THURSDAY 28TH OCTOBER 2021

NNPC to Reconstruct 21 Critical Federal Roads, Projects to Gulp N621.2bn

Lagos-Badagry Road, Bida-Minna road, dualisation of Aba-Ikot Ekpene road, others listed Deregulation to deliver N12trn savings to Nigeria in four years, says oil company

Deji Elumoye in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos The federal government has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) the green

light to take over the repairs and reconstruction of 21 critical highways spread across the nation's six geopolitical zones.

This is just as the NNPC has said deregulation of petroleum

sector would enable the country save the N12 trillion being spent on subsidy payment in the next four years.

According to the federal government, the 1, 804.6 kilometres-long

stretch of roads which would be fixed with a total sum of N621.2 billion over a reviewable three-year period would be executed under the tax relief scheme of the present administration.

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who made these known to journalists yesterday, at the State House, Abuja, after the weekly virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)

presided over by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, declared that six out of the 21 roads were located in Niger State which is known to Continued on page 48

FBN Shares: Hassan-Odukale, 5.36 per cent, Femi Otedola, 5.07 per cent... Page 8 Thursday 28 October, 2021 Vol 26. No 9698. Price: N250

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Senate: INEC Free to Transmit Anambra Governorship Election Results Electronically Despite IPOB threat, poll will hold, says commissioner Deji Elumoye in Abuja, Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie

TYING THE NUPTIAL KNOT...

L-R: Former Inspector General of Police and Groom's father, Tafa Adebayo Balogun; his son, Abayomi Tajudeen Balogun; bride, Oluwafeyisayomi Omolade Balogun; Osun State Governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola and, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. Femi Folawiyo (rtd), representing the Inspector General of Police (IGP), AIkali Baba Usman, during the wedding ceremony of Balogun's son in Lagos ... recently PHOTO: ABAYOMI AKINYELE

The Senate has told the Independent National Electoral Commission Continued on page 48

124 Years after, Cambridge University Hands over Benin Bronze Cockerel to Nigeria Okukor stolen from ancient Kingdom in 1897 by British colonial forces Lai Mohammed commends bravery of Nigerian students in London varsity Dike Onwuamaeze with agency report The Jesus College at Cambridge University, London, has handed over to Nigeria the Okukor, a sculpture that was looted by British troops in 1897, setting a precedent expected to put pressure on other institutions to return stolen artefacts.

The handing over documents

were signed yesterday during a ceremony at the college to transfer ownership of the Okukor to the Nigerian delegation.

London-based Daily Mail reported that the sculpture of a cockerel was one of hundreds of Benin Bronzes pillaged from the Kingdom of Benin, in Nigeria.

Continued on page 48

OF THE COCKEREL...TO THE OBA OF BENIN COVID-19: Sanwo-Olu Launches RETURN R-L: Director General of National Commission for Museums and Monument, Prof. Abba Tijani; Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sarafadeen Tunji Ishola, handing over the cockerel to the representative and younger brother of the Oba of Benin, Prince Aghatise Erediauwa; Benin Chief, Charles Mass Vaccination Programme...

Edosomwan (SAN), and the representative of the Emir of Kano, Prince Ado Bayero, in Cambridge, United Kingdom… yesterday Page 6

PHOTO: BBC

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

NEWS

ADDRESSING BIOSECURITY THREATS...

L-R: Executive Director/CEO, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib; representative of Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Naval Transformation, Naval Headquarters, Rear Admiral Idowu Yusuf; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Commissioner for Health & the Chief Host, Prof. Akin Abayomi; Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Folasade Jaji and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, during the 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity themed “Universal Approach to Addressing Biosecurity Threats: Genomic Intelligence and Vaccines” at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos ... yesterday

Power Supply: FG to Review Discos' Performance Improvement Plans To push forward with Siemens deal despite setbacks Lists poor service, illiquidity as major challenges in electricity sector Subsidies not sustainable, minister insists Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government yesterday said it was reviewing the Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) submitted by the Distribution Companies (Discos) to ensure they align with the current needs of the electricity supply industry.

In a statement to mark his 50 days in office, the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, noted that the review was necessary since some of the key players in the Nigerian electricity value chain were performing below expectation.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had in 2019, mandated the players, especially the power distributors to develop their improvement plans for the year 2020-2024 which it said will define performance standards for the next five-year tariff period by the commission.

It included the implementation of a more robust tariff review process, prioritisation of expenditure by the Discos and reflection of changes in the operational environment to serve as the companies’ service charter with the consumers.

Aliyu stated that the long-term objectives of government were to increase the available power, improve the quality of service, attract the much-needed investment, promote efficiency, competition and growth as well as ensure transparency and accountability in the value chain of the power sector.

“The ministry is intensifying the performance monitoring of the licencees and the licensing regime, especially their revised Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) to have a better understanding of why some critical stakeholders are performing below expectation.

“We shall be taking a careful and detailed look at issues of policy, capacity and the technical requirement, amongst other things.

One very critical concern that we must address in this performance monitoring process is to find out if the terms for granting of licences were onerous,” he said.

Furthermore, the minister stressed that the performance monitoring process would assess whether the sector needs additional laws and or regulations to enable

it perform optimally.

While stressing that the primary policy aim of the current administration was to provide stable, good quality, reliable and affordable electricity for the people of Nigeria for domestic and industrial usage, the minister stated the federal government would ensure the full implementation the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA).

Aliyu noted that the government was determined to deal with some policy issues, the legal and regulatory bottlenecks, and the human factors involved in the implementation and coordination of the power sector’s road map, explaining that the sector remains capital-intensive and is currently in need of massive injection of fresh funds.

He added: “We are aware that the Nigerian power sector is confronted by many challenges which have not enabled the sector to grow as desired. These challenges are reflected in the two over-arching problems of the sector.

“Too many people are still not satisfied with the quality of service in terms of hours of supply, voltage, disputed/estimated bills, or have no access to electricity and the payments the Discos are able to collect from consumers do not cover the full investment and costs of the Gencos who produce and sell the power, and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) which wheels the power to the Discos.

“Government’s financial support is required to cover the shortfall.

The resulting huge burden on government is unsustainable.”

Aliyu noted that his immediate objective would be to create liquidity in the electricity market; improve services in terms of hours of supply, billing transparency and accuracy, and wider access to electricity.

In addition, he explained that the plan also included bringing consumer, operator and investor confidence back to the sector to attract foreign and local investment into the sector, create jobs, promote competition and bring in more participants in the Nigerian Electricity Market (NEM).

To achieve this, the government said the Kashimbilla 40MW power plant, Gurara phase 2, the 700mw Zungeru Hydroelectric Power

Project and the Katsina Wind farm with a full capacity of 10MW, which are at different levels of completion would be critical.

In addition, it listed the Kowa 40MW power station, Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project and the TCN’s Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme funded by various multilateral financial institutions as other projects that will help achieve reliable power supply for the country.

On the Siemens AG of Germany deal, Aliyu explained that the federal government would push forward with its implementation, saying the deal was expected to ultimately deliver 25,000mw in the third phase.

The project agreement which raised a lot of hope at its signing last year, has been in the cold over disagreements, including

counterpart funding and issues connected with the percentage of local content to be incorporated into the deal.

“Siemens Nigeria and the federal government in 2020 entered into a power infrastructure revamp agreement. It is a governmentto-government agreement. The Nigerian Electrification Roadmap (NER) is a partnership that will expand Nigeria’s electricity capacity from the current average output 4,500MWh/h to 25,000MW. “We are confident that the NER will succeed because of the pedigree of Siemens and their footprint in the global power industry.

“The first phase of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) is the upgrading and expansion of the vital infrastructure of the TCN and Discos with the end goal of achieving 7,000MW.

“This first phase started in earnest this year, with the ongoing pre-engineering phase. The selected EPC contractors will soon be contracted officially so that work on the project implementation can commence,” the minister said.

He also pledged to reinvigorate the “Eligible Customer” and related regulations that will move the electricity industry from the present interim commercial structure to full commercial structure in compliance with Clauses 25 and 26 of the Act, whereby consumers contract for better services directly with willing Gencos and service providers that are ready to make new investment to deliver better services.

He noted that the government would rev up the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) programme to attract investors into metering and encourage mini-grid policy and regulation that allow underserved

consumers to partner investors and contractors to get better services.

To this end, Aliyu said the ministry of works and housing, for example, has started a pilot of 1.5MW of solar while there are plans to optimise the available generation capacity and put it to good use.

In the next few months, he pledged the strengthening of the industry regulator to ensure that all sector players and stakeholders work according to the rules and guidelines especially in dealing with customers.

While stressing that reforms take time and require patience to implement, especially in a highly regulated sector like the power sector, he expressed confidence that when fully implemented, they will bring about the transformational change that Nigerians desire to see in the sector.

eNaira: CBN Warns against Fraudsters, Refutes Alleged N50bn Disbursement James Emejo in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday alerted Nigerians to the activities of fraudulent individuals and imposters working to swindle unsuspecting members of the public through false eNaira disbursement claims.

The fraudsters are luring Nigerians with claims that the central bank was disbursing N50 billion eNaira currency to citizens.

But, in a statement, the CBN Director, Corporate Communications, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said its attention had been drawn to criminal and illegal activities of some individuals including a fraudulent twitter handle, @enaira_cbdc purported to belong to the central bank.

He said the impostor handlers and fraudulent persons had been posting messages related to the eNaira with the intent of wooing unsuspecting Nigerians with claims that the CBN was making financial is disbursements.

According to him, the impostors

were bent on defrauding innocent and unsuspecting members of the public through the links attached to their messages for application to obtain eNaira wallets and become beneficiaries of the said N50 billion eNaira currency disbursement.

He said: "For the avoidance of doubt, the Central of Nigeria (CBN) is not the owner of that twitter handle (@enaira_cbdc) and indeed suspended its presence on Twitter following the federal government’s ban.

"In effect, the bank is not disbursing eNaira currency to citizens."

The CBN, therefore warned members of the public to be wary of fraudsters who have resolved to take advantage of unsuspecting Nigerians especially in the wake of the CBN's digital currency launch.

The bank further urged the public to always endeavour to seek clarifications on information about the eNaira either by visiting the eNaira through its website, www. enaira.gov.ng or call the eNaira contact centre or visit any CBN

branch nearest to them.

It added that any suspicious activity should be reported to the CBN using helpdesk@enaira.gov. ng or to relevant law enforcement agencies.

The development came barely 72 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the digital currency.

However, the CBN has continued to assure the public of the safety and security of the digital currency.

Speaking shortly after the launch, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said adequate safeguards had been installed to forestall security breaches.

In an interview with THISDAY, the CBN governor said: "Let me tell you this, we would not embark on a project where we have not really dimensioned the risks; you identify risks and you now measure the risks and then we think about how to manage the risks and we have looked at it.

"There is no need, absolutely no reason for anybody to be afraid of the risk of even hacking your

account and the rest of that."

He said: "This morning I set up my account and my account is operating very well. I talked about the BVN; the BVN is one of the best payment systems infrastructure that we have put in place and I can assure you that with all that has been done, you cannot hack into it.

"If somebody hacks into yours, it will be because you were reckless in handling your information but not that the system failed."

He described the eNaira as an extension of payment system in Nigeria and which would enhance payments outside the country.

He said: "You can make payment for goods and services rendered to somebody who even resides outside the country as long as he is willing to accept Naira.

"We will see eventually that what it does is that your reliance on third currency would be reduced by embracing eNaira and that for me is one area that I am looking forward to how this would help our country."

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FEC MEETING...

Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari (left) and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja …yesterday PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

FEC MEETING...

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (left) and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja … yesterday PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

COVID-19: Sanwo-Olu Launches Mass Vaccination Programme Targets four million persons before year-end Segun James The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has launched a mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19, as part of strategies to stave off re-emergence of the viral infection.

The objective was aimed at vaccinating four million residents in Lagos before the end of the year.

The immunisation programme was flagged off at an event held in Lagos.

The governor warned of the possibility of the fourth wave of COVID-19 as the yuletide approaches, saying residents of Lagos, who are 18 years and above were eligible to be fully immunised with the COVID-19 vaccine.

The accelerated vaccine rollout is tagged: “Operation Count Me

in 4 Million Lagosians Vaccinated Against COVID-19” and is being undertaken by Lagos State government in collaboration with National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

The governor believed the mass vaccination campaign would help bolster the State’s response to the emerging threat posed by the pandemic.

Sanwo-Olu said the joint committee set up by the Lagos State Government and the NPHCDA to oversee the implementation of the campaign would be opening vaccination sites in high traffic locations as part of the strategies to expand vaccine access in underserved communities.

Mobile vans, the Governor added, would be deployed to move round boundary settlements

in order to reach individuals in areas with limited access to health facilities.

He said: “There is potential for the fourth wave of COVID-19, as our borders would be opened to all people coming into Lagos in December. To prevent the catastrophic events we witnessed in the previous waves, the state has developed a robust vaccination drive, leveraging on both the strengths we have in the public and private sectors of our healthcare system.

“In development of our strategy and counter-measures, we prioritise the protection of human lives and keeping our economy open for business.

“To mitigate against this potential damage that will further spread existing variants of COVID-19 in the State, and accelerate efforts

towards herd immunity, the need for a different strategy became a front burner issue.

“This is what has culminated in the campaign, tagged ‘Count Me In! 4 million Lagosians Vaccinated Against COVID-19’ to target the full vaccination of 4 million Lagos residents before the end of December 2021. Once achieved, this will bring the State closer to reaching our promise to vaccinate 30 percent of our population within one year.”

Since March when Lagos started its vaccination programme, SanwoOlu said the state had successfully vaccinated 800,000 residents with the first dose of Moderna vaccine and 310,000 persons fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

This, he said, made the total number of residents vaccinated

with the first dose of either AstraZeneca or Moderna 1.2 million, while raising the number of fully vaccinated individuals to 550,000, which accounts for about four per cent of the State’s population.

Sanwo-Olu re-emphasised that the vaccines being administered are safe and remain free of charge in public health facilities. The governor, however, said an administrative charge of N6,000 would be paid by individuals who wish to get the vaccines at approved private facilities.

The governor charged all stakeholders, including the local council chairmen, to mobilise for participation in the programme and ensure the success of the campaign.

He said: “We have set up COVID-19 vaccination in all our 205 public primary health

TETFund Lauds Proposed 50% Increment in 2022 Education Budget Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Prof. Sulaiman Bogoro has lauded the move by the federal government to increase education budget from less than 10 per cent to 50 per cent in the 2022 appropriation bill.

He said subsequently, the plan was to scale it up and gradually double it to 100 per cent by the year 2025.

Speaking during the 13th Thematic meeting of the TETFund Research and Development Standing Committee (RDSC) on education, which was held virtually yesterday, Bogoro commended the federal government for its promise to progressively increase the education budget to fund research and drive global competitiveness in the country.

He further lauded the federal government over recent steps to the professionalise teaching and the announcement of special allowances for teachers, among other incentives.

Bogoro noted that government's recent pronouncement was one way that recognises basic education as

the foundation.

"The retirement age of our teachers has been moved from 60 to 65.

I think this is very encouraging for teachers. Of course I mentioned earlier that those in the sciences will have better emoluments attached to their allowances.

"Government has announced its intention from the budget year of 2022 to raise education budget by 50 per cent and scale it up and gradually double it to 100 per cent by the year 2025.

"To me that was something that was not immediately expected or anticipated but government has made the pronouncement. So I imagine that the 2022 budget will reflect that 50 per cent increase," he said.

Speaking further, the TETFund boss said he looked forward to a situation where some of the areas that had suffered from inadequate funding from the appropriation window would be taken care of, with the added increase, including the funds that will be made available to institutions.

He said the funds would help in increasing the funding made available through appropriation

for personnel, saying the capital allocation made to public universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education would also increase.

"The most vibrant economies are so because they have allowed education to dictate the way forward through qualitative research, to make a difference. In Nigeria it cannot be different.

"In Nigeria for instance, there is no doubt, the facts are there that the south west zone have a comparative advantage over the other five geopolitical zones because of their consistent and massive investment in education starting from the time of late Obafemi Awolowo, with free education from the foundation upwards," he said.

The TETFund boss also disclosed that the draft law for the establishment of the National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) had been submitted to the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, for inputs before transmission to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval and onward submission to the National Assembly.

In his presentation, the immediate Past President, Academic Staff

MultiChoice Appeals Tax Tribunal’s Ruling MultChoice Africa Holdings (MAH), the parent company of MultiChoice Nigeria, has rejected Tuesday's ruling of the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT), which dismissed its appeal against the $342 million Value Added Tax (VAT) bill slapped on it by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The company, made its position

known in a statement yesterday.

It also stated that it would lodge an appeal against the ruling at the Federal High Court, adding that the TAT ruling was based on technicality rather than the merits of the case.

"MAH respectfully disagrees with the ruling, which was based on a technicality rather than the merits

of the case. Therefore, we will be lodging an appeal at the Federal High Court against the ruling.

"This tax appeal is a separate and distinct matter from the appeal launched by MultiChoice Nigeria (MCN), in which the TAT found in MCN’s favour last week, allowing it to proceed with that appeal,” the company stated

Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof.

Abiodun Ogunyemi, stressed that education remained the bedrock for every knowledge-based economy and sustainable national development.

Ogunyemi who was the lead presenter, insisted that education must interface with other sectors of the economy, saying that an integrated policy framework was needed to bind all the various

sectors together for sustainable development to occur.

He said: "Setting Nigeria's research agenda under the context of R&D involves transitioning from research for publication to enabling problem solving research, increasing thought-out of human power, strengthening of IP regulations, technology transfer and commercialisation in that sequence before industrialisation.”

centres, 14 of the State’s second and tertiary hospitals, and we are hoping that this partnership can be implemented in over 400 private health centres across seven underserved Local Government Areas in the State.

“Let me re-emphasise that we are not compelling anyone to get vaccinated. But, we want everyone to take it as personal responsibility, which is highly important. What we seek to achieve by this campaign is to ensure there is access to the vaccines and availability. Then, give people an opportunity to get vaccinated at centres close to them. This will give nobody a reason not to get the vaccines.”

Commissioner for Health, Prof.

Akin Abayomi, described the vaccination campaign as “ambitious”, saying the State Government had put in place two-pronged approach to prevent the fourth wave of the pandemic.

“The first step is to control the in-bound flight passengers and maintain adherence to all preventive measures that have been put in place, while the second step is to closely monitor the isolation of those coming from the red zone area,” Abayomi said.

On his part, the NPHCDA Executive Director, Dr. Shuaib Faisal, disclosed that only 2,950,232 Nigerians had been fully vaccinated.

This, he said was a far cry from reaching the target number for herd immunity.

Crisis: Osinbajo, Lawmakers, Others Lead National Prayer Today Udora Orizu in Abuja The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; the leadership of the National Assembly led by President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan; Ministers, leaders in the political, religious and economic spheres and hundreds of Christians drawn from various parts of the country are expected to attend the annual Christian Legislators’ Fellowship (CLF) National Breakfast Prayer meeting scheduled for today.

The prayer session with the theme: ‘Faith in Christ in time of crisis,’ would take place at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

Addressing newsmen, CLF President, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba, PDP) disclosed that Bishop David Abioye of the Living Faith Chapel would be the guest speaker.

He explained that the theme was chosen to find solution to the economic, political, social and many other challenges currently bedeviling the country.

Bwacha said, "As you are aware the national breakfast meeting is an annual event organised by our fellowship to pray for our country, to pray for our responsibilities as parliamentarians in churning out legislations that will benefit the larger segment of the society.

“The prayer breakfast did not hold last year as a result of reasons that is all know to all of us, the COVID-19 pandemic which had wretched havoc on our economy, political and social spheres. “The fellowship decided to hold the one of 2021 actually by zoom and we are trusting God that the event will hold by 7am through 9am in the morning being 28th of October, 2021. By the grace of God the Vice President of the Republic will be joining us and a couple of other dignitaries including Diplomats."

Responding to question on the leadership crisis and complacencies by Christian legislators at both national and state levels, Bwacha said their position as a fellowship, was non-partisan, but intercessory.

"We are not also unaware of the fact that it’s not an easy thing to request that people should follow the Christ because we gained understanding in the parable of the 10 Minas in Luke Chapter 19, where the citizens so to say, were saying we will not follow this man and we will not allow him to be our king.

"Ours is to intercede, to take intercessory role, political questions are reserved for politicians.

In this wise, we are talking of crisis that has no division, a crisis that involves all, it doesn’t segregate whether you are from which political party, increasing hike in prices of food stuff, there’s no recognized political party, it has not recognized geopolitics, it does not recognize tribe, and by the way it has no segregation of age. So ours is to pray on all issues that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will intervene and restore the glory of our nation, that we would be able to overcome all these challenges," the lawmaker said

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MEETING OF MINDS...

L-R: Deputy Chief of Party, USAID Nigeria Power Sector Programme; Mr. Tunde Gbajumo; CEO, Sterling One Foundation, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, and Country Director, Nigeria, World Bank Group, Dr. Shubham Chaudhuri, in Abuja… yesterday

FBN Shares: Hassan-Odukale, 5.36 per cent, Femi Otedola, 5.07 per cent Darasimi Adebisi FBN Holdings Plc yesterday clarified that the Chairman of First Bank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale and the Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Mr. Olufemi

Otedola are the only shareholders that have attained five per cent shareholdings in the company.

The holding company put Hassan-Odukale’s shareholding at 5.36 per cent and that of Otedola at 5.07 per cent.

Nigeria's Envoy to UK Faults The Economist Magazine Report Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom has complained formally to The Economist magazine over the latter’s position on Nigeria in its recent edition.

The High Commission argued that the magazine’s assessment of the country was biased and unfair to readers.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement yesterday, revealed that the Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Amb. Sarafa Tunji Isola, wrote a letter to The Economist in response to a piece titled, "Insurgency, Secessionism and Banditry Threaten Nigeria."

He described the characterisation of Nigeria by the London-based magazine in its recent edition as unfair, saying that the issues confronting Nigeria have been long-standing and the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is achieving tremendous results in tackling them.

According to the High Commissioner: “The Economist is correct to point out the multiple security and governance challenges that Nigeria presently faces. But the picture that you present is selective and unfair to your readers. The decay of agencies and institutions has gathered momentum for decades.

There is no quick or simple fix. It is unwise to pretend otherwise.”

He reminded the magazine that President Buhari had been elected twice in national elections and was indeed making progress by working with international partners: “There has been progress. Nigeria works closely with partners in the Sahel region, Europe and the US on security and intelligence. It is not an accident that the leadership of militant groups is weaker than it has ever been.

“You highlight the need for

police reform: this is a process that President Buhari’s administration has led, including the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). We are already working with the UK and others on training and equipment,” he said.

The High Commissioner described Nigeria’s “robust COVID-19 response as well as the president’s battle to provide stable energy for the country as noteworthy: “Nigeria has led the region in a robust response to COVID-19 that has helped keep infection levels well below many parts of the world, while also helping to mitigate the economic shocks from the global downturn for the most vulnerable.

“President Buhari has also championed reforms to the energy sector, the cradle for corruption, in the teeth of fierce resistance from the old, business-as-usual brigade,” he added.

The envoy pointed out that progress being made by the administration in agriculture, creative arts and technology sectors among others does not sit well with corrupt -minded individuals in the country: “Nigeria is far from being the only country that faces the challenge of trying to deliver overdue change in a political culture that tilts towards special interests that are often selfish and short-term.

“Optimism in sectors as diverse as agriculture, creative arts and technology point to the opportunities that are already being realised. It will be a long haul: a corrupt cabal will say we are not doing enough: what they mean is that we have already done too much, in terms ending the impunity enjoyed by the few and helping to enfranchise the many.”

Isola added that the president was also working with international partners to diminish problems associated with extremism and climate change and leave the country more united.

FBN Holdings disclosed this in response to enquiry by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

However, THISDAY checks revealed that the Chairman of Globacom, Chief Mike Adenuga and the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, might have some undisclosed shares.

The NGX had written to the financial institution on the need to clarify its shareholding structure, demanding also, reason for classifying the shareholdings of Hassan-Odukale and his related parties into two parts of 4.16 per cent and 1.20 per cent respectively.

The Head, Listings Regulation Department, NGX, Mr. Godstime Iwenekhai, in the letter also requested the lender to explain rationale behind including the 1.05 per cent of Leadway Pensure PFA's holdings as part of the subsidiary chairman’s 1.20 per cent in the second part of classification; explain the meaning of "cumulative equity stake" as used in notification and meaning of "cumulative equity stake" as used in notification specifically in relation to Leadway Pensure PFA’s holdings.

Also, the stock exchange sought to know the list of all the substantial shareholders of the company and percentage shareholdings; to confirm the shareholders and

their shareholdings.

In response, FBN Holdings, in a letter signed by its Company Secretary, Mr. Seye Kosoko, it clarified that Hassan-Odukale presently has 26,231,887 total direct holdings in FBN Holdings (0.07 per cent) and 1,897,280,212 or (5.36 per cent) and total indirect holdings.

This, it stated implied that Hassan-Odukale has total shareholdings (Direct and indirect) of 1,923,512,099 or 5.36 per cent in FBN Holdings.

On the other hand, it revealed that Otedola has 1,818,551,625 or 5.07per cent total shareholding (Direct and Indirect) in the financial institution.

The holdco pointed out that it considered “substantial shareholders” to mean those with five per cent and above shareholdings, noting that it has not received notification from any other shareholder on the attainment of five per cent shareholdings, apart from Hassan-Odukale and Otedola.

It assured the NGX that it would make regulatory disclosure upon receipt of such notification from any other shareholder.

“In line with applicable regulations, FBN Holdings will continue to notify the appropriate agencies and authorities whenever we receive any notice of significant shareholding by shareholders and the Company’s Registrars,” the holdco explained.

It reiterated that the notification of the shareholding of HassanOdukale as a Director of its banking subsidiary and an insider, was filed with the NGX and other relevant regulators on October 18, 2021.

According to FBN Holdings: “The reason for classifying the shareholdings of Hassan-Odukale and his related parties into two parts of 4.16 per cent and 1.20per cent respectively “The first part of the shareholding classification (4.16 per cent), are shares held directly and indirectly

by Hassan-Odukale.

“The second part of the shareholding classification (1.20per cent), are shares ascribed to Mr. Tunde Hassan-Odukale due to his influence and having significant control.”

Explaining the rationale behind including the 1.05 per cent of Leadway Pensure PFA's holdings as part of the investor's 1.20 per cent, FBN Holdings stated: “Tunde Hassan-Odukale has an indirect interest in Leadway Holdings Limited that holds 69 per cent equity in Leadway Pensure PFA and as such exerts significant influence and control over Leadway Pensure.

Consequently, the company ascribed these shareholding to him.”

It explained the provisions of Section 88 (1) CAMA 2020 which among others, defined a "person with significant control" as any

person: “directly or indirectly holding at least five per cent of the shares or interest in a company or limited liability partnership; directly or indirectly holding at least five per cent of the voting rights in a company or limited liability partnership.”

It therefore noted: “It was to the extent of the foregoing that we included the 1.05 per cent of Leadway Pensure PFA’s holdings as part of the indirect holding of Hassan-Odukale, for full disclosure and transparency, in line with the provisions of the extant rules and regulations.

“Also, regulatory disclosure requirements as provided in Rule 17.15 (c) of the Rule Book of the NGX mandates an ‘Insider’ to make a full disclosure of their direct and indirect holdings as well as dealings in shares, to the company for transparency. Hassan Odukale, a shareholder and Director of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, was profiled as an insider and as such, had the obligation to disclose his direct and indirect shareholdings.”

Also clarifying the meaning of "cumulative equity stake" used in its previous notification to the NGX, it stated: “The use of “cumulative equity stake’ in our notification is the summation of all the direct, indirect and ascribed holdings of Hassan-Odukale.”

Alleged 22bn Scam: Court Bars Banks from Releasing Funds to Couple, Ajetunmobi, Firm Wale Igbintade A Lagos State High Court sitting at Osborne, Ikoyi has restrained about 21 commercial banks in Nigeria from releasing funds to Imagine Global Holding Company Limited, Imagine Global Solutions Limited, Mr. Bamise Samson Ajetunmobi, Mrs. Elizabeth Anuoluwapo Ajetunmobi over an alleged N22 billion scam.

Specifically, the court restrained the defendants from accessing funds up to N11,795,090,000 in their accounts pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for Mareva Injunction.

Justice Abdullahi Oyekan-

Abdullai granted the mareva injunction on October 24, 2021 following an October 15, 2021 ex-parte application in Suit no: LD/579CM/2021, filed by the Claimants/applicants, through their counsel, Adetunji AdedoyinAdeniyi.

The claimants/applicants were aggrieved Nigerians who heavily invested their funds in Imagine Global.

According to the motion, the N11,795 billion was the outstanding investments and return on investments accruing to the claimants/applicants from the defendants.

The mareva injunction also restrained the defendants, in the interim, from dealing with any

and all of the monies standing to their credit in any accounts in the banks up to the amount.

It further restrained the defendants from selling, transferring, assigning and/or dealing with the following properties: Apartment 7, Oakwood Residences, 23, Cooper Street, Ikoyi, Lagos and B4, Gate 3, Lafiaji Road, Victoria Crescent Estate, Olugborogon, Chevron, Lekki, Lagos or any other properties of the 1st, 2nd 3rd and 4th Defendants that can be traced and located by Claimants/ Applicants during the pendency of the suit.

The judge directed the banks to file and serve on the claimants/ applicants' counsel within seven days of service of the order on

them, an affidavit disclosing the balance on the defendants' accounts.

It directed the applicants to file an undertaking as to damage in case the order ought not to have been made.

The matter was adjourned till November 3.

The banks are Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank, Citi Bank Nigeria, Ecobank Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Globus Bank, Heritage Bank, Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank, Polaris Bank, Providus Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, United Bank For Africa, Unity Bank, Wema Bank and Zenith Bank.

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COMMENT

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

#ENDSARS: OKOWA LEADS FROM THE FRONT Institutions and individuals, no matter how powerful, should respect the rights of the citizens, writes Ray Umukoro

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n October 20, 2021, the anniversary date for the #EndSARS protest of 2020, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta opted to walk a different path. While many governors were reeling out speeches to pacify the people, Okowa took the path of pragmatism.

The governor practically seized the moment. He did not engage in memorial speech. Not in anniversary lamentation of the nationwide destruction that signposted the events around the protest. To heal a wound, an open sore; you don’t apply platitudes of sweetly-flavoured words. It will not heal. What heals a wound is the application of requisite medication. Depending on the depth of that wound, dressing it and administering the right drugs (oral or injectable), are required.

The #EndSARS protest, and all it stands for, is an open wound. The event, though well-intentioned but poorly managed, has left a gash in our national psyche. That gash is a reminder of the frustrations of Nigerian youths; an emblem of the regrettable disconnect between the youths and the political elite; a morbid remembrance of the orgy of police brutality that define policing in these shores. #EndSARS, therefore, has become emblematic of a sordid past, a symbol of injustice and insufferable treatment visited on the youths by those whose duty it is to protect them. Such primeval paradox ought to elicit a wellspring of empathy from the leaders. Empathy that should, on anniversary day, trigger genuine acts of pacifism, not pretence coated in sweet words.

Wounds don’t heal by words; they heal by action.

This is the context in which Governor Okowa’s action stood out that Memorial Day among the platoon of leaders across the nation. He inaugurated a Committee for the Protection of Human Rights in the state. The governor heads the committee, something he rarely does.

But this drives home his intendment. He will not stand and watch the rights of citizens bovinely trampled upon by any person or group of persons. Okowa has a predilection of always siding with the oppressed.

To further underscore his avowal to the protection of citizens’ rights, he incorporated the appropriate stakeholders including the legal community, human rights activists, politicians and persons versed in human rights enthronement into the committee. The roll call: Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Isaiah Bozimo; Comrade Ifeanyi Egwunyenga, Commissioner for Youths Development; Solicitor-General/ Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mr Omamuzo Erebe and the Commissioner of Police in the state. Also in the mix are representative of the Youths, Mr Harrison Gwamnishu, a feisty human rights activist who himself had been a victim of rights abridgement; representative of civil society organisations, Comrade Israel Joe; representative of Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Jonathan Ekpenisi; representative of National Human Rights Commission, Mr Alpheus Ngwu and Permanent Secretary, Directorate of Political and Security Matters, Mr Theophilus Aguonye, who serves as Secretary. The committee is simply to ensure the protection of the rights of citizens in the state. It has no political colouration; neither ethno-religious configuration.

Constituting the committee was part of the recommendations of the Judicial Panel of Enquiry that investigated complaints of police brutality and extra-judicial killings in the state. It is proof of how Okowa interprets the #EndSARS protest in its full essence. While some Nigerian political elite see it as a ‘we versus them’ phenomenon, Okowa sees it as the collective failure of leadership to hear the heart’s cry of the followers, especially the youth. So, when some leaders grandstand, asserting their right and authority to superintend over the youths, Okowa sticks out a hand of empathy. He offers a placative balm to heal the bruises of the grieving youths.

BY SETTING UP A CITIZENS’ RIGHTS PROTECTION COMMITTEE ON THE MEMORABLE OCTOBER 20 DATE, OKOWA HAS MADE THE POINT THAT HUMAN LIVES MATTER. HE WANTS TO SIDE WITH THE PEOPLE ON MATTERS OF RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES

Recall that just after the #EndSARS episode last year, Okowa, rather than trot out statements laden with threats and intolerance, stepped out to meet with the people. He engaged the people through Town Hall meetings. He met with representatives of #EndSARS protesters, civil society organisations, students, social groups, community youth leaders and other stakeholders in the state. It bears restating that Okowa is the first governor to begin direct engagement with the youth after the #EndSARS protest via Town Hall meetings. It’s therefore no surprise that on the anniversary date, he offered to lead from the front by constituting and heading a committee.

On the heels of the nationwide protests, Delta just like many states set up a judicial panel. The panel has since made recommendations and Okowa says his government would by end of this month begin the payment of compensation to families of victims of the protest.

The governor had since rebuilt the destroyed infrastructure which fell victims of the rage. The High Court in Asaba , for instance, is now a piece of architectural majesty from the ruins it was rendered by urchins who hijacked the noble protest.

Nationwide, the ruin was much. The destruction was monumental.

Now, states are paying, not for the irreplaceable lives lost, but as a token to grieving families. Edo government is paying N190 million.

Other states are paying compensation and re-building broken or burnt down infrastructure. Lagos, which became the epicenter of the protest, suffered the most. In Lagos alone, six policemen were killed, aside civilians who also paid the supreme price; 32 police stations and 12 Local Council Development Authorities (LCDAs) and 16 court buildings were burnt. In addition, about 200 newly bought BRT buses and many newly-constructed BRT bus terminals went up in flames, recounts Friends of Lagos, a non-governmental organization.

The cost to families, individuals, corporates and the nation at large was colossal. By latest computation, insurance firms are projected to pay out N9 billion out of a possible N20 billion claim. Such is the monumental cost the protest and its attendant consequences inflicted on the economy.

Reminiscing, Okowa recalls there was a lot of destruction of property as the protest by various civil society groups and youths got hijacked by some unscrupulous citizens.

He said: “We believe that the youths who actually set out at the beginning for the protest meant well for this nation because they were actually there to draw the attention of the leadership of this nation both at the national and at the sub-national levels to the ills in the society.

They said they were demonstrating against oppressive tendencies of security agencies, which were impinging on their freedom.”

By setting up a citizens’ rights protection committee on the memorable October 20 date, Okowa has made the point that human lives matter. He wants to side with the people on matters of rights and privileges. And this is what leadership is all about. Government must exist for the people, not the people for government. Leadership gives hope, it does not breed fear. Okowa is reviving the people’s hope in institutions. Delta has a proven history of volatility and youth restiveness most times triggered by the short shrift they get from successive Nigerian governments.

It’s therefore to the credit of Okowa’s people-centric leadership that damage during the #EndSARS protest in the state was substantially mitigated. As leader of this committee, the governor should ensure that institutions and individuals in the state, no matter how powerful they may be, respect the rights of the citizens; even as citizens conform to basic laws and rules that govern society.

Umukoro, a policy analyst, wrote from Warri

THE COST OF INDISCRETION

Kunle Somorin writes that the Ogun State government is committed to ensuring peace in the state

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ollowing the mayhem unleashed by hoodlums during the recently-concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) state congresses, it has become imperative for concerned citizens of the state to consider the potential cost of fomenting political violence and undermining the highly efficient interventions the present administration in the state has made on security since 2019.

Recall that at the Ogun APC congress, held at the MKO Abiola Stadium, 1,730 delegates from the 236 wards cutting across the 20 local governments, in a consensus arrangement via voice affirmation, were unanimously electing party executives who will direct the affairs of the party in the state for the next four years, when violence erupted at the Ake Palace arcade, venue of a sham congregation of misfits who claimed to be conducting a parallel state congress.

Gov. Dapo Abiodun, who appealed to loyal party delegates for calm at the authentic venue of the congress, warned against the “show of shame” capable of threatening the uninterrupted peace being enjoyed in the state, which his administration had invested heavily in.

“I’m the Chief Security Officer of the State. I will not allow a breach of the peace of the state. I will deal with that person decisively. I will bring upon them, the full extent of law. I’m the only governor of the state today. For those still living in illusion of grandeur and being deluded, I hope the message is

heard loud and clear,” Abiodun warned.

The state Police Command made some arrests after the violence perpetrated by hoodlums and subsequently paraded them at their Eleweran police headquarters. Ogun State commissioner of police, Lanre Bankole, confirmed that the thugs were arrested with prohibited arms and ammunition, including an English Berretta pistol with batch no.: PT 92 AFS, a locally fabricated revolver and live ammunition. An unregistered Toyota Hilux van, which was used to convey the weapons, was confiscated by the police.

Interestingly, an advocacy group, Advocacy for Social Justice (ASJ), is now alleging high-level attempt to influence an obstruction against serving the perpetrators justice. Some highly placed persons are reportedly deploying resources to set the arrested suspects free and also attempt to compromise the ongoing investigation into the activities of the suspects, according to Tajudeen Oguntolu, General Secretary of ASJ. To put it in context, what happened at the Ake Palace on Saturday, October 16, amounts to a security breach and threat to the peace Ogun State has been used to since 2019.

Early in the life of the Abiodun administration, the state was faced with some high-profile security situations. On July 23, 2019, kidnappers struck at the Ajebo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and kidnapped three persons. The incident involved

the son of the Chief Medical Director of the Lafia Hospital, Ibadan and two members of staff of the hospital. A few weeks later, on August 2, 2019, five pastors of the Redeemed Christian Church of God were abducted on their way to the annual Holy Ghost Convention. They were reportedly abducted at the Ijebu-Ode end of the Sagamu-Benin-Ore Expressway on their way to the religious gathering.

In response, Gov Abiodun swung to action. At a security briefing, which had in attendance the state’s then Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama and Director of Directorate of State Service (DSS) David Tuksa, Abiodun declared that his administration would present a draft amendment of the state’s Security Trust Fund to the state House of Assembly to strengthen the safety of lives and property.

“We are going to be re-launching our security trust fund. We have an amended bill that is on its way to the house of assembly now, because, we look at the existing bill, we compared it to other bills in other states where the security trust fund had worked very effectively and efficiently, we’ve identified the gaps in our bill and we have sent an amended version of the bill to the house of assembly.

“The new security trust fund will have all the governance that it requires, it will have a Chairman, Executive Secretary, board, it will have a commitment from a few financial institution of note and a few people from the private sector that are committed to serving on the board, we are also

committed to funding this fund, we on the part of the state will also commit to our funding as well,” the governor said.

Indeed, within the first 100 days of his administration, Abiodun’s fidelity to his word came to play as he inaugurated the committee to oversee the nowamended Ogun State Security Trust Fund, whose law the governor gave accelerated enunciation. “It is a demonstration of our government’s unreserved commitment towards ensuring that the people have a good life and pursue their legitimate business in a secured environment,” Abiodun said.

With the Ogun State Security Trust Fund up and running, the security architecture in the state has been reinvigorated. Within 100 days in office, Prince Abiodun invited the then Inspector-General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, to launch 100 patrol vehicles, 200 security motorcycles and other security equipment acquired by his administration as part of efforts to boost security in the state.

Not long ago, the governor inaugurated Ogun State’s wing of the South West Joint Security Outfit, also known as “Amotekun”, to complement the efforts of other security agencies to further strengthen the security architecture of the state. Operatives of the state’s Amotekun were carefully selected, trained and equipped for effective crime detective and bursting operations.

Somorin is Chief Press Secretary to Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun

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EDITORIAL POWER SUPPLY AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT The cost of fitful supply of power is high on the economy

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t is a notorious fact that the epileptic nature of power supply makes Nigeria one of the harshest environments to do business, and this renders the country less competitive. The implications are there for all to see. In the face of fitful electricity supply, individuals, and businesses resort to self-help by generating their own power. Yet privately generated electricity also comes at a huge cost. This is aside the negative implications of the more expensive and self-generated electricity on the cost of living, on business profitability, on the incidence of poverty, and on health, safety, and the environment.

In its report on the impact of regular power cuts last year, the World Bank said the economic cost of power shortages in Nigeria is estimated at around $28 billion - equivalent to 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “The lack of reliable power has stifled economic activity and private investment and job creation, which is ultimately what is needed to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty,” said Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country ANALYSIS OF FIRM-LEVEL Director for Nigeria.

DATA FROM THE NIGERIA WORLD BANK ENTERPRISE “The objective of this operation is to SURVEY SHOWED THAT help turn around the ELECTRICITY SUPPLY IS CONSISTENTLY THE BIGGEST power sector and set it on a fiscally CONSTRAINT TO DOING sustainable path. This BUSINESS IN THE COUNTRY is particularly urgent at a time when the government needs all the fiscal resources it can marshal to help protect lives and livelihoods amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Unfortunately, the situation has worsened in the past one year. From Kano to Calabar, Sokoto to Ibadan, indeed across the country today, there is hardly any part that does not presently experience power failure daily. In most of these places, several days go without electricity with its resultant effects on socio-economic activities. The promise that the

Letters to the Editor

reforms in the power sector would lay a solid foundation for sustainable power generation, and would lead to increased access to electricity, engender private sector investments as well as create employment for the growing population of jobless Nigerians, has become a mirage.

G T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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

oing by the World Bank projection, Nigerian businesses experience an average of 239 hours of power outages every month with about US$0.20 to 0.30 per kilowatt hour (kWh) spent on self-generation. The situation results in economic losses exceeding $25 billion annually to the country. The damage to the environment and the health hazards to Nigerians are also quite enormous.

Indeed, analysis of firm-level data from the Nigeria World Bank Enterprise Survey showed that electricity supply is consistently the biggest constraint to doing business in the country. It equally added that on geopolitical region case-by-case analysis, electricity or its lack, is the most important obstacle except the northwest geopolitical region. Younger firms, exporters, and manufacturers, the report noted, are from its discovery most likely to identify electricity access as a key obstacle to their productivity, yet, having a reliable electricity supply is consistently associated with higher levels of economic productivity.

Data from the Advisory Power Team in the office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, have also shown that on average, Nigeria is only able to generate and distribute 4000 megawatts (MW) to power its economy and light up homes. And that does not just push businesses to seek off-grid alternatives or cause economic losses, but also creates payment apathy by consumers who do not feel obligated to pay for electricity services they consider to be unreliable.

For several years, the challenges of poor electricity supply and its attendant impacts on businesses have headlined conversations in almost every economic summit or forum in Nigeria. But it is now time to move such conversations from the meeting rooms to the fields.

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

VIOLENCE AND INSECURITY IN KADUNA STATE

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ith cunning killers sharpening their killing knives on the bloody grindstone that Kaduna State has become, the good people of the state as well as Nigerians as a whole must address the existential carnage that threatens one of Nigeria`s most iconic states.

For many years now, Kaduna State has known no genuine peace. It was at the cusp of the new millennium that the state began to unravel. The crisis that engulfed the state was as cutting as the death and destruction were harrowing.

Faced with the maelstrom that religion and ethnicity whip up in the politics of the state, Mr. Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of the state has become another man, different from the one who as Minister of the FCT breathed life into Abuja, Nigeria`s Federal Capital Territory.

Faced with an increasingly tenuous security situation, Mr.El- Rufai, has struggled to douse the flames that are determined to consume the state. There have been multiple statements interpreted to have severally abandoned those most affected and afflicted by the crises. Under El-Rufai `s watch, there have been subtle messages to the effect that some indigenes of the state are more equal than others.

On its own part, the federal government has not done much. In 2015, the differences between the Islamic Movement in Nigeria and the Kaduna State government flared into a ruinous confrontation which left many dead at the hands of the Nigerian Army. The Kaduna State government acting as both judge and jury was to constitute a panel of enquiry into the crisis led by Justice Mohammed Garba.

The federal government, acting more on sentiments than evidence, set up camp with the Kaduna State government. A legal battle ensued and after five years, a Kaduna State High Court found that IMN, especially its

incarcerated leader had done no wrong and was instead the victim of a collaboration between administrations that put jaundice before justice.

Kaduna State has an appreciable number of Christians and Muslims.

Many of the problems in the state appear to spring from the fact that political power is used in the state to leave those outside certain religious and ethnic groups to the hyenas haunting the state. Insecurity duly ravages the state.

Ironically, the state hosts some of Nigeria`s premier institutions, many of them national security institutions where those entrusted with Nigeria`s security are formed. The Nigeria Defence Academy is located in Kaduna State and when bandits stampeded the school some months ago, killed two soldiers and made away with one, alarm bells chimed across the length and breadth of the country.

The abductions have been ceaseless. School kids have been marched away from their hostels at nights; undergraduates from higher institutions have been kidnapped; travelers have been abducted too, and most dreadfully; the epidemic of abductions loosened upon the state is not about to let up. With each abduction, the canon of questions booms: How do the criminals work so efficiently? Where do they keep their hapless victims while they wait for ransom? Who are those that make their operations sail so smoothly?

Countless questions continue to go unanswered in Kaduna State, and with these unanswered questions, the crises rocking the state continue, especially threatening innocent women and children.

The ambiguity over the challenges in the state have to abate and soon too so that the security challenges threatening the state can be addressed once and for all. This is key if the good people of the state are to return to their normal lives.

Kene Obiezu, Abuja

PROMISES, NOT ACTIONS

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t is interesting, as an Australian, to see the criticism of our approach to Climate Change. As is evident to all, except perhaps self-interested politicians, the climate is changing as often happens but this time it looks like it will be permanent. There are fires, floods and famine around the world, once in a century events that now seem to occur frequently and yet some are blinded by the smoke that these fires produce.

Our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, formally worked in advertising, has now announced a plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, a time that seems so too far away for most to consider and yet will arrive too soon for us to make serious changes. Of course, a plan is really intentions, not actions and we have a long way to go to succeed in protecting the climate.

We all need to work on preventing climate change and yet so many are reluctant to make real steps.

Australia can now go to the Glasgow COP26 with a promise of change, but we must ask how much political promises are really worth.

Action must start with the people not the politicians. Get out there and tell your politicians what to do. The Earth needs your support, not political promises.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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POLITICS

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

‘Umahi’s Decision to Mainstream Ebonyi Politics Has Paid Off’ The decision by Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State to decamp from the Peoples Democtratic Party to the ruling All Progressives Congress kicked up a huge storm with some stakeholders accusing the governor of nursing inordinate ambition. However, almost a year on, the State Commissioner for Information, Uchenna Orji told Ugo Aliogo in this encounter that Umahi’s gamble has paid off

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recent report released by BudgetIT where it scored your governor in three key sectors; transparency and two other sectors where he has done very well. So how did he it make it happen?

It is as result of his passion, ingenuity, and sincerity of purpose in serving the people and delivering on the mandate given to him by the people of Ebonyi State. Alook at the performance index by the Budget Office, Office of the Federal Ministry of Finance, shows that our dear governor and the government of Ebonyi State took the first position in the implementation of capital projects among the 36 states of the federation. In the area of prudent use of scarce resources, the governor took the first position among the States of the federation. In the area of transparency and accountability in budgeting, the governor took the first position. In the area of general performance among the States of the federation, the governor took the first position.

For us, it represents the fact that the governor has really shown that in this part of the world, we can have a world-class leader. Before 2015, Ebonyi State was known as the ‘Dust of the Nation’ where nothing good was coming from; it was not recognised in the map of the developing States of the federation, apparently because it was a new State and because of the revenue base that was nothing remarkable. But today, I can tell you that we have done a lot. In the areas of road construction, Ebonyi State has the highest number of road networks apart from Abuja and Lagos. This is the truth that speaks for itself. In the history of governance in Nigeria, the Governor is the first to introduce road construction deploying concrete pavement, and this is done with a thickness of eight inches with a guarantee of 50 years. And I can tell you that he has used this road construction to construct even federal roads, whether coming from Cross River to Ebonyi State, Benue to Ebonyi state, or Enugu to Ebonyi state, or even Abia or Imo to Ebonyi State. He has done not less than 1,500 Kilometers of state roads and not less than 500 kilometers of federal roads. So we have no issues with good road network.

Besides, each Local Government Area has at least 25 kilometers of road connecting to the Metropolis and Satellite Towns.

We have an ongoing project which is the Ring Road connecting eight Local Government Areas at a stretch. This will do a lot in enhancing agricultural and solid minerals development and all forms of development including commercial activities in the state. Again, it is under his administration that we have the biggest shopping mall and it was done under his administration.

The idea of the shopping mall was conceptualised by him and today it has been completed. We have also Africa’s biggest University of Medical Sciences; it is the most beautiful university in Nigeria. The university has the capacity to generate not less than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs. It is almost 90 percent completed. We are working with the private sector to see how it can own and manage that university. The reason is that through that university, we can generate revenue, through a lot of ancillary businesses. Through that University, we can be sure that Ebonyi State would become the destination for the treatment of cancer, heart diseases, kidney diseases, and the production of dialyzers. In Africa, we don’t have a center for the production of dialyzers. So this is going to be a money-spinner for Ebonyi State, and it is also going to address the medical needs of Nigerians who would have ordinarily been going to India and other parts of the world for medical treatment.

Permit me to say that Ebonyi state has the most beautiful Government House in Nigeria.

The governor conceptualised the idea of the government house in his second term and today,

Orji he has completed what is known as a three arm government house, which is housing the governor’s lodge, office and presidential wing. It is also housing Africa’s biggest State Executive Council Chambers. It is so beautiful and it has other ancillary buildings inside it. Under the administration of the governor, the fertiliser blending company that we had that was 40 metric tonnes capacity per hour has been enhanced. In the entire South-east and South-south, we have the biggest fertiliser blending plant with 80 metric tonnes per hour. It is also providing the fertiliser needs of South-east, South-south and South-central, and it is part of the presidential agriculture programme.

The fertiliser blending plant is providing employment for not less than 3,000 people at the moment.

The governor renovated the existing rice milling plant that we have and enhanced it and installed rice parboiling plant which feeds the rice milling plant with the parboiled rice. It has 38 metric tonnes capacity per hour which is the largest in Nigeria and the milling plant is about 32 tonnes capacity which is the largest in Nigeria that is government-owned. This

is in addition to the rice milling cluster that gave us a name in the Guinness Book of records as the State with the highest number of milling clusters. That has made our state to be pronounced by the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment as the largest producer of rice in Nigeria. All of these are counting for the governor. The governor went ahead to secure the approval for the establishment of an international Airport from the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Today, the construction of the airport is going on and I can assure you that by the time it is completed, it will be one of the three biggest airports in Nigeria. It is designed in line with the standards of Lagos and Abuja international airports respectively with 3.5 kilometer runway, and you can see that it is an airport sitting on huge expanse of land. Our idea again is that through this airport, a lot of jobs will be created for the teeming population, the land within the place will appreciate and there would be a traffic and mass movement to Ebonyi state, and that will also create jobs and employment for our people.

We are looking at tapping into the

When he was deputy, he was one of the richest deputy governors, he stooped low and became the most humble deputy governor to the extent his boss assured him that he was going to take over from him until enemies of progress had to throw a wedge between the two of them at the eleventh hour. God stood up for him and said touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm. He became the first deputy governor in Nigeria to become governor even when the boss changed his mind to support him at the last minute

Ethiopia Airline business. Of course, a lot of people have questioned the rationale for building airport in Ebonyi state, considering the fact that there are airports in Owerri, Calabar and Enugu, but our idea is that situating an airport in the state is to create a competitive value when it is compared to Abuja and Lagos. Our idea is that the facilities that will be there will be very attractive coupled with the security that the governor has really put in place.

Let me state here that apart from Abuja and Lagos, Ebonyi State has the highest number of flyovers, I don’t know how the governor made it, but his secret for success is the passion that he has. I must state here that we are not using foreign experts to carry out this construction projects. The local content which consists of the skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled in Ebonyi is being used and this has made for zero capital flight in the state.

Today, we have flyovers that are very beautiful and adorned with a lot of aesthetic facilities. These flyovers are more beautiful than some other flyovers in the country. All of these facilities will attract investments and make the state a destination. We are thinking that as a State, with all of these infrastructures in place as critical as they are, we can be sure that investors will come and invest in Ebonyi State and that will drive industrialisation. It is noteworthy to state that the Ebonyi state has the largest Christian Ecumenical center. It is very beautiful. We have a very beautiful shopping mall that is the microcosm of the Dubai mall.

It is designed after the Dubai mall. So these are things that are in place.

In the area of education, I can tell that the governor has done well. Before 2015, we were labelled as educationally disadvantaged state.

Under Governor Umahi, two years in his first term, he had to de-list our name from the map of educationally disadvantaged States, and today, we are one of the 10 best States according to West African Examination Council (WAEC) index and it is still counting. I was a member of WAEC international Board up to 2014. The Nigeria University Commission (NUC) education assessment of 2017 were looking for the best Local Government in the federation. Out of the 774 LGAs in the country, Ebonyi state has a LGA that took the first position. The NUC in that assessment was looking at the LGA with the highest number of persons that gained admission into the University in 2017, and it was an LGA in Ebonyi state under Governor Umahi that achieved that feat.

When the NUC also looked at the best student in Medicine and Surgery that wrote the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), a student that schooled in Ebonyi hinterlands took first position among the entire students that wrote the UTME exams for Medicine and Surgery in the federation. Those milestones are indications that the governor is doing well. I have to mention that in the area of healthcare, he has done very well, both from the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Healthcare Delivery System. The governor in his first term, built the single largest hospital complex (that is the pronouncement of the Federal Ministry of Health) which he donated to the federal government.

It is known as the accident and emergency complex. Again, in the area of healthcare, the governor also built the School of Nursing and Midwifery which would provide the human capital to drive the healthcare service delivery system. We also have the School of Health in Mgboh that will raise the human capital to drive healthcare facilities. So these are things that the governor has done that would give him all of these accolades.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY OCTOBER 28, 2021

POLITICS

‘In Kwara, We Follow Every Law That Ensures Transparency, Accountability’ Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha hold a conversation with Mrs. Florence Olasumbo Oyeyemi, the 33 year-old woman who oversees the finances of Kwara State

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system, so it’s a long stretch of programme.

Regarding sustainability, because we have a robust system that is working for us, even at the time when we’re meant to start our CARES programme, we had a default MSME bureau in the state because of some of the things, some of the misappropriation of the past administration.

But when the World Bank came, they found our system robust enough to run the CARES programme that has been supported by the World Bank and for the World Bank to certify that our system is robust enough to carry it, they didn’t need us to go and start starting a new programme, they saw that Kwara State Social Investment Programmes fulfils all the requirements to run a transparent and a sustainable system of data collection, funds disbursement, funds management and funds return back to the account. So the social investment programme I’m sure it’s going to stand the test of time, even with any administration coming in, they will have it going because it’s been a clear process and a transparent system.

ou asked for an adjustment for the Kwara State budget this year.

Why was there a need for that?

We had a budget for 2021 that was prepared and signed into law in January 2021. During COVID, we saw the need to invest in major infrastructural development that will drive the economy of the state, which requires building factories, industries and having businesses running full and proper within the state. And knowing fully well how COVID-19 pandemic has affected state finances, and now it has affected returns even from IGR due to some of the lockdown and businesses not running full process as they used to run pre-COVID. Because of that we need to find other means of financing, some of our plans, some of our policies or some of the things that are in line with our developmental plan for the state. That was why we sought to go into the non-onventional market to issue a bond. At the time we issued the bond we started the processing like last year, then this year the funds started rolling in, and at the end of the funds having been rolled in, it is expected that before we expend such funds, there is need for these funds to be appropriated. So this was what led us to having a supplementary budget that will accommodate the new unexpected funds, at the beginning of the year that eventually came in during the course of the year so to have appropriated funds to ensure that it goes into the projects that have started after the approval of the supplementary budget. So basically the reason why we had a new budget during the course of the year was to accommodate the bond facility.

Did you say you want to do, industries and factories?

There are quite a number of things that we would like to do in the state. So many things that are in tandem with the manifesto of His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Governor of Kwara State and also in tandem with his policy and how he intends to drive the economic development of the state. So some of the things we’re doing is having agro processing industries, we’re having an Innovation Hub, we’re having a Film Factory, garment factory.

So these are projects that are targeted at employment, also targeted at generating more IGR for the state, and projects that are targeted at driving investment for the state, foreign direct investments for the state. Those are some of the things that we tend to use the facility for.

Kwara has some moribund or should I say dead state-owned industries, why don’t revive them?

There are some projects or some companies or industries that were in existence during the last administration that came up and those are no longer in existence, and that is because of the systems they use in growing this industry knowing fully well that my governor the governor is a private sector person. So he is bringing in knowledge and diverse information from the private sector to drive these business. So many of the projects that we’re talking about are to be run on a public private partnership, so it’s not going to be government’s business as usual.

So, most definitely. We expect these to thrive.

You prioritised the new minimum wage payment in your budget this year. Have you implemented it?

We’ve implemented the minimum wage. And they started receiving payments as far back as February this year.

You also prioritised tech reforms in the educational sector in your budget. Can you speak to that?

For tech reforms in the educational sector.

Recently we just completed the Kwara Education Summit that had global education decision makers across the world coming in to speak and to contribute to how we intend to or how best, it is to run our public education system, and the outcome of the summit, and communique is being addressed into an implementation plan.

And this implementation plan has to do with a lot of things, and one of these is digital learning

Olasumbo Oyeyemi

and e-learning for schools, and even under the UBEC Schools project, the governor has actually paid counterpart funding, and this counterpart funding, have allowed us to enjoy the benefit of training and retraining of some of the teachers within the public school, so that they run the 21st century e-learning system and they could actually transfer within the classrooms to the students. Also for e-learning, we are also signing up to a lot of projects around education and how best we are going to drive digital learning. One of the things that Innovation Hub will do for us asides bringing people to run something close to Silicon Valley in Kwara, we will also be letting our students, our own youths to engage, to get them engaged in some of the things we’re doing. Even right now that the Innovation Hub building is not fully set, we’ve engaged our youths in lots, lots of digital training programmes, Google, that was fully funded by the government of Kwara State headed by AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

So we’re not joking with e-Learning and Digital Learning, our moving there and it’s really showing in our classrooms. Even the ministry now has a department that will be responsible for monitoring, and for updating, and for implementation of

the 21st century e-learning advancements that comes on board.

What sustainability plan do you have for your social investment programmes?

For the sustainability plan for the social investment programme,the social investment programme is a heart project of His Excellency. He is really directing at the vulnerable groups, making sure they have access to funds for businesses, they have access to funds for their livelihood maintenance, and since he came on board when we started a full implementation of this programme in late 2019, 2020 and it has produced maximum results. The system we’re using in running this social investment programme is backed and is being handled by the Bank of Industries.

So it’s more like what is happening at the national, that has been sustainable over the years since the advent of the president; it has been sustainable over the years. So ours is also following the same pattern, we’re using the same template, even in a more reformed process for disbursing funds for data collection, for funds management, for funds auditing, same for transparency and accountability process across the entire

For the sustainability plan for the social investment programme,the social investment programme is a heart project of His Excellency. He is really directing at the vulnerable groups, making sure they have access to funds for businesses, they have access to funds for their livelihood maintenance, and since he came on board when we started a full implementation of this programme in late 2019, 2020 and it has produced maximum results. The system we’re using in running this social investment programme is backed and is being handled by the Bank of Industries.

So it’s more like what is happening at the national, that has been sustainable over the years since the advent of the president; it has been sustainable over the years

To what degree is there pressure on finances of Kwara State as a result of the Social Investment Programmes?

One of the manifestos of the policy direction of His Excellency was running people-centred programmes. Running a programme whereby people will benefit, irrespective of where they are, who they are related to… it’s a non partisan kind of programme that is highly objective. Now, because that is his focus, we intend to always appropriate funds for that. I’m not saying we do not have this fiscal challenges. It is happening in all states, but because it’s one of our major focuses. It is something that His Excellency has promised to do. And he has continued in that line, even during COVID for example, when we had the lockdown. It was an opportunity for us to reach out to Okada riders, to reach out to transporters, market women that could not access businesses, as usual. We all knew how finances were for states and also involving in all other sorts of expenditure, unforeseen expenditure during COVID, but still we went ahead to fulfil this requirement because it’s our mandates for the people, that we must reach out to the people and get the people involved, and let the people benefit from the dividends of the government, affirm the promises of His Excellency. So because it’s something to our heart, no matter how bad or how tight the fiscal position is for the state, we’ll try as much as possible to run our people centre programmes so that our people will not feel the pain as much as the state government will be managing.

What’s your position on the e-Naira that is proposed by the Central Bank?

I’m a Certified Fraud Examiner. So when people talk about e-payments, e-Naira, digital currencies. It’s always a beautiful idea. No one will be against it because there’s technological advancements everywhere, and it’s important to catch up with the advancement. But at the same time we must be prepared in terms of our shock absorber, if things do not go right or if this other set of people find a way to discover a loophole to use it against the government.

Even in developed countries, we know how coins have been used for money laundering because it is not traceable. Now we are trying to advance technologically, which is a beautiful thing. But we must ensure that we block all the loopholes so that fraudsters do not use that against us or against the state at such point whereby there will be increase in some of the financial misappropriation, or there will be an increase in corrupt practices or fraud practices in the world, so I’m not talking about Nigeria specifically. So as beautiful as a programme may sound, it is expected that we will provide system, we must put structures in place, processes and the systems in place.

We might not be able to achieve it 100 percent, but we must make sure that it doesn’t get as bad as something we can’t carry or manage.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͰͶ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

FEATURES

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

‘Our Fragrance Brand Has Changed Negative Stereotypes about Nigeria’ Like a little drop in the ocean, the whole thing started on the Instagram page at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic when he posted collections of his perfumes. That idea today has metamorphosed into a global fragrance brand called Seinde Signatures. Mr. Olufemi Olusola, the Chief Executive Officer, tells Charles Ajunwa and Sunday Ehigiator how he started, the difficulties he encountered, how he penetrated the cabal in fragrance industry, among others Can you tell us more about Seinde Signatures? t’s something that just happened and I never set-up myself to have a business called Seinde Signatures. But I have been collecting perfumes for a very long time. As a child I was used to collecting perfumes because it's one of the things that makes me happy. During the pandemic we were free, there was nothing to do and everyone was at home. I woke up in the morning, had my shower, used my perfumes, dressed as if I was going to the office, went downstairs and stayed on my phone or computer. In the course of this, I opened an Instagram account, and I was able to see pages of some Fragheads, which are people that love perfumes. Then I didn't even have the confidence to post my perfumes because I always felt that if I post my perfumes, it would be regarded as me just showing off. In fact, my wife told me at some point that my act of perfume collections was devilish because I sit down to take care of the bottles, clean and dust them every Sunday.

At some point, I started giving them away just to satisfy my wife.

But when I started recollecting the perfumes again, I did everything to make sure my wife didn’t see it. I will buy a new perfume, I will remove it from the carton and hide it in my pocket. Gradually, I started growing back my collections again. So when I saw those pages during the pandemic, I showed them to my wife. I told her ‘you think I’m crazy, there are people crazier than I am and they even have more perfume collections than I have.’ That gave me the confidence to have a page on Instagram and I started posting my perfumes collections for people to see. Through posting my perfumes, people started following my account and the page actually gave me the opportunity to reach out to people, whereby I can also touch people's lives, which I also love to do a lot. So the page offered me the freedom to help people.

I don't have to know you to give you money. In the process, one of the Fragheads whom I met online came to my house and he begged to see my collections. I asked my wife for permission to take him into our private room to look at my perfumes and she obliged me. I did a live video of his visit and posted it on Instagram. When he left, my wife told me to carry my perfume downstairs if I would always be bringing people to our room to see perfumes. I had to bring all the perfumes downstairs and create shelves for them. So after posting my first live video, people started reaching out to me especially on their birthdays and before I knew it my was always filled with visitors on Sundays and it became a Mecca of some sort. In fact, we started preparing food and drinks to entertain our guests as long as they kept coming. Later, I decided to get an office where we can make an area for them to come and see the perfumes. We never intended to sell perfumes. People from different walks of life come here to see perfumes especially the ones they read from magazines because most of these perfumes are not sold in Nigeria. When they see that I have them, they really want to see them and experience the way they smell. So that was how it all started. So when I opened up this place, the Seinde Signatures Experience Studio, people book appointments and pay to come in and experience the fragrance. Before I knew what was happening, people were buying half bottle, quarter bottle and the people making the perfumes started contacting me. They send messages on my social media platform requesting to come to Nigeria through me.

You see, prior to my coming to the fragrance industry it was like a cabal. People that are selling perfumes are blocking everybody from doing it, it's just them, and they just bring whatever they like. So it was like if you like it buy, if you don't like it don't buy it. For them, it was just business and not a passion. Of course, they couldn't satisfy people like me and many others which forced us to start buying from abroad since the cabal here are only after the money they make.

The big perfume manufacturers started to reach out to me to market their perfumes in Nigeria.

And if you asked me in April 2021, if I would sell perfume, I would probably say no. I used to post on my page that I don't sell perfumes

pick the positives from everything. The EndSARS protest at the Lekki Tollgate was right in front of me. I saw the protest everyday. In fact, I was at the office on October 20, 2020. I have my own views about the incident. The current generation go around with smart phones but are not informed at all.

Though they have the instrument of information they go around with, they would rather believe in gossip without trying to research deeper. So most of them make their decisions based on what they hear around them; they believe in it and die for it. I have the ability to look at things beyond the surface and I was able to see positives in everything that happened. We paid for the studio during the pandemic lockdown and when we were renovating, they started the EndSARS protest. We didn't let it deter us. This whole floor is now full but when I came it was empty. Now people are coming in and are getting attracted to our business. It's like a new life coming up. For me, nothing can stop me except God himself.

I

What informed the name, Seinde Signatures?

Seinde is my name. Anyone that knows me knows my fragrance signature. If I come to your office, and even if I left the office hours after, people would still ask you, did Seinde come here?

So people know me for that. Anywhere I go, I leave my fragrance signature. If I sit on a chair and someone comes to sit on it six hours after, they will still say this place smells nice. So that's why we actually called it Seinde Signatures. It's just my name and a signature I have built for myself over the years. And like I said, even as at the time we called it Seinde Signatures, it was not coined to be a business but a hobby.

Olusola

but people continued demanding that we sell them. As a result of the demands from people, we created 'Salone De Perfume', which is another arm of Seinde Signatures to sell the perfumes. So that was how my passion for perfumes became a business and we have clocked one year already.

How has it been in the last one year?

Within the last one year, we were able to sign up exclusive deals. When these perfume manufacturers come to me, I negotiate exclusivity in Nigeria with them, if they agree to that, we sign legal documents to back it up. So within one year, we have signed about 17 who are exclusive to us. And some of the brands that I personally like which are really doing well and other people like too, I have collaborated with them to also have them in our stores. In all, we have about 32 brands that we are selling now.

How were you able to break through the cabal in the industry?

It was easy because the people in the industry were selling for money and I do not think they were actually listening to anybody. It was just about what they thought. When they have the deal they bring the perfume and dump it on you. If you want any other thing, go to London or America anyway. That was their approach to the business.

I have reached out to some of them prior to Seinde Signatures to do what we call 'Fragheads Meet', where we can call fragrance lovers to come to the store and experience what they have. You know there is a difference between a perfume lover and somebody that likes perfume. Someone that likes perfumes is okay with just one or two bottles of perfume, if you ask them to buy another, they tell you the one they have at home isn't finished, or they tell you that they only use a certain brand. They just like perfumes. But a perfume lover can't smell a fragrance and not want to have it.

So you see them buying more constantly.

They can be bought every week or monthly.

A couple of them that followed me when I opened the page reached out to me from time to time so we found a way of meeting their needs.

So people like us that really love perfumes have no voice. It's like somebody just brings one product for you and says this is what you must buy. So that's why I call it a cabal.

It's like this is what you must buy, you can't break it and you can't do anything about it.

But when we started it was a breath of fresh air for even the manufacturers that have been wanting to come into the country but have not been able to do so. A lot of Nigerians are making perfumes for example, it was a no go market for them. Take for example, Catherine Omai, the first African perfumer to be launched on the international market, they sell her products abroad for very exorbitant prices but you can't get it in Nigeria because these people (cabals) will not even talk to her, talk less of sell her products. But for us lovers of perfumes, we don't look at where the perfume comes from but the quality of what we are dealing with. Now that we are in the market, we have carried her along with many other brands. I am surprised that we have a lot of Nigerians in this space. One was even here recently with a brand launched in London, but all these things are not available in Nigeria because the cabals will not just talk to you. So it's like what they want to sell is what everybody must buy.

Why is this so?

It's all about money. I really don't know why they structured their business like that.

Over six people that I know sell perfumes before me were like that but now they are all changing and trying to look into the more quality fragrances. Of course, they have money and they are all changing now which I like.

I like the fact that I can make them change.

Before me they won't buy it. They will go and buy the common ones, the ones they feel they can make more money on, disregarding the fact that there are thousands of people in the market that are looking for quality things. Now I know people that travel to London only to go and buy perfume and come back.

You started your business during the pandemic and EndSARS protest, how were you able to pull through?

One of the lessons I have learnt in life is to

What are you bringing to the market?

First of all the fragrance business in Nigeria is no longer the same because the people that are there are beginning to change their mindsets. They too have to improve their lot. They suddenly realised that they cannot be putting products that are not the A1 products in the market. They are changing because of our emergence. So we will continue to be innovative, we will continue to actually make people know the joy of smelling good. We have signed up so many brands and have a lot of them coming on board. The moment we mentioned that we were doing our first anniversary, a lot of them showed interest to come regardless of all the negative stereotypes they have heard about Nigeria - kidnapping, insecurity and all, they still want to come. They look at us and say, if I’m in this country and doing this, then it's not as bad as it is painted.

So for me, it's a breath of fresh air that at least for once, the attention this first anniversary has brought to Nigeria is really amazing. It has drawn the attention of the whole world to Nigeria, I mean the fragrance industry in the world. One of the people coming, Mr. Cologne 78 is a very well respected influencer in America. Every brand would give him their fragrance to review for them because once he talks about a product, they sell. He is a big fragrance influencer. This wouldn't have happened two years down the line. They will not even talk to him. It's like they have monopolised the industry to the extent that they determine what goes in or comes out. Now we have signed up a lot of Niche brands. The difference between the Niche and the mainstream is that the mainstream make use of chemicals, and mass produce all to maximise profits, while the Niche are smaller, they use organic material, go round the world looking for the best material to use. And they come up with materials from different things to create a perfume that tells a story not just the smell. They are perfumes that even when you get to London, you don't often see them around.

It's not the one you just pick-up from anywhere or see at the duty free store at the airport. They are at a higher level than those they sell at the duty free stores.

The reason why we make sure we sign on with them, that we have to be the only one selling is to be able to control the prices. Right now, we sell at the price they sell abroad. If they are selling for $100, we are selling here the naira equivalent.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͰͶ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

23

#THISISNIGERIA -Rinu Oduala

One Year After #EndSARS: Cowed But Not Defeated

Rinu during last year's #EndSARS Protest

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ast year, I was a stubborn, fervent, young woman with a heart full of hope, ready to fight regardless of the consequences. I fought the battle of my life alongside thousands of young Nigerians. As we fought to #EndSARS, we also fought for the soul of the country. For once, it felt like the fault lines were shifting, and our voices would be respected. Sure, we were fueled by pain, but in the faces of thousands of young people across many rally points, hope came alive.

Nigerians became proud to be Nigerians again. We remembered what it meant to stand in solidarity.

Today, I’m a young woman with a heart full of dying hope, beaten and battered by the state called Nigeria. Many may have moved on but others are yet to recover from the shock and trauma of being targeted with state-sanctioned violence for daring to fight for our lives. We are yet to overcome being persecuted for demanding an end to the indiscriminate extra-judicial killing of young people.

It’s been a year since many young people’s lives screeched to a halt. Many had to flee their homeland because they were harassed by state agents; many became practice targets for the state’s revenge on the global exposure of the deep corruption, wanton killings, and impunity in the country; many paid the price and sacrificed their lives; many are lucky to be alive but unable to fully exist and function as a result of trauma.

Many ended up in jails, DSS cells and are still illegally detained, paying the price of

being criminally profiled, while many allies who stood in those streets with us, holding the green white green flag and offering empty platitudes closed their eyes to the injustice happening, and moved on.

A 17-year-old girl gave birth in prison, doubly punished for being a pregnant and unwed passerby at the protest ground. The state didn’t care. It just wanted scapegoats as a reminder to others never to speak up again.

“We are not like our parents’ generation,” we chanted.

“We will not back down, we will follow through & stand tall regardless of whatever you do to us,” we promised.

Today, how many can boldly say they stood? Today, how many can boldly say they stood after the media spotlight shifted to other events? How many of you bullied your friends or felt tired of talking about #EndSARS? Many came into my inbox, asking me to stop carrying #EndSARS on my head. Some others insulted and accused frontliners of trying to “blow” and earn money from the movement.

The rest pitied and looked from afar while state security agencies hounded unarmed citizens who decided to keep flying the flag.

Many fought battles they shouldn’t as we finally allowed our cause to become weakened by divide and conquer tactics. I tried to pick up the pieces of my life too.

I had now become an unwilling public figure, a young person thrust into the

frontline of a global movement. What choices did I have?

Education is one of the most important things to my family, however, it almost killed me. I remember trying to go back to school and almost losing my life. I tried to raise an alarm, but my conscience pricked me.

“At least you aren’t dead yet,” that inner voice said. What about those who faced worse and died?

What was more devastating was a glaring absence of support for frontliners, who looked back, and found none, left alone to fight battles. How many of you reached out to frontliners, people you encouraged to stand, to ask if they were doing okay? A certain activist spent over 11 months of her life, stuck in a house crippled by post-traumatic stress disorder that manifested as nightmares, agoraphobia, and extreme paranoia.

Frozen bank accounts and a seized passport were the least of my problems. I was almost stabbed in front of my school, and chased by gunmen past my home.

My house address was leaked online by a pro-government account, ensuring my family became targets. My mum was almost stabbed close to home. Education seemed out of reach as I faced targeted discrimination when I tried to access my transcripts.

Many incidents became less random each day.

I knew I would die and nothing would happen, so recently, I left, leaving everything I know and worked hard

for— friends, family, loved ones— to a strange land.

It was shocking how many CSOs/ organisations also became mute, prey to the silencing force of this regime. It’s time for us to reflect on how comfortable we are with recent happenings especially if we need a country that works. Aren’t we tired of asking that the right thing be done?

Over the last one year, I saw many people get killed for preventable reasons. Nigeria is on a broken rollercoaster.

It’s been 61 years of letting mad people run Nigeria to the ground yet many still ask what the impact of #EndSARS is. This question shows that many Nigerians are not ready to fight for actual change. Sadly, our salvation mind-set remains individualistic.

Today, I’m happy to get back to school to keep learning how to contribute to society.

It’s our collective business to make our society sane.

If you ignore these unfortunate happenings, kidnappers/bandits will not allow you to rest. EFCC officers will break down your door in the middle of the night, or police might just shoot you in the streets.

Many have paid the price. Some are still paying the price. What are you going to do when you eventually realise that Nigeria is our collective responsibility and there are no shortcuts to a truly democratic nation without unity in solidarity? t3JOV 0EVBMB JT B IVNBO SJHIUT BEWPDBUF GPDVTFE QSJNBSJMZ PO JTTVFT PG FRVJUZ KVTUJDF IVNBOJUZ BOE DPNNVOJUZ BEWBODFNFOU 4IF JT B MFBEJOH WPJDF JO UIF &OE4"34 NPWFNFOU

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THURSDAY OCTOBER 28, 2021 •T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

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

08056356325

O C T O B E R

S & P INDEX

2 0 , 2 0 2 1

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

14.00%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

565.29%

1/4 TO DATE

6.06%

N412.08/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

14.50%

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

–0.11%

YEAR TO DATE

– 15.66%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.41%

Stakeholders Move to Create More Awareness among Nigerian Internet Users as Populating Dot NG Domain Name Drags

Emma Okonji Worried about the slow growth in adopting dot ng (.ng) domain name among Nigerian internet users, especially among those who run their own businesses, industry stakeholders are planning to create more awareness for the adoption of .ng domain name across all sizes of business.

President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the body that manages Nigeria’s Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), Mr. Mohammed Rudman,

told THISDAY that despite the set target from NiRA to achieve 100 per cent annual increase in .ng domain name registration and renewal, the number of registered.ng domain name still remained low.

In technical parlance, .ng domain name is Nigeria’s identity in the cyberspace. It is a nomenclature that identifies all persons who registered their business in Nigeria and they are transacting online from any part of the world. It identifies the Nigerian business name online and it ends with the suffix, .ng for top-level domain names. Each country has its

own online identity, given by a global body called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). While Nigeria is identified as .ng, South Africa is .co.za, America is .com, and the United Kingdom is .co.uk.

A recent statistics on .ng domain name, released by NiRA obtained

by THISDAY, showed a drop in the second and third level domain name across the country, which covers the total number of .ng domain name registration, renewal and restoration.

According to the statistics, the total number of registered and renewed .ng domain, stood at 172, 787 in the

month of September 2021, a figure that is very infinitesimal, compared with the number of active internet users in Nigeria, which stood at over 140 million as at August 2021, according to the data, which THISDAY obtained from the website of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator.

Despite the low adoption rate for .ng domain name, registration and renewal even dropped from 183,195 in August 2021, to 172,787 in September 2021, according to the statistics released by NiRA, a situation

that got industry stakeholders more worried.

According to he statistics, in July 2019, the total number of registered and renewed .ng domain name was 142,476, but the figure increased slightly to 144,169 in August 2019, with another slight increase to reach 149,508 in September 2019. In July 2020, the total number of registered and renewed .ng domain name was 164,542, but the figure increased slightly to 167, 798 in August 2020, and recorded another slight increase to reach 171, 129 in September 2020.

In July 2021, the total number of

registered and renewed .ng domain name was 182,509, but the figure increased slightly again to 183,195 in August 2021, and then dropped to 172,787 in September 2021.

Rudman who spoke with THISDAY about the dwindling growth of .ng domain name, said: “We are seeing growth in the .ng domain name registration, but the growth is not commensurate with our set target and expectations.

NiRA is already discussing with industry stakeholders on how to Continued on page 26

Business Decline, Unemployment Looms as Advertisers Reject FG’s Advertising Industry Standard of Practice Raheem Akingbolu The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of the economy, the media industry and the local advertising agencies may experience another phase of downturn if the federal government directive on new term of engagement as pronounced by the Advertising Practitioners Council Of Nigeria (APCON), is not allowed to

stand, APCON registrar, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo has predicted.

In an interview with THISDAY on the rejection of the implementation of the new standard of practice by the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), which the advertisers claimed was an unconstitutional attempt to infringe on the rights of private entities to determine their contractual terms, Fadolapo said the

body was, by the action, trying to weaken the Nigeria economy as well as frustrating many local businesses.

ADVAN had recently issued a statement supporting the plan to create a Standard of Practice for the advertising industry and echoed its willingness to be a part of any initiative towards the development of industry best practice, which will facilitate business and economic

growth but was quick to point out that the Supreme Court had in many decisions, pronounced that the rationale for freedom of contract is founded on public policy: i.e., parties of full age and competent understanding are deemed to have the utmost liberty of contracting, and that their contracts when entered freely and voluntarily must be held sacred and be enforced by courts

of law.

To this end, the sectoral body as principal benefactors of advertising services stated that its role and input with regards to the Advertising Industry Standard Of Practice (AISOP) by the regulatory body has not been fully onboarded, thereby declaring that the current AISOP is void of critical elements that protect the rights and interest of the ADVAN

community.

“It is the submission of ADVAN and all its members, that the current AISOP does not serve collective interest, but rather permits unfair authority of certain parties over others and creates an unfriendly business framework, “the body stated.

Reacting to the development, Continued on page 26

ATA AASS AT AT WWEEDDNNEESSDDAY, AY, OACUTGOUBSETR 1217, , 22002211 MMAARRKKEETT DDATA ONNDDSS FFGGNN BBO DESCRIPTION 11.668 FGNSB 10.296 15-AUG-2021 13-NOV-2021 10.301 FGNSB 13.390 16-AUG-2021 14-NOV-2021 11.150 FGNSB 9.091 FGNSB 11-SEP-2021 11-DEC-2021 12.364 FGNSB 13.402 12-SEP-2021 12-DEC-2021 12.175 FGNSB 7.144 FGNSB 10-OCT-2021 15-JAN-2022

BILLS

OTC FX F U T U R E S

100.09 100.45

3.16 3.29

Change Change (%) (%) 0.00

100.10 100.68

3.16 3.30

0.00

9-Sep-21 NTB 11-Nov-21

3.10 3.25

3.11 0.00 0.00 3.25

100.67 100.79

3.13 3.52

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3.15 3.35

3.16 0.00 0.00 3.36

100.80 101.42

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3.25 3.73

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NTB 27-Jan-22 14-Oct-21

3.35 3.83

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101.47 100.78

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Change(%) (%) Discount Yield Change

26-Aug-21 NTB 28-Oct-21

3.00 3.14

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CONTRACT TENOR (MONTH) 1

Contract

Current Rate ($/₦)

AUG27 252021 2021 420.93 NGUS OCT

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SEP 29 NGUS NOV 24 2021 422.38

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NOV26 242022 2021 425.28 NGUS JAN

3.37 0.00 0.00 3.87

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DEC23 292022 2021 426.73 NGUS FEB

CCPs Ps MATURITY

Discount Discount Yield Yield Change Change(%) (%)

MREP CP CP XII XXXI CMBL 3113-AUG-21 OCT-21 UNCP CP XVII III 27CMBL AUG-21 15-NOV-21 VAAG CP III I 27FSDH 16AUG-21 NOV-21 TTNG CP XIV II 31NBRP 25AUG-21 NOV-21 SIBP CP 2-SEPPARP CPIIA 2621 NOV-21

9.02 4.23

9.03 4.24

0.00 0.00

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4.27 5.21

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4.14 8.87

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

WELCOME TO LEKKI PORT…

L-R: Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Oladele Ajayi; Chief Technical Officer, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited(LPLEL), Steven Heukelom; Chief Relationship Officer, LPLEL, Adesuwa Ladoja; Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Lagos State, Lola Akande and Chief Executive Officer, LPLEL, Du Ruogang during an inspection visit by the Lagos Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives led by the Commissioner to Lekki Port site PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos …. yesterday

Severe Cyber Attacks on Financial Institutions Will Cause Economic Dislocation, Business Disruption, CBN Warns Emma Okonji Conscious of the devastating effect of severe cyber attacks on financial institutions and businesses, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has advised banks and other financial institutions, including businesses and organisations, to put safety measures in place that will guard against cyber attacks.

The Director, Payment Systems Management at CBN, Mr. Jimoh Musa, gave the advice on Tuesday during a webinar, organised by the Information Security Society of Africa-Nigeria (ISSAN), with the theme: ‘Securing Cyberspace To Enable Emerging Business Realities.’

According to him, financial institutions must be ready at all times to prevent cyberattacks on their networks, because the attackers would not stop at anything in launching online attacks.

“Cyberattacks can lead to economic dislocation and business disruptions, while disruption in business could lead to data compromise and organisational downtime,” Musa said.

He however advised on timely information sharing by affected banks among financial institutions, addressing insider compromise, as well as carrying out regular capacity building programmes that will keep staff abreast of cyber attacks.

President of ISSAN, Dr. David Isiavwe, in his opening remarks, said cyber attacks on financial institutions and organisations, were on the rise and called on banks to be more proactive and to ensure full protection of the cyberspace

in order to mitigate the effect of cyber attacks. Isiavwe therefore called for collaboration and information sharing among financial institutions, which he said, was key to securing the cyberspace that would enable emerging business realities.

The Director of Information Technology at CBN, Mrs. Rakiya Mohammed, who delivered the technical paper at the webinar, spoke on the many benefits of CBN’s Digital Currency, also known as eNaira, and the security features surrounding it that would lead to

safe and seamless digital currency transactions in today’s digital era.

Mohammed who was represented by the Team Lead for Information Technology Research at CBN, Mr. Adiolu Fadele, spoke about the evolution of money, the emergence of digital currency and the need to safeguard eNaira during online transactions.

Special Agent, FBI Minneapolis, USA, Mr. Robert Cameron, who also delivered a keynote address, highlighted the need for a secured external communications between

an organisation and software vendors, to avoid compromise of the software, years after purchase.

Cameron in his keynote, also warned against underfunding of security networks, which he said could create network vulnerabilities that could weaken the network and expose it to cyber attacks. He stressed the need for organisations to hire the right personnel with the right technology skills that would help prevent malware or Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks, which he said,

could disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server.

“In an attempt to cut cost, most organisations may want to patronise software vendors whose software could cut down on operational cost, and at the same time, could be compromised in the long run to create more harm for the organisation. He said organisations must stay away from free downloadable software and unprotected Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) connectivity that could turn out to be source of

malicious malware that would gain access to the organisation’s network.

Fielding questions at the end of the presentations about the security measures around eNaira that has just been launched by the CBN, Fadele assured participants at the webinar that since the eNaira is account-based, with a virtual wallet that gives users the access to control their money, it has all the security features that will make online financial transaction on eNaira safe, convenient and easy to access.

NNPC Reiterates Commitment to 5bn Scf/d Domestic Gas Production by 2022 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Sylvester Idowu in Warri The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has reiterated that its plan to produce at least 5 billion Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) of gas per day for domestic consumption in 2022 as well as generation of 5 gigawatts of power remain on course.

Speaking at the 2nd Biennial International Conference on Hydrocarbon Science & Technology (ICHST) held at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) Conference

Centre, Delta State, Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, noted that the implementation of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan (NGMP) will help boost the country’s economy.

Aside the 5 billion scf target, Kyari listed the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) II; the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3), gas pipeline; the AjaokutaKaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, and the Central Gas Processing Facilities (CGPF) as some of the infrastructure that will help transform the oil and gas industry

in the country.

According to him, with over 206TCF of natural gas reserves, Nigeria has enough of the molecules to support new gasfired power plants and more than enough to make gas a viable fuel for existing and new industrial facilities.

Represented by the General Manager, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Mr. Emmanuel Igbokwuwe, Kyari pointed out that the use of gas will remain a key component of the global energy mix in the coming years.

“At the NNPC, we are aggressively pursuing other gas development initiatives with the aim of improving Nigeria’s economy using the appropriate fuels.

“In terms of gas and power, we are developing and integrating gas and power infrastructure networks, increasing interconnectivity, as well as stimulating gas demand for power generation, feedstock, and transport, among others,” he said.

In his comments, Chairman of the World Energy Council (WEC) Nigerian National Committee, Prof.

Abubakar Sambo, who delivered

a paper titled: “Energy Transition in Nigeria: The Role of Capacity Building Institutions”, emphasised that the most effective way to manage carbon emissions from the combustion of oil and gas is the circular carbon economy as currently being practiced in Saudi Arabia.

Principal and Chief Executive Officer of PTI, Dr. Henry Adimula, on his part, said the conference was organised in line with one of the school’s mandates to conduct research and find solutions to some of the problems bedevilling the oil and gas industry.

STAKEHOLDERS MOVE TO CREATE MORE AWARENESS AMONG NIGERIAN INTERNET USERS AS POPULATING DOT NG DOMAIN NAME DRAGS come up with a research study on why Nigerians are not adopting .ng domain name. We sought to seek whether it is an issue of trust, or pricing, or inadequate awareness strategies on the part of Registrars and we intend to work with the Registrars in order to come up with

a position statement that will address the issue. NiRA is not really happy with the slow adoption rate and we are also planning to carry out .ng promo in November and December this year, that will reduce the price of entry level domain names by 60 per cent. We are working with the

Registrars to achieve this.”

He however said the slow rate was not peculiar to Nigeria, since the growth rate for domain name has equally dropped globally, while blaming the decline in the global adoption of domain name to the effect of COVID-19, which he said,

ravaged the entire globe and slowed down businesses.

“A lot of global and local businesses that are supposed to launch new business ideas, products and services, have slowed down because of the effect of COVId-19.

Although most people have moved

towards online businesses, but majority of them are using apps to address their online needs, and it is only when new businesses are registered online, that people tend to buy new domain names to register such business,” Rudman further said.

BUSINESS DECLINE, UNEMPLOYMENT LOOMS AS ADVERTISERS REJECT FG’S ADVERTISING INDUSTRY STANDARD OF PRACTICE

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Aviation Editor Chinedu Eze Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

Fadolapo told THISDAY that the federal government’s directive was simple and straight forward and that the development became necessary, following the approval of the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed, for APCON to develop an equitable and acceptable frame work in line with the Federal Government’s reformative plans aimed at accelerating the pace of economic recovery post pandemic era, enhance gainful employment, overhaul the institutional and regulatory framework for the Nigerian advertising industry in line with best practices.

“It is rather sad that ADVAN has chosen to be a stumbling block in the move to rebound the marketing communications industry and make it strong enough to contribute well to the economy.

The position of government is that terms of engagement must be of international standard. Over the

years, the issue of media debt has remained a reoccurring development which government is trying to solve once and for all. If followed to the latter, the new directive will make it impossible for multinationals to owe their agencies and media companies more than the agreed days of payment. It will also encourage payment of pitch fee to agencies and will make local agencies and the SMEs viable. On a final note, to forestall unnecessary downsizing among the agencies, AISOP must get a buy in of all stakeholders,” Fadolapo said.

Meanwhile, the Electronic Media Content Owners Association of Nigeria (EMCOAN), the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) have declared full support for the new code of conduct and urged APCON to go ahead with its implementation.

President of AAAN, Steve

Babaeko, while welcoming the development, noted that he can now heave a sigh of relief, adding that it is long overdue. “It is a good one coming from APCON; I think it is long overdue. As the president of AAAN, these are some of the things that keep me awake, where members complain on some of these issues that the law has tackled. I am looking forward to the enforcement and execution of the laws,” Babaeko said.

As a major stakeholder in the Media Broadcasting Ecosystem, EMCOAN said its members have carefully considered and reviewed the AISOP Policy document and believed strongly that proper implementation and monitoring would go a long way in charting a new positive course and better opportunity for the Content Owners, other Industry stakeholders and the Media Advertising Industry in general.

The association assured APCON

that EMCOAN and all her members would not only comply with this new guidelines of AISOP, which is ensuring globally accepted best practices and standards in the Industry, but would also support with stakeholders orientation and publicity of the benefits of AISOP to the Media Advertising/Broadcast Industry as a whole.

“EMCOAN will avail the registrar and the APCON team the needed support to ensuring proper implementation and compliance with the AISOP policy within the rank and file of the stakeholders in the Industry. This is important because if there are no serious measures to check the violators of the new policy, things will go back to “business as usual”, hence, proper orientation, implementation and continuous evaluation will be key to ensuring the success of the new AISOP guidelines, “it stated.

However, a Marketing

Communication scholar, Dr. Jide Johnson has called on APCON to deepen its stakeholders’ engagement before the implementation to get the support of all.

“It is a known fact that the businesses of top players in the marketing communications industry and other vendors working for multinationals are on the decline following rising debt profile of media buying agencies and multinational companies and all stakeholders have consistently called for proper review of terms of engagement. This is why one is excited about this recent development. However, I think APCON should tread with caution and deepen its stakeholders engagement as some of the conditions can only apply for quoted companies and not just any dick, tom and harry in the Nigerian marketing environment,” Johnson said.

T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021

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BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Addressing Conflicts in Niger Delta Ugo Aliogo writes on how P4P, a network self-identifying peace agents founded

by PIND, is addressing communal conflicts in Niger-Delta

W

hen the United Nations (UN) carefully crafted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the sixteenth item, which focuses on the “promotion of peace, justice and strong institutions,” it knew that no country could genuinely progress in an atmosphere rife with conflicts and insecurity.

In fact, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in a report revealed that 82.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of 2020 as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.

Coupled with the fact that countries across the world are battling the ravaging and deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, while urging countries to focus on the “true fight” - COVID-19, appealed to warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against the pandemic, especially the revival of economies which has been badly affected by it.

Nigeria being the most populous African nation with at least 200 million people, has been plagued repeatedly by pockets of unrest, insecurity, insurgency, kidnapping, gang rivalries, inter-communal conflicts which disturbs and distorts social, economic and political developments.

More disturbing are the internal conflicts and rivalries between peoples and communities, which can potentially spread like wildfire; consuming an entire community, and bringing developmental activities to a halt.

Similarly, the realities in the Niger Delta region have been shaped by several years of unhealthy tension between its people, private organisations (especially oil explorers), and the government. Added to this is the recurring internal clashes and conflicts like inter-communal violence, land/boundary disputes, gang rivalries and violence, and political squabbles in the region.

Jennifer Eze from Asa community aptly captured how inter-communal violence forever changed the trajectory of her life and family.

Her countenance reeked with unspoken tales of pain.

She frequently blinked her eyes to prevent a tear from falling down her cheeks.

She recounted how cult groups in her community gruesomely murdered her husband -father of her three children, and breadwinner of the family.

Her husband was caught in the “crossfire” between warring groups, who wasted no opportunity to render lifeless anything that crossed their path. The group of misguided youths brought sorrow, tears and blood to the community.

“With the presence of those cultists, everybody else ran away. Those cult boys fight each other. Then they kill everything in their path. Sometimes they cut off heads and bury the people. They burn houses and scatter everything.

“On getting to my house, there was a large crowd.

When I asked what had happened, they said my husband was shot. I was in shock and started crying. As all these were going on, I saw some groups coming in my direction. My mother-in-law quickly told me to take my children and leave,” Eze said.

According to the Secretary of the Central Working Committee of the Partners for Peace (P4P) in the Niger Delta, Pastor Edewor Egedegbe, “Cult activities were the principal cause of conflicts. The Asa Community was a go-no area to many before our intervention.

“Partner for Peace is a network of all personalities

drawn from the academia, religious angle, community leadership angle, student angle, and from all spheres of life. They have been trained that no matter what happens, they are ones that can settle their differences, instead of waiting for external forces to come and settle it for them.

“In communities with conflicts, we agreed that there should be a peace accord to be signed by both parties, so that we put an end to incessant internal crises.”

Speaking about the crisis in the Asa Community, Executive Director of Community Peace Development Initiative, Uzezi Agbor added: “We have the interest of building community leadership and their capacities. It took the community leadership to rise up to contain the situation. P4P was involved because that is the umbrella with which we went. A Peace Actor promotes peace to enable economic activity to thrive in a given environment.”

He explained that one approach that works is inviting members of the community - men, women, youths, and elderly to a round table, and enlightening them on the overarching importance of maintaining peace.

Another victim of a communal crisis in the Elu community of Delta State, Duke Akpoyibo, narrated how some miscreants unjustly killed his brother in the line of duty. His late brother, Kent Akpoyibo, was a security personnel.

In response, the aggrieved group burned three houses. This vicious chain of revenge would have become worse had the Partnership for Peace (P4P) not intervened and mediated between aggrieved parties.

Holding his phone and showing the picture of his late brother, Duke said: “This was my late brother Kent that I am telling you about.

“My brother was a security personnel in the community. He was carrying out the mandate of maintaining law and order in the community when he was attacked. They followed him up to his personal house and attacked him there.

“When I saw him at the hospital and the place where he was stabbed - rushing and pumping blood, that made me very annoyed. I was furious.

All I wanted was revenge.

“It would have become a community war, had the P4P not intervened and encouraged people in the community to embrace peace.

“They made us understand that it is only when there is peace in the community that the government and other well-meaning individuals and organisations can contribute meaningfully to our growth and development.”

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

The overall prosperity of any country is not measured solely by the wealth and resources it has stored in its reserves (be it local or foreign) or underneath the ground, but whether the people experience peace and tranquility that gives them hope of a better tomorrow, and confidence to strive to make a decent living, hence, contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Niger Delta region is not just a demographic delineation of a people, but has become the lifeblood of Nigeria.

If the oil-rich region made up of nine states (Cross River, Edo, Delta, Abia, Imo, Bayelsa, River, Akwa-Ibom and Ondo) were to experience extreme unrest and major disruptions, the economic future of the country will be threatened; funds to drive recurring and capital expenditures would simply dry up, while the wheels of governance would grind to a complete halt.

Therefore, the survival, peace and progress of the Niger Delta region should be a collective priority for every stakeholder in the Nigeria project.

To reduce the conflict situations in the Niger Delta, the Partners for Peace (P4P), which is a network a self-identifying peace agents - founded by the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND), a non-profit organisation promoting peace and equitable economic development in the Niger Delta, came to the rescue.

Its mission is simple: Build social capital around peacebuilding by amplifying the voices of positive actors, building a network of self-identified agents of peace, and leveraging that network for conflict mitigation/peacebuilding through facilitation, small grants, and capacity building.

The network draws thousands of stakeholders from the civil society, community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations, private companies, donor organisations, and the general public committed to promoting peaceable livelihoods in the Niger Delta.

In 2013, PIND launched the P4P Network with just about 120 volunteers across the region who were trained and empowered with data and skills to address cult clashes, lawlessness, political violence, militancy and communal violence.

The P4P now constitutes over 10,000 self-identified agents of peace, and has a chapter in all nine States of the Niger Delta and sub-chapters in 119 local government areas (LGAs) out of 185 LGAs in the Niger Delta region as at 2020. P4P has mitigated over 800 emerging conflicts in local communities across the region.

Whenever conflict situations arise, the P4P immediately swings into action because the work of peacebuilding is never done; it is a continuous effort of problem solving overtime, as a result of tireless work of thousands of volunteers to make sure that peace can finally take hold.

In Delta state for example, land conflicts between the Okpolo-Enwhe and Igbide communities required urgent attention.

The Vice President (retired) of Isoko Development Union of the Okpolo-Enwhe community, Dr. Isaac Omeke explained that the conflict and boundary disputes between the Okpolo-Enwhe and Igbide communities dates back to 1967.

A resident of Okpolo-Enwhe community, Eunice Monday said:“Before the crisis we were very happy in Enwhe. You go to bed peacefully and wake up peacefully. We leave our houses and return without any problem. It is not as if we are the ones looking for trouble. They have been the ones terrorising our community. May this war end.”

According to the President General of the Igbide community, Dr. Patrick Harrison Oboghor, “Why war? Why waste your time, money and energy to fight war? When Partners for Peace came, they engaged the two communities and

we had dialogues. And so many of the things they told us were put into action. Because of this there was relative peace.

“We all agreed that we will go to the bush and put a boundary to ensure that tomorrow there is no more conflict.

“Truth is; we can start with 10 people. The 10 persons can go into the community and talk to 10 more persons.

20 will go down and talk to 20 more. This way, the whole thing will cascade down to the smallest person in the community.”

Also, over 100 miles to the East of Elu of Imo state where Kent was unjustly killed, the situation would have degenerated into uncontrolled spates of revenge, save for the fact that P4P was already on ground to intervene.

When these kinds of conflicts come up, P4P recognises them through real time analysis of geo-spatial information collected through an SMS-based early warning and early response (EWER) system at PIND’s Integrated Peace and Development Unit in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Then, the team members move quickly to coordinate the response of Peace Agents on ground. Most importantly, lessons are shared across the region so that resilience can take root.

The above conflict mitigation stories are just a few of many, showing how PIND Foundation leverages systematic data in human-driven efforts to promote and enable an environment for peace and livelihoods.

Commenting on the role the P4P played in dousing the crisis in the Elu community, His Royal Majesty, Utoke Murphy Urugbai, GP Ugbara the First, Ovie of Elu Community, said: “Because the crisis was getting out-of-hand, we put a law that at a certain time at night, parties should be closed. The late Kent went on a legal mission before the unfortunate incident. It is very difficult to get this thing right, especially when a dead body is on the ground. However, we thank God for the organisation P4P.”

HOW P4P PEACE MAP WORKS

Use of local peacebuilding structures (such as the P4P), and early warning/early response (EWER) promotes resilient stability instead of the short-term, little long-term impact produced by using the traditional military action, legislature and inquiry panels for conflict mitigation.

According to David Udofia, PIND’s Peacebuilding Program Manager, “The Peace Map brings together all available sources on peace and conflict to one platform; it enables users to understand the conflict landscape and peace and security architecture in Nigeria - in our case, the Niger Delta’’. Access to the Peace Map can be found at P4P-nigerdelta.org.

The P4P Peace Map is a highly interactive tool that enables one to test hypotheses and links between indicators. The Interactive Map within the Peace Map has boxes that show the specific incidents - their sources, time it was reported, Local Government Area (LGA), state, etc. It has 24,000 data points coded since 2009.

It has indicators, which define a set of parameters for conflict risk factors, such as: human rights (child abuse, sexual violence etc.), group grievance (ethnic and religious tension, tension and violence between political groups), etc. Specific indicators can therefore be selected.

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

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

BRANDS & MARKETING

Building Retail Market Of ‘Greater Lagos, Smart That Works for Nigerians City’ Vision and PPP Raheem Akingbolu writes on how local investors are moving Huge socio-economic infrastructure remains a greater need of towards filling the gap in the formal retail market sector of the most megacities. Raheem Akingbolu examines how publiceconomy, which used to be dominated by foreign brands private partnerships financing model is filling the gap in Lagos.

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hese are interesting times for Nigeria’s formal retail sector. While the national economy is being buffeted by the global recession, slump in oil price, inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that the formal retail space is bucking the trend. Even while global retail giants, many of whom were applauded as the force behind the sector’s rebirth in the 2000s, are exiting the country, a renaissance of sorts is taking place, mostly led by indigenous brands.

From Lagos to Abuja, Port-Harcourt to Ibadan and other major cities of the country, local players like FoodCo, Justrite, Ebeano, Jendol , H-Medix and NEXT appear to be raising the bar by adapting same global best practice to explore the Nigeria’s market. Though, none of them have gotten the national spread like Shoprite, the steady manner they are moving is enough to convince analysts that they would soon cover most of the major cities.

For instance, one of the most visible players driving the new wave in the South West is FoodCo Nigeria Limited, while NEXT and H-Medix are leading the pack in Abuja.

For FoodCo, it’s a story of a wholly Nigerian brand that started humbly in Ibadan but has now assumed a position of its own. The 39-year-old diversified consumer goods company and operators of the largest supermarket chain brand in south-West Nigeria, outside Lagos is today one of the most vibrant brand in the sector. The company’s origins as a small fruits and vegetables corner shop in Bodija, Ibadan, financed from the proceeds of wedding gifts given to the founder, Sola Sun-Basorun, bears testament to the company’s vision and ambition.

Its growth has mainly pivoted from a legacy of offering top quality products at affordable prices.

Accordingly, when the company recently announced the launch of its latest outlet in Abeokuta, the ancient capital city of Ogun State, it was an excited crowd of shoppers and well-wishers that greeted the news. The new outlet, FoodCo’s 14th and 1st in the state, bears the typical brand signature: a one-stop shop where people can shop at the supermarket, eat at the restaurant and play at the entertainment centre.

The brand’s focused pursuit of its expansion agenda, despite the instability in the ecosystem, has seen it double its footprints within the last five years. In the last two years, a period defined by the pandemic-era lockdowns and social distancing stipulations, the supermarket brand has opened five outlets spread across Ibadan, Lekki and, more recently, Abeokuta.

Managing Director of the company, Ade Sun-Basorun, told THISDAY in an interview that they are a wholly indigenous brand and have built enduring relationships in their almost four years of existence. Consequently, he pointed out that they cannot just pack up and leave, dashing the trust of a large and loyal customer base that have come to depend on the brand for their everyday essentials and hangouts.

In Ibadan, FoodCo is a household name, having served at least three generations of the city’s middle-class from grandparents, to parents and now their children.

When Sun-Basorun resumed as then Executive Director in 2017, it was clear that he had his sights set beyond Ibadan.

Today, as CEO, he and a young team of like-minded executives are taking the company through the most ambitious phase of its existence yet.

“Our aspiration is to continue to serve more and more customers across the South West. The first thing for us is the philosophy and belief that we have the responsibility to deliver quality service and affordability to our customers. That mindset drives us to prioritize the delivery of value, in many cases over profitability, and it also drives us to make a number of strategic decisions as to how we structure the business,” he said during the Abeokuta launch.

The company is also leveraging innovation and technology to deepen formal retail penetration in Nigeria. Currently, FoodCo is only one of two multi-channel retailers in

the country. Last year, the company launched its online supermarket which Sun-Basorun touts as Nigeria’s first.

“The concept of a virtual supermarket is not one that has really caught on in the country. Customers usually have a limited experience when shopping online for groceries and other household essentials because the range of products and the scope of services are usually limited compared to when one walks into the shop floor. What we have done is to create a seamless experience that is comparable to the in-shop experience in terms of scope, range and quality of products available as well as the price point,” he says. The online supermarket is complemented by a WhatsApp ordering and delivery service.

Another notable area the company has made significant changes is in the modeling of its outlets. Early brand stores employed a co-location model comprising a supermarket, restaurant and entertainment centre in one location. Lately, the brand has added a convenience store model tagged Quick Shop, which allows customers to shop quality groceries, toiletries and household essentials within their neighbourhoods. “It makes sense to adopt the convenience store style model where customers can easily access formal retail services on-demand in their neighbourhoods. However, our investments in the co-location model will still continue.

We want to be as strategic as possible in order to give our customers viable options to enable to them get the best value out of their retail experience,” he explained.

Notwithstanding the changing dynamics, Nigeria’s formal retail sector is sub-scale at five percent penetration.

For a population of about 200 million people, the biggest retailers boast an average of fourteen stores each. In Kenya and South Africa with a fraction of the population, the top retailers have about seventy and two thousand hypermarkets respectively.

Still, Sun-Basorun is optimistic about the future of organised retail in Nigeria. According to him, the population, particularly the burgeoning middle class, as well as vast untapped opportunities are reasons to believe that the future is bright. “When you compare the scale of the retail sector in Nigeria versus what obtains in some other countries, quite granted it is under-optimized.

That said, there are tons of opportunities that operators can latch on to. As you can see with the enthusiasm of customers on the shop floor today, there is a growing and sophisticated consumer class that are desirous of the value and convenience that only formal retail can bring. That is where the opportunity is and we feel a responsibility to do our part as an industry stakeholder to continue to serve consumers and give them the sort of experience that they crave,” he explained.

The company is also actively building towards that future with significant investments in capacity building and infrastructure for the sector. In 2018, it established FoodCo Fellowship, a management training program aimed at nurturing leadership cadre talent for the Nigerian retail sector. Sun-Basorunsaid at the time: “a major challenge in the industry is the clear dearth of specialist talent. For the industry to scale, stakeholders must make deliberate and industry-wide interventions towards building a workforce that see a future in retail and are motivated enough to drive the growth potentials of the sector.” The Fellowship currently attracts MBAs and post-graduate students from top business schools in the country.

FoodCo is also partnering with local manufacturers, SMEs and entrepreneurs to provide them with access to market and technical training support in order to boost their production and enhance the quality of their products.

This, it believes, is a more sustainable way to boost local supply and promote stability in the Nigerian market.

As indigenous operators continue to gain ascendancy, the expectation is that they will demonstrate a higher burden of responsibility to develop the many opportunities within the local market and build a sustainable retail economy that’s here for Nigerians.

agos is Africa’s model and fastest-growing megacity with a population growing 10 times faster than that of New York and Los Angeles, and more than the population of 32 African countries combined.

As it is common to megacities globally, Lagos has grappled with shortage of socio-economic infrastructure required to sustain its population.

Huge infrastructure gap in the country further exacerbated the problem for Lagos. Obsolete, inadequate and completely dearth of infrastructure and basic facilities in most parts of Nigeria: dilapidated roads, school buildings, healthcare facilities, poor waste management, among others fuel increasing influx of people into Lagos.

According to the state government, 86 visitors averagely enter Lagos every minute or 123,440 visitors daily – and they have no plans to leave.

Facebook data on coordinated migrations indicated that Lagos recorded the highest number of urban migrations in the world at 18.6 per cent in a period of two years (2002 – 2012).

As a result, facilities and social amenities are overstretched, housing is in acute shortage giving rise to slum settlements. Unemployment rate increases, security is further impacted while crime rate increases.

Global rating agency, Moody’s, estimated that bridging infrastructure deficit in Nigeria would take about $3trn investment.

Despite the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) being the highest in the federation combined with the statutory federal allocations, they are inadequate in meeting the provision of socioeconomic infrastructure.

Successive administrations in Lagos State conduct regular needs assessment, have and continue to demonstrate good understanding of how to solve the problems of infrastructure needs of the Lagos megacity.

One of the solutions is by collaborating with private sector investors, and this necessitated that creation of the Lagos State Office of Public Private Partnerships as a vehicle to seek alternative funding to increase investment in new and upgrade existing infrastructure, and upscale delivery of quality social services to more residents of the state.

First created in 2008, and backed by the act of parliament in 2011, the PPP Office has become a foremost institution in the state’s infrastructure renewal agenda. Its functions include: identify and analyse long-term development objectives, risk allocation, and craft legal and institutional framework needed to support this new model of service delivery.

By working in collaboration with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, it also provides effective governance, monitoring mechanisms and allocates risks and responsibilities among the various stakeholders implementing PPP programmes/ projects in critical sectors such as transportation, health, education, traffic management, waste management, housing development, agriculture etcetera.

Thus, PPP has remained a strategic mix in the development agenda of Lagos State Government, from the administration of former Governor Bola Tinubu, which laid the foundation for aggressive infrastructure renewal masterplan. It is the same with the administrations of ex-Governors Babatunde Raji Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode, which accentuated the Lagos Megacity Project with various massive infrastructure projects.

Continuing in that trajectory, the incumbent administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also regards PPP as a veritable strategic vehicle for achieving the key objectives of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of the government towards the ‘Greater Lagos’ and ‘Smart city’ initiatives.

Speaking on the state infrastructure renewal agenda, the Director General, Lagos State Office of Public Private Partnerships, Mr. Ope George, said the state government adopts a unique PPP model called ‘people-friendly PPP projects’ to meet the huge infrastructure needs in the state, boost capacity for efficient service delivery and job creation.

According to him, the expansion of the LekkiAjah-Epe Expressway, the first major PPP facility in the state, headlines the gain of public-private synergy in infrastructure renewal. The road has increased the potentials of the corridor in terms of attracting investments in real estate, industrial concerns and commerce. Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical complex, Lekki cargo airport and deep seaport are few examples.

Among other numerous notable PPP projects – completed, ongoing and those planned for the future – is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which

moves average 200,000 commuters daily and has helped in reducing travel time by 30 per cent and creating over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Lagos State is leading with six PPP-initiated Independent Power Plants (IPPs) in an unprecedented step towards achieving efficient electricity power supply for improved socio-economic services both for government and residents of the state.

These include Akute Power Plan (12.55MW) for the Adiyan/Iju waterworks, Island Power Plant (10MW), Alausa Power Plant (10.4MW), Mainland IPP (8.8MW) at the G.R.A. old secretariat, Lekki Peninsula IPP (6MW). They provide 24-hour light to government offices, courts, health institutions and streetlights in parts of the Lagos Island and Lagos Mainland Central Business Districts.

Also, the ongoing Imota Power Project on completion will connect rice farmers at the Imota Rice Mill, as part of measures by the state government to boost food security. These power plants also help to reduce carbon footprints.

The establishment of the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence, a PPP model of setting up fish farms in clusters to grow aquaculture in the state, also boosts food supply and job creation.

George explained further that the Lagos PPP strategy includes identifying and implementing projects that have immediate impact and multiplier effects on Lagos people, and which they can see.

The second is working on long-term projects. ‘‘The unique thing about PPP Lagos - we call it PF-PPPs meaning People-Friendly PPPs. In Lagos you have to do PPPs that people can see and can get value from immediately. A transaction like the Fourth Mainland Bridge takes some time. People will see it when the construction starts going up.

The transactions involve a lot of paperwork and agreements. So, we get more involved in ones with immediate impact. ‘‘For instance, we have a Bicycle shared scheme in collaboration with a private company. We tell people that you don’t need to get into traffic all the time. Within the Alausa Secretariat, you can pick a bicycle and ride to any of the ministries. It is very simple. You find it in the city of London. It used to be Barclays; they have it in Beijing, China as well. There’re also health benefits in riding these bicycles. Initially, we thought people wouldn’t buy into the idea, but they are using these bicycles,’’ George said.

PPP is also impacting the Lagos healthcare landscape by increasing access of more Lagosians to qualitative healthcare. Examples are Maternal and Child Hospitals in Ajah, Eti Osa and Alimoso, equipped with modern facilities, and launch of e-health smart information platform and drone services.

The ultra-modern Medical Park in Ikoyi, a centre of medical excellence with state-of-the-art equipment and specialists from diverse fields of medicine, is also meant to significantly reduce overseas medical tourism among Nigerians.

The Ilubirin Housing Estate built on reclaimed land in Ikoyi, at the foot of the 3rd Mainland Bridge, opposite the Lagos Lagoon Waterfront, is among numerous PPP initiatives to reduce housing deficit in Lagos.

The construction of ultra-modern hostel facility comprising 16 blocks of 94 rooms each, with 376 bed spaces per block on a PPP arrangement, at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, will not only solve the accommodation problems for the students, it will enhance learning.

Road and transport infrastructure include the proposed 38km long 4th Mainland Bridge, connecting Lagos Island via Lekki, Langbasa and Baiyeku towns, across Lagos Lagoon to Itamaga in Ikorodu. The Crescent Island Toll Road project, which entails reclaiming and development of 150 hectares of land into a link bridge to connect the Lagos Mainland, is another.

Partnership with Artezia Traffic Solutions for the deployment of a technology solution that live-records traffic infractions, enhances vehicle road worthiness compliance, as well as responsible driving on Lagos roads, is another PPP project.

George while revealing that significant progress has been made on the PPP-funded red and blue rail lines on the Badagry-Marina corridors, was optimistic that Lagosians would begin to enjoy rail commuting by the end of 2023. The facility will reduce travel time in the city.

The director general of Lagos PPP Office disclosed further that the state is able to maximize PPP to accelerate socio-economic growth and development of the state because it is thinking and working smart.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021

29

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Goott: Nigeria Needs Competitive Pricing to Enhance Digital Payment The Director, Africa for Unlimint, Trevor Goott, speaks about the underlying gaps that exist within the digital payments sector as it affects e-commerce in Nigeria and Africa, and how the company is tailoring solutions that drives competitive pricing to suit digital payment beneficiaries. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts: As a global payments system provider with expansion plans into African markets, how will Unlimint change the narrative about the African payments system? e are not looking to change the narrative in the African payments system. Rather we are looking to give more choices for the African merchants and customers when it comes to payment methods and payment products.

Payments is an enabler of business and commerce, and if we can improve the payments offering by offering more competitive pricing, or additional payment methods, then we are enabling our merchants and their customers.

ways: Fake Websites – Unlimint performs a full physical Know Your Customers (KYC) on any new merchant we onboard. This includes for example a physical inspection of their business premises and the goods for sale and an analysis of past trading performance and trading history to check that the business is operational and trading. Fraudulent Transactions – Every single transaction in Nigeria is protected by two Factory Authentication (2FA) – this is where a one time pin (OTP) is sent to the customers phone every time the perform a transaction, so that they can approve it. In addition, Unlimint has automated volume and velocity checking to pick up irregular, unusual, repeating or suspicious transactions.

Customer Data Protection - The data that Unlimint process is highly encrypted using the strong encryption algorithms AES-256. This algorithm is the first and only publicly accessible cipher approved by the United States National Security Agency (“NSA”) for protecting top secret information. Unsecure Technology - The Unlimint Technology Stack is certified as safe by the Payment Card Industry Data Security (PCI-DSS) – a global standard which all payment gateways should have.

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What will you say is the motivating factor for Unlimint to venture into the African market, having played big in other regions of the world?

There are three reasons for this. Firstly, our global merchants have been asking us for a payment solution in Africa. We are also receiving numerous inbound leads from across Africa, from entrepreneurs asking us if we can be their payment provider; and thirdly, I have been doing business across Africa for 20 years and have witnessed the growth and transformation on the continent. I am seeing many great tech companies springing up all over the continent, and they all need a way to be able to accept payments for their businesses – so there has never been a better time to enter Africa.

What are the new payments solutions that Unlimint will be introducing to the African market that will possibly grow the market much faster, and position it for expansion to global markets, which is a key driver for economic growth?

We have a long-term vision for Africa. We invest in the countries in which we operate and we integrate directly into every payment solution available, rather than going via a local payment gateway who already has these existing integrations.

This solution removes the middle-man cost and we pass the cost savings onto our merchants. More important though is the robust merchant dashboard our merchants have access to, which gives them unprecedented data analytics and insights into their business.

Our payment gateway enables our merchants to accept payments but our Merchant Dashboard allows them to grow their business, by giving them relevant management information, which allows them to make better and more informed business decisions.

Further, for global expansion, the single integration into Unlimint allows the Nigerian merchant to receive payment anywhere globally, and in their customers’ preferred payment method. For example, a dress maker in Port Harcourt has a customer in the Philippines, and this customer can pay using their “Dragonpay Credits from their Dragonpay Mobile Wallet” and through Unlimint our Port Harcourt dress maker will be settled in Naira the next day. This is something that would not have been possible just a few short years ago.

In Nigeria, the federal government has just introduced the e-Naira that is designed to make electronic payments much easier and safer. How will Unlimint key into this initiative by the time it rolls out its services in Nigeria?

The e-Naira initiative is the right way to go for the long term. It is forward thinking on the part of the federal government but it will take time for its adoption and it needs to be deployed correctly.

It is also a step in the right direction for Nigeria in terms of improving cross-border African trade, if other countries adopt their own blockchain based coins or Central Bank Digital Currency (“CBDC”).

Unlimint already accepts payments in cryptocurrency, on behalf of its merchants, in other countries. We are constantly aiming to be ready for tomorrow and are monitoring all evolving trends in the payments industry, and we saw the potential in this early on and were able to adapt our solution to offer crypto as a payment method when it was still early days.

We therefore have extensive experience in dealing with digital coins, and can offer our merchants the ability to create an “on-ramp” from paper Naira to e-Naira. In the future, we can even consider going one step further and allow our merchants to accept payments in e-Naira or indeed make payments using e-Naira.

How will Unlimint address the issue of business scalability in the electronic payment

Goott space in Nigeria by the time it rolls out services in the country?

To scale a business in the electronic payment space you need two key things – Merchants and the technical ability to be able to process a large volume of transactions.For merchants, we are fortunate in that we already have a pipeline of merchants (both foreign and local) who want to use us in Nigeria. We are also in the process of hiring a Sales and Business Development team to join our Lagos office.

As soon as we are authorised to roll out our services into Nigeria, we can start to scale our business.

For our technical ability, the number of transactions we can process per second is so high that we can scale up our business in Nigeria many times over, and not come close to reaching capacity. We can scale up tremendously in Nigeria.

Based on your expertise in e-Commerce and mobile payments, what kind of technology innovation should Nigerians expect from you that will enhance electronic payments and card processing?

In Europe, on top of our acquiring solution, we also offer our merchants, via a single API, a banking solution and card issuing one. In the future we would love to bring these products to the African market too, and in doing so, offer our merchants a 360-degree coverage for their financial needs.

E-commerce is an emerging business in Nigeria and Africa, how will your company tailor its solutions to suit beneficiaries on the African continent?

Unlimint products are built around our merchants and their needs. This means that on a case-by-case basis we can launch countryspecific products and even go one level down and create a bespoke solution for a merchant.

In 2022, we are planning on launching a great new product, which will help merchants in Nigeria and across Africa have better access to e-commerce and will truly disrupt the industry.

I cannot say more about that now, but I look forward to sharing the product with you and

your readers next year.

Nigeria is still regarded as a cash nation, where its citizens depend so much on cash for most of their transactions, despite different payment solutions that have been introduced through the cashless policy initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria. How can Unlimint change this current situation that negates the global cashless economy initiative?

Unlimint can facilitate this move to a cashless economy by allowing for the non-cash payment methods to be accepted. If we think about the e-Naira, which we spoke about above, which the CBN is introducing, globally, Unlimint accepts payment in CryptoCoins where it is allowed in certain countries, so we already have that technology enabled, and so could literally switch on e-Naira processing when the CBN rolls it out The CBN is forward thinking in this regard, as the e-Naira has many positive benefits for Nigeria, and e-commerce in particular, and of course, facilitates a move to a cashless economy.

Despite the avalanche of payment solutions available in Nigeria, some Nigerians are still skeptical about online transactions because of the perceived security risks. How will Unlimint ensure a risk-free online financial transaction in the Nigerian market?

It is correct that there are still trust issues when it comes to online financial transactions. In my experience there are four areas where things can go wrong, and it is important to understand them and to see how Unlimint deals with them in order to protect our merchants and their customers.

Fake Websites – customers order and pay for goods that never arrive. Fraudulent Transactions – customers being charged for something they did not buy. Customer Data Protection – customers perform a successful online transaction, but their data is stolen, and then fraudulent transactions are executed.

Unsecure Technology – this is where a hacker can easily gain access to the technology behind the payments platform. Unlimint deals with these four areas in the following

What safety tips could you proffer to card users that will make them remain safe always during online transactions?

Always use trusted websites – this is generally a website which has a small padlock image in the address bar. Be careful of websites that have special offers which seem too good to be true. If you are buying a new mobile phone, and it normally costs N10,000 and you see that phone on special for N2,000 – it could be a scam. In trying a website for the first time, speak to friends and family and ask if they have heard of that particular website. Never give your OTP to anybody and if an OTP is sent to your phone and you did not perform an online transaction, contact your bank to stop your card.

Never send a photo of your card number or email the card details, if for example, you performed an online transaction, and the company then asked to verify your card that you used. If you do need to send some card details for a legitimate question, only ever send the last 4 digits of your card. Always check that the amount charged to your card agrees to what your check-out page value was.

Nigeria is keen about local content development.

What initiatives will Unlimint undertake in Nigeria and Africa to demonstrate support for local content growth?

At Unlimint we invest locally in the countries in which we operate. We employ only local staff and operate as a local entity. It is in our interest to see the country grow and will participate where we are able to in local content. This could be things like sponsorship or other support.

Startups in Nigeria are in dire need of funds to expand business ideas. What are the investment plans of Unlimint towards startups’ growth in Nigeria?

This is a great question. I travel across the continent meeting with new businesses who are invariably technology companies needing a way to be able to accept payment methods for their goods or services.

These companies, from Kigali to Lusaka to Abuja, always have a great business model with great technology behind them, however they lack two key attributes, which can hinder their growth.

They are - Business Mentorship and Funding. At Unlimint, we are always open to providing earlystage companies with both funding and business mentorship because the two go hand in hand.

Can you describe the global shift to online transaction since the spread of COVID-19 as a payment solutions company and do you see it being sustained among Nigerian and Africa shoppers?

The move to online has definitely accelerated due to COVID-19. I do see it being sustained among Nigerian and African shoppers. The reason is that people are creatures of habit and tend to resist change. COVID forced people to change their habits and move to online shopping when COVID curfews, social-distancing, and store closures came into effect.

The new habit of online shopping or increased online shopping has become the new normal and I do not see it changing. Customers are getting used to how the system and process works, and they are building trust in the process. It is also more convenient, leaving more free time for other things.

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Elumelu: TEF Has Empowered 158 Oyo Natives through Annual Entrepreneurship Programme Peter Uzoho The Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Mr. Tony Elumelu, has charged Oyo State to be Africa’s beacon and leading entity in agriculture.

Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, also disclosed that the UBA and its sister entities have empowered 158 indigenes of Oyo State in the last seven years through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.

He stated this yesterday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, in his keynote address at the maiden edition of the Oyo State Agribusiness Summit.

He said the summit should go beyond building the agribusiness hub of Nigeria but that of Africa.

The Oyo Agribusiness Summit is a project-managed by Agro4you Limited in conjunction with the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA), in line with Governor Seyi Makinde’s vision and road-map towards changing the agricultural landscape of the

state to become the agribusiness hub of Sub-Saharan Africa.

“I would like for us to go one step further – the dream should extend beyond building the agribusiness hub of Nigeria, but of Africa. Akin to what Silicon Valley is to North America in Technology, Oyo State should be to Africa the beacon and leading entity in Agriculture, “he said.

He said agriculture was critical for Africa’s development for two main reasons, including being the continent’s largest employer of labour and also employing more women than any other sector.

According to Elumelu, the economic growth the agriculture sector generates is inclusive, broad based, and effective in creating a multiplier effect that helps lift families and communities out of poverty.

He noted that investment in agriculture was therefore a direct investment in poverty eradication and job creation, He explained that that was the reason they at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African

countries, prioritise the agriculture sector He said out of the over 10,000 young Nigerians and Africans that they have empowered through their non-refundable seed capital of $5000, more than a third of the beneficiaries were agri-business ventures.

The Chairman of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, however disclosed that TEF has empowered 158 indigenes of Oyo State in the last seven years through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.

Also speaking at the event, the Group Managing Director of UBA, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, in a speech delivered on his behalf, congratulated Makinde taking the right path by choosing agribusiness as one of the key economic development areas of his government in achieving their planned development.

Uzoka noted that only a strong and efficient agricultural sector could feed the growing population of a country, provide employment, play vital role in the foreign trade and earning of foreign exchange and give a strong base to the industries.

Nigerian Fintech Secures $1.7m Financing Round to Address Banking Needs of SMEs Emma Okonji Brass, a Nigerian digital bank delivering easy access to affordable premium banking services for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), has secured $1.7 million in funding to address the heavily underserved banking needs of local entrepreneurs, traders and fast-growing businesses.

The company in a statement said the Co-founder of Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola; Co-founder of Paystack, which has been acquired

by Stripe, Ezra Olubi; Hustle Fund; Acuity Ventures; Uncovered Fund and Ventures Platform participated in the financing round.

The new funding, it added, will play a key role in accelerating Brass’ expansion into South Africa and Kenya, “just a year after launch, and will kickstart a range of new product categories, including an expansion of the startup’s footprint in the credit market as it bids to diversify its customer range.”

Launched in July 2020 by Sola Akindolu, who was previously the Head of Product at Kudi and Emmanuel Okeke, former Engineering Manager at Paystack, Brass equips SMEs with a full-stack, commercial-grade banking service across various business classes, enabling them to gain greater

clarity and control over their money operations and the power to scale their enterprises. The platform currently boasts a comprehensive suite of products tailored to a wide spectrum of business banking needs, including credit and payment services, payroll and expense management, API support and a host of additional core business services.

To-date, Brass has served thousands of businesses, disbursed over $2 million in credit and recently launched Brass Capital, a cash-flow financing service to support even more fast-growing businesses. Many of Brass’ clients use the platform as their default money operation service provider and its current customer base includes the likes of Send.ng, Mono and Eden, as well as restaurants, schools and malls. The platform has also partnered Flutterwave to drive its expansion plans across Africa.

Commenting on the fundraise, Co-founder and CEO of Brass, Sola Akindolu, said: “The basic needs of Africa’s SMEs are just as significant and unique as those of the customers they serve each day and now more than ever, we need innovative and world-class financial services solutions that meet their expectations. These local businesses have supported our economies for decades, forming the backbone of Africa’s success to-date

and now is the time to bet on them.”

Akindolu further said: “At Brass, we have made some great strides over the last year in tackling one of Africa’s most critically underserved customer bases but with an estimated $5.1 trillion credit gap globally, our work is far from over. This is why we are delighted to welcome onboard, a number of vastly-experienced and strategic investors, whose expertise will not only play a vital role ahead of our expansion into South Africa and Kenya, but also in our future ambitions outside of the continent.”

Currently, SMEs form 99 per cent of all Nigerian businesses however, many of them encounter the same major roadblock that has resulted in 55 - 68 per cent of formal SMEs in emerging markets being underserved by financial institutions, resulting to a severe lack of access to affordable, high-quality and uniquely tailored financial services. As a result, these businesses are mainly limited to expensive and often ineffectual traditional banking services or they simply remain unbanked due to access and cost. This has not only led to an estimated $5.1 trillion credit gap for SMEs in Nigeria and other emerging economies, but also a huge lack of resources for these companies to fully understand their financial operations and make critical business decisions.

Experts Seek Efficient Spectrum Management Ahead of Global 5G Deployment Emma Okonji The Chief Executive Officer of Tetconsult and immediate past Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO), Shola Taylor, has said effective spectrum management is the panacea to the smooth running of today’s ICT landscape the world over.

Taylor made this assertion at a five-day online technical learning and knowledge upgrade for technocrats who are the custodians of spectrum management across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Pacific and USA. According to him, “Spectrum is the oxygen of the ICT world today and efficiency is the key for spectrum managers thus they need to be fully skilled to allocate the scarce resource efficiently.”

The virtual spectrum management master class, which was convened

by Tetconsult, a consulting firm, had participants across government and the private sector thrashing out variety of issues, which included: Efficient

utilization of spectrum for mobile, broadcast, military, space science; Research for civilian applications; Optimization of communications satellites; Challenges in implementing digital switch over; Recognition of C band investments and spectrum options for 5G; Agenda items for WRC-23, among others.

The master class also focused on the fundamentals of spectrum management, ITU Radio Regulations and the potential revenue for governments.

Spectrum management is a big issue because of its dynamic nature therefore, its sharing and usage the world over must be regulated or-controlled to maintain technical sanity hence, the coordination roles of both the regional bodies such as: African Telecommunications Union (ATU), Conference of European Postal and Telecoms (CEPT), Asian Pacific Telecommunity (APT) as well as other international organisations such as IMSO and ITSO

cannot be overemphasised, he said.

Taylor, who was the lead facilitator and also the former chairman, ITU Radio Regulation Board, said it had become pertinent to have such a knowledge impact on the sector at a time like this when 5G spectrum licensing is around the corner.

“Auctions have increasingly become the most transparent method of awarding spectrum licences with benefits to consumers, governments, regulators and society at large,” Taylor further said. Participants rated the master class excellent citing how it helps with their day-to- day assignments.

Deputy Director, ICT at PURA, Gambia, Rodine Renner, said the training was about “the spectrum manager’s one-stop-shop-training program.” Spectrum Manager at TRB Lebanon, Mohammad Ayoub, said: “The topics addressed by the program are fundamental to frequency management and are presented in a detailed, smooth and enjoyable manner.”

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY OCTOBER 28, 2021

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

L-R: Executive Director, Financial Services Innovators (FSI), Mrs. Aituaz Kola-Oladejo; President of Nigerian Association of Computing Students (NACOS), Olamilekan Abolade; winners of the innovation challenge (Team Wakanda), Mr. Tasiv Kwaplong and Mr. Abbas Suleiman; and other team members during the FSI and NACOS Innovation Challenge for Computer Science student at the Nile University in Abuja...recently PHOTO: ENOCK REUBEN

L-R: Head Teacher, City Royal Junior School, Esther Ezeodili; Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor; and Senior Manager, Global Government Relations and Public Policy, Ridwan Sorunke, during the donation of handwashing stations to students of City Royal Junior School at the Global Handwashing Day celebration in Abuja...recently PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE

L-R: Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina; Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor; and Chief of Defence Operation, Maj.-Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, during a news conference on security operations, at the State House in Abuja…recently

L-R: Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu; Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi; and All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Chairman in Nasarawa State, Dr. John Mamman, during the inauguration of the governing boards and council of 12 agencies and institutes under the supervision of the ministry, in Abuja…recently

L-R: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Fayemi; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; and Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, during the Ekiti State Economic Development and Investment Summit held in Ado-Ekiti…recently

Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun (right), decorating the Ogun Girl-child of The Year, Irechukwu Rebecca of Remo Divisional High School during the commemoration of the 2021 International Day of the Girl-child held in Abeokuta...recently

L-R: Zonal Coordinator, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Mr. Kayode Sode; representative of Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Taiwo Abiose; representative of the Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr. Monday Ewans; Chairman, Governing Board, SMEDAN, Otunba Femi Pedro; Director, Development and Promotion, SMEDAN, Mrs. Ime Andy; and participants at the SMEDAN National Business Skills Development Initiative, in Lagos...recently

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T H I S D AY ˾ , OCTOBER 28, 2021

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

ÜÙßÚ ÏËÞßÜÏÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ Chiemelie Ezeobi ×ËÓÖ chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 07010510430

Using Arts as Metaphor to Draw Attention to Women’s Health Needs in Nigeria In prioritising health of women and children and ensuring gender in governance, which will set the right foundation for development and economic recovery of the country, an Art Gala presentation was recently hosted by a notable health advocacy group, the Nigeria Health Watch inAbuja. Onyebuchi Ezigbo who was at the event writes on the key messages of the advocacy

Cross section of women at the dinner/Art Gala hosted by the Managing Director of Nigeria Health Watch, Mrs. Vivianne Ihekweazu to sensitise Nigerians on women’s social and health rights in Abuja

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omen suffer great pains during child delivery and are exposed to all kinds of health risks that are avoidable but for our weak health infrastructure. In addition, the female gender is not getting their fair share in politics and governance in Nigeria.

Therefore, creating public awareness on the health and social challenges facing womanhood in Nigeria was apparently the main the target of the Nigeria Health Watch Initiative. However, one may ask what has Arts got to do with health and social advocacy. Or of what business have artists to do with the politics of women participation in governance?

But the one-day event that brought notable personalities from the artistic world and the health sector tagged “Health-Meets-Art-Gala, Celebrating Womanhood’ turned out to be a very thought provoking one. The organisers, Nigeria Health Watch had a very crucial and fundamental message which they delivered to the public using the unique ambiance of the works of art to achieve their goal.

With an array of drawings, paintings and sculptural displays all depicting potentials and challenges of womanhood, it was clear that what was about to be unleashed was a strong message of hope for women .

Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in several low-and-middle-income countries is alarming, with about 34 per cent of global maternal deaths occurring in Nigeria and India alone. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the MMR of Nigeria is 814 (per 100,000 live births).

Therefore, one of the key objectives of the Nigeria Health Watch campaign was to draw people’s attention to the plight of womanhood, especially during pregnancy ordeals and in seeking for fair representation in governance.

The event also tried to recognise women in all their diversity, showcasing their strengths and resilience and at the same time highlighting the neglect and unfair treatment most women are subjected to in the Nigerian society.

Speaking at the event, wife of the Director General of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Vivianne Ihekweazu said the reason for hosting the event was to create awareness on some of the challenges that women and the girl-child face in Nigeria today.

She said Nigeria’s quest for economic recovery will be difficult task without significant involvement of women in governance.

Ihekweazu urged Nigerians to support course

of gender equity so as to secure the best for Nigerians. Ihekweazu also drew the attention of government to the need to implement policies that will help check all forms of abuses to women in the country.

Citing series of challenges facing women in Nigeria, especially during pregnancy and child birth, Ihekweazu said women deserve more recognition and appreciation because they are making a lot of sacrifices for the society.

“Women participation is crucial to economic recovery because women constitute half of the country’s population. “ Facilitating and promoting women participation is needed in core areas. If we are committed to empowering women, it had to be a strategic decision, with full participation of the private sector”.

Again, Ihekweazu said the reason for hosting the event titled, “Celebrating Womanhood Art Gala” was to create awareness and highlight some of the challenges that women and the girl-child face through a story telling event.

“Today, we are working with the female Association of artists in Nigeria and the Nigeria Gallery of Arts to create artistic work that really speak to issues and not just to celebrate women but to highlight their strength and challenges facing them in our society”.

She said that creative arts provide an opportunity to think about issues in a different way and helps us to imagine things.

Highlighting the need for women participation in the economy of the nation,

Ihekweazu lamented that the voices of Nigerian women are not heard enough in government whereas the female gender constitutes about half of the country’s population.

For instance, Ihekweazu said that the present make-up the present National Assembly is about 90 percent men. “ We want a situation where every girl child is given an opportunity to express herself and we are using the creative arts to try to promote awareness on that.

According to her, the girl child is often neglected in the Nigerian society, she is deprived of going school and by so doing prevented from achieving her best in life.

Also Ihekweazu spoke about the poor representation of women in governance, giving instance of the current state of affairs at the country’s legislative chambers. She said that despite the women constituting about 50 per cent of the Nigerian population, less than 10 per cent are members of the Senate and House of Representatives, with men making up 90 per cent.

One of the key messages canvassed for by the Speakers at the impressive event was that more space should be given to Nigerian women to contribute their quota to governance.

They said that they want to see a Nigeria where every woman has equal opportunity to participate in the affairs of the country with no let or hindrance.

On her part, the Wife of the Kebbi State Governor, Dr. Shinkafi Bagudu emphasised

Women participation is crucial to economic recovery because women constitute half of the country’s population. Facilitating and promoting women participation is needed in core areas. If we are committed to empowering women, it had to be a strategic decision, with full participation of the private sector

the need to give more attention to the education of the girl-child.

“I am glad that they have chosen this time to celebrate womanhood and to combine the two to tell the story of the various challenges facing women in Nigeria.”

Dr. Bagudu said that the COVID19 pandemic has brought out all the weaknesses in the country health system so that they can be effectively addressed.

Major highlights of the evening event were speeches by gender advocates, inspection of art works, paintings, drama depicting the many travails the female gender in marriage and music renditions by a band.

Beyond the speeches and arguments put across during the event, the Nigeria Health Watch has also articulated key issues of concern that it wants government to begin to address. It is seeking the expansion of maternal death and perinatal surveillance and response (MPDSR) activities to communities.

This is because of the findings that communityowned process and families share account of the woman’s death. Therefore Nigeria Health Watch is recommending that the federal government, through federal Ministry of Health should work with state governments, local governments and ward councils to facilitate this community MPDSR process.

Another of concern is the health worker shortage in which it is being suggested that training of community health workers to provide basic maternity care will be an appropriate response.

According to Nigeria Health Watch, staff in the health sector are under considerable pressure and that the situation is affecting service quality.

The group believes that government needs to ensure adequate staff in community who are remunerated and to elevate the role of midwives as they support the continuum of care of pregnant women. The move will encourage midwives to serve in hard-to-reach areas through incentives, free housing.

Another way of improving the situation is to engage the help of traditional birth attendants (TBAs). According to Nigeria Health Watch, many women in Nigeria turn to TBAs, traditional healers, herbalists and “massagers” for support and services during pregnancy and childbirth due to several reasons. Therefore, they advocated that government should train these TBAs to recognise danger signs of maternal complications - refer women to health facilities.

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NEWS

FERTILITY

Info@lifelinkfertility.com; Website: lifelinkfertility.com 08033083580

Why We Procured Health Insurance For Widows – Fanwo EMBRYO QUALITY AND PREGNANCY RATE (Part 1)

Hon. Fanwo and one of the beneficiaries Chiamaka Ozulumba As part of his quest to reach the grassroots, the Kingsley Femi Fanwo Foundation (KFF) recently procured health insurance for widows.

Championed by Hon. Kingsley Femi Fanwo, who is the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, the foundation is committed to community development, educational support and healthcare of rural people.

According to him, “the KFF is a vehicle for the empowerment of the vulnerable in the society.

The foundation was established to contribute to community development, educational support as well as healthcare delivery. We also do a lot in women empowerment.

And we have been doing quite a lot in those areas.”

On his motivation in starting the foundation, he said: “I am not a rich man. I am just like every other person with needs.

But I have a passion for lifting others and putting smiles on the faces of the hopeless. I was raised by teachers. “ But as poor as they were, they were great philanthropist. I saw my late mum giving her own dinner out and sleep with empty stomach.

So I learnt a lot from them.

“My wife and I are committed to doing our bit for communities, indigent students, women and youth. We are committed to empowering people who are helpless with the little we have.

So the foundation was birthed to cater for the people.”

While commending Governor Yahaya Bello for his untiring support to the foundation by backing them immensely to deliver on the core mandates

to the people, he reiterated on the impact the foundation has on the grassroots, adding that last year, “we discovered there are hundreds of bad borehole across Yagba while our people had no access to water. We can’t wait for government to do everything for us. So we moved in to fix many of those boreholes so that our people could have access to portable water.

“Through the foundation, many students at secondary and tertiary institutions have enjoyed scholarships. The foundation also organised ICT Training for UTME candidates to prepare them for Computer Based Tests. Early this year, we also built and equipped a clinic for the people of Takete Ide and we recently procured Insurance Scheme for Widows in Mopamuro LGA. “We are already planning to move to the other local government areas to replicate the Widows Health Insurance Scheme. As far back as 2016, we distributed working tools to artisans to empower them and also text and note books to pupils and students”.

Shedding light on what influenced his choice of procuring health insurance scheme for widows, he said: “My Boss, Governor Yahaya Bello brought the beautiful initiative to Kogi State to help the people access quality and affordable healthcare.

It is therefore important that we don’t allow that opportunity waste.

“If you are provided with a tap, water won’t come out until you switch it on. So what we simply did was to switch it on.

The Governor has done so much for the people of Kogi State.

“That is why he is so popular

among the people. He kept firing us to reach out to the grassroots.

He is the main motivator behind what we are doing.”

On the issue of funding, he quipped “funds will never be enough. Do what you can do, no matter how small to lift others.

That is the best code to subscribe to God’s blessings. We do not have enough to do all we would have loved to do. But we will keep doing what we can.

“Let me tell you a small story about myself. In 2019, a young man approached the foundation that he was about to lose his admission as a result of his parents inability to provide his fees. I felt bad. Our students shouldn’t go through this in the 21st Century. I didn’t have money. So I pleaded with my account officer to borrow me money to pay for him. “ My son overheard my conversation and reminded me I hadn’t paid their fees too. I told him no one will drive him away from school because they will trust me to pay. But the poor boy would have lost the opportunity to go to the university.”

Disabusing claims that his philanthropic features was for political reasons, he said: “Those who know me would tell you I have been doing all of these since I was a child. Remember I told you about my parents. I grew up to see my dad use his entire salary to pay for indigent students and came back home empty handed but fulfilled and happy.

“It has nothing to do with politics but the desire to help others remove limits. We are structuring KFF to outlive our political career. They are separate and different.”

Aspira Introduces ORACARE+ Toothpaste to Nigerian Market Mary Nnah Aspira Nigeria, one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of hygiene, personal care and laundry care products has added a new product “ORACARE+” toothpaste to their product catalogue under dental care category.

Designed to cater for the oral hygiene of Nigerians, the product has been lauded by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria describing it as innovative and in line with the global best practices as it pertains to manufacturing.

With robust and world-class production facilities in the country, Aspira has been adding value to the economy of Nigeria by churning out quality products

and contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) and capacity building in the country.

The introduction of ORACARE+ toothpaste comes after years of rigorous research and development the company embarked on and taking into consideration the peculiarities of the Nigerian environment.

Speaking to the media about the ORACARE+ toothpaste, Head of Marketing for Aspira Nigeria, Mr. Santhosh Kumar Nair said, “We painstakingly looked at the Nigerian environment and we also did a lot of research on the best oral hygiene product that Nigerians would be interested, we considered a lot of factors such as cultural acceptability, health and food.

“Unlike other products, ours is more of how effective the product would be to the mouth and at the same time, we considered the pricing.

“We believe that ORACARE+ will be the benchmark that would be used to measure future toothpastes produced in the market. “ We have rigorously adhered to international and national standards. We have the NAFDAC, SON and other professional endorsement that would attest to the quality of our products.”

Oracare+ is one of its kind that removes bad breath, protects from tooth decay, and keeps the teeth shining always. The new toothpaste is available in 50g, 90g and 140g variants.

T

he success of an Invitro Fertilization (IVF) cycle is affected by many factors with embryo quality as one of the most important. The majority of all miscarriages are caused by abnormalities in the embryos; therefore the transfer of quality embryos increases patient’s chances of successful pregnancy following IVF treatments.

In Fertility centres all over the world, the embryologists play an important role in embryo selection to be transferred to the uterus (womb).

What is an Embryo?

An embryo is an early stage of development, approximately two to eight weeks of fetal development after which it can then be called a fetus. Generally, in organisms that reproduce sexually, an embryo develops from a zygote, the single cell which results from the fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sperm cell. The zygote possesses half the DNA from each parent.

How Do Embryos Develop?

In a normal pregnancy, sperm fertilizes an egg as it travels down the fallopian tube. The cells in the fertilized egg divide and grow into an embryo as it moves to the uterus and it implant in the uterus to continue growing.

In an IVF cycle, fertilization and embryo development take place in the IVF laboratory. The eggs and sperm are combined and the fertilized eggs begin the process of dividing and growing.

Embryos that have grown for three days in the laboratory are called cleavage stage embryos.

Sometimes they are allowed to grow for five days before transfer and are called blastocysts. When the embryos are ready, a Specialists Gynaecologist/ Reproductive Endocrinologist will transfer the best quality embryo to the uterus. The number to be transferred is agreed upon before the procedure takes place by the patient and the clinician, usually no more than two embryos recommended. If it all goes well, one or two of the embryos will implant in the uterus and grow into a baby or babies except where there is an inevitable further split.

Embryo Grading The embryologist monitors the embryos and prior to choosing which ones to transfer at the cleavage or blastocyst stage, grades them to determine which ones have the best chance of being healthy and resulting in a successful pregnancy and live birth. Embryo grading may be done at the cleavage stage or blastocyst stage.

Embryo grading at the cleavage stage includes the number of appearance of the cells and the degree of fragmentation, which is the presence of small pieces of cellular material which have broken off during division of the cells. There are

two different points of each blastocyst, inner cell mass or ICM which is what becomes the fetus and the outer layer, called the trophectoderm or TE, which becomes the placenta.

Embryo Grades and Chance of Pregnancy One of the most common questions the embryologists gets from patients is ‘’how does the grades of embryos predict my chances of becoming pregnant’’. The objective of this write up is to explain how we grade embryos and what those grades mean as far as the embryos potential for development is concerned. All embryo grading systems are subjective, while we can make educated guesses about an embryo potential based on the experience of many embryologist grading, millions of embryos that look good physically may not tell us what is going on inside genetically.

Day 3 (Cleavage Stage) Embryo Grading: Quality of Division Day 3 embryos are referred to as cleavage stage embryos. The reason for this designation is that the cells in the embryo are dividing or cleaving but the embryo itself is not growing inside. For example, think of a Pizza, when you slice it, you create more pieces of pizza but you don’t increase the size of the Pizza itself. This is what a cleavage stage embryo is like. The genetic material replicates and the cells divide, but the volume of embryo does not differ from the volume of the unfertilized egg. Conceptually, the division should be in a very specific sequence of one cell becoming two, two become four, and four become eight and so on. However, actual embryos do not divide synchronously we commonly see three, five, six cells, etc. This is not an indication of a poor embryo, but of one that is growing normally.

Also, as embryos divides, small portions of the cytoplasm inside of the cells may break off and forms a bleb that we call fragments. They do not contain nuclei and are not complete cells. The cause of fragmentation is poorly understood, but embryos containing a lot of fragmentation are developmentally disadvantaged simply because the cells loose too much cytoplasm and thus become cellular machinery to the fragments.

Cleavage stage embryos are graded using two criteria: The number of cells in the embryos and their appearance under a high-power microscope.

While the number of cells is objective, a good normally growing day 3 embryo will contain, between 6 to 10 cells (blastomere). We know that embryos that contain these numbers of cells are more likely to develop into viable blastocysts than embryo with fewer cells and are likely to result in better implantation and live births of healthy babies TO BE CONTINUED

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NEWS

Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy Inducts 15 New, 10 Life Fellows Precious Ugwuzor The Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy (NAPHARM) has admitted 15 new fellows and 10 life fellows into the Academy, in an investiture ceremony that held at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State, on Friday, October 22, 2021. The pharmacists inducted include accomplished teachers, researchers and industry practitioners.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the occasion and President of NAPHARM, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, said that the newly inducted pharmacists, though drawn from a diverse array of disciplines, are united by the quest to propel mankind to new frontiers of wellness and good health, on the back of pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences.

Prince Adelusi-Adeluyi said that one of the bedrocks of the Academy is “using pharmaceutical research and development to break new grounds in human progress” for which it employs “strategic advocacy and other means to increase government and societal support for scientific research and pharmaceutical research in particular.”

He noted further that in fulfilling the Academy’s objective of ensuring that training of pharmacists in Nigeria continuously embodies global best practices, it is particularly interested in “the study and teaching of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences and continues to make inputs in these critical areas, in conjunction with Deans of Nigeria’s Pharmacy Schools, the National Universities Commission and the Pharmacists Council of

Nigeria.”

Speaking on the subject of the imperative of expanding the roles of pharmacists in the area of primary healthcare, the guest speaker, Dr Theresa Pounds, a clinical pharmacy teacher and practitioner, and President of the Nigerian Association of Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists in the Americas, decried Nigeria’s dismal health indices, adding that redressing some of the gaps in the country’s primary healthcare regime could help Nigeria to radically enhance these indices.

Dr. Pounds added that pharmacists are not only highly-trained, and often at huge cost to the state, but that in addition are the most accessible healthcare provider to the patient.

“Nigeria’s primary healthcare regime would benefit considerably, if pharmacists are increasingly integrated into the primary healthcare system.

“Drawing from her experience in other parts of the world, she added that community pharmacies could assist with such initiatives as vaccinations, family planning, health education, among many others, in so doing, complementing the efforts of other healthcare providers and institutions, many of which are over-stretched, in bringing healthcare to the doorsteps of Nigerians.”

Speaking further, Dr. Pounds noted that many developed countries have continued to optimise the evolution of the roles of pharmacists with attendant benefits to their people as reflected in their health indices. Nigeria has an urgent need to so same.

Dr. Pounds also advocated multisectoral participation in

health policy formulation and an increasingly positive attitude by health-functionaries towards teamwork in the health sector, adding that these would have very positive effects on the patient, who is ultimately the reason why all the different health disciplines exist.

Speaking in a similar vein, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa,

commended the steady progress that continues to be recorded in the area of pharmacists becoming more integral to the country’s primary healthcare regime adding that more needed to be done.

“More integration of the different healthcare professionals in providing succor to the patient, he said, would not only have a salutary effect on universal health access for

Nigerians but in addition, have very positive impact on social and economic development,” he added, calling on health professionals to be more disposed towards collaboration.

The highpoint of the occasion was the investiture of the new fellows and life fellows of the Academy. Some of the new Fellows include Dr. John Alfa, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Institute of

Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Prof. Ike Uzochukwu, Director of Research and Innovation at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Oluwatoyin Odeku of the University of Ibadan, and others.

Founded in 2014, the Nigeria Academy of Pharmacy seeks to, among other things, continuously contribute to efforts to enable Nigeria advance universal health access.

Guest speaker, Dr Theresa Pounds and Sir Ifeanyi Atuenyi.

Anambra has Guaranteed Indigenes’ Health Through ASHIA, Says Governor David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano has said his administration has improved healthcare system in the state and also moved a step further to guarantee the health of the people through health insurance.

Obiano spoke during the launch of a Mobile Technology Health Insurance Platform and Data Operations Centre, in Anambra State, which was witnessed by

development partners, including United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon; World Health Organisation Country Representative, Dr Walter Kazadi Molondo; and Chief Field Officer “A” UNICEF Enugu, Mr Ibrahim Kahlil Conteh, among others.

The Mobile Technology Health Insurance Platform and Data Operations Centre is an electronic wallet for the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency (ASHIA)

to cater for the health needs of the people.

Obiano said: “ASHIA has improved the ease with which Anambra people access healthcare in Anambra State, and it as an innovation and a legacy project of this administration.

“What we had envisioned with the ASHIA was to address the challenge of health financing which our people face on a consistent basis due to paucity of funds.

“Digitising its processes has been an ongoing process

aimed at ensuring that our people access the services of the agency without stress.”

Obiano urged wealthy Anambra citizens to enroll as many people as possible in their community into the ASHIA initiative, noting that spending out of pocket can be quite challenging during health crisis.

In his speech, Kallon harped on the need to enact measures to ensure sustainability of the ASHIA initiative and to target the most vulnerable.

He commended the Anambra State government, for the reforms made by the administration in the health sector, stating that the data operations center is strategic in making informed decisions and policies so as to drive a better health care access for Anambra people.

“The centre meets international best practices and I want to encourage other states to visit Anambra and copy the reforms the state has implemented in the health sector especially the model of

the Data Operations Centre. “ There is the need for the government to make deliberate efforts to ensure that this initiative is sustained beyond the present administration,” he advised.

On his part, the Chief Field Officer “A” UNICEF Enugu, Mr Conteh expressed satisfaction with the level of technology being maximised by the agency to give health insurance to Anambrarians, promising to buy health premium for the aged in the state.

Smile Train Officially Begins Construction of $2m CLC in Africa Sunday Ehigiator Smile Train, world’s largest cleft charity organisation, has revealed that it has officially began the construction of the first Cleft Leadership Centre (CLC) in Africa, worth $2 million.

This was revealed recently in a statement signed by the organisation’s spokesperson in Africa, Emily Manjeru, after a ground-breaking ceremony held at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

(KATH) in Ghana.

According to the statement, the centre’s construction, which is said to be completed by 2023, follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Health, Ghana, Smile Train, KATH, and Ghana Cleft Foundation.

The statement also revealed that the building architectural design which is symbolic of a cleft will receive $2 million investment from Smile Train for the construction and equipping of the facilities.

Speaking more about the center, the Chief Programs Officer at Smile Train, Erin Stieber said the CLC will serve as the centre of excellence in Africa for the provision of Comprehensive Cleft Care and Referral Center for complex cleft/craniofacial treatment providing a holistic, team-centered model of care that encompasses surgery, speech therapy, nutritional support, orthodontics and more.

Also speaking, Smile Train

Vice-President and Regional Director for Africa, Mrs. Nkeiruka Obi noted that the ceremony which coincided with the World Smile Day celebrations, was an investment towards quality healthcare for cleft patients, and also targeted at strengthening Africa’s health systems.

“The CLC is a good demonstration of the key role partnerships play in advancing safe and highquality Cleft care in Africa.

The facility will not only

benefit Ghana but the rest of Africa.

“To reach the underserved communities together, we will continue to forge ways of ensuring that the promise and spirit of UHC leave no one is fulfilled,” she said.

She also expressed hope that the CLC would realise the dreams of many patients in need of smiles “as we bring the best cleft care closer to their doorsteps”.

The statement equally revealed that the centre will

be led by qualified African cleft care providers with opportunities for hands-on training for Africans and observership.

“Technology will be deployed for local and distant delivery of educational content with collaboration with global experts in Cleft ecosystem.

“Ghana Cleft Foundation (CGF), which has partnered Smile Train since 2009 will support in the development of the curriculum.”

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PERSPECTIVE

African Leaders Must Urge G20 to Stop COVID-19 Vaccines Apartheid to Save Our World Dr Penninah Lutung

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he novel coronavirus has shown glaring flaws in the world’s collective ability to respond to infectious disease outbreaks, with none more evident than wealthy countries’ self-destructive unwillingness to cooperate on vaccine equity for the benefit of the entire global population.

Since the world’s wealthiest countries have been the primary contributors to the great global disparity between the vaccine haves and have-nots – it’s time that African leaders push G20 heads of state to address and rectify the life-threatening vaccine imbalance at the upcoming summit in Rome, Italy at the end of October.

As of early October 2021, 3.6 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered globally, with 78% of those going to people in high- and upper-middle-income countries.

Less than 7% of the 1.3 billion people on the African continent have received even one dose. The discrepancy is worse for people in low-income countries where less than 1% have gotten a shot.

It’s no surprise that there are not enough doses to vaccinate our world when wealthy countries have secured enough vaccines to inoculate their populations as much as five times over, according to Duke University.

Even though the world will have created 11 billion total doses by the end of this year, almost 9.9 billion of those have already been promised to wealthy nations.

The Covax initiative, while promising, was supposed to supply lower-income countries with sufficient vaccine doses. However, that mechanism clearly has fallen short of its initial goal to vaccinate 20% of recipient countries, which is still far too little when the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) states that a vaccination rate of 70% is required to protect the world.

A debate in the U.S. and other high-income countries now centers around booster shots, while Africa and other hard-hit regions struggle. W.H.O. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said it was “unconscionable” that some countries are now offering booster shots “while so many people remain unprotected.”

The time has come for African leaders to amplify their voices in a combined effort to demand that G20 leaders prioritize global vaccine access for the majority of nations that desperately want to vaccinate their populations.

That must start with pushing pharmaceutical companies to share their know-how and technology to increase production in Africa and globally. Africa can no longer wait for vaccine charity, it is time to get rid of patent monopolies for successful vaccines against the coronavirus, whose development was supported by $100 billion in public funding from taxpayers in the US, Germany, and other countries.

Taxpayers were the primary funders of

Dr. Lutung COVID-19 vaccine research, development, and production – the world owns that intellectual property, not the drug companies that continue to profit from the pandemic.

According to Action Aid, Moderna, BioNTech, and Pfizer are reaping astronomical and unconscionable profits due to their monopolies of mRNA COVID vaccines, with the three corporations having earned more than $26 billion in revenue in the first half of the year.

Further steps that leaders of the wealthiest economies must take are raising at least $100 billion, enough to vaccinate our world, committing to international cooperation as the most fundamental way to address pandemics, and drafting a new Global Public Health Convention to serve as the worldwide health governance system to rapidly respond to future outbreaks.

The global COVID-19 response has been abysmal since the start, but African

leaders have the opportunity to rally together and speak as a united force for the good of all Africans and the world. If one nation is under threat from COVID-19 with no access to vaccines, all nations are in danger. The G20 leaders must acknowledge that reality and act accordingly. The fate of the world is in their hands at the upcoming Summit— by ensuring vaccine equity, we will be protecting the entire world. t-VUVOH JT UIF #VSFBV $IJFG "GSJDB "*%4 )FBMUIDBSF 'PVOEBUJPO ")'

COVID-19: Lagos to Invest Massively in Biosecurity, Medical Tourism Sunday Ehigiator The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to continuously invest massively in the biosecurity architecture of the state, in order to ensure biosafety and make the state attractive to medical tourism.

He made this known yesterday while speaking at the 7th African Conference on One Health and Biosecurity, themed, ‘Universal Approach to Addressing Biosecurity’ organised by the Global Emerging Pathogens Treatment Consortium, in Lagos.

According to Sanwo-Olu, the COVID-19 Pandemic, which is also an issue of biosecurity, remains an unforgettable one as it brought destructive impacts to most of the world, hence an urgent need to improve the health infrastructure of

the state.

On how the state is improving on the health framework of the state, he said “with the help of our partners, we have been able to escalate and build a level two and level three biosecurity labs which was a hybrid biosafety laboratory facility, which has also a bioBank and drives the Lagos biosecurity road map.

“This laboratory is presently known as the Lagos State Bio Band and it functions as a nerve center for the Lagos State COVID-19 response.

“The roadmap process has gone through a painstaking year of human-personal capacity, civic engagement, legislative review, and drafting of laws and providing necessary specialised structure and support to combat any biosafety occurrence as witnessed in the last year and half.”

He said the state remains

a geographical entity with a significant vulnerability of incident or biosecurity threat, because of its big sea, land and air borders, which remains the biggest in the country, despite the small size of the state.

“Hence, all of the things that could go wrong around the world certainly could go wrong in Lagos, and we are yet a very small tiniest part of the country. It is in line with this that we have consistently powered the Lagos biosecurity project.

“We recognise the need to optimise and sustain the use of biological resources today, and we have the responsibility to ensure that future generations can experience and benefit from the secured bio-space that we all planned for.”

On strategy the state used in combating the biosecurity threats presented by

the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor said upon recognising the peculiarity of the state, the state set up an incident command chain, with the understanding of their responsibilities.

“So part of the things that happened then was that, we shut down our entire cabinet, reduced their entire cabinet to just a number of eight.

“Meaning that, we can meet quickly, faster, and that the entire cabinet has given the eight of us the powers and ability to respond very quickly, raise resources, and not have to rely on the bigger house before making necessary decisions.

“Finally, we said that we will be decisive, by trying to quickly learn and understand what is happening around us and globally and we would be able to always come together, almost every evening, to

review things and probably be able to set up new ways of responding the very next day.”

On how the state is transforming its health sector and making it a source of attraction to tourism, he said, “we are aware that there is a need for a geometric intelligence towards achievement of a quick detection of mutant strength of dangerous pathogens, precision medicine about pharmacy synergy, biology and genetic engineering.

“As a state, we have moved in this direction, through the acquisition of a state of the art sequencing equipment, which we spent close to a billion in acquiring.

“Our health spending in the budget year in and year out has grown. We have moved the budget for the ministry of health from eight per cent, to almost 12 per cent, and next

year’s budget is even going to be higher.

“So this gave us the opportunity to wrap up our health infrastructure. Be it training, recruitment and more importantly preparing for post COVID-19, and mental health.

“This is also why we are building the biggest mental health infrastructure in the country. We are putting up infrastructure where mental health rehabilitation and all of it would be possible.

“The state government is also building the biggest mental health facility in the country because we don’t want to be caught unprepared.”

He said the state was also building the biggest African Infectious Disease Centre, the biggest children hospital in the whole of West Africa, and brand new hospitals, and out of “need to reverse medical tourism.”

42

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͰͶ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Investor Applauds FG, Says Nigeria Can be Self-sufficient in Rice Production Kemi Olaitan ÓØ ÌËÎËØ The Chief Executive Officer, Titan Multibusiness Investment Limited, owners of Titan Farms, Chief Gbenga Eyiolawi, has lauded the federal government in its efforts to stop importation of rice, saying the country is capable to be self-sufficient in rice production.

This is just as he assured distributors of Titan Farms, that supply of rice would now be in abundance while promising investors of constant returns after the company suffers a shortfall in supply for sometime now.

Eyiolawi while speaking with journalists in Ibadan, said why the closure of borders to stop illegal importation of goods such as rice may bring hardship to the people, the long term effect will be for the benefit of every Nigerian, stating that local producers are doing

their best to flood the markets with rice.

According to him, “I am very optimistic that very soon Nigerians would start enjoying the positive sides of the closure of our borders, I know that Titan Farms and other rice producers are working towards the country achieving self-sufficiency in rice production.”

On the underperformance recorded recently by the organisation, he attributed it to the adverse effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, which has grossly affected the business climate as well as the illegal influx of foreign rice and the recent insecurity challenge rocking the country.

“While appreciating the shareholders, stakeholders, investors, distributors and employees for their immense support since the

beginning of our operation, the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the country and the illegal influx of foreign rice coupled with the recent insecurity within the country have negatively affected operations drastically, reduced production rate which also affected ability to pay investors as and when due.

“In recent time, it has been difficult reaching a business compromise with our out-growers (paddy suppliers) because of the high inflation which is against our standing agreement. We have not been able to optimally produce and later halted production in the past two months. However, in the past weeks, we were able to reach an agreement with our production partners after a lengthy negotiation and production is expected to start fully as soon as possible.

Molfix Diapers Producers Promise Enduring Quality Brand Emmanuel Olorunda-Otaru Hayat Kimya Nigeria, the producers of the leading diaper brand, MOLFIX, has promised to continue to deliver quality products, even as it expresses trust in Nigeria’s economy, in the midst of the challenging economic environment.

The Turkish company, expressed its faith in the nation’s economy, when it hosted its brand ambassador, Funke Akindele-Bello (Jenifa), Mo’Mums, Mummy influencers: Tuke Morgan, Fab Mum and Nazom’s Corner and the press for a facility tour of the state of the art factory in Agbara, Ogun State.

The goal of the Facility tour was to deliver a deeper insight to provide intimate knowledge of the Molfix brand to the

company’s brand ambassador and the influencers and further give insight to the manufacturing processes and quality management of the company.

According to the Factory Manager, Sulaimon Rasak Atanda, “At Hayat, we are always thinking of innovative ways to make our products delivered in their best form, with the intention of standing out from the crowd. Raw materials in the factory must meet the standards of human, machine, quality control and good manufacturing service before being processed for consumption”.

He added, “The factory is run by Nigerians, to help curb unemployment in the society”.

He took the visitors through some lines in the factory, the external processes and quality control room to see how the company

produces quality assured diapers for the safety of every child.”

On her part, the Molfix Brand Ambassador, Funke AkindeleBello, commended the brand for being innovative and a major support to mothers and babies.

She said that Molfix brand creates a different approach for the safety and quality of the products. According to her, “Hayat Kimya Group has paved a way for youths in the society by creating job opportunities”.

The company’s Sales Director, Motayo Latunji, said that the company has a strong distribution network, and the sales team is spread across the 36 states of the country. “We also ensure that our products are accessible to all economic class citizens, we believe this is a sole approach we use in creating value with our products”.

Ford Foundation Appoints Aniagolu-Okoye Regional Director The Ford Foundation has appointed Catherine Chinedum (‘ChiChi’) Aniagolu-Okoye as its new regional director for its office serving in West Africa.

A statement by Ford Foundation said Aniagolu-Okoye began the Lagos-based role in September.

The statement further explained that in the new position AniagoluOkoye succeeds the late Innocent Chukwuma who served as regional director from 2013 to 2021, “and helped the foundation to build its brand in the region and to establish solid partnerships with donors, civil society, public and private sector leaders.”

The statement remarked that with over 20 years in the social

change sector, Aniagolu-Okoye is a respected leader on the African continent.

The statement hinted that the new regional director brings onboard many years of extensive experience leading diverse international development organisations, managing country programmes, donor projects and country strategies in West Africa and across Africa.

According to the statement, “Asregional director, she will oversee the foundation’s local team, external relations and administrative operations in West Africa. She will also lead on programme strategy development and implementation in the

region, with a focus on advancing democracy, human rights and social inclusion for all especially youth, women and people with disabilities.”

On his part, The President, Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, said:“I am delighted to welcome ChiChi to the foundation. Her international experience and leadership, and her expertise in navigating civil society circles will be invaluable as our work in West Africa grows. ChiChi’s reputation as a strong operational leader and an African feminist will bring a critical perspective to our work to help address some of the region’s most pressing opportunities and challenges.”

Wema Bank’s ALAT to Engage NigerianYouths on Technology Darasimi Adebisi ALAT by Wema Bank Plc is to host virtually third session of its Talk Series today.

The Talk Series is a virtual session for young Nigerians to exchange ideas and insights about life, relationships, technology, and finance, offering them informed opinions from experts and other experienced young professionals who are knowledgeable in various areas. This edition, themed, “Relationship, Love and Work: How To Juggle It All,” will provide young Nigerians with the skills and information

that will assist with combining a hectic work lifestyle with a healthy sex/love life.

Akah and Claire Nnani, actor, and artist; Hannah Jonathan, Sex Therapist and Funmilayo Falola, Head, Marketing Communications and Investor Relations, Wema Bank, have been confirmed as speakers for this session.

The event will also be moderated by multi-talented media personality and co-host of hit YouTube show, OffAir, Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi.

The Nnanis will share more details about their partnership and speak about “Relationship and Work: Lines Not to Cross,” while

Hannah Jonathan will discuss “Managing Sexual Depression and Embracing a Healthy Sexual Lifestyle.” Funmilayo Falola, will share insights from her personal and professional experience on “Juggling Finance and Relationship Decisions.”

Healthy work-life balance, especially during the pandemic, has been one of the biggest issues for young professionals across the world. The audience will have the opportunity to send in questions before the event using #ALATTalkSeries on social media or via the live chat option during the session.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ͵

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

43

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͰͶ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

Shareholders Commend Guinness Nigeria for Returning to Profitability, Approve N0.46 kobo Dividend Darasimi Adebisi The board and management of Guinness Nigeria Plc has received commendations from its shareholders for leading the company back to profitability after trouncing a loss in prior year’s financial.

The commendations came during the 71st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company held in Lagos.

The company had declared

N1.26 billion profit after tax (PAT) for the full year ended June 30, 2021, rising from N12.6 billion loss recorded posted in 2020.

Consequently, the shareholders approved the payment of 46 kobo for every ordinary share of 50 kobo proposed by the board which amount to N1.008 billion.

Speaking at the meeting, the Coordinator Emeritus of Independence Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sunny Nwosu said shareholders

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

are pleased with the performance of the company amidst challenging operating environment and challenges occasioned by Covid-19 pandemic.

According to him: “It is commendable that at a time when many companies are downsizing, scaling down and shutting down in some cases, the board and management team of the Guinness Nigeria worked hard to not only deliver impressive numbers but also employed more

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Nigerians.”

Reacting on behalf of the shareholders as a proxy, the National Chairman, New Dimension Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Patrick Ajudua noted that the financials for the year has shown a new dimension, growth and that Guinness is being repositioned from a huge negative loss to a profit in their bottom time.

“We hope that it will be sustained overtime, going by the fact

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

that we have a lot of problems in the economy and the Covid-19, our expectations are very high and from what we have heard from the management, they are equal to the task of meeting the expectations of the stakeholders, ”Ajudua noted.

Chairman, Board of Directors, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Dr. Omobola Johnson maintained that the Company will keep up with its growth strategy to continue on its path of profitability.

O F

“We are confident that our strategy is comprehensive and robust. We are keen on making the right investments that will drive growth across board and ensure our competitiveness, despite the challenging business environment. We thank our shareholders for their confidence in the Board and Management of our dear company and we are committed to ensure that we sustain the momentum, ”Johnson said.

2 7 / 1 0 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

44

THURSDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

Thursday, October 28, 2021

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THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

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Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

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THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

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780.00

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72.00

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10.5%

28.55

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,KEz&>KhZ

;нϵ͘ϴйͿ͕ E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ & E, ;нϬ͘ϳйͿ ďŽůͲ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ E'y ůůͲƐŚĂƌĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ƐƚĞƌĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůůͲ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϲďƉƐ ƚŽ ϰϭ͕ϳϵϬ͘Ϯϲ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͕ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ĨĞůů ^ŚĂƌĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ േϭϮ͘ϵŵ ƚŽ േϮϭ͘ϴƚŶ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ƵŶĐŚĂŶŐĞĚ ϭϭďƉƐ ƚŽ ϯϵ͕ϱϱϬ͘ϯϲ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ zd ůŽƐƐ ŝŵͲ Ăƚ ϯ͘ϴй͘ DĂƌŬĞƚ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ĚĞͲ ƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ Ͳϭ͘ϴй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϴ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ ϰϮ͘ϱй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ƚŽ Ϯϴϰ͘ϲŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ േϯ͘ϮďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ & E, ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ Ϯϭ͘ϲй ϭϭϬ͘ϴŵ ǁŚŝůĞ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǀĂůƵĞ ;ϳϱ͘ϱŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ // K ;ϭϴ͘ϰŵ ƚŽ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ƵŶŝƚƐ d/ ;ϭϳ͘ϯŵ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϴϴ͘ϱй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ǁŚŝůĞ & E, ;േϴϵϴ͘ϬŵͿ͕ E ^d> ;േϯϴϳ͘ϵŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ dZ E^ KZW ;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ & E, ;ϭϭ͘ϭŵ E'y'ZKhW ;േϮϰϴ͘ϬŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ E ^d> ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕

E' D ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ WŽƐŝƟǀĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁŝƚŚŝŶ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ ǁĂƐ ďƵůůŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϰ ŝŶĚŝͲ ĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ &ZͲ/ d ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ͕ ƵƉ ϭ͘ϳй ĂŶĚ ϭ͘ϱй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϰ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůŽƐƚ͕ ϭ ŝŶĚĞdž ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &ZͲ/ d ƵƉƟĐŬ ŝŶ K E K ;нϮ͘ϬйͿ͕ dKd > ;нϲ͘ϬйͿ͕ // K ;нϵ͘ϲйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ ^KsZ E/E ;нϰ͘ϰйͿ͘ ůƐŽ͕ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ E/d, ;нϬ͘ϴйͿ͕ Ğƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϰ͘ϲй ĂŶĚ ^^ ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ t W K ;нϬ͘ϴйͿ ďƵŽLJĞĚ Ă Ϭ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚͲƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;Ͳ Ϭ͘ϭй ƵƉƐŝĚĞ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƌĞͲ ϵ͘ϭйͿ͕ hE/> s Z ;Ͳϯ͘ϱйͿ͕ >/E< ^^hZ ;Ͳϲ͘ϰйͿ͕ ƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ĂŶĚ D E^ Z ;ͲϮ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ

ŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĨĞůů ďLJ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůͲ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

ŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K ;ͲϬ͘ϴйͿ͕ E/d, ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ ϭ͘ϱdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘Ϭdž ĂƐ Ğƌ͕ ƵƉ ϭ͘ϴй ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂͲ Ϯϯ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ϭϱ ůŽƐĞƌƐ͘ // K ;нϵ͘ϲйͿ͕ ƟŽŶ ŝŶ E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͘ hW> ;нϵ͘ϭйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ Z ^d Z y ;нϲ͘ϯйͿ ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ǁŚŝůĞ

'> yK^D/d, ;ͲϭϬ͘ϬйͿ͕ dZ E^ K,Kd ;Ͳϵ͘ϵйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ & E, ;Ͳ ϲ͘ϬйͿ ůĞĚ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͘ tĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŽ ƌĞďŽƵŶĚ ŝŶ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƐŝŐŶĂů ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ ϵD͗ϮϬϮϭ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽĨ ƐŽŵĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďĞůůǁĞƚŚĞƌƐ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ Ăƚ ϭ͘ϲdž Ɛƚ ǀĂůƵĂƟŽŶ͘ ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ

ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϭϱ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ DZ^ ;нϵ͘ϵйͿ͕ D zͲ ŽƌƉŽƌĂƚĞ ŝƐĐůŽƐƵƌĞ < Z ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ,KEz&>KhZ ;нϵ͘ϴйͿ ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ,KEz&>KhZ ƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚ ŝƚƐ ,ϭ͗ϮϬϮϭ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƐŚŽǁĞĚ Ă ǁŚŝůĞ dZ E^ ;Ͳϴ͘ϯйͿ͕ > ^ K ;Ͳϲ͘ϳйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ >/s Ͳ ϭϵ͘ϯй LJͬLJ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ƚŽ േϲϳ͘ϵďŶ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĚĞͲ ^dK < ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ ůĞĚ ůŽƐĞƌƐ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϯϯ͘ϵй LJͬLJ ƚŽ േϲ͘ϳďŶ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ Ă Ϯϳ͘Ϯй LJͬLJ ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ŝŶ ŽƐƚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ŵŝdžĞĚ͕ ĂƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƐĞĂƐŽŶ ŐƌĂĚƵĂůůLJ ŽĨ ƐĂůĞƐ͘ ůƐŽ͕ W d ŐƌĞǁ ϳϯ͘Ϭй LJͬLJ ƚŽ േϯϱϯ͘Ϭŵ ĂƐ KW y ĚĞͲ ǁŝŶĚƐ ƵƉ͘ ĐůŝŶĞĚ ϯϬ͘ϲй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϱďŶ͘

Price Previous Current Change Price YTD Weighting Change

Current Price

5 Dangote Cement PLC 6 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC 8 Lafarge Africa PLC 9 Access Bank PLC 10 United Bank for Africa PLC 11 FBN Holdings Plc 12 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC 14 International Brew eries PLC 15 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 16 SEPLAT Energy PLC 17 11 PLC 18 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 22 FCMB Group Plc 23 Sterling Bank PLC 24 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria 26 Presco PLC 27 Unilever Nigeria PLC 28 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC 29 United Capital PLC 30 Guinness Nigeria PLC 31 Custodian and Allied Insurance 32 AIICO Insurance PLC 33 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Wema Bank PLC 36 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 37 Oando PLC

ROA

P/E

5.6x

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

77.0%

15.0%

3.5%

-8.4%

-8.4%

12.3%

4.4%

0.8x

5.2%

14.6%

-6.9%

-6.9%

19.1%

11.2%

34.6x

6.5x

-11.7%

-11.7%

24.8%

3.9%

4.3x

1.1x

10.5%

23.0% 29.7%

2.0% 2.9%

25.00

0.8%

6.8%

0.8%

0.8%

21.8%

2.9%

3.4x

0.7x

12.0%

280.00

0.0%

6.9%

14.3%

14.3%

44.7%

17.5%

14.1x

6.1x

6.3%

7.1%

174.00

0.0%

5.0%

2.4%

2.4%

143.0%

12.4%

14.0x

17.7x

6.0%

7.1%

1,400.00

-0.4%

3.7%

-7.0%

-7.0%

106.8%

15.6%

27.2x

32.0x

4.3%

3.7%

25.20

0.8%

4.0%

19.7%

19.7%

9.9%

7.1%

11.3x

1.1x

4.0%

8.8%

9.50

0.5%

3.2%

12.4%

12.4%

18.3%

1.5%

2.5x

0.4x

9.0%

39.2%

2.1x

0.4x

6.5%

47.4%

10.6%

1.0%

5.4x

0.5x

3.7%

18.4%

8.40

-0.6%

2.6%

-2.9%

-2.9%

11.65

-6.0%

4.0%

62.9%

62.9%

51.00

2.0%

1.9%

-8.9%

-8.9%

5.6%

2.2%

42.8x

2.4x

1.8%

2.3%

39.00

0.0%

2.1%

3.3%

3.3%

15.4%

2.0%

9.0x

1.4x

10.5%

11.2%

-11.4%

-4.5%

5.15

-2.8%

1.3%

-13.4%

-13.4%

29.40

0.0%

1.2%

13.1%

13.1%

731.50

0.0%

1.9%

81.8%

81.8%

1.0x

-12.4%

4.5x

0.7x

5.6%

22.1%

3.1%

1.7%

19.3x

0.6x

5.6%

5.2%

-100.0%

125.40

0.0%

1.1%

37.8%

37.8%

37.4%

23.6%

9.3x

3.2x

5.6%

10.8%

2.74

-0.7%

0.8%

8.7%

8.7%

12.7%

1.2%

2.4x

0.3x

8.0%

42.0%

8.05

2.5%

0.9%

34.2%

34.2%

1.5%

0.1%

26.6x

0.3x

18.00

0.0%

0.6%

2.3%

2.3%

25.6%

12.1%

6.9x

1.6x

8.3%

14.4%

3.19

0.0%

0.5%

-4.2%

-4.2%

1.51

-0.7%

0.3%

-26.0%

-26.0%

8.9%

0.8%

3.8x

0.3x

3.3%

14.65

0.0%

0.4%

1.0%

1.0%

20.7%

5.9%

14.6x

3.0x

2.7%

6.8%

1.02

0.0%

0.4%

13.3%

13.3%

-1.3%

-0.3%

0.6x

1.0%

-2.1%

89.00

0.0%

0.3%

25.4%

25.4%

2.2x

2.2%

15.60

0.0%

0.2%

12.2%

12.2%

-1.3%

-0.8%

1.4x

6.40

-1.5%

0.2%

20.8%

20.8%

3.8%

4.7% 26.3%

-1.0% 4.2%

9.10

1.1%

0.4%

93.2%

93.2%

2.0x

7.7%

30.00

0.0%

0.3%

57.9%

57.9%

1.7%

0.8%

10.7x

0.9x

1.5%

9.4%

7.70

-3.8%

0.2%

31.6%

31.6%

24.7%

7.5%

3.8x

0.9x

7.1%

26.4%

21.6%

3.3%

11.7x

0.5x 1.8%

14.3%

1.03

9.6%

0.2%

-8.8%

-8.8%

220.00

6.0%

0.3%

69.2%

69.2%

25.00

0.0%

0.2%

41.9%

41.9%

18.3%

2.4%

5.0x

0.8x

1.6%

19.9%

0.74

0.0%

0.1%

7.2%

7.2%

11.7%

0.7%

4.2x

0.5x

5.4%

23.8%

0.0%

0.0%

-100.0%

7.5%

0.9%

5.5x

0.6x

5.0%

2.0%

0.2%

36.5%

14.5%

2.6%

2.2x

0.3x

5.05

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 39 Beta Glass PLC 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

ROE

20.6%

0.0%

19 Fidelity Bank PLC 20 Ecobank Transnational Inc

Price Change Index to Date

36.5%

8.6%

7.0x

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-38.7%

-9.5%

52.95

0.0%

0.1%

-4.4%

-4.4%

12.8%

8.7%

5.38

-9.9%

0.0%

49.4%

49.4%

2.1x 5.4x

18.1% 46.0% -21.2%

0.7x

2.0%

18.4%

0.9x 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 P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

A IIC O

1.03

9.6%

FB NH

75.5

-6.0%

UP L

1.80

9.1%

A IIC O

18.4

9.6%

R ED ST A R EX

3.40

6.3%

ET I

17.3

2.5%

220.00

6.0%

T R A N SC OR P

15.2

0.0%

1.15

4.5%

F ID ELIT YB K

14.0

-0.7%

SOVR EN IN S

0.24

4.3%

N GXGR OUP

12.7

2.0%

ET I

8.05

2.5%

A C C ESS

12.6

0.5%

C UT IX

6.20

2.5%

UB A

9.0

-0.6%

LIVEST OC K

2.30

2.2%

GT C O

7.8

0.2%

C OUR T VILLE

0.46

2.2%

LIVEST OC K

7.5

2.2%

T ic k er

T OT A L IKEJ A H OT EL

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

GLA XOSM IT H

6.30

-10.0%

FB NH

898.0

-6.0%

T R A N SC OH OT

5.38

-9.9%

N EST LE

387.9

-0.4%

FB NH

11.65

-6.0%

N GXGR OUP

248.0

2.0%

222.5

0.2%

T ic k er

VER IT A SKA P

0.22

-4.3%

GT C O

A F R IP R UD

6.10

-3.9%

NB

184.2

2.0%

-3.7%

Z EN IT H B A N K

142.6

0.8%

-3.2%

ET I

137.3

2.5%

A C C ESS

119.6

0.5%

C UST OD IA N UP D C

7.70 1.80

IN T B R EW

5.15

-2.8%

F T N C OC OA

0.44

-2.2%

M TNN

96.4

0.0%

-1.8%

UB A

76.0

-0.6%

R OYA LEX

0.54

45

THURSDAY OCTOBER 28, 2021• T H I S DAY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 26Oct-2021, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 164.78 166.23 1.80% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 7.92% Nigeria International Debt Fund 319.73 319.73 -15.98% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 105.72 106.77 -4.47% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.91% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.31 3.37 -4.14% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 8.74% Anchoria Equity Fund 141.72 143.51 6.55% info@anchoriaam.com Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 -14.26% 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 20.59 21.21 13.51% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 449.44 462.99 12.26% ARM Ethical Fund 39.51 40.70 17.20% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.09 -1.01% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.98 0.99 -6.09% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.30% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 106.95 106.95 5.15% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,046.53 1,046.53 4.65% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.07 2.07 -5.42% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.24 2.28 3.48% mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.03 1.03 4.15% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.82% Paramount Equity Fund 17.34 17.66 8.43% Women's Investment Fund 141.27 142.93 6.16% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.47% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 123.58 124.40 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 109.46 109.46 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.32% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.23 1.25 2.63% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.41 1.41 -10.68% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.

EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-assetmanagement-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.00% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.03 1.03 2.51% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.14 Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 103.94 FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price FBN Bond Fund 1,434.86 FBN Balanced Fund 197.59 FBN Halal Fund 113.83 FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 FBN Dollar Fund (Retail) FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund

127.39 173.05

1.14 13.33% 103.94 3.90% invest@fbnquest.com Offer Price 1,434.86 199.04 113.83 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn 11.46% 5.28% 9.32% 9.09%

127.39 4.05% 175.32 14.47% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.98 1.71

Offer Price 1.00 3.98 1.75

Yield / T-Rtn 6.65% 2.98% 12.52%

1.19

1.19

5.09%

FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.41% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.89 2.95 1.06% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 154.36 154.63 -0.74% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.28 1.32 1.49% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.06 1.06 3.96% 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 1.47 1.49 7.64% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,143.01 1,143.01 7.19% 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 12.07 12.16 15.44% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.32% enquiries@norrenberger.com NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 100.49 100.50 7.15% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.04% 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 1.56 1.59 13.31% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.20 11.22 -7.81% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.89% PACAM Equity Fund 1.46 1.47 -7.57% PACAM EuroBond Fund 112.09 114.18 2.15% 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 135.23 139.58 10.38% 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 1.07 1.07 10.08% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,396.32 3,432.06 5.74% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 234.10 234.10 4.11% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.27 1.29 8.47% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 309.53 309.53 5.05% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 236.35 239.95 8.31% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.47% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 11,089.24 11,249.46 5.68% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.28 1.28 4.44% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 116.14 116.14 4.56% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 104.78 104.78 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.34 1.37 4.97% United Capital Bond Fund 1.93 1.93 5.51% United Capital Equity Fund 0.92 0.94 15.43% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.89% United Capital Eurobond Fund 121.15 121.15 5.82% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.09 1.11 6.83% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.07 1.07 6.66% 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 Balanced Strategy Fund 13.14 13.26 10.75% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 14.72 14.88 20.62% Zenith Income Fund 24.57 24.57 2.41% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.13%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 53.90

10.62% 6.67%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.97 132.17 103.69 17.80 22.23

14.07 135.46 105.96 17.90 22.33

5.67% 9.92% 4.51%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund MERGROWTH ETF MERVALUE ETF

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.96 5.59 17.80 1.00 21.57 157.20

4.06 5.69 18.00 1.00 21.77 159.20

5.51% -1.63% 9.90% 6.59% 5.08% -15.30%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.28

13.11%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

46

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

Cambridge University To Return Looted Cockerel to Nigeria The master of a Cambridge University college has described the return of a looted bronze cockerel to representatives of Nigeria as a “momentous occasion.”

The statue, known as the “Okukur”, was taken by British colonial forces in 1897 and given to Jesus College in 1905 by the father of a student.

A decision for it to be returned was made in 2019 after students campaigned.

A ceremony has been held at the college to sign the handover documents. “It’s massively significant,” said Sonita Alleyne, master of Jesus College. “It’s a momentous occasion.” She said returning the artefact was the “right thing to do” to and said the bronze piece was of “cultural and spiritual significance to the people of Nigeria”.

“It’s part of their ancestral heritage,” Ms Alleyne added.

China: Taiwan Has No Right to Join United Nations

China insisted Wednesday that Taiwan had no right to join the United Nations after the United States called for the democratic island to have greater involvement in the world body. In a statement marking 50 years since the UN General Assembly voted to seat Beijing and boot out Taipei, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he regretted that Taiwan had been increasingly excluded on the world stage.

“As the international community faces an unprecedented number of complex and global issues, it is critical for all stakeholders to help address these problems. This includes the 24 million people who live in Taiwan,” Blinken said.

“Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system is not a political issue, but a pragmatic one,” he said.

“That is why we encourage all UN member states to join us in supporting Taiwan’s robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system and in the international community.” China considers Taiwan — where nationalist forces fled in 1949 after losing a civil war to the communists — to be a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

and opposition politicians following an investigation by a global media consortium in July. The committee, headed by a retired judge, is expected to give its findings by year-end.

India’s opposition has been demanding an investigation into how the Israeli spyware, known as Pegasus, was used in India. Modi’s government has “unequivocally” denied all allegations regarding illegal surveillance. India’s information technology minister Ashwani Vaishnaw in Parliament dismissed the allegations in July, calling them “highly sensational,” “over the top” and “an attempt to malign the Indian democracy.”

But the government in an affidavit did not tell the court whether it used the Israeli equipment for spying, citing security reasons.

On Wednesday, the court said the state could not get a free pass every time by raising security concerns.

“Violation of the right to privacy, freedom of speech, as alleged in pleas, needs to be examined,” the Press Trust of India cited Chief Justice N.V. Ramanna as saying.

US, East Asia Leaders Convene to Discuss Threats, Challenges in Region

President Joe Biden on Wednesday plunged back into East Asian diplomacy after a four-year US presidential absence by meeting virtually with Asia Pacific power players to discuss shared concerns like China’s growing ambitions, growing North Korean belligerence and the aftermath of a coup in Myanmar.

The annual East Asia Summit convenes 18 countries — including the United States, Australia, China, Russia and the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. This is the first time in four years that the US president has participated, as former President Donald Trump sent high-level officials in his place. This summit is held after the annual ASEAN leaders’ meetings, which this year was also held virtually, and which Biden also attended.

India’s Top Court Probes Spying Charges Against Government

German Parliament to End ‘Epidemic Situation’

India’s top court on Wednesday established a committee of experts to look into accusations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government used Israeli military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists.

The Supreme Court order came in response to petitions filed by a group of Indian journalists, rights activists

Leaders of Germany’s newly-installed Bundestag – the lower house parliament – said Wednesday they would not extend the “epidemic situation of national scope” when it expires next month, though certain public health measures will remain to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The health emergency declaration allows the federal and state governments

to order key coronavirus prevention measures without parliament’s approval.

It was first established by the Bundestag in March 2020 and has been repeatedly extended. But speaking to reporters in Berlin, leaders of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) – winners of last month’s parliamentary elections and likely members of the new government – said they plan to let the designation expire when it lapses November 25.

They said even though COVID-19 infection rates are on the rise, the situation had fundamentally changed, most significantly because about two-thirds of the population had been vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19.

Sudan Coup: World Bank Suspends Aid

The World Bank has suspended its aid to Sudan, after the military there staged a coup against the civilian government.

Political leaders were arrested on Monday, sparking nationwide protests and international condemnation.

The African Union (AU) has also suspended Sudan from the bloc over the “unconstitutional” seizure of power.

The US has frozen $700m (£508m) in aid.

Sudan’s civilian and military leaders had been in a fragile power-sharing agreement for the past two years.

The sudden cut to aid is likely to have dire consequences for Sudan’s battered economy, at a time when it was just starting to get back on its feet.

The World Bank and AU moves put further pressure on the coup’s leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Burhan, to reinstate the civilian government.

Gen Burhan was in charge of the power-sharing agreement, and has said the coup was needed to avoid “civil war”. He has insisted that Sudan is still moving towards democracy and elections in 2023 - but his reasoning and the sudden takeover have been widely rejected.

CPJ: Sudanese Journalist Arrested by Military

The Committee to Protect Journalists says Sudanese military authorities arrested journalist Maher Abugoukh, a manager at Sudan state television, at his home in Khartoum on Tuesday.

The military seized power in a coup on Monday. The CPJ said in a press release the reason for the arrest had not been disclosed and that Abugoukh’s whereabouts are unknown.

Abugoukh has been critical of the military during live radio, and television

shows, said the New York-based media rights group. “Sudanese authorities must release Maher Abugoukh immediately,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour in the statement. “Sudanese journalists must be free to cover the unfolding coup without fear of reprisal and raids and with unrestricted access to telecommunications services.”

Abugoukh’s arrest came amid several recent attacks on journalists in Sudan.

Police: Actor Alec Baldwin Fired Live Round

Alec Baldwin was handed a gun with a live round in it on a film set in New Mexico, the local sheriff has said.

The actor accidentally shot dead cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded the film’s director Joel Souza on Thursday. Authorities have recovered some 600 pieces of evidence related to the investigation, including three firearms and 500 rounds of ammunition.

No arrests have been made or charges filed so far in the investigation.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, the Santa Fe County Sheriff, Adan Mendoza, made clear that the investigation was still in its early stages, and many more interviews still need to be done, including with Mr Baldwin, who he said is cooperating with authorities.

The sheriff told reporters there were up to 100 people on the Western film set, called Rust, when the shooting happened, and that everyone would be questioned.

Brazil Recommends Criminal Charges against Bolsonaro

Brazilian senators have voted to recommend charging President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the devastating Covid pandemic.

A Senate panel backed a report calling for charges against Mr Bolsonaro including crimes against humanity, after 600,000 deaths from coronavirus.

The report has been handed to the chief prosecutor, a Bolsonaro appointee.

The president has maintained he is “guilty of absolutely nothing” but the crisis has dented his popularity.

Brazil’s death toll is second only to that of the United States.

There is no guarantee this vote will lead to actual criminal charges, as the report’s recommendations must now be assessed by Prosecutor-General Augusto Aras, who is expected to protect the president.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 28, 2021 • T H I S D AY

47

48

THURSDAY, ͺ΀˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

FORTY-EIGHT NNPC TO RECONSTRUCT 21 CRITICAL FEDERAL ROADS, PROJECTS TO GULP N621.2BN have one of the worst road networks in the country.

According to him, the intervention by the NNPC was a strategic move under the federal government’s Road Infrastructure and Refreshment Tax Credit Scheme.

He said nine of the benefitting road projects are in north-central, three in north-east, two in the north-west, two in the south-east, three in south-south, and two in south-west.

The minister disclosed that his ministry presented three memoranda to the Council that were approved, explaining that two of the documents were on road contracts.

He said the first memorandum had to do with a section of CalabarIkom-Ogoja road especially the section to Apet Central where he said had a problem with steel reinforced drain that was discovered there.

"Those drains were put there, about 42 years ago and 86 of them have failed and we need to replace them now with concrete rain drains to allow water pass through otherwise the retention of water will badly impact the road.

"As a result of that, we have to revise the scope of works from rehabilitation to construction in order to remove all the old steel drains that are corroded and replaced them with concrete drains.

"It is over 75 kilometers road and that will require an augmentation contract by an additional sum of N12 billion. So that memo was approved,” he added.

Fashola further explained that the second memorandum had to do with the road infrastructure tax credit scheme.

"You recall the Executive Order seven signed by Mr. President allowing private sector operators to identify infrastructure such as roads for which you deploy your taxes in advance with tax and pay.

“Also recall that I had briefed you here about the use of that

policy like the Dangote Group from Obajana to Kabba, Apapa to Oworoshoki roads "Earlier this year, there were five other roads, the Kaduna Western bypass, the Lekki Port road, the road from Shagamu through Papalanto and couple of others and there is one road in Maiduguri. That was approved about N320 billion.

"So today, we have another player. We have all the interested players who are still showing interest but we haven’t concluded.

We have another player who has shown interest and committed to deploy taxes.

"It's the government corporation known as NNPC. So NNPC has identified 21 roads that it wants to deploy. So now the instructive thing about this is that this initiative helps government to achieve many things, including Ministerial Mandates Three and Four, which we discussed at the last retreat if you recall was energy sufficiency, electric power and petroleum energy distribution across the country.

"Of course petroleum energy distribution is being impacted positively and negatively, as the case may be the transport infrastructure, which is the Ministerial Mandate four,” he said.

According to him, the "NNPC sought and council has approved today that NNPC deployed tax resources to 21 roads covering the total distance of 1,804.6 kilometers across the six geopolitical zones.

"Out of those 21 roads, nine are in North Central, particularly Niger state. And the reason is that Niger State is a major storage center for NNPC. So the reason NNPC is doing this is to facilitate the total distribution across the country.

"We have seen and have heard every year Niger State gridlock, the governor complaning that his roads are being damaged by trucks, by those who overload the trucks after damaging the roads themselves now protest the damage that they sometimes have induced.

Anyway, this is the final solution to that problem.

"So there are nine like that in north central, there are three in the Northeast. Two in the northwest, two in the southeast, three roads, the entire Odupani - Itu - Ikot Ekpene road in LOT 1, 2 and 3 now fully covered.

"Then in the southwest, you have the Lagos-Badagry expressway, the entire junction and you also have the Ibadan to Ilorin in Oyo-Ogbomosho section. So that's it.

"In the south-east you have Aba-Ikot Ekpene in Abia and Akwa Ibom states. So that's a major link, then you have Umuahia to Ikwuano to Ikot Ekpene road and so on and so forth. In the Northwest, it is Gada-Zaima-Zuru-Gamji road, and also Zaria-Funtau -Gusau-Sokoto road.

"In the north-east, it is Cham-, Bali Serti and Gombe-Biu road. The roads impacted in north central include Ilorin -Jebba-Mokwa-Bokani sections I and II, Suleja-Minna sections I and II, Bida-Lambatta, and then Agaie-Katcha-Baro road. Then Mokwa-Makera-Tegina-Kaduna all in Niger State.”

NNPC: Deregulation to Deliver N12trn Savings to Nigeria in Four Years

Meanwhile, the NNPC has said the deregulation of petrol marketing business in the country would enable the country save N12 trillion subsidy payment in the next four years.

The corporation said the money could be used to carry out some critical social infrastructure projects in strategic sectors of the economy, including roads, hospitals, power generation, amongst others.

Managing Director of the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), an arm of the NNPC, Mr. Isiyaku Abdulahi, stated this yesterday in Lagos during his presentation at the ongoing 15th Oil Trading and Logistics (OTC)

Africa Downstream Week.

He spoke on the topic, "Nigeria Fuel Congress."

Isiyaku projected that petrol under-recovery, otherwise known as subsidy, could be N138 per litre when calculated using $80 per barrel oil price, 60 million litres daily consumption and the current official exchange rate of N411 per dollar.

He added that daily petrol under-recovery could be N8.3 billion while annual petrol under-recovery could escalate to N3 trillion.

Noting that the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector as contained in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) would lead to increase investments in the sector and enhanced value to the country, Abdulahi listed some critical social infrastructure projects that could be funded with the subsidy savings.

The projects cut across roads, health, education, housing, and power.

According to him, 7, 500 kilometres (km) of roads could be constructed every year at a cost of 400 billion per km.

He said the money could also

Museum has said it is ready to return some arts to us. So, you can see that the momentum is building.

We are also negotiating with the German government for the return of 1,130 looted artefacts.”

Mohammed faulted the insinuation in some quarters that the delayed return of the stolen objects was the result of the country’s inability to make a formal request.

He pointed out that the late Ekpo Eyo, who was Director General of the NCMM, had at the IOM made a formal request, which was endorsed then.

“So, what I have done now is that I have written a formal letter asking for the return of all the Ife and Benin Bronzes and all other artefacts that were stolen,” he said.

Mohammed added, “Some of these artefacts date back to 18th century. The return of artefacts is an idea whose time has come and no matter how you resist it, they must be returned.

“We have also received a letter from Switzerland for dialogue to see how they can return our artefacts.

“We thank Jesus College for being a trailblazer and we look forward to a similar return of our artefacts by other institutions that are in possession of them.”

The Daily Mail noted that Okukor was among Africa's most culturally significant artefacts and the Nigerian government had for years been calling for their return.

“This is the right thing to do out of respect for the unique heritage and history of this artefact,” Master of Jesus College, Cambridge, Sonita Alleyne, was quoted to have said in a statement ahead of a ceremony to hand over the cockerel to a Nigerian delegation.

The college described the handover as, “The first institutional return of its kind.”

It revealed that Germany had agreed to start returning Benin Bronzes held in its museums from next year, but the British Museum in London, which holds the largest and most significant collection of them, has made no such commitment.

Oba of Benin, Omo N'Oba N'Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, said in a statement, “We truly hope that others will expedite the return of

our artworks, which in many cases are of religious importance to us.”

After being looted, the cockerel was given to Jesus College in 1905 by the father of a student.

The college announced in 2019 it would return it to Nigeria.

“In recent years, a range of British institutions have been grappling with the cultural legacies of colonialism, particularly the issue of what to do about disputed heritage,” the report stated.

It disclosed that the British Museum and other European museums, along with Nigerian authorities, were involved in a Benin Dialogue Group that aimed at facilitating the construction in Benin City of a new museum to house returned bronzes.

The British Museum had spoken about “opportunities for sharing and displaying” items from its collection in Nigeria, but had never said it would transfer ownership.

The master of a Cambridge University college described the return of a looted bronze cockerel to representatives of Nigeria as a “momentous occasion.”

Students had campaigned for the artefact to be returned, and the college's Legacy of Slavery Working Party concluded in 2019, that it “belongs with the current Oba at the Court of Benin”.

The Oba of Benin is head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Benin Empire based in Benin City in modern-day Nigeria.

Speaking further after the handover, Alleyne said, “It's massively significant. It's a momentous occasion.”

She said it was the “right thing to do” to return the artefact, which is of “cultural and spiritual significance to the people of Nigeria.”

Alleyne added, “It's part of their ancestral heritage.”

She said the Nigerian delegation would decide how and when to move the Okukor.

Alleyne disclosed that museums in France, Germany and the Netherlands were also engaged in discussions about returning Benin bronzes.

“We hope they do get to the same position as we do. We think it's a morally grounded position,”

downstream sector by the PIA. Mitakev expressed doubts about the Nigeria petroleum sector witnessing positive changes even with the creation of new agencies to replace the former ones, arguing that the same staff of the scrapped agencies were the same people to man the new ones.

He said, "On the new Act, it is true that DPR, PPPRA and PEF have already been scrapped but the Commission and the Authority will be manned with the staff from the scrapped agencies.

"So, they will be the same people in the new dispensation.

Our only hope is that the CEOs of the two new agencies are seasoned professionals and I'm sure they will still try to achieve much better results in their respective fields."

He said there was need for genuine deregulation and incentives to drive development of refining capacity in all parts of the country especially in the northern.

Mitakev said one of the serious impediments in the development of a truly deregulated market determined by demand and supply forces was scarcity of foreign exchange.

SENATE: INEC FREE TO TRANSMIT ANAMBRA GOVSHIP ELECTION RESULT ELECTRONICALLY (INEC) that it is at liberty to transmit electronically the results of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State. Chairman of the Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya, said yesterday in Abuja that the electoral umpire was free to transmit the governorship election results electronically if it so desired.

This is just as Anambra State Government through its Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba, has said the governorship election slated for November 6 in Anambra State would hold, despite the sit-athome order given by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

124 YEARS AFTER, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HANDS OVER BENIN BRONZE COCKEREL TO NIGERIA The college's Legacy of Slavery Working Party concluded in 2019 that the cockerel "belongs with the current Oba at the Court of Benin".

Shedding more light on the development in a brief telephone interview with THISDAY yesterday night, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said the campaign to return the stolen artefacts commenced in 2018.

Mohammed said he had travelled to London to engage the Secretary of Arts and Culture over the Ife Bronze, which was stolen from the museum in Jos and was thereafter sold to an art collector in Belgium.

According to the minister, “The art collector in Belgium now sent it to an auctioneer to value it for sale.

But because we had reported the case to the International Organisation of Museum (IOM), Interpol, and all authorities, it was intercepted and the British government held it.

“So, we asked them to return it to us. I had to travel to London to push for its return. The auctioneer then said we must pay for it and we refused. Then we also pursued the cockerel, which is the one that they are returning now.

“For the cockerel, I must give credit to our young students at Cambridge University. They put up a very good fight asking for the return of the cockerel. It was these young Nigerian students that started the fight about three years ago and then we joined them, as well as several other Nigerians joined in the campaign to get it back.”

The minister told THISDAY that the University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom, had also promised to return Nigeria’s artefacts in its custody.

He said, “Before then, France and Mexico have returned some of our artefacts. I was in US in July and we reached an agreement that the US government would help us intercept and return to Nigeria artefacts that were stolen or smuggled out of Nigeria and hope that before the end of November, the agreement would be signed.

“The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) is also going to the US in a few weeks. The Metropolitan

help the country to build well equipped 120 bed tertiary health centres across the country, with 37 to be constructed every year at the cost of N82 billion per hospital.

Other projects, which can be carried out with the projected subsidy savings, according to him included building and equipping 2,400 units of 1,000 bed hospitals across the 774 local government areas of the country.

He listed others to include building of 500,000 new houses for families through mortgage at N20 million per house; additional 27,000 megawatts (MW) of solar-powered electricity to the national grid; and educating and skilling up of Nigerians with global standard quality of education and sought-after skills.

Also speaking at the conference, the Group Managing Director of Swift Oil Limited, Mr. Stilian Mitakev, and the immediate past Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Muda Yusuf, knocked the federal government over its insistence to continue controlling the pricing of petrol despite the deregulation of the

she added.

The statue was removed from display at the college in 2016, and would be given to Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments at a ceremony attended by delegates from the commission and Benin.

A Paris museum is displaying 26 looted colonial-era artefacts for one last time before France returns them home to Benin.

The wooden anthropomorphic statues, royal thrones and sacred altars were pilfered by the French army in the 19th century from Western Africa.

President Emmanuel Macron had suggested that France needed to right the wrongs of the past while making a landmark speech in 2017 in which he said he could no longer accept “that a large part of many African countries' cultural heritage lies in France”.

This laid down a roadmap for the controversial return of the royal treasures taken during the era of empire and colony, a move that could have potential ramifications across European museums.

The French would have a final glimpse of the objects in the Musee du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac from October 26th to 31st.

French culture minister Roselyne Bachelot tried to assuage jitters among European museums, emphasising that this initiative “will not create a legal precedent.”

A French law was passed last year to allow the restitution of the statues to the Republic of Benin, as well as a storied sword to the Army Museum in Senegal.

But Bachelot said the French government's law was intentionally specific in applying solely to the 26 artefacts.

“It does not establish any general right to restitution and in no way calls into question” the right of French museums to hold on to their heritage.

Yet critics of such moves – including the British Museum, which is in a decades-long tug-of-war with the Greek government over a restitution of the Elgin Marbles – argue that it would spark a move that could empty Western museums of their treasured collections.

Adinuba who spoke yesterday on ‘The Morning Show’ on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said the people of Anambra State and members of the various political parties in the state were very confident that the election would hold, despite threat from IPOB members.

Senator Gaya gave the green light for the electronic transmission of the result when the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters and INEC met with stakeholders on the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State.

The senate INEC committee chairman said, “It is left for INEC to decide whether it will transfer the election results in Anambra or not.

They have done that in the previous elections in Edo and Ondo states.

“Even before INEC started transferring elections results from polling units, Nigerians have been monitoring results of elections the moment they are being announced at polling stations and by 4pm, even before the final results are announced, many Nigerians would have seen them on the Internet. Nigerians are fully involved in elections.”

The ranking senator said INEC had assured the joint committee that it would go ahead with the Anambra election and declare the winner, despite the prevailing security situation in the state.

He stated, “We expect the people of the state to cooperate fully with the electoral body by being law abiding.

The only way to achieve free and fair, credible election in Anambra is for everybody to eschew violence.”

Speaking earlier, iNEC National Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood, said the agency had recovered from the series of attacks by yet to be identified persons in Anambra State.

Mahmood said, “We have recovered from the series of attacks on our facilities and I am happy to say that we have deployed all the non-sensitive materials to all the local government areas. We have trained the requisite number of adhoc staff for the election and we have also mobilised members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers for efficient distribution of materials on Election Day. As far as INEC is concerned, we are good to go on November 6, 2021.”

On the level of distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Anambra State, he said, “We have a little over 81,000 valid registrants.

After the suspension of the CVR (Continuous Voter Registration) in Anambra State, that includes a little over 5,000 that applied for replacement of cards and intra-state and inter-state transfers.

“As we speak, we are batching the cards. They will leave first thing tomorrow morning for Awka and all the new registrants will get their cards before the elections.

“This time around, with the help of technology, we were able to harvest the telephone numbers and email addresses of the registrants.

So we will contact each and every one of them and tell them where to pick their cards. But the cards

will be delivered to Awka tomorrow (Thursday).”

Despite IPOB Threat, Anambra Election Will Hold, Says Commissioner

Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Don Adinuba, has said the governorship election slated for November 6 in Anambra State would hold, despite the sit-at-home order given by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Adinuba who spoke yesterday on ‘The Morning Show’ on ARISE NEWS Channel, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said the people of Anambra State and members of the various political parties in the state were very confident that the election would hold, despite threat from IPOB members.

Adinuba who expressed confidence that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), whose gubernatorial candidate is Prof.

Chukwuka Soludo, would win the election, called on the people of the state to come out in their numbers to vote for the candidate of their choice.

“Soludo is currently campaigning in all the 21 Local Government Areas of the state and the people have assured him of their votes. Despite the attack on his person by political thugs, Soludo is not deterred, as he still goes about campaigning with renewed strength,” Adinuba said.

Addressing the tensed situation in the state, which was created by the sit-at-home order by IPOB, Adinuba who dismissed the threat order, said IPOB issued the same threat order four years ago against conducting the election that year, but later rescinded its threat order after some prominent people from the South-east intervened.

He said he was confident that the same members of IPOB would also change their minds, since high level negotiations had begun to dissuade IPOB members of their current position.

“As I speak, there are people who have started negotiating with IPOB members and the former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezife, is one of them who is leading the negotiation. But beyond the political approach, the Inspector General of Police (IG), is sending 34,000 policemen, led by Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), who is an indigene of Anambra State.

“Other security personnel will be joining the 34,000 policemen to ensure that the election is conducted in a peaceful manner, without fear of intimidation from any group. So the Anambra political environment will be overwhelming by the presence of policemen during the election, and that will go a long way to inspire confidence in the people to come out and vote on the day of election,” Adinuba said.

He expressed confidence that APGA members, including the 34 Soludo Solidarity Groups, would come out in their numbers to vote for Soludo on the day of the election.

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ABIODUN LAUNCHES REVENUE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM...

L-R: Secretary to Ogun State Government, Tokunbo Talabi; Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele; Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo and the Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor, Dapo Okubadejo at the launch of Ogun State Land Administration and Revenue Management System, OLARMS, at the Tech Hub, Kobape Road, Abeokuta... yesterday

Okonjo-Iweala Harps on Investments in Local Vaccines Production Says recovery hampered by lack of access James Emejo in Abuja The Director General, World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said Africa could no longer rely completely on importation of vaccines and pharmaceuticals given the lessons drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic.

She expressed concern that most of the continent's population remained unvaccinated, with only less than five per cent of Africans fully vaccinated compared to over 60 per cent in developed countries.

The WTO DG, who had predicated the economic recovery in developing countries on the availability and access to COVID-19 vaccines, pointed out that the organisation had spent a great deal of time working with manufacturers to invest in emerging and developing countries including Africa.

Okonjo-Iweala spoke virtually at the 49th Annual General Meeting and 50th anniversary of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in Abuja.

She said death dynamics on the continent were worsening with death ratios climbing from an average of 33.4 per cent in 2015 to over 50 per cent in 2021.

Okonjo-Iweala who spoke on the "Role of Trade in the Post-

Pandemic Recovery in Africa," stressed that unequal vaccine access had limited economic recovery especially in developing countries.

She said, "Unequal vaccine access and poor physical capacity has led to a K-shaped global economic recovery with advanced and some emerging economies surging ahead because they have access to vaccines and have very strong physical capacity which they use to revive their economy with their accommodative monetary policy."

She added: "But those at the downward end of the k-shape which include Latin America, Middle East and Sub-saharan Africa lag behind because they don’t have as much access to vaccines and the physical stimulus especially in Sub-Saharan Africa."

She said intra-regional trade as a percentage of total trade was only 15 per cent in Africa compared to 60 per cent in Asia and 67 per cent in Europe -implying that Africans trade much less with themselves unlike other regions.

She said the pandemic had exposed how dependent Africa is, reiterating the need for the continent to make use of the The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to build

pharmaceutical industries and also produce vaccines.

The WTO DG said the prospects of a unified market of 1.3 billion people offered enormous opportunities for Nigerian businesses that service a whole market of 211 million people.

According to her, "The large continental market which makes investments more attractive in Nigeria can create more wealth

and more jobs.

"We need to trade more with each other because we can trade more with each other and increase that percentage, we can create more wealth and create more jobs".

She said increased trade remained critical in the recovery of the Nigerian and African economy onto a sustainable upward path.

Okonjo-Iweala noted: "We need

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said it would be establishing a standard rehabilitation centre in each of the six geo-political zones of the country to treat the high number of persons suffering drug addiction.

Chairman and Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa, disclosed this in Abuja yesterday at the 5th Biennial National Symposium on Drugs and Drug Policy in Nigeria, organised by the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse (CRISA).

Speaking as a special guest of honour, Marwa said, “Substance use and abuse around the world including Nigeria is on the increase in terms of the proportion

of the world’s population.

“Findings from the National Drug Use Survey (2018) conducted by the UNODC revealed that 14.4% or 14.3 million Nigerians aged 15 – 64 years had used a psychoactive substance in the past year for non-medical purposes, meaning that one in seven persons has used some substances other than alcohol and tobacco.

“More worrisome is the finding that among every four drug users in Nigeria, one is a woman.

Above findings of the survey by UNODC give a troubling portrait of drug abuse in Nigeria and we can no longer live in denial that Nigeria has a thriving illicit drug culture.”

Marwa said as part of efforts to stem the tide, the agency has proposed the construction of six standard rehabilitation centres

WTO has been working hard with vaccine manufacturers and other stakeholders to help them identify supply chains. So that some countries can access the vaccine sooner."

Earlier, President, MAN, Mansur Ahmed said industrialisation and trade were key to economic recovery and sustainability adding that this enable Nigeria compete across various frontiers.

FG Set to Scale-up Contribution from Livestock to GDP Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The federal government has said plans have been concluded to scale up the contribution of livestock sub-sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, made the disclosure in Benin yesterday, at the 57th annual congress of the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA).

Represented by Dr. Maimuna Habib, the minister who noted that the veterinarians have a role to play in this, decried the present five per cent contribution of livestock sub-sector to the GDP. He said: "The sector is faced with limiting factors among which is the burden of diseases such as

(Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP).

"Peste Des Petits Ruminant (PPR), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Avian Influenza, African Swine Fever) among other that are mitigating against livestock production and productivity.

"I am aware that veterinarians both in public and private sectors are contributing their quota to guarantee optimal health of animals for improved production and productivity for a profitable business in the livestock sub- sector.

"To realise sufficiency in the contribution of livestock sub sector to Nigerian economy, we need to institutionalise effectively the control of major animal diseases in the country.”

He added: "The Federal Ex-

Marwa: NDLEA Proposes Rehab Centres in Each Geo-political Zone Michael Olugbode in Abuja

to reverse our presence on the downward part of this k-shaped recovery and use the recovery from the crisis to increase Africa’s share of global trade.

"Trade is essential to produce and distribute the COViD-19 vaccines we need, these vaccines rely on inputs from multiple countries.

"The vaccines must get into people's hands in every country of the world, that is why the

across the six geo-political zones in the country, beginning from next year, adding that, three of the centres would start next year as already proposed in the 2022 budget.

His words: “There is no doubt that substance use impacts negatively on the individual, family and the society in general.

Substance abuse affects the physical, social and psychological levels of the user and family members.

“Evidence has shown that COVID-19 infections are higher or more common with people diagnosed with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) hence addiction care must be reinforced in order to avoid complications of SUD and COVID-19.

“Reducing the demand for illicit drugs in the society depends to a large extent on the successful

treatment of existing drug users.

This fact accounts for the shift in global drug policy viz the treatment of drug problems as a public health issue.

“Consequently, we have operationalised our Standard Practice and Policy Guidelines, a treatment and rehabilitation document developed in conjunction with UNODC. The document, like a field manual, provides synergy among our counsellors and further boosts our capability at treatment and rehabilitation.”

Other dignitaries, who spoke at the event included the Chairman, House of Reps Committee on Judiciary, Hon. Onofiok Luke; Executive Director, CRISA, Prof Isidore Obot; Prof. Ibrahim Abdu Wakawa, who delivered the keynote address and representatives of EU, UNODC among others.

ecutive Council has graciously approved an intervention fund to address the existing gaps in the animal health care services delivery in the country and very soon the ministry is going to roll out activities in the control of trans-boundary diseases in the country.”

In his welcome address, the NVMA President, Dr. Ibrahim Shehu, challenged veterinarians to deploy their professional skills to end the importation of livestock and milk into the country.

Shehu who bemoaned the huge amount the nation spends in the importation of these produce, noted that thousands of Nigerians have been denied job opportunities as a result of this activities.

According to him, "It is paradoxical that despite the country’s tremendous potentials in livestock, especially cattle, Nigeria still imports over 2 metric tonnes of milk worth over billions of dollars annually."

He further said of the two metric tonnes of fish required in Nigeria annually, over one metric tonnes was being imported despite Nigeria's large rivers, vast territorial ocean waters and diverse aquacultural practices.

"These are challenges, but they also provide opportunities for veterinarians to deploy their professional skills to ameliorate them for the socio-economic development of the country "Nigeria and Nigerians beckons on us to ensure, among others, that there is sufficient meat, milk, eggs, and seas foods that are free of pathogens or antibiotics residues; that there are job opportunities in producing livestock, livestock-based products, poultry and fish, both for domestic consumption and export.

"We have the capacity and sense of duty to face these challenges effectively," he stated.

Meanwhile, Gov. Godwin Obaseki has promised to implement the resolutions that would be reached at the 57th annual congress of the NVMA. Represented by his Deputy, Philip Shaibu, Obaseki said implementing the resolutions was to strengthen the veterinary department of the state's health sector.

He also said that the state was working at providing more jobs opportunities for the people, especially youths, by proffering solution to the challenges of electricity.

"With the issue of power solved, the youths have the ideas to grow themselves," he said.

Speaking on the theme, "The Veterinarian and Global Health Security" Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, the guest speaker, said research had shown that 75 per cent of zoonotic diseases were from animals.

He stated that 65 per cent of diseases in humans were from animals.

"This is a pointer to the fact that the veterinarians are expected to participate in global health initiative to advance global health security," he said.

The chairman of the occasion, Chief David Edebiri, called on the federal and state governments to pay special attention to the veterinary doctors.

He also called on the professionals to make their presence to be felt in the society.

According to him, "The job of a veterinary is too important to be suppressed or relegated to the background. Their job to the society is not less important to that of the other medical professions."

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AFRILABS 2021 ANNUAL GATHERING...

L-R: Board Chairman Elect, Afrilabs a Pan-African Network , Mr. Moataz Helmy; Executive Director Afrilabs, Mrs. Anna Ekeledo; Chairman Afrilabs, Mrs. Rebecca Enonchong, and Special Assistant to PHOTO: KINGSLEY ADEBOYE the Vice President, on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Ife Adedayo, during the Afrilabs 2021 annual gathering in Abuja... Yesterday

Fresh Strike Looms in Varsities over Sharing Formula of N22.1bn Earned Allowances SSANU, NASU give FG two weeks ultimatum

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Another industrial action is looming in the nation's universities over the sharing formula for the just approved N22.127 billion earned allowances for the university staff.

THISDAY gathered that out of the approved amount, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is to take a lion share of 75 percent of the total sum, while the other three unions would share the remaining 25 per cent.

The three unions are the Nonacademic staff union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

The last N40 billion Earned Allowances released by the federal government for the four unions where ASUU was also allocated 75 percent of the total sum had generated crisis in the university system.

However, THISDAY gathered from reliable sources yesterday that two of the unions, NASU and SSANU have rejected the sharing formula and asked the federal government to immediately to avert another industrial dispute in the university system.

The two unions under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee, (JAC), have given the government two weeks to redress what they described as injustice meted out to them.

A source told our reporter that JAC had written to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige to intervene in the looming but avoidable crisis in the universities.

The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the letter refusing the sharing formula that was sent to the Minister of Labour and Employment, who is the Conciliator-in-Chief of the country was copied to the Minister of Education and the Executive Secretary of the National University Commission, NUC. The letter was signed by the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi and the National President of SSANU, Mohammad Ibrahim.

The letter titled: "Refusal of Federal Government to honour Memorandum of Action stated that: "the leadership of the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU is constrained to write the Honourable Minister in respect of the total failure of the Federal Government to positively address all the issues contained in the Memorandum of Action signed on 25th February 2021 and the refusal of the Minister of Labour and Employment to finalise action on the subsequent Memorandum of Action reached at the meeting of 25th August 2021.

"It is regrettable to note that the draft of the Memorandum of Action reached on Thursday 25th August 2021 which was handed over to JAC leadership

for vetting was effectively returned on Monday 30th August 2021 and almost two months after the meeting, no action has been taken."

Some of the contentious issues raised in the letter were the payment of Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment arrears, alleged Inconsistencies in IPPIS payment, Payment of hazard responsibility allowance to desrving members and the earned allowances The unions said contrary to the content of the Memorandum of Ac-

The Police Service Commission (PSC), yesterday, warned staff and police officers involved in the conduct of aptitude tests for candidates for recruitment into the constable cadre of the Nigeria Police Force to desist from compromising the standards and expectations.

The test will hold tomorrow, 29 and Saturday, 30, 2021 in the 36 states of the federation and FCT. Addressing the staff of the commission at a one-day orientation programme in Abuja, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Commission, Mr. William Alo, said the commission would not

hesitate to discipline any staff of the commission or serving police officer found compromising the exercise.

He enjoined the staff to conduct themselves with dignity and respect the rules guiding the exams.

He said the commission would ensure that the integrity of the aptitude tests for candidates for recruitment into the constable cadre of the Nigeria Police was sustained.

"Your conduct will speak good or bad of the commission and we will sanction any staff, who deliberately brings the commission to ridicule”, he said, adding that the commission would ensure that the exercise was successful.

federal government at 75-25 for the disbursement of the last tranche of N40 billion released for payment of earned allowances to both the teaching and non-teaching staff of our universities.

"To again embark on this provocative and unacceptable sharing formula in the next release will only ignite industrial disquiet in our university system.

“We urge the Minister to prevail on the federal government not to allow the present peaceful

industrial atmosphere in the universities and inter-university centers in our country to be disrupted.

"We, therefore, request for positive redress of the issues presented above by the federal government within the next two weeks, failing which JAC may be forced to ask its members across the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take a position on the need to resume to the suspended strike."

Barkindo: Crowding Out Investment Could Worsen Tightness in Gas Market Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr. Sanusi Barkindo, yesterday warned that if the calls to halt investments in the oil and gas sector are heeded, the current crisis in the gas market could worsen.

In recent times, climate change activists, a number of big oil’s board members, the International Energy Agency (IEA) among others, have been pushing for defunding of projects in the industry to accelerate the global transition to net-zero emissions.

PSC Warns Staff, Officers against Compromising Recruitment Exercise Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

tion of 25th February 2021 and the decision reached at the subsequent meeting of 26th August 202, the federal government has agreed to release another tranche of N22.127 billion for the payment of Earned Allowance to the Universities and Inter-University Center Staff at the ratio 75-25 percent.

"We are alarmed at this lack of sensitivity on the part of government when not long ago, Non-teaching staff protested the sharing formula applied by the

He reiterated that the commission "would not hesitate to discipline any staff of the commission or serving police officer found compromising the exercise", adding that the commission deployed staff to various examination centres in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory for the exercise with a directive to ensure that the integrity of the exercise was sustained.

Meanwhile, the commission has advised that cases of infraction or outright sabotage of the exercise should be reported through its dedicated official telephone lines: 07080601377 or 07080601376 for immediate action.

But speaking at the second High-Level Meeting of the OPEC-Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Energy Dialogue, Barkindo argued that although the oil producers’ cartel was not against investment in renewables, it would be “disruptive and counterproductive” to suddenly abandon the sector.

The OPEC helmsman maintained that the objective consensus of the leading energy outlook was that the world would need a broad portfolio of fuel choices to support the post-pandemic recovery and, in the longer term, meet the needs of expanding populations and economies.

He reiterated that the OPEC outlook expects global primary energy demand to grow by 28 per cent between 2020 and 2045, explaining that the projections show that nearly all energy sources will be needed in the coming years.

Barkindo noted that although this growth would be led by renewables, which will rise from a global fuel share of around 2 per cent in 2020 to over 10 per cent by 2045, gas will see the second highest growth during the period.

Even by 2045, Barkindo argued that oil and gas together would continue to provide more than half of the world’s energy needs – with oil at 28 per cent and gas around 24 per cent.

The former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) insisted that these two fuels would be the “heavy-lifters” of the world’s economy and energy system for the foreseeable future.

Given the current expectations, the secretary general insisted that the industry will continue to need predictable capital to juggle the demands for more energy and more progress on meeting global climate goals.

He emphasised that throughout OPEC’s 61-year history, there had been seven major market cycles, and the two in recent years have had a profound impact on investment.

“Capital expenditure in the oil sector fell by a staggering 30 per cent last year, while exploration and production spending fell by 27 per cent in both 2015 and 2016.

“We anticipate that that investment of almost $12 trillion will be required in the upstream, midstream and downstream between now and 2045. Around 80 per cent of this, or $9.2 trillion, will be needed in the upstream alone.

“These massive requirements clearly underline that any talk of the need to divert investment away from oil and gas is both disruptive and counterproductive.

“In fact, the push to deprive the industry of capital could side-track our efforts to invest

in innovation, technology and new generations of highly-skilled workers to lead our industry into a lower-carbon future. “ I would also add here that the tightness we are seeing in the gas market could become more pronounced in the future, given the current efforts aimed at crowding out investment. There is no short-cut to a lower-carbon future, and you cannot short-sell vital energy assets if you are to achieve a smooth transition,” he maintained.

In his remarks, Secretary General of the GECF, of which Nigeria is a member, Yuri Sentyurin, said that concerns as regards energy crisis occurring this autumn and its complications may become a reality if politicians are only betting on renewable energy sources.

Stressing that it is too early to write off hydrocarbons, particularly oil and natural gas, he expressed the belief that energy customers should not repeat European mistakes by relying on spot market supplies instead of securing long-term contracts.

Already, he noted that a spike in gas and power prices is wreaking havoc in Europe’s economy, stressing that gas has been and will remain the most practical option to attain energy transition as well as spur economic growth and social progress in Europe and anywhere in the world.

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NEWS

Six Killed, Property Razed in Renewed Kogi Communal Clash Ibrahim Oyewale inLokoja At least six persons were confirmed dead while several houses have been razed in a renewed hostility between warring factions in Bagana and Omala Local Government Areas of Kogi State THISDAY gathered that the incident was a sustained and coordinated attack by gunmen in the early hours of Monday to unleash terror on the innocent people of Bagana village .

It was learnt that a similar attack occurred barely a month ago leading to the death of about nine persons and property worth millions of naira destroyed forcing hundreds of inhabitants to seek refuge in neighbouring communities.

Sources hinted that the attackers, who went straight to the House of one Chief Salifu Anyebe, who’s stool was up graded to third class chief fortnight ago , set the palace ablaze and in the process shot three persons including one Madam Achebe Alih popularly known as Mama Teacher to death.

Further investigation revealed that the early morning raid made the villagers, who were just

returning back to the village from the similar attack scampered for safety in the bushes .

The attackers, it was gathered

, may have been allegedly linked to a clan opposed to his ascendancy and planned to attack him during the proposed

ceremony of the title.

However, It was reliably gathered that the information of the attack leaked to him, forcing

the abrupt suspension of the ceremony. But the attackers went on to attack the palace leading to complete burning down of his

palace, his car and other valuable properties belonging to the chief and close families that lived in cluster with him.

NWOSU’S INVESTITURE…

L-R: Chairman, Board of Patrons, Boys ‘Brigade, Prof. Wale Omole; Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe; National President, Boys’ Brigade, Mr. Sunday Nwosu; former Managing Director, African Petroleum, Mr. Zira Maigadi, and Chairman, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, Mr. Seinde Fadeni, during the investiture of Nwosu as National President of the Boys’ Brigade in Lagos…recently ABIODUN AJALA

FG Spends N45bn on Social Gunmen Abduct Eight in Ekiti, Demand N50m Ransom Interventions in Katsina Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

Francis SardaunainKatsina

The federal government expended over N45 billion on various social intervention programmes in Katsina State to support vulnerable persons in the state.

The State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, disclosed this yesterday, while inaugurating the Katsina health workers’ Plaza and Guest House built by the state Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN).

He explained that the social intervention programmes introduced by President Muhammadu Buhari significantly

addressed challenges faced by vulnerable families in the northern region of the country.

He said: “Going by our culture and tradition here in this northern part of the country, the older you become the more responsibilities you shoulder because we have no social security system.

“The extended family system is the only social security net we have until recently when President Muhammadu Buhari started introducing social interventions which is the foundation for social security where there is direct support to most vulnerable people of at least N5,000 per month.

Police Arrest Three Suspects for Land Grabbing, Attempted Murder James Sowole in Abeokuta Men of the Ogun State Police Command, have arrested three suspected land grabbers for attempted murder.

The suspects, according to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer for the command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, were arrested on the 25th of October 2021, while invading Jegede village in Igbesa area of Ado Odo/Ota Local Government with dangerous weapons, with which they inflicted varying degrees of injuries on members of the community.

Oyeyemi, said the suspects,

Adewale Muyibi, Kamoru Ayodele and Taofeek Ogundele were arrested following a distress call received by the policemen at Agbara divisional headquarters that armed hoodlums have invaded Jegede village and were shooting sporadically.

He said: “Upon the distress call, the Divisional Police Officer, Agbara Division, Saleh Dahiru, led his men to the scene where six men, namely Sunday Okorie, Shoneye Akeem, Lakan Oloyede, Jimoh Musibau Akande Oyedeji and Hamzat Idiris, who have been shot by the hoodlums were rescued to the hospital for treatment.”

Jailbreak: Akeredolu Charges Police to Beef up Security at Correctional Centres

Hammed Shittu inIlorin

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has charged the state Police Command to take adequate measures to secure Correctional Centres across the state.

The charge was contained in a statement made available to THISDAY by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olabode, in Akure.

Akeredolu said: “This has become very compelling in

view of the disturbing trend of incessant attacks on Correctional Centres in some states that border Ondo State.

“This latest variant of insecurity calls for concern, especially as contiguous states like Kogi and Ekiti as well as Oyo have suffered similar ordeal in what appears to be well-coordinated breaches aimed at achieving a common goal-setting free crime suspects, particularly those with gang identities.

Barely a week after four persons were kidnapped at Ayebode, in Ikole Local Government area of Ekiti State, eight victims were allegedly kidnapped on Tuesday at Itapaji Ekiti in the same council area.

The abductors were said to have contacted the family early yesterday and demanded a sum of N50 million as ransom.

An eyewitness revealed to

journalists in Ado Ekiti that the gunmen, had besieged a house located in the town around 9.30pm, shot sporadically into the air and made away with eight occupants of the building.

The gunshots that lasted for over one hour were said to have terrified the residents of the community.

The source said the owner of the building was preparing for his mother’s burial and the preparations were said to have

been on the top gear when the evil men struck.

“The men numbering seven came around 9.30pm with guns and surrounded the building.

They fired gunshots sporadically.

“As the occupants of the house were coming out, they were grabbed and made to lie face down. They were later taken away into the bush.

They were 14 initially, but six of them escaped into the bush”.

He added further: “Early

today (yesterday), one of the family members received a call from the abductors and demanded a ransom of N50 million,” he said.

The source added that lack of police stations in Itapaji -Ayebode and Irele-Oke Ako axes was responsible for increasing cases of kidnapping in the area, saying the nearest police station is in Ikole Ekiti, which was over 40 minutes drive to the troubled spots.

NSCDC Arrests Three Suspects, Impounds Adulterated Petroleum Product The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Cross River has paraded three suspects conveying 6,000 litres of illegally refined diesel and kerosene into the state concealed in sack bags.

The Command also seized two trucks conveying 20,000 litres and 45,000 litres respectively, although the drivers of the trucks escaped on sighting officials of the NSCDC.

The Commandant of the NSCDC in Cross River, Mr. Samuel Fadeyi, who paraded the suspects yesterday in Calabar at the NSCDC exhibit yard, said they were arrested on October 25, 2021, along the Calabar-Odukpani highway.

He disclosed that the three suspects wrapped the illegal products in sack bags and arranged them orderly in form

of cement bags inside the truck.

They tried to deceive security agencies that they were conveying cement.

“The suspects were coming from Port Harcourt with the products. Illegal product potent dangers to the society; ranging from explosion and damage of generating plants and other machines,” he said.

He noted that the illegal

refineries cannot meet up with the standard of the legal ones, hence the Command is very alert in curbing such illegal activities to prevent damages that may arise from explosions when the product is used.

He frowned at the situation where some group of persons were trying to make profit from illegal product at the detriment of the safety of the general public.

Wike, Fayemi Harp on Financial Autonomy of Judiciary Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has reiterated his disagreement with the stance of the federal government and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum on the issue of financial autonomy for the judiciary.

According to the governor, confining autonomy for the judiciary to finance alone, is

antithetical to the concept of independence of the judiciary.

The governor accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government of using the issue of financial autonomy to ingratiate themselves with the judiciary after years of obvious frosty relationship between them.

He stated that the federal government must stop using security agencies to intimidate and influence judges if it truly

believes in independence of the judiciary.

Governor Wike stated this yesterday, in his remarks at the Nigerian Bar Association President’s Dinner in honour of delegates to the 61st annual conference of the NBA in Port Harcourt.

He contended that it is disingenuous for the federal government that uses security agencies to bully judges, to direct States to implement

financial autonomy for the judiciary.

“Autonomy is also allowing them (judges) to do what they are supposed to do without you intimidating them. Autonomy is not, give money. Autonomy is, stop using the security agencies to influence them on what to do. We have restricted autonomy to mean where you can award contract. No, that is not autonomy alone.

Kwara on Mission to Reclaim Education Glory, Says AbdulRazaq Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq yesterday said his administration is on a mission to reclaim the glory of the state, especially in the education sector where the government has been hailed for its pro-merit policy in teachers’ recruitment and heavy investments in school infrastructure.

Apparently in a response to Senator Bukola Saraki’s interviewon ARISE TV, where he claimed that the people of the state made the mistake of voting him out of power, AbdulRazaq said the state would not relapse to an “awful era of anything goes” when teaching slots were distributed to loyalists of Saraki at the ward meetings of the ruling party.

Represented by the Secretary to

the State Government(SSG) Prof.

Mamman Saba Jubril, the governor spoke at the flag off ceremony for the training of the newly recruited teachers at the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM).

He said: “What we met in 2019 was a legacy of ‘anything goes’, including in the education sector. Recruitment of teachers was politicised to the ridiculous extent that slots for teaching jobs

were being shared at the meetings of the ruling party. I found it funny that the characters who replaced the golden legacy of our forebears with ‘anything goes’ in their bid to cast the state in their own egocentric image had the gut to say that Kwarans made a mistake in voting them out in 2019. Under them, Kwara lost its glory. The basic education system collapsed under their watch”.

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NEWS XTRA

Two Corps, Four Others Regain Freedom in Zamfara after Five Days in Captivity George Okoh in Makurdi Two National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members and four other people who were abducted in Zamfara State last week Tuesday have regained their freedom after five days in the kidnappers’ den.

This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom on Security, Col Paul Hemba (rtd).

Hemba disclosed the news to reporters by telephone yesterday, saying the victims were released at about 6pm on Tuesday.

‘Yes, they have been released and they are on their way back to Benue,’ he told newsmen.

Bandits intercepted a Sokoto bound Benue Links bus last week Tuesday and abducted some of the passengers, among whom were two Corps members posted to Kebbi State and four other persons.

Our correspondent gathered that the abducted victims include: Joseph Zaaka Aondona, Sedoo Tsokar, Jennifer Awashima Iorliam and Sechivir, Muhammadu Saminu and Muhammadu Safiam.

Two of the victims, Jennifer Iorliam and Joseph Zakaa, were said to be on their way to the NYSC orientation in Kebbi State,

while another victim, Sedoo Tsokar, a student of Uthman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto was returning to school.

Others are Serchivir, a young girl who was visiting her relatives in Sokoto, as well as two brothers, Saminu and

Safiam Muhammadu.

Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom had on Tuesday disclosed that his administration

was working in collaboration with security agencies to ensure the release of the kidnapped victims.

SAFETY AMBASSADOR AWARD……

Managing Director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Capt. Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu; Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State during the presentation of Safety Ambassador Award to the governor in Enugu…recently

NCAA Threatens to Sanction Propetrol Founder, Ebohon Wins Forbes Outstanding CEO Award The Founder and CEO of of his enthusiasm and the West African coast, spreading is exceptional, and has won Airlines over Access to Propetrol Limited, Harry tremendous achievements its tentacles across the Gulf of you this recognition.”

Ebohon, has been slated to his personality had brought Guinea, from Ghana to Sao As the Managing Director Aircraft Cockpit receive the ‘Outstanding CEO’ to bear in presiding over many Tome and Liberia, and into and CEO of one of Nigeria’s Chinedu Eze

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA) has threatened to sanction airline operators and flight crew that admit unauthorised persons into the cockpit of commercial aircraft during all phases of flight operation.

In a circular addressed to airline operators in Nigeria, signed by the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu, the agency said that it has been brought to its notice a worrisome development in which passengers are admitted

into the flight deck (cockpit), especially on commercial air transport flights.

“Aircraft flight decks are designated as a safe working environment and the presence of unauthorised persons is both a distraction to safe flight operations and a potential security risk. In addition it is a violation to Nig. CARs8.5.1.12 and 8.5.1.13.

“All operators and flight crew are hereby warned to detest from admitting unauthorised persons into the cockpit during all phases of flight operations with immediate effect,” Nuhu said.

‘NIHOTOUR, NBS’ MoU to Address Data Gap in Hospitality’ Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi The Director General(DG) of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR), Nura Sani Kangiwa has stated that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Institute and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is aimed at closing the existing data-gap in the hospitality and tourism industry of the country He noted that this will further deepen statistical development of sectoral databank necessary for planning within the sector.

Kangiwa, who stated this in Abuja during the signing ceremony of the MoU with the NBS, observed that statistics are critical to national planning, sound policy development and informed business decisions.

“And that because research is an integral part of NIHOTOUR’s mandate, it becomes imperative to seek partnership with NBS as an exclusive agency in verifying, approving, administering and publishing basic national statistical data for national economic and social development,” he said.

award at the Forbes Energy 2021 Best of Africa awards.

According to a letter of notification by the Foreign Investment Network (FIN) ahead of the award ceremony to be held in Dubai next month, Ebohon was chosen in recognition

successful projects at Propetrol.

“Propetrol is renowned as a leader among oil and gas firms successfully providing ethical solutions to the industry that drives Africa’s biggest economy.

“Through its aggressive expansion drive, the company has made its mark across the

parts of Southern Africa,” a statement added.

According to the FIN, Ebohon’s “…reform-minded, well-defined operational process in accelerating the completion of highly complex top level oil and gas projects when it comes to bunkering

leading indigenous bunker trading companies, the entrepreneur, talent aggregator and philanthropist had led the company through some of the toughest times in Nigeria’s economic history, to exponential growth in the years since its founding.

Insecurity: Gov Bello Wants Military Operation Extended to Niger Laleye Dipo in Minna Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has asked the federal government to extend the ongoing land and air military operations against bandits and other criminal elements to the criminal-infested areas of the state.

Bello also suggested that the operation should be carried out simultaneously in the Northwest

and North Central geo political zones of the country in order not to give the criminals any hiding place.

The governor made the suggestions in a statement made available to journalists last Tuesday night as a reaction to the recent assault on villagers in Rafi and Mashegu Local Government Areas leading to the loss of many lives and property as well as a large

number of cattle rustled.

“The bandits run to other states once they feel the pressure of the military. Look at what happened to us in Niger State recently; they invaded Shiroro, Munya and Rafi upon being overpowered in Kaduna.

Similarly, they invaded, killed and kidnapped many people in Sokoto communities,” the governor said in a statement signed by his Chief Press

Secretary, Mary Noel Berje.

Bello expressed regret at the recent killing of 18 persons and the kidnap of some community members at Mazakuka and Kaboji towns in Mashegu LGA as well as the kidnap of not less than 30 travellers at Garin-Gabas in Rafi LGA of the state, noting that “the bandits can only be eliminated completely, and in a short time if the assault on them is carried out simultaneously.”

FCT Warns Traditional Rulers against Influx of Foreign Miners Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has cautioned graded traditional rulers in the FCT against habouring any foreigner in the guise of mining activities. She said such could create security threats within their respective domains.

She made the appeal during the 4th security meeting between

the office of the Minister of State, Area Council Chairmen, the FCT Council of Graded Chiefs and the FCT Commissioner of Police, Mr. Babaji Sunday.

Aliyu urged traditional rulers to report any suspicious foreigner within their domain to a security agency for profiling.

She stated that the FCT as the seat of government would continue to guard against the

infiltration of illegal miners that could pose security challenges to residents as witnessed in Zamfara and other affected states in the north-west region of the country.

She said the administration was collaborating with the Ministry of Mines and Steel to put an embargo on mining activities in the nation’s capital.

“I want to use this forum to remind our royal fathers that the

seat of the federal government is here, the fabric of Nigeria’s existence is here. Therefore, I want to passionately appeal that let us not open the territory to foreigners in the guise of mining activities.

“They might offer us Greek gifts and they will offer to develop our communities. It might look golden to us, they will offer us money in exchange for our freedom and our land.”

would be presenting at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) holding in Glasgow between 31 October-12 November 2021, co-hosted by United Kingdom and Italy, the Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor said: “We require the developed countries to honour

the word given made back in 2009 of mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to support climate action in developing countries.”

Ikeazor while lamenting that developing countries especially those on the Africa continent bear the brunt of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, noted that: “Recent

announcements, including President Joe Biden’s pledge to double US climate finance, have brought developed countries closer to honoring the pledge.”

She however said more needed to be done to restore credibility and strengthen trust between developing and developed nations.

Abia Seeks Legislative COP 26: Nigeria Asks Developed Countries to Honour Approval for Three Universities Pledge of $100bn on Climate Support (ABSU), which it inherited after Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Abia State Government has taken a decision to establish three more universities by converting the existing tertiary institutions to specialised universities.

The state already has a public-owned university, the Abia State University Uturu

it was carved out from the old Imo State.

The need for additional universities was among the major decisions taken at the State Executive Council meeting presided by the state Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, last Tuesday just before he reconstituted his cabinet.

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigeria has asked developed countries to honour the pledge of $100 billion annually to support climate action in developing countries.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday in Abuja on the position Nigeria

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THURSDAYSPORTS Osimhen’s €71.25m Move to Napoli One of 62 Transfer Deals under Investigations in Italy

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report Victor Osimhen’s €71.25million move from Ligue 1 club, LOSC Lille to Napoli in is believed to be one of the 62 transfer deals between 2019 and 2021 under investigations by Italian anti-graft authorities.

Italian newspapers, La Repubblica and Il Tempo, reported that the Federal Prosecutor was investigating the possibility of inflated valuations to help clubs balance their books.

At the time the Nigerian international joined Napoli,

Holders Man City Knocked out of League Cup Leicester, Spurs, Liverpool, Brentford all through to next round Holders Manchester City were knocked out of the Carabao Cup after West Ham United won 5-3 on penalties in front of an ecstatic sell-out crowd at London Stadium.

The fourth-round tie had ended goalless after 90 minutes before Said Benrahma scored the decisive spot-kick.

Phil Foden fired his penalty wide to give the Hammers the advantage in the shootout.

It is the first time since 2016 City, who have won the competition for the past four seasons, have been eliminated.

RESULTS League Cup Burnley 0-1 Tottenham Leicester 2-2 Brighton (4-2 on penalties) Preston 0-2 Liverpool Stoke 1-2 Brentford West Ham 0-0 Man City (5-3 on penalties)

SERIE A Juventus Udinese Sampdoria Cagliari Empoli Lazio

1-2 Sassuolo 1-1 Verona 1-3 Atalanta 1-2 Roma 0-2 Inter 1-0 Fiorentina

DFB Cup (Germany) Borussia 5-0 B’Munich Leverkusen 1-2 Karlsruher Mannheim 1-3 U’Berlin

Orestes Karnezis, Claudio Manzi, Ciro Palmieri and Luigi Liguori went in opposite direction for a total few of €20.13million Both Palmieri and Liguori have returned to Italy and are now playing for Nocerina and Afragolese in the Serie D, Italy’s fourth division.

Goal.com hinted that the Supervisory Commission for Serie A clubs (COVISOC) has already informed the Italian FIGC of a possible capital flight gains by inflated valuations, highlighting , among others, Osimhen’s move from LOSC Lille to Napoli and Juventus’ exchange deal with Barcelona for Arthur Melo.

It is alleged that Juventus' transfer activity is being scrutinised more than most, with Gazzetta dello Sport claiming 42 of the deals being looked into involve Serie A's most successful team.

Juventus revealed last month that the Italian market regulator CONSOB is looking into revenue they received from player trading activity.

The authority obtained documentation "concerning revenue stemming from player trading activity," without providing further details.

Juventus declined to comment when approached

by Reuters for their views on the latest investigation.

Victor Osimhen...his move from LOSC Lille to Napoli one of the 62 transfers under investigation by Italy’s anti graft authorities

‘No Going Back on NBBF Board Election Scheduled for October 30’ Lanre Glover Committee insists not aware of any cancellation of poll Attempts by the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to scuttle the scheduled elective congress of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) scheduled for October 30 in Benin City has hit the rock as the Electoral Committee insisted yesterday it was not aware of any cancellation of the election and is going ahead with the process as planned.

The Dr Lanre Glover led committee said yesterday: “We are unaware of changes since the Ministry's pronouncement

dated 30th, September which recognised the supremacy of the 2019 NBBF Constitution forming "the basis of the next elections and the resolution of any conflict that may emanate from it as well as the power of the Congress.”

The committee said it was not aware of any constitutional changes between then and now that could warrant or justify a volte-face on the holding of elections.

"The Electoral Committee was set up by a duly constituted

Congress of the NBBF and is responsible to that Congress, whose authority is supreme,” the Committee said in a statement issued yesterday.

To this end, the Committee under the former chairman of the International Handball Federation, the Electoral Committee has decided in its meeting held on 26th of October that the elections will still go on as planned.

It said the Electoral Committee will conduct the NBBF election on the 30th of October, 2021as

stipulated by the NBBF Congress.

While referring to the letter signed by the Director of the Federation of Elite of Athletes Department, Dr. S. E. Ebhojiaye, at its inaugural meeting, “the Nigeria Olympics Committee and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development can only supervise and not conduct the elections.”

The Committee insisted that the letter backing the decision of the NBBF Congress “was explicitly announced to supersede any

other statement or position of the Ministry on the matter.

It stressed that the NOC and FMYSD will be observers alongside FIBA with the NBBF constitution reigning supreme.

As a result of the alleged misinformation caused by the purported cancellation of the election by the Ministry, “we have extended the submission date for nominations to noon of 29th, October, 2021,” concludes the statement from the Lanre Glover Committee.

I Am Done with Losing, Says Anthony Joshua Anthony Joshua has said he is "done with losing" as he considers a coaching shake-up following his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua, who lost the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles to Ukrainian Usyk, told iFL TV he was ready for "war" as he prepares for a potential rematch.

"I'm done with losing. I'm done with trying to learn the sweet science," Briton Joshua, 32, said. "(Usyk) might get thrown on the floor in the next fight because this is war."

He added: "I'm heading into my 12th world title fight now and the learning is done. It's done.

It's just war. I'm annoyed. I'm boiling up just speaking about it."

Joshua has spent time in the United Statessince the loss and

worked with leading trainers including Ronnie Shields, who was instrumental in Mike Tyson's in-ring career.

He insisted he was not splitting from long-time coach Rob McCracken but instead needed to develop further by seeking other inputs.

"I need a new coach to learn from as well," he added.

"I will not be basing myself in the States, I am a UK resident so I am not going out to the States to find a new coach.

"Rob's in Lithuania so I need to find a new coach for certain points as I train 10 or 11 months a year. I need to step away and get some new teachings from trainers who have trained the likes of 13 or 14 world champions.

"I wish I had done these things

sooner, but now I can go out there and add things to my game."

Defeat by Usyk has put any immediate hopes of a clash with fellow Briton Tyson Fury, the WBC belt holder, on hold.

However, Joshua said he would use the setback as a catalyst to further success.

"Because you don't hear from me, I may not be effing and blinding on Instagram stories and stuff like that, it doesn't mean that I stomach losses," he said.

"We've had some awkward conversations in the camp. It hurts, especially when you've got a winner's mentality.

"I know from experience and track record, my mindset and my evaluation of losses and how I use them, it can catapult me to the next level."

Anthony Joshua...under new trainer ahead of rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Osyk

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SPORTS

More Pressure on Koeman as Barca Fall at Rayo Vallecano LA LIGA Memphis Depay missed a penalty as Barcelona lost 0-1 at Rayo Vallecano to increase the pressure on Head Coach Ronald Koeman.

Barca, defeated 2-1 at home

by Real Madrid on Sunday, are ninth in La Liga.

Oscar Trejo won the ball from Sergio Busquets and fed veteran striker Radamel Falcao, who finished via the inside of the post for the only goal.

The visitors won a penalty when Oscar Valentin fouled Depay but his spot-kick was well saved

by Stole Dimitrievski, who also smothered the rebound well.

It is the first time since September 1987 that Barca have lost three away games in a row without scoring - a run that saw English manager Terry Venables sacked.

Barca boss Koeman - whose car was surrounded by angry fans after losing El Clasico - admitted before this game his side "cannot afford back-to-back losses".

Trejo, perhaps sensing Barcelona's fragile mental state, tried to score from the halfway line in the third minute but his shot was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Barca were uninspired yet again, with Depay's penalty their only shot on target.

Luuk de Jong's chip, Sergio Aguero's header and Gavi's scuffed shot were off target late on.

This is their fifth defeat of the season in all competitions and they sit six points behind three-way leaders Sevilla, Real Betis and Real Sociedad.

Rayo - who have won all five home games this season - rise to fifth, above city rivals and champions Atletico Madrid.

Leaked Ballon d’Or Document Shows Lewandowski as Winner Barcelona’s Pedri, who is 18th, surpassing Neymar by one place.

The pair who are tipped to dominate world football over the next decade, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, are sixth and

eighth respectively.

Something similar happened in 2018 when Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or, where a list was leaked that got each position spot on.

competitive neighbours give the country and the region a good cricket development atmosphere and forces the home team to maintain some standards.

It also helps to get easy pairing partners for shape up matches among other things.

“Ghana and Sierra Leone has kept Nigeria on her toes in the region and it would be nice to have them match up to our level for the growth of the game in the region,” Akpata further stressed.

At the closing match of the Bilateral Series at the Unilag Cricket Oval, Nigeria outwitted her visitors with a 36 runs victory in 20 overs to lift the overall trophy after six matches.

Nigeria’s Peter Aho who in the fifth match registered the best bowling figures of an innings with six wickets, five runs, one maiden in 3.4 overs was again adjudged the Player of the Match in the sixth match and Best Bowler of the Tournament with a trophy and $200 bonus.

At the close of the tournament, former Nigeria’s U-19 Captain, Slyvester Okpe, emerged Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the series with a trophy and $300 bonus.

The Nigeria’s Yellow and Green senior national team is scheduled to depart Lagos for a training tour of Zimbabwe from where the team would proceed to the African T20 Qualifier that starts on November 17, 2021 in Kigali, Rwanda.

The result for 2021 is already decided, because the voting has closed, so now it remains to be seen whether this list will prove to be correct on November 29 when the results are announced.

Former international, Segun Odegbami alongside Saturday Editor of VanguardNewspapers, Onochie Anibeze, and former Ogun State’s Commissioner for Sports, Bukola Olopade, are expected to deliver papers at the launch of Sport and Media Development Network (SMED Network).

The SMED Network is a Non-Governmental Organisation set up to help youths, media practitioners, and athletes to boost their respective careers .

According to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and media guru, Gboyega Okegbenro, the experience of the resource persons will be useful for the youths in the country and beyond .

“These people have gathered experience from different aspects of life and they will be of great influence on the career

of the youths of this country,” Okegbenro said.

“Odegbami played football to the highest level, winning the Nation’s Cup for Nigeria in 1980 while someone like Anibeze, a former Sports Editor of Vanguard covered most of the world’s sporting competitions like the FIFA World Cup, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, All Africa Games amongst several others.

“Apart from his job as former commissioner for sports in Ogun State, Honourable Olopade has invested his time and funds into sports management as well as organising some of the best Road Races and Marathons in Nigeria.”

Okegbenro said his experiences in covering various events across all the continents of the world informed his decision to come up with the idea.

India Cup 2021 Golf Tourney Begins at the Ikoyi Club

The Leaked 2021 Ballon d’Or List Robert Lewandowski (B’Munich) Leo Messi (PSG) Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) Jorginho (Chelsea) Kylian Mbappé (PSG) N’ Golo Kanté (Chelsea) Erling Haaland (Dortmund) Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) Gianluiggi Donnarumma (PSG) Luka Modric (Real Madrid) Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) Harry Kane (Tottenham) Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd) Ruben Dias (Man City) Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) Pedri (Barcelona) Neymar (PSG) Riyad Mahrez (Man City)

The President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Uyi Akpata, has said that the recent bilateral cricket series between Nigeria and Sierra Leone which held in Lagos recently has deeper import than the activities on the pitch.

While addressing guests at the closing round of the six-match bilateral series which Nigeria won 5-1 at the University of Lagos Cricket Oval, the NCF President said presently Nigeria remains the best ranked team in the West and North Africa regions of the continent and it will not augur well if her neighboring countries were lagging behind.

“This series, apart from helping the two teams shape up for the forthcoming International Cricket Council’s Africa’s T20 Qualifier later in the Year, it also offers grounds for both bodies to impact on each other’s growth,” he observed.

Nigeria is already through to the finals of the Qualifying Series in Rwanda while Sierra Leone will need to pick a slot for the final round from a pre-event scheduled to start from November 2, 2021 in Kigali.

Nigeria has among others things, agreed to help the Sierra Leone Cricket Association to raise the standard of their playing turf to the current turf wicket being played in Nigeria as well as donate developmental kits to them.

Akpata noted that having good

Odegbami, Anibeze, Olopade to Speak at SMED Launch

Sergio Aguero gutted by Barcelona’s defeat at Rayo Vallecano...last night

A leaked image of the 2021 Ballon d’Or has surfaced on social media which has Bayern Munich Polish striker, Robert Lewandowski, as the winner.

In the aforementioned image, Lewandowski leads the list with 627 votes, PSG star Lionel Messi is in second place and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is in third.

Cristiano Ronaldo is in ninth and Luka Modric is 12th. The highest ranked Spaniard is

Akpata Commends Bilateral Cricket Series Between Nigeria, S’Leone

Robert Lewandowski....leaked documents hint he’s the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or

The India Cup 2021 Golf Tournament has begun at the golf section of the Ikoyi Club in Lagos with the caddies and Pros having completed their tournament on Monday and Ladies on Tuesday.

The much anticipated final round involving qualified golfers will hold on Saturday, October 30, 2021 while the guests and veterans will tee off a day earlier.

Chairman of the Indian Golfers Foundation, Sunil Thadani, said at Ikoyi that the course was in good shape and with clement weather, this year's edition was primed to be best in the series.

"The week has been interesting with caddies, professionals and ladies

completing their rounds. A lot of good scores have been recorded and we expect the weekend rounds to throw up equally remarkable performances from the top amateurs that have been scheduled to play," he stressed with excitement.

Segun Ologun in the male caddies and Linda Gabriel in the female caddies returned best scores to win their respective categories on Monday while Francis Ekpe shot a score of 65 to win the Pros category.

Vincent Ikem and Paul Patrick shot 69 each to tie for the runners up spot in the professionals round.

The lady golfers of Ikoyi Club had their day on the course on Tuesday with Cynthia Gboneme winning the Lady's Stableford

price with 39 points.

In the Net Score category, N. Mika won the first prize of a Business Class return ticket to a destination of her choice on Qatar Airways while Comfort Olateju claimed the runner up spot at the event. "it's been a very busy last few days at the section and with the main draw of the men's round fast approaching this Saturday, there is excitement among the participants while for those of us in the Indian Golf Community, it's an opportunity to fete our Nigerian friends and return their hospitality through the game of golf " Prize giving and a banquet dinner will hold on Saturday at the upper floor to round of the India Cup 2021 week.

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Thursday, October 28, 2021

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Tanko Muhammad to Judges

“We cannot take the lead when our courts issue ex-parte orders recklessly. We cannot take the lead when many litigants with support of their counsel engage in forum shopping.

We cannot take the lead when counsels file a case before a court that they know lacks jurisdiction and the judge proceeds to hear the case. We cannot take the lead when counsel files frivolous cases in our courts just for nuisance value or to buy time” ––Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), admonishing Judges on indiscriminate court injunctions.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Enter Banditr-ocrazy!

I

doubt if there is any Nigerian on WhatsApp who has not watched the short video clip of the Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) officer beating his chest about successful negotiation with bandits in Dutsima local government area of Katsina State. Surrounded by his men and a battery of reporters, he said: “We are not working for only Customs, we are working for the nation and for you people (the reporters). I sacrificed my life to go to Dutsima to enter the bush where the bandits are. If I tell you last time we were in contact with them to the extent that they were a little bit friendly with us. We seized 37 bags of rice, they said if we have to go, they have to take seven bags.

We gave them seven bags to save our lives, so you see the risk I took.”

It is bad enough that a senior law enforcement official would publicly admit ‘paying taxes’ to criminals but worse is that he could not understand the implication of his action. Or maybe he did!

Perhaps he has been told that bandits are a special breed of Nigerians since the current administration appears to have embraced Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s Doctrine that they should be pacified and pampered rather than brought to justice. Even the National Assembly must have sensed a reluctance to tackle the challenge before passing a resolution calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to designate bandits and their sponsors as terrorists. Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State would add that he had made several such pleas to no avail. “We have written letters to the federal government since 2017 asking for this declaration because it will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law,” he said.

Let’s be clear. I do not believe that the change in nomenclature will make any difference. Besides, banditry is largely driven by a transactional ethos and not backed by any political or religious ideology.

To that extent, whatever may be our misgivings about Gumi’s role (and I am very suspicious of him), he is making a good point about the danger of designating these bandits as terrorists. But in the light of convenient excuses from some senior federal government officials on this vexatious challenge, it is difficult to fault the insinuation that this administration operates by some Orwellian Code: All criminals are equal, but some are more equal than the others.

Last Saturday, hundreds of women from Tsafe local government of Zamfara State (some with their children and belongings) blocked Gusau-Kaduna road to protest persistent attacks by bandits who invade their communities to kill, maim, rape and cart away their possessions. And on Monday, Daily Trust reported that despite the implementation of the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) linkage to National Identification Number (NIN) policy on which the Minister of Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, was making a song and dance earlier in the year, kidnappers and bandits are still deploying mobile phones with SIM cards to demand huge ransoms from families of their victims. Quoting a report by the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP), the paper reported that “496 civilians and 87 security personnel were killed as a result of various attacks by armed groups across the country in the month of September. Such attacks are usually planned through communication among bandits’ groups.”

Beginning in 2012 when 52 persons were brutally murdered in Zurmi in Zamfara State, we have continued to witness a harvest of deaths. On 7th April 2014, at least 112 persons were killed in a single attack on Yar Galadima village in Maru Local Government and just a few months later, 48 people were murdered after marauders on motorbikes entered a village called Kizara before dawn. Since

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami then, hundreds of communities have been invaded by these outlaws who go by the fanciful name of ‘bandits’, killing innocent villagers and raping the women. All we hear from authorities are stories. On 8th April 2019, then Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali claimed that some highly placed Nigerians, including traditional rulers, “were identified as helping the bandits with intelligence to perpetuate their nefarious actions or to compromise military operations.”

Although this madness of banditry began in Zamfara, it has since spread to Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto and Kebbi with the North-west now practically at the mercy of killer-gangs. In another major report yesterday, the Daily Trust detailed how levies are being imposed on residents of many communities in Sokoto State by bandits who demand payment before next Friday or face brutal attack. Communities

asked to pay N400,000 each include Attalawa, Danmaliki, Adamawa, Dukkuma, Sardauna and Dangari. Residents of Kwatsal village reportedly billed N4million were said to have already paid N2million out of the money to the bandits. The report was corroborated by the member representing the communities in the state House of Assembly.

To interrogate this menace of banditry, I have in the past three years been to Katsina, Kaduna, Kebbi and Sokoto. Following the invasion of Tabanni, Allikiru, Gaidan Kare, Kursa, Dankilawa, Ruwan Tsamiya and Gidan Barebari villages in Rabah Local Government of Sokoto State in 2018, I visited survivors who shared with me their harrowing experiences at the hands of killer-bandits. I spoke with Muhammadu Mani, a farmer who survived the brutal onslaught that left 32 persons murdered by invaders who came in a convoy of about 50 motorbikes carrying as many as three persons, all wielding guns and other assault weapons. “We could hear these men saying, ‘Let us kill all their men and see whether their women alone can bear children’”, recounted Mani.

What confounds is that rather than confront them, what we hear from federal government officials are excuses. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, SAN, argues for striking “a balance between constitutional presumption of innocence and evidential proof of reasonable ground for suspicion in making disclosures” about certain categories of criminals for which “Naming and shaming of suspects is not embarked upon as a policy by the federal government.” But he does not apply this same principle when dealing with other criminal groups. Also, in May this year, Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed stated that the prosecution of bandits and kidnappers is not the responsibility of the federal government because, according to him, “these are not federal offences”, even when every security agency is controlled by the federal government.

In recent weeks, international media focus has been on Nigeria amid genuine concerns that the challenge posed by these criminal gangs could push our country into becoming a failed state.

From the Wall Street Journal to the Economist to

Foreign Policy to The Guardian of London, they all remark on the weakness of our military/security institutions vis-à-vis the growing strength of bandits.

Yet, as I stated in my speech at the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) lecture last week, we have dragged the military to restore law and order which is primarily within the purview of the police. We now deploy troops to guard key installations, quell civil disturbances, man roadblocks, combat banditry, armed robbery and kidnappings as well as provide security for the conduct of elections.

I sympathise with the military that must now take the blame for systemic mismanagement of the security sector that has led to their playing roles constitutionally meant for others. In the process, they have attracted the usual contempt that comes with familiarity, despite their enormous sacrifices in the past decade. Ultimately, the challenge of national security is the responsibility of political leadership.

By allowing officials to speak at cross-purposes on the menace of banditry and in the absence of appropriate responses, a needless suspicion has been created in the minds of many Nigerians in a manner that helps the bandits and jeopardises any efforts to confront them as a national imperative. For the umpteenth time, I join the National Assembly and other stakeholders to encourage President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest this dangerous drift before it is too late.

The Yar’Adua Study on Subsidies (III) Two weeks ago, I started a series based on the report of a study conducted by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on subsidies in five sectors (power, education, health, agriculture, and petroleum). I continue today with the part of the 13-year-old report that deals with subsidy in the health sector. Interested readers will find the report and my conclusion in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com.

Aig-Imoukhuede and Civil Service Reform Shortly before the closing plenary at the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Tuesday, I moderated a signing ceremony between the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) and the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation.

Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan agreed to commence implementation of the Enterprise Content Management Solution (ECMS)—a public-private collaboration digitalisation project aimed at driving public sector reform in Nigeria.

As a member of the Advisory Board of the African Institute for Governance (AIG), a subsidiary of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation—which annually awards scholarships to six Nigerians and Ghanaians to study at the Oxford University Balvatnik School of Government—I am aware that this idea was consummated in 2017 when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (who witnessed Tuesday’s event) facilitated the partnership between the OHCSF and AIG for development of an action plan that builds on the Federal Civil Service Strategic Plan 2017-2019. Since then, the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation has been working with the OHCSF, providing necessary consulting support and funding for the full implementation of the ECMS in stages.

Meanwhile, the focus of the Aig-Imoukhuede

Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation as a philanthropic organisation has been on transforming the civil service across the continent but specifically in Nigeria for efficient service delivery. The idea is to develop programmes and

mobilise resources to build the capacity of public sector leaders while also promoting public-private sector partnerships. The foundation works with government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs), academic institutions, civil society, and private sector entities by providing financing for capacity building and advocacy.

Given how huge the task of revamping the public service in Nigeria is, I have likened what Aig-Imoukhuede is trying to do to that of a young girl who, walking along a beach where thousands of fish had been washed up, decided to pick, and throw them back into the ocean one after another.

She had done this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, look at this beach and the number of fishes here. What you are doing makes no difference.”

The girl seemed crushed but after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another fish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied: “I have made a difference to that one.”

Such stubborn resilience will serve Aig-Imoukhuede and wife, Ofovwe, as their Foundation proceeds with its mission to reform an institution where some senior officials propose seeking a $200 million loan to “medically fight malaria”!

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