and the air wing of the Nigeria Police also embarked on aerial patrol with helicopters to scare the invaders.

Three looters were also feared dead, while many sustained various degrees of injuries when Custom officers fired gunshots to disperse a crowd which invaded the Nigeria Customs Quarters in Gwagwalada, Abuja, with the intention to loot food aid that was allegedly hoarded in the premises.

THISDAY gathered that the Customs officers resisted the

hoodlums who attempted to breach the gate at the quarters during the morning raid.

Calm was later restored when the looters scampered for safety when one person reportedly died on the spot and some people injured when the officers fired gunshots. Two victims were later said to have died from gunshot injuries.

The hoodlums were said to have invaded the Customs quarters believing that COVID-19 palliatives were kept on the premises following an earlier raid on the same Gwagwalada axis where they looted palliatives belonging to the FCT Administration.

Scores of hoodlums looted shops and also stole foodstuffs, mattresses, electronics and other items at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Kubwa.

Some of the looted items belonged to individuals quartered at the NYSC camp as no corps member was in the camp.

It was gathered that the miscreants stole textile materials, generating sets and computers from the shops opposite the NYSC camp.

The early raid prompted the police and the Nigeria Air Force to send helicopters to keep surveillance over the area, while a detachment of soldiers and policemen were sent to the scene to control the crowd.

The hoodlums, who were armed with machetes, jack-knives and clubs, also attacked residents of the area.

They blocked the road at about 9 am, turning back motorists while the Kubwa village market was immediately shut by its authorities to avoid any invasion.

The crisis at the NYSC camp forced some parents and guardians to evacuate their children and wards from schools.

The hoodlums also looted computers, generators, textile materials in the shops directly opposite the NYSC entrance gate.

Kuje town, the headquarters of the Kuje Area Council in Abuja, was also thrown into pandemonium as hoodlums, armed with sticks and knives blocked roads and patrolled the streets in search of any warehouse housing the COVID-19 palliatives.

Hoodlums Cart away 110 tractors Meanwhile, the Chairman of North East Commodity Association (NECAS), Mr. Sadiq Umar-Daware, has said hoodlums who took advantage of the EndSARS protests have carted away 110 new tractors and implements from the association’s warehouse in Yola, Adamawa State.

Umar-Daware, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said the hoodlums also broke into the main warehouses of the Rice Farmers Association,

Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria and made away with farm inputs.

He said the hoodlums broke into another warehouse filled with fertilisers and carted away bags and farm implements arranged for distribution to farmers to commence the planting season.

“They not only took tonnes of produce, but they also made away with the farm inputs for the dry season farming and the offices of Rice Farmers Association, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria (MFAN) and the NECAS were also looted and vandalised.

“Files for various programmes were destroyed and they made away with various documents,’’ he said.

According to Umar-Daware, NECAS has many tractors because it was incorporated to provide among other services, tractor leasing and mechanisation service for farmers.

“What they took away include tonnes of rice, beans, maize, sorghum and millets and computers, tables, chairs, office equipment, water dispenser and cash,’’ he said.

Umar-Daware said complaints were laid to some security agencies but they did not respond.

“Based on our own findings, they have kept some of the tractors in some people’s garages and when reports were made the response was not favourable,’’ he said.

Umar-Daware described the act as extremely dangerous and inimical to the mechanisation services to farmers and development agriculture aimed at ensuring food security.

He, however, urged people in Adamawa and its environs to be on the lookout for anybody in possession of the tractors and report to NECAS, RIFAN and MFAN officials for recovery and necessary action.

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The Economist Endorses Okonjo-Iweala to Lead WTO Peter Uzoho with agency An influential London-based magazine, The Economist, has expressed its preference for Nigeria’s candidate, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the position of director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In its latest editorial on the race for the leadership of the global trade body, the media outfit highlighted the qualities of the former Nigeria finance minister, saying her political clout would be beneficial to the WTO. Jostling with Okonjo-Iweala for the WTO job is South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Yoo Myung-hee. A winner is due to be announced between today and November 7, but support seems to be coalescing around Okonjo-Iweala.

The report stated that the contest says more about the discord in the trading system than the harmony.

It stated: “The candidates themselves did a good job of highlighting various divisions in the course of the selection process (while dutifully noting that only members have the power to resolve them).

Between them, they identified a long list of problems: jammed negotiations that have left the WTO’s rule book out of date; the broken system of solving disputes; members’ lacklustre commitment to transparency; and a trade war between America and China.

“Okonjo-Iweala has

emphasised her experience fighting COVID-19 as her strong suit. As head of Gavi, she understands the importance of open trade so that vital supplies can get to where they are needed. But this too is a thorny topic.

“Rich countries are more interested in lowering others’ tariffs than limiting their own right to apply export controls. They also hate a recent proposal from India and South Africa to suspend Intellectual-property protection for products that could prevent, contain or treat the disease. So instead, Okonjo-Iweala has spoken only vaguely of exploring new trade rules and intellectualproperty and licensing rights for drug-making,” It quoted Okonjo-Iweala to have promised to empower the WTO’s secretariat if she wins.

“That could be controversial—some members will resist what they see as a threat to their power over negotiations. But it could also help poorer countries, some of which lack the capacity to draft proposals on their own, making it hard to participate in talks.

“Her political clout will be useful too. If the problems of the global trading system were purely technical, they would have been solved long ago,” she was quoted to have told members in July.

The Economist added: “But

Okonjo-Iweala’s success would also say something about the geopolitics of trade. China could reject Myung-hee if that allows it to keep its deputy-director-general spot.

(Historically, jobs have been divvied up among regions.)

“Japan’s nasty trade dispute with South Korea makes it

unlikely to support Myunghee. Brazil, a big exporter of farm products, may be put off by South Korea’s membership of the G10 group of countries, which staunchly defends agricultural subsidies.

The agreement on the next director-general could be born from a host of disagreements.

“Members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are not known for cooperating with each other. So when in June they began the process of choosing a new directorgeneral, many feared deadlock.

But now, as the process draws to a close, officials are feeling hopeful,” it added.

In addition, it noted that disagreements between members also explains the candidates’ rather limited ambitions, saying that a bold agenda might include a grand bargain on agriculture that lowers tariffs in poor countries and limits subsidies in rich ones.

DEFENDING FIGURES...

L-R: Minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Tayo Alasoadura; the Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio; and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Dr. Babayo Ardo, during the ministry’s 2021 budget defence before the Senate Committee on Niger Delta in Abuja…yesterday julius atoi

Media Leaders Flay Attacks, Visit The Nation, TVC Segun James Media leaders in the country yesterday condemned those that vandalised, looted, and torched media houses during the #EndSARS protests.

According to them, the attack on the media was an attack on democracy and the country.

The leaders, under the aegis of Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO), comprising Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) visited The Nation Newspapers and TVC yesterday and called on the federal government to quickly bring the perpetrators to book, warning that such heinous acts were capable of destabilising the country.

They were led by President of NPAN, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Publisher of Vanguard newspaper, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu; Publisher, The Guardian, Mrs. Maiden Alex-Ibru; and co-founder of Newswatch, Mr. Ray Ekpu.

Also in the team were Acting Provost, Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Mr. Gbenga Adefaye; Publisher of The Source Magazine, Mrs. Comfort Obi; Chairman of Broadcasters in Nigeria and Group President, Silverbird Group, Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce; Managing

Director/Editor-in-Chief, The Nigerian Xpress, Mr. Steve Nwosu; President, Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Chris Isiguzo; Chairman, Lagos Council, Dr. Qasim Akinreti; Channels Television Executive, Mr. Ambrose Okoh; Managing Director, Radio Services, DAAR Communications, Mr. Ambrose Somide, Treasurer, NGE, Ms. Victoria Ibanga; an artist, Mr. Patrick Doyle, and Managing Director, The Sun, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh, among others.

At The Nation newspapers, the group was received by Chairman, Vintage Press Limited, Mr. Wale Edun; Managing Director/Editor-inChief, Mr. Victor Ifijeh; Editor, Mr. Adeniyi Adesina; and Executive Director, Finance and Administration Mr. Sunday Adeleke.

Edun, who led them to the boardroom, said the attackers came with all manners of deadly weapons.

Their mission, he said, was to silence this voice (The Nation).

“The attack was an assault on the press; an assault on free speech, an assault on the media, and an assault on democracy. A few hours before they came here, Television Continental (TVC) was burnt.

“Their coming on-air shows their determination,” he said.

The one-time Lagos State

commissioner for finance said he was happy that no life was lost to the attack.

Obaigbena, who described Uncle Sam Amuka-Pemu as the oldest serving journalist in the country, said the team was on a solidarity visit to the Vintage Press Limited.

He said: “We are here in solidarity with The Nation, in solidarity with journalism and in solidarity with free speech. Without free speech, without freedom of expression, there is no democracy. So, whatever we do, no matter the side of the divide we are on, we must always support free speech and as journalists, we will never bow like cowards; we must always pursue truth, report facts, give sound analysis and guide our nation at this time.

“I am very well aware that The Nation in an editorial supported the expression by the protesters and the youth.

We still support them; we still support what they stand for; we still support the reform of the police; we still support an orderly society and we will continue to support what the youth stand for in bringing back a better Nigeria but we don't support those who seek to use violence to settle political scores, clearly the attack on The Nation was a premeditated act.

“Getting here was even difficult sometimes and to

find some people with guns to shoot at journalists who are doing their jobs in the pursuit of truth; that can never be accepted. No matter how many guns you have, you can never silence the pen.”

The Founder and Chairman of THISDAY Newspapers/ ARISE NEWS Channel implored The Nation staff to continue to do their jobs, pursue free speech and continue to build a better Nigeria.

He lamented a situation whereby media were harassed by the regulators and the streets “but we will always stand firm and will never bow.”

NUJ’s president, Isiguzo, said an attack on any medium is an attack on “all of us.”

“That's why we have not come as different groups, but we have come here together to show you that we are all together in this struggle,” he said.

According to him, some media were also attacked and looted in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, Adamawa and Plateau States.

Isiguzo said: “So, it happened across the country and is really unfortunate.

This is a clear attempt at pigeonholing the media, putting the media in a pigeon hole and anytime they succeed in silencing the media, it simply means democracy has taken flight

because media is central to the survival of democracy.

We believe that a responsible government must unmask those behind these dastardly acts because we can't continue to accept this silence.”

Chairman of Broadcasters in Nigeria and Group President of the Silverbird Group, Mr. Guy MurrayBruce, described the attack as an act of cowardice.

“We sympathise with you, we don’t encourage this and we don’t believe that any media organisation should be attacked. We are here for solidarity visit and we are all behind you 100 per cent,” he said.

Ekpu reminisced an occurrence during the late Gen. Sani Abacha era.

He said the media in Nigeria since then has been an endangered species either during the military or civilian rule.

He said: “And that is why we must always be together and fight together. During the military, it was the media that stood out there and received the bullet on the chest and fought them toe to toe and throw them out of this country.”

Alex-Ibru, appealed to the Lagos State government not to close Lekki toll gate.

According to her, many people living in Lekki, Ikoyi and Osborne will suffer for it.

She said: “I will like to

make a request on behalf of all of us, who live around Lekki 1, Ikoyi and Osborne.

That place is very important to all of us. If the government as advised decided to close it down or suspend it for a while, it is going to cause a lot of inconvenience for the people. Even those people coming from Ajah, Lekki third, fourth roundabouts will suffer for it. They should try as much as possible to collate all the pieces of evidence they need and fix their bridge.”

Ifijeh thanked the team for the visit.

He said The Nation was delighted to have them and their visit would uplift the spirit of the staff.

He said: “Our chairman referred to the resilient spirit of the journalist that no matter what, they would not be cowed; they would continue to do their job. We know of a newspaper house whose office was burnt in Apapa many years ago, a newspaper house, whose printing premises in Abuja was also burnt. Where is that newspaper house today?

“It is standing firm, stronger, resilient. We know of newspaper houses that were shut during the Abacha time, (she is referring to ourselves), those newspapers are still standing, and many of such papers affected are still standing. That tells us about the spirit of journalism.”

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PAGE NINE DESPITE SANWO-OLU’S DENIAL, ARMY INSISTS LAGOS GOVT REQUESTED TROOPS DEPLOYMENT "forces beyond my control."

However, in his first major interview after the shooting, the governor who was on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, denied ordering the army to the state, saying such powers is beyond any state governor.

He said: “I don’t know how the officers got it all wrong because the instruction was that police won’t be out until 10-10:30 p.m. when all citizens should have gotten to their various homes. This is totally against what we stand for.

“The army does not report to me, I have reported the matter to the highest command in the military. It’s not something we are going to gloss over. A judicial panel will be set up to investigate it. I have escalated it to the highest level of the military.”

Also, when former Lagos State Governor, Senator Bola Tinubu, visited the governor last Saturday, he said he asked Sanwo-Olu “if he didn’t order the attack, who ordered the attack? That’s all I needed from him”.

He, however, didn't state the response he got from the governor.

Safe for a “fake news” tag it placed on its Twitter handle on a viral video showing men

in army camouflage shooting in the midst of protesters at the tollgate, the army hierarchy had been silent on the incident.

It, however, broke this earlier stance and issued the release last night, admitting troop’s deployment but insisting that its soldiers did not shoot protesters.

This, some analysts said last night, might be a reaction to a statement recently attributed to Sanwo-Olu, where he admitted that the CCTV captured the military, adding that the perpetrators would be held accountable.

The governor, on Monday, was, however, more forthcoming on the involvement of the army in the shooting as he told the CNN that the CCTV showed the presence of the military at the scene.

During the interview, he said: “From the footage that we could see, it seems to be…there would be men in military uniform, who should be Nigerian Army or something.”

But when pressed further by the CNN, the governor said: “Yes, they were there.

That’s what the footage shows.”

But the army in yesterday's statement said the state

government invited it to enforce the curfew and that it did not shoot any protesters.

The Nigerian Army described allegations bordering on massacre as untrue and unfounded.

The statement, titled: ‘Alleged Massacre of Protesters at Lekki Toll Plaza,’ read: “The attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to a viral video on social media in which it was alleged that civilian protesters were massacred by soldiers at Lekki Toll Plaza.

“This allegation is untrue, unfounded and aimed at causing anarchy in the country. At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian.

“From the onset of the ENDSARS protest, there was no time personnel of 81 Division Nigerian Army Lagos were involved.

“However, the decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government (LASG) after a 24-hour curfew was imposed.

“This was as a result of the violence, which led to several police stations being burnt, policemen killed, suspects in police custody released and weapons carted away.

“The situation was fast

degenerating into anarchy. It was at this point that LASG requested for the military to intervene in order to restore normalcy.

“The intervention of the military followed all laid down procedures for internal security operations and all the soldiers involved acted within the confines of the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for internal security operations.

“Finally, Headquarters 81 Division, Nigerian Army, reiterates that in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities, it did not shoot at any civilian as there are glaring and convincing evidence to attest to this fact.”

The statement described the allegation as the handiwork of mischief makers who will stop at nothing to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Army.

It urged the public to discountenance the allegation as there is no iota of truth in it.

However, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Mr. Jubril Gawat, while reacting to the statement from the army, said the governor never denied calling in the army.

He said: “Mr. Governor never denied this. They were supposed to come after curfew.”

On whether the army didn’t get the curfew extension addendum, he responded: “It was well posted.”

CP: Six Policemen Killed, 38 Injured in Lagos Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command yesterday said six policemen were killed, while 38 others were injured with some still in critical condition.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, told reporters in Lagos that 29 formations, 71 police vehicles and 62 exhibit vehicles were either burnt or vandalised by hoodlums who hijacked the peaceful #ENDSARS protests.

Shocked by the massive destruction of lives and property in the state, the South-west caucus of the Senate said it would push a motion to urge the federal government to assist in rebuilding the state.

Odumosu also paraded 520 suspects arrested for their alleged involvement in the wanton destruction and looting of both private and public property.

The police also recovered some of the stolen loot from private businesses.

Odumosu listed the six policemen killed as ASP Yard Edward, attached to Denton Police Station; Inspector Olayinka Erinfolami of the defunct Anti-kidnapping Unit (AKU); Inspector Adegbenro Aderibigbe attached to Meiran Division, Sergeant Abejide Abiodun of Department of Operations (DOPs), State Headquarters, and two others attached to Orile Division.

He said 58 police vehicles were burnt, 13 vandalised, while 62 vehicles belonging to individuals and those connected with some pending cases (exhibits) were burnt.

The hoodlums also vandalised nine other vehicles.

Odumosu added that 15 motorcycles and tricycles were torched and 65 vandalised at various locations across the state.

After the widespread violence, Odumosu said the police arrested a total of 520 suspects for various offences ranging from arson, robbery, murder, rioting, malicious damage and unlawful possession of firearms.

Among those arrested, Odumosu said, was one Olamilekan Ibrahim, 19, alleged to have been among those who broke into a Continued on page 10

EMEFIELE: BANKS DISBURSED N2.32TN LOANS WITH MOVEABLE COLLATERALS of justice in commercial or business transactions, adding that the financial sector and the overall economy will benefit from such timely adjudication.

Emefiele stated that as at September 30, a total of 694 financial institutions comprising 22 deposit money banks, four merchant banks, five development finance institutions, 580 microfinance banks, 37 non-bank financial institutions, 43 finance companies, one Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) and two non-interest financial institutions had registered on the NCR portal.

He described the registration as the first step towards buy-in to the registry’s operations.

He said some components

of the foreign currencydenominated loans represented the much-needed capital inflows into the economy and attested to the power of the registry as well as the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act (STMA)centric reforms by the apex bank, to engender economic development.

Emefiele, represented by CBN’s Director in charge of Development Finance Department, Mr. Yila Yusuf, stressed the need to sensitise judicial officers as enablers in the implementation of both the STMA and Credit Reporting Act (CRA, 2017), with a view to strengthening adjudication over them.

He said: "A lending relationship is based on trust

and it is our belief that lenders will respond positively to the yearnings of MSMEs for greater access to finance, given the assurance that their legitimate interests will be protected under the enabling laws of the land.

"To this end, it is pertinent that we solicit and get the full support of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies towards providing a robust and resilient financial infrastructure that will deepen credit delivery to our MSMEs." According to him, the collaboration with the judiciary will help to de-risk lending to the MSMEs sub-sector.

"Let me assure you that in general, we will pull out all the stops to enhance the safety, soundness and resilience

of the financial system. Expect us to call on you more often as we continue stakeholder engagements leveraging all available media. The benefits of all reforms initiated in the financial system must be enjoyed by all Nigerians," he stated.

In his remarks, the CJN, who addressed participants via web conference, stressed the importance of the judiciary to the financial sector.

He explained that potential investors often hinged their decisions to invest in the country on the enforceability of their rights in any commercial venture, adding that courts must be versed with credit transactions principles, especially with the passage of the STMA

Act 2017.

He stated that the judiciary must be strengthened to help the financial sector protect credit transactions.

"As access to credit is necessary for the economic development of Nigeria, it behoves the judiciary to protect parties to a transaction and ensure fair and ethical standards.

"The purpose of both laws is to facilitate and promote access to credit and enhance risk management in credit transactions. The protection of the rights of parties in a credit transaction would promote responsibility in the market and encourage responsible borrowing," he said.

He added that the judiciary has a crucial role to play in

securing transactions in movable assets and credit reporting.

"It is, therefore, our collective duty to ensure that the potential and prospects of credit delivery are optimally realised. The ongoing economic development strategy requires the joint efforts of the central bank, the judiciary and all stakeholders to make giant strides," he stated.

World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri, said the banks required confidence and assurance of the judiciary to recover their assets.

He said the only way to unlock finances for MSMEs was for the CBN to accept movable assets as collateral for credit, without which finance will be limited for small businesses.

legislators: “In 2017, a very popular entertainer in Nigeria raised the false alarm that students of the College of Education, Gidan Waya in Kaduna State had been murdered. There was an almost reprisal only for him to find out that it was not true.

“In the same 2017, we found out that some of the videos being posted are things that happened in other parts of the world. When there was a problem between South Africa and Nigeria, they were posting videos of what happened in India and Tanzania to suggest that Nigerians were being roasted alive. That was what led to the reprisals in the malls.”

He said the government has continued to draw attention that this is a menace, pointing out, however, fake news is a worldwide phenomenon.

“The University of Ohio conducted a research and discovered that Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election to Trump because of fake news which was promoted

by Russia and they worked on three issues. First was that Trump had been endorsed by the Pope. The second was that when she was secretary of state, she authorised the sale of arms and also that she was a very

old person. These three things did a lot to sway the votes,” he said.

He said in June, there was a riot in Ethiopia when a popular musician was killed, the government shut down social media for two days to bring that riot under control, pointing out that this occurred around the time Ethiopia hosted the AU. According to him, “But the truth is that the only way to do it was to shut down social media. We need technology and resources to dominate our social media. We need a social media policy to determine what can be seen and what cannot be seen.

“You will be shocked that when you start arguing with your children, they will be quoting social media. So, we need a social media policy in Nigeria and we need to empower the various agencies and we need technology to be able to regulate social media.

But a member of the committee, Hon. Emmanuel Oghene, warned against any attempt to shut down the social media, saying the action will be counter-productive and will lead the youths to believe that there is an attempt to truncate democracy.

Oghene said it was wrong

to always look at the negative sides of the social media at all times without mentioning the good side.

He said: ''Talking about the recent looting of COVID-19 items, in some places they will be looting, but nobody will know. The government will not know and the police will not know. But because of social media, people will be posting as it is happening and the government will be able to go there and save lives.

“There was a time when some boys were digging the road and because of social media, this information came out and the situation was arrested. If there are no social media, that will not happen.''

The lawmaker added that China is not a good example because it is a communist country, while Nigeria has always been a free democratic country.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Odebunmi Olusegun, said the federal government should search for the technology to regulate the social media and be able to work with what is already available in cyberspace.

He said: ''I don’t want the media to misquote us. Social media has come to stay. What the government should do is to look for technology that will

work together with what is in the space. We are not asking the government to stop social media. The most important thing is that government should go and look for the technology to regulate so that you can equally be working within the space.''

FG INSISTS ON REGULATING SOCIAL MEDIA when he appeared before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values to defend the 2021 budget proposal.

He said the biggest challenge facing the country is fake news and misinformation, warning that the next war that will be fought in the country and across the globe may be in social media.

Mohammed cited the recent #EndSARS protests, saying that it was fought on social media.

He said: ''They mobilised using the social media. The war today revolves around two things. Smart phones and data and these young men don’t even watch television or listen to the radio or read newspapers. We are sitting on a time bomb on this issue of fake news.

“Unfortunately, we have no national policy on social media, and we need one. When we went to China, we could not get Google, Facebook and Instagram.

“You could not even use your email in China because they made sure it is censored and well regulated.''

The minister, however, explained that the federal government was not seeking to shut down the social media

because it has come to stay.

He added that the country should have a social media policy that regulates social media and check fake news and misinformation.

He said: ''The biggest challenge facing Nigeria today is fake news and misinformation. Based on that, we dedicated an entire National Council on Information meeting to that issue after which we launched a national campaign against fake news in July 2018.

We said then that the next war will be fought without a shot being fired, but with the use of fake news. We didn’t stop there.

“We went on a tour of all media houses to solicit their support in the fight against fake news. We launched the campaign to regulate social media which was bitterly contested by the stakeholders.”

He said if the social media is not regulated, it will destroy the country, expressing the hope that social media and fake news would not destroy Nigeria.

He said in 2017, there was a fake video of the herdsmen and farmers’ crisis, pointing out that it was a video of what happened in Tanzania that was played in Nigeria as if it was true.

Mohammed told the

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WEDNESDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

How SARS Tortured Me for 47 Days, Victim Tells Lagos Panel Sanwo-Olu reads riot act to miscreants Peter Uzoho The Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS-related abuses in Lagos, commenced sitting yesterday with one of the petitioners recounting his ordeal in the hands of policemen.

Mr. Okolieagu Abunike, a father of five, told the panel that in 2012, Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) operatives detained and tortured him for 47 days at their Ikeja office, without trial.

He spoke just as the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu warned miscreants in Lagos to be law-abiding and peaceful or face the full wrath of the law.

Abunike told the commission that the operatives stole and sold his vehicle, a Volkswagen bus, land, bags of cement, inverter and carted away all the possessions in his house.

He testified as the first petitioner since the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide SanwoOlu, set up the nine-member panel on October 15, following the #EndSARS protests.

Abunike told the panel that he was arrested after tendering his resignation as manager of a firm, following a false complaint of theft by his boss.

He said he was first taken

to Ojo Police Station before being transferred to FSARS office at Ikeja.

There, he was beaten, hung on a pole and paraded as a thief in a market after he refused to confess to a bogus theft charge, a day after his arrest.

“They started beating me, paraded me before Alaba Market. The beating was too much. They broke my head.

Then they took me back to the station and called my boss. I spent 47 days with SARS,” Abunike said.

He identified his tormentors as Inspector Sunday alias” Baba Ijapa” and ASP (Assistant Superintended) Haruna.

He said: “My family didn’t know where I was. When my mother and wife finally came. They beat them up in my presence. They took over my house, sold my car, my inverter, phones and seized my land documents.”

The petitioner said he eventually got a judgment against the police on February 26, 2016, at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Justice Ibrahim Buba ordered the police to pay him N10 million as exemplary damages, but the police refused to pay.

He added: “No compensation has been made till date. That’s why I came forward to the

panel. My property was not given back to me. The only one I have got back is the landed property document in 2017. Justice (Mobolanle) Okikiolu-Ighile ordered the release of my documents.”

When asked what he wanted of the panel, Abunike said: “I want the panel to compel the police to do what the court has said. I am tired of suffering…feeding, school fees is a problem.”

Justice Okuwobi promised that the panel would make its findings on Abunike’s allegations public within seven working days.

Three other petitioners were scheduled for hearing yesterday.

They are: a paraplegic on a wheelchair, Mr Ndukwe Ekekwe; Olukoya Ogungbeje: and Mr. Basil Chetal Ejiagwa.

But only Abunike testified in person. Ogungbeje, a lawyer, and Ejiagwa were absent but represented by their counsel.

They prayed the court to adopt their petitions as their testimony.

The court granted their applications.

The testimony of Ekekwe, whose spine was broken after allegedly being thrown from a two-storey building, was adjourned to give the Commissioner of Police in Lagos

time to appear and respond to the allegations.

The panel’s chair, Justice Doris Okuwobi, adjourned till Friday.

The panel was scheduled to begin full sitting on Monday, but could not do so because three of its members, Rinu Oduala, Temitope Majekodunmi and Lucas Koyejo, had not been sworn in.

Upon their arrival, Oduala and Majekodunmi, both youth representatives nominated by an online poll took their oaths alongside Koyejo, the Zonal Coordinator (South-west Zone) – National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Meanwhile, many Nigerians on Twitter yesterday expressed dissatisfaction over the oath of secrecy administered on members of the panel.

The oath of secrecy administered on panel members reads in part, “I solemnly swear/affirm that I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal any matter to any person which shall be brought under my consideration or shall come to my knowledge in the discharge of my official duties, except as may be required for the discharge of my official duties or as may be officially permitted by the governor. So help me God/Allah.”

Sanwo-Olu Reads Riot Act to Miscreants The governor also yesterday warned miscreants to be lawabiding and peaceful or face the full wrath of the law.

Speaking during a visit to Fagba, in Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of the state to assess the level of destruction of property caused by last week's communal clash in the area, Sanwo-Olu said the state government would deal with miscreants who refused to embrace peace.

Sanwo-Olu, who was accompanied by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Folasade Jaji; Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab and Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, assured those affected by the clashes that the Lagos State Government would assist them.

He said: "The level of destruction that I have seen here is colossal; it is unfortunate.

Enumeration would start immediately by the two local governments. The council chairmen and all the community leaders will come together and come up with a list of those whose properties have been destroyed.

"The security operatives are here; they can hear everything.

We are using this opportunity to give notices to all the miscreants in the neighbourhood and that is why I am looking at you.

"If you know that you are not doing any work and that you are one of the people that have caused this trouble, we are giving you the final notice because we are coming to clear this whole place."

He also called on the miscreants to vacate Fagba.

Sanwo-Olu said: "We are coming to clear this whole place and we will make sure that you do not disturb or harass the peace-loving people that we have in this neighbourhood.

We have Hausa community, Igbo community and Yoruba community and they are living well.

"You need to look for what to do; we will not allow you to come and tarnish the image and the peace that we have in Fagba and in Lagos State as a whole.

"We will make sure that we also come and see what we can do to help the youth. And once we do that, we are giving you an opportunity to remain law-abiding and be peaceful.

If not, we will be hard and be very decisive on all of you," he added.

FG to Float National Carrier in 2021, Says Sirika Unfolds plans for 10 new airports Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, yesterday gave next year as the date for the take-off of a new national carrier.

He also said 10 new airports were under construction nationwide just as the Senate lamented the deplorable state of Minna, Ilorin and Makurdi airports.

Sirika, who was at the Senate to defend his ministry's budget for 2021 before the Senate Committee on Aviation, unveiled the federal government's road map for the aviation sector in 2021, with the establishment of a national carrier topping its priority.

According to him, the road map will be implemented through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

He said: "In 2021, the sum of N78.96 billion is being proposed for capital expenditure at the headquarters in the aviation ministry and the emphasis will focus on the implementation of the aviation road map by Mr. President.

"The road map would be implemented through PublicPrivate Partnership (PPP), topmost of which will be the establishment of the national carrier."

Other projects to be executed are the establishment of Maintenance, Repair and

Overhaul (MRO) facility, development of agro-allied cargo infrastructure, the establishment of Aviation Leasing Company, Search and Rescue Unit and establishment of Aerospace University with the support of International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO).

On the national carrier, the minister stated that all required agreements and arrangements with other partners have been worked out.

"This government right from inception in 2015 has been planning and strategising on how to resuscitate the national carrier for Nigeria as far as global air transportation is concerned. The plan, going by

what is on the ground now, will be actualised next year through the PPP arrangement,” he said.

Sirika added that aviation is the fastest-growing sector of the Nigerian economy despite the setback suffered in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, 10 new airports are springing up in states such as Benue, Ekiti, Nasarawa and Yobe, among others, apart from other ones taken over by the federal government like Gombe, Kebbi, Dutse and Zuru Airports.

He said: "From 2015 till now, we've seen a lot of growth in the civil aviation, the number of airports is increasing. So far, about seven airports have been

added to the map, some of them completed; some of them under construction.

"There are airports coming up in Benue, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Lafia, Damaturu, Anambra and so forth. All of these show that civil aviation is growing during this administration.

"So, we have about 10 new airports coming up; that is almost half the number of airports we used to have in Nigeria. So we are adding 50 per cent of the number of airports."

He, however, said safety and security are more of important issues to them in the aviation sector than the establishment of new airports.

Sirika also said airports such as that of Minna, Ilorin, Makurdi, whose facilities are not in proper shape are being attended to.

On the issues of dilapidated equipment at some airports, Sirika said it is a work-inprogress as the airports are being attended to one after the other based on priorities.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi, in his comments, requested the minister to ensure the upgrade of the Ajaokuta airstrip and the establishment of Lokoja airport.

According to him, Lokoja deserves an airport because of its proximity to Abuja like Minna.

DESPITE SANWO-OLU’S DENIAL, ARMY INSISTS LAGOS GOVT REQUESTED TROOPS DEPLOYMENT commercial bank and carted away cash and other valuables in Lekki.

The police boss said he was arrested with N250, 000 alleged to be his share of the loot from the bank, as well as a locally-made pistol.

He said two suspects identified as Ebere Reuben, 29, and Samuel Oyediran, 16, were also arrested by RRS operatives for their involvement in the burning of BRT terminal at Berger and TVC Station in the state.

They were allegedly caught with the leftover of some quantities of petroleum products with which they set the places ablaze.

The police boss who

acknowledged that those arrested were not peaceful #ENDSARS protesters stated that it was a known fact that armed hoodlums hijacked the protests and were responsible for the series of killings, arson and looting recorded.

He said: "A thorough investigation into the cases has commenced. Members of the public should be rest assured that they will be updated as investigation progresses.”

However, most of the suspects denied involvement in the violence, alleging that they were picked up randomly during raids.

South-west Senators to Lobby FG to

Compensate Lagos The South-west caucus of the Senate has said that it will push a motion to urge the federal government to assist in rebuilding Lagos State in view of the massive destruction of lives and property recorded during violence in the state.

Senator Boroffice Ajayi, representing Ondo North, stated this yesterday on behalf of the 17-member caucus during a courtesy call on Sanwo-Olu in Lagos to commiserate with him on the recent civil unrest in the state.

He told reporters after watching footages of some damaged property that: “We

(Senate South-west Caucus) are indeed very unhappy that at this stage in our history that this type of damage has been done to Lagos State.

“We pray that this type of thing will not happen again and we also hope that those who are in governance and those who are out of governance, we all have a role to play to ensure that this country moves forward.

“We are aware of the role the media can play, and we want to plead with you that in the discharge of your duty, you put Nigeria´s unity first.

“We are working with the government to ensure that those demands that require constitutional approval will

be done by us expeditiously.”

Sanwo-Olu Approves Full Reopening of Markets Sanwo-Olu has approved the full reopening of markets in the state.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Dr. Wale Ahmed, in a statement yesterday, said both food markets and non-food markets can reopen every day of the week.

Before the announcement, food and non-food markets were allowed to operate three days a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The state government had regulated the opening of the markets to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

The statement, made available by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Gawat Jubril, said: “Mr. Governor took the decision to further enhance trade and commerce and mitigate the hardship of recent times and ensure that Lagosians can recover fast.

“Mr. Governor also advised the continued observance of all safety protocols.

“Traders and their customers must adhere strictly to the covid-19 protocols for their safety and the citizenry at large.”

WEDNESDAY 0CT0BER 28, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

NEF Alleges Attacks on Northerners in the South Don’t inflame passion, Afenifere tells northern elders Deji Elumoye and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has raised the alarm of what it described as deliberate targeting of northerners in many parts of the South in Nigeria, with alleged

reported killings, destruction and stealing of their assets and other assaults which had been going on for many days.

But in a swift reaction, the panYoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, urged the NEF not to make statements capable of

Gunmen AbductVillage Head’s Wife in Kano Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Karaye Emirate Council in Kano State has announced the kidnapping of the wife of the village head of Tsara in Rogo Local Government Area of the state, Aishatu Aliyu, by unknown gunmen.

The Information Officer of Karaye Emirate, Mr Haruna Gunduwawa, disclosed the unfortunate incident to journalists in Kano yesterday.

Ganduwawa explained that information made available to the Emir of Karaye, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar II, by the District Head of Rogo, Wambai Karaye, Alhaji Muhammadu Mahraz, said unknown persons in a large number entered the house of the village head of Tsara, Aliyu Muhammad, at 1.00 a.m. last

Friday morning and took away his wife, Aishatu Aliyu.

According to him, the abductors shot severally into the air before taking away their victim, and that led to many of the residents passing the night in the bush for safety.

“The district head notified the emir in a report that the people in Rogo district are presently living in fear as kidnapping cases are on the rise-that within two months, four cases were recorded. ‘’The Emir of Karaye, has however, renewed his plea to the security operatives to improve measures put in place to end the menace,’’ it added.

The police spokesman in Kano, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the Police Command has not been informed of the incident.

FG Begins Payment of N30,000 to 333,000 Artisans Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The President has revealed that the payment of N30,000 one-time grant to 333,000 artisans across the country is now in progress, under Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) programme.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, in a statement issued yesterday said, the N2.3 trillion ESP consists of fiscal, monetary and sectoral measures to enhance local production, support businesses, retain, create jobs and provide succour to Nigerians, especially the most vulnerable.

The Presidency added that payments are being made to sets of verified beneficiaries of the Artisan Support Scheme, a track under the MSMEs Survival Fund.

The statement said, “In the first stream of payments starting today, beneficiaries are being drawn from the FCT, Lagos, Ondo, Kaduna, Borno, Kano, Bauchi, Anambra, Abia, Rivers, Plateau and Delta states. They form the first batch of applications for the scheme submitted between October 1 and October 10.”

The presidency explained that MSMEs Survival Fund scheme is a component of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) which was developed by an Economic Sustainability Committee established by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2020, and headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, which produced and is overseeing the implementation of the plan.

FG Declares Thursday Public Holiday Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The federal government has declared Thursday (tomorrow) as public holiday to mark this year’s Eidul-Mawlid celebration.

The holiday is in commemoration of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on behalf of the federal government, congratulated Muslim faithful at home and abroad for witnessing this year’s occasion.

He enjoined them to imbibe the spirit of love, patience and perseverance, which are the virtues of the Holy Prophet.

A statement issued yesterday by the Director of Press in the Ministry, Mr. Mohammed Manga,

quoted Aregbesola as saying that doing so would guarantee peace and security in the country.

The minister admonished Muslims to follow the teaching of the Holy Quran in Chapter 4 Verse 59 which says: “O you who believe! Obey God and obey the Messenger, and those from among you who are vested with authority; and if you are to dispute among yourselves about anything, refer it to God and the Messenger, if indeed you believe in God and the Last Day. This is the best (for you), and fairest in the end” Aregbesola enjoined Nigerians, particularly Muslims, at this moment, to abhor violence, lawlessness, wantonness and daylight robbery as witnessed across the country.

causing crisis in the country.

Afenifere’s spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, told THISDAY yesterday that “our friends in NEF should please be more careful about statements that can inflame passion.

“We make this appeal not out of fear but a deep sense of responsibility and the understanding of the place of elders. Our utterances should bring calm at this delicate period.”

However, NEF’s Director of

Publicity and Advocacy, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement issued yesterday, therefore, called on leaders at all levels in the country to work towards lowering tension, improving inter-community relations and isolating elements that seek to plunge the country into deeper crises.

The forum said it had resisted the pressure to raise the alarm earlier at these ‘unacceptable acts of hostility’ against Nigerians living

and earning legitimate livelihood peacefully in many communities in the South, out of concern that doing so would further cause or worsen a major national crisis.

The NEF said it was aware that governors, security agencies and communities in many states in the South are aware of the widespread assaults on northerners, adding that many people in the north are understandably concerned by the plight of family members who have lost lives and assets and are

living in fear.

The Forum however drew the attention of the country to the existence of millions of Nigerians from the southern part of the country living in peace in Northern communities, adding that these are Nigerians who are valued and whose rights are respected in the communities they live.

The forum advised northerners living in the South to stay put and continue to pursue their livelihood.

WE STAND WITH YOU...

L-R: Former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Chief Executive Officer of Television Continental (TVC), Mr. Andrew Hanlon; President of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria/ Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, THISDAY and ARISE News, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena; and President of Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN), Mr. Guy Murray-Bruce; during a solidarity visit to TVC by the Nigerian Press Organisation in Lagos... yesterday ABIODUN AJALA

Okowa Presents N378.48bn Budget for 2021 to Assembly Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, yesterday presented the Appropriation Bill of N378.48 billion for 2021 to the state’s House of Assembly for consideration.

Christened ``Budget of Recovery,’’ the governor told the lawmakers that the Bill was made up of N207.52 billion for Capital Expenditure and N171.32 billion for Recurrent Expenditure.

He said that capital expenditure constituted 54.76 per cent of the Budget while 45.24 per

cent represented recurrent expenditure, and explained that the allocations were consistent with his administration’s agenda of spending more on projects and programmes that would impact directly on socio-economic wellbeing of Deltans.

The 2021 budget is N96.2 billion or 34.05 per cent higher than the N282 billion revised approved budget of 2020.

The governor said that the 2021 budget proposals reinforced the state government’s commitment to road infrastructure, education,

health, job and wealth creation programmes as the principaldrivers of the Stronger Delta agenda.

According to him, N113 billion, representing 89.94 per cent of the capital budget is allocated to the economic sector while N35 billion is allocated to the social sector; the administration sector got 10.93 billion and the regional sector, N42 billion.

“In 2021, we propose to spend N66.66 billion on Road Infrastructure; N6.79 billion on Health; Education will gulp N23.55 billion; Agriculture, N2.04 billion

and Water Sector, N1.83 billion. ``Job and Wealth Creation Bureau will gulp N1 Billion and Youth Development, N1.25 billion.

These key sectors are very essential in our 2021 budget,” Okowa said.

He said that budget, which was derived from the state’s 2021-2023 FSP/MTEF, was anchored on crude oil production benchmark of 1.86 mbpd, oil price of 40 dollars per barrel, exchange rate of N379 per dollar, National Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of three per cent and 11.95 national inflation rate

Fayemi Proposes N109.6bn as 2021 Budget Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, yesterday presented the sum of N109.666, 376, 727.61 billion as the budgetary estimate for the 2021 fiscal year before the state House of Assembly.

Fayemi said the budgetary estimate christened ‘Budget of Recovery and Restoration’ would focus on food security, social investment, rural development,

infrastructure and security, for speedy economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The governor, who spoke yesterday on the floor of the House of Assembly while presenting the 2021 appropriation bill for perusal and ratification, said no efforts would be spared to salvage the people from poverty and hunger.

Giving the breakdown of the budget, Fayemi said it contains N57, 997, 989,982.62 billion as recurrent expenditure and

N51,668,386,739.99 as capital expenditure.

He stated that the 2021 budget estimate would be majorly financed through revenues accruing to the state from the Federation Account, internally generated revenue (IGR), Value Added Tax (VAT), grants and ‘brought-down’ from development partners.

Having a retrospect of the 2020 budget, the governor disclosed that the sum of N124.6 billion

was budgeted for that year, but was reviewed downward to N91.1 billion due to the COVID-19 pandemic that dented a devastating blow on the global economy and caused a slump in the oil prices at the international market.

“This budget estimate is a product of public consultations being interactions we held with the people across the three senatorial districts of the state.

How I Resisted undue Pressure in SIP Implementation, Says Osinbajo Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that he resisted pressure from public officials and party chieftains in the implementation of Social Investment Programmes (SIPs), saying that he insisted that Nigerians who knew no one could benefit.

He said while he was

not trying to be a purist, he believed that if young people can’t get the benefit except they know someone, then the administration has failed the young people The Vice President stated this yesterday when he received, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, the executive committee of the Young Parliamentarians Forum

led by its Chairman, Hon. Karu Elisha.

Osinbajo, in a statement issued yesterday by his Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the implementation of the SIPs was done openly giving everyone equal opportunity to benefit.

He stated: “The first problem

was everybody wanted a slot.

I resisted it. Why? If I do that, we will destroy the programmes because majority of Nigerians don’t know people who will take the slots.”

“It was not that one was being purist, but if young people can’t get the benefit except they know someone then we have failed the young people.”

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WEDNESDAY 0CT0BER 28, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

NNPC Blames Curfew for Long Fuel Queues in Abuja Says no dealings with intermediaries in crude oil lifting Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has blamed the return of fuel queues in Abuja on the curfew imposed in some states, which disrupted the distribution of petroleum products, and cautioned against panic buying.

NNPC also yesterday raised the alarm over the invasion of its bidding processes for crude oil traders by fraudsters, saying that it

does not deal with intermediaries in the selection of contractors.

Long fuel queues yesterday returned to the streets of Abuja, causing serious intractable gridlock in parts of the country’s federal capital as many filling stations were either not dispensing or dealing with large crowds.

A number of the fuel stations around the Central Business District (CBD), Abuja’s commercial heartbeat, including Conoil and Total on Herbert Macaulay Way

as well as AA Rano Oil, Mobil, Dan Oil Plc , NNPC Petrol Station, Rain oil, among others along Gwarimpa, Kubwa expressway, were also observed to be dealing with massive queues.

The story was not different in the outskirts of the city , which were the most hit as black market fuel racketeers sold the product for between N200 and N250 per litre.

But the NNPC has cautioned

against panic buying, saying that that the country has enough volume of petroleum in the depots in the country to satisfy the needs of Nigerians in the near future.

Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, attributed the queues to the curfew imposed in some states over the recent EndSARS protests, which disrupted the movement

of products.

The NNPC spokesman noted that the disruptions and curtailment of free flow of vehicular movement occasioned by the protests, the attendant curfews, restrictions and vandalism affected the smooth supply of petroleum.

Obateru assured that the country currently has over two billion litres of the product in stock to last about two months,

stressing that the situation will be brought under control in a few days.

“The disruptions or curtailment of free flow of vehicular movement occasioned by the EndSARS protests and the attendant curfews and restrictions and vandalism, particularly in Lagos, must h a v e a ff e c t e d petroleum products s u p p l y.

NSCDC Dismisses Officer for Looting Palliatives in Abuja Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has dismissed a Corps Assistant, Illiya Ibrahim, from service for allegedly looting COVID-19 palliatives discovered in a warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

Ibrahim of the Gwagwalada Division, Abuja, was seen in a viral video with some food items while wearing the NSCDC uniform at the scene where hundreds of youths looted COVID-19 palliatives in Abuja.

Ibrahim’s sacking was contained in a press statement by the Media Assistant to the Commandant General of NSCDC, Ekunola Gbenga, yesterday.

The statement was titled ‘NSCDC dismisses officer for

looting in Abuja’.

It read in part, “The Commandant General Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu has approved the recommendation of the Junior Staff Disciplinary Committee for the dismissal of Illiya Ibrahim of the Gwagwalada Division for joining hoodlums in looting COVID-19 palliatives discovered in a warehouse in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

“The recommendation was given after the officer was charged under the public service rule which is related to unbecoming conduct of officers.

“This disciplinary measure was taken after series of investigations and deliberations by the junior disciplinary committee and recommendations were made to the management.

RCCG Declares 30-day Fasting, Prayer for Nigeria The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has directed all members of the church to commence a 30-day fast and prayer for Nigeria.

The RCCG Assistant General Overseer, Administration, and Personnel, Pastor Johnson Odesola, announced this in a statement yesterday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

According to Adeboye, the programme tagged, “Fasting and Prayer for Nigeria’’ would start from

November 1.

“Marathon fasting will hold between November 1 and November 14 for those who prefer that and prayer guide shall be forwarded soon.

“Where possible, brethren should be encouraged to come together for prayers while ensuring that all COVID-19 government regulations and safety precautions are put in place,’’ he said.

Adeboye urged the faithful to inform and encourage other members to participate in this exercise.

Again, NHRC Condemns Attacks on Policemen, Begins Probe The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) expressed concerns over reports of attacks on police stations and law enforcement agents, including police officers in different parts of the country.

A statement issued yesterday by the NHRC’s Assistant Director Public Affairs, Mrs. Fatimah Mohammed, stated that the commission’s Executive Secretary, Mr. Tony Ojukwu, was reacting to cases of “civil attacks on police personnel and wanton destruction of property at some police stations in some states of the federation”.

It stated that such “heinous crime has no place in modern history and therefore should be eschewed to allow peace

and orderliness to reign in the country”.

Ojukwu noted in the statement that the commission was receiving petitions of attacks on security personnel “for onward investigations and subsequent recommendations to the appropriate government agencies for compensations or prosecution of offenders in accordance with the law”.

He recalled that the NHRC had up an Independent Investigative Panel to probe complaints of rights violations and brutality of the disbanded Special Anti Robbery Squad but maintained that “two wrongs cannot make a right”.

STRATEGISING AGAINST FUTURE VIOLENCE…

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun (left), and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of South-west states, Adeleye Oyebade, during the stakeholders’ engagement on security in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital…yesterday

Bello: Why Kogi Rejected World Bank’s N1.1bn Support Fund Kogi State Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, had disclosed that the state government rejected N1.1 billion support fund from the World Bank because of his belief that COVID-19 is a “glorified malaria”.

The governor also described the World Bank’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the fund as “a one-sided agreement”.

However, he admitted that the state government received N1 billion from the federal government to tackle the effects of COVID-19 in his state.

Speaking yesterday on a live TV programme, Bello insisted that the COVID-19 pandemic has a political undertone.

“I rejected the World Bank fund because I do not believe in COVID-19. Even the five cases reported in Kogi State is an NCDC creation.

“Go and check records. Kogi State is the only state that refused to sign that document for N1.1bilion because I don’t believe in COVID. N500million

has been disbursed, Kogi State did not receive and I refused to receive and I rejected it.

“I refused to sign because it is a one-sided agreement.”

On why he received the COVID-19 fund from the Federal Government and rejected that of World Bank, Bello said, “Even though we did not have COVID-19 in Kogi State, we are equally affected; because our economy was equally affected and federal government released that fund

to assist every state and we cannot reject it.”

Bello had expressed concern over the receipt of COVID-19 materials by state governments from COCAVID and other organisations.

He said it was “ridiculing” that “they bring three trucks and still want to do pre and post-audit.”

The governor said his government had been handing out palliatives to residents before COVID-19.

Makinde Approves Recruitment of 1,500 Amotekun Personnel Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State yesterday disclosed that he had signed a document for the immediate recruitment of 1,500 personnel to kick-start the South-west Security Network, codenamed, Amotekun, in Oyo state.

Makinde made the disclosure in Ibadan, during the post-protest meeting held with representatives of youths, artisans, commercial

motorcycle operators, and taxi drivers.

The post-protest meeting was held within the State House of Assembly complex, Agodi, Ibadan.

Makinde said the new intakes of the Amotekun outfit will undergo two weeks training, between November 1 and November 15.

He also disclosed that the State Panel of Enquiry on Police brutality will be inaugurated on

November 2, assuring that various pressure groups in the state will be represented as members of the panel.

In her remarks, the youths leader in Oyo state, Mrs. Bobola Agbeja, said her group will continue agitating for what is right, stressing that the youths will not be discouraged in engaging in peaceful protests to express

their grievances.

Agbeja, however, declared that none of the EndSARS protesters was involved in the violence and looting witnessed recently in the state.

She implored the Makindeled administration to do more in looking at ways it could engage the youths meaningfully.

Court Frees 47 Alleged Homosexuals for Lack of Diligent Prosecution Davidson Iriekpen The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday freed 47 alleged homosexuals arraigned by the police in November last year.

Justice Rilwan Aikawa struck out the charges against the defendants, citing lack of diligent prosecution by the police.

The judge noted that the prosecuting counsel for the police, JI Ebhoremen, was, for

the umpteenth time, absent from court and gave no reasonable explanation.

The defence counsel, Mr. Israel Usman, had noted that it was the ninth time that Ebhoremen did not show up in court since the case started in 2019.

Usman pointed the judge’s attention to Section 356(5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 which provided a maximum of five adjournments

at the instance of the prosecution in a criminal trial.

“This is ninth adjournment at the instance of the prosecution in contravention of the statutory Act that regulates criminal justice system. We urge the court to dismiss the case and discharge the defendants,” the defence counsel said.

Ruling, Justice Aikawa held, “I agree entirely with defendants’ counsel that the

prosecution’s attitude to this case is not satisfactory. In my view, this should not be. If the prosecution has a cogent reason not to be in court, he should have communicated in writing to the court and copy the defence counsel.

“For whatever reason, the prosecution is no more capable or not willing to prosecute this case. Consequently, this case is struck out due to lack of diligent prosecution.”

WEDNESDAY 0CT0BER 28, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWS

Abaribe Berates NBC over AIT, Channels, ARISE News Fine Says commission’s action against constitution

Deji Elumoye Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, yesterday asked the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to stop abridging the right of Nigerians to free speech and arbitrary enforcement of laws it does not have.

Abaribe in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr. Uchenna Awom, in Abuja, in reaction to the imposition of fines on the African Independent Television (AIT), Channels Television and ARISE NEWS Channel over their reportage of the Lekki Tollgate shootings in Lagos by the NBC, said the commission, by that unfortunate action, breached Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution.

Section 39 of the Constitution, he pointed out, specifically made it clear that: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom

to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

The minority leader insisted that Section 39 (2) of the Constitution also states without equivocation that “Without prejudice to the generality of Subsection (1) of this Section, every person shall be entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions”.

Senator Abaribe therefore asked the NBC to rescind the decision to sanction the broadcast outfits on the basis that they violated the broadcasting code during the #EndSARS protest, particularly the alleged shooting of protesters at the Lekki tollgate.

“The sanction is illegal, provocative and clear case of willful abuse of power and a deliberate assault on the freedom of the press and of free speech.

IPI Approves Adedoyin’s Board Membership The Executive Board of the International Press Institute ( IPI), the global network of editors, media executives, and communication experts devoted to a free press, has unanimously approved the nomination of IPI veteran, Mr. Raheem Adedoyin to the Board.

Adedoyin, a seasoned journalist and longest serving Secretary of the IPI Nigerian Chapter, was nominated unanimously early this month by the Nigerian chapter to replace former Chairman of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mallam Wada Maida, who died last August.

The Board’s approval was conveyed to Adedoyin at the weekend by IPI Executive Director, Barbara Triofri.

“Congratulations, Raheem! I am very glad that you are a member of the IPI Executive Board and look forward to working with you,” Barbara said in her email

conveying the approval.

A leading member of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Adedoyin has devoted his energy to growing the IPI in Nigeria.

Adedoyin, who headed the institute’s Secretariat for the hugely successful 2018 IPI World Congress and General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria, is a regular delegate at the world congresses and other IPI events.

He was at the inaugural meeting of IPI National Committees in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2011, and has been involved in IPI Advocacy activities, including an IPI Mission to Zambia in 2010.

Adedoyin, who produces the glossy, celebratory “The ICON Magazine, is also a member of the Advisory Board of the London-based African Leadership Magazine.

Danbatta Defends Deployment of 5G Technology in Nigeria The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, yesterday defended the deployment of 5G Technology in Nigeria,asserting that misconceptions and misinformation about it should not be allowed to derail its implementation.

According to Danbatta a lot of falsehoods on 5G Technology have found their way into the social media platforms and the traditional media outfits with potentials to derail the take-off of the technology in Nigeria.

Danbatta made the remarks at the Digital Bridge Institute, Utako, Abuja, while declaring open a twoday capacity building workshop for members of Information and Communications Technology Reporters, Abuja.

He was represented by the Director of Public Affairs of NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde.

Danbatta said: “Let me turn

our attention to the issue of 5G. A lot of falsehoods and misinformation have been peddled both on online and traditional media outlets about the health and safety implications of deploying 5G technology.

“As I stated in my speech during the NITRA Innovative Tech Forum, accordingtoarecentlandmarkeconomy study conducted by Qualcomm, 5G willaffecttheglobaleconomyanddrive growth exponentially.

“5G’s full economic effect will likely be realised across the globe by 2035, supporting a wide range of industries and potentially enabling up to $13.2 trillion worth of goods and services.

This impact will be much greater than the current 4G network.

“5G when fully deployed will provide increased speed and bandwidth as well as provide deeper coverage to reach people in rural or challenging locations. In addition, 5G will provide strong security for the various sectors of government and private organizations.

“This time, as precarious as we know, calls for deep introspection and empathy for victims and their families.

“It is not a time for this kind of illegal actions by the agencies of government, as no law passed by the National Assembly nor

the Constitution gives the NBC powers to impose such sanctions,” he said.

Senator Abaribe also advised

the three broadcast stations to approach the court for the enforcement of their fundamental rights in the circumstance.

SCRUTINISING THE NUMBERS...

Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Enviroment, Senator Ibrahim Adeja (left), and Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ike Ekweremadu during the 2021 budget defence by the Ministry of Enviroment in Abuja... yesterday JULIUS ATOI

Media Lawyers Condemn NBC’s Fine on ARISE News, Others Peter Uzoho The West Africa Media Lawyers Association (WAMELA) has condemned the N9million fine imposed on Arise News Channel, Channels Television and Africa Independent Television (AIT) by the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) for covering the ENDSARS protest.

The NBC has since its announcement of the N3million fine on each of the three television stations come under attack as the likes of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaibe,

amongst others, have criticised the commission for trying to suppress the constitutional rights of the media stations by such illegal sanction.

WAMELA in a statement issued yesterday and signed by its President, Mr. Noah Ajare, criticised NBC for imposing fines on the media stations for covering an event that was of national interest to the citizens and the West African sub-region.

It also demanded the commission to immediately reverse the order imposing the fines on the three media houses, as such an order has no place in a democratic society and on account of the fact that the penalty was at best, ill-thought out and

inappropriate at the moment.

WAMELA also called for “a review of the Broadcasting Code, which is the basis for the fine abinitio, because the very interpretation of same is offensive to the notion of free speech which is an essential ingredient of participatory democracy that Nigeria operates.

WAMELA said: “This is our stand as a coalition of media rights lawyers. The NBC should immediately reverse this order against Arise TV, AIT and Channels TV. It is obvious that this is done in bad faith and clearly to gag the press.

“The Nigerian Constitution guarantees Nigerian’s rights to receive information. In this

instance the #endsars protest was clearly news that was necessary for Nigerians to be informed about.”

“It is unfortunate that the Commission is more worried about the government getting embarrassed for a factual situation which was witnessed live by a lot of Nigerians who were on the internet and who saw the @Nigerian government murder its citizens at #lekkitollgate than the fact that this was a real event which should not have taken place in the first place if the government had exercised restraint and ensured that the grievances of these amazing peaceful protesters were completely met”.

Lekki Shooting: Lawyer Sues Buhari, Buratai, Lagos for N10bn A legal practitioner, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, has urged the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to compel President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, and 10 others to “immediately” pay N10billion to victims of the October 20 shootings at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos.

Ogungbeje also asked the court to order “the immediate prosecution of all culpable security

agents and persons directly or indirectly involved in the shooting and killing of unarmed, defenceless and peaceful protesters/victims of the #ENDSARS peaceful protests.”

Others defendants in the suit are the federal government, the Nigerian Army, Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector-General of Police; Nigeria Police Force; Department of State Services (DSS); DirectorGeneral; Lagos State Government;

Attorney General of Lagos State; and the Attorney General of the Federation.

Ogungbeje asked the court to declare that “the brutal shooting and killing and use of brute force against unarmed, defenceless and peaceful protesters engaging in the #ENDSARS protest was illegal, unlawful, undemocratic, oppressive, wicked and unconstitutional.”

He contended that the shooting was a violation of the protesters’ constitutional “right to life, fair hearing, right to peaceful assembly and association guaranteed under sections 33, 36, 38, 39 and 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”

No date has been fixed for hearing of the suit.

Jonathan Leads AU’s Observer Mission to Tanzania As Tanzania prepares to hold its general election today, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, has called for peaceful, inclusive and credible polls.

Former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, is leading the African Union Elections Experts Mission already deployed in Tanzania for today’s elections.

In a statement issued yesterday, the chairperson of the commission urged all stakeholders, political parties and their supporters “to participate in the voting process peacefully, and to refrain from

any acts of violence.”

He further urged the authorities to ensure a conducive environment to enable the citizens to cast their votes in a safe and peaceful manner.

The chairperson further recalled “the commendable journey that the United Republic of Tanzania has traversed thus far towards building democratic governance and sustaining peace, and that the October 28, 2020, general elections offer a renewed opportunity to deepen democracy and peace in the country.”

President Jonathan is

coordinating the activities of the AU team of expert observers, who are already in Tanzania for the elections.

It is the third time Jonathan would be leading the AU election observation mission and the second consecutive time he will be observing elections in Tanzania, having led the Commonwealth Observer Group to the East African country in last general election in 2015.

In a letter of invitation signed by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahamat, the AU commended Jonathan’s efforts

towards democratic consolidation and peace-building in Africa The letter said: “Given Your Excellency’s vast experience and commitment in promoting democracy and peace on the continent, I would like to invite you to lead the Mission to the United Republic of Tanzania.”

Since leaving office in 2015, President Jonathan has been actively engaged in numerous international assignments, including leading peace missions and different Election Observer Missions to various African nations, including Tanzania,

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COMMENT

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

MAY THEY NOT DIE IN VAIN (1)

Sonnie Ekwowusi contends that the deployment of soldiers to Lekki Tollgate was wrong

F

irst, please join me in observing a few minutes silence in honour of our fallen young heroes and heroines of the #EndIncompetenceinGovernance protests (I won’t label it #EndSARS protests because the protests transcend police brutality: The protests are responses to incompetence and corruption in governance in Nigeria) who were shot at and killed by the Nigerian soldiers at the Lekki Toll Gate Lagos and other places on Tuesday October 20. May their souls rest in peace. Amen! May God grant their parents, relatives, friends and acquaintances the fortitude to bear the irreparable loses.

Amen! May they not die in vain. Amen! It is noteworthy that the killing of unarmed protesting youths is a gravest crime against humanity punishable at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands. We look forward to seeing the trial and possible conviction of all the soldiers who shot and killed our protesting children including the civilians who were in pari delicto in committing the same crimes. Any government that kills its young is accursed.

Think about it. Unarmed youths were peaceably seated at the Lekki Toll Gate, singing, eating and dancing in the course of their protest. Date was October 20, 2020. Time was on or around 7 p.m. The youngsters weren’t violent.

They were not destructive either. Their presence at the Toll gate posed no danger to either national security or anybody at all. Then all of a sudden the Nigerian soldiers were dispatched to shoot and kill and injure some of them amid pitch darkness after the light was intentionally turned off to hide the crime from the civilized world. If the reason for dispatching the soldiers was to protect lives and property in the state, why have they not been dispatched to arrest and prosecute the murderous Fulani herdsmen who have been freely going about killing and maiming their victims in different Nigerian communities? What a country.

I have never seen a government committing so many faux pas as this government. One blunder begets another blunder. One evil begets another. The massive social upheaval sweeping across the length and breadth of Nigeria was avoidable. If the soldiers had not shot and killed the youths at the Lekki Toll Gate, the massive social uprising would not have erupted. In fact, the Lekki Toll Gate killing was the catalyst that triggered off the seemingly unending chains of burglary, killing, arson, brigandage, looting, thuggery, and gangsterism across Southern Nigeria last week. In other words, if the shooting and killing of our children at the Lekki Toll Gate had not occurred, no anarchy would have overtaken many parts of Nigeria as we witnessed last week.

Mind you, this is not the first time Nigerian soldiers had been deployed to shoot and kill unarmed youths embarking on peaceful protests. We have been beseeching the Buhari government to stop shooting and killing unarmed protesting youths but our supplications have gone unheeded. It seems as if killing unarmed protesters is in the DNA of this government. For instance, following the attack by the army on the Shia Muslim community ostensibly to rescue the Chief of Army Staff from alleged assassination, about 1,000 unarmed protesting civilians (most of whom were young people) were shot at and killed in Zaria on or around 12th December 2015. Till date no justice for the victims of the Zaria massacre. Then on February 9, 2016 the Nigerian soldiers were deployed to shoot and kill countless unarmed

THE CURRENT UPRISING IS A MERE SYMPTOM OF A DEEP-SEATED PROBLEM - LACK OF TRUE FISCAL FEDERALISM: INEQUITABLE RESOURCE CONTROL, INEQUITABLE REVENUE SHARING FORMULA; OVERCONCENTRATION OF THE POWER AT THE CENTRE TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE UNITS

young pro-Biafra protesters who were peacefully holding prayers inside the football field of Ngwa High School, Aba in Abia State. No justice for the victims of that barbaric murder till date despite popular outcry. Then during the Biafran Day celebration on May 30 2016, the Nigerian soldiers were again dispatched to fire bullets that killed and injured over 30 unarmed civilians at Nkpor-Agu, Niger Bridge, Onitsha and Asaba respectively. I can go on and on.

So, you can see that using soldiers to kill or maim unarmed protesters is the stock-in-trade of this government.

As far as President Buhari is concerned, persons staging a peaceful protest in Nigeria are enemies of the state and should be treated as such. Sad. This probably explains why Mr. President was silent on the Lekki Toll Gate shooting in his nationwide address last week. Or, maybe Mr. President was silent on the incident because he knew that the government acted illegally. The truth of the matter is that section 217(2)(c)(d) of the 1999 Constitution has in no unmistakable terms spelt out the circumstances and conditions under which the military can be invited to intervene to maintain peace in civil life in Nigeria. There are: (i) for the defence of Nigeria from external aggression. (ii) for the maintenance of the territorial integrity and securing the borders of Nigeria from violation on land, sea and air, (iii) for suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President; subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. It is obvious that the aforesaid constitutional provision was violated when soldiers were deployed to shoot and kill young protesters at Lekki Toll Gate. Therefore the deployment of military troop to Lekki Toll Gate was clearly unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.

How will Nigeria wriggle out of the present impasse?

First, we must understand that the current uprising of the Nigerian youths is a mere symptom of a deep-seated problem - lack of true fiscal federalism: inequitable resource control, inequitable revenue sharing formula; overconcentration of the power at the centre to the detriment of the units, and so forth. Therefore instead of tackling mere symptom or offering the people tokenism or palliatives, the Buhari government should be sincere enough to tackle the deepseated problems ruining Nigeria. This is the only way the current uprising can be stopped.

A study of the nature and pattern of the current uprising indicates that the Nigerian young are demanding for good governance, social justice, equity and fair-play. That was why all manner of young people (I won’t call them hoodlums because they were not all hoodlums) have unfortunately been looting/setting ablaze the Courts of Appeal, High Courts, Police Stations, Nigerian Ports Authority, Oba Akiolu’s Palace, COVID-19 Warehouses and other places across the country. They believe that the aforesaid places are places where injustices are brewed up and meted out to different persons in Nigeria. They also believe some corrupt politicians have stolen our commonwealth and therefore should be brought to justice. This is why the angry youths are going from house to house in search of those corrupt politicians in order to deal with them. In sum, the uprising of the youths is prompted by the oppression and feeling of powerlessness and hopelessness that pervade the lives of many Nigerian young. The Nigerian youths crave for the reign of social justice in Nigeria.

WATER, SANITATION SYSTEMS AND ECONOMIES

Investing in water and sanitation solutions yields healthy families and a clean environment, writes Catarina de Albuquerque

P

ipes are conduits for water and sanitation. They run everywhere, make a complex system work effectively and, if you’re fortunate enough to have access, it can be easy to take them for granted.

They become almost invisible -, up until they stop working when their importance becomes all too clear.

Beyond their role in providing essential functions such as drinking, cooking, washing and going to the toilet, do people think about the ripple effect of water, sanitation and hygiene on other parts of our lives? And from decision-makers, do we witness a level of policy prioritization and investment commensurate with water and sanitation’s critical importance? The answer, in far too many parts of the world, is a resounding no. As an international community, we are too often blind to the huge costs in failing to serve so many people with the most basic but crucial of services.

Today, there are still 2.2 billion people without safe drinking water and 4.2 billion without a safe place to go the toilet.

Reaching all of these people with sustainable services will take much more than physical infrastructure. Even where this infrastructure is already being improved, the systems and resourcing to expand them to everyone and keep them running are frequently insufficient.

Investments need to grow — by three times, to an annual $114 billion, according to the World Bank’s estimate — to meet the scale of the challenge. However, this is not

a plea for charity, this is a wake-up call.

The current global water and sanitation crisis is a story of colossal, rapidly increasing, unmet demand leading to colossal, rapidly increasing costs. Meeting Sustainable Development Goal six – water and sanitation for all by 2030 – is not a burden; it is a massive opportunity.

To find concrete solutions to the financing gap, the partnership Sanitation and Water for All – a global platform for achieving the water, sanitation and hygiene-related targets of the SDGs is organizing three Regional Finance Ministers’ Meeting in November and December.

There we will focus on the fact that expanding water and sanitation services by strengthening the systems that deliver them is the bedrock of economic growth and sustainable development.

Benefits include an overall estimated gain of 1.5% of global gross domestic product and a $4.3 return for every dollar invested in WASH services due to reduced health care costs and increased productivity – that’s a rate of return that any investor would wish for.

We also take into consideration the impact of not investing. For instance, affordable, reliable, easily accessible water and sanitation services prevent thousands of children dying every year from preventable diseases such as diarrhea and cholera. Healthier children absorb nutrients properly, develop stronger brains and bodies, get better school results and end up making a fuller contribution to society. And we have seen all too recently how quickly

a pandemic like COVID-19 can spread when people are not able to wash their hands with water and soap.

Girls and women are relieved of timeconsuming, back-breaking water fetching and are protected from the indignity and danger of going to the toilet in insecure facilities or in the fields and streets. Water and sanitation services in schools and workplaces ensure girls and women can manage personal hygiene and not miss out on education or income.

Disease burden is reduced and epidemic risk from diseases such as the coronavirus, and fast-moving killers such as cholera are slowed. Water, sanitation and hand hygiene in healthcare facilities is essential for protecting healthcare workers, patients and newborns against the spread of infections.

The workforce is more productive.

The bottom line is that economic growth rests on improving educational achievement and public health — two things that are impossible without water, sanitation and hygiene.

The role of finance decision-makers: None of this is news. Since the early days of the industrial revolution, we have known the transformative economic and social benefits of access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and the horrific consequences of inaction.

If finance ministers fail to help prioritize water and sanitation, the consequences could affect societies for generations.

Financial decision-makers must create an enabling environment through investing in institutions and people. And they must

mobilize new sources of finance – whether from taxes, tariffs, transfers, or repayable finance.

Many countries are already implementing some of these measurements and seeing the immediate advantages. In 2014, Mali committed to move towards allocating at least 0.2% of GDP to hygiene and sanitation, and 5% of the national budget for water and sanitation. Kenya has had great results using shadow credit ratings for utilities to attract domestic and international finance. Rwanda created a public-private partnership to increase private sector participation in water and sanitation and front load investments to make sure services are available sooner.

In the end, well-resourced, well-run water and sanitation systems are catalysts for progress in every sector – from gender, food and education, to health, industry and the environment.

By nature of their work, Finance Ministers must use evidence to make smart decisions that help their counties flourish. In the case of water, sanitation and hygiene, the evidence is clear: continuing to neglect these services will only continue to stunt the growth of our economies, populations and societies. Now is the time to make the logical choice to invest in water and sanitation solutions that have the best return on investment – healthy families and a clean environment.

Catarina de Albuquerque is Chief Executive OfďŹ cer, Sanitation and Water for All partnership

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EDITORIAL

WHO OWNS ZAMFARA’S GOLD? The government must address the issue urgently

D

eputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, raised a very fundamental issue that surrounds Nigeria’s flawed federal structure recently when he questioned the arrangement that allowed Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle to keep the proceeds of the sale of N5 billion worth of Gold bar to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at a time when the proceeds of oil in the Niger Delta Region are shared by all the federating units. “The gold bar was presented for sale to the CBN. Our (Niger Delta) people are beginning to wonder who owns this gold that is being sold to the CBN. They don’t sell oil in any of the Niger Delta states. We believe that whatever revenue that ought to ARE THERE TWO LAWS IN come from that transaction NIGERIA, ONE FOR NIGER DELTA AND ANOTHER FOR belongs to the entire country ZAMFARA? and not to the state government,� said Ovie-Agege.

The Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act 2007 was passed into law on 16th March 2007 to repeal the Minerals and Mining Act, No. 34 of 1999 for the purposes of regulating the exploration and exploitation of solid materials in Nigeria. It vests the control of all properties and minerals in Nigeria in the state and prohibits unauthorised exploration or exploitation of the mineral deposits. The question now is about the arrangement that gives the government of Zamfara custodian of revenues from the gold prospected in their states. As OmoAgege asked, are there two laws in Nigeria, one for Niger Delta and another for Zamfara?

There is also the national security component of the Zamfara gold that needs to be urgently tackled. Only recently, Governor Matawalle said that foreigners were coming to his state to trade in guns with locals for mineral resources, particularly gold. In the

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first instance, what beats the imagination is why any government would yield to locals the rights to mine the minerals which is now subsequently exchanged for arms contrary to the logic that unfettered access to small arms and light weapons is a catalyst for banditry, kidnapping and insurgency.

This is also fueling the armed conflict between the herdsmen and farmers that has disrupted communal harmony and led to the killing of many innocent persons in many northern states. When criminal elements are in possession of arms, they are often used to perpetrate a broad spectrum of crimes and human rights abuses including mass killings, forced displacements, gender-based violence and attacks on peacemakers and humanitarian workers.

Besides, it is rather confounding that the federal government is dilly-dallying from taking full ownership and control of all lands in which minerals have been found in commercial quantities in accordance with the Land Use Act, which also demands government to give property in mineral resources to the person by whom the mineral resources are lawfully owned, upon their recovery in accordance with provisions of the act.

Allowing unauthorised persons to wield arms has far reaching implications for national security. Recent experiences in Sierra Leone, Congo DRC and Central Africa Republic where external forces supplied arms for rebel forces against the central authorities in exchange for mining rights led to killings and the atrocious amputation of limbs of hundreds of civilians.

Therefore, as a priority and in the interest of our national security, the federal government and its agencies should get a firm grip on this situation. This can be enabled through mounting of increased security at all land borders used by the foreign elements for the circulation and trafficking of illicit small arms and light weapons to our country. But the issue of the ownership of the gold in Zamfara must be urgently addressed.

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

DOES THE FCT HAVE A MINISTER?

here is no government presence in the federal capital territory (FCT). Yes. In fact, there is no such thing as leadership in the FCT. If there was, I would certainly know being a habituĂŠ of the city. There are only vulgar structures which are purely administrative habitations of the federal government. Beyond the vast jungle of bricks and glass, the FCT is rudderless.

There are many sore points in the ungovernance of the FCT. But I will situate my concerns in only two. Security is in a parlous state and infrastructure is generally decrepit. Derring-do attacks by bandits have become typical. As a matter of fact, the attacks have been eviscerated of shock -- and normalised. It appears we are all just waiting for the next blitz and the next victim.

These brigands initially expropriated the fringes of Abuja as the delimitation of their blood trade. But owing to the effective abdication of responsibility by the FCT administration (which is only in name) led

by Mohammed Bello and Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, this noisome pestilence is inching into the city and already ravaging surrounding areas.

A man was kidnapped from his home at

Kubwa, opposite NYSC Junction; a notable satellite town in the FCT, last Friday at the dead of night. Please underline ‘’kidnapped from his home’’. This incident did not happen on the road as customary; these gunmen went straight to the home of their victim. The face of terror in the FCT is morphing; the freebooters are becoming more emboldened and vicious. And this is largely because of the ineptitude of Mohammed Bello and his co-driver.

It is unarguable that Abuja is becoming the Dunkirk of kidnapping. Residents of Pegi in Kuje subsist with the nightmare of gun-toting kidnappers on the prowl. It has become casual for citizens to be kidnapped in that area.

On October 10, 15 persons were kidnapped in that axis. Among those kidnapped was reportedly the vice chairman of Kuje area council, his aides, and other members of the council. This attack did not happen in the refuge of darkness.

It happened at about 6pm. Again, the consignors of blood are becoming feistier.

My friend, Dr Laz fell into the pugnacious hands of the cousins of these bandits on Monday afternoon, October 26, 2020.

He was in his car at Banex in Wuse II when three yobbos circled him, attempting to snatch his car key. They threatened his

life and asked him to part with all he had before he could be ‘’free’’. He capitulated to their will to save his neck -- broad daylight robbery in the heart of town.

There have been accounts of armed violence in different parts of the FCT. In August, bandits dominated the arterial Life Camp road, where some estates are situated, discharging bullets on motorists.

Really, from Lokogoma, Lugbe, Kuje, Kubwa, Wuse II, Gwarinpa, Apo to Karu and Karshi, the entire FCT province is under the cumulus of pillagers.

A large part of the city is a coven of darkness at night – perilously unlit. Abuja which used to have a boisterous night-life is now as desolate as the streets of Aleppo in Syria at night. The city has lost its unique character as the safest place in the country.

Infrastructure is in ruins; cavities dot the roads -- like the giant bomb craters in the city of Ramadi in Iraq. The entire place oozes of detritus, and in fact, – there is nothing befitting of the much vaunted ‘’seat of power’’ under the figurine minister – Mohammed Bello.

Traffic jams have become accustomed hardship citizens around Karu urban area and other places endure. The Karshi-Apo road which commonsensically will ease the daily chore of agony on the Abuja-Keffi

road is yet to be completed after five years of the Buhari administration and of Bello as figurine minister of the FCT. In February 2016, Mohammed Bello visited the Karshi-Apo project site where he made quotidian political promises. Four years after his visit, the Karshi-Apo is not even near completion, and in fact, it has been abandoned.

In July 2019, the Satellite Towns Development Agency (STDA) under the FCT administration said the 13-kilometre Apo-Karshi road would be completed in October of that year. This is October 2020, nothing is cracking up!

And with less than three years left for this administration to check itself out, it is a given that the very elemental Apo-Karshi road will not be inaugurated. No buts. It is a funeral of losses for Nigerians. Failure on all sides.

Really, the FCT has never had it this bad. Never! The consequence of nepotistic appointments. The rating of the Buhari administration will start from the FCT. A government that has not effectively managed where it resides cannot manage the federation.

Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist

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WEDNESDAY 0CT0BER 28, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

Intersociety: SARS Killed 30,400 in Police Cells Since 2004 Police query group’s source of data

Kingsley NwezehinAbuja A human rights advocacy and research, group, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), yesterday said 30, 400 people were allegedly killed by the disbanded SpecialArmed Robbery Squad (SARS) across the country.

But the Nigerian Police queried the group’s source of data, insisting that panels of inquiry had already been set up in different states and would rather wait for the outcome of the inquisition.

A statement issued by the group said using national projection through available independent

Supreme Court Strikes out Bayelsa Suit against Rivers on Soku Oilfield Davidson Iriekpen The Supreme Court has struck out a suit filed by the Bayelsa State Government against Rivers State over the disputed Soku oilfield.

The court said Bayelsa was liable to abuse of court processes by asking it to make judicial pronouncements on a matter that the Court of Appeal had yet to adjudicate on.

Bayelsa State had approached the Supreme Court after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered it to refund the 13 per cent derivation it had received over the years from the disputed Soku oilfield to Rivers.

The Special Assistant to Rivers Governor on Media, Mr. Kelvin Ebiri, in a statement, said at the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Justice Ngwuta, who led a panel of seven justices, wondered why Bayelsa decided to file a suit at the apex court

bypassing the Court of Appeal.

Justice Ngwuta observed that Bayelsa jumped the gun, insisting that the apex court could not make pronouncement on a judgment that was given by a Federal High Court when the appellate court had not entertained the matter.

He explained the Supreme Court lacks the jurisdiction to make orders on a matter directly coming from the High Court and asked to take its grievances to the Court of Appeal.

The Bayelsa State government through its lawyer, Kemsauode Wodu, applied for a formal withdrawal of the suit and it was struck out by the Supreme Court.

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Attorney-General of Rivers State against the National Boundary Commission, had declared that the Soku oilfields belonged to Rivers.

Nasarawa Reopens Tertiary Institutions Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has approved the re-opening of all tertiary institutions in the state, including state-owned and private, with effect from October 26, 2020.

The permission by the governor to re-open the institutions in the state was contained in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Usman Abu, for the Commissioner, and was made available to journalists in Lafia.

The statement read in part: “In this regard, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology wishes to stress that the authorities

of the institutions should ensure maximum compliance with the COVID-19 safety protocols within their respective campuses.

“Accordingly, all returning students are to undergo temperature checks and protocols before being allowed into the school compound.”

The statement stated further that for the avoidance of doubts, officials from the ministry will embark on monitoring visits to ensure adherence by the institutions.

“In the light of this development, institutions are hereby advised to commence academic activities without delay in view of lost time,” the statement added.

US Consulate Opens Application for 2020 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Bennett Oghifo The United States ConsulateGeneral in Lagos has called for applications for the 2020 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a US government initiative that supports women entrepreneurs around the world.

The Consulate-General said in a statement issued yesterday that AWE, which first edition was held in Lagos in September last year, “is a component of the White House Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, designed to empower women worldwide to fulfill their economic potential, thereby creating conditions for

increased stability, security, and prosperity for all.”

The statement further said: “For the second annual AWE, we will select 120 female entrepreneurs from across southern Nigeria to receive virtual and in-person training and mentoring. To support the comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration of returned migrants, we will select 20 female returnees to take part in the programme.”

During the intensive programme scheduled to run from November 2020 to March 2021, successful applicants will receive lessons on business management and network with like-minded

research statistics, average of 10 unprocessed and untried citizens were killed monthly in police custodies in each state across Nigeria.

It said this further translates to 370 persons monthly and 4,440 yearly.

“In other words, Nigeria as a whole is most likely to have lost in the past 16 years or since 2004 a total of 30,400 unprocessed citizens to police extrajudicial killings mainly perpetrated by SARS”, it said.

It said the Nigerian Police, particularly SARS had earned “notoriety in permanently disappearing hundreds, if not

thousands of Nigerians every year. In other words, citizens arrested outside the law and taken into secret custodies are killed without the knowledge of their families and outside the confines of official records”.

According to the group “unprocessed detainees or detained citizens are those taken into custodies and pre-judicially accused of breaking the law and tortured to death or shot dead after they have been taken into custodies without undergoing full processes of arrest, investigation, prosecution, fair trial, conviction and sentencing”.

“This allowed police power to kill in the line of ‘exchange of gunfire’ with violent criminal suspects is hardly the case. Their torture and extrajudicial killings by NPF personnel particularly its SARS are in most cases fueled by trio of hate, corrupt and crude or unprofessional policing”.

The statement jointly signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi,Amaka Onuoha, Chinwe Umeche, Obianuju Igboeli, Ndidiamaka Bernard, and Sam Kamanyaoku, said 140, 000 Nigerian citizens were killed outside the law since 1999 (21 years).

From our previous and updated research records, Nigeria had lost not less than 140,000 citizens outside the law in the past 21 years or since June 1999. ‘Killings outside the law’ are killings not permissible in law or killings that ought not to have occurred, but occurred on account of failure or conspiracy of relevant state organs and their security agencies or killings perpetrated by state through state terrorisation of the general or particular citizenry on account of their religion or tribe; or such killings supervised by state using its allied armed groups or mob actions.

STANDING UP AGAINST PROTESTS…

L-R: Enugu State Commissioner of Police (CP), Ahmad Abdurrahman; Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in-charge of ICT and South-east states, Mr. Celestine Okoye; and Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, when the DIG visited the governor at the Government House, Enugu…yesterday

Agba: Nigeria Received $26bn Foreign Development Assistance in 6Years Udora Orizu in Abuja The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, has disclosed that Nigeria received $26.942 billion development assistance funds from international donors between 2015 and 2020.

Agba made the disclosure in Abuja yesterday while briefing

House of Representatives Committee on Civil Society and Development Partners on Donor Funds Receipts, Transfers and Disbursement to Government Agencies, Civil Society and NonGovernmental Organisations in Nigeria.

The amount comprises $2.339 billion received in 2015; $1.150 billion gotten in 2016; $774.933

million collected in 2017; $22.016 billion gotten in 2018; $655.642 million received in 2019, and $5.639 million received in 2020.

The minister explained that these donations came from the European Development Fund (EDF) and United Nations Development Systems (UNDS), China, through the bilateral agreement between the Nigerian

Government and China signed since 1972; Japan Activities in Nigeria via the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA); Department for International Development DFID; United States Agency for international Development (USAID) and the German International Cooperation (GIZ).

Cleric Urges Leaders to Have Pity on the Poor Peter Uzoho The President of God’s Kingdom Society (GKS), the Church of the Living God, Godwin Ifeacho, has enjoined those in leadership positions in the country to have pity on the poor.

He also advised the youth to heed the godly counsel of the elders to ensure peace and order in the society.

Speaking yesterday at the Freedom Day Divine Service held at the GKS Service Hall in Salem City, Warri, Delta State,

with reference to 2 Samuel 23:2, 3, Ifeacho said that leaders should have the interest of the masses at heart.

In a statement by the Publicity Secretary of GKS, Benedict Hart, Ifeacho stressed that those who rule over men “must be just, ruling in the fear of God”.

The GKS president posited that both elders and youths play complementary roles in the development of the country.

He pointed out that while the fathers are not expected to provoke their children to wrath

by being selfish and insensitive to their needs, the children on their part, should obey their godly parents in the Lord.

He noted that while the youths of Nigeria have various complains which they want redressed, they should “approach the matters with sincerity of purpose and not take advantage of the essence of the protests to perpetrate evil”.

According to him, “the Scriptures is for both the old and young. The old man should know his duty; same thing applies to the young ones. When we all

play our part we shall enjoy our country, Nigeria, to the fullest, by the grace of God. “The old and the young must work together for the good of the nation.”

While appealing to youth to have regard for God by conducting themselves with decorum, discretion and regard for law and order, Ifeacho noted that it was heartening that some youths were busy cleaning up the streets and even appealing to their colleagues to join them in doing so.

Kwara Courts Remand 34 Suspected Mall Looters Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Thirty four suspects have been remanded in Oke- Kura Correctional Centre, Kwara State, by some Magistrate Courts sitting in Ilorin over their alleged involvement in the looting and destruction of Kwara Mall and other stores last Friday.

The suspects were arrested by the Kwara State Command of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and

were arraigned last Monday.

Following a tip-off from members of the public, men of NSCDC, according to its Commandant, Makinde Ayinla, swung into action and arrested many culprits at various locations in Ilorin with items looted from the Kwara Mall and other stores.

The 15 out of the 34 defendants were arraigned before Magistrate Ibrahim Mohammed while the remain 19 were arraigned before Magistrate Afusat Alege, and

charged with criminal conspiracy, brigandage, theft, belonging to gang of thieves, and destruction of public and private property.

Although the charges were read to the accused, their pleas were not taken on the basis of Magistrate Courts lacking jurisdiction to entertain some of the charges.

The prosecutor, Inspector Nasiru Yusuf, said the investigation is ongoing, urging the courts to remand the

defendants till next adjourned date for further mention.

Releasing any of them on bail, he argued, was premature in view of the tensed atmosphere in the country as well as the safety of the defendants themselves.

The courts, in their separate rulings, adjourned till November 9 and 16 for further mention, and remanded all the defendants at Oke-Kura Correctional Centre in Ilorin.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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18

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2020

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

House Committee on Police Visits IGP, Seeks Justice Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs has initiated a dialogue with the Nigerian Police leadership to forestall future reoccurrence of the violence that attended the #EndSARS protests across the country

From left, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, House Committee Chairman on Police Affairs, Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, and other committee members, during the oversight visit of House Committee members to the Louis Edet Headquarters of the Nigerian Police, in Abuja

P

ursuant to its oversight functions, the House Committee on Police Affairs conferred with the Nigerian Police leadership at the weekend, reeling out imminent legislative measures to forestall future reoccurrence of the violence that attended the #EndSARS protests across the country.

Committee Chairman, Honourable Usman Bello Kumo revealed after the oversight consultation with the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu that the House will ensure a police operational account to enable swift funding of emergencies in the imminent 2021 Budget, aside pushing for a review of relevant legislation to enable better policing of the country.

Kumo, in company of his colleagues, additionally advised that an inventory of lost lives, and an evaluation of the situation in the South East, in Zamfara and in Plateau need be done to allow a fuller view of the disturbances.

Other than this are an account of the list and experiences of citizens who are not just victims of the alleged brutality of SARS, but who suffered from the destructions of the last few days, in line with the mandates of the ongoing judicial commission of inquiry.

He added: “We also need an account of the list and experiences of police officers who either died or were brutalized in the violence of the last few days, besides institutional assets damaged or destroyed” Kumo said it was necessary to provide compensation for victims, either on the side of the police and on the side of citizens, towards restitution, in addition to the broader view of evaluating violence and disturbances to cover other endangered states and territories like Katsina and Zamfara, amongst others.

Earlier on, the House committee had sought to know how an otherwise peaceful protest turned violent, leading to deaths, and destructions, including burning of police facilities across the nation, and why were the police, the lead security agency in the enforcement of law and order, not take charge of the Lekki Toll Gate, or take charge of the curfew imposed in Lagos, instead of their sister security agency-the army.

The committee also sought to know

the extent to which the police would say the lack of personnel and equipment to control the violence, which included even the destruction of police assets, worsened the problem, and how to improve the capacity of the police to prevent or handle a future occurrence.

It was also important to know the steps taken to protect police assets, apprehend and sanction hoodlums that infiltrated the protest, to serve as deterrence to occurrences.

They asked finally: “Now that SARS is disbanded, what are the concrete steps towards training and professionalizing of SWAT, consistent with the planned psychological evaluation of members, and the need to develop a standard operational procedure, towards respecting citizens’ rights, while carrying out lawful activities, and how soon can we see evidence of this?”

Responding, the IGP noted that the Force has started comprehensive Internal Review and Evaluation of circumstances that led to the ENDSARS protests and the violence, fatalities and damage to critical infrastructure that emanated therefrom.

The police apprised the Committee of efforts made so far by the Force to restore

normalcy and prevent future occurrence.

Some of these efforts, the IGP said include strengthening the internal disciplinary mechanism of the Force, training of the newly formed Tactical Squad, debriefing and psychological/medical examination for operatives of the defunct Special AntiRobbery Squad and general improvement of police-citizen relationship.

The IGP reassured the committee and the Nigerian people that the Force is more than ever before, committed to Police Reforms and ensuring a safe environment for all to live and thrive devoid of any violation of their fundamental human rights.

The House visit is in line with best practice belief expounded by Mario j. Aguja and Hans Born, that “In a democratic society, the police plays an important role in ensuring public order and safety.

Governed by the rule of law and guided by the principles of human rights, the police is mandated to abide by and implement the laws produced by the duly constituted authorities. On the other hand, an elected parliament is another important feature of a democratic polity. It has a mandate to represent the people and dutifully pursue matters of public interest”

The House visit is in line with best practice belief expounded by Mario j. Aguja and Hans Born, that “In a democratic society, the police plays an important role in ensuring public order and safety. Governed by the rule of law and guided by the principles of human rights, the police is mandated to abide by and implement the laws produced by the duly constituted authorities. On the other hand, an elected parliament is another important feature of a democratic polity. It has a mandate to represent the people and dutifully pursue matters of public interest

Other than that, “As democratically elected representatives of the people, among its many mandates, parliament is tasked with overseeing the state apparatuses authorized to bear weapons for the protection of the state and its people, more specifically the military, police, intelligence services, and militias. It is parliament’s role to ensure that the security sector is effective and accountable” The code of the parliament also envisages that “As the primary agency for law enforcement, the police operates at close proximity to the public and exerts significant influence. While there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach, good SSG is based on the idea that the security sector should be held to the same high standards of public service delivery as any other public sector.

If the security sector is well governed, it can be characterized as an effective and accountable sector capable of fulfilling its mandate to protect society against internal and external threats while respecting the rule of law and human rights.

“On the other hand, a poorly governed security sector is characterized by multiple security and accountability deficits, including: over-inflated security establishments that are difficult to support financially, but frequently constitute a major political and economic force; lack of transparency and accountability; inadequate defence planning, poor management and budgeting capacity in both civilian and military institutions; a long history of human-rights abuses by security forces and a tendency for security forces to act with impunity; corruption; an insufficient number of civilians capable of managing and providing oversight of security matters; and inadequate professional development.

“Furthermore, political interference by the security forces and politicization of security forces by civilian actors are two sides of the same coin, reflecting major deficiencies in a security sector. Democratic accountability can be achieved through a plurality of methods. Mechanisms of democratic control vary according to a number of factors, such as the country’s historical context, cultural traditions, form of government (i.e. monarchy, parliamentary republic or presidential system), constitutional-legislative framework, and socio-economic conditions”

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2020

POLITICS

The Agony of #EndSARS Protests and the Pathway to a New Nigeria

Sunday Okobi writes that the Convener of the Save Nigeria Group, Pastor Tunde Bakare espouses the birth of a new Nigeria built on the values of nationhood, equity, equality and dividends of democracy, as canvassed by the EndSARS campaigners

I

n the last few weeks, economic and social activities were crippled in some parts of Nigeria, especially in Lagos, Enugu, Abuja, among other cities due to the peaceful #EndSARS protests to call for an end to police brutality caused by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The protest was also for the federal government to heed the call to reform the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in order to play its constitutional role in a civilized manner. The issue is one among the myriads of challenges calling for not just policy reform in key sectors, but also for the total restructuring of the country.

The expected goal was that such remonstration would cause the birth of a new Nigeria built on the values of nationhood, equity, equality and dividends of democracy.

Though the dreams and aspirations of the Nigerian youths weren’t realised in practical terms, however, a statement has obviously been made. Many who lost their lives in the struggle for a new Nigeria will never be forgotten in the annals of Nigerian history. National Sovereign Conferences had been convoked in the past, but none has been able to chart the way forward.

The peaceful protests were seemed to be the makeshift way to re-awake the struggle for restructuring, but things seem not to be clear as to the direction the Nigerian government wants to follow for total redemption. The government has appeared to briefly display sincerity of purpose in addressing these agitations; however, eminent Nigerians are coming forward with concrete suggestions on the way forward.

One of such Nigerians is the Convener of Save Nigerian Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, who, while lamenting the degeneration of the peaceful #EndSARS protest to unprecedented violence in the country where many lives were needlessly lost, described it as ‘Stained banner of our nationhood’.

He, however, still expressed the belief that no individual or collective challenges in the country can ever diminish the hope for a new great Nigeria.

Bakare bemoaned the events of the past week, saying: “We witnessed with great sorrow the desecration of our nationhood as Nigeria’s armed forces stained the banner of our nationhood, the Nigerian flag, with the blood of our children, the Nigerian youths, to whom our founding fathers charged us to handover a banner without stain. It is, therefore, with a heavy heart over the current state of our nation, but with resilient hope in the possibilities of a New Nigeria.”

In his recent State of the Nation broadcast at the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC) in Lagos, which was originally intended to celebrate Nigeria’s 60th Independence Anniversary titled: ‘The Building Blocks of Nationhood: A Blueprint for the New Nigeria’, the cleric still retains the hope for a great Nigeria “because this dark chapter of our history is not how Nigeria’s story ends.”

He lauded what he described as the awakening by the ‘ordinary Nigeria’ across the country to make their voice heard in the repositioning of their beloved country, terming it ‘The Birth Pangs of Nationhood’ Bakare enthused that “there is a wave of people movement. It is a wave of citizen engagement championed by the so-called ‘ordinary Nigerian’,” who he noted has proven in extraordinary terms to be by no means ordinary.

According to him, “It began in Edo State with an awakened and resolute electorate defying the political establishment to make their voices heard and their votes count. In the past couple of weeks, that wave has been transformed into a tsunami of people movement led by our young people who have had enough of the horrendous brutality of the now-disbanded SARS. I believe that this wave of people movement is the physical manifestation of the birth pangs heralding the new Nigeria.”

With the prospect that Nigerian leaders failed to measure up well to this generation in many facets, the Serving Overseer of The Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC)

revisiting the Nigerian Charter for National Reconciliation and Integration (ii) which was unanimously passed by delegates to the 2014 National Conference. Our conduct should at all times be moral, ethical and legal, moderated by the reality that there are no shortcuts in nation-building.

From protests to progress, we must now proceed to the next phase of citizen engagement. We must organise ourselves like the nation-builders who teamed up with Nehemiah to build the wall of the city. With one hand they built the wall, and with the other, they held a sword to defend themselves. (iii) In like manner, when this battle is won, we must defend our gains.

Pastor Tunde Bakare stressed the need to apologise to Nigerians on behalf of the ruling elites. According to him in his address, “Before I proceed to unveil the building blocks of nationhood, permit me to address an issue that is heavy upon my heart, for we cannot proceed with laying the building blocks of a new nation without addressing the issue of how older generations of Nigerians have failed our youths. By the older generations, I refer to the so-called ‘Independence Generation,’ those who were born before and immediately after the independence of Nigeria.

I refer to the parents and grandparents of the millennial generation.

“One can understand why the younger generation would so heavily indict preceding generations. At independence, we inherited a promising nation, but we are bequeathing a predatory nation to the young generation.

We inherited a nation where a young graduate was guaranteed immediate employment with housing and a car loan, but we have bequeathed a nation in which our youths are largely underemployed, unemployed or Yahoo-employed.

“We inherited a banner without stain, but we have introduced a new colour to our greenwhite-green: blood red. This is why there has been a definite generational spin to the protests.

“To citizens of the young generation who are disappointed in the older generation; to those young freedom fighters who believe that the generation of their fathers and mothers has failed them; to those young Nigerians who have stood up to oppression; permit me to stand in the gap to apologise on behalf of my generation and the older generation for the undesirable state of the nation you were born into. Permit me to apologise on behalf of your parents and grandparents for the kind of

country you have grown up in. We salute your courage, and we applaud your resilience. We hear you, we share your pain, we share your story, we share your dreams for a better nation; and, although you may not realise it, we did our best to fight for you.”

The clergyman cum politician suggested a pathway from the present state of the country to the Nigeria dreams, which he said is paved with transformational landmarks in four dimensions namely: Culture, Structure, Infrastructure and Intra-Structure.

He said the dimensions are the four strong pillars around which his church, the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), is built as a governmental, authoritative, powerful institution, generating solutions, influencing policy, and providing clarity, adding that these are the four building blocks from which a new nation can be forged.

Our National Culture The first landmark in the journey from the status quo to the Nigeria of our dreams is the birth of a New Nigerian culture. The cultural dimension of nation-building is the value system or value superstructure upon which the nation must be built. It brings to focus what I call the 4 ‘IDs’ of our nationhood, namely the Nigerian Identity, the Nigerian Idiosyncrasy, the Nigerian Idiocy, and the Nigerian Ideal.

To address the current issues plaguing our nation and to make meaningful progress towards the Nigeria of our dreams, we must resolve certain unanswered questions that border on the Nigerian Identity. Who is a Nigerian?

What is the irreducible minimum standard of decency below which no Nigerian must fall?

To find answers to this question, I recommend

The clergyman cum politician suggested a pathway from the present state of the country to the Nigeria dreams, which he said is paved with transformational landmarks in four dimensions namely: Culture, Structure, Infrastructure and Intra-Structure. He said the dimensions are the four strong pillars around which his church, the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), is built as a governmental, authoritative, powerful institution, generating solutions, influencing policy, and providing clarity, adding that these are the four building blocks from which a new nation can be forged

Our National Structure Upon the foundation of a New Nigerian culture, we must revisit conversations around the structure of Nigeria. The #EndSARS protests have once again brought to the fore the diversity of the challenges and aspirations of the Nigerian people across geopolitical zones.

Let me at this juncture address those young people, particularly in the North, who have taken a different position and called for reforms, rather than the outright disbandment of SARS. (iv) I am referring to those who argued that they need such tactical formations to combat their peculiar security challenges in the North.

First of all, I say to these young Nigerians, you have the right to air your views, no matter how unpopular they may be. We hear you too, because you are also Nigerians.

Our National Infrastructure As ‘we the people’ begin to take responsibility to shape the new Nigerian culture, the government must facilitate the right kind of infrastructure that can channel that culture into productive ventures. Our cities and communities must host affordable and decent housing units, functional education and health facilities, industrial facilities, sports and recreation facilities, all linked by efficient multimodal transportation networks and broadband technology, protected by intelligent security architecture, and powered by sustainable energy solutions.

Such state-of-the-art infrastructure will facilitate the development of our young people, the incubation and growth of enterprise, and the drastic reduction in crime rates.

At this juncture, I reiterate my recommendation that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) becomes an optional two-year programme with the first year spent on military training for our young people and the second year spent on agro-entrepreneurship. In addition, I recommend that a minimum of an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) obtained from a recognised polytechnic, or two years in a recognised university with a cumulative grade point average not lower than a second-class lower division, be among the prerequisites for admission into the Nigeria Police Academy.

This will compel an upgrade of the Nigeria Police Academy to a degree-awarding tertiary institution affiliated with a Nigerian university, transform the Nigeria Police Force into a Nigeria Police Service, and further build the bridge between Nigerians and the Police.

Our National Intra-Structure The intra-structure question is what, for years, has been referred to as the National Question.

It is the quest for how best to coexist as a nation irrespective of our differences and diversities.

The intra-structure question has remained unanswered since the era of our founding fathers, and it explains the various conflicts that define our nation, including inter-ethnic, interreligious, partisan, and, especially now, intergenerational conflicts. It explains the ethnic colouration wrongly applied to the destruction of lives and property in Lagos State, the Southwest region, and other parts of the country by hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protests.

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

T H I S D AY Ëž OCTOBER 21, 2020

20

FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 08038901925

Addressing Youth Restiveness in Nasarawa Igbawase Ukumba reports that to address youth restiveness and its attendant effect that might destabilise the nation, Governor Abdullahi Sule recently convened a critical stakeholders' meeting

L-R: Senators Al-Makura, Adamu and Governor Sule at the meeting

Emir of LaďŹ a, Retired Justice Bage (m), other dignitaries at the meeting

P

erhaps it is abundantly clear that Nasarawa State is indeed very peaceful as far as youth uprising is concerned, except of course for a handful of youths that staged a peaceful protest to the Government House, Lafia on October 20, 2020.

On their arrival, Governor Abdullahi Sule directed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mohammed Ubandoma Aliyu, to receive the protesters on behalf of the government. They were addressed and pacified to allow government respond to their demands accordingly.

Thus the need to address youth restiveness was borne. Welcoming critical stakeholders to the critical stakeholders' meeting convened by the governor to brainstorm on the way to curtail youths restiveness in the state, the secretary to the state government said it was sequel to the nationwide protest against the activities of the Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigerian Police.

This he said led to the subsequent directive of President Muhammadu Buhari to all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to dialogue with their critical stakeholders, adding that the governor, in compliance with the directive, convened the meeting with a view of pacifying youth restiveness as well as sensitise stakeholders and indeed the general public on the commitment and genuine intention of government to restore peace as a fall out of the #EndSARS protest.

While appreciating the concern of the president, the SSG acknowledged that Nasarawa State was indeed very peaceful as far as youths uprising was concerned.

He said this was however in exception of a handful of youths that staged a peaceful protest in the Government House on October 20, 2020 when Governor Sule directed him to receive the protestors on behalf of the government.

The Nasarawa State SSG said: "It will interest you to further know that after a thorough identification of the protesters, we discovered that they were mostly nonindigenes. It is all known that Governor Sule is aligned to the onerous task of maintaining peace in Nasarawa State.

This presidential directive, through the ministers, is not only apt but timely."

Speaking on President Buhari's directive on continuing the engagement with the polity to find a lasting peace in the country, the Minister of state for Science and Technology, Mohammed Hassan Abdullahi, said that recent event that occurred as a result of the recent crises that engulfed the nation via #EndSARS protest.

He lamented that as genuine as the protest was intended to press for reforms in the operations of certain segments of the Nigerian Police, it was however, unfortunately, hijacked by some unscrupulous hoodlums whose interest was to cause confusion and disharmony amongst people.

The minister said: "The president is

SSG, Mohammed Aliyu pained by this unwholesome developments that has put our country in dire security cum political threats. The action of the hoodlums have put undue pressure on our law enforcement outfits. Accordingly, the president directed us to meet with stakeholders from the public sector, the traditional institution, religious organisations, youth groups and civil society groups to emphasise on the need to give peace a chance and for the youths to embrace dialogue as a means of redressing any perceived grievances."

The fundamental demands of the protesters which include disbandment of SARS and release of all arrested protestors, justice for all deceased victims of police brutality, setting out independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct within 10 days, psychological evaluation and retraining of the disbanded SARS before they can be redeployed and increase police salary, acccording to the minister of state, "have been accepted by the government and have put in motion necessary steps, in collaboration with various state governments, to implement its commitment to the #EndSARS protesters�.

"Thereafter, the demands began to increase and became incomprehensible as to what the protestors want, coupled with absence of leadership with which government can engage with became a challenge. The protest further degenerated into mayhem as genuine protest by the #EndSARS protestors was hijacked, innocent citizens were subjected to untold hardships as their right to free movement was severely infringed upon�.

Nevertheless, it maybe on this backdrop that President Buhari might be encouraging the dialogue to give peace a chance and to implore youths to embrace dialogue and have a shot at some programmes rolled out by the government to support not only the youths, but the vulnerable in the society.

He continued: "Nasarawa State is further

obligated, in view of the prime position our son - IGP Mohammed Adamu occupies, coupled with our proximity to the FCT to ensure a conversation that tilt towards supporting the IGP to succeed in this challenging task of ensuring law and order in the federation. It is therefore important to appeal to our youths not to allow themselves to be used as pawn to cause further crises."

However, the minister was thankful that Nasarawa youths had shown great understanding and restrain by refusing to be drawn into the endless protest.

For Governor Sule, Nigeria was faced with security challenges occasioned by the activities of the #EndSARS protesters against the activities of the now disbanded SARS of the Nigeria Police.

Arguing at the critical stakeholders' meeting, Sule posited that activities of the EndSARS have continued to pose security threats with attendant consequences on human lives and property, as well as the socio-economic development of the state and the country at large.

He continued that the security threat was coming at a time when the president was committed to record unprecedented progress and development in all facets of human endeavours. He therefore said the critical stakeholders' meeting was to appraise the present security challenge with a view to finding a lasting and sustainable peace, as well as fashion out modalities towards addressing the Five-Point Demand raised by the #EndSARS protesters.

"In an attempt to address the demands of the protesters, government had in compliance with the presidential directive, constituted Judicial Commission of Enquiry with a clear mandate as reflected in their terms of reference.

He further noted that the president’s implemented programmes targets mostly on youths and women, as well as the most vulnerable groups in the society. This, Sule posited that it was an effort to lift

100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.

Before concluding his address, the governor appreciated the efforts of traditional and religious leaders for supporting government's commitment in calming the #EndSARS situation. Similarly, he appreciated youth leaders for their various roles in ensuring that the youth did not take the law into their hands, hence he urged them to continue to support government's efforts in that direction for the benefit of the society.

Rising from the meeting, the stakeholders came out with a communique appreciating the various efforts by the federal government to lift 100 million people out of poverty through N-power, N-tech, N-agro, increase in monthly NYSC allowance, Special Public Works Scheme, Nigeria Youths Investment Fund, Farmer-moni, Trader-moni, Marketmoni, funding of fashion and beauty sector, among others targeted at economic empowerment of youths, women and the most vulnerable in the society.

The stakeholders commended President Buhari's respect for democratic right of #EndSARS protestors to demonstrate their grievances for the timely intervention of the federal government at a time when the protest degenerated into avoidable violence, maime, destruction of national assets, property, killings in a communique which was read by Mamman Alakayi, a federal commissioner representing Nasarawa State in the Federal Character Commission.

The communique read in part: "Stakeholders commend the government of Nasarawa State for its monumental strides and policies towards employment generation, wealth creation and poverty alleviation. We resolved to give unflinching support to the Inspector General of Police, Mohammmed Adamu, in his commitment to engender reform in the Nigerian Police.

"Stakeholders note that there is no one way approach in addressing security challenges because of obvious peculiarities and observe that F-SARS have been useful to Nasarawa State in the control of crimes and criminalities. Stakeholders were urged to use their vintage position to educate and engage their communities so as to bridge the gap between the leaders and the led. Stakeholders enjoined people of the state to take advantage of the Judicial Commission of Enquiry by availing the commission with issues bothering on police brutalities and other excesses to ensure reform of the Nigerian Police Force."

The communique equally commended the youths of Nasarawa State for resisting the temptation to join the protest and resolve to remain patriotic and ensure violence free Nasarawa State, hence they resolved to hold regular dialogue both at the state, local government and community level aimed at reviewing topical issues that are capable of breeding distrust and suspicion among members of the diversed ethnic nationalities of the state.

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T H I S D AY Ëž OCTOBER 21, 2020

FEATURES

A Day at the Synagogue Call the name of Prophet Temitope B. Joshua or his church, the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, it is sure to elicit divergent response from people who either question his powers and miracles or believe he is indeed an anointed man of God. Segun James recently visited the man and his church to find out more

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or those who are propelled by adventure, sport, faith and the belief that God is nature, this is the place for you. An extraordinary place to experience the awesome power and glory of God amid nature.

Imagine a wildlife refuge in the heart of Lagos. Imagine this in the heart of the most built-up area of Lagos where the urban jungle is replicated every day; and the quest for wealth at all costs is the way of life is the new deal? Welcome to the Prayer Mountain, Ikotun-Egbe in Alimosho area of Lagos.

Alimosho is not only the most built-up area of the sprawling mega city-state of over 20 million people, over a quarter of the state’s population lives in Alimosho. It is the melting point of the super rich and dead poor.

To most people in Nigeria, three widely known situation tend to dominate the ensuing conversation about this part of Lagos.

First, Alimosho is one of the highest density areas in the country; secondly, traffic here is tasking and it is the main cause of noise pollution, which is the hallmark of the area.

A 20 kilometres drive could take three hours to complete.

Thirdly, it is the home of the Synagogue Church of All Nation (SCOAN) and its founder, Prophet T B Joshua. The man and the church are known for the miracles that are performed at every service. These extraordinary feats have attracted people from around the world, including presidents, sportsmen, celebrities and top business leaders.

I've known the private thrill of standing where few people ever went; of experiencing some wonders of the world in my many travels. This now brings me to the question, how many of us based in a city like Lagos have ever gone into the woods to hear the chirping of the birds as they sing? How about the ducks as they quack or the monkeys as they hoot in the wild? Or the shy giraffe as it walks in its majesty unrestricted?

Today there is a chance for the man in Lagos to experience these natural wonders simply by stepping outside; with a visit to the Prayer Mountain at Alimosho.

To the world, the Wright Brothers enabled man to fly with the birds, but here at the Prayer Mountain in Ikotun, Prophet T B Joshua has enabled Lagosians to visit the wilderness without stepping out of the city.

Now there is no physical mountain anywhere in Lagos. This is just the name the Joshua chose to name the swampy woodland where he began his ministry in 1989.

Most of us may never get to see nature's greatest marvels in person. We won't ever get a glimpse of the giraffe or the antelope in their majesty or the ostrich with eyes as big as a golf ball. The closest we will ever get to experience such wonders is through documentary programmes like NATGEO Wild on television.

Note that the Synagogue Church building is not only the tallest structure in Alimosho and its environs, but the design and murals around the building also make it to stand out for miles. The 10,000 capacity edifice is a beauty to behold.

I had the opportunity of visiting both the Synagogue and the Prayer Mountain which is barely a 10 minutes drive from each other.

I and a select number of journalists had the opportunity of a two-hour discussion with Pastor T. B Joshua at the mountain. It was an exhilarating experience.

At the Prayer Mountain, Joshua created a forest within the city where several animals from all parts of the world roam freely among people from several parts of the world that have come to receive their miracle and encounter God. Although none of the animals in the forest are of the wild types like the lion or the crocodile, they certainly are rare to come into contact with in our part of the world.

At the Prayer Mountain is a lake where fishes of all kind swim freely even as most visitors can take a boat ride on the waters.

In the middle of the lake is an island on which a helipad was built.

For those who want to have a quiet time while praying, a stroll along the walkway that surrounds the lake is serene, giving atmosphere for people to commune with their maker physically and spiritually. For those who cannot manage stroll, they can ride a bicycle. For the elderly and the physically infirm, there are motorised carts for them.

Within this commune, you have the two huts where the mission began. While Joshua was living in one, he was praying at the

The Synagogue

Prophet TB Joshua other. And then, there are two forests. One which symbolises a complete wilderness with the trappings of modern living, the other houses within it a library, internet facilities and other good things of modern living even as chicken and other fowls provide the music as they stroll.

There are also other conveniences nearby like the hostels, dining halls, a zoo, halls for meetings and swimming pools to make the facility conducive for all visitors.

But surprisingly, there is no medical centre here. It's like it is taken for granted that when you are here nothing untoward can happen to you. This is a complete community on its own.

What could have motivated such a vision to create a wilderness in an urban area? Why in Ikotun when he could move to any choice areas of Lagos, especially where the rich and mighty could access the church? Why build such a magnificent library and Internet facility in a church?

For Joshua, "this is where I started. And I must have a library and a place where I can enjoy nature, not the air condition or fan, just nature as God created it. So having nature around you is very good. God is nature Himself and without nature, you cannot understand the Bible. Because the Bible is not history; when you are reading the Bible you are reading the Holy Spirit.

So if you don’t allow nature when you are reading, you will be reading history."

More revelation came when he disclosed that SCOAN has no branch anywhere in the country or the world. All contact with him and the church takes place at Ikotun and on Emmanuel Television, his highly successful television ministry. This was a surprise to me. He made it clear that he has no intention, for now, to build branches, except he is directed by God. This is still steeped in his love for everything natural. "You need some places like this; where you leave everything outside and come and

hear the cocks’ crow. But outside of here, whatever they are doing, you can’t hear because of the noise. So this place is very important to me, this is where I live, this is where I sleep and everything I do. If I want to meet people outside of here, I go outside.

"There is time for that, but because the Bible says that there is time to rest, time to work, time to rest is time to receive from God and time to work is time to give what you receive from God. And when you talk of time to rest, this is the best place to rest, not in the midst of technology or going to New York or travelling about but you rest in the midst of nature."

We were told that it all started here for you, how did it start given that this place was a swamp? One of us dared to ask.

"This swamp is the rejected stone, God spoke to me and brought me here, I have been following God’s vision, mission. When I am out of God’s mission I am finished. That is why you cannot see me outside of here, you cannot hear me. What I want to show you now will leave you shocked. My brother saw it three days ago and was surprised.

"God’s time is the best and I always follow God’s time. So that is why I only called key people to show them this. So I have been following God’s time, that is why you will not see me preach every Sunday, or go on television to preach every day, I must hear from God before saying anything. Every time can be good for you and every time can be the best time for you, but for me, I must have a corresponding grace or power, because the Holy Spirit must suggest what to do before I do them, if not I will not be able to have God’s result.

"So this is why you are not seeing me out there; at weddings, social occasions, coming to your offices to grant interviews. This is the only church – the synagogue here in Ikotun. There is no other branch anywhere else in the world. But it touches everywhere in the world. So I am waiting for God to let

me know if there will be branches or not, the important thing is that we should focus on building the people and not the church."

When it was suggested to him that the Prayer Mountain is a tourist haven, Joshua says he is more interested in the spiritual aspect of the facility. He preferred that the facility remains hidden until God's time to unveil it.

"The people will soon get to know about it. We are just waiting for God’s time. There are many things to be done in this place.

We are at about 70 per cent completion rate.

So if people should know about this place now, we will not be able to complete this job because it will cause distraction. When we are at about 95 per cent completion level, we will let people know. It is going to be by grace. It is not something you pay money for, you can come and see people moving and praying. So people will get to know, we are waiting for God’s time."

About his family? Joshua has this to say: "I am very happy about this question. I have a wife and I have children, and even my first daughter is doing her PhD and my second daughter is doing her master’s degree in Oxford. In all, I have three daughters. The last one is still in secondary school. I would have loved my wife to be like me but I cannot make her what I am, it is God. "I can't anoint her; God is the one that anoints people. So she can't sit here at the same time, this is not a biological issue, it is an inheritance from the saints, it is being a partaker from the saints. So, therefore, I should not use anything in my biological life to stop my spiritual life.

"As for my divine nature, I am a partaker of the inheritance of the saints, So, therefore, it is so difficult for me, this is an apostolic ministry, it is not a ministry you read the Bible, go to theology school, get your certificate and you start preaching! No. It is purely divine. So, it is so difficult for me to display my wife, she has to be ready for God. As much as you are ready for God, God will display her."

Two things are striking about you. One, you love engaging in gigantic projects, another thing is that you are so criticised by many people, especially for your miracles, how do you take such criticism when you hear all these things, another asked.

"It is always good if at the beginning they don’t see what is good about you. If they don’t see your journey at the beginning, they will criticise you. It is good for you, in the end. So if they praise you from the beginning it is not encouraging. If Nigerians have been accepting me right from the beginning of my mission, I think that would have affected my mission to the world. “I have gone all over the world; I am the only minister of God that has organised a crusade in Israel, and I also went to Nazareth where Jesus was born and organised a revival there. I am the first man of God to do that and it was carried in newspapers all over the world, Time Magazine and the rest. CNN aired it. After the crusade, a certificate was given to me by the State of Israel. That is the greatest joy for any minister of God." On why there is so much controversy about the Israel crusade he said: “Because it happened to Jesus, I cannot be greater than my master. A tenant cannot be greater than his landlord. If the landlord is criticised who is a tenant? That is exactly what happened to Jesus. They said no, the Muslims were on the streets protesting, the Christian, Catholics and all. But I let them know that God sent me to do the revival in Israel. And top Israeli government functionaries came.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also sent his representative.�

Another surprising revelation from Joshua is that he wants to set up a university. Although he refused to name where it will be located, he said that it will be a medical and sciencebased institution. It will however house a theology school.

"So we intend to build a university of science which will be part of the ministry.

Science, theology, medicine, these are the areas that interest us.�

As I left after two hours with the Prophet, it suddenly occurred to me that more international visitors come to the Synagogue than any other place in Nigeria.

I also remember that I forgot to ask him about the hotel facility owned by the church that came down under mysterious circumstances two years ago, killing over 200 international visitors. It was a bad day for the church.

22

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2020 •T H I S D AY

23

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍśËœ 2020

BUSINESSWORLD

Group Business Editor Obinna Chima Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

Í° Íą Ëœ Í° ÍŽ Í° ÍŽ MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

REPO 9.75 9

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

8 9 12

S & P INDEX INDEX LEVEL 1-DAY MONTH-TO-DATE

793.85% 1.57% 18.06%

S & P INDEX 1/4 TO DATE YEAR TO DATE

18.06% 53.76%

EXCHANGE RATE N379/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes UNN Wins ARSO Essay Competition

WELCOME ON BOARD

Managing Director, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva (right), and Ambassadorvof Andorra Elisenda Vives Balmaùa, during the signing ceremony to markvAndorra joiningtheInternationalMonetaryFundasthe190thmember,inWashington,DC,‌recently CoryHancock

OPS Calls for Support for Businesses Destroyed by Hoodlums Dike Onwuamaeze Members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in the Nigerian economy have commended the disposition of the Lagos State Government (LASG) and some commercial banks to provide financial support to businesses that suffered losses due to the civil unrest in some parts of the country in the wake of the shooting of protesters at Lekki last week.

They also said proper verification should be carried out to get reliable information on those that were affected and the extent of losses they have suffered, adding that any intervention should be in form of business grants rather than loan, in order to deliver the desired succor.

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), commended the LASG and commercial banks such as Access Bank and the Stanbic IBTC Bank for providing financial assistance

ECONOMY to MSMEs affected by the civil unrest.

The Director General of NECA, Mr. Timothy Olawale, said the support would ameliorate the negative economic impact the losses would have on the country’s economy, especially SMEs that constitute about 80 per cent of the entire businesses in the country.

Speaking in the same vein, the Director General of the Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, told THISDAY that the announcement to help businesses recover from losses occasioned by the aftermath of the hoodlum’ attack was a welcome development and should be vigorously pursued to fruition to enable them to rise from the ashes of the inferno that destroyed their businesses.

He said NACCIMA was encouraged by the announcement

by Access Bank to commence the collection of applications from customers to access its N50 billion interest- free loan and grants it has set aside for The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). “Thus if properly implemented the initiative by Access Bank and the LASG and hopefully from other state governments will provide support where the SMEs have been most hard hit and serve as the most appropriate and practical move to help the SMEs recover from the damages they have unfortunately suffered in the recent orgy of violence and senseless looting across the country and prevent them from sending their employees, many of who are youth, to the streets,� he said.

Similarly, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, bemoaned the un-

precedented levels of destruction, plundering, arson, looting and vandalisation that took place and appealed that the federal and LASG should collaborate to provide support in the form of grants to all the victims of the unfortunate outcomes of the protest for the destruction their properties and assets.

Mabogunje also called on the federal government to, “come to the aid of the LASG to rebuild the large number of assets that were destroyed by the hoodlums that hijacked the protest.�

She also called on the banks to which some of the victims were indebted to demonstrate uncommon compassion towards them in respect of their indebtedness. “As corporate and individual citizens, this is the time to demonstrate our culture of compassion in being our brother’s keeper by supporting, in our various ways, the victims of this unfortunate Continued on page 24

CAP, Portland Paints to Merge Businesses Goddy Egene The Boards of Directors of Chemical and Allied Products Plc and Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc have announced the decision to merge their respective businesses in accordance with applicable laws.

In a notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), both companies explained that CAP Plc would emerge as the resultant entity at the end of the merger process.

The companies explained that their respective boards strongly believe that the proposed merger, which provides a unique opportunity to change the Nigerian paints and coatings landscape, will be attractive and value ac-

CAPITAL MARKET cretive to shareholders of both companies.

According to them, the decision to pursue the merger is driven by the strategic objectives of the boards to drive growth and expansion within the Nigerian and African markets. “CAP and Portland Paints play in distinct segments, and the enlarged CAP will have a broader portfolio covering the top-end/premium decorative segment, the mid-market decorative segments as well as the industrial segment (in particular marine and protective coatings). “We believe that will provide our customers access to a broader

product portfolio and a wider range of value options to meet their needs. The combination of CAP and Portland Paints will create a formidable paints and coatings company that will be strategically positioned across segments as a result of its combined brand portfolio.�

They explained that the merger will be executed by way of a Scheme of Merger in accordance with Section 711 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 and other applicable laws, rules and regulations.

It will involve the transfer of all Portland Paints’ assets, liabilities and business undertakings including real property and intellectual property rights to CAP. “In consideration for the trans-

fer, CAP is offering shareholders of Portland Paints a choice to receive N2.90 cash every Portland Paints share held or one new ordinary share of CAP, credited as fully-paid up for every eight Portland Paints shares held,� they said.

Commenting on the merger, Managing Director of CAP Plc, David Wright, said: “The decision to pursue the proposed merger, is driven by the board’s strategic plan to aggressively grow within the Nigerian and African markets. We believe that the proposed merger presents a unique opportunity that will benefit all stakeholders, from shareholders to customers as Continued on page 24

Three students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka have emerged national winners in the 2020 edition of the African Organisation for Standardisation (ARSO) annual essay competition in Nigeria.

A statement from the oďŹƒce of the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mallam Farouk Salim, named the winners as James Ibe-Akunna who came top with 66.31per cent; Eze Harrison Ebuka, 65.50percent and Eze Samson Somtochukwu 65.47percent. Two other essays from Evan-Ibe Sobechi and Oor Christopher completed the ďŹ ve entries presented by Nigeria to ARSO for the continental competition.

The theme for this year’s edition of the competition was: “The Role of Standardisation in Resolving and Addressing the Socio-Economic Issues for the Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons and Creating Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa�.

Salim congratulated the National winners of the essay competition and expressed the hope that some of the ďŹ ve entries from Nigeria would be among the ďŹ nal winners at the continental version of the competition.

He enjoined all undergraduates in tertiary institutions in Nigeria to participate in future editions of the competition to further spread the gospel of standardisation and deepen the understanding of its potentialforvalueadditiontolives,theeconomyandtheenvironment.

TheSONChiefExecutiveexpressedappreciationtotheinter-ministerial screening committee responsible for the collation, assessment and scoring of the essays.

AXA Mansard Celebrates Customers

AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, a member of the AXA Group and global player in insurance and asset management recently celebrated its workforce and customers who had demonstrated outstanding commitment to the company’s legacy of superior service.

Thecompany,saiditdidthistomarkthisyear’sCustomerServiceWeek.

Addressing the distinguished sta and customers, the Head of Customer Engagement at AXA Mansard, Emeka Muonaka, noted that in line with this year’s theme: ‘The Dream Team,’ which it stated reectstheimportanceofteamworkinprovidingoutstandingservice to all customers, the company seized the opportunity to recognise some of its exceptional sta for the outstanding work they have done within their teams and their exemplary service.

According to him, the sta distinguished themselves during the year in qualities that create good service experience, qualities such as empathy, adaptability, patience, self-control, consistency, hard work, relentlessness among other qualities.

Muonaka, noted that the eorts of the sta and their teams is a symbol of the kind of company AXA Mansard is. “For us, customer satisfaction is everything. It is something we value greatly and the only way to achieve it is through excellent service. “AXA Mansard is grateful to these sta members for their hard work and for placing such great level of importance on their jobs and on giving service to their team. That is why we celebrate them.â€?

Chevron Bets on Middle East Gas

After years of focusing on United States shale, Chevron Corp. is stakingitsnaturalgasfutureontheMiddleEast,avolatileanddivided region where energy majors have long tread warily.

CEO, Michael Wirth’s pivot away from home is underpinned by a bet that the Middle East is entering an era of reconciliation that will make it ideal for tapping natural gas, as demand for the cheaper and cleaner fuel is forecast to outstrip oil.

According to Reuters, the new strategy is seeing the company pitch new gas deals in Egypt, Israel, Qatar, while cutting spending on American shale exploration.

The plan is anchored by Wirth’s $11.8 billion purchase this month of U.S.-based Noble Energy, which holds a stake of about 40 per cent in the aptly-named Leviathan gas ďŹ eld in the Mediterranean Sea, o the coast of Israel. “Five years ago the Eastern Med wasn’t viewed as endowed from a resource standpoint as I think most people would say today. That’s a fundamental shift,â€? Wirth told Reuters in an interview.

“The role we play is to enable businesses and create opportunities.

When DPR issues you a license, it enables you to invest�

Director of DPR

Mr Sarki Auwalu

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BUSINESSWORLD OPS CALLS FOR SUPPORT FOR BUSINESSES DESTROYED BY HOODLUMS incident,� she said.

The members of the OPS also suggested way to make the implementation of the current intervention more effective.

Olawale said for effective implementation of the intervention, bureaucracy and unwarranted delays should not be the order of the day in its implementation, adding that the requirements to assess these interventions should not be made too cumbersome. He also demanded at least six months moratorium on the repayment of the assessed funds. “We call on other financial institutions, rising through the Bankers’ Committee as well as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in the interest of saving the economy and stimulating growth, to mobilise in creating interest free funds for the affected businesses. “We are of the belief, that mobilising scare resources for such course will benefit every sector of the economy and in the long run, the entire economy,� he said.

CAP, PORTLAND PAINTS TO MERGE BUSINESSES

well as the broader economy.

I am excited by the prospect of an enlarged company with a broader decorative paint portfolio covering the premium, mid-market and affordable segments and the inclusion of marine and protective coatings, all of which will benefit our customers and shareholders.�

On his part, Managing Director of Portland Paints, Bolarin Okunowo, said: “In recent months, the board and management of Portland Paints have evaluated various strategic options with a view to positioning our company to capture emerging growth opportunities. “CAP’s business is complementary to ours, and both companies will be better able to serve our respective customers by coming together. I believe the combination of Portland Paints and CAP will yield significant benefits for all of our stakeholders.�

NEWS

AfDB, Partners Announce New Initiative for Women Oluchi Chibuzor The Women in Ethics and Compliance in Africa network, (WECA), a new initiative creating a membership group for women executives and management leading the fight against corruption and non-compliance in business, made its debut at an online webinar co-hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) recently.

Its organisers, leaders from the AfDB, the Coalition for Ethical Operations (CEO) and the United Nations Global Compact, announced the formation of the unique support organisation for female leaders and executives working to curb unethical business practices in Africa. “The formation of this network reiterates the Bank’s commitment to ensuring that sustainable development is hinged on bridging the gender gap, with emphasis on key areas such as ethics and compliance. “We’re inviting women from all across the private and public sectors on the continent to join in and help in achieving the objectives of this network,� said the Bank’s Director for Gender, Women and Civil Society, Vanessa Moungar.

According to a statement, the Director-General of UN Global Compact, Sanda Ojiambo, told the virtual audience of experienced ethics and compliance professionals that her organisation supports WECA’s mission. “The UN Global Compact is very much aligned with the objectives of the Women in Ethics and Compliance in Africa to advance coordinated ethical business practices, anticorruption measures across the

continent, and to empower a new generation of female leaders in the field,� Ojiambo said.

The webinar attendees discussed multiple challenges women leaders face in Africa’s male-dominated corporate world. The WECA network founding members said they plan to address the lack of avenues and support for ethical leadership. The network also aims to bridge the gap in human resources for ethics and compliance across the continent, through mentoring and coaching young women professionals for career progression. Some WECA network supporters said this

starts from a young age. “There is a need to create a global awareness and education to address the gender issue from a cultural perspective,� said Rhibetnan Yaktal. Global Head of Compliance at Puma Energy. To girls, her advice: “Build yourself up. There is no glass ceiling. There is no limit.�

The online gathering also explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has brought another dimension of challenges for ethical concerns for all leaders, especially women. Under the theme Women in Compliance in Africa: Challenges and

Opportunities, Navigating in the era of COVID-19, webinar attendees told a panel that the compliance issue is very timely.

Some noted that women play a significant role in the fight against the pandemic, which has forced major changes in how businesses operate and interact. Other participants said COVID-19 cannot be an excuse for businesses to ignore the ethical and integrity challenges faced in ensuring compliance systems are working and withstanding new and emerging risks. “Women are uniquely well-positioned to deal with difficulties, challenges, and

crises. For example, women leaders are better managing the current COVID-19 pandemic, yielding more results built on ethical leadership and strong integrity,� said Lisa Miller, Integrity Compliance Officer at the World Bank Group.

Closing the webinar, Sorita Botha, Legal and Compliance Advisor at Distell, said, “I’m so excited about the launch of WECA, and I’m sure we will hear success stories from women in ethics and compliance in coming months and years. It is the beginning of a new era of women empowerment for critical roles in Africa.�

WEAREOPENFORBUSINESS

L-R:ChiefOperationOfficer,GreenwichMerchantBank,TubosunFalowo;Non-ExecutiveDirector,OlutoyinOkeowo;Chairman,FBNHoldings,ObaOtudeko; Non-Executive Director, Greenwich Merchant Bank, Tony Uponi, and Executive Director, Benson Ogundeji, at the official commencement of operations GreenwichMerchantBankheld inLagos...recently ETOPUKUTT

Airtel Africa Records 36.5% Decline in Six-month Profit Goddy Egene Telecommunications firm, Airtel Africa Plc’s results for the half-year ended September 30, 2020, showed that its profit after tax fell 36.5 per cent to $144.6 million, from the $227.7 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.

It, however recorded a revenue of $1.815 billion in the period under review, showing an increase of 10.7 per cent from $1.64 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

Net financing cost rose 29 per cent from $148 million to $191 million, while profit before tax

fell 11 per cent to $280 million from $315.7 million in 2020.

The company recommended an interim dividend of 15 cents per share. Commenting on the results, analysts at FSDH Research said in line with their expectations, data and mobile money business segments were the key growth frontiers as revenue from both businesses surged 26.4 per cent and 24.3 per cent to $548 million and $181 million, respectively. Voice revenue grew marginally by 1.9 per cent to $972 million after recording a decent recovery in Q2 2020 (up 6.8 per cent q/q). “We were also impressed by

the below revenue growth in operating expenses (opex), which grew 9.2 per cent to $1.0 billion in H1 2021 from $937 million in H1 2020. The biggest driver of growth in opex were employee benefits (up 27.9 per cent), network operating expenses (up 11.1 per cent) and other expenses (up 14.5 per cent). “The controlled growth in opex fed into decent growth in EBITDA and operating profit, both of which grew 12.0 per cent and 19.5 per cent to $800 million and $472 million in H1 2021,� they said.

FSDH Research noted that improvement in key operational

metrics such as the growth in Data customer base (up 24.1 per cent to 39.6 million) and growth in overall customer base (up 12 per cent to 116.4 per cent) reflected sustained growth opportunities in the different regions the company operates which bodes well for revenue growth prospects.

However, the analysts said they remained concerned that prior year’s one-off derivative gains and non-recurring income dents overall business performance. “Pre-Tax profit declined 11.4 per cent to $281 million in H1 2021 from $317 million in H1 2020 largely due to one-off

non-operating Income of $70 million recorded in H1 2020.

Excluding the one-off prior year’s non-operating income, pre-tax profit would have edged higher by 13.8 per cent,� they said.

According to them, despite the 11.4 per cent dip in pre-tax profit, income tax expense surged higher by 54.5 per cent to $136 million in H1 2021 from $88 million in H1 2020. “This implies effective tax rate expanded 20.6ppts to 48.4 per cent in H1 2021. As a result, net income for H1 2021 dipped faster, down 36.7 per cent to $145 million from $229 million in H1 2020.

FG to Connect Chad to National Power Grid Group Business Editor

ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Finance) ĂŒĂ?ĂœĂ? åÙÔÓ (Insurance) Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ăœ (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă? (Money Market) Ă™Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă•Ă’Ă&#x;ÙÑÓĂ? (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Despite the shortage of power supply in the country, the federal government is in negotiations with the Republic of Chad in an agreement that could see it begin the supply of electricity to the North-Central African country soon.

THISDAY learnt that a meeting was recently between the Nigerian team and the Chad Minister of Energy, Mrs Ramatou Houtouin, who flew into Abuja in furtherance of the expected deal, while the Nigerian team was led by top officials of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

A few months ago, the Chadian ambassador to Nigeria, Abakar Chachaimi, had asked for his country to be connected to Nigeria’s electricity grid during a visit to the Minister of Power, Mr. Sale Mamman in Abuja.

Chachaimi argued that connecting Chad to Nigeria’s electricity grid would further enhance the historical and economic collaborations between both countries. If the agreement is eventually reached, Chad will add to the number of countries that depend partly on Nigeria for their electricity needs.

Much of Nigeria’s generated electricity remain unused because the country is not able to

distribute it as a result of poor transmission and distribution network, which has prompted it to sell to neighbouring countries.

Other countries that get their supply from Nigeria include the Republic of Benin, which receives supplies of at least 80 per cent of the total quantum of electricity consumed in the country as well as Niger Republic and Togo.

A former Managing Director of TCN, Usman Mohammed, had said the international customers enjoy stable electricity because they have more reliable distribution network.

He said Nigeria supplies almost all the power consumed in Cotonou, adding that the chal-

lenges with power distribution in Nigeria had made it difficult for consumers to enjoy stability in the power supply.

The government had also threatened to disconnect Togo, Benin and Niger Republic following their failure to settle their electricity bills Nigeria also spearheads the West African Power Pool (WAPP), which is a cooperation of the national electricity companies in Western Africa under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which says it’s working to establish a reliable power grid for the region and a common market for electricity.

Member countries of WAPP,

now headed by Mr Sule Abdulazeez, current Managing Director of the TCN are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, The Gambia, Togo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

No government official was willing to comment on the details of the meeting, but it was learnt that other things being equal, the power agreement will be sealed before the end of the year.

Calls made to the Special Adviser, on Media to the Minister of Power, Mr Aaron Artimas, to extract his comments on the development were not picked up.

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Defusing the Unemployment Time Bomb Obinna Chima writes on the need for government to tackle rising unemployment which has become a major problem bedeviling the lives of Nigerian youth and increasingly causing violent crimes

Buhari

R

ecent developments in the country have shown that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder. From the civil unrest in some parts of the country in the wake of the shooting of some protesters at Lekki, Lagos State as well as the raiding of warehouses where Covid-19 palliatives were kept in some states in the country, are all reection of the high youth unemployment in the country.

Indeed, with unemployment rate in the country as of the second quarter of 2020 at 27.1 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), this meant that more than 22 million Nigerians are presently unemployed.

This is even more worrying seeing that the NBS figures also showed that as of the second quarter 2020, unemployment rate among young people (15-34years) was 34.9 per cent, higher than the 29.7 per cent it was as of the third quarter of 2018.

Therefore, there is need for more attention to be given to the menace in order to save the country from potential danger.

Clearly, the rising cases of social vices in the country would reduce significantly if a lot of the able bodied young men in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano, Kaduna, Owerri, Ado-Ekiti, and other cities in the country are able to get jobs or are engaged in various forms of vocational jobs.

Indeed, not being able to get job month after month, year after year, destroys the self-worth of an individual.

Some have also argued that for Nigeria, its high rate of youth unemployment is a major threat to its national security.

Effects on National Security Afolabi Oluwaseun, in a scholarly paper titled: “The Rate of Youth Unemployment and Its Effects on National Security,� argued that because of the level of unemployment, a lot of unemployed youth in the country have become instrument of evil in the hands of the politicians in perpetuating their hidden agenda before, during and after the election. He cited an example with the 2011 presidential election, where over 500 lives were lost including nine youth corp members and thousands of lives and properties were displaced mostly in the northern part of the country.

In addition, many ethno-religious crises were perpetuated by the youth. Therefore, the high level of crime rate weakens the national security of the country which poses threat to lives and properties, he noted.

Oluwaseun, pointed out that the Arab Spring was carried out by restive youths who were

Osinbajo

frustrated by the way their countries were governed. “What is the likelihood that such revolution cannot be carried out by the teeming youth of the country? In addition, we need to recall the role of the restive youth in the Niger/Delta region before the declaration of amnesty by the federal government. “These youths constituted a menace in the society by terrorising and kidnapping oil workers and foreigners to demand for huge ransoms. “Many lives and property were lost during the period of their restiveness. Currently, kidnapping is the latest self-employment unemployed youth are engaged in. “Several politicians, actors/actresses, young ones, aged etc. have been victims in the hand of kidnappers. Despite several arrests carried out by the police, the business of kidnapping keeps flourishing every day.�

He noted further than many youth have turned themselves to “area boys� engaging in nefarious activities and a ready evil instrument for the politicians during political activities.

In addition, the rise of insurgent groups as well as frequent cases of ethno-religious crisis was also attributed to high youth unemployment in the country. “Nigeria is the second largest economy in Africa yet the effect of unemployment tells on the economic growth. “The youth that are supposed to be productive agents of the economy and be the greatest assets in terms of human resources are still dependent on their parents, relatives or friends. “Hence, the high rate of youth unemployment renders economic security ineffective.

The security implication of over 20 million unemployed youths is unimaginable. “Therefore, the government needs to devise

I have been saying for years that our massive youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

When you have such a national crisis of unemployment, it is the government that can address it and not the private sector

policies that will stimulate economic growth that would increase human capital development and productivity output.�

Tackling the Menace Some experts have advised the federal and state governments to implement policies that would address the unfortunate situation.

To the Founder, Foundation for Economic Research and Training, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, the recent social unrest in Lagos State and some other parts of the country was fuelled by the high level of youth unemployment. “I have been saying for years that our massive youth unemployment is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. When you have such a national crisis of unemployment, it is the government that can address it and not the private sector. “But the government has over the years been paying lip service to it. Now, it has exploded.

Destruction in one or two weeks can take more than a year to recover. It all goes to show bad governance,� Ekpo, who is a former Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), said.

The former member of the Monetary Policy Committee noted that if such social unrest was prolonged, it could hurt the inflow of foreign investment. “If this continues, foreign investors would not take us serious and this may discourage them from coming in. We carried on for days as if there is no leadership because the president of the country decided not to say anything,� he said.

On his part, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Olalekan Aworinde, said the shooting of protesters was not a good indicator for potential foreign direct investors as well as foreign portfolio investors.

According to him, nobody wants to invest in an environment that is volatile. “This is about confidence. When people do not have confidence in country, it goes a long way to affect the level of investment and has negative impact on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country as time goes on,� Aworinde said.

He advised the government to, “make use of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy to address the rising unemployment.� “Government should increase its expenditure.

The expenditure we are talking about here is not for white elephant projects, but expenditure to productive sectors and those that can bring about the desired returns.�

Furthermore, he advised the government to initiate capacity building and training programmes

for youths in the country.

In his contribution, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Soludo, urged the federal government to allow the youth to be at the fore in making and implementing policies for the country.

Soludo said this in an article he wrote regarding the uprising by the youth against police brutality and the call for better governance.

Soludo asked the federal government to “exploit the opportunity inherent in the current seeming national tragedy� by establishing a structure managed by the youth and one that would address their challenges.

This structure, he suggested, could be “Commission for the Future of Nigerian Youths�. “Let Nigeria lead Africa in this regard by elevating the voice of the citizen to statecraft. We need their alternative blueprint for our future.

If they want to suggest their own version of Nigerian constitution, let them do so. It is their future and that of their children that is mostly at stake and so, let’s hear them. “Let the Commission for the Future of Nigerian Youths produce the youths’ agenda for security, jobs, poverty reduction and prosperity, as well as the legal-institutional- governance structure to deliver them. What kind of education and value system will underpin these and how will they emerge, etc?

He also said the younger generation should be heard, adding that they “might give Nigeria the magic wand for the problems�.

Oluwaseun, also pointed out that entrepreneurship education is not only a means to foster self-employment among young Nigerians, but also to equip them with the right skills, discipline and creativity, necessary to cope with the uncertain employment paths in today’s societies.

To create or develop an enterprise culture, it is crucial that young people have an, entrepreneurial mindset. “There should be provision and access to soft loans by government and private bodies with little or no interest rate. “There should be eligibility criteria for giving out loans to unemployed youths such as having a business plan, demonstrating commitment and responsibility, having reasonable equity participation and demonstrating an ability to repay the loan required. “Thus, government should implement policies so as to bring about good governance in the country,� he added.

Notably, there is need for the government to ensure that it achieves inclusive economic growth so as not to run the risk of increased instability.

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Again, United Capital Beats the Odds United Capital Plc has recorded an increase of 26 per cent in its profit despite the headwinds that characterised the financial services industry where the company operates, writes Goddy Egene

T

he earnings started season last week as quoted companies began to release their unaudited results for the nine months ended September. Before now, there have been apprehensions among stakeholders who are wondering what the results would look like considering the challenging operating environment since March 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic that led to the lockdown of the economy by the federal government to stop the spread of the virus, is expected to have negative impact on companies. And as companies begin to release their results, it has been a bag.

Some of the results showed improved profits, while some posted lower profits and others ended with losses. However, one early surprise performance is that recorded by United Capital Plc, which posted improved revenue and profits despite the difficult operating environment.

United Capital Plc is a leading financial services group in Africa, focused on leveraging technology to empower businesses, individuals and governments with excellent financial services in investment banking, asset management, trusteeship, securities trading, wealth management and consumer finance.

Despite the fact that the financial system, where it operates, was equally impacted negatively by the COVID-19 pandemic, United Capital Plc ended the nine months with a revenue of N7.07 billion and profit after tax (PAT) of N3.46 billion.

An analysis of the results showed that total revenue rose 33 per cent from N5.32 billion in 2019 to N7.07 billion in 2020. The significant increase was on the back of a strong increase of 55 per cent in investment income, 62 per cent increase in fees and commission income, and 61 per cent growth in net trading income. However, cost-to-income ratio rose 3.1 per cent due to the sharp 270 per cent increase in impairment allowance.

According to the company, the increased cost complies with IFRS 9 that requires financial assets be tested for impairment and using the expected credit loss model.

Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 26 per cent to N4.1 billion, from N3.27 billion, while PAT grew by same margin from N2.75 billion to N3.46 billion.

In terms of profit margin, United Capital’s PBT margin declined by 3.11 percentage points, due to the increase in operating expenses arising from significant increase in impairment charges during the period under review due to impact of COVID-19.

Commenting on the results, Group Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Plc, Mr. Peter Ashade, said their operating environment remained tough amid the lingering COVID-19 situation and negative macroeconomic impacts as seen in the continued depreciation of the exchange rate, consistent uptick in headline inflation rate among other macroeconomic indicators. “As stated during the release of our half year (H1)-2020 results, our business has not been immune to these challenges. Notwithstanding, the Group has remained nimble.

We continued to implement our business growth and continuity plans premised on a solid risk assessment framework to ensure we remained focused on providing best-in-class solutions to all client segments. “These contributed to the impressive growth across our businesses leading to 33 per cent growth in revenue and 26 per cent increase in both PBT and PAT during the nine-month period,� he said.

According to him, in the second quarter (Q2),the group successfully issued N10 billion Series 1 bond under the N30 billion Medium-Term Debt Programme, the first to be issued by an investment banking firm in Nigeria and was oversubscribed by about 24 per cent. “We have begun yielding the fruit of that strategic decision. Going into the last quarter of the year, we are encouraged by

Ashade

the increasing market confidence in our brand even in the wake of the most globally devastating pandemic of the last century.

We know the operating environment is turbulent, but we are committed to deliver superior returns to our shareholders, as we drive growth and profitability across all our businesses,� he said.

Ashade explained that in line with their initial strategy for the 2020 business year, they shall continue to push further their market diversification and cost-optimisation initiatives as well as implement phased automation of our business processes whilst upholding their commitment to ensuring a significant improvement in our value delivery to all our stakeholders.

It is obvious that the one of the strategies that worked very well for United Capital was the issuance of a commercial paper(CP) to provide innovative financing solutions to its corporate, institutional and government

But as a responsible organisation, our primary focus is on the safety of our staff while helping our clients to navigate these challenging times towards meeting their respective goals amid lockdown pronouncements by the government

(parastatals, sovereign and sub-sovereigns) clients. “The CP will enable us provide a wider range of wholesale financing solutions to our clients. It will also further complement our stable funding base and support the growth of our overall business. The Series 1 & 2 issuances, with tenors of 182 days and 270 days, were largely subscribed to by individual and institutional investors, with interest significantly tilted towards the 270-day offering,� Ashade had said.

That CP issuance was followed in May by raising of N10 billion in its Series 1 Bond issuance under a-N30billion Medium-Term Debt Programme. The bond issuance was oversubscribed in investor commitments by 24 per cent, making United Capital the first non-bank issuing house to issue a corporate bond in the history of the Nigerian capital market.

According to the GCEO, “The bond issuance, which signifies the first by any investment bank in the history of the Nigerian capital market solidifies our performance track record as a formidable ally in the investment banking industry. With an oversubscription by 24 per cent investor orders, we believe this milestone accentuates the confidence in our Institution, and its ability to diversify our corporate funding sources, provide innovative financial solutions and our unwavering commitment to our esteemed clients.�

Also commenting on bond issuance, Managing Director, Investment Banking, United Capital Plc, Babatunde Obaniyi, said:“The bond issuance adds to the impressive portfolio of innovative and landmark transactions we have structured, and once again highlights our capabilities in the successful execution of novel debt capital market transactions.

As a joint issuing house/book runner on the deal, United Capital advised on the transaction structure, securing regulatory approvals and marketing strategy for the bonds including market timing, investor

road show and crafting an appropriate and compelling business case for the issuance.� “The Series 1 bonds, which have a tenor of 5years,recorded a 124 per cent subscription, with commitments received from Pension Funds (comprising 64 per cent of the issue), other financial institutions as well as high net worth individuals. This very strong outcome further affirms buy-side investors’ confidence in United Capital Plc, and a testament to the leading role the organization continues to play in the financial services space,� he added.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the operations of many companies but United Capital was able to endure the challenges. “Thanks to the well-articulated and diligent implementation of our plans set out last year.

With our well-articulated plans, business continuity plan in economic crisis and solid risk assessment framework,� he said.

He explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a devastating blow to businesses and economies globally including our domestic operating environment. “But as a responsible organisation, our primary focus is on the safety of our staff while helping our clients to navigate these challenging times towards meeting their respective goals amid lockdown pronouncements by the government. We commenced virtual operations without significant impact on our service delivery to clients. Our digital platforms (InvestNow – mobile and web) continued to serve our clients globally from the comfort of their homes. In addition, we increased client engagements across digital platforms such as streaming investment clinics and other advisory services. All internal and external workplace interactions were seamless in a virtual environment due to our improved technology capabilities,� the GCEO stated.

While some firms saw the pandemic as a setback, United Capital said it developed new competencies to exploit the opportunities created. “We developed new competencies including propositions to exploit emerging opportunities identified while also creating buffers such as income earnings on long term investments,� he said.

According to Ashade, as a diversified group serving various client segments with bespoke solutions that address respective financial and investment needs, the company prepared very well for 2020. “In preparing for 2020, we began prospecting key market segments that will present the greatest opportunities across all our businesses and devised action plans for exploiting those opportunities especially in terms of growth strategies within the domestic market. We also restructured our business to be more responsive to our clients.

Therefore, our performance is as a result of earnings growth across all our business lines and validates the effectiveness of the planning process and strengthened execution capabilities across group. The operating environment has quite been challenging but we have been focused on creating value for all our clients. Our focus is always on the customer,� he explained.

He has assured stakeholders, saying “We are unwavering in our commitment to stakeholders and expect to remain profitable and competitive in the near term. Going into the remaining part of the year, we remain assiduously committed to deliver greater returns to our shareholders, by constantly reviewing our strategy in the light of global and domestic happenings, ensuring that we provide value to all our stakeholders from time to time.� “We shall continue to push further our market diversification and cost-optimisation initiatives as well as implement phased automation of our business processes whilst upholding our commitment to ensuring a significant improvement in our value delivery to all our stakeholders,� Ashade declared.

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Saving the Economy from COVID-19 Ummi Kabir The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) took the world by storm in a manner that inflicted destruction, the like that can only be associated with hurricanes. This disease that first reared its ugly head in Wuhan China brought in its wake devastation of the worst kind. The so called developed countries, with all the scientific and technological advancement they usually boast of, had no answer to the harm the virus was and still wrecking on their socio-economic systems.

Life as everyone knew it, came to a sudden halt. Healthcare facilities of even the most sophisticated societies were challenged and brought to their knees. The effect of the Great Depression of the 1930s fade in comparison to the negative impact of this disease on the economy of the world. The extent of job loss not to talk of loss of lives as a result of the pandemic is still being studied just as nations are re-engineering their economies to mitigate the horrors caused by COVID-19 across all sectors.

In Nigeria, the story is the same in terms of a slow down on life of the people. But the interventions by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, prevented Nigeria, in a very significant way, from experiencing a larger contraction of the economy.

Like a man who saw the future, his intervention in the agricultural sector, pre-COVID-19, through the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), for instance, saved the nation from the horror of starvation when, in response to the pandemic, borders were shut and imports all but fizzled out. But Emefiele’s key interventions and measures which the CBN deployed to respond to disruptions caused by COVID-19 were applied with the dexterity of a genius out to make a difference.

And, indeed, he did. These policy measures include but are not limited to the extension by one year of the moratorium on principal repayments for CBN intervention facilities as well as the regulatory forbearance that was granted to banks to restructure loans given to sectors that were severely affected by the pandemic.

The CBN Governor also put in place a policy that reduced the interest rate on apex bank’s intervention loans from 9 to 5 percent and also strengthened the Loan to Deposit ratio (LDR) policy, which has resulted in a significant rise in loans provided by financial institutions to banking customers. Loans given to the private sector, have risen by over 21 percent over the past year.

It is also important to note that within that period, households and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were literally brought to their knees as some were at the verge of liquidation. It was, on all fronts, a trying time for this sector of the economy which, by its very nature, had the capacity to create job opportunities which this virus threatened.

Emefiele and the CBN rose to the demands of the time and salvaged what would have been a monumental disaster not just to those businesses and households but the economy of the nation as a whole. By creating a N100

EmeďŹ ele billion credit facility directed at the affected households and small and medium enterprises through the NIRSAL Microfinance Bank he not only gave them succour but also gave that sector a much needed kiss of life.

One area of the nation’s life that received a direct hit from the pandemic is, without doubt, the healthcare delivery sector. At the best of times, that sector has its shortcomings. The pandemic exposed it in all its ugliness necessitating an urgent measure if the people were not to suffer even more from the disease that was killing in hundreds and thousands.

Again, the CBN took up the challenge and created a N100 billion intervention fund in loans to pharmaceutical companies and healthcare practitioners intending to expand and strengthen the capacity of the healthcare institutions. Not done, the apex bank on the watch of Emefiele further put in place another N1 trillion facility in loans to boost local manufacturing and production across critical sectors in addition to developing a framework within which to provide financial support in the fight against COVID-19 through a fund that is also aimed at encouraging research development in the country. “In order to encourage greater research and development in Nigeria of drugs and vaccines that would help prevent the spread of the virus, the CBN is developing a framework under which grants and long-term facilities will be provided to researchers, science institutions and biotechnology firms to develop the Nigerian vaccine,� he said.

With all these, the CBN Governor expects that a recovery in the growth rate of the country by Q3, 2020 due to the following developments in the nation: a phased withdrawal of the lockdown measures; resumption of travel by land and air; improvements in crude oil prices from $19 in April 2020 to an average of $44 in August 2020; and continued implementation of the CBN interventions in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.

In spite of the effect of the pandemic, the CBN is optimistic that there will be a continued growth in the Nigerian banking sector.

The CBN Governor highlighted the fact that the ultimate strength of the financial system will invariably rely on the following three key factors: ensuring that banks have adequate capital buffers to withstand similar pandemics; developing adequate internal controls that can identify potential risks and putting in place measures to contain that risk; being able to adapt business models to changes taking place in the business environment.

As the task to cushion the Nigerian economy from further harm as a result of the pandemic becomes all encompassing, Emefiele made it clear that it is not what CBN alone can handle. It requires an input from the banking and financial system which is expected to support the growth of the economy by focusing on Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology and Infrastructure Financing.

Another positive fallout of the Emefiele

policy interventions in the economy during this COVID-19 hard times, is the approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari to the establishment of a CBN-led Infrastructure Company. This Infra-Corp, as it is known will, working in partnership with the African Finance Corporation and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), enable the use of private and public capital to support infrastructure investment that will have a multiplier effect on growth across critical sectors of the economy.

It is pertinent to point out that Emefiele has been able to keep the economy afloat despite the very harsh environment brought about by a disease that, as yet, has no cure. He was able to achieve this by thinking outside the box, by refusing to be fixated to the traditional functions of the apex bank which mainly have to do with initiating and managing monetary policies as well as ensuring financial system’s stability. Much as these have continued to remain effectively on the CBN’s turf, the Governor ’s wise decision to get actively involved in building and developing the economy through a well thought out diversification policy that is beginning to harness the solid minerals’ potentials of the country in addition to the well-known economic power base that agriculture is. This launch out by the CBN has helped largely in literally snatching the economy from the jaws of COVID-19. t,BCJS XSPUF JO GSPN "CVKB

DBN Holds Capacity Building Program The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc said it recently held a capacity building training workshop for 125 entrepreneurs in Lagos and Abuja, respectively. This, it stated, was in furtherance of its mandate of building the capacity of the MSMEs and equipping them with the required skills needed to improve their competence in developing and defending a viable business plan, improve their capacity to access funding, as well as imbibe in them the discipline required for efficient utilisation of their funds.

The capacity training program which held first in 2019 had 100 participants drawn from the six geographical zones of the country who converged in Abuja and Lagos for the training.

According to a statement, this year, the number was increased to 125 participants to accommodate more participants with the focus on impacting Nigerian MSMEs with the resilience needed for survival and sustenance especially, in the wake of the Covid-19 global pandemic. The small business owners were lectured on digital marketing strategies

and basic promotional tools by business experts with lectures on accessing business opportunities and improving selling skills as well as presentation skills and development of a business plan.

To help small business owners with book-keeping which is crucial to accessing loans, the DBN partnered with financial experts who lectured participants with explanatory videos on Entrepreneurial finance and accounting; how to develop financial records; financial analysis, and how to prepare a balance sheet of their business activities, according

to the statement.

While speaking on the importance of training for entrepreneurs, DBN Managing Director, Tony Okpanachi stated that, “While funding is a major problem for MSMEs in Nigeria, there’s also the need to equip our entrepreneurs with critical management skills required to ensure they are better structured and able to effectively manage their respective businesses.�

He further explained that being a development finance institution, the DBN tends to view problems militating

against SMEs from a holistic perspective. “As a Development Financial Institution established to bridge the financial gap through our Participating Financial Institutions, our strategic focus is providing liquidity, credit guarantee, and capacity building for MSMEs to be more productive. “The capacity building initiative is an integral part of the bank’s mandate to drive economic growth by empowering MSMEs with the skills required to improve their capacity and productivity. So, our objective, in a nutshell, is to equip entrepreneurs across sectors

of the Nigerian economy with requisite management skills to develop viable business plans, access funds, and effectively manage their business growth.

Through this training, we will enhance their entrepreneurial and managerial competencies,� he said.

Participants expressed their appreciation to the DBN especially in the area that touched on online marketing and business profiling. They expressed confidence in their increased competence and assured that they will inculcate learnings earned on their various businesses.

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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2020 •T H I S D AY

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 28, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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IMAGES

L-R: OďŹƒcer In-charge of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Vice Marshall Isiaka Amao; Permanent Secretary on Security, Cross River State, Dr Alfred Mboto; and OďŹƒcer Commanding Mobility Command, Air Vice Marshall Ibukun Ojeyemi, during the inauguration of Airmen Transit Accommodation at the 305 Special Mobility Group Command in Calabar...recently

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Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

A resident of Ogbaru is seen moving with a wooden ďŹ shing boat on the street as ood ravages Anambra North Senatorial District...recently

Minister of Niger Delta Aairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio (3rd left); Emir of Akko, Akko Emirate, His Royal Highness Umar Muhammadu Atiku (middle), and others dignitaries during the visit of the Traditional Rulers from Gombe State to the Minister’s OďŹƒce in Abuja...recently

L-R;: State Coordinator of Military Widows Association (MIWA) in Niger, Mrs Helen Baba; National President of MIWA, Mrs Veronica Aloko; National Secretary, Mrs Helima Abel; Representative of the Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Jidda Adamu and Managing Director, National Asset Personal Acquisition Scheme, Mr Eze Nnadi, during the presentation of relief items to members of MIWA by Nigeria Legion to mark Nigeria Legion Council’s Humanitarian Day in Abuja....recently

Some hoodlums allegedly arrested at the scene of looting government properties by Operation Safe Haven, in Jos...recently

Red Cross OďŹƒcers evacuating one of the presumes victims at Phase 1 Complex, Federal Secretariat, Abuja, during their demonstration exercise to commemorate the 2020 International Day for Disaster Rick Reduction in Abuja...recently PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN

L-R: Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Goernor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Minister for Mine and Steel, Mr Olamileka Adegbite; and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, during the condolence visit by South-West Governors and Ministers to Gov. Sanwo-Olu on the mayhem resulting from #EndSARS protest, at Lekki Toll Gate,Lagos....recently

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L-R: Executive Director, Legal Services/Company Secretary; SIFAX Group, Barrister Tunji Olusinde; Project Coordinator/Consultant to SIFAX Container Terminal;, Capt. Iheanacho Ebubeogu; Director, Maritime Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Auwal Suleiman, and Capt. Ibraheem Olugbade, during the Federal Ministry of Transportation’s Ministerial Implementation Committee’s visit to SIFAX Group’s new container terminal located at Ijora Causeway, Lagos...recently

L-R: Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Senator Barinadaa Mpigi; Rivers PDP Chairman, Mr Desmond Akawor; and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; during a meeting with youth leaders from the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers and Community Development Committee, in Port Harcourt ...recently

Resident of Gwagwalada trooped out to have their own share of palliative as hoodlums broke into a wharehouse in Gwagwalada Abuja...recently

TraďŹƒc on Airport Road during curfew hours in Lagos...recently

L-R: Wife of the Ekefa Balogun of Ibadanland, Mrs Adetokunbo Alabi; The Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oloye Lekan Alabi; and Gov.ernor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, during the presentation of Alabi’s biography to the Governor as part of activities marking the 70th birthday of the chief, in Ibadan...recently

L-R: Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Air Force, AVM, Oladayo Amao; Chief of Air Sta, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; newly winged Flying OďŹƒcer, Shehu Ibrahim and Chief of Training and Operations, AVM Janes Gwani, during the winging of the oďŹƒcer in Abuja...recently

L-R: Speaker of NIgeria’s House of representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, being shown some of the recovered goods looted by hoodlums during last week’s unrest by the Commander of Area C Police command, Tijani Fatai and the Divisional Police OďŹƒcer of the Bode Thomas Police Station, Ibrahim Fasesan and Adebowale Adeoya.... recently

L-R: Clerk, Public Account Committee, Mr. Ahmdu jatau; Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Oluwole Oke, and Deputy Chairman, Mr. Abdulkareem Saad, during an investigating public hearing in Abuja... recently

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EDUCATION Investing in Functional Education to Curb Youth Restiveness In the wake of the EndSARS protest hijacked by hoodlums who caused chaos leading to wanton destruction and looting of property in the country, some stakeholders, who spoke to Funmi Ogundare, explained why it is imperative for the government to invest massively in functional education that will lead to the creation of jobs for the development of the economy and other life enhancing opportunities, as the move will go a long way in curbing youth restiveness

T

hree weeks ago, protest against police brutality began after a video went viral on social media showing Speacial Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) officers abusing a victim in Delta State. For years, the unit has been accused of abuse of power and committing crimes such as killing of innocent youths, extortion and intimidation that they were meant to put a check on.

There were promises and moves to reform the police by the Nigerian government, especially with the change of name from SARS to Special Weapon and Tactics (SWAT), but protesters made up of youths said nothing had changed.

Rather than back down, hundreds of youths took to the streets across the country to protest.

Organised under the hashtag #EndSARS, they spoke with one voice and initially campaigned against the notorious police unit to be disbanded and officers prosecuted for extortion, rape and murder.

Thereafter, the demonstrations quickly evolved into a broader movement against inequality, corruption and nepotism, exploding into the public consciousness through the social-media-driven campaign.

In a calculated move aimed at dispersing the protesters, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on October 20 imposed a curfew on the state. Unfortunately, the evening of the same day, witnessed the alleged massacre of dozens of unarmed youths and many injured at the Lekki Toll plaza by security forces.

The shootings further heightened tensions which degenerated to wanton destruction of private and public property, as well as massive lootings across the country by hoodlums who were said to have been created from a bad, uncaring and ungodly leadership in the country to hijack the peaceful protest.

Some experts, who have been monitoring the system, explained to THISDAY why it is imperative for the government to invest massively in functional education which can lead to creation of jobs for the development of the real sectors of the economy and society, rather than neglect it to create helpless individuals who would go into crime.

In his submission, the Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch, Dr. Dele Ashiru described the EndSARS protest as a reaction to age-long anger of political maladministration and wanton corruption occasioned by the wickedness and recklessness of the ruling elites whose kleptomaniac inclination has reached unimaginable proportion.

He regretted the total neglect of the education system which has created a group of helpless individuals who have no choice than result to crime.

According to him, “the people we now call hoodlums are the creation of the same unproductive, parasitic and decadent ruling elites who use and dump them during election.�

He argued that government deliberately neglected education because educated people are difficult to oppress as has been demonstrated by the protesters.

Ashiru said the only way to help the system is to deliver a more egalitarian society where there is life more abundant for all citizens, including the hoodlums.

The President of the union, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi in a statement made

The youths must be gainfully employed to curb restiveness

available to THISDAY, regretted that the future of young people in Nigeria is threatened as a result of the massive exploitation of the country’s common wealth by the ruling class who do not contribute to production. “Young people in Nigeria are living in conditions of hopelessness, disintegration of families and despair about the present and the future. So long as the prevalent deprivations persist, lacking a hope for a better satisfying, it is expected that they will lose confidence in the present set up.

He said the protest by the youths was a challenge to those who hold political power to urgently and rightly address the core issues of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, poor education and lack of access to social services such as adequate healthcare, good roads, housing and electricity for majority of Nigerians. “The youths are carrying the burden of resistance, a burden which they have taken on behalf of other classes of the Nigerian society. The labour movement, professional groups, peasant farmers, artisans and the intellectuals must defend the rights of the people as guaranteed by the constitution as the youths have done with the peaceful protest. It is a challenge to all those who want genuine change in Nigeria. We must intervene

in manners that bring lasting impact; lest the genuine struggle of our youths is hijacked by self-seeking opposition politicians and miscreants as already happening,� the don stressed.

Ogunyemi therefore called for a series of public programmes of economic and social welfare as provided for in chapter two of the 1999 Constitution (amended), which states the provision of state-funded qualitative, mass employment, as well as other life enhancing opportunities that characterise a welfare state.

While commiserating with the families whose children and wards’ lives were cut short, as well as those who are nursing various degrees of injuries in the course of the #EndSARS protest nationwide, the president stressed the need for the ruling class to continue to engage with the citizenry especially the youth population and the working class so as to deepen Nigeria’s democracy and guarantee lasting peace in the country.

In an effort aimed at calming frayed nerves, President Mohammadu Buhari had on October 23, held a virtual meeting with former heads of state and Presidents of Nigeria, in Abuja, where he reiterated that the government will not fold its arms and allow miscreants and criminals continue to perpetrate acts of hooliganism

The labour movement, professional groups, peasant farmers, artisans and the intellectuals must defend the rights of the people as guaranteed by the constitution as the youths have done with the peaceful protest. It is a challenge to all those who want genuine change in Nigeria

in the country.

He recalled the demands of the protesting youths saying, “we accepted all the demands and proceeded immediately to scrap SARS and started the process of addressing the other demands.

Unfortunately, the protesters refused to call off the protest and engage the government to address their grievances.

Instead, they became emboldened and gradually turned violent.�

He pledged his administration’s readiness to continue to ensure that liberty and freedom, as well as the fundamental rights of all citizens are protected In their response, the former heads of state were of the view that generation of employment and growing the economy including through direct foreign investments are critical to checking youth restiveness.

They also called on youths to pursue peaceful means in seeking redress through engagement with government and encouraged further conversation with the youths and other stakeholders in the country.

One of the youths, Miss Catherine Udeh, popularly called DJ Switch, who was at the forefront of the protest livestreaming the activities on Instagram handle, expressed displeasure about the hijack of the protest by hoodlums to cause chaos resulting in arsons and destruction of property. “According to her, “I conderm any sort of violence. I conderm the burning of buses or people’s livelihood. I know we are very angry, but the most powerful weapon we have is peace. “We must continue to move. If we stop, I swear it will probably be another 60 years before we talk about this again. We must continue, but continue peacefully.�

She stressed the need for accountability in the system, saying that people have to be brought to book, else the injustice will continue.

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T H I S D AY Ëž OCTOBER 28, 2020

EDUCATION

Bayelsa Education Commissioner Gives Reasons for Schools’ Closure The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Education, Gentle Emelah has explained why the state government ordered the closure of schools in the state.

Emelah had in a public statement, announced what he called “emergency closure of schools� in the state with effect from October 19, 2020.

According to him, a yet to be ascertained number of pupils were drowned in the flood that wreaked havoc in the oil and gas rich state. “There is no doubt that this flood has wreaked a lot of havoc in Bayelsa State. It has affected so many things.

Animals, especially reptiles are not left out. The natural habitats of these reptiles have been negatively affected.

They are therefore looking for where to hide and it is natural for them to get into houses and buildings in the school premises. Many teachers and pupils’ lives have been endangered in the process. “We cannot continue to endanger the lives of our people in the name of education. Our people need to be alive before they can be educated. We do not want to lose more lives. It is a painful decision because it is not long we resumed academic activities in the schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “All schools in the state were closed as a result of the pandemic but we have to do it to safeguard the lives of the pupils and their teachers in addition to other non-academic staff.�

He said the decision is in order to safeguard the lives of the precious students all through the flood season,

as such, all schools should strictly adhere to it. “The public should note that the closure of schools will not affect the students taking the ongoing Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) exercise taking place in the state.�

The earlier statement by the ministry titled ‘Emergency Closure of Schools in the State’ and signed by Emelah read: “The government hereby regrets every inconvenience that might come with this new development. We also use this medium to sympathize with all flood victims across the state.

We are assuring them that as a people and as a government, we share in their pain and we will continue to do our best to give them our support. “It is sad that the closure is coming barely a month after we returned from the COVID-19 pandemic break and now we are faced with another natural disaster which has forced us to close down our schools again.�

The commissioner expressed dismay at what he called “highly regrettable and unfortunate� development just as he enjoined all stakeholders to recognise that it was “a price we must pay as a people for our collective good.�

He sought the understanding of the people on the government’s decision to close the schools in what he described as a “trying time� in the state.

Meanwhile, Emelah has stated that the people of Okordia/Zarama/Biseni play a critical role in the development of the state.

He stated this when a delegation of Okordia Zarama

Bridge Academies Task Parents on Mobilefriendly Platform to Boost Children’s Learning Funmi Ogundare To mitigate the effect of schools closure by the government as a result of the tension and mayhem caused by hoodlums that hijacked the #EndSARS protests, Bridge International Academies has appealed to parents to utilise mobile-friendly interactive quizzes available on WhatsApp or via SMS to help their children practice what they have been taught in various subjects.

The spokesperson for Bridge, Mr. Femi Awopetu in a statement, said it would also help parents assess what their children have been learning. “Parents and guardians are encouraged to continue to utilise the remote learning programmes to keep their children productively engaged at home and safe while schools remain closed again.�

He expressed concern that when children do not go to school, some are at increased risk of violence, abuse, early marriage and pregnancy, adding, “children need to remain within the education system, even

without a physical classroom and the current little setback of school closure shouldn’t deter parents from encouraging their children to continue to learn at home.�

Awopetu noted that education delivery should not only be comprehensive and sustainable, but able to continuously evolve and meet the challenges of the fast-changing and unpredictable world, as has been seen with closure as a result of the protests. “Over the past months, the unprecedented disruption to children’s education and challenges faced during the closure of schools in response to the pandemic have shown that relying only on traditional methods of teaching and learning could constitute a setback to equitable education for all. “After COVID, we are reimagining education systems, and we must re-imagine them so that they work within the challenges that face us; we must design programmes that give all children the same access to modern education systems whether they are at home or not,� the spokesperson stressed.

Biseni Development Front paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Yenagoa recently.

He extolled the place of the area in the development of the state, pointing out that it hosted the defunct Teachers’ Training College (TTC) which was a foremost institution that trained a lot of Nigerians from the 1950s till the late 1980s.

“It is therefore unfortunate that not much has been done to revamp the TTC which has gone moribund,� he added.

The leader of the delegation, Mr. Freeman Ovuru said the aim of the visit was to felicitate with the commissioner as one of their kinsmen, adding that the visit was meant to strengthen working relationship

with Emelah who is the political leader of the constituency.

He lauded Emelah’s leadership qualities while he was representing the constituency at the state House of Assembly, adding that the commissioner achieved so much including the building of Corpers’ Lodge and water projects.

Ovuru used the occasion to

draw the state government’s attention to the area which is a major contributor to the state’s economy. He said the famous Zarama Market needs a facelift and called for the establishment of another teachers’ training institution at the site of the defunct TTC. The site is free from the present flood rocking the state.

L-R: UBEC Projects Director, Mr. Umar Iro; sQuid Nigeria Project Director, Mobolaji Usman; Foreign Secretary, Honorable Dominic Raab MP; sQuid Nigeria Managing Director, Umar Abdullahi; and Senator Abubakar Sadiq Yaradua, UBEC Board representative, during the two-day EdTech forum held in London... recently

Greensprings Students Become Two-time Winners of Conrad Challenge Scholarship Uchechukwu Nnaike After working on various innovative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) projects, 20 students of Greensprings School, Lekki Campus have been presented with $60,000 each for emerging finalists in the 2020 Conrad Challenge.

The challenge is an initiative of the Conrad Foundation, USA, and this is the second consecutive year that students of the school made it to the final and received the scholarship attached to the challenge.

Explaining the project he worked on, one of the scholars, Uwadiae Guobadia said: “The

Conrad Challenge was a very enlightening experience for me. My team came up with the idea of a device named Electro-Decarbonator, which we designed to capture carbon dioxide from the fumes of generators. With this device, we wanted to tackle the problems of air pollution and global warming by capturing carbon dioxide from generators and preventing it from escaping into the atmosphere. “I enjoyed the good relationship I had with my team members and participants from other schools across Nigeria.

My sincere appreciation goes to all my teachers in Greensprings School for helping to develop

my confidence and public speaking skills. Without them, presenting our project idea in front of the judges wouldn’t have been easy for me.�

Expressing delight at the students’ feat for winning the scholarship back-to-back, the Assistant Principal (Enhancement), Mr. Afolabi Amusan said: “The school focuses on investing in its students and creating an enabling environment for them to succeed. Therefore, I am glad that our students continue to excel academically and perform outstandingly both in local and international competitions. “Last year, it was five of our students that won the

Conrad Challenge scholarship, but this year, we have 20 students winning it. That’s a back-to-back success story for the Greensprings School community and we are extremely happy!�

The Conrad Challenge is a yearly competition that brings together a dynamic community of innovators and entrepreneurs who work together to develop extraordinary and viable solutions that benefit the world in the areas of Aerospace and Aviation, Cyber-Technology and Security, Energy and Environment, Health and Nutrition, and Smoke-free World.

Forum Emphasises Digital Technology in Teaching, Learning A representative of the board of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Senator Abubakar Sadiq Yaradua and the UBEC Project Director, Mr. Umar Iro recently visited the London headquarters of sQuidcard Limited, for a twoday EdTech forum, focused on how digital technology can enhance training, teaching and learning, to transform Nigeria’s basic education.

The forum was hosted by sQuid, which ground-breaking projects around the world include pioneering education technology programmes and large scale cashless payment distribution helping marginalised communities to improve children’s education and family livelihoods.

The stakeholders emphasised on future improvements

in learning through available smartphone technologies, how to think differently using technology to create excellence in teaching and learning.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, sQuidcard Limited, Mr. Adam Smith harped on its new project working with Nigerian schools, saying that it will help build a better future for thousands of children in over 100 communities. “Digital tools combined with on-the-ground support will increase engagement in education in often very difficult situations,� he said, adding that the forum offered an opportunity to share visions on how UBEC’s mission can benefit from technology and how the government can strengthen Nigeria’s education

system for a better future.

The Managing Director, Umar Abdullahi said the company is committed to partnering key stakeholders to improve education and learning outcomes for teeming school population using the sQuid technology and platform.

UBEC’s representative, Yaradua affirmed that Nigeria is addressing the enormous challenge of how to educate a fast-growing population. “We recognise the need to embrace proven technology solutions to deliver effective education tools to help our teachers and learners. sQuid’s digital platform is proven and the team has pragmatic experience in Africa. We embrace and welcome partnerships with organisations that bring

real, proven solutions and are able to work with us to adapt them to our needs. “It is most appreciated to be able to spend two days being shown the new parameters of education, with the uptake of cutting-edge technologies and sQuid’s ambition. Both students and teachers, as well as the whole community will benefit greatly thereby creating a stronger and more sustainable future for all.�

On his part, Iro noted that the crisis in education caused

by COVID-19 has shown the importance of ensuring that schools can benefit from the most up-to-date technologies. “Whether it’s an attendance register or teacher training or payment systems, sQuid’s EdTech will be of great benefit to thousands,� he said.

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T H I S D AY Ëž OCTOBER 28, 2020

EDUCATION

KEHINDE OMORU www.kayomoru.com

OF THE NIGERIAN MILLENNIALS CLAIMED IN ‘ENDSARS’

L-R: The Head, Business Development, SchoolsCompass, Nwanneka Cynthia; founder, SchoolsCompass, Yomi Ojo; Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folasade AdeďŹ sayo; and Support Lead, SchoolsCompass, Ojo Afolabi, during the presentation of a report, ‘Understanding the Stance of a Nigerian Parent in a Typical Post-COVID Learning Environment’ to the state government... recently

Innovative Technologies Will Support Continuous Learning Post-COVID-19, Experts Say Uchechukwu Nnaike As economies around the world begin to recover from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, technologists have stated that there would be a shift to a learner-centered system that would marry continuous learning with technology at all levels in ways never seen before.

They said the pandemic has brought to the fore fault lines, particularly within the education space that has required educators, learners and parents to be aware of the realities that existed across the spectrum before its initial onset.

According to them, at its very peak, research has shown that the pandemic left 1.6 billion students out of school and without access to connectivity and resources.

They said the abrupt change meant that governments and educators need to rethink ways of bringing sustained education to learners, taking into account access to technology and the various other circumstances that vastly separated students in the classroom in their home lives.

Educators and institutions also need to realise that the one-size-fits-all approach to educating that existed for hundreds of years needs to go through an “unprecedented shift� from a culture of teaching to a culture of learning, they said.

According to the Education Lead, Middle East and Africa Emerging Markets at Microsoft, Angela Nganga, “the reality of it is that educators were and have also been placed into unfamiliar territory where more societal and technological factors to easing learners into the new normal needed to be explored - a first for

many.�

As the pandemic spread throughout the continent and globe, governments, institutions and individuals began to band together, navigating the “unsettled zone� where issues and questions involve getting access to the right technology, communication management and equity i.e. access to devices and connectivity – through to the “learning zone�, where issues include enabling continuous learning, providing support to students who lack independent skills, and providing support to parents of students. “The global response we have seen within the spheres of education at all levels has demonstrated how technology can help transform how we teach and learn. This powerful shift to a learner-centered system will be amplified by technology and driven by education that is steeped in purpose and meaning.

While many institutions still find themselves in the two previous phases, some have started entering what is the ‘growth zone’ where it becomes clear that technology is a crucial part of the solution during the disruption and beyond. What also emerges here is recognition that it is time to move beyond a blend of traditional teaching and online instruction to something more. In other words, moving to a hybrid learning model -one that combines the best of inschool and remote learning with digital engagement. It is more than a quick fix. It is a way to enhance and accelerate learning by providing student-centered approaches to meet diverse

learners’ needs,� Nganga said. “But what does this mean for all involved? Ideally, for students, they will become empowered to learn for themselves in flexible, collaborative ways, both inside and outside classrooms at their own pace. They will also be able to follow their own interests and be challenged as appropriate.

Teachers will have access to individualised real-time data on how well each of their students is progressing- scholastically and emotionally- enabling them to devise new challenges and offer appropriate support for each child to move ahead.

Also, parents will be better connected to, and involved with their child’s education with certainty, detail, and confidence.�

She stated that the company has continued to invest in helping students at all level gain the skills to be successful in the future and is committed to ensuring that educators are equipped with the tools and curricular resources to teach digital skills and prepare students for in-demand jobs across cloud, data, artificial intelligence, coding and even quantum computing. “One of these investments include creating a new experience on Microsoft Education and Microsoft Learn for students and educators, providing curated experiences including learning paths focused on technology for social impact, popular university courses, and foundational developer paths. In the same way, eligible educators and faculty members at universities, community colleges and secondary schools can access Microsoft ready-

to-teach curriculum and teaching materials aligned to industry-recognised Microsoft Fundamentals certifications. “The Microsoft AI Business School is also a great resource for students to learn about applying AI to industry, along with considerations for sales, marketing, culture, and responsible AI application across a multitude of industries. Furthermore, in an effort to support students in showcasing their skills and building their portfolio, Microsoft also provides institutions the opportunity to procure Microsoft certification vouchers at academic pricing on their existing volume license agreement – a great complement to existing degree studies or can serve as a stand-alone credential to show proficiency in a specific technology.� “For providing students with assistance in getting a hands-on experience with technology, programmes like Azure for Students, GitHub Student Developer Pack, Visual Studio Code, and programmes like Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors have been put in place. “Looking forward, ‘rethinking’ will become a word synonymous with how the rollout of education is approached from start to finish. New data-based technologies have opened up ways to transform practices, structures, and even cultures in schools. Our commitment to education remains at the core of our mission and we will continue to push boundaries in this space – ensuring learners, parents and educators gain the most out of this process,�

Nganga said.

IjoinallNigerianmotherstodecrythelossofourchildrenclaimedbythegun shots in EndSARS. It is a national tragedy! Posterities aborted! Potential generations snuffed out forever! Killings - searing, severing, and sobering beyond all comfort! As a mother, I feel a heart wrenching maternal loss that onlyawomanwhohasexperiencedchildbirthandearlyyearsnurturingofa childcouldfeel.Lord,whatsorrowthosebereavedmotherswouldbeinnow.

HealOLord!Bindtheirwounds!Wherecomfortsfail,youalonecantouchand makesorrowslight!Importantlytoo,maythegoodlordcleanseourlandthat openeditsmouthtodrinkthebloodofitsownchildren!AsIhavealwaysbeen ateacher,nurturinginthemanyfacesthatteachingcanwear,Igrieveforour childrenwho’velosttheirlivesor,arenowmaimedbytheburstingeffectsof bulletsshotatthem.Thesewillnowcarryinternalwoundsthatmayneverheal; smashed bones that will incapacitate; gory nightmares that may never go!

NonethelessIdaresay-liveNigerianyouthslive!ThriveNigerianyouthsthrive!

AleadershipcourseIcompletedrecentlyatSaidBusinessSchooloftheOxford Universityhonedonthevaluesofmillennials.Ididjusticetotheassignment attachedtothismodulecreditstohavingnumerousopportunitiesinthepast 10yearstoworkwiththeevervivacious,ambidextrousmillennials. Iamproud oftheopportunitiestohavemyselftaughtthisspecialsetoftoday’syoung adultsatCoronaSchools,IkoyiandVILagos,aswellasatSt.SavioursSchool,VI Lagosinthe80sintothe21stcentury.Millennialsareyouthsbornbetweenthe year1980and2000.Theyareaprizedsectorofanynation,onlyinformedand educatedpeoplewillseekthemouttoleveragetheirenergy,dynamism,skills andinnovativenesson:corporateandprivate-sectorprocesses,governance andeconomy;artisanshipandformaleducation,religiousprocessesandsocial services; etc. So it is a huge loss that anyone shot at these jewels of Nigeria during the #EndSARS protests.They could have been negotiated with and reasoned with.They simply by their making bear all the qualities that make themamenabletointelligentdiscourse.Letmetellyouaboutmillennialssoyou canappreciatethegravityofthisnationallossinthehandsoftheirmindless marksmen.Millennialsare:Openandadaptivetochange;theyhavepassion forlearning;theyvaluemeaningfulmotivation;theyareconfident,ambitious andareachievementoriented;theyarenotafraidtoquestionauthority;free thinkingandcreative;theyplaceimportanceontasksratherthantime;they valuesocialinteractions.

It is time for our old leaders to leave and take their place at the rear, not as derelicts, but as the go-to place for wisdom. Sadly such go-to places are dangerously fewer by the day. Currently many go-to places have blood in their hands, callousness in their hearts, as well as no moral justifications to correcttheyoung.AdieuallfallenmillennialsoftheEndSARSprotestsMay GodrestyoursoulsinHispeace-filled,nurturingbreasts,Amen.

Omoru is a freelance writer, education, health and social care advocate

APWEN President Canvasses Capacity Building of Girl-Child Funmi Ogundare The President, Association of Professional Women in Engineering (APWEN), Mrs. Funmilola Ojelade, has stressed the need to enhance the capacity of the girl-child, saying that the move would impact the immediate environment.

Ojelade, who said this recently at the third Nkechi Isigwe annual lecture with the theme ‘Capacity Building’, to commemorate the International Day of the Girl-child, said the girl-child must stand up against all limitations on their way to progress.

She said the lecture serves to honour one of its founding members, who also served as the second president of the association, as well as help fulfil its mandate as an educational organisation.

She said the association will continue to sustain it.

“The theme for this year’s public lecture is a subject that is dear to the heart of today’s honoree, Nkechi Isigwe, who passionately desires to see others, especially the younger ones, be the best they can be. That should tell you something about APWEN’s educational programmes in encouraging the girl-child to become engineers. we are living the vision of our founding mothers, “she said.

In her remarks, Isigwe said since Africa has the youngest demography of people, there is need to continue to champion efforts towards creation of jobs. “We need to develop the capacity of women to pay for their own children. If we are able to develop the capacity of women, we will rule the world. The capacity building is directed towards job creation because we have lots of young people and we need to create jobs.�

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Okorocha Suggests Best Skills Acqusition: NSE Spouses Forum Way to Tackle Almajiri Empowers Youths, Members Problem in Nigeria Funmi Ogundare

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi A former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has stated that the best way to tackle the almajiri problem in the country particularly in the north is for everyone to see them as human beings.

Okorocha, who was invited to Bauchi State

by Sheik Dhairu Usman Bauchi, to celebrate his yearly Mauloud, was also given an award for being an ambassador of the poor.

In a chat with journalists, he also advocated that the Arabic system of education should be combined with the conventional school system.

According to him, “I am in Bauchi on the invitation of Sheik Usman Dahiru Bauchi who invited me for this year’s Maulud. I was given an award as Sarkin Yakin Talakawa by the Tijjaniniya and also the Garkwuwan Almajairi (Ambassador of Almajiris) and I think it has to do with my passionate appeal that the lives of the almajiris should be made better in this country.

“I am calling on all and sundry, the rich and government to see what they can do to help the situation and to see how we can fight poverty together, and not blaming the children and making them become guilty of offences they didn’t commit because they did not bring themselves to this world.�

Okorocha added: “The best way to address the almajiri issue is first of all, government must accept the fact that these almajiris are our children and once we accept that fact, then we have done 50 per cent of the job and then we have to think about how to combine this school system, the Arabic schools, with conventional schools and empowerment. “If they reach the age that they should go to farm there must be something they can do because I don’t think that there is anybody created by God that is useless. It is only when there is no idea that people look useless but there is no useless person in this world.�

Worried about the problems of unemployment in the country, the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Spouses Forum, Lagos Zone recently held a skills acquisition programme, designed to empower members and youths to become selfreliant.

The three-day programme saw participants being taught how to make pomade like Vaseline, hand sanitiser, disinfectant, soap, starch, bleach, among others.

The President of the forum, Mrs. Aisha Babagana said the move was to align with the NSE’s plans, adding that the initiative was to ensure that the youths were fully engaged and productive, especially during this COVID-19 period. “Anytime we are having our

annual general meeting, we used to align with what the NSE is going to do. So when they asked me what we are going to do to help our spouces, I told them that I want to empower our members and train them. This is an opportunity for them to learn something. It is free.�

On her view about the high rate of unemployment in the country, especially this period, she said, “during the lockdown, people suffered a lot, there were loss of jobs and getting something to eat was difficult.

Even some of my children’s teachers were not paid where they teach. This was also part of what moved me to organise the training.�

She expressed hope that at the end of the three-day training, participants will go home happy and put what they learnt into practice so that

they can be self-reliant. “We are even pleading with the NSE president to create a platform where they can produce what they have learnt enmass and exhibit it,� she said.

Some of the participants expressed delight about what they had learnt, saying that they are ready to hit the ground running by starting a business of their own.

A 200 level MBBS student of Unversity of Ilorin, Miss Kafayat Sotoyinbo said rather than sit at home waiting for ASUU to call off its strike, she would practice what she has learnt and even commercialise it. “Knowledge is power, no matter what you are taught in class, you need to sit down and learn and since it’s practical, I will get my material and improve on my skills and market my business.�

Another particiant, Mrs. Ayodolapo Bello said the training was impactful, as she learnt how to make hand sanitiser and vaseline. “What we had been taught is what we can easily do at home.

It will be more economical. You can be fully engaged by teaching others what you have learnt and even sell the products.�

The Chairperson, Lagos Branch Spouses Forum, Mrs. Titilayo Ogunnoiki said the training was timely and effective as the new normal has taught people not to rely so much on salaries. “People need something to augment their salaries and the programme is good as you will have money at all time and you will never run dry. You will always have capacity to sell, you can learn to make soap.

I am eager to put it into use,� she said.

Cleric Urges FG to Show Commitment towards Promoting Education Amby Uneze in Owerri A religious leader, Most Rev. Daddy Hezekiah of the Living Christ Mission (LCM), has expressed dissatisfaction with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for not showing enough commitment towards the promotion of quality education in the country.

He described Nigeria as a failed nation for not being able to correct the ills which had bedeviled the country since independence in 1960, stating that a man of 60 years that still behaves like a child is not normal.

Hezekiah charged the president to wake up and show interest to resolve the lingering strike in the country’s university system involving the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as well as improving security in the country.

The cleric also blamed the south- east governors for the decay in infrastructure and transformation of the region due to their administrations’ alleged non-commitment towards the provision of the needed democratic dividends to the people of the geopolitical zone unlike their counterparts in other geopolitical regions.

Hezekiah said this at the Administrative Cathedral of the church in Onitsha, Anambra State, while interacting with journalists as part of activities marking his birthday, 53rd anniversary of being a sherpherd in God’s vineyard, quarterly conference with his pastors, the church’s annual convention and the award of International Mayor of Peace by International Association of World

Peace Advocates (IAWPA) led by the president of the world body, His Excellency Per Stafsen from Denmark.

Accordingly to him, “there is no meaningful development in the entire states of the southeast compared with the kind of revenue and resources being generated from the area unlike in the south-south, north and south-west regions. “The governors of south-east are mismanaging the resources without commensurate patriotic inputs to the states and the populace. They must be held responsible for underdevelopment of the entire region.�

The cleric also revealed that he recently spent several millions of naira in providing palliatives for less privileged members of the society as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, lamenting that due to the lockdown, he has been regrettably unable to attend church activities for the past eight months.

He called for humility and respect in the service of God, insisting that Jesus Christ came into the world to justify the need for holiness, righteousness, services and salvation and not posterity, as some religious leaders are allegedly deceiving their congregations.

Hezekiah, who graduated in 1979 in Industrial Chemistry from the University of Zambia, Lusaka, further blamed some church leaders for the woes of some people looking down on God and admonished his pastors against deceiving their congregations with false miracles and testimonies and prayed for God’s grace upon them.

From right: Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola; Pro-Chancellor, Osun State University, Mallam Yusuf Ali; and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Labode Popoola, during a courtesy visit to the governor by UNIOSUN Governing Council and its management, at the Government House, Osogbo... recently

Barca Academy Chairman Calls for Innovative Approach in Education Rebecca Ejifoma In preparation for the resumption of academic activities, the Chairman, Barca Academy Group Nigeria, Leslie Oghomienor, has called for more innovative and scientific approach for the overall interest of all stakeholders and students, to address lapses in the education sector.

Oghomienor, in a press release, said the innovative and scientific approach will put the minds of parents at rest. “In Nigeria, to tame the spread of the COVID-19, the federal government shut down virtually every facet

of the economy including education,� he said, adding that the development took the sector unawares and a large percentage of the sector was not prepared and still not ready for what is ahead in order to flow with the time that is completely new, tasking and highly capital intensive and skillful.

After a crucial stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, Oghomienor described the situation as highly underestimated, least expected and must be approached more innovatively and scientifically for the overall interest of all stakeholders, most importantly the students.

With Barca Academy Group

Nigeria sited in world-class facilities in Lekki and Gbagada, and Blaugrana Group International, the chairman said the project promoter in subSaharan Africa is a hi-tech and innovative academic outfit that engages seasoned professionals. “However, the global pandemic has challenged us to be more adaptable to the trends. Thus, we innovate and advance ahead of the times for the good of us all. Ours is a people-oriented organisation.�

Oghomienor commended the government for hesitating to open the academic clime of the economy until proper strategic plan and direction is certain especially for the interest of

the children and schools. “Some public and private schools may not be able to immediately embrace the set health protocols as may be directed by the Presidential Taskforce and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control,� he noted.

The Barca boss therefore called for caution and patience for the wellbeing of the nation. “This is the best time for all good men and women, NGOs, government at all levels and corporate entities to lend a sustainable helping hand to ensure things return to better normal in the education sector being the bedrock of sound and viable national development.�

Kings Varsity VC Restates Commitment to Academic Excellence Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Vice-Chancellor of Kings University, Professor Adenike Kuku has stated that the introduction of technical education in the institution would boost the university’s vision of promoting academic excellence.

She said in the promotion of academic excellence, the institution has ensured that 75 per cent of the students are on schorlaship.

Speaking with select journalists at the institution in Ode-omu, Osun State, Kuku insisted that technical education would boost entrepreneurial opportunities on the part of the students after graduation.

She also expressed the institution’s desire to promote academic excellence through agricultural project to generate funds for the development of the university.

According to her, capital

development programmes such as technical education, entrepreneurial programmes, agricultural and research activities would help to boost the developmental efforts of the institution.

The vice-chancellor, who was optimistic about the development of the institution, stressed that strategic partnership with organisations would also assist in the institution’s research and activities.

On the developmental efforts of the institution, she stressed that strategic plans are on to increase enrollment as a young university.

She also promised to ensure prompt expansion in the institution to take care of physical infrastructure, as well as to combat all forms of unnecessary invasions and activities that will not augur well for the development of the institution at large.

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CITYSTRINGS

ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœË? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă? äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ë›Ă?äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ ͙͖͓͓͖͓͔͓͖͑͒

Making a Living from Passion David-Chyddy Eleke writes that Nancy Chidebe is one young lady who is making a living off her passion for making quality shoes for different social strata, which has earned her the sobriquets ‘Shoe Diva’ and ‘Minister of Leather Craft’

Nancy Ifeoma Chidebe, Principal Designer, Nancy Shoecraft and Leather Work, poses with her patron; Member representing Nnewi North Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon Nonso Smart Okafor

M

any young ladies would prefer a white collar job to putting their skills to work, but not Nancy Chidebe; the principal designer at Nancy Shoecraft, a shoe making industry located at Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State. She does not only make shoes but belts, bags and other items that could be made by playing with leather.

According to her, she derives pleasure designing and creating new things and that’s what lead her into becoming a craft woman.

The young graduate and mother of one on a first encounter is quick to introduce the source of her living to anyone she meets without feeling shy, and usually refers to herself as the Shoe Diva. "I am the CEO and Principal designer of NANCYSHOECRAFT LEATHERWORKS, a shoe manufacturing company with its office at Ekwulobia in Anambra State, Nigeria. I am an Associate Member of Chattered Institute of Entrepreneurs Nigeria," she said.

Even though she is an entrepreneur, she is also a wife, mother and teen coach who is determined to create an impact in the society even with her Distinction in Office Technology and Management from Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State.

On how she ventured into shoe making, she said, "From my childhood days, I have always had a flair for creativity. Nothing gives me more pleasure than designing, and after my one year mandatory National Youth Service Corps, I told myself I could make a living from making shoes, instead of going around looking for job.

"Minister of Leathercraft - is a

nickname I love to be addressed as.

After NYSC, I studied Leatherwork Production and Craftsmanship at St Davids Shoe Academy Lagos (www. stdavidsshoes.com). That was few days after my white wedding. I kind of did my honeymoon in a shoe factory. That’s how much I love crafts.�

Speaking about the quality of her shoes, Chidebe said her company is not unaware of the fact that they are people of various financial attainments in the society, and that determines the kind of shoes they wear, which is the reason she makes shoes for all level of people.

"I know that Nigeria is made up of people of different categories, so I make shoes for people of all levels.

My dream is to get to a level where people of all background and level in the society will come into my showroom and would find shoes fit for them, no matter the quality they prefer to wear."

Initial Funding, Equipment Challenge Chidebe said she started her shoe making company about five years ago.

To be sure that her products met the taste of the people, she first started by producing for family members and friends to try her products, and once they did and certified them fit and durable, she went fully into commercial production.

"There are various materials for production, and the durability depends on the materials used and their cost too. We ensure we give people the best, and to do so, we require finances. When I started five years ago, I didn't start big. We encountered financial challenges, and we had to meet other existing manufacturers to

Chidebe with some of the shoes and belts she made

liaise with them, but importantly, we were determined to continue. We do not have all the equipment we need for smooth production, as such, some of the things that machines could do for us, we use manual strength to do it. “If we have the right sponsorship, we will get the kind of industrial machines that will make our work more efficient, and our products even better. Also, we cannot continue to use our home as a factory and showroom, we have to get a place, and all these need money to be achieved."

Giving Back �I started an initiative called NANCY’S GIRL CHILD CRAFT (NGCC). I am a mother, and I have a girl-child. The idea is to empower our young girls with a craft. I believe if I had started this my journey in craft since I was a girl, I would have been doing more wonderfully and perfected in all aspects of the leather craft,� she revealed.

Nancy said she is happy today that she does not only earn a living from her craft, but was now giving back to society by training other teenage girls.

She stated that she is not looked upon as one who is the the wrong profession, and that her confidence in her work has made some mothers to bring and register their children with NGCC, just to acquire the skills required in shoemaking.

Patronage Though Nancy alluded to being highly patronised by the society, she thinks that she has not reached the level of patronage that she seeks. "I have numerous customers, who cut across people from all walks of life.

Hon Nonso Smart Okafor who is the

member representing Nnewi North State Constituency is one of my patrons, and he has also confirmed the quality of the shoes I make."

Hon Okafor who also spoke on the quality of shoes made by Nancy Shoecraft said, "What I am very happy about is that these shoes are made in Nigeria, and not just Nigeria but made here in Anambra. I patronise Nancy Shoecraft, her products are good, affordable and durable. This one I am wearing (showing his shoes) was made

by Nancy Shoecraft, and I have been wearing it for quite a long time. For me, I think it is inferiority complex for one to believe that shoes made here in Nigeria or Anambra can not be good enough. We should be proud of our own and support local production the best way we can."

Juggling Responsibilities To cope with the problem of low finance, Nancy has made a good job, managing her business, and family. She is not just the producer of her products, but also a marketer. To be able to juggle the responsibilities perfectly, she has a part of her home made out as the factory, with diverse machines that aid production, while a part of her living room has been made into a showroom, with shelves and showcases where her products are sampled.

To ensure effective marketing of her products, the mother of one also runs www.nancyshoecraft.com, from where she advertises her products and gets orders to deliver her products. She believes that before long, she would move to a bigger place that will accommodate her dream machines, and aid her to produce for a larger spectrum of patrons.

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CRIME&SECURITY

Tackling the Dangers of Illicit Drugs Ibrahim Oyewale who examines the adverse effect Cannabis Sativa pose on youths and the worrisome development that has seen Kogi State change from a transit point to a cultivating state, writes that the state Commander, National Drug and Law Enforcement Agency is tackling the menace one farm at a time

D

espite the continuous effort by the federal government to wage war against the use of illicit drugs such as narcotic, cannabis sativa and psychotropic substances such as tramadol, Tutolyn, and others, some unscrupulous elements have continued to engage themselves in illegal cultivation of cannabis sativa in large quantities for commercial purposes across the country.

Cannabis Sativa, which is popularly known as hemp or marijuana is prohibited by law in Nigeria because of its adverse effect arising from the use and consumption on the socio-economic developnent of this great nation.

The agency saddled with the herculean task, the National Drug and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to combact the menace of the illict drugs in country has not for once left any stone unturned to ensure a drug -free society despite the complex nature of the fight against the drug dealers .

However, research has shown that the use of cannabis sativa otherwise known as Marijuana has both long and short term effects on the users. While some school of thought believe that it has medicinal value, others strongly argue that the consumption or frequent use has damaging consequences on the users than any good.

According to researchers, “it has been scientifically proven that marijuana over activates parts of the brain that contain the highest number of the receptors, part of which causes the "high" that people feel. Other effects are altered senses just like seeing brighter colours, altered sense of time, changes in mood, impaired body movement, difficulty with thinking and problem-solving, also resulting to impaired memory, hallucinations , delusions and psychcosis risk when consumed in high doses with regular use of high potency marijuana.

"Marijuana also affects brain development.

When people begin using marijuana as teenagers, the drug may impair thinking, memory, and learning functions and affect how the brain builds connections between the areas necessary for these functions. Researchers are still studying how long marijuana's effects last and whether some changes may be permanent.�

Prior to 2010 when cannabis sativa farm was first discovered at remote forests in Isanlu and Ife Olukotun , Yagba East Local Government area of Kogi State, the state was seen as then a transit point based on its strategic location as a gateway to both the Northern and Southern parts of the country.

Beside that, Kogi State has also been surrounded by somes states notorious for the cultivation of Cannabis Sativa in quantities, hence, the inflow of the substance was very easy. The tasks before the NDLEA then was limited to placing surveillance on the dealers and users, then arrest and seize the illict drugs, before counseling and prosecution of the drug addicts as the case may be.

During the period under review, the Kogi State Command of NDLEA made several arrests, seized thousands of cananabis sativa worth billions of Naira, secured many convictions through the Federal High Court saddled with responsibilty to entertain illict drugs and related matters. In addition to this, the national officers of NDLEA in collaboration with the state command and state government equally destroyed several millions of kilogrammes of weeds suspected to cannabis sativa.

The recent arrest of a suspected farmer, Ameh Joseph and subsequent discovery of over four kilometres stretch of cannabis sativa farm at Kara Forest in Agbokete Community , Akpanya district of Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area of Kogi State may have exposed the state as one of cultivating states with inherent danger looming on the teaming youths if not nipped in the bud now.

With this startling discoveries, Kogi State NDLEA Commander, Mr. Alfred Adewunmi expressed worries over the sudden change in the status of Kogi State from transit point to one of the cannabis sativa cultivation states, trailing behind Edo, Delta, Ondo, Ekiti and

Operative of NDLEA supervising the destruction of Cannabis Sativa Farm

Uncovered Cannabis Osun States in production capacity.

He said: �I want to tell you that I am astounded, shocked and perplexed that something as huge and as enormus as this can be discoveredd in Kogi State. Our assumption is that Kogi State, even though it is surrounded by some states that are notorious for cannabis sativa cultivation , was simply a transit point because of the strategic location of Kogi State. “However, to discover that within Kogi State we can have plantation of this huge proportion is something that has shocked me to the marrow. I will simply tell you it is very enormus plantations of cannabis sativa and it is not just one single farm land. Of course, all of you have been on my entourage and we have walked within this farm for over two, three kilometres and we are still within the farm.“ Adewunmi stressed further that it might be actually that the entire community has been engaged in cultivating of cannabis sativa here. “It looks as if the whole community is involved because a situation where three to four killometres of arable land are dedicated for cultivation of Cannabis Sativa, it has has become a community of Cannabis Sativa cultivation�.

While opposing the earlier postulations that canabis sativa has medicinal value, the Kogi State Commander warned the general public to be wary of the use of cannabis sativa anyhow, noting that he had listened to the debate about the medicinal value of cannabis and " I have always asked myself about those who are making the propositions, are they aware of the varieties of the species of cannabis we have? What type of cannabis do we have here in Nigeria ? Is it suitable? How much reaserch has been done and what is the proportion that has medicinal value? “Rather than to encourage a situation where people are advised to go into cannabis sativa production believing it has medicinal value, I will rather suggest that our leaders encourage deep research into the properties of cannabis.

When we are able to come up with undisputable conclusion about values that are inherent in

NDLEA Kogi State Commander, Alfred Adewunmi supervising the destruction of the cannabis farm cannabis, we will be able to proceed to say it is medicinal in specific terms and this is what it does for society. But of course till then I believe we should exercise caution“.

He however commended the Kogi State government for the support given to the agency to make a follow up. “We were making this follow up and came to other discoveries as a consequence of the support the state government has given to us.� “Again, as you have seen, we will require to muster five times resources deployed today. We have nearly 80 people with us here to destroy this plantation but even with these 80 persons, they would not be able to complete the job. So there is still going to be need to come back here again and again for us to be able to completely destroy this farm. But as it is, I must commend that without the state government, we would not have accomplished this mission On total estimate pf the farm lands and expected turnover , the NDLEA boss pointed out that It is going to be really unsciencific for him to just to say the exact number based on the large areas covered, noted that what the operatives of NDLEA saw here is far in excess 10- hectare of the cannabi sativa we discovered earlier on , in excess of 7.5-hectare of Cannabis Sativa discovered. If you put all of these together you will see we will talking over 35-hectare of Cannabis Sativa plantation. To begin to talk about the face value , "to be frank with you we are talking about N1.5 billion if successfully cultivated", he added. " I want to warn those who are into this business, that if you considered the distance we have to cover before we got here, the hidden nature of this environment particularly in the valley and the challenges we encountered in the process of getting here, it would appear that they have concealed their illict activitives well enough for anybody to discover it, but the reality is that we have found them out. “There is no hiding place for any criminal.

There is no hiding place for anyone who will still involve in the illicit cultivation of cannabis

sativa. I want to advice as much as possible that Kogi State government is supporting what NDLEA is doing in the state therefore there will be no room for anyone to turn Kogi State into Canabis Sativa Cultivation State. We will not allow it.�

Adewunmi also advised the youths in the area to desist from engaging themselves in cultivation of marijuana, rather they dissipate their energies on rice, yam, cassava or garden egg plantation. He noted that he saw how well the garden egg was thriving and saw also within the farm were cassava was planted, which was doing very well. “What happened is that the priorities of these misguided individuals was set wrongly.

They should do the right thing and cultivate great crops that will benefit humanity. They will be able live a life that is worthwhile. The continuation of illicit planting of illegal cannabis sativa is not going to be a benefit for anyone.“ The 29-year-old suspect , Ameh Joseph, in an interview with journalists said he was the owner of a section of the farm, stressing that he ventured into cannabis sativa farming as a result of economic hardship. He further pointed out that he had once been employed as farm manager in charge of cannabis Sativa at Ogbese in Ondo State in 1995 with yearly salary of between N85, 000 and N100,000.

He noted that he returned and ventured into good business until recently when it nose-dived and he found alternative in the cultivation of cannabis sativa business. The suspect who was full of regrets said he would never go back to the business again , warning other youths not to be involved in such illegal business as it would backfire one day.

The father of two lamented that his wife and children deserted him when he was arrested and his aged mother have been left alone. “If I am out of this, I will return to a legitimate business. After all, I know much about fast food packaging. I have gone to beg for forgiveness a day after I was paraded and I will not go back to illict drug business".

38

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍśËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Purchasing Managers’ Index Contracts in October Obinna Chima The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 49.4 index points in October, indicating slowing contraction in the manufacturing sector compared with the last five months.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s PMI report for October obtained yesterday, of the 14 sub-sectors surveyed, six reported expansion (above 50% threshold) in the review month in the following order: Electrical equipment, transportation equipment, printing and related support activities, chemical and pharmaceutical products, textile, apparel, leather and footwear and cement.

However, the remaining eight sub-sectors reported contractions in the following order: Primary

metal, petroleum and coal products, paper products, fabricated metal products, furniture and related products, non-metallic mineral products, plastics and rubber products and food, beverage and tobacco products.

It also showed that at 50 points, the production level index in October 2020 for the manufacturing sector indicating halting in contraction which commenced since May 2020.

Of the 14 sub-sectors surveyed, seven recorded expansion in production level, one maintained current level, while six sub-sectors recorded decline in production in October 2020. But the new orders index expanded at 51.2 points from contraction in the previous month. Four subsectors reported expansion in new orders, four were stationary, while the remaining six recorded contrac-

tions in the review month. “The manufacturing supplier delivery time index stood at 51.8 points in October 2020.

This indicates that supplier delivery time is faster for the sixth consecutive month. Six of the 14 subsectors recorded improved suppliers’ delivery time, five reported stationery level, while three recorded slowing delivery time. “The employment level index for October 2020 stood at 46 points, indicating contraction in employment level for the seventh consecutive month. Of the 14 sub-sectors, three sub-sectors recorded growth in employment level in the review month; two sub-sectors recorded stationary level of employment, while the remaining nine sub-sectors recorded lower employment levels in the review month,� it stated.

MARKET INDICATORS

FRC, IASB Pledge to Strengthen Partnership The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) has promised to sustain its partnership with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in order to ensure high standards of financial reporting in Nigeria.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ interactive forum with the IASB, Deputy Director/Head Directorate of Accounting Standards Public Sector at FRC, Dr. Iheanyi Anyahara, said the training enabled financial institutions in obtaining first-hand information on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation challenges from the users.

He pointed out that the FRC is a regulatory agency of the federal government that promotes trade and investment in Nigeria by ensuring high standards of financial reporting and corporate governance; maintains independent public oversight of accounting, auditing, financial reporting and corporate governance of public interest entities by setting, monitoring and enforcement of compliance with related standards “The Council has been very resolute and committed in driving its vision of being the

conscience of regulatory assurance in financial reporting and corporate governance in Nigeria.

The Council issued the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG 2018) in the early part of 2019. “The document apart from aligning with world best practices on corporate governance has also been commended as a game changer in corporate governance.

In the same vein, the Council has further simplified its registration processes which implies that you can get your registration numbers within 48 hours after completing your registration. “More so, the Council ensures that all stakeholders are involved in the standard setting processes of international accounting and auditing bodies through the various technical committees amongst other initiatives,�

Anyahara added.

He disclosed that the council recently begun assessment of IPSAS application and implementation of appropriate financial reporting framework in the public sector entities of Nigeria, which is another critical area of concern. “Let me also inform you that the Council is at the final stage of issuing its long awaited Audit

regulation which is expected to provide increased transparency for investors and other stakeholders, as well as enhance economic growth amongst other benefits,� he told his audience.

Precisely, he said the training was to deepen knowledge on the application and implementation of IFRS 9, 16 & 17 in Financial Institutions in Nigeria.

On 28 May 2020, the IASB issued amendment to IFRS 16, Covid-19 - Related Rent Concessions which is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 June 2020. “The Council is however getting its constituent ready for IFRS 17, Insurance Contracts which will be effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023 after the standard was amended on 25 June 2020 to defer its effective date. “The Council is aware that implementing IFRS 17 commands a radical departure from current accounting standards and produces complex operational challenges. That is why we are organising this programme and many more in collaboration with IASB to guide the users of the standards both in application and implementation.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

The United States Consulate General in Lagos yesterday announced a call for applications for the 2020 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a US Government initiative that supports women entrepreneurs around the world.

According to a statement, in the second annual AWE, 120 female entrepreneurs from across southern Nigeria would be selected to receive virtual and in-person training and mentoring. “To support the comprehensive rehabilitation and reintegration of returned migrants, we will select 20 female returnees to take part in the program. “During the intensive program scheduled to run from November 2020 to March 2021, successful applicants will receive lessons on business management, network with like-minded entrepreneurs and mentors, and learn the practi-

cal skills required to create and run successful and sustainable businesses,� the statement added.

United States Consulate Acting Public Affairs Officer, Jennifer Foltz explained that the goal of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs was to teach women around the world to become successful entrepreneurs.

According to her, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy, the US Consulate General aims to work with the AWE participants to develop their businesses. “One of the US government’s goals is to promote entrepreneurship worldwide. Through the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs, we are doing just that by giving ambitious businesswomen the skills they need to take their ventures to the next level. For this year’s program, we encourage motivated and self-driven female

entrepreneurs to apply,� Acting Public Affairs Officer Foltz said.

Leading local business leaders will help facilitate the workshops.

In addition, participants will receive access to DreamBuilder, a blended business-training course developed through a partnership between Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and global copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan. The U.S. Consulate General has partnered with Ascend Studios Foundation to administer this program. Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Studios Foundation, Ms. Inya Lawal, said “We are excited that the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos has partnered with us for the second time to implement this important program tailored for women’s economic empowerment.

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

US Consulate Announces Application for Academy for Women Entrepreneurs

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ Ͱʹ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $39.22 a barrel on Monday, compared with $41.05 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍśËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

Flour Mills of Nigeria Grows Six-month Profit by 68% to N10bn Goddy Egene Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN) Plc, one of the leading integrated food business and agroallied group has announced its unaudited results for the 2020/21 half year-ended September 30, 2020.

The results showed significant jump in performance indicators. For instance, its revenue rose 31 per cent to N355.1 billion, from N270.8

billion in the corresponding period of 2019. Financing cost stood at N9.951 billion, from N8.838 billion.

The firm ended the period with a profit before tax(PBT) of N14.607 billion, indicating a jump of 69 per cent.

According to the company, the increase in profit before tax was largely driven by the agro-allied segment, which generated a profit of N6.3 billion compared to a loss the

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

previous year. It explained that the agro-allied segment saw very strong improvement in the edible oils and fats, protein and fertilizer businesses following the investments over the last few years.

Profit after tax (PAT) rose 68 per cent from N5.9 billion to N9.9 billion. Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director /CEO, FMN Plc, Paul Gbededo, said: “With this result, our

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

business has once again shown its resilience, by following the path of sustainable growth despite the prevailing challenges in both the local and global economy. “In line with our vision to continue to grow value for our investors, management will for the remaining part of the financial year continue to concentrate on improving operational effectiveness through accelerated strategies for

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

group-wide cost optimisation, which will ensure sustainability in the current market climate, while we continue to invest ingrowing the business further.�

He noted that despite prevailing economic headwinds, the group continued to show sustained growth in key segments, with the agro-allied segment taking the lead with a strong performance in edible oils and proteins supported by agro-inputs (fertilizer)

O F

and agro-distribution and aggregation structures. “In line with FMN’s growth strategy, the edible oils and fats value chain saw a significant year-on-year increase of 32 per cent in volume turning in a profit when compared to the loss in H1 2019/20. Volumes for the protein value chain also increased by 18 per cent year-on-year, while the starch value chain was up by 31 per cent year-on-year.

2 6 / 1 0 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

˾ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020

40

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Advances 64bps

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚĞ dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϲϰďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ 1,316.08 points in yesterday͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂĐĐƌĞƟŽŶ ŝŶ GUARANTY (+2.0%), ZENITH (+1.4%) and AC-

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

CESS ;нϬ͘ϳйͿ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϮϬ͘ϭй of the index.

Local Bourse Sustains Gain... ASI Up 0.7% dŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ĞdžƚĞŶĚĞĚ ŐĂŝŶƐ ĂƐ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ ŽĨ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂͲ

ƟŽŶ ŝŶ

GUARANTY

(+2.0%),

BUACEMENT

(+1.2%)

and UBN ;нϴ͘ϯйͿ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ E^ ůů-^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ; ^/Ϳ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϳϬďƉƐ ƚŽ Ϯϴ͕ϵϴϬ͘Ϯϵ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐͲ tors gained േ105.8bn as ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ ƚŽ േϭϱ͘ϭƚŶ ĂŶĚ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ ϴ͘Ϭй͘ ĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ǁĂƐ

Ticker

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

Price Previous Current Change Price Weightin YTD Change g

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

1,316.08

0.64%

-10.3%

31.6%

1 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

140.00

0.0%

32.3%

33.3%

28.4%

163.8%

12.2%

2 Airtel Africa PLC

410.20

0.0%

17.5%

37.2%

37.2%

7.7%

2.8%

3 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

31.25

2.0%

10.4%

5.2%

7.0%

29.4%

4.7%

4 Zenith Bank PLC

21.45

1.4%

6.7%

15.3%

14.7%

5 Nestle Nigeria PLC

P/E

P/BV

4.5x

0.6x

5.9%

14.8%

14.5x

20.5x

5.0%

6.9%

2.8% 4.6x

1.3x

9.0%

21.8%

3.0x

0.7x

13.1%

33.2%

1,175.00

0.0%

3.6%

-20.1%

-20.1%

106.4%

23.1%

22.6x

29.4x

5.4%

4.4%

152.00

0.0%

4.3%

7.0%

7.0%

26.9%

12.0%

12.4x

3.6x

10.5%

8.0%

7 Access Bank PLC

7.70

0.7%

3.0%

-23.0%

-23.8%

15.3%

1.3%

2.8x

0.4x

8.4%

36.3%

8 United Bank for Africa PLC

7.20

0.0%

2.6%

0.7%

0.0%

13.0%

1.2%

3.4x

0.4x

13.5%

29.8% 33.7%

6 Dangote Cement PLC

6.15

0.8%

2.4%

0.0%

-5.4%

14.2%

1.4%

3.0x

0.3x

6.2%

10 Nigerian Brew eries PLC

9 FBN Holdings Plc

52.00

0.0%

2.2%

-11.9%

-11.9%

5.1%

2.0%

49.6x

2.6x

3.9%

2.0%

11 Lafarge Africa PLC

18.00

0.0%

3.0%

17.6%

30.4%

6.5%

4.6%

12.5x

0.8x

5.6%

8.0%

2.5%

1.5%

20.2x

0.4x

420.00

0.0%

1.4%

-36.2%

-29.1%

ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϯ͘ϭй ƚŽ ϯϴϱ͘ϲŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ

13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

44.50

1.1%

2.0%

8.5%

11.3%

14 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

26.50

9.5%

ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ 47.6% to േϮ͘ϵďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ

1.2%

34.5%

34.5%

15 International Brew eries PLC

6.10

1.5%

0.6%

-35.8%

-35.8%

-33.6%

-8.6%

16 Ecobank Transnational Inc

5.30

8.2%

0.7%

-18.5%

-19.1%

11.0%

0.7%

2.1x

0.2x

17 Fidelity Bank PLC

2.18

5.8%

0.7%

6.3%

7.9%

10.9%

1.2%

2.5x

0.3x

ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ FBNH ;ϴϭ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ACCESS ;ϱϬ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ

ĂŶĚ

FIDELITY

FBNH

(േϱϬϱ͘ϱŵͿ͕

;ϯϱ͘Ϯŵ ZENITH

ƵŶŝƚƐͿ (േϰϬϮ͘ϬŵͿ

and ACCESS (േϯϵϭ͘ϮďŶͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ǁĂƐ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ĂƐ Ăůů ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƵŶͲ

ĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŶŽƌƚŚǁĂƌĚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ ŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ Ϯ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ Ϯ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ŐĂŝŶƐ in LINKASSURE (+10.0%), WAPIC (+2.7%), GUARANTY (+2.0% ) and UBN ;нϴ͘ϯйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ Ϭ͘ϵй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϴй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ gains in FLOURMILL ;нϵ͘ϱйͿ͕ GUINNESS (+5.6%), OANDO (+6 .1%)

and

CONOIL

;нϵ͘ϴйͿ͘

12 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

18 11 PLC

WƌŝĐĞ

ƵƉƟĐŬƐ

in BUACEMENT (+1.2%) and ETRANZAC (+7.7%) drove the

5.7x 0.7x

8.9%

5.0%

5.4%

17.5%

5.3%

1.1x

-44.3% 47.4% 9.3%

39.8% 11.2%

178.30

0.0%

0.7%

20.6%

20.6%

18.7%

8.5%

8.9x

1.5x

4.6%

19 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

80.00

0.0%

0.8%

43.9%

43.9%

23.5%

15.8%

10.9x

2.4x

2.4%

9.2%

20 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

13.80

0.7%

0.5%

1.5%

-1.4%

21.2%

11.5%

7.2x

1.4x

8.0%

13.8%

0.4x

1.6%

21 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

Bullish Sector Performance

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

0.62

1.6%

0.3%

-37.4%

-42.1%

22 Unilever Nigeria PLC

13.15

0.0%

0.3%

-40.2%

-36.5%

-9.8%

-6.5%

23 Guinness Nigeria PLC

1.2x

-5.2% -9.0%

16.90

5.6%

0.2%

-43.8%

-43.8%

-16.2%

-8.4%

24 FCMB Group Plc

2.65

6.0%

0.5%

43.2%

45.6%

9.8%

1.1%

2.6x

0.2x

5.3%

37.8%

25 Sterling Bank PLC

1.48

2.1%

0.2%

-25.6%

-22.1%

8.7%

0.8%

4.1x

0.3x

2.0%

24.2%

26 UAC of Nigeria PLC

7.15

0.0%

0.2%

-16.9%

-19.7%

-11.2%

-5.5%

2.9x

0.4x

1.4%

34.6%

27 Custodian and Allied Insurance

5.50

0.0%

0.2%

-8.3%

-8.3%

13.9%

4.9%

5.2x

0.7x

8.2%

19.1%

65.90

0.0%

0.3%

38.7%

38.7%

17.6%

7.6%

12.6x

2.0x

3.1%

7.9%

5.25

8.2%

0.2%

-12.5%

-13.2%

7.7%

1.0%

6.6x

0.6x

4.8%

15.2%

5.8%

28 Presco PLC 29 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 30 Total Nigeria PLC 31 Oando PLC

0.5x

112.20

0.0%

0.2%

1.2%

1.2%

5.7%

1.1%

25.7x

1.5x

2.45

6.1%

0.1%

-38.6%

-38.6%

14.5%

2.6%

1.1x

0.1x

-35.2%

3.9% 94.8%

32 NASCON Allied Industries PLC

13.10

0.0%

0.1%

1.2%

1.2%

16.7%

5.2%

8.5x

2.8x

3.1%

11.7%

33 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

16.90

0.0%

0.1%

1.9%

-15.1%

10.8%

1.2%

6.7x

0.7x

9.8%

14.9%

0.57

-1.7%

-16.2%

8.3%

0.6%

3.0x

0.4x

7.0%

33.3%

0.0%

0.1% 0.1%

-23.0%

11.90

-34.3%

-33.9%

-3.0%

-1.0%

34 Wema Bank PLC 35 Ardova PLC 36 Continental Reinsurance PLC

0.9x

-3.4%

0.0%

37 Beta Glass PLC

55.40

0.0%

0.1%

3.0%

3.0%

13.5%

9.1%

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-13.1%

-3.6%

39 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.00

8.7%

0.1%

1.0%

1.0%

17.6%

5.0%

40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

4.00

0.0%

0.0%

-18.4%

-18.4%

-6.4%

-3.2%

6.1x

4.4x

0.8x

0.0x

16.5%

1.6x

-6.7%

0.7x

22.5%

0.6x

0.0x

-11.7%

/ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ &Z-/ d ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ higher by 0.5% and ϯďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ͘

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

LIN KA SSUR E

0.44

10.0%

FB NH

81.8

0.8%

C ON OIL

17.35

9.8%

A C C ESS

50.7

0.7%

NNFM

4.60

9.8%

F ID ELIT YB K

35.2

5.8%

P OR T P A IN T

2.25

9.8%

ET I

24.1

8.2%

LIVEST OC K

0.68

9.7%

UB A

20.5

0.0%

F LOUR M ILL

T ic k er

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ ƐƵƌŐĞĚ ƚŽ Ϯϯ͘Ϭdž ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ϭ͘ϴdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚͲ

ĞĚ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐůLJ ĂƐ ϰϲ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ƚŚĞ Ϯ ƚŚĂƚ ĚĞͲ ĐůŝŶĞĚ͘

LINKASSURE

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

T o p 10 G a i n e r s

(+10.0%),

CONOIL

;нϵ͘ϴйͿ

and NNFM ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ ǁĞƌĞ ƚŽƉ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ǁŚŝůĞ WEMABANK (-

P ric e C hg %

26.50

9.5%

LA SA C O

20.2

7.1%

UP L

1.28

9.4%

Z EN IT H B A N K

18.9

1.4%

C A D B UR Y

8.30

9.2%

OA N D O

12.1

6.1%

M A N SA R D

2.00

8.7%

ST ER LN B A N K

10.8

2.1%

R OYA LEX

0.25

8.7%

FCM B

10.2

6.0%

1.7%) and NEM (-1.5%) ǁĞƌĞ ƚŚĞ ƵŶĚĞƌƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ͘ tĞ ĞdžͲ

T o p 10 L o s e r s

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

ƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŽ ďĞ ĚŝĐƚĂƚĞĚ T ic k er

ďLJ ƚŚĞ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƌĞƐƵůƚ ͘

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

WEM A B A N K

0.57

-1.7%

N EM

2.03

-1.5%

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

FB NH

505.5

0.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

402.0

1.4%

A C C ESS

391.2

0.7% 2.0%

GUA R A N T Y

256.0

M TNN

213.8

0.0%

UB A

147.1

0.0%

ET I

121.2

8.2% 0.0%

WA P C O

113.8

F ID ELIT YB K

75.1

5.8%

D A N GSUGA R

73.5

0.7%

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Ola Belgore | obelgore@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Florence Warikam | fwarikam@afrinvest.com

Adedayo Bakare | abakare@afrinvest.com

41

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Airtel Africa Apponts Rosmarin as Non-Executive Director Goddy Egene Airtel Africa Plc has appointed

Ms. Kelly Bayer Rosmarin as a non-executive director with effect from 27 October 2020. In a

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

notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the company said, Rosmarin’s appointment is

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 26Oct-2020, unless otherwise stated.

by nomination of the controlling shareholder pursuant to the terms of relationship agreement

dated 17 June 2019 between the company, Bharti Airtel, Airtel AfricaMauritius Limited, the

majority shareholder and an indirect subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, and Bharti Telecom.

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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.98 1.00 9.07% ACAP Income Funds 0.85 0.85 11.08% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.83% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.61 3.73 47.31% 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 1.08% Anchoria Equity Fund 114.36 114.76 10.87% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.46 1.46 21.92% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 16.23 16.72 5.93% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 369.87 381.02 7.08% ARM Ethical Fund 31.79 32.75 9.33% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.16 1.17 16.37% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.13 1.13 12.88% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.71% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 110.60 111.38 15.12% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.15% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.28 2.28 23.33% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.11 2.15 38.62% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Paramount Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Women's Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) N/A N/A CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.46% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.08 1.09 16.42% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.75 1.75 31.39% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 2.76% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.32% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,184.89 1,200.08 6.92% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,532.27 1,533.89 24.95% FBN Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Halal Fund 109.31 109.32 9.31% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.31% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional N/A N/A N/A FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail N/A N/A N/A FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 130.26 132.28 0.10% 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 Growth Fund 3,363.57 3,398.02 10.54% Coral Income Fund 3,211.62 3,211.62 4.41% FSDH Treasury Bills Fund 100.00 100.00 3.59% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.42% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.50 2.55 14.12% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 5.76% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 152.69 153.50 6.54% 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 1.26 1.28 12.18% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,128.43 1,128.43 8.60% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.48 1.50 20.36% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.77 11.86 4.74% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.16% PACAM Equity Fund 1.32 1.33 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.87 111.18 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 125.52 127.54 1.71% 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 1.00 1.00 7.85% 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 2,521.35 2,532.80 15.68% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 5.78% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 12.78% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 6.79% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 15.74% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.78% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 7.10% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.21 1.21 4.57% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 100.93 100.93 -3.15% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.29 1.31 8.40% United Capital Bond Fund 1.87 1.87 7.95% United Capital Equity Fund 0.74 0.76 4.45% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.63% United Capital Eurobond Fund 115.46 115.46 5.66% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.03 1.04 -1.98% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 11.21 11.33 8.98% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.44 12.55 7.05% Zenith Income Fund 24.59 24.59 8.24% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.87%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

119.09

6.12%

53.51

2.80%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

9.54 102.06 75.64

9.64 102.06 77.02

14.09% 6.89% 0.67%

Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.60 4.81 13.54 1.00 12.29 231.88

3.64 4.89 13.64 1.00 12.49 233.88

5.42% -18.48% 11.35% 2.56% 18.10% 21.42%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

108.03

15.02%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

42

WEDNESDAY 0CT0BER 28, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

24 HOURS...

24 HOURS...

Ondo Police Lose Two Officers, Parade 18 Suspects James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Police Command, yesterday said two of its officers were killed by hoodlums during the last week’s EndSARS protests, which degenerated into violence, arson and looting.

The state Commissioner for Police , Mr. Bolaji Salami, disclosed this yesterday, while speaking with journalists, during the parade of 18 suspects arrested in connection with destruction and other criminals activities, during the protests.

Salami said 18 suspects were

Insurgency: NAF Wings another Pilot Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Barely a month after a combined graduation of basic flying course and tactical flying course, where four officers were decorated with their basic pilot wings and two other officers awarded limited combat rating certificates, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) yesterday winged another combat helicopter pilot, Flying Officer Shehu Ibrahim, after his basic and advanced helicopter flying training at the Indian Air Force Helicopter Flying Training School, Hakimpat, India.

This is coming as the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for the second time won the prestigious International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award (GWA) for Excellence in Crisis Communication Management.

In the same vein, the NAF was among the major winners of the 2020 African Public Relations Association (APRA) Public Sector/Government Category Awards, which recognise Superior Achievement in Branding Reputation and Engagement (SABRE).

The two awards were as a result of NAF’s campaign through the documentary, “Women of War”, which highlights the NAF’s ongoing initiatives to empower women in roles hitherto considered to be beyond them due to certain cultural misconceptions.

A statement by NAF said the winging of the combat pilot is yet another milestone in the NAF’s capacity building initiative to meet emerging and contemporary security challenges in the Country.

Niger Police Arrest 17 Suspects for Inciting FreshViolence Laleye Dipo in Minna The police authorities in Niger State have arrested 17 persons for allegedly inciting youths in the state to hold a protest.

This followed the suspected plan by some persons to embark on a protest despite the ban on public demonstrations by the state government in the wake of the violence that has trailed the #EndSARS protest across Nigeria.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Adamu Usman disclosed the arrests yesterday in a statement signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.

Usman said most of those arrested were not from the state.

The suspects “are currently under investigation while they will be charged to court for prosecution after investigation,” the police boss said.

Usman asked parents and guardians to prevail on their wards and subjects to remain

peaceful and shun any act of lawlessness.

According to him, “the Command is prepared to provide adequate security and peaceful coexistence in the State.”

The commissioner commended youths in the state “for displaying high level of responsibility, calmness, perseverance and restraint in the face of threats and calls from different quarters with deliberate falsehood and misinformation through the social media in the face of unwarranted provocation from other divisive elements, hiding under the umbrella of #EndSARS protest in the country.”

Others praised by the police chief included the state government, traditional institutions, communities and religious leaders, youth leaders and members of the press “for their support and cooperation with the police and other security agencies in the state.”

78 Arrested, Convicted for CurfewViolation, Other Offences in Delta Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Seventy-eight people have been arrested and convicted in Delta State for violating the curfew imposed by the state government, arson, attempted arson and other varying offences as during the endSARS protest, which turned violent in the state.

The state Commissioner for Police, Hafiz Inuwa disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists at the State Police Command Headquarters in Asaba, the state capital.

While giving a breakdown of number of arrests made by

security operatives, he said 58 persons charged for murder, arson, and attempted arson while others were violators of the curfew imposed by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

All the suspects, however, have been tried and convicted with some of them getting an option of fine.

The police boss also commended the residents of the state for being law-abiding, assuring them that they can go about their normal businesses without fear of harassment form criminally minded individuals.

arrested in various parts of the state and had made conventional statements, adding that they were caught in the act.

The commissioner said the two police sergeants, were killed in Ondo and Ore towns.

He said the one killed at Ore, ran into the hoodlums, while riding on his motorbike and was lynched.

Salami said the sergeant that was killed in Ondo City, ran into the hoodlums around the palace

road and was killed and burnt along with his car.

The commissioner, who highlighted some of the criminal activities of the hoodlums in the state during the protest, said the carnage suffered by the Police command in the state, cannot be estimated.

Salami appealed to the people of the state never to lose faith in the policing architecture of the state under his supervision.

He said: “I am fully committed

to policing you and the entire state with the best of my ability and certainly with respect to human rights. Let us put behind us the events of the past weeks and focus on our ability to support the police as it was in the beginning.”

The commissioner commended all sister security agencies for standing by the police in time of crises.

Among the 18 suspects that were paraded, two were females that were arrested allegedly in

connection with arson and looting at the state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Giving the breakdown of the arrested suspects, Salami said three suspects were arrested at Owo, four in connection with the APC Secretariat arson and looting, two in Ore, six in connection with the attack on Oda Police Division while three were arrested by men of 32 Artillery Brigade, Nigerian Army, Akure.

STRENGTHENING REGIONAL TIES...

Head of European Union (EU) in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Amb. Ketil Karlsen (left), and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr JeanClaude Brou, after a meeting to discuss EU-ECOWAS issues, at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja ...yesterday

Alleged N2bn Fraud: Ex-gov Aliyu, Aide to Face Fresh Trial Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Justice A.B Aliyu of the Federal High Court, Minna, Niger State yesterday relisted the alleged N2billion fraud case involving the former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu and his former Chief of Staff, Umar Gado Nasko, for retrial, thus setting the stage for their fresh trial.

The Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission, (EFCC), in a statement, said it is prosecuting Aliyu and Nasko - first and second defendants respectively - on threecount amended charge of breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N2billion, which was struck out on June 19, 2020.

Following the abrupt termination of the case, prosecution counsel, Faruk Abdalla, on October, 13, 2020 filed a motion to set aside the June

19, 2020 ruling as well as an order for the relisting of the charge.

Abdalla supported the application with 21-paragraph affidavit, deposed to by Samuel Chime, stating that, “We rely on all the paragraphs; we also file a written address in support, we adopt the written address as our oral submission and we pray the court to grant our prayers in the motion papers.”

Mamman Mike Osman, (SAN),

counseltoNasko,whowasrepresented

by Iloh Bekeme Asuelemeh, while speaking on behalf of the defence team prayed the court to set aside the application, noting that the defence had filed a 33-paragraph counter-affidavit, deposed to

by John Kyrian Etuk, and documented as exhibit QJ1-QJ6, which he said had been adopted as the written address of the defence.

Police Arrest Alleged Mastermind of Calabar Conference Centre Looting Bassey Inyang in Calabar The Cross River State Police Command has arrested one Johnson Richard Inem, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State for allegedly masterminding the recent looting and vandalism of the Calabar International Conference Centre (CICC).

The state Police Public Relations

Officer, Irene Ugbo said the suspect was arrested at Esuk Otu community with various items based on report gathered during the house- to-house search, which started on Sunday in the state as ordered by the state Governor, Professor Ben Ayade.

The Police spokesperson explained that the suspect is an automobile mechanic based

in Calabar and has confessed to the crime.

“He made a confessional statement on how some of his boys came and carried out this crime. So, most of these people that vandalised government property are not from Cross River State. Most of them are from Akwa Ibom State.

“He has given us some

names and we are going after them. For now, we are going on a house-to-house search and if we find anyone with any government property, any personal individual property, we are going to arrest them,” she said.

The suspect, however, denied looting or vandalising the conference centre.

Buhari Pledges Improved Cooperation with Bangladesh Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that Nigeria and Bangladesh will consolidate the mutually rewarding relationship between the two countries.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement

issued yesterday, said the President stated this while receiving the outgoing High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Shameen Ashan, in a virtual farewell audience.

The President congratulated the envoy on the strides he attained on the relationship between the two countries.

According to him, “we will

continue to expand on what you have achieved, operations in agriculture, military cooperation and in many other areas, will continue.”

Ashan thanked Nigeria for the support he received in about two-and-a-half years he spent, noting that bilateral relations between the two countries

have improved tremendously, with many Memoranda of Understanding signed, and others still in the works.

“Over 60 delegates visited Nigeria from my country for different purposes during my tenure. I and my wife will miss beautiful Nigeria,” Ashan said.

Protests: PFN Urges Calm among NigerianYouths Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Rev. Felix Omobude, has charged the #EndSARS protesters nationwide to withdraw from the

streets as their agitation has since reached the government.

Omobude, who is also the General Superintendent of the Gospel Light International Ministries, New Covenant Gospel Church, said the

genuine protesters had made their points loud and clear enough for those in authority to hear them and do the needful.

“You should stop your street protest for now to prevent

the hoodlums, who have hijacked the hitherto peaceful exercise, to continue with their condemnable acts of criminality, which include vandalism, arson, looting, killing and rape, among others,” he stated.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS NFF Seeks Two International Friendlies for Super Falcons

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Pinnick visits NWFL new secretariat, commends Aisha Falode Olawale Ajimotokanin Abuja The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has disclosed that it is working to organise two international friendlies for the Super Falcons next month.

The NFF President, Amaju Pinnick made the disclosure yesterday during a working visit to the new operational secretariat of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) at the old NFF’s Glass House in Abuja.

Pinnick said the federation was in talks with the unnamed countries for the matches, while the NFF also intends to utilise every FIFA window to organise matches for the national female team.

He also added that the Glass House was in touch with some Nigerian-born players who have written and offered to shift international allegiance to the Super Falcons.

Pinnick lauded the Chairperson of the Women’s League, Aisha Falode as a priceless asset with a lot of focus, creativity, ingenuity in rebuilding and redirecting the women’s game in Nigeria.

While responding, Falode said that the women’ football in Africa was pioneered in Nigeria, describing the female league as paramount to the growth of football in the country and development of the national team. ‘’We are extremely and thoroughly grateful to the NFF President and General Secretary for bequeathing

to us this edifice to make this our home. That is why I invited them to come and give us their blessings so that this place will continue to be the house of gold for women football and that the great achievements we have ahead of us will be catalyzed from this building,� Falode said.

She appealed to the NFF to support and enable Nigeria participate in the maiden edition CAF Champions League for women in 2021 and encourage teams in the NWFL to prepare for the event by playing a full season.

On the plans going forward for the league, Falode said NWFL will be meeting with the premiership club managers today on their obligations and responsibility to the women league in view of registration and need to conform to the COVID-19 safety protocols at match venues.

In addition, she said that there will be a seminar this week where club managers will be trained on the Domestic Management System, while talks are on with clubs on insurance management of the game, welfare, players’ salaries.

She warned that if the clubs fail to meet these obligations, the female footballers risk not being part of the league.

While fielding questions from reporters on clearance given to him to contest any position in the forth coming CAF election in Morocco, Pinnick insisted he was still consulting widely to know what is better for the country.

Barcelona President Resigns to Avoid No Confidence Vote resentment against Bartomeu Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has resigned following increasing fan pressure and a public fall-out with Lionel Messi.

Bartomeu, who became president in 2014, was set to receive a vote of no confidencewith fans attempting to remove him.

He fell out with forward Messi after the Argentina striker handed in a transfer request in August.

His resignation comes three days after Barca’s 3-1 home defeat to Real Madrid.

Bartomeu is due to step down in March, having served the maximum two terms as club president.

Messi said he felt deceived by Bartomeu following his failed summer move.

The forward agreed to stay at the club but

has been growing in the past year due to worsening finances and the team’s decline on the pitch, which saw them lift no major silverware last season.

Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned last night as Barcelona President

“I am still consulting all football stakeholders to know what is best for

the country. At the end of it all, I can assure you that Nigeria will get the

best wether in the CAF executive committee or in the FIFA Council,� Pinnick

assure d t h e r e p o r t e r s without betraying what is on his mind.

L-R: Chairman, Benue F.A and Vice Chairperson of the NWFL, Hon. Margaret Icheen; NWFL Chairperson, Aisha Falode; NFF President, Amaju Pinnick and General Secretary, NFF, Dr. Sanusi Mohamed during Pinnick’s courtesy visit to the new NWFL secretariat in Abuja... yesterday

Raji, Tobechukwu Appointed as Media Officers for Eagles, Falcons The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced the appointment of Mr. Babafemi Raji as the new Media Officer of the Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles. He takes over from Mr. Toyin Ibitoye who has been in the post for five-and-half years.

Raji, presently the Group Manager, Programmes and Contents in Brila Media Group, started sports journalism as a freelancer with NTA Ile-Ife between 2003 – 2006 while studying at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. On graduation with

Bachelor of Arts in English, he joined Radio Brila, Nigeria’s first all-sport radio station in 2008.

He was a member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Media Committee set up by the tournament sponsors, and is a certified management consultant and a fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants.

Also on Tuesday, the NFF announced the appointment of Mrs Oluchi Tobe-Chukwu as the Media Officer of the Senior Women National Team, Super Falcons. She takes over from Miss Jane Onyinye Nweze.

Oluchi Tobe-Chukwu,

popularly known as TobexSports, is an astute women football advocate and a writer with passion for domestic women’s league.

A Federal Government scholar as the second best graduating student in Mass Communications at the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, she holds a master’s degree in the same discipline from the Lagos State University.

She’s a former footballer herself, having played for clubs like Hamza Queens, Flamming Flamingos and Ibom Angels before pursuing her education further.

NFF’s Director of Media and Communications, Ademola Olajire, praised Mr Ibitoye and Miss Nweze for excellent services rendered while they were with the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons respectively, and wished both of them good fortune in their future endeavours. “Mr Ibitoye and Miss Nweze were superb to work with.

They demonstrated excellent people skills and acuity, and were diligent, energetic and knowledgeable. We wish them the very best in their endeavours going forward,� concludes Olajire.o

Akpeyi Back in Action as Kaizer Chiefs Snatch Away Win against Chippa Utd Super Eagles goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, returned to action Tuesday night in the South African Premier Soccer League (PSL) as Kaizer Chiefs edged out his former club Chippa United 1-0 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Gregory Damons’ scored the own-goal in the 77th minute to give Amakhosi the maximum points.

The gangling Nigerian international missed Kaizer Chiefs’ 3-0 home defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend because he travelled to Lagos to renew his travel documents, the Nigerian

passport.

He come into the game to replace South Africa’s top keeper Itumeleng Khune in goal. Akpeyi was among the five changes which were made by head coach Gavin Hunt with Njabulo Blom, Kearyn Baccus, Siyabonga Ngezana and Philani Zulu making their return to the starting line-up.

Chiefs set the early tone of a side eager to bounce back from a heavy loss at the weekend and came close to opening their account in the 24th minute.

A free-kick eventually fell to Leonardo Castro but with the goal at his mercy, the Colombian could only succeed

in challenging the post from close range.

The Amakhosi continued to knock on the proverbial door and Lebogang Manyama’s powerful free-kick had the beating of Veli Mothwa in the Chilli Boys’ goal seven minutes later, but not the crossbar.

Chiefs hit the woodwork for a third time soon after as Mothwa pushed Khama Billiat’s shot onto the post and away from danger with the teams duly deadlocked at 0-0 at the half-time interval.

The visitors continued to dominate proceedings after the break and were only denied a goal through some exceptional

goalkeeping by Mothwa who made a string of eye-catching saves to keep Chiefs from bulging the back of the net.

Chiefs finally broke the deadlock in the 77th minute, albeit via fortunate circumstances as Damons inadvertently deflected the ball across the line.

A low cross from Manyama was scooped onto the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net by the Chilli Boys defender, who was unlucky to put the ball past Mothwa who had done so well to keep out the Chiefs attackers.

Kaizer Chiefs will host TS Galaxy in their next league match.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS U E FA C H A M P I O N S L E AG U E

Kimmich’s Late Winner Earns Bayern Munich Victory in Moscow Champions League Cup holders Bayern Munich Tuesday night extended their winning run in the competition to 13 games as they edged past Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1.

Leon Goretzka gave Bayern the lead as he met Benjamin Pavard’s volleyed cross to head home powerfully from six yards.

Lokomotiv equalised when Anton Miranchuk cleverly opened his body to slot home Ze Luis’ cross.

Midfielder Joshua Kimmich got the late winner when, on the turn, he superbly volleyed into the bottom corner.

Bayern have now won 34 of their 36 games in all competitions in 2020 and manager Hansi Flick has won all 10 of his Champions League games, by an aggregate score

of 40-5.

Lokomotiv, boosted by a few thousand home fans, started strongest and should have taken the lead when the unchallenged Fyodor Smolov headed straight at Manuel Neuer from six yards.

After Goretzka’s magnificent opener Bayern grew into the game and dominated the remainder of the first half, with Kingsley Coman coming closest to extend their advantage when his volley from 10 yards hit the post.

Robert Lewandowski, who was unusually quiet, was awarded a penalty midway through the second half after a brilliant run through three players, but the decision was overturned by VAR for a tight offside.

Lokomotiv got a deserved

Ronaldo Doubtful for the Juventus, Barcelona Big Clash in Turin Cristiano Ronaldo remains uncertain to take on Lionel Messi’s Barcelona tonight as he recovers from coronavirus, Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo said on the eve of the match in Turin.

Ronaldo tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks ago while playing with Portugal, and has been in self-isolation since returning to Italy. “Ronaldo had a test like everyone else, this evening (Tuesday) we will have the definitive result,� Pirlo told a press conference in Turin before the Champions League Group G game. “For now it’s all on the high seas, when the final result comes everything will be clearer.�

According to UEFA rules the 35-year-old Ronaldo will need to test negative late on Tuesday, 24 hours before being allowed to feature. “Wednesday (today) morning we will count the number of players available,� continued Pirlo. “Depending on the result, we’ll see what we do. It’s not easy to play an entire game after 15 days of inactivity.�

Ronaldo, who has no symptoms, has missed three games including his side’s 2-0 Champions League win at Dynamo Kiev last week.

The clash would be the first between Ronaldo and Messi since the Portugal forward left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018. “For 15 years, Messi and Ronaldo have done great things,� said former Italy and Juventus midfielder Pirlo. “For the first time, I’ll be taking on Messi as a coach, I’ll treat him with the enormous respect that he deserves.�

Messi, 33, has featured in four victorious campaigns for Barcelona, while Ronaldo has won the Champions League five times, four with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United.

Messi has six Ballon d’Or titles with Ronaldo claiming five.

However Ronaldo has 130 Champions League goals to Messi’s 116. “It’s clear that any team would miss a player like Cristiano,� said Brazil defender Danilo at the pre-match press conference. “But we have faith in every player on the team. We have people who want to do well and help us have a great match.�

Messi has won 16 of their 35 encounters to Ronaldo’s 10, with the remaining nine ending in draws.

The pair have only met five times in Champions League games, most recently in the semifinal in 2011.

Pirlo has defensive worries with captain Giorgio Chiellini, and Matthijs De Ligt out but fellow centreback Leonardo Bonucci’s thigh strain will be evaluated on Wednesday morning. “These are the matches that everyone would like to play.

We have this opportunity and we can’t wait to test ourselves against Barcelona,� said Pirlo. “It’s not a decisive game, but we still want to see what our value is.�

Argentina forward Paulo Dybala remains “a bit tired� after playing for 90 minutes in his first match in over three months last Sunday against Verona. “It’s normal after the first game as a starter. He’ll have time to recover and play tonight.�

equaliser as they finally capitalised on the space in behind the Bayern defence, and had further opportunities to shock the holders but their

final ball and finish was lacking.

Bayern’s winner was a moment of real class as Kimmich superbly controlled a heavily weighted pass before

turning and volleying into the bottom corner, past the rooted Guilherme Marinato, from 22 yards.

Bayern have a five-point

advantage at the top of Group A, with Atletico Madrid hosting FC Red Bull Salzburg in the other game in the group at 20:00 GMT.

Bayern Munich’s victory in Moscow last night has extended their unbeaten run in the Champions League to 13 matches

Man Utd’s Cavani, Rashford, Fernandes Available to Take on RB Leipzig Manchester United will use “more or less the same squad� as Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea for tonight’s UEFA Champions League visit of Leipzig, said boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer yesterday.

United host the German league leaders in Group H, after defeating Paris St-Germain 2-1 in their opener.

Strikers Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford and midfielder Bruno Fernandes are available. “There are a couple of doubts and knocks,� said Solskjaer.

Cavani, who signed for United on transfer deadline day, made his first appearance for Solskjaer’s side against Chelsea, almost scoring with his first touch of the game.

Anthony Martial, who scored an own goal in United’s first group match against PSG, could return.

RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann, 33, guided his team to a Champions League semi-final last season, where they lost to 2020-21 Group H rivals PSG. That 3-0 defeat was their last loss in all competitions. “We look at every single game as a chance to get three points,� said Solskjaer. “In the group stage we have four teams and you would think

that 10 points would get you through, so to get to 10 points as quickly as we can is our aim and our focus now is on getting three points tomorrow night.�

Alex Telles, who made his debut at left-back against PSG last week, and 22-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe could feature after impressive performances against the Ligue 1 leaders.

Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard are the only players who will definitely not feature for Solskjaer’s side due to injury.

RB Leipzig, who also won their first Group H match, beating Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0,have never faced Manchester United before.

Manchester City loanee Angelino scored both of their goals to open his team’s account in their third season in the Champions League.

Entertainment data company Gracenote say Manchester United have an 84% chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis at Nielsen’s Gracenote, said: “Manchester United’s surprise win in Paris has made the Red Devils big favourites to progress from Group H. “United’s chance of playing in the last 16 improved from 51% to 84% according to the Euro

Club Index, leaving PSG and RB Leipzig theoretically battling it out for second. For United to retain this favouritism they must avoid slipping up in this week’s home match, against RB Leipzig.�

TODAY Juventus v Barcelona Man Utd v RB Leipzig Krasnodar v Chelsea* Istanbul Bas’ v PSG* Sevilla v Rennes B’Dortmund v Zenit Club Bruges v Lazio Ferencvaros v Dynamo Kyiv (All matches 9pm except * 6.55pm)

L-R: Manchester United’s Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes all set for the big game against RB Leipzig at Old Trafford...tonight

World 100m Champion, Coleman, Banned for Two Years

Cristiano Ronaldo...uncertain for tonight clash with Barcelona in Turin

World 100m champion Christian Coleman has been banned for two years after missing three drugs tests.

The 24-year-old American, who is suspended from 14 May 2020, will miss the postponed Tokyo Olympics next summer.

Coleman won 100m gold at the World Championships

in Doha in 2019.

The indoor 60m world record holder has 30 days to file an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

He was provisionally suspended in June after missing a third test in December 2019.

Coleman did not contest

his first missed test on 16 January 2019 but disputed his filing failure on 26 April 2019 and whereabouts failure on 9 December.

The investigation into his anti-doping rule violations said there was no suggestion the athlete has ever taken a prohibited substance.

According to the

Athletics Integrity Unit’s out-of-competition testing guidelines, athletes are accountable for missed tests if they are not at their specified location for the one-hour period they have stated.

If they are not at the location, the tester must wait for the full 60 minutes before leaving.

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Wednesday October 28, 2020

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MISSILE

Army to Sanwo-Olu “From the onset of the ENDSARS protest, there was no time personnel of 81 Division Nigerian Army Lagos were involved. However, the decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government (LASG) after a 24-hour curfew was imposed” – Nigerian Army disputing Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s claim that he knew nothing about troop deployment in Lekki Tollgate where soldiers allegedly killed protesters.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE Prospects of Popular Democracy THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

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f last Thursday’s broadcast by the President failed to fully capture the mood of the nation, the outcome of the National Economic Council (NEC) of two days ago seemed to be closer to a problem-solving approach.

It is, therefore, more constructive to read the NEC statement as a useful complement to the President’s speech.

Apart from the conspicuous omission in the broadcast of what happened at Lekki in Lagos State on that Black Tuesday, there was the gross disappointment caused those who had expected a rousing speech imbued with sufficient empathy to appeal to the collective humanity of the people. The addendum that came from the presidency days later stating that the result of investigation into the incident was being awaited could not be said to be timely.

Those calling on the President Muhammadu Buhari to make a speech in the face of a festering social sore were not enamoured of the talks of Trader Moni and similar stuffs in his policy catalogue.

The ferment for democratic expressions generated by the actions of the #ENDSARS movement was probably being officially misread.

This moment should be properly interpreted.

Specifically, a tinge of nostalgia for authoritarianism was apparent when the President said: “Sadly, the promptness with which we have acted seemed to have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness and twisted by some for their selfish unpatriotic interests.”

Now, a government that is responsive to the popular demands of the people is far from being weak; to listen to the voices of the people is rather a measure of democratic strength. And that’s the real strength.

Upholding the people’s will would show that a government wants to be in good standing with the people as a proof of genuine strength.

To turn a deaf ear to popular demands in order to prove that government is strong would only amount to arrogance of power with all its untoward consequences.

Talking about weakness or strength, the people’s power is ultimately superior as demonstrated by the lessons of history.

While the President’s speech was still being analysed from various perspectives, the NEC came up on Monday with some ideas to answer the questions posed by the poor condition of the youth. Established by the constitution, the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, comprises the state governors and governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is the body that meets periodically to have a panoramic view of the economy and the direction of development. If the council is well run, it could be a veritable instrument for economic management and national planning.

In continuation of the response of government at the federal and state levels to the momentum generated by the #ENDSARS movement, the economic council sought to address the “deeper reasons behind the #ENDSARS protests and its fallouts.”

A committee was set up to engage the youths, civil society organisations, religious bodies and traditional rulers. The focus of this proposed engagement, which not a few have advocated, would be “employment, social safety net programmes, national unity among key issues.” With Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as the chairman, other members of the committee

Buhari are Vice President Yemi Osinbajo are Governors namely Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Prof.

Babagana Zulum (Borno), Mr. Muhammed Bello (Niger), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) (Ondo), Chief Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto).

It is important that job-creation is topmost on the agenda of the committee. To put an end to the hopelessness of the millions of jobless youths, the scourge of unemployment and underemployment should be squarely tackled.

To paraphrase someone in another context , if the committee is to recommend three solutions to the resolve the crisis, the three things should be grouped as jobs, jobs and jobs.

What this crisis has partly manifested is also that establishing “social safety nets” should go beyond tokenism which politicians at all levels of government in Nigeria call “empowerment.”

To empower the people sustainably, social protection policy steps should be better structured and, indeed, institutionalised. This is necessary for the vulnerable members of the society to have access to the benefits of the somewhat cumbersome schemes. Cash transfers could prove handy as transitional measures. But a bank of the poor would be a more strategic thing to think about in the context of the Nigerian condition. Social security should be taken more seriously at the policy level.

The political economy approach of the NEC should be encouraged. The Nigerian crisis of underdevelopment is multi-dimensional; it is social, economic and political. It is remarkable that the NEC has on its agenda the question of insecurity and the threats to national unity.

The last review of the nation’s defence policy drew an organic link between social security and physical security. Lack of social security and the worsening of physical insecurity are bitter fruits of the poisoned tree of an unjust, selfish and inhumane system. They are the features of a system that permits obscene

The #ENDSARS movement has proved that a fertile ground exists for popular democracy in Nigeria

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affluence to float mindlessly in a sea of mass poverty and misery. If any neo-liberal technocrat thought this was a mere ideological ranting, the laboratory to test the thesis has been amply provided in the streets in the last few days.

Significantly, the committee is also to look into the ways to enhance national unity. The threats to national unity cannot be ignored by any government that is sincere about advancing progress and development of Nigeria. National development plans would be better executed if the country is united on the basis of equity and justice despite its complexity and diversity.

It has been suggested from many quarters that the report of the 2014 Conference among others could be useful in finding solutions to this aspect of the problem. The conference convened by President Goodluck Jonathan attracted the participation of eminent and patriotic Nigerians. Its vast recommendations on different departments of national life have been a matter of constant reference in the last six years. So this committee may not need to set up another committee for that purpose, as it is the political and administrative culture in Nigeria.

It is noteworthy that the the attention of the Nigerian state in the last two weeks has been focussed on these primary socioeconomic and political issues by the action of an inchoate, but extremely heroic movement, #ENDSARS. Nothing in recent history has compelled the Nigerian state to respect the voices from the streets like that of #ENDSARS. Maybe, that is why the tiger in the Buhari government had to proclaim its prowess: the one time military dictator and now an elected President has had cause to assert that his government is not weak.

Interwoven in the crisis, which has tragically claimed scores of lives, are socio-economic and political questions. These questions are worth pondering by the NEC committee that’s in search of solutions to the problem. You may say the solutions are out there in the public sphere as articulated by public-spirited individuals and organisations. There are reports of panels are commissions. Visions have been enunciated.

Police brutality, especially the atrocities of some members of the defunct Special AntiRobbery Squad of the Force (SARS), was the focus of the #ENDSARS campaigners. The protest was demonstrably peaceful. That’s why no one in good conscience could hold the popular democratic campaigners responsible for the violence that sadly followed.

But on Black Tuesday, October 20, soldiers fired shots at the assembly of protesters. The truth of what actually happened is yet to be officially told. Calls have been made for a coroner’s inquest into the incident. The morning after the Lekki incident, violence erupted in Lagos and other cities. The orgy of destruction of public and private property has hardly abated as curfews still subsist in some states. Calabar was the epicentre of the massive destruction at the weekend. Imagine that happening in a city once reputed for serenity despite its fledgling economy.

As bodies are counted, material loses are being estimated all over the country That’s why no one in good conscience could hold the popular democratic campaigners responsible for the violence that sadly followed. .

The storming of warehouses by people, who are in search of foodstuffs meant to be

distributed as palliatives to cushion the effects of the disruption caused by coronavirus, is another phenomenon. The crowds overwhelming warehouses containing rice, beans, indomie, vegetable oil etc. have become the public barometer of hunger. The noxious mixture of anger and hunger is flowing almost uncontrollably in the land. The rhetorical talk about food insecurity is being dramatised in the streets. Hunger is certainly one the most poignant indices of gross inequality that defines the Nigerian society. That’s the real message of what is happening across the country.

The security agencies are responding to the break down of law and order in parts of the country within their limited capacity.

Policemen and soldiers are among those killed in the violence.

It is appropriate that the federal and state governments are simultaneously responding to the ferment by #ENDSARS at the policy level.

That is the energetic pull of popular democracy.

So, it may be apposite to ask in the circumstance: what are the prospects of popular democracy in Nigeria?

The prospects of popular democracy in a polity could be assessed by how a people make legitimate demands to widen the frontier of human progress and expand the coast of justice.

In the Nigerian context, popular democracy should be about the categorical expression of people’s will through direct action and unfettered debates. The popular-democratic activities should seek to promote genuine freedom, equity, free speech, civil rights, socio-economic justice, the dignity of the human person etc. For instance, the #ENDSARS was originally specific on stopping police brutality as its objective.

At this critical moment of the nation’s history, the choice should not be limited to the one between anarchy or revolution.

By all means, anarchy should be avoided. For clarity, anarchy is not used here as a philosophical category of the political condition promoted by political activists who reject the legitimacy of any state power. Such a movement of anarchists is not visible in Nigeria. The anarchy that is a threat here is the vulgar one that glorifies social disorder with its bloody consequences.

It would benefit no one. What is happening is also not a revolution. Neither is there any prospect of one. The objective situation on the streets may appear revolutionary. But the subjective factors to push a revolution through are lacking for now.

Meanwhile, there is a third option of popular democracy.

The #ENDSARS movement has proved that a fertile ground exists for popular democracy in Nigeria. Given a philosophical articulation and improved organisational capacity, popular democratic struggles could be deepened. Efforts of movements, even with varying ideological contents, could coalesce to widen the political landscape of freedom, social justice and a humane social order.

The limitation of the Nigeria’s experiment with liberal democracy has become obvious. It is not serving the people and it is not inclusive.

While factions of the ruling class dominate the stunted liberal democratic institutions in a relay race for power, other social forces should develop popular -democratic structures to advance the people’s cause.

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