TUESDAY 10TH NOVEMBER 2020

PenCom Okays Transfer Window for Pensioners to Change PFAs James Emejo in Abuja The National Pensions Commission (PenCom) has finalised plans to commence the implementation of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) transfer window under the Contributory Pension

Scheme (CPS).

The transfer process, which is scheduled to commence from November 16, will allow RSA holders to transfer their accounts from one Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) to another within a year, in line with Section 13 of the Pension

Reform Act of 2014.

The commission in a statement yesterday said the launch would signify the official opening of RSA Transfer Window.

Prior to the launch, PenCom had successfully developed the RSA application, which is an

electronic platform to enable seamless account transfer.

The transfer window option means that retirement account holders can port from one PFA to the other even if he or she does not give any reason for the action.

Experts believed the

development will translate into increased competition in the PFA space as account holders will move to operators that give them the best returns on investment.

The commission, however, said it has also conducted extensive workshops for

licensed pension operators and state pension bureaus in readiness for the epochmaking event.

"The activation of the RSA transfer process will engender competition and improve Continued on page 8

CBN Opposes Suit to Remove Arabic Inscriptions from Banknotes... Page 6 Tuesday 10 November, 2020 Vol 25. No 9346. Price: N250

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Oil Prices Jump by 10% over Pfizer’s Report on Covid-19Vaccine Trump, Biden, Buhari laud American manufacturer Martins Ifijeh in New Jersey, USA and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency reports Oil prices jumped by almost 10 per cent yesterday for its

biggest daily gain in more than six months after Pfizer announced promising results for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate and Saudi Arabia said an OPEC+ oil output deal

could be adjusted to balance the market.

Pfizer and BioNTech had said yesterday that a vaccine they jointly developed is 90 per cent effective in preventing

COVID-19 infections in ongoing phase 3 trials.

The message of hope instantly drew applause from the world audience, bringing the United States President,

WHO, Canada hail progress Mr. Donald Trump, and the President-elect, Mr. Joe Biden, to their first convergence in recent months, as both congratulated Pfizer on its scientific trial.

President Muhammadu Buhari also waded in, welcoming the development and expressing the hope that Continued on page 8

#EndSARS Protesters’ Demand for Justice, Good Governance Legitimate, Says UN Commends FG’s quick response to demands Urges govt to facilitate security sector reforms, address concerns Buhari: It's in protesting youths' interest to keep peace Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The United Nations (UN) yesterday reiterated its support for the #EndSARS protesters’ agitations for social justice and good governance, describing the peaceful campaign, which later snowballed into violence when hoodlums hijacked it to loot and torch public and private assets, including police stations, as legitimate.

However, against the backdrop of the violent disruption of the #EndSARS peaceful protest, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday told youths who championed the #EndSARS demonstration that it is in their interest to keep the peace.

Answering questions from State House reporters after

leading a UN delegation to a meeting with Buhari, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Ms. Amina Mohammed, said such agitations must, however, be pursued peacefully.

Mohammed, Nigeria's former Minister of Environment, added that both the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Gutteres, and the entire organisation were alarmed by the weight of the protests and consequent level of destruction.

She said the UN supported Nigerian government's efforts to meet the demands of the youths, adding that the reform of the security sector, which spurred the unrest has become compelling.

Continued on page 8

Buhari Directs Compulsory Health Insurance for Corps Members... Page 5

MESSAGE FROM THE UN...

Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations, Ms. Amina Mohammed (left), and President Muhammadu Buhari during a visit by UN delegation to the president in Abuja…yesterday

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

Buhari Directs Compulsory Health Insurance for Corps Members Participants to be restricted in camps for 21 days

Oghenevwede Ohwovoriole in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to ensure the enrolment of corps members in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

The Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier-General Shuaibu Ibrahim, told reporters yesterday in Abuja that the NYSC had begun talks with NHIS in compliance with the presidential directive.

In addition, the NYSC has intensified liaison with security agencies to ensure the security of corps members during their service year.

According to him, with the annual mobilisation of over 300,000 corps members, the NYSC no doubt “remains the most critical platform for mentoring Nigerian youths as drivers of national unity and development. “I wish to use this opportunity to again express our gratitude to the security agencies and other stakeholders for their support. Furthermore, the scheme has concluded arrangement with the NHIS for the enrolment of corps members into the NHIS in line with a presidential directive. We have also expended huge resources on critical health needs of corps members, including footing of medical bills.�

Shuaibu warned that in order to prevent a possible outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in orientation camps, participants for the 2020 orientation will be restricted to camps for

21 days.

"Once a corps member is tested and cleared to go into the camp, there is no coming out until after the 21-day period. Even our own staff after testing will not be allowed to come out because we don't know where they will go to. They are to remain in camp for the whole period," he explained.

He said the orientation would resume today starting with the 2020 Batch 'B' stream 1A with a total of 66,000 eligible graduates.

According to him, the exercise has been planned to take place in three streams for ease of compliance: Stream 1A, from10th to 30th November, 2020; stream 1B, from 3rd to 22nd December 2020 and stream 2, from 5th to 25th January 2021.

Shuaibu assured parents and guardians of the safety of their children and wards.

"I wish to assure Nigerians that all our children who will participate in the forthcoming orientation exercises will be adequately protected from Coronavirus," he added.

On the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, Shuaibu said the scheme is opening channels through which corps members who are entrepreneurship oriented can source loan for capital to start their own business ventures.

He added: "On my assumption of duty, I affirmed my commitment to making the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme more functional. ‘’To match words with

actions, management has taken several steps towards reinvigorating the SAED, including, but not limited, to the following: Renewal of commitment by NYSC and the Bank of Industry towards resuscitation of the empowerment of corps entrepreneurs with business loans under the BOI-NYSC Graduate Empowerment Fund (GEF). ‘’Intensive monitoring of the GEF beneficiaries is also being carried so as to achieve the desired outcomes and a new collaboration with NIRSAL Microfinance Bank on empowerment of

Corps entrepreneurs."

The DG said the commission was working towards harnessing its revenue generation potentials through the reinvigoration of the various NYSC ventures.

Also speaking at the event, the Director General, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, emphasised the need for a compulsory test for all corps members and NYSC officials and the need to strictly adhere to the Presidential Task Force (PTF) COVID-19 prevention protocols.

"A compulsory screening test will be carried out for all corps members, officials and vendors on arrival at the orientation camps using an antigen-based rapid diagnostic test kit approved by the World Health Organisation", he said He was pleased that despite the huge challenges posed by the pandemic, orientation camps are going to reopen again. "I am very excited that despite the constraints of the pandemic, we have found a way, collaboratively, to ensure that NYSC orientation

camps across the country can reopen safely. ‘’And this has been in consultation with NYSC authorities and the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF-COVID-19) are working very hard to facilitate the safe conduct of the 2020 NYSC orientation camp activities," he stated.

The NCDC boss said that "readiness assessments have been conducted across NYSC camps to ensure that all camps meet the key performance indicators (KPIs) of COVID-19 preventive measures and are ready for safe opening."

THE LATEST MONARCH...

Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai (left), and the new Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmad Bamalli, during Bamalli’s inauguration as the 19th Emir of Zazzau, in Zaria‌yesterday

MRA Sues NBC Over ARISE TV, Others Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, challenging the powers of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to impose fines on broadcasting stations since it is not a judicial body.

In a statement on Monday, the pro-media rights group said it asked the court to set aside the fines of N3 million each imposed by the NBC on three television stations on October 23 as unlawfully imposed and, therefore, null and void.

In the suit instituted on behalf of the organization by an Ibadan-based lawyer, Mr. Boluwatife Sanya, MRA asked the court to declare the fines imposed by the NBC on ARISE Television, Channels Television and

the Africa Independent Television (AIT) over their coverage of the #EndSARS protests null and void; set aside the fines as unlawfully imposed, and issue a perpetual injunction restraining the commission from imposing sanctions or fines or other unlawful or unconstitutional restrictions on television and radio stations in Nigeria.

The suit, brought under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009; Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended; and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as preserved by the Ratification and Enforcement Act (Cap A9), Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, is founded in part on MRA’s contention that the imposition of sanctions and fines of N3 million each on the three stations

contravene section 15.2.2 and other provisions of Nigeria Broadcasting Code relating to sanctions and fines as well as the doctrine of fair hearing as provided for in the Constitution.

Specifically, MRA asked for the following reliefs: A declaration that NBC’s arbitrary act of sanctioning and imposing fines of N3 million each on ARISE TV, Channels TV, and AIT purportedly in line with Sections 5.6.3 and 5.6.9 of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code creates a chilling or stifling effect on freedom of expression and is likely to interfere with the right of MRA’s members to freedom of expression, particularly their right to receive ideas and information without interference as guaranteed by section 39 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter; A declaration that the

fine of N3 million each imposed on the stations constitutes an interference with the rights of MRA’s members to freedom of expression, particularly their right to receive ideas and information without interference guaranteed by section 39 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter; A declaration that the NBC, not being a judicial body, lacks the power to impose fines on any broadcaster, including fines imposed on the three stations, and that the imposition of such fines is null and void; A consequential order setting aside the fines of N3 million each imposed on the three stations as the fines were unlawfully imposed; and A perpetual injunction restraining the NBC, its officers, agents and/

or representatives from imposing sanctions or fines or excessive, disproportionate, unlawful and unconstitutional restrictions on television or radio stations which will interfere with the rights of MRA’s members to freedom of expression, particularly their right to receive ideas and information without interference.

The suit is supported by an 18-paragraph affidavit deposed to on behalf of MRA by Ms. Mercy Abudu, in which she recounted the circumstances surrounding the imposition of the fines on the three stations and concerns of censorship of the television stations expressed by members of MRA and their fears that the action would infringe on their rights to receive information and ideas from the stations.

In his written address

in support of MRA’s suit, Sanya accused the NBC of acting as the accuser and the judge at the same time in its own case in contravention of the well-established human rights principle, which is also guaranteed in the Nigerian Constitution, that “you cannot be a judge in your own cause.�

Besides, he said, the Court of Appeal had made clear in NOSDRA v Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (2018) LPELR-44210 (CA) that “the imposition of fines

by NOSDRA was contrary to its powers on the basis that penalties or fines are imposed as punishment for an offence or violation of the law and the power as well as competence to establish that an offence has been committed belongs to the courts and not a regulatory agency.�

No date has been fixed for the hearing.

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CBN Opposes Suit to Remove Arabic Inscriptions from Banknotes Davidson Iriekpen The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has opposed a suit seeking to remove the Ajami (Arabic) inscriptions on naira notes.

The apex bank told the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, that it will cost a

‘colossal sum of money’ to discard the existing notes and print new ones without Ajami.

The CBN said Ajami is not a symbol or mark of Islam but an inscription to aid non-English speakers who are literate in and use of Ajami for trade.

It made the submission in a counter-affidavit to a suit filed

Fuel Crisis Looms as Oil Workers Begin Strike Sylvester Idowu in Warri Nigeria may be heading towards another economic crisis with crude oil production threatened as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has directed its members to proceed on a nationwide indefinite strike.

The strike may also affect fuel supply across the country.

PENGASSAN said the directive became exigent following the federal government’s breach of agreement on Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) implementation and redundancy in Baker Hughes.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), PENGASSAN as well as National Union of Petroleum and Natural Workers Union (NUPENG) and the federal government have been at loggerheads over the IPPIS. IPPIS is an information communications technology (ICT) project initiated by the federal government to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of payroll administration for its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

The association had on November 2, 2020, issued a seven-day ultimatum to government agencies and institutions to protest its members' inclusion in IPPIS. PENGASSAN, in a statement signed by its General Secretary,

Mr. Lumumba Okugbawa, on Sunday night, regretted that upon the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum, their demands had not been met. “In view of the above and with the expiration of the ultimatum and subsequent extension, you are hereby advised to withdraw your services effective 12 midnight on Sunday, November 8, 2020. “Please ensure that your branch members fully comply with this directive while you await further directives,� the statement said.

The statement urged all zonal offices to monitor compliance and report the same to the national secretariat of the union.

PENGASSAN and NUPENG had in August suspended a warning strike they embarked upon over the inclusion of oil workers in the IPPIS. The strike was called off after agreements were reached with the federal government.

Under the agreement, the federal government agreed to pay the owed salaries without using IPPIS, while the issue of IPPS would be sorted out in the future.

It was agreed that the three months’ salary arrears owed the oil workers should be paid through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System platform and not IPPIS. The senior oil workers have, however, accused the federal government of reneging on the agreements.

by a Lagos-based lawyer, Chief Malcolm Omirhobo, before Justice Mohammed Liman.

Omirhobo argued that the Arabic inscriptions on the naira notes portray Nigeria as an Islamic state, contrary to the country’s constitutional status of a secular state.

He contended that this violates sections 10 and 55 of the Nigerian constitution, which makes the country a secular state.

Section 10 reads: “The government of the federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion.�

He prayed the court to restrain the CBN from “further approving, printing and issuing naira notes with Arabic inscriptions, bearing in mind that Nigeria is a secular state.�

He further prayed the court to order the CBN to replace the Arabic inscriptions with either English language, which is the country’s official language or any of Nigeria’s three main indigenous languages – Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo.

But in its counter-affidavit deposed to by Abiola Lawal, the CBN argued: “Ajami inscriptions on some of the country’s currencies do not connote any religious statements or Arabian alignment.�

The apex bank said contrary to Omirhobo’s claim, the Arabic inscriptions were not a threat to Nigeria’s secular status.

It said: “The inscriptions on the country’s currencies do not and at no time have they threatened the secular statehood of the nation or have

they violated the constitution of Nigeria, as every design and inscription was finalised with the approval of the relevant government bodies.�

It explained that “Ajami inscriptions� on the naira notes dates back to the colonial era “and they do not imply that Arabic is an official language in Nigeria.�

The apex bank said: “The naira notes retained the inscriptions with Ajami since 1973 when the name of the Nigerian currency was changed to naira from pounds. “The Ajami was inscribed on the country’s currency by the colonialists to aid those without Western education in certain parts of the country, who, back then, constituted a larger part of the populace. “The Ajami is not a symbol

or mark of Islam but an inscription to aid the populace uneducated in Western education in ease of trade.�

It said removing the Arabic inscriptions from the naira notes “would cost the tax-paying Nigerians and the federal government colossal sum of money to discard the existing naira notes and print new ones in satisfaction of the plaintiff.�

Hearing in the suit comes up today before Justice Liman.

The judge will also be hearing a similar suit filed

by Omirhobo against the Nigerian Army seeking the removal of Arabic inscriptions from its logo.

Like the CBN, the army has also opposed Omirhobo’s suit and urged the court to throw it out.

HOLDING BRIEF...

Acting Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Mu'azu (rtd.)(left), and outgoing Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during the handing over of leadership to Mu’azu in Abuja‌yesterday

INEC Chairman Steps Down, Pending Senate’s Confirmation Hands over to Mu’azu as interim chair Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday stepped down as he awaits Senate's confirmation of his nomination for the second term of five years.

Yakubu, whose first term expired yesterday but has been nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari, handed over the affairs of the commission to Air Vice Marshal Ahmed Mu’azu (rtd) as the acting chairman, pending his confirmation.

Mu’azu is the INEC National Commissioner in charge of the commission's Tender Board.

Yakubu, at the handover, said: "As you are already

aware, the renewal of my tenure as chairman of the commission has been announced, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

"Our work as election managers requires us to enforce the law, regulations and guidelines. In doing so, we must demonstrate strict respect for, and compliance with, the constitution of Nigeria and subsidiary laws.

"Consequently, it will be inappropriate for me to remain in office beyond today, November 9, 2020, without confirmation by the Senate and swearing to another oath of office as provided by law."

According to him, pending his confirmation, "The remaining national commissioners have resolved that AVM Ahmed Mu’azu (rtd)

will oversee the affairs of the commission.

"It is, therefore, my pleasure to hand over to him in the interim. We have worked as a team for the last four years.

Therefore, there is nothing new to any one of them."

Yakubu said he and the outgone five commissioners were sworn-in on November 9, 2015, followed by another six commissioners who were inaugurated on December 7, 2016 while one more commissioner took the oath on July 21, 2018.

Yakubu stated that INEC is a constitutional body whose members are appointed for five years, which may be renewed for a second and final term, adding: "This means that my tenure and that of the first set of five

commissioners ends today."

He thanked INEC members of staff, heads of the various security agencies deployed in INEC and others for the support given to his team, stating that he looks forward to working with them again.

Responding, Mu'azu said he accepted the responsibility reposed in him, adding that all the national commissioners at one point or another have acted in the absence of Yakubu.

"I want to assure you that I will handle the affairs of the commission with due diligence," Mu'azu said.

The INEC commissioners whose five-year tenure ended yesterday are: Dr. Antonia Okoosi-Simbine (Kogi), North-central; Alhaji Baba Arfo (Borno), North-east;

Dr. Mohammed Lecky (Edo), South-south; and Prince Adedeji Soyebi (Ogun), South-west.

Those that are still on board are Prof. Okechukwu Ifeanyi, who is the commissioner in charge of Electoral Operations; Malam Mohammed Haruna; Mu’azu; Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, the INEC chairman on Outreach, Partnership and Civil Society (OPC); Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, and Mr. Abubakar Nahuche, who resigned a few days ago on account of ill-health.

Meanwhile, the commission will between today and tomorrow consult with political parties and civil society organisations, the media and Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on

pending bye-elections.

The commission will, thereafter, meet again with resident Electoral commissioners on Thursday to decide on a date for the conduct of the bye-elections.

The outcome of these consultations will determine whether INEC will conduct the remaining National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly by-elections in 11 states.

INEC had earlier scheduled the bye-elections to hold on October 31, but due to the destruction of the commission's property, during the #EndSARS protests, it was shifted indefinitely.

Feelers from INEC showed that due to the level of damage to INEC property and electoral materials, the bye-elections may not hold this year.

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PAGE EIGHT #ENDSARS PROTESTERS' DEMAND FOR JUSTICE, GOOD GOVERNANCE LEGITIMATE, SAYS UN Mohammed also said the global body launched what she described as UN Plus Offer yesterday to support Nigeria's economic sustainability plan in the next two years.

She said: "We did raise, while we were with Mr. President, the issue around the recent challenges of #EndSARS protests that happened in the country.

"It was of course one that alarmed the secretary-general and we all, of course, support the country in trying to get back on track.

"Young people and their demands for social justice, governance are all legitimate ones and must be done peacefully.

But we were all disturbed by the damage level, loss of lives and we continue to condole with those families who suffer those loses.

"Today was one in which we encourage efforts that are being made by the government to that process of engaging with the

demands that have been made by the young people.

"It’s a start on that journey of reforms that are needed in the security sector but also root causes to the issues that are happening today, which is about investing in development.�

Mohammed said the UN looked forward to a continuing partnership with the government of Nigeria. “We are happy today to launch the UN Plus Offer, which has to do again with supporting economic sustainability plan over the next two years so that we can respond a little bit better," she said.

Mohammed also spoke on the Lekki shootings on October 20, saying the position of the UN remains as earlier expressed by Gutteres that everyone reserves the right to engage in peaceful protest.

According to her, the government has a social contract

with the people and hence, the latter has the right to express themselves.

She, however, lamented the loss of lives during the protests, noting that the government needs to draw certain lessons from the episode in its effort to address the demands of the youth.

She canvassed the need to engage the youth and restore confidence in them, adding that issues generated by the protests must be addressed.

She said: "The UN stance is clear, like the UN secretarygeneral had said in his speech, we believe everyone has a right to demonstrate peacefully for those issues they want to raise with their government.

"There is a social contract in place between the government and the people and it is important to have that freedom of speech provided it is done peacefully.

"I think in the case where we heard that lives and property

were lost, it was unfortunate and we believe that in addressing the demands that were made by young people, this is a lesson we can take into the future and how we engage in such issues.�

She said of the lot of protests around the world that have been exacerbated by COVID-19, the UN has not seen governments’ turn around in response as quickly as the Nigerian government did.

"So, the UN response to this is that we must make sure that what happened in this protests, we are able to address those issues, those gaps and begin the reform.�

Buhari: It's in Protesting Youths' Interest to Keep Peace Earlier, Buhari during the meeting with the UN delegation had told the protesting youths that it was in their interest to keep the peace.

He said his own generation “is

on the last lap, we are exiting.�

A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina quoted the president as saying: “Our own generation is on the last lap, we are exiting. “It is in the interest of the youth to keep the peace. They want jobs, infrastructure, and development.�

He said he has sent a team by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, to go round the country, talk to traditional rulers, who will then talk to the youth. “The views of the youth have been heard,� he said.

Buhari was also quoted to have said that his administration inherited severe infrastructural deficits.

He said that was what his government was working hard to correct and was doing its best within the limits of the available resources. “That (infrastructural deficit) is

what we are fighting to correct.

We can’t just sit, fold our hands, and do nothing. We are doing our best within the limits of resources,� he stated.

Buhari was also said to have rued the fact that COVID-19 has shrunk the global economy, noting that “this is something you can’t see, smell, or hear,� but which has wrought devastation on lives and livelihoods around the world.

On climate change, he said Nigeria was concerned about the recharge of Lake Chad, which has great implications on security, irregular migration, and livelihoods.

The statement quoted Mohammed as telling the president that she was on a courtesy visit to him with her UN team "to flag interest on challenges that concern the UN, particularly COVID-19, climate change, security, and humanitarian responses to the diverse challenges."

Reacting to the vaccine discovery, Trump on his Twitter page, said: "Stock market up big.

Vaccine coming soon. The report shows 90 per cent effectiveness.

Such great news.�

Biden, who inaugurated a COVID-19 taskforce yesterday said: "I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope."

But he cautioned it is "important to understand that the end of the battle against COVID-19 is still months away."

The president-elect said the announcement was "part of a previously announced timeline by industry officials" and that it does not alter the fact that "Americans will have to rely on masking, distancing, contact tracing, hand washing, and other measures to keep themselves safe well into next year."

Ten of them were at the most advanced phase three stage, in which a vaccine’s effectiveness is tested on a large scale, generally tens of thousands of people across several continents.

WHO’s Chief Scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, also said in a tweet yesterday that the news from Pfizer and BioNTech should “encourage all developers of #COVID19 vaccines to continue with clinical trials.� “The world needs several safe, effective & affordable vaccines to end this pandemic,� she said.

Trudeau, at a news conference, called the results “promising.� “We see the light at the end of the tunnel,� he said.

The prime minister said he expects the vaccine to be distributed to Canadians “most likely in the first three months of 2021.� “But,� he added: “There is a lot of uncertainty involved in these processes.�

Canada signed a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech in August for a minimum of 20 million doses of their vaccine.

Trudeau noted that the PfizerBioNTech vaccine poses some “logistical distribution� challenges, including that it must be stored at very cold temperatures and, therefore, getting it to Canadians will be “more complex and slightly more limiting.� “We are already working on those necessary logistical supports,� he said.

Trudeau added that testing of several other vaccine candidates was “progressing well� and some of those could be rolled out in early 2021 too.

OIL PRICES JUMP BY 10% OVER PFIZER’S REPORT ON COVID-19 VACCINE the vaccine would be available for all when it finally hits the market.

America's Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, will produce 1.3 billion doses of the vaccines for 650 million people by the end of 2021.

While the global benchmark, Brent crude, was up $3.37, or 8.5 per cent, to $42.82 a barrel, the US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $3.54, or 9.5 per cent at $40.68.

Both contracts rose by more than $4 earlier in the session.

Nigeria’s 2021 budget was predicated on an oil price of $40 per barrel and daily production of 1.86 million barrels.

Reuters quoted analysts as saying that “in the eyes of oil traders, a vaccine will help ensure no future lockdowns are needed and will bring people back to the streets, allowing road and air transport to recover.�

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, also said the OPEC+ deal on oil output cuts could be adjusted if there was consensus among members of the group.

The Saudi minister was commenting after being asked whether OPEC+ - which groups OPEC states, Russia and other producers - would stick to existing cuts of 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) rather than easing them to 5.7 million bpd from January.

Key members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are wary of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden relaxing measures on Iran and Venezuela, which could mean an increase in oil production that would make it harder to balance supply with demand.

Analysts have also hinted that while a Biden presidency increases the likelihood of Iranian oil supply returning to the market, this is not something

that will happen overnight.

However, renewed European lockdown measures to contain rising COVID-19 cases still appear set to weigh on the outlook for global oil demand, an International Energy Agency (IEA) official said.

America's Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, are expected to produce 1.3 billion doses of the vaccines for 650 million people by the end of 2021.

Eight months into the worst pandemic in a century, the development represents the most encouraging scientific advancement so far in the battle against COVID-19.

And its preliminary results pave the way for the companies to seek an emergency-use authorisation from regulators if further research shows the shot is also safe.

The vaccine findings are based on an interim analysis conducted after 94 participants, split between those who got a placebo and those who were vaccinated contracted COVID-19.

Pfizer Senior Vice President, Mr. William Gruber, said: "The trial will continue until 164 cases have occurred. If the data hold up and a key safety read-out also looks good, it could mean that the world has a vital new tool to control a pandemic that has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide. This is about the best news for the world, the United States and for public health. It was better than even the best result we had hoped for."

The Chief Executive Officer, BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, said: "With effectiveness for the first vaccines previously expected to be in the range of 60 per cent to seven per cent, more than 90 per cent is extraordinary. It shows that COVID-19 can be controlled.

At the end of the day, it’s really a victory of science.

"The data do have limits.

For now, a few details on the vaccine’s efficacy are available. It is not known how well the shot works in key subgroups, such as the elderly. Those analyses haven’t been conducted. And it isn’t known whether the vaccine prevents severe disease, as none of the participants who got COVID-19 in this round of analysis had severe cases."

The vaccine is being tested in a two-dose regimen. The trial started in July and since most participants only received their second dose much more recently, nobody knows how long any protection will last.

However, the strong reading from the first large-scale trial to post efficacy results holds well for other experimental vaccines, in particular, one being developed

by Moderna Inc. that uses similar technology.

Pfizer expects to get two months of safety follow-up data, a key metric required by US regulators before an emergency authorisation is granted in the third week in November.

If those findings raise no problems, Pfizer could apply for authorisation in the US this month.

A rolling review began in Europe last month and Sahin said regulators there are working with BioNTech to “further accelerate the process.�

So far, the trial’s data monitoring committee has identified no serious safety concerns, Pfizer and BioNTech said.

The positive preliminary data mean the US pharma giant and its German partner are on track to be first with a vaccine, after signing advance deals with governments worldwide for hundreds of thousands of doses.

Meanwhile, the companies have said they will produce 1.3 billion doses, enough to vaccinate

650 million people, by the end of 2021. Only 50 million doses are expected to be available in 2020.

However, Pfizer has found itself drawn into a contentious political debate about how quickly regulators in the US should allow a vaccine to be given to Americans.

President Donald Trump had pushed to have a shot approved before Election Day, but regulators put in place rigorous standards that largely pushed that goal out of reach.

On October 16, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer, Albert Bourla, had said the companies could seek an emergency use authorisation from US regulators by late November if the trial results were to show the shot is safe and effective.

Writing in an open letter, Bourla quelled fears that Pfizer might be racing the clock to bring out a vaccine before the presidential election.

Pfizer and BioNTech have a $2 billion deal to supply 100 million doses to the US, with an option for 500 million more.

Among the frontrunners, theirs is the only vaccine project that did not take funding from the White House-led Operation Warp Speed programme to bolster research, development or manufacturing.

BioNTech received up to 375 million euros ($445 million) in development funding from the German government, however.

Moderna is considered the next closest vaccine frontrunner.

It has said it could get safety and efficacy data from its latestage trial this month. Johnson & Johnson, which has a oneshot vaccine using a different technology could get efficacy data from a final-stage trial by the end of this year. AstraZeneca Plc is also working on a vaccine using different technology, with results from studies in the U.K. and Brazil expected by year-end.

WHO, Canada Hail Vaccine Progress The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Canadian government have hailed Pfizer and BioNTech’s announcement.

While the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, described the news as “encouraging,� the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, said the results were “promising.� “We welcome the encouraging vaccine news from @Pfizer & @BioNTech Group & salute all scientists & partners around the world who are developing new safe, efficacious tools to beat #COVID19,� WHO’s directorgeneral said in a tweet. “The world is experiencing unprecedented scientific innovation & collaboration to end the pandemic,� he said.

As of mid-October, the WHO has identified 42 “candidate vaccines� at the stage of clinical trials, up from 11 in mid-June.

PENCOM OKAYS TRANSFER WINDOW FOR PENSIONERS TO CHANGE PFAS service delivery in the pension industry while asserting the right of RSA holders to determine which PFA manages their pension contributions and retirement benefits," PenCom said.

It had initially projected June 2020 as the commencement date for the RSA transfer window, but had failed to launch the process owing to issues bordering on registration and biometrics.

The commission said it needed to resolve concerns over double registrations by some contributors and improper identification, which may lead to wrongful transfers among account holders.

But for the initial delay, the transfer window was designed to come into force together with the Pension Reform Act 2014, which gave birth to the CPS. Stakeholders also believed that

providing contributors with a transfer option will boost their confidence in the scheme.

According to Section 11(2) of the Pension Reform Act 2004, an employee reserves the right to migrate from one PFA to another without adducing reasons, but may not do this more than once in a year.

The development will put some of the leading PFAs, including ARM Pensions, Stanbic IBTC pensions, Premium Pension Limited and Sigma Pensions Limited under pressure to make adjustments or lose their clients to competition.

Records show the PFAs currently hold about half of the N11 trillion RSA assets.

Among the 21 licensed operators, the top 10 PFAs managed about 88.20 per cent of the total RSA assets.

Managing Director/Chief Executive, Credent Investment Managers Limited, Mr. Ibrahim Shelling, in an interview with THISDAY yesterday, said the transfer window option would be a game-changer for the industry.

He said: "The immediate implications would be that PFAs that have not been offering good customer service and portfolio returns to their customers may see large fund outflows to other PFAs. "The service delivery of operators will certainly need to improve drastically in other to compete, which bodes well for the customers."

According to him, the PFAs will also need to improve on investment management by providing competitive returns for customers in order to attract more funds.

Shelling added that with low yields on government instruments, it will require increased skills to navigate the investment market.

Also reacting to the proposed transfer window for pensioners, Professor of Capital Market and President, Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, Prof.

Uche Uwaleke, described it as a welcome development, adding that it will benefit retirees.

He said: "It is similar to what obtains in the stock market where investors are free to move from one stock broking firm to another."

He added that this will further encourage competition among firms and put them on their toes to deliver superior service.

Uwaleke, however, urged the regulator to ensure that the process is seamless and

inexpensive on the part of PFA clients.

He said PenCom should also watch out for unhealthy rivalry among PFAs which could take the form of demarketing of competitors in order to poach their clients.

On his part, former DirectorGeneral, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Dr. Chijioke Ekechukwu, commended the initiative.

He said: "This is a good development. If bank customers, telecommunications customers, and customers of many other sectors can port and change their service providers, customers of PFAs should have such opportunities also.

"This will obviously, create competition and efficiency and the customers will be better for it."

Continued on page 9

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9

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10,2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

FG Gives Committee Six Months to Sell Forfeited Assets Alex Enumah in Abuja The federal government yesterday gave a six-month timeline to the Committee on Disposal of Forfeited Assets to dispose of all forfeited assets.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), announced the timeline at the inauguration of the 22 member committee in Abuja.

The committee, drawn from agencies involved in various recoveries of looted assets, is chaired by the Solicitor-General of the Federation (SGF) and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN).

Malami said following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, his office had in 2019, issued the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations “to provide legal and administrative frameworks for the investigation, tracing, seizure and disposal of stolen or illegally acquired assets and proceeds of crime.”

He said the regulations were to ensure proper coordination of the disposal of the federal government assets and for promoting a uniform, harmonised and transparent procedure to safeguard the assets recovered by the relevant agencies in line

with the anti-corruption drive of the current administration.

“It is my pleasure to note that Mr. President approved the composition of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Disposal of Federal Government of Nigeria Forfeited Assets on October 27, 2020, which we are inaugurating today. The committee has a time frame of six months for the disposal of all federal government forfeited assets,” he stated.

According to him, the responsibilities of the committee include implementation of provisions of the ATRM Regulations; ensuring the transparency of the disposal of federal government final forfeited assets; ensuring the synergy and collaboration between the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, other relevant ministries, departments and agencies and the non-governmental organisation in the collation of records of all assets and ensuring that information flow on assets are in place.

Other tasks of the committee include responding to any ongoing asset management audit and the asset performance reports; consistently implementing enablers and controls that support decision making and efficiency of service delivery which govern the disposal of assets; and development of targets

Niger Gov, Bello Tests Positive to COVID-19 Dipo Laleye in Minna The Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has tested positive to COVID-19.

Bello, who disclosed this yesterday via his twitter handle, added that he had proceeded on self-isolation.

The state government had after the state executive council meeting about two weeks ago when some cabinet members were said to have been positive, directed all the commissioners to submit themselves for test.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Mary Noel-Berje, which confirmed the governor’s status said: “his sample was taken for test, and unfortunately returned positive

“The governor said he has immediately gone into selfisolation and has commenced treatment “We however solicit prayers from all and sundry for his quick recovery even as he is asymptomatic to the virus and advised the people to always observe all the COVID-19 protocols in their dealings,” Berje said in the statement.

It is the second time the governor will be going into isolation.

He first went into self-isolation after being in contact with the late Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari.

He, however, did not test positive then.

O IL P RICES J UMP BY 10% OVER P FIZER ’ S R EPORT ON C OVID -19 V ACCINE In Nigeria, President Buhari last night hailed the delivery of the first COVID-19 vaccine after a period of a successful trial.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement, said the president, in his reaction to the news that the vaccine had completed 90 per cent trial, described the feat as a milestone in medical advancement.

He called for a sense of unity in the distribution of the vaccine with a view to guaranteeing the protection of the entire world.

The statement read: “President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the arrival of first effective coronavirus vaccine after

a successful human trial phase.

“Reacting to the news that the vaccine has recorded 90 per cent effectiveness against the disease, the president described the development as a major milestone in medical advancement but warned that the world must unite in facilitating the equitable access and distribution of these vaccines to protect people in all countries.

“President Buhari reiterated his earlier call that ‘only a people’s vaccine with equality and solidarity at its core can protect all of humanity and get our societies safely running again.

A bold international agreement cannot wait.”’

for the committee in order to measure its performance.

Malami, however, stated that the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019, the

Standard Operating Procedures and Terms of Reference shall be the guidelines for the committee on how best to actualise the quick disposal of the assets in line with

the presidential directive.

“Your mandate is to ensure the expedient disposal of all FGN Forfeited Assets and generate revenue for the

Federal Government of Nigeria.

Accordingly, I wish to solicit the cooperation of all members of this inter-ministerial committee in that respect.

DEFENDING THE NUMBERS...

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (left), and Chairman of Senate Committee on Judiciary Human Rights and Legal Matters Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, at the end of 2021 budget defence by the Federal Ministyy of Justice in Abuja... yesterday JULIUS ATOI

Blasphemy: Kano Islamic Groups Demand Sacking of French Nationals The Kano State Coalition of Ulama and Non-Governmental Organisations, comprising of Ulama and Muslim academics, have called on Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to disengage all Frenchmen in the services of the state government.

They also called for the immediate replacement of French language with Arabic language in the curriculum of all public schools in the state.

The call was made in a

communiqué signed by the coalition’s Organising Secretary, Dr. Saidu Dukawa, issued on Sunday at the end of a public lecture where the coalition expressed its disapproval and condemnation of what it termed French blasphemy sketches.

The communiqué, made available to journalists in Kano yesterday, commended the Kano State Government for its swift action in renaming “France Road” as Madina Road.

The communiqué read, “The cartoons/caricature, which the French history teacher mocked his Muslim students with, are in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as it affects the right to choice of religion.

“The French President, Emanuel Macron, was not only insensitive to the feelings and sensibilities of the six million Muslims in France, and by extension that of the close to two billion Muslims worldwide,

but his action is also acrimonious, hateful, venomous and vile.

“The subsequent crackdown on mosques and Muslim schools in France by Macron is tantamount to matching words with action that Macron and his administration are all out to fight Muslims.

“Consequent upon the foregoing observations, the coalition resolved that Muslims worldwide should consider Macron and his administration as paragons of Islamophobia.

Canada Grants Asylum to #EndSARS Protester, DJ Switch Strong indications emerged yesterday that Canada has granted asylum to DJ Switch, the #EndSARS protester who streamed live the shooting that happened at Lekki Toll gate in Lagos State.

DJ Switch sought the asylum after several attempts on her life after the killing of peaceful

#EndSARS protesters in Lekki.

The sensational disc jockey revealed that soldiers shot at peaceful #ENDSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, and stated that they were sent to the protest ground on orders from above.

She made this known while speaking with the Sub-committee

on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the Canadian parliament.

Switch recounted the incident that led to the deaths of about a dozen protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate.

She noted that the military opened fire on the protesters after creating

a three-formation line. Debunking claims by the Nigerian Army that soldiers fired blank bullets into the air.

It was believed that she told the Canadian parliament that she counted not less than seven persons shot, adding that one of the soldiers threatened to shoot her.

FG Exempts Dangote Cement from Land Border Closure The federal government has allowed Dangote Cement to resume exports across its land borders, raising hopes that the country may be opening up trade with neighbors after a year-long blockade.

According to Bloomberg, President Muhammadu Buhari‘s administration gave its authorisation for Africa’s biggest producer to export cement to Niger and Togo in the third quarter for the first time in 10 months.

The company’s chief executive officer, Michel Puchercos, was quoted to have said this during an investor call in Lagos. The export was made possible “through authorisation given by this administration,” he said.

The exemption to Dangote Cement is seen as a softening of the government’s position on a border closure that started in August last year, and could open the way for other businesses to fully resume

exports across the country’s land barriers.

The federal government had closed borders with neighboring countries including Benin and Niger to curb smuggling and boost local production. Although the blockade encouraged the consumption of locally grown produce such as rice, it hurt factories across West Africa, which rely on Nigeria’s market of 200 million people.

Dangote resumed land export with “restricted volumes,” and plans to grow the trade using the sea channels, according to Puchercos.

The Lagos-based company’s plan to buy back some of its shares has been delayed by market volatility and low liquidity, which have affected valuation, Guillaume Moyen, acting chief financial officer said at the same conference call.

Ondo Doctors Begin Indefinite Strike over Unpaid Salaries Doctors under the auspices of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Ondo State, chapter, yesterday commenced an indefinite strike.

The doctors are downing their tools to demand payment of their dues including four-month salary arrears from the state government.

Other complaints by the striking doctors include a shortage of doctors, non-payment of

COVID-19 allowance as well as non-availability of residence.

The Acting President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, UNIMEDTH Ondo, Sanni Oriyomi, told Channels Television that his members

could no longer work without being paid.

They insist that the doctors will not return to work until parts of their salaries are paid and identity cards issued to their members.

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NEWS

Lawan: Nigeria May Face another #EndSARS Protest Deji Elumoye in Abuja President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan has warned that Nigeria may not escape another youths’ restiveness in the mode of #EndSARS protest, if it failed to effectively address the issue of youth unemployment and make practical steps in its national budget to meaningfully engage them.

This is just as the federal parliament flayed the underfunding of the agricultural sector on yearly basis by the federal government, which it said is detrimental to Nigeria’s diversification policy.

Lawan, who gave the warning yesterday, while speaking at the 2021 budget defence session of the National Assembly Joint

Committee on Agriculture, said for such protests not to happen again, the youths must be gainfully engaged by the government.

He said: “We escaped this #EndSARS protest; any other one may be inescapable”.

According to him, there is no other sector of the economy than agriculture that is most suitable for the required gainful employment of the youth at the grassroots level.

Lawan said while some youths genuinely expressed their anger in recent #EndSARS protest and successfully gained government’s attention; a good number of them who may not have had the opportunity to vent their anger are in the rural areas.

He advised that there was the need to be more practical with budgetary allocations for

the Ministry of Agriculture in creating jobs for many of the youths.

“Let’s meet them where they are and many of them are in the rural areas. Let’s give them what

we can and keep them in the rural areas and make their lives productive. On our part, we are going to be accountable”.

He advised that government should take the agriculture sector

more seriously in its efforts to diversify the economy from oil since the sector is big enough to finance the national budget.

“We need to be practical. Other countries have made it through

this sector. Anytime we talk about diversification the first thing we mention is agriculture. We must work the talk for the sake of our economy and our youths”, he added.

Return Looted Firearms within Seven Days, Edo Police Tell Hoodlums Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City The Edo State Commissioner for Police, Mr. Babatunde Kokumo has asked hoodlums who looted firearms in police formations in the state during the EndSARS protests to return the guns within seven days.

Kokumo has also promised handsome rewards for persons with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the criminal elements who were involved in the looting.

The Edo State Police boss who gave the ultimatum yesterday in a statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Chidi Nwabuzor, declared that the seven-day ultimatum took effect from November 9.

He said seven police stations were looted and razed in Edo State, while the Maximum Correctional Centre (White House) on Sapele Road and Oko Medium Correctional Centre on Airport Road, both in Benin, were equally attacked by hoodlums during the bloody protests, leading to the escape of 1,993 inmates, with most of them immediately returning to crime.

The police commissioner

stated that failure of the hoodlums to comply with his directive to return the looted items would make the command to adopt all legal means to arrest, disarm and prosecute the errant persons.

He said: “The criminal elements must return within seven days, with effect from November 9, 2020, the police and other security agencies’ arms, ammunition and other items looted during the attacks on government and private facilities in Edo State, in the guise of #EndSARS protests.

“Police cannot do it alone.

Members of the public must collaborate with Edo State Police Command in the areas of information gathering and dissemination.

“Edo State Police Command wishes to thank members of the public, especially the law-abiding citizens of the state, for their concern and understanding during the period of #EndSARS protests that were later hijacked by hoodlums.”

Kokumo also pleaded with members of the public to always say something whenever they see something

WAEC Shifts WASSCE to November 30 The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has postponed the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates in Nigeria.

Head of Public Affairs, WAEC Nigeria, Mr Demianus Ojijeogu, who made this known in a statement, said the examination commences

by Monday, November 30, 2020.

The statement was titled: ‘West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2020-Second Series: Change in Timetable’.

Ojijeogu stated: “The West African Examinations Council, Nigeria wishes to inform all registered candidates for WASSCE for Private

Candidates, 2020-Second Series and the general public that there has been a change in timetable.

“The examination, which was initially scheduled to commence on Saturday, November 14, 2020 will no longer hold as planned, due to circumstances beyond our control.

“The examination has now been rescheduled to commence on Monday, November 30, 2020.

“The Council wishes to reassure candidates that the new timetable for the conduct of the examination will be released soon.

“We regret any inconveniences this might cause our dear candidates and members of the general public.

ONWARD TOGETHER…

L-R: Director, Naval Headquarters, Commodore Aminu Hassan; Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok- Ete Ibas; Flag Lieutenant to Chief of Naval Staff, Lieutenant Commander John Rimfat; and Naval Provost Marshal, Commodore Clement Atebi, inspecting the ongoing construction of the Naval Headquarters’ extension, in Abuja... weekend

NIS Releases Passport of #EndSARS Promoter, Odele Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) yesterday returned the seized passport of one of the #EndSARS promoters, Modupe Odele.

She made this known in a tweet after picking the passport.

The tweet quoted Odele as

saying, “Passport now picked up. No issues. I’m told I can travel at any time. Thank you so much everyone for the help and concern.”

It would be recalled the NIS said the passport of Odele was

seized as part of a routine border assignment.

The Spokesman for the NIS, Mr. Sunday James, had said that whenever a restriction has been placed on any individual, the immigration

service is duty-bound to enforce it.

James said immigration did not seize Odele’s passport because of her #EndSARS activities but because it was enforcing a restriction order.

ASUU, NLC, SSANU Blame FG for Lingering Universities’ Strike IPPIS prolonging industrial action, say lecturers Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have blamed the lingering industrial crisis in the country’s education sector on failure of the federal government to keep the collective bargaining agreement reached with unions in the sector.

The universities’ lecturers have also said that federal government’s insistence on its members’ registration on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), was the reason negotiations have continued to end in stalemate.

Speaking at second Quadranial delegates conference of SSANU in Abuja,yesterday, the President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said government’s penchant for reneging on agreements reached through collective bargaining with

labour unions was responsible for frequent industrial action being witnessed in the educational institutions.

“You don’t sign agreement for the sake of it. You signed so that it can be implemented. You can’t sign an agreement and then wait till it is due for implementation before raising issues.

“I think that has been the problem of collective bargaining administration in this country. It is not so elsewhere and we do not have to celebrate a Nigerian standard. Are we looking for a global standard or Nigerian standard? We should be aiming at a global standard, not Nigerian standard and the global standard is enshrined in convention 198 of International Labour Organisation (ILO),” he said.

Wabba said the unions in the education sector have always committed themselves to a diligent process of collective bargaining but that the problem had always been

from the government side.

“The important one which had constantly referred to is the collective bargaining agreement of 2009 between federal government and ASUU. If that agreement was signed in good faith and was implemented, I am not sure we will be where we are today,” he said.

Wabba lamented that while the unions go to the bargaining table with open mind and clear mandate to sign an agreement, in most cases the default is from employers and government.

The NLC president said that government is a continuum that should inherit the assets and liabilities, adding that no administration should try to run away from agreements signed by the previous ones.

In the same vein, the President of SSANU, Comrade Chijoke Ugwuoke said the 2009 FG/ SSANU agreement was an example of how agreements freely entered into were not implemented or were

done in breach.

“As we speak today, the biggest challenge being faced by SSANU is the lack of respect of agreements duly and freely entered into by our employers either at state or federal levels. In 2001 , an agreement was duly reached with the federal government, which was left largely unimplemented before 2009 when another agreement was yet reached,” he said.

Ugwuoke explained that some aspects of the 2009 agreement with respect to Earned Allowances, career structure and progression of SSANU members, encroachment into non-teaching units by academic staff among others, are yet to be implemented despite series of strikes between 2009 to date, Meanwhile, ASUU has said that federal government’s insistence on its members’ registration on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), was the reason negotiations have continued to stalemate.

Nigeria’s Rising Judgment Debt Worries Senate Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Senate has expressed concern over what it called “alarming and embarrassing state” of Nigeria’s judgment debt profile, saying provisions must be made in the proposed 2021 budget in order to address it before it goes out of hand Chairman of Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele raised the alarm yesterday at the 2021 budget

defence session of the Federal Ministry of Justice before the Committee.

“Before we commence this exercise proper, it is pertinent to also state that the judgment debt profile of the country has reached an alarming and embarrassing state.

“As a result, it is our hope that in this 2021 budget estimates for the ministry, provisions have been made, as a step towards addressing the judgment debt profile of the country before it

goes beyond our control”.

He noted that the budget performance/defense exercise was one of the most viable legislative activities, geared towards ensuring equitable distributions of the country’s resources with regards to allocation/implementation of projects and infrastructures to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

“Therefore, the importance of this exercise is not only sacrosanct for the political and socio-economic development of the country but

also germane towards providing democratic dividends to the citizenry,” the ranking Senator stressed.

Earlier in his presentation before the Committee, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), requested for time to furnish the panel with the details of the nation’s judgment debt, which wasn’t captured in the budget details of the Ministry.

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NCDC Links Delta, Enugu ‘Strange Deaths’ to Yellow Fever Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has attributed the recent strange deaths in Delta and Enugu states to an outbreak of Yellow Fever.

The agency said in a statement yesterday that it is currently supporting the two state governments, in response to suspected outbreak of Yellow

Fever.

This followed reports of a sudden spike in cases and deaths in some communities in both states.

“On November 2 and 3, 2020, NCDC was notified by the Ministries of Health of Delta and Enugu states respectively, of cases presenting with symptoms indicative of a viral haemorrhagic fever. Most cases presented with

fever, headache, fatigue, jaundice Vomiting, (with or without blood), among others.

“As at the 6th of November 2020, three samples from Delta and one sample from Enugu tested positive for Yellow Fever at Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital Laboratory and NCDC’s National Reference Laboratory, Gaduwa. More samples are being tested from both states

to confirm the causative organism of this outbreak,” it said.

The statement said that State Epidemiology Teams are leading the response with support from NCDC, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Also it said that an incident management system has been

activated by NCDC to coordinate response activities and Rapid Response Teams (RRT) have been deployed to both states.

The statement said NCDC and State RRTs are carrying out active case search, risk communications and community engagement as well as ensuring prompt management of cases.

NCDC further said that sister

agency, NPHCDA is working with the affected states to plan for a vaccination campaign.

Yellow Fever is a vaccinepreventable disease, and a single shot provides immunity for a lifetime.

It explained that symptoms of the disease include yellowness of the eyes, sudden fever, headache and body pain.

Ogun Assembly Begins Probe of Alleged N4bn Fraud in OPIC Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta The Ogun State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts and Anticorruption, has commenced investigations into alleged misappropriation of over N4 billion at the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC), under the last administration.

The committee is saddled with the task of unravelling 25 alleged financial infractions at the OPIC, during the administration of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

While grilling Mr. Jide Odusola, the immediate past Managing Director of the OPIC, the House Committee Chairman, Hon. Musefiu Lamidi, said findings had so far revealed that N40 million was missing from the corporation’s account.

Observing that indications pointed at more such discoveries, Lamidi said, “I want to thank the DFA (Director of Finance and Administration) for the

documents you have dumped with this committee.

“We have just discovered that after cost taking and other evaluations, N40 million is missing from the OPIC accounts.

We just assume.

“Besides, when the former MD comes back (in the next adjourned date) ,he will have to explain the issue of a land deal in Isheri, which was bought for N560 million and sold for N160 million.”

Last week, the Speaker, Hon. Olakunle Oluomo, in constituting the probe, had directed the former OPIC MD to come along with all necessary documents relating to all transactions on investments, housing projects and other fixed assets.

The lawmakers had then engaged Odusolu for about six hours, expressing displeasure on the manner he ran the corporation, “given the 25 infractions as outlined in the audited accounts of the Corporation between 2015 and 2019”.

El-Rufai Presents Staff of Office to Emir of Zazzau Warns against undermining new monarch John Shiklam in Kaduna The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has presented the staff of office to the 19th Emir of Zazzau (Zaria), Ambassador Ahmad Nuhu Bamali.

Making the presentation yesterday in Zaria, the governor said he was optimistic that the emir will offer inspired leadership to Zazzau Emirate, given his pedigree and experience in diplomacy, law, banking and commerce.

El-Rufai said his administration “expects the loyalty of all persons to our Emirs and Chiefs”, warning that government “will take firm and decisive action against any person that attempts to undermine, in any shape or form, the non-partisan and noble status of our traditional institution, particularly, Zazzau Emirate.”

He urged the emir to consolidate on the solid foundation already put in place by his predecessor, the late Shehu Idris who died on September 20, 2020.

He urged the emir to continue with “the admirable effort” he is making to unify Zazzau Emirate “while remaining open and receptive to positive contributions from all the relevant stakeholders.”

“We urge you to carry all the ruling houses along as you lead this Emirate in circumstances that have changed much over recent decades,” El-Rufai said.

The governor called on “all those that contested the Emirship to accept the will of Allah and join hands with the 19th Emir of Zazzau for progress and harmony in the Emirate.”

He also appealed to the title holders, district heads, members of the Emirate Council, the people of Zazzau Emirate and “all the citizens of Kaduna State to rally around our new Emir by extending to him their full support and cooperation in the same way they extended support to his predecessors to enable speedy development of the Emirate and the state in general.”

El-Rufai also paid glowing tribute to the late Idris who, according to him, “was regarded as a just and fair ruler, a peacemaker par excellence, an outstanding administrator and a kind-hearted leader and father”, who contributed immensely to the successes recorded by his administration, especially in the critical areas of education, preventive healthcare, peace building and mass mobilisation.

He used the occasion to defend his choice of Bamali as emir of Zazzau, which is being challenged in court by one of the princes who lost out in the contest for the throne.

He said “As Governor of Kaduna State, it is God’s will that I am privileged to be the first elected public servant to appoint an Emir of Zazzau in an independent, democratic setting.

HONOURING THE DEAD…

L-R: Catholic Bishop of Awgu Diocese, Bishop John Okoye; Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga; Catholic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, Prof. Godfrey Igwebuike Onah; and Auxiliary Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Most. Rev. John Obodo, during the Requiem Mass for the 10 accident victims of Presentation Nursery and Primary School, Awgu, at the school premises… yesterday.

Two to Die by Hanging for Robbery in Ekiti Victor Ogunje in Ado-Ekiti The Ekiti State High Court has sentenced two men, Oke Olanrewaju, 39, and Olanbiwonnu Kazeem, 27, to death by hanging for conspiracy and armed robbery in the state.

Handing down the verdict yesterday, Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, in his judgment, said: “The court found both men guilty of the case

of armed robbery. You are hereby sentenced to death by hanging.

May God have mercy on your souls.”

On count one on the charge sheet, both men were said to have committed the offence of conspiracy contrary to Section 516 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

On count two, both men were charged with armed robbery, contrary

to Section 402(2)(a) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16, Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.

The count three read that both men were guilty of armed robbery, contrary to Section 402(2)(a) of the Criminal Code Law, cap. C16, Law of Ekiti State, 2012.

It read: “Oke Olanrewaju Iyiola and Olanbiwonnu Kazeem, on or about the July 20, 2016, at No. 2, Ameen Close 4, Federal Housing

Estate, Oke-Ila in Ado-Ekiti within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired to commit felony to wit: armed robbery.

“Oke Olanrewaju Iyiola and Olanbiwonnu Kazeem, on or about July 20, 2016, at No.2, Ameen Close 4, Federal Housing Estate, Oke-Ila, Ado-Ekiti within the jurisdiction of the honourable court, robbed one Alhaji Ameen Rasheed of his belongings namely: phones.

CNG Petitions UN, Accuses Foreign Media of Plot to Destabilise Nigeria Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has accused the international community and foreign media of plot to destabilise Nigeria.

The group made the allegation yesterday in a letter addressed to the United Nations titled: ‘EndSARS Protests and Instigated Acts of Hate, Aggression and

Terror against Northerners and Nigerian State’.

The spokesperson of the group, Mr. Abdulaziz Suleiman, while addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, said the aim of the petition was to call the attention of the UN and other international friends and partners of Nigeria to the implications of the recent protests that swept across the southern

Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

He said the #EndSARS protests were a clear and legitimate demand for an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, for alleged notoriety for unlawful arrests, torture, disappearance, murder and other forms of violations in some parts of

the country.

Suleiman noted that from the outset, the protesters enjoyed heavy funding, support, encouragement, cheer and protection by a combined force of part of southern Nigerian elite and media assets as well as a handful of ‘aggrieved and disgruntled northern political leaders’.

EFCC Re-arraigns Ex-NIMASA DG,Two Others over Alleged N304m Fraud Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Lagos Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday re-arraigned a former acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Haruna Baba Jauro; Dr. Dauda Bitrus Bawa and a company, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited, before Justice

C.A. Obiozor of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos State, on a 19-count charge bordering on stealing and money laundering to the tune of N304, 118, 500.

The defendants were first arraigned on April 12, 2016, before retired Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Earlier in the proceedings, counsel to the defendants,

Olalekan Ojo (SAN), told the court that the third defendant, Thlumbau Enterprises Limited had written a letter dated November 6, 2020, notifying the court of the appointment of one Baba Haruna Salome, who is its secretary, as its representative in the trial in accordance with Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

Ojo also told the court of another letter by Salome dated November 6, 2020, and filed on November 9, 2020.

According to him, “The purpose of the letter is to enable the aforesaid representative of the third defendant to communicate to the court the third defendant’s plea of not guilty to the charge preferred against it.”

House Committee Queries Pantami over 70% Increase in Ministry’s Capital Allocation Adedayo Akinwale inAbuja The House of Representatives Committee on Telecommunications has queried the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, over what it described as sharp increase of the ministry’s 2021 budget proposal.

The committee said the total proposal for the Communications Sector, which is N39.3billion for the fiscal year 2021 is N21.9billion higher than the total approval of N17.4billion for 2020.

The Chairman of Committee on Telecommunications, Hon. Akeem Adeyemi, stated yesterday in Abuja

this during the budget defence of the ministry before a joint committee of the House.

He said one of the advantages of such interaction was that it provided an ample opportunity for the Joint Committee, not only to save time, but also to interface with the ministry and its parastatals on the degree of

execution of the approved budgets for the previous fiscal year.

This, Adeyemi said would enable the legislature to identify projects that have been concluded; those that are ongoing; those that remain unexecuted; and the reasons, if any, why some projects are not executed.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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COMMENT

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

NIGERIA AND THE 2023 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Jide Akintunde canvasses an urgent need to pass and sign a reformed electoral law

I

n Nigeria, one general election simply leads to the next.

Therefore, there is already much anticipation of the 2023 general election cycle. But fewer people have been voting in the presidential elections since 2003. The more we have elections, the poorer the people get, and the more unstable the country has become.

This is why a focus on the 2023 general election now – especially the presidential election – is foolhardy. There are two pressing issues the country needs to address first. One of them is electoral reform. This was left till late the last time. President Muhammadu Buhari, who was seeking re-election in 2019, decided not to sign the amended electoral bill passed by the National Assembly into law, on the basis that it was already too close to the election. In effect, he allowed the election that returned him to office to be marred by flaws, which could have been prevented by law.

Although Buhari is not eligible to seek re-election in 2023, that does not mean he would be disinterested in the election. It would be important to the president who his successor would be. For an administration whose alleged misdeeds may be uncovered by its successor, the current president might be very vulnerable in his retirement after office. Therefore, the same old tactics could be used to forestall a free and fair election in 2023 to have an administration that would be loyal to its predecessor.

Nevertheless, the support of the president is key for moving the electoral reform agenda forward. But it should not be left up to him. Nigerian citizens must press for changes to the law guiding the conduct of our elections. It is crucially important that substantive electoral reform be passed and signed into law within the next 12 months. It should not be delayed.

Who the major presidential contenders would be in three years’ time is also very important. This is more likely to be predetermined by likely consensus on which part of the country should produce the next president. It is a bizarre permutation in a democracy, where the free contest for power is one of the ethos. But this is a key practical calculation, not only for the current presidential aspirants, but more so for the country. But this requires explanation.

The Nigerian Fourth Republic was founded on the basis of power rotation. After the northern oligarchy sabotaged the election of the presidential candidate from the southwest, M.K.O. Abiola, in 1993, the country descended into anarchy. Five years of agitation and negotiation of a truce, under a transitional government and three military heads of states, culminated in the political consensus that the next election to usher in a new democratic dispensation in 1999 should necessarily produce a Yoruba president to replace the then-military head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, a northerner. As a result, the major presidential contenders in the 1999 presidential election were Chief Olu Falae and retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, with the latter as the winner.

Subsequently, the principle of power rotation has been vigorously asserted by the political establishment. Buhari, a northerner who was impatient for President Obasanjo to

THE GEOPOLITICAL POWER PLAY GOING INTO 2023 IS CURRENTLY DANGEROUSLY STALEMATED. THERE IS NEED TO RESOLVE IT IN AN ORDERLY FASHION

serve two terms by running against the incumbent in 2003, and wanting the north to take back power, was ultimately propelled to office in 2015 on the crest of power rotation.

But there is a loose definition of Nigeria’s power rotation.

Is it the rotation of the presidency simply between the north and the south as the major power blocs in the country? In which case, anyone from the multiple ethnic nationalities of the north can have a shot at the presidency during its turn.

Ditto the south. This would appear to be a neat argument. But the over 400 ethnic nationalities spread across the country are also divided by River Niger and Benue River. Indeed, three major ethnic nationalities have long been recognised in Nigeria.

They influenced the country’s regional structure before and at independence. Each of the regions – northern, western and eastern Nigeria – had constitutional regional autonomy.

As Nigerians define themselves first and foremost by their ethnicities and not by their nationality, the three major ethnic divides of the Hausa-Fulani of the north, Yoruba’s southwest and Igbo’s southeast have hardened. The political posturing that excludes Igbo from the centre of gravity of Nigerian politics after they fought the civil war in a bid to secede, and lost, has become a major test of the inclusiveness of Nigeria’s power rotation going forward.

Is the power rotation between the Fulani and Yoruba? This has not manifestly been the case. The administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, a southern Ijaw-man, preceded the current administration, even if it was because of the accident of the death of then-incumbent President Musa Yar’Adua, who Jonathan served with as Vice President and succeeded as laid down in the constitution.

The Igbo have not ruled themselves out as a bona fide claimant to the presidency. While it is uncertain if President Buhari would support power rotation to the south in 2023, the Igbo are now eager to take their turn. They have never produced an elected executive-president of the country.

However, there are already a few Yoruba and northern presidential aspirants. Therefore, the geopolitical power play going into 2023 is currently dangerously stalemated. There is need to resolve it in an orderly fashion.

The orderly resolution of the political impasse caused by the annulment of the 1993 presidential election, following the initial chaos, enabled the longest run of democratic rule in the country. Never since independence has civilian rule lasted as we have had since 1999. Not only should the country learn from its unpleasant history. We should be able to learn from our national experiments that worked. The current political deadlock, unlike the impasse over the 1993 election, is multidimensional. Not only is the north pitted against the south, a Yoruba presidential aspiration sets the south-west up against the Igbo. Everyone is aggrieved, surprisingly the north too – because of the grand failure of the Buhari administration to secure the region, thereby exacerbating poverty there.

Akintunde is the Managing Editor of Financial Nigeria magazine

AHMED BOBBOI’S TENURE RENEWAL Bobboi’s reappointment is a tribute to his tenacity of purpose, writes

T

he news that President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed Ahmed Bobboi, Executive Secretary of Petroleum Equalisation Fund (Management) Board, for a new four-year term has drawn wide acclaim and commendations from oil industry practitioners, the organised private sector and other pertinent stakeholders.

The presidential pat on the back, many believe, came on the heels of trailblazing activities the steersman, the tenacious (management) board and staff had recorded in the last four years and the roll call of successes they have amassed to their credit. It is only fitting that he and the board would be allowed to continue their valiant plans for the good of the organisation and its publics.

One of Bobboi’s trump cards is the fact that he understands the system and is better placed to appreciate what its challenges are. He is the first home grown staff to be appointed Executive Secretary (ES) of this allimportant agency. The considerable time other appointees spend to familiarise themselves with the terrain and turf, did not apply to him as he hit the ground running.

Since October 2016 when Bobboi began his odyssey as the Fund’s Chief Executive, he has remained committed to the goals and objectives he set for himself; relying on his ample skills, eclectic experience and uncommon grit to get the job done; all with the approval and active support of the PEF board.

The initial appointment had come as a welcome surprise to staff of the agency of government; charged by law to maintain uniformity in the price of premium motor spirit (petrol), throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari definitely cast a round peg in a round hole with his engagement.

Bobboi had spent over two decades in the organisation prior to being named executive secretary. Those who had worked with him at various points in their careers, attested to his

professionalism and fairness on the job. He is completely detribalised and bears no animus against anyone. Those who are focused and hardworking knew they had nothing to fear.

One of the key steps taken by the new helmsman and the diligent management board was to institute a policy whereby all staff must work in the field (zonal/depots offices) and various departments, before they can qualify for managerial positions. Bobboi himself has been lucky to have been afforded that opportunity, but a good number of employees have not been that fortuitous. The experience of having worked in various capacities in diverse departments at the head office and on the field, did adequately prepare him for the onerous tasks ahead.

Another key area he and the team wasted no time in addressing is the development of fit-for-purpose manpower to handle the ever-changing dynamics of the downstream subsector. They are well aware of the fact that the industry will require some important skill-sets going forward, and as pragmatic visionaries, they immediately embarked on strategic staff training and development exercises, locally and internationally.

PEF board has a history of utilizing information technology as a driving force in shaping effective work processes. Bobboi was one of those managers that welcomed with open arms, the ‘Project Aquila’; an electronic mechanism introduced by one of his predecessors, to monitor movements of petrol from depots to depots, with the automation of the operational processes, in addition to serving as a tool for gathering data for business intelligence.

But he and the board have always known that as useful as Aquila is in facilitating prompt payments, curbing human error and fraudulent claims, there are still opportunities for improvement for an even more robust system for effective service delivery.

In taking the gains of Aquila further, the board embarked on a more extensive informa-

tion technology drive that will ensure real time monitoring and data processing of petrol movement(s) in Nigeria to the last mile, that is, the filling stations.

Currently, the unflagging team, (in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency), are spearheading the deployment of the ‘Downstream Automated Fuel Management Information System’ (DAFMIS), primed to bolstering all operational processes within the organisation; a move deemed quite innovative and that which will be beneficial for all stakeholders in the industry.

One unique feature of DAFMIS is its distinct Fuel Monitoring System (FMS).

This provides for an electronic eye (sensor network) which spawns near real time information on ships, tank farms, depots, pipelines, trucks and filling stations. This is an ingenious idea which guarantees that the movement of products are tracked everywhere and on the go.

Also, more than 550 trucks are currently being retrofitted for the scheme. It does not end there. Fuel in the storage tanks of filling stations can also be monitored remotely, country wide. In effect, any station hoarding fuel for whatever reason would be caught out and sanctioned.

DAFMIS is structured to cut waste, improve efficiency and plug loopholes in the petrol distribution chain. Other features of this inventive solution include: Business improvement: poised to upgrade the work processes between departments as well as on-field operations for overall efficiency of the board.

Business applications: designed to manage marketers’ registration claims and reconciliations, much more accurately.

Document management system: billed for digitising and archiving documents in every department of the organisation. It also makes for an enhanced offsite back-up mechanism which guarantees document security.

Data centre upgrade: geared towards

maintaining a top notch, state of the art network architecture which ensures seamless interaction within the organisation. The era of poor connectivity between zonal offices, depots and the head office will be a thing of the past.

Operations Command and Control (OCC).

This can be likened to the operations of the control tower at airports, the world over. It ensures that field operations are monitored 24 hours, round the clock, year in, year out.

In effect, untoward incidents can be dealt with in real time. OCC promotes enhanced visibility of operations within the system and its processes are comparable to those of Aramco, the highly regarded Saudi Arabian oil company.

It should be stressed that DAFMIS runs through every gamut of the organisation, and is in line with global best practices and management systems.

The socio-economic benefits of DAFMIS are multifarious. One of these comprise the provision of real time data, germane to making critical and on-time decisions in the downstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry.

It is coupled to curb wastes and to also act as a check against nefarious activities within the system. It provides a veritable board for the nation’s economic planners and lends itself to the maintenance of energy security.

Other benefits include traffic advisory and road maintenance, job generation, provision of downstream data on the go, promotion of local content and generally making for a huge transformation of the downstream activities within the oil industry.

Despite the relentless focus on the pursuits of the ideal in running the all-important government entity, the PEF(M)B still ensures that the organisation engages in activities that offer succor to the disadvantaged.

Olakunri, Director, Oats Global Energy and a public commentator, wrote from Abuja

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EDITORIAL

JAILBREAKS AND PRISON CONDITIONS The correctional facilities are in dire need of improvement

B

eyond investigating recent jailbreaks, it is important to review the conditions in our prisons that dehumanise inmates and encourage their desperation.

Video clips of the inmates released from the two correctional facilities in Benin, Edo State were pathetic as many were no better than walking corpses. And it is not likely that those illegally freed from such servitude would want to return.

Besides, the physical structure of most of these colonial-era facilities has become so dilapidated that a bunch of hoodlums could find it so easy to break into them to set criminals loose on the society.

THE SERIES OF JAILBREAKS While the THAT WE HAVE WITNESSED name may have IN RECENT YEARS REFLECT changed to ‘correctional’ THE LACK OF ATTENTION facilities, prisons TO THE PRISON SYSTEM in Nigeria IN GENERAL AND ITS originated in the colonial days INFRASTRUCTURE IN when the notion PARTICULAR of shared citizenship and dignity of the inmates were alien to the administrators. At that period, the ultimate aim of prisons was to crush the human dignity of those they believed had constituted a threat to colonial governance. This historical legacy has persisted while a lack of economic goals for the labour of prison inmates has often been turned into making money by pilfering funds for feeding them. There has also been a lack of accountability for the nutrition and health of inmates. Those locked up for petty crimes - as a component of police brutality - have been denied access to both formal and technical skill education while awaiting trial.

Indeed, the series of jailbreaks that we have witnessed in recent years reflect the lack of attention to the prison system in general and its infrastructure in particular. That is why there is an urgent need for a serious reform. Originally, the prisons were built for petty thieves of

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livestock, minor infractions and light felonies.

Their populations were also meant to be small and more manageable. That perhaps explains why in the 60s, unarmed prison wardens would escort prisoners out for community service and watch them sing as they cut the grass in hospital premises. The wardens then carried only batons!

However, the sociology of crime and punishment has been altered by the realities of the times. Criminals are now many, varied and generally hardened. The nature of crime has also changed from stealing goats and chickens to robbing banks, emptying state treasuries and kidnapping for ransom, etc. With that, our notion of punishment has migrated from correction to something more punitive while most of the prisons are now overcrowded and ill-maintained. It is therefore no surprise that inmates who should have served their term, content that the state would at least cater for them while it lasts, are forced to revolt and seek escape to the uncertainty of the outside world.

Tackling such a challenge requires fresh thinking. As things stand today, Nigeria is wasting scarce resources on the maintenance of a prison system that has collapsed under a distorted federalism. Whereas no fewer than 95 per cent of inmates are alleged to have breached state laws, the prisons housing them are owned and maintained by the federal government without any contribution whatsoever from the state governments. Out of 55,000 inmates currently within the Nigerian prison system, only 12,000 have been convicted. Even at that, some of those who have been condemned to death have been waiting for the hangman for over 20 years!

What this ugly scenario therefore presents is the need for the relevant authorities within the judiciary, the legislature, the police, the bar and other critical stakeholders to come together and find a better framework for reform. The architecture for the correctional facilities should therefore be linked to initiatives for the rehabilitation of human resources rather than the current environment that renders inmates as subhuman beings and ultimately hardens them.

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

THE YOUTH PROTEST AND MATTERS ARISING

or umpteen reasons, commentaries on the youth protest will not thin out easily anytime soon. It has effectively blown open a Pandora box of issues of transcendent import that we can no longer paper over. And, if no meaningful change or lessons have been distilled from the crisis, then we may just be on the path of perdition. It was a period that the country danced on the precipice of anarchy and will definitely occupy a place of eternal remembrance in our nation’s history.

The hoodlums were real opportuniststhey saw the gaping gap and heartily leapt at it, to wreak monumental havoc on both private and public properties and cutting many precious lives short just when the protest spiralled out of control in the wake of the Lekki toll gate shootings.

The looting spree which led to the discovery of warehouses bursting at their seams with COVID -19 palliatives provided fodder for the looting fever which spread apace from Lagos- the epicentre to other states of the country. It beggars belief that palliatives were tucked away in warehouses while citizens remain in the throes of poverty and hunger. This is a sad commentary on the disconnect that exists between our

leaders and ordinary Nigerians. The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) rationalization was nothing but a face-saving attempt which has exposed the shortage of empathy in leadership.

However, the mindless looting and destruction under whatever guise shouldn’t be glorified. We simply have cut our nose to spite our face by the scale of destruction recorded. The verdict is that Nigerians are hungry and equally angry. They have considered government as the culprit for their dire conditions and they see, hear and read how the commonwealth is routinely plundered by few without consequences.

What we witness was at best a crude class war. So, to the ordinary citizen, it can’t be recorded as sin when they steal food.

The poor are still swimming in privation despite the easing of restrictions. Not a few Nigerians are at their wits end due to loss of jobs or severe disruptions of livelihood in accessing food and non-food needs.

The depth and breadth of hunger is mind blowing.

The FAO October/November 2020 Cadre Harmonise (CH) report on food insecurity adds weight to the extraordinary situation.

CH analysis report is an important tool for food security. The report focused on the

food crisis situation in 16 states- Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Zamfara and the FCT. More than 13.8 million Nigerians will need urgent attention between now and August 2021 in the above-mentioned states. About nine million Nigerians are to be trapped in the food crisis between October 2020 to December 2020.

Let’s talk about the state of the Police - the men of the Nigerian Police were not spared the brutality of the hoodlums.

They were victims that have received scant attention of the paroxysm of violence that marred the protest. It was a wretched experience for the Police. For it was a day they were left in the cold comfort of alienation, dejection and abandonment. I was moved by the poignant tales of raw savagery and inhumanity the Police suffered. Paradoxically, the brutality that was at the heart of the protest was bitterly unleashed on the police. They were poached like games in the woods. Truth is, Police also have human rights that must respected.

The average Nigerian Police is placed in a unique position where he is the object of public hate and victim of serial shortchange by his superiors. The litany of complaints

against the Police and its unprofessional conducts calls for a paradigm shift. There are no shortages of attempt at reforms which has produced commendable resolutions. But they are never given traction.

The Nigerian Police is a convenient poster boy of corruption. And, has been a perennial under-performer in global ratings for reasons which are not lost on us. Extortion, torture, intimidation, subjection of citizens to physical and psychological abuses, etc., are the Police stock in trade. Accidental discharge has become a euphemism for the police recklessness. As part of the police, the Special Anti -Robbery Squad (SARS) mirrors the sickness that ails the Nigeria police as a whole. Amnesty International in its report- “WELCOME TO HELL FIRE� painted a graphic picture of the brutality of the law enforcement personnel.

The Nigeria Force is in dire need of rehabilitation. They are underfunded and poorly trained. Aside, the handling of fire arms other aspects of policing is shoddily handled. The process of recruitment is highly flawed so much so that it allows persons of dubious character, barely literate and sometimes of unsound mind to slip easily into the police.

Abachi Ungbo, abachi007@yahoo.com

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Zamfara Gov Lied, We Paid N6.6m Ransom for Our Girls’ Release, Says Katsina Community Francis Sardauna in Katsina Residents of Dan Aji community in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State have debunked the claim by the Governor of Zamfara State, Mr. Bello Matawalle that he secured the release of their 26 kidnapped girls, insisting that they paid N6.6 million before the girls were released by their abductors, contrary to the governor’s claim.

THISDAY reported that

Matawalle had stated that he secured the release of 26 girls, all of them minors, from bandits without payment of ransom.

According to the governor, the girls, who were kidnapped by bandits in Faskari LGA of Katsina State, were taken to bushes in Zamfara State but released through negotiations spearheaded by the state’s Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Dauran.

Matawalle, who received the rescued girls, said his administration will not abandon the peace dialogue with bandits as firepower alone cannot solve banditry.

He said: “This is a testimony to our vision for engaging the bandits in a peace dialogue.

“For those who believe we are wrong to dialogue with the bandits, the securing of these minors who are all girls, unhurt,

is indeed priceless”, the governor reportedly said.

But the Leader of the Katsina community, Mr. Lawal Dogara, who denied Matawalle’s claim at a press conference in Katsina, yesterday, stated that the parents of the teenage girls contributed N6.6 million and paid to their abductors before they regained freedom.

Dogara said: “Governor Bello Matawalle lied; he was

never involved in the rescue of our daughters. We contributed N6.6 million and took it to their abductors before they were released.

“The ransom was taken to the kidnappers in their hideout by two representatives of our community namely: Alhaji Abdulkarim Dan Aji and Liman Babangida. They trekked for three hours to locate the bandits in their hideouts bordering

Zamfara State”.

He called on the Zamfara State governor to desist from parading himself as the person who secured the release of the girls, insisting that the governor has no hands in their release.

He, however, said the bandits during the rampage in the community killed 15 people, set ablaze numerable houses and shops before kidnapping the freed victims.

11 Dead, Five Hospitalised as Strange Disease Hits Oyo Now fewer than 11 persons have been reported dead with five hospitalised following the outbreak of a strange sickness in the Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The state government said the claim could not be immediately established as results of samples taken from the victims were still being awaited.

The first case was recorded at Ariku village, where five people had, so far, been reported dead but the disease later spread to Lagun village where six persons were confined dead.

The Caretaker Chairman, Lagelu Local Government Area, Mr. Kelani Abdullahi, confirmed that deaths but said

the cause of the cases was being investigated.

“So far, 11 persons have lost their lives to the epidemic, with five persons hospitalised while four persons have been discharged.”

Oyo State Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Bashiru Bello, said: “The tests carried out on the affected persons are still premature and the samples collected have not confirmed the sickness to be cholera.”

He said surveillance and health officers sent to the local government to take samples and assess the situation reported the poor unhygienic condition and dirty environment in the area.

NCC: Telecoms Investments Rise By $32bn in FiveYears Emmanuel Okonji The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday disclosed that investments in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector increased by $32billion in the last five years.

According to NCC, investments in the industry rose from $38billion to $70billion within the five-year period under review.

The commission stated this in a statement issued in Abuja by its spokesperson, Mr. Ikechukwu Adinde, while announcing the recognition of NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Umar Danbatta, at this year’s edition of the Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecoms Awards for his role in advancing broadband development.

The statement read in part, “In the last five years, under Danbatta

leadership, telecoms investment grew from around $38bn to over $70bn currently, with appreciable remittances in spectrum fees and operating surplus by the NCC into the Federal Government Consolidated Revenue Fund.”

The commission also stated that broadband penetration increased from six per cent in 2015 to 45.43 per cent in September 2020.

It said basic active internet subscription grew from 90 million to 143.7 million, while active voice subscription increased from 151 million to 205.25 million during the same period with tele-density also reaching 107.53 per cent as of the end of September.

“The last five years have seen the number of licensed infrastructure companies increasing from two in 2015 to six currently,” the NCC stated.

Ezekwesili Set to Launch New Group on Citizens’ Mobilisation Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja A former Vice President of the World Bank, Africa Division, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, is set to formally launch a new group which seeks to mobilise Nigerians in an attempt to correct the anomalies in the politics of the country.

The former minister in a note obtained by THISDAY, stated that the organisation to be known as #FixPolitics, billed for inauguration on November 11 (tomorrow), will use the event’s activities to stimulate public conversations and ideas.

She expressed the hope that from thence will emerge an empowered and engaged electorate, produce a new value- based political class and mobilise a compelling public campaign for constitutional, political, and electoral reforms.

“The overarching objective of the public launch event is to provide an opportunity for a “call-to-action” to a wider audience of citizens to join the work study group members of #FixPolitics in crystallising the most effective collection action programme that can transform Nigeria’s politics.

NEW PEACE INITIATIVES...

L-R: Director-General, Plateau State Peace Building Agency, Mr. Joseph Lengmang; Chief of Party Creative Associates, Nigeria Early Recovery Initiatives (NERI), Mr. Olivier Giraro; and Deputy Chief of Party, NERI, Mr. Pam Mangs, during the official signing of a Memorandun of Understanding between the agency and NERI, for a rapid response assessment in Mangu and Bassa Local Government Areas of the state, in Jos... yesterday

Osun Judicial Panel on Police Brutality Begins Sitting Thursday The Judicial Panel of Inquiry (JPI), which was set up by the Osun State Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, to look into cases of alleged police brutality, human rights violations and extra-judicial killings by the operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery

Squad (SARS) in the state would hold its inaugural sitting on Thursday, November 12.

The sitting would be held at the Council of Oba’s Chambers, Finance Building, State Secretariat, Abere, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. to receive testimonies

and evidence from victims of police brutality.

The panel has consequently requested members of the public to submit memoranda.

These were contained in a statement that was signed by the Secretary of the JPI, Mr. Kemi

Bello, and made available to journalists yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital.

The statement clarified that subsequent sitting of the panel would be on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Catholic Faithful, Ugwuanyi Bid Farewell to Deceased School Children Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State yesterday joined the Catholic faithful and families of the deceased pupils of Presentation Nursery and Primary School, Awgu, and other victims who lost their lives in a recent fatal road accident in Awgu Local Government Area of the state, to celebrate a Requiem Mass for

them at the school premises, in Awgu town.

Ugwuanyi who described the eight pupils as “angles” bade farewell to them, their late teacher, Emmanuella Chukwugbo and the school bus driver, Chukwu Basil, as well as other victims.

The governor said that his administration was saddened,

devastated and overwhelmed with grief by “the eventual realisation that we had lost eight young innocent school children, one teacher and the school bus driver to this tragedy”.

“Our children; our angels; had gone too soon and too suddenly; for no fault of their own.

“They were too innocent

to have offended anyone; too young to have known sin; they only attended the day’s school; to acquire knowledge and high moral values. Yes, they were on their way home; to unite, as usual, with their beloved parents and siblings; a journey home that was never completed; what a tragedy!

Fayemi Moves to Create LCDAs, Sets up Committee Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has set up a committee to look into the creation of local government council development areas (LCDAs) in the state.

Fayemi had during his first term in 2014 created additional 19 LCDAs thereby increasing the council areas to 35, but was scrapped when former state Governor, Ayodele Fayose, assumed office, citing paucity

of funds for his action.

According to a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebide, in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Fayemi said the step was in a bid to bring the government closer to the people and ensure more rapid development in the rural areas in line with his administration five- pillar development agenda.

Members of the committee are Mr. Segun Oluwole(chairman), while Dr. Femi Akinola, Mr. Victor Akinola, Mrs. Sade Daramola, Mr.

Joseph Olaito, Mrs. Emily Fagesi Mr. Remi Obaparusi are members.

Other representatives were drawn from the Ministries of Justice, Local Government Affairs, Finance and Economic Development; Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Ekiti State, and Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers The Secretary of the committee is Mrs. Shola Gbenga-Igotun.

The governor said the committee’s terms of reference are “to review the Local Government Development

Council Law, Ekiti State 2014, and make recommendations on its relevance in view of current legal developments in the state.

“Consult extensively with the communities where LCDAs secretariat were created by the Local Government Development Council Law, Ekiti State 2014, and make recommendations on their current economic viability and suitability with a view to ensuring uniformity, equity, fairness across the local government areas

Katsina Identifies 400 Mining Sites for Development Francis Sardauna in Katsina In a bid to avert overdependence on the oil sector, the Katsina State Government has identified 400 legal mining sites with 37 different types of mineral resources across the 34 local government areas of the state.

The state Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr. Abdullahi Imam, revealed this to journalists yesterday during the ministerial briefing at the Government House in Katsina.

He said some of the mineral resources found across the 400 mining sites include gold,

manganese, feldspars, kaolin, mica, tourmaline, galena, beryllium, asbestos, iron-ore, aquamarine, copper, emerald, sapphire, chromite, among others.

Imam,representedbythePermanent Secretary of the ministry, HassanAnda, explained that the state government would implore revolving strategies to woo investors to the state in order

to exploit the mineral resources.

The commissioner reiterated that the mining sector had significantly contributed to the revenue generation of the country, hence the need for it revitalisation and diversification to stop overdependence on the oil sector.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020

POLITICS

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

As Abiodun Pays New Minimum Wage, Ogun Workers Smile to Work Nseobong Okon-Ekong writes that workers in Ogun State have sheathed their sword and embraced peace as Governor Dapo Abiodun agreed to their demands

T

he palpable fear and agitations, expressed by the organised labour in Ogun State, over the payment of new minimum wage, was finally allayed, as workers in the state received their October salaries reflecting the desired new minimum wage.

Unknown to the workers, the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, had instructed that the payment of N30,500 new wage be effected across board.

While lower level officers, got as much as 100% salary rise, those on higher grades got substantial increment.

Hence, the workers, having started receiving bank alerts showing the increment, began to spread the good news within and without the workforce.

Prior to the commencement of the payment of new workers’ wage, the state government had signed an MoU with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiating Council (JNC), to effect the new mimimum wage.

The organised labour had embarked on a warning strike to press home their demands, but the strike was suspended three days later, as Abiodun-led administration demonstrated good faith and willingness to implement the new payment.

So, when the state government fulfilled its promise, workers in Ogun could not hide thier joy as they thronged the Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on Tuesday, to say “thank you” to the governor they described as “workers-friendly and promise keeper”.

Hitherto, the Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress, Ogun State Council, Comrade Emmanuel Bankole, had described the payment of new minimum wage as a commendable and welcome development. He also appreciated the governor on behalf of the entire Organized Labour in Ogun or fulfilling his promise.

Bankole added that “it is our hope that this development will open a new vista of collaboration, trust and understanding between government and labour in the state”, while reassuring the governor of the unalloyed loyalty and support of workers to his administration.

“No doubt, the payment of new minimum wage to civil and public servants will greatly motivate the workers for enhanced productivity and efficiency”, Bankole disclosed.

Also, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) unanimously described the gesture of the Ogun state government on the payment of new minimum wage to workers, as a development that will boost workers’ morale and enhance their productivity.

The Acting Chairman of TUC, Comrade Akeem Lasisi and the Chairman, JNC, Comrade Olanrewaju Folorunso, who spoke while featuring on a TV programme in Abeokuta, commended government for “demonstrating a high sense of commitment, which shows that the labour and government are partners in progress’.

They assured that workers would continue to do their best at implementing government policies and programmes, adding that Labour Unions would not relent in its effort to ensure that the workforce remained committed to the development of the State.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Establishments and Training, Mrs. Lydia Fajounbo, said the payment was a thing of joy to workers, adding that they, in turn, would justify their pay through hard work for effective service delivery.

She urged workers not to breach the trust reposed in them, but give back to the government in an impressive manner by being more dedicated, proactive and committed to duty.

Contributing, the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Service Matters, Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Dahunsi Ogunleye, appreciated government for the exceptional goodwill and motivation displayed during the various negotiations, which made the payment a reality, assuring that better service delivery would be witnessed in the Civil Service.

L-R: Head of Service of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmot Otun; state governor, Dapo Abiodun; deputy governor, Noimot Salako Oyedele; and the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi during the thank you rally organised by workers in appreciation of the government’s efforts

Ogunleye also commended government for its depth of creative thinking and futuristic approach through the creation of 5,000 jobs for the youths in the wake of the payment of the new minimum wage, pledging that the present administration would enjoy maximum cooperation of the workforce for the growth and progress of the State.

“Creation of 5,000 jobs for the youths at this time is an opportunity for growth and progress of the State by Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration which shows the depth of creative thinking and future mind of the Governor. Therefore, the people should have absolute trust and faith in the government for upward movement of the State”, Ogunleye said.

In their respective remarks, workers in the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Adebimpe Olaitan and Femi Osipitan, expressed their happiness for the payment of the minimum wage, saying “it was a welcome development.”

Expressing his delight, Commander Oluwafemi Odukalu of the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) said, “to be honest, I was expecting something close to that increment but when I saw the actual amount added, I was overwhelmed because I didn’t expect that much” thanking the governor for fulfilling the promise.

On her part, Mrs. Oluwatosin Owotomo of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, appreciated the governor for keeping the promise made and for not paying lip service to the welfare of workers.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Abdulwaheed Odusile, said “it is a good thing; the governor has promised the labour that he would pay and this is another promise made and promise kept.”

Odusile added: “The government of Dapo Abiodun will always take the welfare of workers seriously, just as it is committed to the welfare

of all residents and indigenes of the state”.

He thereafter enjoined workers to be up and doing and dedicated to their work in order to have the Ogun state of their dreams.

The medical doctors in the employment of the Ogun State government, applauded the governor for approving and implementing “proper remunerations” for them and for the practical steps taken to reposition the health sector for efficient healthcare delivery to the people of the state.

The doctors, under the auspices of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners and Association of Resident Doctors, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, who had paid a visit to the governor at his ofrice on Monday, said they had come on a “thank-you” visit to him.

Speaking, the ex-officio and National Chairman of the Association, Dr. Odusote Rafiu, appreciated Abiodun, saying the gesture would spur the doctors to put in their best rendering efficient service to the people.

On his part, the President of Resident Doctors, OOUTH, Dr. Mutiu Popoola, recalled the deplorable state of the Teaching Hospital before the coming of the present administration. He said that the recruitment of doctors and other medical professionals and provision of basic medical equipment, was a clear demonstration of government determination to return the health institution to great shape.

Responding, Abiodun, described health as one of the priority sectors of his administration, noting the people needed to be healthy to function effectively in any capacity they find themselves.

The governor, who decried the poor condition he met the OOUTH, Sagamu, on assuming office, explained that the recruitment of doctors and other health workers was to address the

Creation of 5,000 jobs for the youths at this time is an opportunity for growth and progress of the State by Prince Dapo Abiodun led administration which shows the depth of creative thinking and future mind of the Governor. Therefore, the people should have absolute trust and faith in the government for upward movement of the State”, Ogunleye said. In their respective remarks, workers in the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Adebimpe Olaitan and Femi Osipitan, expressed their happiness for the payment of the minimum wage, saying “it was a welcome development

staff deficit, while the procurement of medical equipment was to urgently see to the needs of the hospital.

He said the Board that would steer the ship and take the hospital to desired destination, would soon be inaugurated.

Abiodun, however, expressed delight that things were getting better for the Ilaro General Hospital as a result of government intervention on medical equipment and good access roads.

“It is important to mention that I am, on behalf of this administration, 100 percent committed to ensuring that we will provide a conducive environment for you to function at your peak and also ensure that it is supported with welfare package.

“I hope that going forward, we will continue to relate and interact in such a manner that if there is any issue that arises by way of misunderstanding or on demands that have not been met, it should be handled in a way that it does not lead to a breakdown of services rendered”, Abiodun stated.

He appreciated the doctors for their selfless service to the state during the COVID-19, pointing out that the pandemic has negatively affected the state finances.

Addressing the excited workers, who gathered at the Arcade Ground, Abiodun promised that he would ensure Ogun state workers continue to enjoy better welfare package and seamless promotion, saying he would continue to adhere to equity and fairness in appointment and promotion of deserving public officers.

He reitrtated that appointment, promotion and career advancement would be merit-based as favouritism would no longer be entertained in the state civil service.

He described the state workforce as the best in service delivery in the country, adding that the state has produced world class civil servants who have made headway in different parts of the world.

“No nation or state can achieve any meaningful development without workers who are well motivated to perform optimally. We will continue to constantly and regularly pay our workers salary and other benefits to enable them discharge their duties efficiently.

“I know that there has been a breach of trust in the past between the government and the workers. On our part, we will continue to build trust with you. There should be no mistrust or misunderstanding between us. You are the essence of this administration. I can assure you that we will continue to engage you and I am happy that the trust is being restored”, Abiodun declared.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020

POLITICS

Parleying for Efficient Service Delivery Igbawase Ukumba writes that Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has initiated a platform for cooperation between all arms of government in the state

G

Hovernor Abdullahi Sule had on October 1, 2020 convened the first ever critical stakeholders’ summit of the state, bringing together personalities from the three arms of government: the executive, legislature and judiciary, with a view to understanding and appreciating their distinct roles for efficient service delivery.

Critical stakeholders at the event include: The first civilian governor of the state, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi; Chief Judge of Nasarawa State; Justice Suleiman Umaru Dikko; Emir of Lafia, HRH Justice Sidi Bage (rtd), among many other critical stakeholders.

The summit, with the theme: “Examining the Role of Government on Security and Economy of Nasarawa State,” was first of its kind since creation of the state in 1996, and was organized by the office of the Secretary of the Government of Nasarawa State which took place at the Aliyu Akwe Doma Banquet Hall, Government House, Lafia. The parley between the three arms of government was part of activities marking the 60th and 24th anniversaries of Nigeria and Nasarawa State celebrated on October 1, 2020 respectively.

Speaking at the summit, Governor Sule said the summit would provide the opportunity for the three arms of government to understand each other, even as he emphasized that the executive arm of government was receiving maximum support from the legislature and judiciary. He added that the summit would also deepen the democratic process in the state, towards the socio-economic development of the society.

It was against the above backdrop the governor explained that top government functionaries and other critical stakeholders from the three arms of government would facilitate the cross fertilization of ideas, share experience, as well as appraising distinct responsibilities of the arms with a view to evolving the needed enduring synergy for a conflict free administration, as well as reinforcing interdependence of each of the arms, according to the tenets of the constitution.

Sule said: “This is in line with the pledge which I made when I took over the mantle of leadership, to create the enabling environment for the arms of government to effectively and efficiently discharge their responsibilities, for peace, progress and development of our dear state. My administration has supported the call for the independence of the legislature through the provision of required tools for it to carry out its statutory functions with minimum hitch.”

This was even as he added that his administration has continued to sustain its regards and reverence to the judiciary and its independence towards quick dispensation of justice and the interpretations of the laws.

“Considering the journey so far, especially towards entrenching the democratic process in tune with global best practices and the existing unity of purpose have been inspirational given the administration the needed strength to forge ahead in the collective commitment to provide leadership for growth and development. It’s however pertinent to often review certain tendencies that could jeopardize the seeming harmonious relationship between the arms of government, which informed the need for the summit,” Sule stated.

The governor finally harped on the need for maturity and tolerance so that the arms of government could work together to the benefit of Nasarawa State and the People.

Suffice to note that attaining a reasonable degree of security is pivotal to maximising the potentials of any given entity for the growth and development of its economy which is every citizen’s role to play. Hence the need for maturity and tolerance among citizens so that the three arms of government in the state could work together for the benefit of Nasarawa State and the people.

Perhaps it was against this background as harped earlier during the summit by Governor Sule that the chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, Justice Sidi Bage ( rtd) x-rayed the key role that the traditional rulers have to play in the economy and security of the

Sule

state. Justice Bage, who is the Emir of Lafia, noted that the state had a diversity of culture with over 30 different linguistic units hence underscoring the need for cultural harmony.

Acccording to him, “the over 30 linguistic units alone underscores the need for cultural harmony in the face of threatening tribal wars.

The monarchs can ensure that they preach peace within their sphere of influence. They must preach love and oneness that will make the herdsmen value the life of farmers and vice versa. As they sue for peace and security, they must gainfully engaged their subjects in productive activities especially in agriculture, which in my view is still underexploited in Nasarawa State.”

Suffice to state that attaining a reasonable degree of security in any given society is pivotal to maximising of that society’s growth and development of its economy is everyone’s role to play.

Hitherto the paramount ruler of the ancient Lafia Emirate, Justice Bage, opined that all ministries and agencies that make up the executive arm of government in Nasarawa State, ably led by Governor Sule, have a role to play.

“Every lawmaker, regardless of party affiliation, owes Nasarawa State a duty to contribute to the economy and security of our dear state. The judicial also have a very significant role to play as the law has always been an instrument of social reengineering. We the traditional rulers too have tremendous though unconventional role,” the retired Supreme Court Judge said.

Acccording to the revered monarch, “section 5 (2) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) clearly saddles

the governor with the governance and security of the state. But the governor is just one man, and that is where his team comes into play.

Every ministry in the state must begin to look inward and tinker on how to build lasting value-chain that will contribute positively to the state bottom line.”

“A lot of mining, power generation, manufacturing can be done in Nasarawa State that are not yet done. The security agencies too must keep an eye on the project of the state to ensure probity and security,” the monarch added.

Justice Bage however said the state’s laws were so far good but as all known, the only thing that is permanent is change. Consequently he was of the opinion that the lawmakers must continuously review the state’s laws to ensure that more business channels are opened up with ease.

He continued: “They are to ensure by legislation that the state runs with S.M.A.R.T budgets.

In order words, appropriation laws must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time based.”

However, the royal father admitted that lawmakers are not to be rubber stamps, but most importantly, they are not to be clogs in the wheels of progress. He added that they must also put in place adequate legal frame work to proscribe crimes and facilitate trial of offenders.

He said that the court and every member of the judicial arm of the government needs to discover ways of doing things differently.

“There are a lot of lessons to learn from other states, especially Lagos. Business thrives when there are minimal legal tussles. It is important

Perhaps it was against this background as harped earlier during the summit by Governor Sule that the chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, Justice Sidi Bage ( rtd) x-rayed the key role that the traditional rulers have to play in the economy and security of the state. Justice Bage, who is the Emir of Lafia, noted that the state had a diversity of culture with over 30 different linguistic units hence underscoring the need for cultural harmony.

Acccording to him, “the over 30 linguistic units alone underscores the need for cultural harmony in the face of threatening tribal wars. The monarchs can ensure that they preach peace within their sphere of influence

to note the key players in the judiciary will still earn their living even in a legally peaceful atmosphere. Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism must be highly promoted. Special Practice Directions can be put in place to fast-track revenue-related cases in the state. The crimes that are prevalent in our state could also be accorded fast-track trial and speedy dispensation of justice,” the Emir of Lafia concluded.

Perhaps the theme of the first ever Nasarawa State Critical Stakeholders’ Summit: “Examining the Role of Government on Security and Economy of Nasarawa State”, was timely for the Speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Balarabe Abdullahi, as he said when presenting his paper at the summit that the state has made so much progress in the democratic process as a state. However Speaker Balarabe recounted that recent times Nasarawa State and indeed Nigeria had witnessed unprecedented crop of crises and insecurity each leading to the loss of lives and destruction of property.

Acccording to him, “the state has witnessed cases of armed robbery, human trafficking, kidnappings, murder activities, activities of the Boko Haram, communal crisis, farmers/ herders conflicts and drug addiction. All these has led to increased cases of insecurity.”

The state assembly speaker buttressed his above assertion with a graphic picture of insecurity incident that occurred in Nasarawa State in recent times by recalling that 26 Road Safety Corps Officials on a trip to FRSC Training Academy in Enugu State were abducted by suspected bandits along Mararaba Udege community. While on January 8, 2019, the Nigeria Army recovered 45 weapons and 701 assorted ammunitions from Bassa militia’s camp in Zuere in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

He continued: “On August 21, 2019, five policemen lost their lives when gunmen attacked the convoy of the deputy governor of Nasarawa State, Emmanuel Akabe, at a hill popularly known as “Many Have Gone”. Again on August 11, 2020, His Royal Highness Amos Obere, the head of Udu community in Nasarawa Local Government Area was killed. In May 2020, the CAN chairman was kidnapped at his resident in Lafia, the state capital. On April 2020, we saw yet another kidnap of another traditional ruler, the Aron Ugah, Alhaji Abdullahi Magaji.

We recently witnessed the rising of another terrorists group, Dar-Ur-Salam, in Toto Local Government Area that led to the death of many innocent citizens.”

Acccording to the speaker, “these and many more recurring insecurity challenges informed the establishment of 4 Special Forces of the Nigerian Army at Doma, as well as the Police Mobile Training School at Endehu, both in Nasarawa State. Regrettably, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Yusuf Buratai, observed that terrororists threat is shifting to the North Central part of the country.”

The adverse effects of these insecurity on the state has led to the social dislocation of citizens, particularly farmers, from their farming activities. Also there was diversion of government attention and scarce resources from creating thriving economy, even as government attention focus on spending the scarce resources on crisis and security management in order to maintain.

Speaking on behalf of the judicial arm of government in Nasarawa State, the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Suleiman Umaru Dikko argued that there was no way one could have economic development without having security. Nevertheless, the state Chief Judge commended the government and other security agencies for maintaining security in Nasarawa State.

“Recently the security agencies were able to force out the terrorists group in my Local Government Area, Toto. That is the requirement to have economic development,” he said.

Justice Dikko however raised the alarm that the judicial arm has seen that the president has signed the executive order 10 for the independence of the judiciary but what was happening was that the 36 state governors have gone to court to truncate it.

“I just want to advise His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule, to advise his colleagues to please withdraw that case from the court,” the Chief Judge concluded.

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T H I S D AY ˾ NOVEMBER 10, 2020

FEATURES

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

Steady Progress with Road Component of Urban Renewal Programme John Shiklam writes that the road component of the Urban Renewal Programme initiated by the Kaduna State government in 2019 is making steady progress as it extends the road projects to Zaria and Kafanchan amidst increasing demand for access roads among many suburbs within the metropolis

Construction of Rabah Road Bridge

Construction of Kawo Flyover, Kaduna

T

he road projects under the Urban Renewable Programme initiated by Governor Nasir El-Rufai in Kaduna State is making steady progress despite the harsh economic situation and financial problems facing many states.

The programme was initiated in 2019, to upgrade basic infrastructure in major cities in the state.

The road component of the programme kicked off last year in Kaduna with 19 roads slated for either expansion, dualisation or construction.

Several bridges, and flyovers, including the reconstruction of the Kawo flyover are currently under construction.

The road projects have been extended to the two major cities in the state- Zaria in the northern part of the state and Kafanchan in the southern part of the state.

In Kaduna City alone, the projects are expected to gulp N42 billion. So far, according to the Managing Director of the Kaduna State Road Agency (KADRA), Engr. Mohammed Lawal Magaji, four of roads within Kaduna metropolis have been completed while three others are nearing completion.

Giving an update on the projects in an interview with THISDAY in Kaduna, Magaji said the completed roads include Katuru road, Alkali Road, Waff Road and Yakubu Gowon Way, while Swimming Pool Road, Eastern Bypass, Urban Shutters are nearing completion.

According to him all the projects in the three cities are expected to be completed in 2021, adding that the contractors handling the projects have been working around the clock to meet the dateline.

“The road projects awarded in 2019 are expected to be completed in 2021. Those that were awarded in 2020 are expected to be completed in early 2022, according to the contract agreement. We are hoping that all the projects would have been completed by end or early 2021, even though we are hoping to go for more roads across the state within the period because there are so many demands for roads,” Magaji said.

He said a lot of progress has been made, adding that he was optimistic that the contractors will complete the jobs at the stipulated time.

Magaji expressed satisfaction with the quality of work being executed by the contractors, stressing that the government is getting value for the money being spent.

“We chose those contractors that have the capacity to execute the work and we are getting quality and standard roads. We are getting value for our money,” he said.

He said the philosophy of the Governor El-Rufai administration is that the people come first, adding that the projects will impact positively on the lives of the people when completed.

“The governor is pursuing his agenda of ‘put-

Construction of dual carriageway, Tafawa Balewa Way, Kaduna

Governor Nasir El-Rufai

Managing Director, KADRA, Engr. Mohammed Lawal Magaji

ting the people first’, so he is doing everything possible to improve the wellbeing of the people.

He is determined to leave lasting legacies behind by building quality roads to enhance economic activities” he said.

Magaji said in Zaria, three of the road projects have been completed while eight others are ongoing. He said beside the road projects under the Urban Renewal Programme, there are other road projects being executed by the state government also.

“Three roads have been completed in Zaria, while eight others are ongoing. We just started in Zaria, although there are ongoing road projects there, but they not under the Urban Renewal Project.

“In Zaria, we will do the Wusasa to Danmagaji to Galma bridge. We have bridge and clover lift at Kofar Doka. We have started the survey

and setting up of the alignment. Construction work will soon start,” the KADRA boss said.

In Kafanchan, 21 roads are slated for either expansion or dualisation. According to Magaji, three the roads are slated for dualisation while 18 are for expansion. The road projects have led to increasing demand for roads among many communities in the state, especially among several suburbs with Kaduna metropolis.

One of such communities is the Sabon Tasha GRA, located in Chikun Local Government Area, one of the four local governments that make up the state capital.

The area, like many suburbs have no single motorable and residents have been crying out to the state government to extend the road component to of the Urban Renewal Programme to the area.

However Magaji said the state government is trying its best to address the challenges of roads

among communities in the state. He said the government has been trying its best in Sabo GRA. “In Sabo GRA, we have been trying our best.

Sometimes we graded the road to be motorable,” Magaji said.

He explained that apart from warding, his agency also embarks on rehabilitation of roads through direct labour. “Through direct labour we take care of the roads in suburbs,” he said.

He however challenged local governments l to support the state government by constructing some of the roads in their areas.

“The local governments should also come in to support in the construction of some of these roads. Let them take up their responsibility,” Magaji said.

According to him, people think that all the road projects are under Urban Renewal Programme, explaining that there are other road projects being executed by the state government which are not under the Urban Renewal Programme.

He said “The state government is doing its best to see that it construct a lot of roads, but there there is also the need for local governments to take up some of the roads in their various localities”.

He said the local governments should not abandoned their roads for the state government.

Magaji also reacted to allegations that indigenous contractors were not being patronised in the award of contracts for the road projects, saying the allegations are not true.

He said, indigenous contractors with capacity to deliver quality job were among the contractors executing the projects.

“It is not true that indigenous contractors are not being patronised. We have indigenous contractors that are executing our road projects. I will tell you that we have few foreign companies handling the projects. Others are indigenous companies.

“Maybe you have seen CCECC, MotherCat and the rest, but we have indigenous contractors handling our jobs, those that have completed projects that made headlines. We have Runchest, Farmtrack, Andrest among others,” he said.

According to him, indigenous contractors work side by side with foreign contractors for road projects under the Urban Renewal Programme.

“As the federal government emphasises on local content, the Kaduna State government is doing its best to engage indigenous contractors.

Thank God they are competing favourably with the foreign contractors,”Magaji said.

He maintained further that, “foreign contractors are now being challenged in terms of standard and quality of work by indigenous contractors”.

According to him, there is no difference between foreign and indigenous contractors, adding that the state government is encouraging indigenous contractors and engineers who are also fully involved in the projects.

21

T H I S D AY ˾ NOVEMBER 10, 2020

FEATURES

Addressing Renewable, Clean Energy Access Addressing renewable and clean energy access for all in order to reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprints in line with the Paris Agreement of 2015, was the thrust of two workshops organised

by Environmental Rights Action/Friends of Earth Nigeria, writes Adibe Emenyonu

L-R: Former Chairman of NBA, Ikorodu branch, Lagos, Nurudeen Ogbara; Renewable Energy Entrepreneur, Kaduna, Habiba Ali; Pii, Ogoni, Rivers State, Chief Saint Emma; Executive Director, ERA/FoEN, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo (standing); President, Child Protection Network, Jennifer Ero, and Executive Director, Foundation for Good Governance and Social Change, Comrade Austin Osakue, during the ERA/FoEN Workshop in Benin City, Edo State

A

ccording to a study by the International Energy Agency (IEA), there is an established link between the availability of reliable and adequate energy supplies and economic growth and development. Based on this link, the same study assessed the potentials and challenges of the renewable energy sub-sector in addressing an energy deficit that has been identified as one of the obstacles hindering economic development in Nigeria.

Through the analysis of various documents, the researchers made two important findings: First, that Nigeria recognises and has analysed its potential in a variety of renewable energy sources for possible exploitation to diversify its energy mix.

Second, that although there are policies to drive the renewable energy development projects, the lack of legislative backing and various systemic challenges are hindering the deep entrenchment of this thrust.

The research concludes that public and private policy coherence is critical for Nigeria to develop an economically and technically viable renewable energy sub-sector to supplement its current energy supply; as well as prepare for a post petroleum economy as the way to go.

The above is critical giving the fact that Nigeria as a country can only boast of a little above 5,000mwt of electricity generation since 1999. Secondly, that since the advanced economies have began diverting their attention to electrical powered automobiles, there is need for policy makers to start thinking of a post petroleum economy because the implications of any delayed action could be disastrous.

This was why some concerned individual gathered in Benin City, capital of Edo State, under the auspices of Environmental Rights Action/Friend of Earth Nigeria (ERA/ FoEN), to opine that for Nigeria to have the energy requirements to meet its domestic consumption and industrial needs, renewable energy is the way to go in order to bridge the gap.

They were also spoke of the concern for a post petroleum economy for Nigeria, it's feasibility and implications of delayed action Kicking off the discussion with the theme: "Youth Talent Hunt and Employment Programme, Executive Director of ERA/FoEN, Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, said the programme was aimed at addressing clean energy access for all in order to reduce the nation's carbon footprints in line with the Paris Agreement of 2015.

According to him, the programme is also meant to help provide opportunities and logistics support for the youths to lead in the production of innovative cleaner technologies to drive the renewable energy sector.

Dr. Ojo therefore, condemned in strong terms the unnecessary tax burdens that have characterised Nigeria's economic development thrust in recent times by the

federal government of Nigeria.

"The sudden increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT) from five per cent to 7.5 percent, the increase in the pump price of petrol to N162.00 per litre and electricity tariff of over 100 per cent hike by the federal government can be counterproductive on the productive sector of the economy especially in the development of the nascent renewable energy sector", he said.

The ERA/FoEN boss, stated that the "tax burden are ill-timed as the federal government has carried on without due consultation with the civil society groups, labour unions and other stakeholders to gauge the mood of the people."

Describing the youths as catalyst of change, ERA/FoEN asserted that "they understand the need for clean energy transition to reduce the burden of oil dependency and unbearable tax regimes from the oil sector which is leading to harsh economic realities in Nigeria."

Also, the Assistant Director (Training), National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), Abdullahi Aliyu, promised that his agency would always be available to offer the needed support to any youth who has an innovation to showcase.

The Co-founder/Chief Operating Officer, Ashdam Company Lid., Mrs. Damilola Asaleye, said Nigerians have to embrace renewable energy which includes provision of reliable power supply; to allow fuel diversification; to enhance energy security; to lower risk of fuel spills; help conserve the nation's natural resources and to mitigate climate change.

Concluding the roundtable session, discussants called on the federal government to halt the tax burden on renewable energy and other multiple taxes.

They also asked government to halt the tax burden on renewable energy and other multiple taxes, and immediate shelve the increase in petroleum pump price and electricity tariff because of its consequences on the average common man in the society.

Furthermore, the federal government was charged to diversify the nation's energy sources to encourage state and non-state actors in the development of mini-grid and off-grid solar power system.

The panelists also suggested that the country can achieve greater energy access by putting an end to fossil fuel and show committment to renewable energy options and grow to become a hub in West Africa.

Particularly, Dr Ojo asked the government to halt investments in oil and gas sector and channel public finance, loans and subsidies from oil and gas sector and divestment of such funds to renewable energy sector.

The Executive Director of ERA/FOEN called on “Nigeria’s Green Bond, and the Bank of Industry (BOI) to support and step up investments to individuals and Community Energy Cooperatives in the renewable energy sector while encouraging

Participants at the workshop

the sector through subsidies, grants, and tax holidays including elimination or reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from the current level of 7.5 per cent as a crucial step to encouraging the transition.”

He affirmed that the government should ”demonstrate political will and reduce corruption for renewable energy to thrive in Nigeria.”

Ojo advocated for the “inclusion of renewable energy technologies and climate change in the school curriculum to empower the youths and make them solutions to the national energy poverty.”

His words: “There is need for the inclusion of renewable energy technologies and climate change in the school curriculum to empower the youths and make them solutions to the national energy poverty.

“Increase advocacy and policy engagement with the government to embrace renewable energy and take action to put an end to oil and gas development.

“Encourage a national renewable energy policy that recognises state and non-state actors in a decentralised energy production system as crucial for realising the country’s existing huge gaps in citizens’ access to electricity.

“Demand federal, state and local governments’ involvement in the provision of mini-grids and off-grids solar systems and other renewable energy options.

“Conduct practical demonstrations and cluster community energy projects in the communities to promote access to cleaner energies Communities.”

Contributing to the discussion: "How Feasible is a Post Petroleum Economy for Nigeria?", Nurudeen Ogbara, former Chairman of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikorodu branch of Lagos, said the question posed above though appear simply but very complex to answer. He said "if you say yes, it is idealistic while in theoritic, it is simple."

Ogbara said the feasibility of a post petroleum can only come to fruition where there is a policy framework and selfless leadership to confront and combat what seems to many a huge problem, pointing out that from all indications, it required a leadership that is focused as a lack of this will make it impossible.

According to him, "we need a progressive and and conscious followership though the percentage is extremely low. A selfless leadership and leadership that is interested in collective wealth, protection of lives and property of its citizens; seamless and guided policy framework."

Unfortunately, he noted that since 1958 when Nigeria began to export oil and gas in commercial quantity, there are no policy frameworks to look at the issues of renewable energy till date, adding that even where there is any, there is no political will to execute such policy framework.

He therefore called for firm policy frame-

work and the political will on the side of government, as well followership to avoid making the same mistakes all over again, noting that since the advent of the "black gold", it has been sorrow, tears and blood for the people and government; illegal gas falring where billion of dollars have been lost which has negetively affected Nigeria climate in addition.

"It is only when government take steps to address all these issues that we can confidently say post petroleum economy is feasible", he concluded.

In her submission, Habiba Ali, a Renewable Energy Entrepreneur from Kaduna, said the kind of leadership in a society depends on the led. In her opinion, there was life before crude oil. That life, she posited is agriculture which use to a very strong force in Nigeria before oil.

"So, we can go back to that aagriculture era when cocoa was, palm oil, groundnut, cashew, rubber constitute the mainstay of Nigeria economy. When we export rather than importing like we do today.

"We have so many natural resources buried in the Earth but agriculture is the best saviour because of its value chain.

With this, we can have a life after the post petroleum economy", Ali declared.

She also predicted that by 2030, most of the country's resources will come from renewable energy sector, noting that oil has made Nigeria and its citizens mentally lazy especially among the leaders.

Ali also demanded that citizens should continue to challenge their leaders, pointing out that post petroleum economy is realistic if we have good leadership to drive the process.

Besides, she said the country will also need other resource opportunity in other sectors such as renewable energy that can power equipment.

The Executive Director, Foundation for Good Governance and Social Change, Mr. Austin Osakue, said a post petroleum economy is feasible and practicable.

He enjoined Nigeria elites to ensure that renewable energy is feasible as it is more friendly to the environment.

According to him, “any visionary leadership in Nigeria must overlook the inconvenience of today so as to have the convenience of tomorrow.”

The panelists concluded that Nigeria is still the way it is because of elitist conspiracy concerning the proceeds from oil, mode of ownership which vested all legislative powers to a particular tier of government to the detriment of the other two.

They therefore demanded for collaboration amongst the three tiers of government, long-term planning by way of investment, a declarative and legislative backing, a visionary leadership who will overlook the conveniences of today and invest in the future knowing that one day, oil will dry up whether we like it or not.

22

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

Conoil Plc Posts N88bn Revenue, N1.6bn Profit in Nine Months Goddy Egene Conoil Plc has reported a revenue

of N88.1 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, compared with N112.7 billion

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

recorded in the corresponding period of 2019, showing a decline of 21.8 per cent.

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 06Nov-2020, unless otherwise stated.

Net financing cost declined by 54.9 per cent, from N1.8 billion to N0.8 billion, making

the company to close the period with a profit before tax (PBT) of N1.6 billion as against N2.5

billion in 2019. Profit after tax stood at N1.1 billion compared with N17 billion in 2019.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 1.02 1.03 13.17% ACAP Income Funds 0.85 0.85 11.18% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.52% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.70 3.82 51.01% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.68% Anchoria Equity Fund 122.58 123.00 16.85% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.46 1.46 21.92% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 17.44 17.96 13.83% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 388.24 399.95 12.39% ARM Ethical Fund 32.89 33.89 13.11% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.17 1.17 17.05% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.11 1.12 11.70% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.40% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 118.21 119.04 23.03% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.05% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.31 2.31 23.51% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.19 2.23 46.85% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.81% Paramount Equity Fund 14.48 14.75 15.72% Women's Investment Fund 126.31 127.63 14.49% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.20% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 124.57 125.14 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 137.98 139.09 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 107.00 107.00 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 1.89% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.10 1.11 18.43% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.75 1.75 31.78% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 1.63% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.44% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,188.39 1,204.46 7.26% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FBN Balanced Fund 173.05 174.50 17.87% FBN Halal Fund 109.79 109.80 9.79% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.05% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 117.80 118.17 4.50% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 117.80 118.17 3.98% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 142.73 144.98 9.68% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Legacy USD Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 2.43% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.67 2.73 22.22% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 7.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 154.49 155.36 7.82% 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 1.31 1.33 16.43% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,131.63 1,131.63 8.89% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.54 1.57 24.96% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.04 12.13 6.88% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 2.48% PACAM Equity Fund 1.41 1.42 PACAM EuroBond Fund 108.87 111.18 SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 133.89 136.59 8.32% 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 1.01 1.01 8.15% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 2,521.35 2,532.80 21.65% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 5.95% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 20.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 7.05% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 24.28% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.89% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 15.94% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.22 1.22 4.78% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 110.36 110.36 5.90% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.32 1.34 10.75% United Capital Bond Fund 1.87 1.87 8.16% United Capital Equity Fund 0.79 0.81 11.80% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.70% United Capital Eurobond Fund 115.65 115.65 5.82% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.05 1.05 -0.27% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 11.74 11.88 14.26% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.02 13.15 12.06% Zenith Income Fund 24.82 24.82 9.26% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.39%

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

119.50

6.47%

53.51

2.80%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.50 111.42 81.98

10.60 111.42 83.49

25.06% 16.69% 9.12%

Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.71

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.

LAWYER

A

WEEKLY PULLOUT

10.11.2020

Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu

President Muhammadu Buhari

Olawale Fapohunda

Prof Etannibi Alemika

Dr. Benson Olugbuo

Kemi Okenyodo

Danladi Plang

Okechukwu Nwanguma

Innocent Chukwuma

Police Reforms: A Holistic Approach

2/DASHBOARD

10.11.2020

LAWYER

A

WEEKLY PULLOUT

10.11.2020

Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu

President Muhammadu Buhari

Olawale Fapohunda

Prof Etannibi Alemika

Dr. Benson Olugbuo

Kemi Okenyodo

Danladi Plang

Okechukwu Nwanguma

Eff B R P W V PAGE 4

#ENDSARS: IBAHRI Urges Buhari to Investigate Deaths and Violence Amid Security Forces Crackdown

PAGE 5 Innocent Chukwuma

Police Reforms: A Holistic Approach QUOTABLES ‘I pledge to be a President who seeks not to divide, but unify; who sees not red States or blue States, only sees the United States.’ Joseph R. Biden, President-Elect, United States of America

'We have to rejig our representation in the United States. It was a little bit awkward, to send an 83 year old man, as Nigerian Ambassador to the United States.... We need more vibrant, more intellectually endowed and agile foreign policy decision makers.....’ - Professor Akin Oyebode, Professor of International Law and Jurisprudence, former Vice Chancellor, Ekiti State University

L2222 A22222222 G222222D222222 R222222 22253 P222222 A2222222 22 P22222 PAGE 5

#ENDSARS P222 22222A P222 2222 222 I22222222222 22222 J22222222 22 C2222 22P22222 B22222222 PAGE 7

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10.11.2020

Like Trump, Like Nigerian Politicians And......

The Lagos Courts: Picking the Pieces Gratitude

It has been four truly wonderful and tremendously fulfilling years of both learning and imparting knowledge as the Editor of this esteemed Publication, This Day Lawyer; and I thank my dear Chairman, Prince Nduka Obaigbena (Publisher!) for recognising my journalistic abilities long before I myself knew I had them in me. I also thank my Managing Director, Eniola Bello, still my critic after four years; his comments are always spot on; my Deputy Editor, Jude Igbanoi - patient, kind, dutiful and hard working, humorous, with the best ideas in the world - together, we make an excellent team (even if I say so myself) - Jude, thank you; and to our Photo Correspondent, Kolawole Alli, who never fails to rise to the occasion, no matter how short the notice is; Adajò, and my ‘Junior Editor’ - for being my sounding boards whenever I call on you to be - thank you. Akinwale Akintunde, our beloved Judicial Correspondent who went to be with the Lord earlier this year, we love you, but God loves you more - Requiescet in pace. Amen. To our columnists, I express my gratitude, especially to Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, who has never failed to deliver his column since he started with us. And, to our readers - Justices, Judges, my learned colleagues and non-Lawyers, I thank you all - your readership and comments encourages us and spurs us on to do better. Thank you all.

‘We’re Gonna Make America Great Again!’

Around this time in 2016, just about a month after I assumed the position of Editor, the race for who would succeed President Barack Obama had already been concluded, and millions of people, including my humble self, had been extremely disappointed that Senator Hillary Clinton had narrowly lost that election to President Donald Trump.

In my piece of November 15, 2016: "We’re Gonna Make America Great Again", I expressed my disappointment that Clinton had lost the election to Trump, not just because she is a womanlike myself, but because she was/ is eminently qualified for the job, more so than Trump. In fact, I felt that out of all the 2016 hopefuls, she was probably the most qualified - aside from being a Yale trained Lawyer, she has a wealth of experience in governance, and carries herself with the sense of dignity that is expected of the President of the USA, or any President for that matter, quite the opposite of narcissistic Trump, who behaves like a spoilt child and a vicious bully.

Narcissism is a personality disorder in which "a person has an inflated sense of self-importance".

The symptoms of this disorder include "an excessive need for admiration, disregard for others' feelings, an inability to handle any criticism and a sense of entitlement". All these symptoms are evident in President Trump's behaviour; and while those who suffer from Narcissism can be treated to an extent, the illness is mostly incurable!

Hillary Clinton said during her election campaign: "A clear choice in this election. A choice between division and unity.....between strong steady leadership or a loose canon who could put everything at risk.....". How right she was.

Trump is indeed, a loose canon. Even though he didn't make America great again, nor beautiful as he had once boasted that he would, but instead, amongst his many other wrongdoings, he enabled the racist white supremacists to take America back to almost pre-1960's. We must thank God, that he did not start World War III, with his recklessness.

However, there may still be a positive side to the Trump administration exposing the continued existence of racism and allowing it to thrive - it showed the extent to which it still very much exists in America. Without the nonchalant, lackadaisical, permissive and even encouraging attitude to racism, its deep-rooted and deep-seated existence in American institutions, including the Police, may not have come to the fore as it has done over the past four years of Trump; and it is obvious that, President-elect Joseph R. Biden and the Vice President-elect Senator Kamala Harris, certainly have their work cut out for them, as far as this evil, racism, is concerned, and as a matter of

urgency, dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ‘A Team’ This time around, Trump faced very stiff opposition from the Biden/Harris ticket, in terms of the fact that it is an ‘A team’. For those who are racist and sexist and wanted a White male President, like President Trump, Biden is a White male (though not a racist). For the women and racial minorities, Harris is female and mixed race.

In short, they tick all the boxes. I remember when Clinton ran against President Obama to clinch the democratic ticket, the disgusting KKK (Ku Klux Klan) white supremacist group, openly declared that they preferred “a Nigger to a Bitch” (their horrible derogatory words, not mine), that is, they would rather have an African American man as President, than a woman. Special congratulations go to Senator Harris (also a Lawyer), for being the first woman ever to attain the position of Vice President, in the history of the United States of America.

Politicians and Election Petition Tribunals I had written that: "The most important lesson that I learnt from the 2016 US election, and indeed, Hillary Clinton, and I think all Nigerian Politicians should take a leaf from her book, is, be graceful and maintain your dignity, even in defeat. ‘ye lò court lo jo jumò’ (Stop going to court incessantly). Why is it that every Politician that loses an election is at the Election Tribunal, even when the matter is frivolous and lacks any merit?"

I certainly do not deny the fact that Section 6 of our Constitution (the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended) allows us to ventilate all our grievances in the courts (except those contained in Chapter 2 of the same Constitution), but, in law, we have what is called "frivolous and vexatious matters, abuse of court process", and many of the election petitions we see fall into this category (bad losers), possibly like President Trump's election petitions, which are probably nothing more than an indication of his bad game spirit and false sense of invincibility.

Despite the fact that many were disenfranchised during the 2016 US Presidential election, like in Durham County, North Carolina where at least 40% of the population which comprises of African Americans who would probably have voted for Clinton, could not vote; thousands of voters were also illegally removed from the voters list; Russia was accused of election malpractice on behalf of Trump - Hillary Clinton did not go to court, even though she had ample grounds to do so.

At the time, Trump who had mentioned that the American electoral system was flawed (just in case he lost the election it seems), went silent on that issue when everything worked out in his favour, and he was declared the winner of the election.

This time around however, President Trump rushed to court before the final results were

released, as he had said he would even before the election took place, because as a Narcissist, defeat is unthinkable and unacceptable, since he erroneously believes that he is 'best thing after sliced bread'; everybody wants him except the haters, and he could not possibly have been rejected for Biden! Or, alternatively, was the expression of his intention to go to court before the election, an indirect admission/recognition by Trump that he’s not as popular as he believes he is?

In fact, many Americans believe that Trump is undermining their democracy, just because the election did not go his way. He seems to have learnt a lot from Nigerian Politicians!

Be that as it may, it was a very close race; and though more people registered and voted in the 2020 election more so than 2016 - an indication of their dissatisfaction with Trump’s administration and desire to vote him out of office, nevertheless, the race showed that whatever he may be or may have done, Trump still has a huge following amongst his people.

I wish the ‘A team’ the best of luck, going forward, and hope that Nigeria will be able to reap some benefits from this new administration, especially since many Nigerians supported them. Many complained that President Obama did nothing for Nigeria, not even so much as a visit when he came to Africa, in spite of the fact that we rooted for him. If the only thing that Biden’s administration does is to assist us in vanquishing the Boko Haram insurgents totally and not just technically (as the Nigerian Army/ Government have been claiming), so that life in the North East can return to normal, and assist us to rescue those who still remain in captivity like the Chibok girls and Leah Sharibu, we will be grateful.

Destruction of the Lagos Courts and the Consequences Back to Nigeria! I have received several calls from people and clients, enquiring about what will happen to their ongoing matters as a result of the destruction of the courts by miscreants following the #ENDSARS Protests. For those matters that are still in the pre-trial stage, theirs is easier. The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Honourable Justice Kazeem Alogba, has called on Counsel to make available, copies of all the processes which they have filed in their various matters.

For those that are part-heard, however, it is more complex. If the proceedings have been uploaded into the Judicial Information System (JIS) by the Court Registrars, then they should not be too difficult to reproduce, and once there is a venue for the courts to sit, the matters may be able to continue; the same applies to pre-trial matters - once the existing court processes have been made available and there’s a venue, they should be able to continue.

However, if the proceedings have not been uploaded into the JIS, part-heard matters may

“.....MANY AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT TRUMP IS UNDERMINING THEIR DEMOCRACY, JUST BECAUSE THE ELECTION DID NOT GO HIS WAY. HE SEEMS TO HAVE LEARNT A LOT FROM NIGERIAN POLITICIANS!”

have to be started de novo (from the beginning), even if they were at judgement stage, because the Judges’ records of proceedings would not have been duplicated into the system, and will therefore, be unavailable.

Another complication will be that of the destruction of exhibits. While certified true copies of some exhibits can be obtained, some may be unique and irreplaceable. Luckily, Section 97(1) (c) of the Evidence Act 2011 (EA) provides that secondary evidence (defined in Section 95 of the EA to include certified and photographic copies) may be given where the original is destroyed or lost. But, what if the exhibits are items, not replaceable documents? What about the issue of witnesses who may have died after giving evidence in matters in which the court proceedings were not uploaded to the JIS, whose testimony can therefore not be retrieved? And Section 77 of the EA provides that oral evidence must be direct. What will happen?

Also unfortunate, is the burning of the Lagos DNA Forensic Laboratory. Are we going to return to sending samples abroad for DNA analysis, further slowing down the wheels of justice in Lagos?

The consequences of the wanton destruction of the courts in a system that has already been adjudged to be clogged and slow, is disastrous, to put it mildly. Cases that have lingered for years, will drag on for even more years. A younger colleague was telling me how happy he is because he was able to get a Decree Absolute for his client a few days before the court burnt down; that even though he was unable to get a certified copy of the actual Decree, the divorce has been finalised. Sadly, many of us Lawyers were not that fortunate, in our own matters!

Dear Editor Dear Editor, Re: #ENDSARS Protests: The Warning This Time A word indeed, is enough for the wise!! I can say no more but to commend you for this courageous advisory to power. I just sincerely pray it’s not too late! The hound has tasted blood...

The ‘A Team’, USA President-Elect and Vice President-Elect, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

A.A.R

4/LAW REPORT

Effect of Blood Relationship of Prosecution Witness and Victim Facts On 31st May, 2007, the Appellant and a certain Tela alias Buba allegedly went to the house of one Bello Alaidi (deceased) and attacked him, cutting him with a machete to death. While the attack was ongoing, the other members of the deceased’s household heard him scream, and they went to the scene of the crime. Subsequently, the incident was reported to the Police, and the deceased’s wife, son, sister and mother made extra-judicial statements at the Police station. The Appellant was later arrested, while his co-accused, Tela, ran away. The Appellant informed the Police that he was not at the deceased’s house on 31st May, 2007; he insisted that he was in his own house.

Consequent upon the incident, the Appellant and the co-accused (who was at large), were charged before the High Court of Taraba State for the offences of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide punishable with death.

At trial, the prosecution called the deceased’s wife, son, sister (the Appellant’s former wife) and mother as witnesses - PW1, PW2, PW4 and PW5 respectively, while the Appellant testified for himself and called two other witnesses. The trial court found the Appellant guilty, convicted him, and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal faulted the trial court’s reliance on some documents which were admitted for identification purpose. The appellate court also held that from the evidence of PW1, PW2 and PW4, the depth of their bitterness for the Appellant could be felt, and therefore, the trial court ought to have been wary in receiving their testimonies. Nonetheless, the court held that the testimony of PW5, who was an eyewitness, was sufficient to secure the conviction of the Appellant. The Court of Appeal therefore, dismissed the appeal, and this led to a further appeal to the Supreme Court.

Issues for Determination The following issues were considered for determination of the appeal: 1. Whether the Court of Appeal was right when it affirmed the conviction of the Appellant by the trial court solely on the basis of the evidence of PW5, who allegedly saw the Appellant at the scene of the crime.

2. Whether the Court of Appeal was right when it affirmed the conviction of the Appellant, after holding that the Appellant had raised the defence of alibi and the Police had not investigated the alibi.

Arguments On the first issue, the Counsel for the Appellant contended that the Court of Appeal affirmed the testimony of PW5 (the deceased’s mother), after it faulted the trial court’s reliance on documents tendered for identification purpose only, and it cautioned that the trial court ought to have been wary of the evidence of the deceased’s relatives, who it held were unreliable and whose testimonies portrayed their grouse against the Appellant. Counsel submitted on this issue, that the Court of Appeal overlooked the uncertainties in the evidence of PW5, such as the name on her extra-judicial statement and her real name, and the time the crime occurred. He stated further that, PW5’s statement showed that it was a second statement to a first statement which the prosecution had withheld, and therefore, PW5’s evidence was unreliable, in that the presumption that could be drawn, is that PW5 did not fix the Appellant at the scene of the crime in her first extra-judicial statement. Counsel argued further that the deceased was killed in his room, and there was no way PW5 could have sighted the Appellant. He relied on the case of STATE v AZEEZ (2008) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1108) 43 in contending that where the prosecution’s evidence is contradictory on a material point, the court should give the benefit of doubt to the accused person.

He cited the case of STATE v AJAYI (2016) All FWLR (Pt. 854) 1838 on the point that it is better for ten guilty persons to be set free, than for one innocent person to be convicted for an offence not likely committed by him.

In response, the Respondent’s counsel argued that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt, by eyewitness account of the crime. He posited that proof beyond reasonable doubt is not a function of the number of witnesses, as the evidence of a single witness, if believed by the court, is sufficient to ground a conviction. Counsel also contended that the mere fact that a witness is a relation of either the victim or the accused or the accused person’s mortal enemy, would not by itself render his

Honourable Amina Adamu Augie, JSC

In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 22nd day of May, 2020 Before Their Lordships

Olabode Rhodes-Vivour Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun John Inyang Okoro Chima Centus Nweze Amina Adamu Augie Justices, Supreme Court SC.155/2015 Between Alhaji Taudo Idi The State…

…

…

And

………

…

Appellant Respondent

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Amina Adamu Augie, JSC)

testimony unreliable unless the bitterness is manifest in the evidence of such a witness, and it affects his credibility - ASUQUO v STATE (2016) Vol. 257

LRCN 16. Further, the Respondent’s counsel submitted that the Court of Appeal did not reject the testimonies of PW1, PW2 and PW4 simply because

“THE FACT THAT THERE IS A BLOOD RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A VICTIM AND THE PROSECUTION WITNESS, IS NOT SUFFICIENT IN ITSELF, TO MAKE THE WITNESS A TAINTED WITNESS, WHOSE EVIDENCE IS UNRELIABLE, UNLESS CORROBORATED”

they are members of the deceased’s family, but that the way they gave evidence portrayed their bitterness against the Appellant.

On the alleged contradiction concerning the name of PW5, counsel clarified that PW5 had explained during trial that the surname in her extra-judicial statement was her father’s name. Regarding the supposed contradiction as to when the crime occurred, the Respondent’s counsel stated that for any contradiction to be material and fundamental so as to affect the reliability of a witness’ evidence, it must strike at the root of the charge, and non-recollection of dates or time would not amount to contradiction in the circumstances of this case. He cited the case of ADONIKE v STATE (2015) LRCN (Vol.242) 1. He argued further that the contention that the prosecution withheld PW5’s statement was speculative, and it was an invitation for the court to go outside the record.

On the second issue, Counsel for the Appellant contended that the Appellant timeously raised the defence of alibi, but the Police refused to investigate same. He therefore, argued that although the general principle is that where the accused is fixed to the scene of the crime, there is no need to investigate the defence of alibi, the Supreme Court in the case of SANI v STATE (2015) 6-7 S.C. (Pt.II) 1, however, held that the failure to conduct investigation created serious lapses in the conduct of prosecuting a case. Consequently, counsel urged the court to set aside the conviction of the Appellant and sentence. Responding, counsel argued on behalf of the Respondent that where there is sufficient evidence to fix an accused at the scene of the crime when the offence was committed, there is no need for the Police to investigate alibi. He cited the case of ADEWUNMI v STATE (2016) LRCN (Vol. 257) 122.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Determining the first issue, the Supreme Court held that the fact that there is a blood relationship between a victim and the prosecution witness, is not sufficient in itself, to make him a tainted witness, whose evidence is unreliable, unless corroborated - OMOTOLA v STATE (2009) 7 NWLR (1139) 148.

Their Lordships held that the Court of Appeal did not find the testimony of PW1, PW2 and PW4 unreliable because they are blood relations of the deceased, but that it re-examined the evidence on record and found valid reasons to disregard their evidence, and because of the depth of their bitterness against the Appellant.

The lower court however, believed and accepted PW5’s account of the incident.

On the Appellant’s contention that PW5’s testimony has material contradictions such as the difference in her real name and the name on her extra-judicial statement, the Supreme Court found that both names refer to one and the same person. Regarding the issue about PW5’s first extra-judicial statement, which the Appellant alleged was withheld by the prosecution; the Supreme Court held that parties and the court are bound by the record of the court. The court found that the said extra-judicial statement was not in the record of the court; therefore, the court cannot go outside its record to fish for evidence.

In respect of the Appellant’s contention that the crime occurred inside the Appellant’s room and PW5 could not have seen the Appellant, the Apex Court found that nothing in PW5’s testimony indicated that crime occurred in the deceased’s room. Their Lordships concluded that the lower courts had found that the evidence of PW5 was credible enough to sustain the Appellant’s conviction, and the Appellant had failed to prove that her evidence is unreliable.

In relation to the second issue, it was held that PW5, who was an eye witness, overwhelmingly demolished the Appellant’s defence of alibi, and there was no need for the Police to investigate same.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation Dr. Hassan M. Liman, SAN with M.B. Usman, Y.D. Dangana., Amanzi F. Amani, and Faith Opeoluwa Obayomi for the Appellant.

Hamidu Audu (DPP Taraba State) with E.T. Aderifun (SC, MOJ, Taraba State) for the Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR)

10.11.2020

NEWS/5

#ENDSARS: IBAHRI Urges Buhari to Investigate Deaths andViolence Amid Security Forces Crackdown The International Bar Association (IBA) and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), has called on President Buhari’s Government to establish an immediate independent investigation, into the alleged killings by security forces of protestors calling for good governance and an end to police brutality in Nigeria. In addition, the IBA and IBAHRI condemn the security forces’ excessive and disproportionate use of force and live ammunition, to disperse protestors.

IBA President, Horacio Bernardes Neto said: “We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure Nigeria’s government instigates an urgent independent investigation, without impunity,

into reports of extrajudicial killings and brutality meted out by the country’s security services against protestors.

Nobody is above the law.

The right to protest peacefully belongs to citizens of democratic nations across the globe, and must be upheld�.

Widespread protests have ensued, as tension between civilians and security forces has grown as revelations of years of unchecked violence – including alleged killings, rape, torture and extortion – by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), have come into sharper focus. The Nigerian Government had declared a 24-hour curfew in some States on the evening of Tuesday 20 October, that was ODUJHO\ GHÀHG E\ SURWHVWHUV At Lekki Tollgate in Lagos,

at least 12 protesters are reported to have died, and many to have been severely injured, in what has been dubbed the ‘Lekki Massacre’.

The current death toll is reported to stand at more than 60 people, since the start of the protests on 8 October, 2020. According to eyewitness reports, on 20 October, 2020, Nigerian Military and Policemen from the Rapid 5HVSRQVH 6TXDG 556 ÀUVWO\ removed the cameras from the Lekki tollgate, where protesters had been camped for two weeks, switched off the street lights and then RSHQHG ÀUH RQ WKRXVDQGV of peaceful demonstrators, without warning. Additionally, witnesses reported that ambulances called to assist the wounded were turned

Lagos Attorney-General Directs Release of 253 Persons Arrested by Police ...To Prosecute 92 for Arson, Stealing, Murder, Others 253 persons arrested by the Police for criminal offences in connection to the #ENDSARS protest in Lagos State are to be released immediately, for non-disclosure of a prima facie case against them by the Police.

In a Statement released by the 2IÀFH RI /DJRV 6WDWH $WWRUQH\ General and Commissioner for Justice, the Attorney-General explained that the Nigeria 3ROLFH IRUZDUGHG FDVH ÀOHV in respect of the 361 persons arrested for criminal offences in connection with the #ENDSARS protests to the Directorate of Public Prosecution for Legal Advice, between 4th and 5th of November, 2020.

According to the Statement: “Legal Advice has been issued in respect of all the 40 case Ă€OHV UHFHLYHG DQG DV DW WK November, 2020, the Directorate has been able to dispatch Legal

Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN

Advice in respect of 81 persons that are being charged to the various courts, while others will be dispatched to court on

Monday 9th November, 2020. “Out of the 361 persons, the Director of Public Prosecutions shall be prosecuting 92 persons for different offences, ranging from arson, stealing, breaking into buildings, armed robbery DQG PXUGHU ZKLOH WKH 2IĂ€FH has advised that 253 persons be released forthwith, for nondisclosure of a prima facie case.

In the meantime, two case ÀOHV LQ UHVSHFW RI SHUVRQV have been advised for further investigation by the Police�.

The Statement further assured WKH 3XEOLF ´WKDW WKH 2IÀFH RI the Attorney-General of Lagos State, will ensure that those arrested by the Police are treated in accordance with due process of law, while it remains committed to maintaining the rule of law, and ensuring peace and order in the State�.

RULAAC Condemns Use of Live Bullets on Peaceful Protesters in Abuja Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has received troubling information that Police operatives shot live bullets at peaceful protesters recently in front of the National Assembly, Abuja and arrested five persons, including a Sahara Reporters reporter, who was covering the protest.

In a statement by its Executive Director, Mr. Okechukwu Nwaguma, RULAAC said “If Police officers will continue to use live bullets to disperse peaceful protests, it clearly shows that no lessons have been learnt from the #ENDSARS protests, and the events following it. The use of lethal force on peaceful and unarmed protesters is illegal, disproportionate, unprofessional and a premeditation to

Executive Director, RULAAC, Mr Okechukwu Nwaguma

kill and add to the growing number of unresolved extrajudicial killings by security forces in Nigeria. “Peaceful protests are legitimate means of exercise of freedom of expression, guaranteed

by Nigeria's Constitution, and

by regional and international human rights instruments that Nigeria subscribes to.

By using State violence to repress freedoms, the Nigerian government is violating its obligation to give vent to the exercise and enjoyment of human rights by citizens, and to respect and protect citizens' fundamental rights.

Under no circumstances, can government curtail human rights except as prescribed by law.

RULAAC calls on the Federal Government to give a directive to the Inspector General of Police, to ensure respect and protection of the rights and dignity of citizens, that no more life must be lost, and that those responsible for the excessive use of force to repress peaceful protests, are brought to book�.

away by men in military uniforms, and that dead bodies were removed from the scene. The Nigerian authorities have reportedly denied there were fatalities, with the Army denying responsibility, stating the soldiers were not present at the scene, and labelling videos of uniformed men RSHQLQJ Ă€UH RQ GHPRQVWUDtors as ‘fake news’.

The reported killings have been strongly condemned by the African Union, United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who described the reported events as a “premeditated, planned and co-ordinated� attack on peaceful protesters.

IBA Director, Dr Mark Ellis, stated: “At a time of global rejection of excessive and lethal policing methods, the situation in Nigeria is especially disturbing. The security forces of any nation are meant to protect civilians, not terrorise them.

The wanton infringement of international standards, including the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law EnforcePHQW 2IÀFLDOV PXVW FHDVH It is essential that the rule of law be exercised by bringing perpetrators to justice and setting a new precedent of police accountability, in order to secure the rights of civilians�.

Protestors have demanded the immediate release of all arrested protesters; justice for all deceased victims of brutality; appropriate

Horacio Bernardes Neto

compensation for the families of the deceased; psychological evaluations and retraining of DOO GLVEDQGHG 6$56 RIĂ€FHUV prior to being redeployed; and an increase in Police VDODU\ VR WKH\ DUH VXIĂ€FLHQWO\ compensated for protecting the lives and property of citizens, without resorting to bribes and extortion.

IBAHRI Co-Chair and immediate past SecretaryGeneral of the Swedish Bar Association, Anne Ramberg Dr Jur hc, commented: “It is imperative that the Nigerian authorities engage with the will of the people in their call for Police reform and rights’ protection. We call

on Nigeria to uphold its international obligations, including its citizens’ rights to security, dignity, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as provided under Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Further, we call for an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the killings, and for the perpetrators to be held to account. Culprits guilty of crimes against civilians must be brought to justice, and the underlying issue of persistent violations by security forces and army personnel, must be dealt with urgently and decisively�.

CBN’s Gross Abuse of its Regulatory Powers Access to Justice (A2J) has denounced the actions of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and expressed dismay by the order given by Hon. Justice Ahmed Mohammed, to freeze the bank accounts linked to #ENDSARS Protesters.

In a release, A2J said: “The freezing of accounts linked to #ENDSARS Protesters began well before the court issued its order, specifically in October 2020, at the time the #ENDSARS protests were taking place, and were adjudged relatively peaceful.

The CBN reportedly ordered commercial banks and payment platforms, to freeze accounts linked to persons associated with the protests.

Following up its actions afterwards by seeking a court order, shows that the CBN knew it was acting illegally when it directed commercial banks to freeze the aforesaid accounts, but went ahead anyway to do so. Court orders do not have a retrospective effect, therefore, the CBN’s prior actions were wholly unlawful and unconstitutional�.

A2J continued its statement, saying: “This organisation is

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

concerned about the growing erosion of the CBN’s independence and political neutrality.

The CBN is transforming into a partisan political organ of the government, and putting its vast regulatory powers into illicit partisan political uses, for the purpose of suppressing the legitimate exercise of constitutional rights of freedom of speech and expression. This is appalling for a Central Bank, for many reasons�, including the fact that the CBN arguably has no legal powers to direct the freezing of accounts of anyone, on account of a civil protest.

A2J also stated that the CBN has no power under the law, to act as a criminal agency or law enforcement arm of the government. That if any crime is alleged to have been committed by the protesters using their banking accounts, a report of the alleged crime(s) should have been made to a duly established law enforcement agency, for investigation; such agency could then take any action relevant to the investigation, including applying for a court order to freeze accounts. A2J further stated that, by directing that the accounts be frozen in the absence of a criminal complaint, the CBN, which has no direct relationship with the account holders, usurped the powers of law enforcement authorities, and illegally made itself the accuser, investigator and prosecutor; and in so doing, acted well outside the perimeters of its statutory powers. A2J accused the CBN Governor of taking the Bank down a very contagious, perilous, slope, while expressing dismay that the court’s order was made ex-parte, in other words, without hearing the other side.

6/

10.11.2020

Engaging all the Voices in Your Law Firm Today’s column was to probe Law Firm’s Critical Growth Metrics (“CGM”), but, in the light of the current developments in our Nation-State, decided to take a moment. The drums are beating loudly with renewed zeal and unimagined gusto, calling for change in our clime, it is only the deaf and insensitive that will not dance positively to its beats. Doubtless, the tune of the drum always changes the atmosphere – it can make the atmosphere moist with expectations, rupturing a mischievous silence. It can be a clarion call for positive renaissance for the “better.” Calling attention to a catalogue of issues and challenges besetting a people; and capturing the present or imminent danger which the issues poses if continually ignored. It can be a summons to battle, to shake yourself from the guilt of inertia. As implied by the idiom of the drum, it is figurative for vehemence, energy and enthusiasm in drawing attention to a cause better not ignored. The drum is symbolic of the voice of people. Let us together, probe how we engage the voices in our law firms.

Do all the voices in your law firm matter? Is the right to expression certain for everyone – or selective? Yes, certain for some more than for others but are you silencing the voices of dissent in your law firm? Are you inadvertently encouraging a culture of silence?

Typically, law firms are made up of several blocs – Partners, Seniors, Juniors, Business Professional Staff, Support/Admin Staff, etc. Different generations - traditionalists or the silent generation, baby boomers, generation X, generation Y or millennials, generation Z. The configuration and the mode of expression of these blocs or generations, are different.

Are their expressions being encouraged or suppressed?

Thomas Reid (1710–1796), a Scottish philosopher made popular the maxim, “a chain is as strong as the weakest link.” which first appeared in his “Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man,” published in 1786; the full idiom being “a chain is no stronger than its weakest link.” The moral is that the overall strength of a chain is not the strength of the strongest link, or even of the average link. The overall strength of a chain is the strength of the weakest link. If just one link is weak, the chain will break. Processes, organisations, communities and Nations are vulnerable, because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them.

Incidentally, Thomas Reid was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense, and he played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment. And this Scottish axiom does makes uncommon sense, teaching us that every part of the whole matters. The biblical nuance of this truth is rendered as – “Nay, much more those members of the body which seem to be feebler are necessary.” Communicated in colloquial English - “On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable;” or “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be less important, turn out to be all the more necessary.”

People Engagement and the Bottom line Who is responsible for your law firm’s revenue or turnover?

To answer that question, we must ask an antecedent question.

Who in your firm can influence the firm’s bottom line, for better or for worse? The Managing Partner? the Equity Partners? The HODs or the Lawyers? The COO or Practice Administrator, the Finance Director, Accountant or the Accounts teams? These roles, though extremely important, do not encompass the entire value chain of a law firm. The list has alienated certain vital blocs within the law firm – the Para-legal or litigation clerks, the librarian, front desk, tea lady, security personnel, etc. It is fundamentally within the capacity of every member of your law firm, to either improve or erode the firm's bottom line. Every member of the firm needs to be thoroughly engaged to understand their stake in the value chain, and how they contribute to the food chain. It is a fact that from c-suites to grassroots, anyone within the firm can thwart the bottom line of the firm.

I had an argument recently about the word, “inclusion” with Kemi Ajayi of Banwo & Ighodalo and Nnenna Agu of Streamsowers & Kohn. At the end, “inclusion and exclusion” became a bit clearer to me. The best leaders break silos and aim to bring in as many people as possible into their circle of influence – in sync with the firm’s vision. So, to improve the bottom line, we must constantly ensure that you have the right people in the right positions, and that they are provided with the right development and with high levels of engagement, so that they are not constantly looking out – it is even worse when employees stay put, but do not put in the necessary energy or commitment.

What is, “employee engagement?” Employee engage-

Nigerian Lawyers

ment has been defined in studies, as a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of a firm to give their best each day, committed to their firm’s goals and values, motivated to contribute to the firm’s success, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being. Employee engagement is about being included fully as a member of the team, and being given a voice to offer ideas and express views that are taken account of, as decisions are made. Employee engagement is based on trust, integrity, two way commitment and communication between a firm and its members. It is an approach that increases the chances of business success, contributing to firm’s and individual performance, productivity and well-being. It can be measured on a scale from poor to great. It can be nurtured and intensified; it can be lost or discarded. In essence, people engagement embodies the right conditions under which employees make an emotionally based choice to be loyal to your firm. Yes emotional – it has been argued that, humans are more emotional than logical beings. Employees demonstrate engagement through a positive expenditure of their discretionary energy and a clear commitment to the firm’s vision, strategies and goals when on and off duty.

Engaged employees provide greater productivity and innovation with higher levels of performance, and are less likely to be drawn away by bigger salaries or better working conditions. Work place management needs to be improved, and people engagement remains a differentiator.

“EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IS BASED ON TRUST, INTEGRITY, TWO WAY COMMITMENT AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A FIRM AND ITS MEMBERS. IT IS AN APPROACH THAT INCREASES THE CHANCES OF BUSINESS SUCCESS, CONTRIBUTING TO FIRM’S AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTIVITY AND WELL-BEING”

In good economic times engagement is the difference between good and great, while in bad economic times, engagement is the difference between sinking and having your people behind you in order to thrive. There are studies that show that very few percentage of employees are fully engaged in most firms - in 2012, Gallup did a research, it took them a year and a half to compile the results, they examined 260 research studies, covering over 49,000 business units, at 192 organisations, spanning over 34 Countries.

The findings were released in March 2013, showing that a whopping 70% of employees were either not engaged or actively disengaged. How do we create the conditions for engagement - the working and cultural conditions in which employees are recognised and valued and feel challenged by their work? Engagement has to be seen as a business driver, as a leadership challenge to take onboard and as part of the overall strategic planning process. It is a subject that the British Government took seriously enough to commission a study on in 2008. As part of the Country’s effort to navigate a period of economic downturn, Rt Hon Lord Mandelson, British Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asked David MacLeod and Nita Clarke two business and employee engagement gurus, to do a study on employee engagement and report how it can positively impact British business competitiveness and performance globally. Lord Mandelson wanted evidence to illustrate that organisations or Nations that truly engage and inspire their people, produce outstanding levels of innovation, productivity and performance. The study was to promote how much a greater understanding of employee engagement can help shape the way leaders and managers in both the private and public sectors think about the people who work for them.

For instance, do your people feel victimised in the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant economic meltdown, or do they see future opportunities as they are made to feel part of the solution? Employee engagement is about drawing out a deeper commitment from our employees.

Sòrò Soke There is a dignity you offer a man, a personhood you deliver to him when you give him his right of expression, when you let him know his voice matters. There is a richness it brings to the discourse. I grew up loving a good debate.

And practicing before the mirror how to sòrò soke. Even now, I still practice because it does not come easy to me.

The fierce Syrian Army Commander Naaman, was cured of his leprosy, because an inconsequential slave girl to Madam Naaman Sòrò Soke and Naaman listened. When voices are silenced, when you gag your employees, you deprive your organisation of the essence of their contribution. They still give, but not the whole of themselves, not the best of themselves. If they continually keep mum and are not engaged or encouraged to sòrò soke, you shove them over this precarious precipice where they eventually exit, or spill into stagnation or create anarchy within your ranks. Sòrò soke does not have to be a battle cry.

The millennials and the centennials of our fatherland. All they ever wanted was to be heard; to lend their voices for a better and humane society where governance will be for the good of the governed. Millennials are self-confident, go-getters, and achievement oriented. They also have high expectations, and are not afraid to question authority. The millennials and the centennials of our fatherland. They wanted to amplify an issue, one of the many issues that has bedevilled a Nation and held it spell bound for too long; their voices, reminiscing the pogrom of many voiceless’. They wanted to exercise the right to air their grievances, to vent, to be taken seriously. All they wanted was assurance that they matter in this Equation called Nigeria – I mean the Law Firm. Nigeria is a multinational State, inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500 distinct languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures. To lead, how can you not learn the fine art of good listening and engagement? The millennials and the centennials of our fatherland. They were hoping for meaningful engagements that will culminate in the total good of the collective. Instead the reverse happened on 20.10.2020. This should serve as a valuable reference material to all when we are tempted to silence the voice of dissent, and not engage all the voices of your law firm. And, as their voices were silenced, I am reminded of John Donne’s - “Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore, never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee”.

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#ENDSARS: Judicial Intervention in Cases of Police Brutality This article by Raymond Nkannebe chronicles some cases of Police brutality going as far back as 1973, evincing the fact that this problem did not just start in recent times with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), but is a malaise that has plagued us for many years; culminating in the #ENDSARS Protest, which was simply an expression of years of accumulated grievances against the Police by citizens, especially the Youths Introduction In the last few weeks, Nigerian youths filtered into the streets of at least 26 State capitals of the Federation, in condemnation of the history of Police brutality in Nigeria. And, there is nothing to suggest they are stopping soon.

In Rivers State, the youths, defied a ban on protests by the State Government and took over major roads in the State capital until the Governor himself, who had placed the ban, had to come out to address them. Also in the Federal Capital Territory, a similar scene played out. A ban against protests announced by the Abuja Federal Authorities on 15th October, was roundly disobeyed. As a matter of fact, the youths, took things to a different dimension as they blocked the popular Airport road, leading to the cancellation of so many prescheduled flights due to traffic gridlock.

In a sense, those two incidents sum up the anger and frustration of the Nigerian youths, against the epidemic of Police brutality that they had been subjected to for too long.

Interestingly, the menace of Police brutality has received ad nauseam, the intervention and condemnation of the Nigerian courts in a long league of cases.

Whether in aiding and abetting crime against their constitutional mandates; or the elevation of abuse of the fundamental right of dignity of citizens to State craft by their modus operandi; or in their being used to settle otherwise civil disputes by unscrupulous members of the society, and more, our adversarial jurisprudence is rich with chilling cases of the professional malfeasance of personnel of the police force, and the condemnation of the intermediate appellate court and the Apex Court in tow.

In this season of global attention to the notoriety of the Nigeria Police, it is sufficient to highlight some of the diverse interventions of the judiciary against the menace, with a view to giving more ideological rigour to the agitations of the youths who were out there on the streets.

A Trip through the Cases In Njovens & Ors v State (1973) LPELR-2042 (SC), the facts of which are mindboggling, the four Appellants were the Defendants at the trial court arraigned before Adesiyun J. in the High Court of Ilorin, Kwara State on a nine count charge bordering on conspiracy to abet and abetting the commission of crime. The long and short of the case is that, one Felix Dumeh and other criminals, robbed the then Barclays Bank Nig Ltd. Ilorin branch a total of Thirty-Five Thousand Pounds on the 13th day of April, 1971, and promised the sum of five thousand Pounds to the Appellants who were Police officers in consideration of concealing the robbery, and which they received. After a protracted trial that eventually got to the Supreme Court, the Court acquitted them on counts 3-9, but affirmed their conviction and sentence on counts one and two, for aiding and abetting the robbery of the bank.

If the circumstances of the Njovens case are not chilling enough, the conduct of the Police officers in Oyakhire v The State (2006) 15 NWLR (Pt.1000) 157 are particularly disturbing. The Appellant, and his co-accused, a constable, did not only rob and murder their victims. They also set the bus in which they were travelling, ablaze. In venting its spleen and condemning the conduct of the Appellant after affirming his conviction and sentence, the Apex Court roared: “This case represents the height of man’s inhumanity to man. The Appellant and his co-accused Police officer constables, employed by the nation to protect the lives and properties of its citizenry, embarked on this unlawful mission, and in their brazen brutality terminated the lives of these five innocent and defenceless victims, with unimaginable damages to their loved ones and families back at their various homes. The case demonstrated the regrettable reality that numerous Police check points along our highways, only give citizenry a false sense of security”.

In Nwankwola v FRN (2015) LPELR-2439(CA), the Police was also at their worst behaviour. There, the Appellant, a Police officer was arraigned before a High Court in Benin, where he was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment with hard labour for demanding the sum of One Million Naira from one Alexander Okiye, a person against whom criminal complaints were made, and eventually receiving the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) from him. It was a case that shed light on the rackets that are being run by

Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu

Police officers across Police formations in the country, to line their pockets while intimidating suspects under investigation.

Elsewhere, the proximate facts of Ibikunle v The State (2007) LPELR-8068 (SC) are not completely out of the known pattern of Police notoriety. There, the Appellant who had gone to effect the arrest of a suspect, ended up killing the suspect, only to find out afterwards, that he had killed the wrong man. His defence, as usual, was that he did not shoot to kill. It bears stating that he had forced himself into the apartment of the victim who had refused to open the door for whatever reason, but met his untimely death at the hands of the trigger happy Police sergeant who clearly was baying for blood. Their lordships of the Apex Court would have no qualms in affirming his conviction and death by hanging, by the lower courts.

“THIS INTERVENTION WILL BE INCOMPLETE, WITHOUT MENTIONING THE INFAMOUS #APOSIX CASE......

INVOLVING THE MURDER OF SIX YOUNG CIVILIANS IN 2005

BY A TEAM OF THE POLICE AT A CHECKPOINT ON GIMBIYA STREET

BY AHMADU BELLO WAY, IN THE APO DISTRICT OF FCT ABUJA, WHILE RETURNING FROM A NIGHT OUT”

In Agbo v State (2004) LPELR-7388 (CA), we find the same trend. Here, the Appellant was a young Police constable of about 24 years. Following a short argument with the deceased, he pulled out a Beretta pistol loaded with seven rounds of ammunition he was carrying and pumped it into his victim, who died at the spot. What was the sin of the deceased? He had stopped almost in the middle of the road, to unload some passengers he was carrying in a Peugeot 504.

The prosecution having made a clean sweep of its case, the intermediate appellate Court endorsed his conviction and sentencing by the lower Court, while dismissing his rehearsed defence of accidental discharge. A familiar refrain.

In Okonkwo v Ezeonu & Ors (2017) LPELR-42785 (CA) the Court of Appeal condemned the attitude of the Police vis-à-vis the fundamental right to dignity of persons in their custody, describing it as barbaric and unconstitutional. In that case the Appellant who had been unlawfully arrested by the 3rd and 4th Respondents (Police officers), was detained for eleven days without trial at the instigation of the 1st and 2nd Respondents. He was tortured and brutalised, following which he filed a fundamental right action for the breach of his fundamental right. Having failed at the lower Court, his appeal was allowed by the appellate Court which mulcted the Respondents in costs and damages for their egregious conduct.

In recent years, the use of Police officers as debt recovery agents, and their undue meddling in otherwise civil relations between individuals and/or corporate organisations, have also earned the rebuke of the courts. In the very recent case of Kure v COP (2020) LPELR-49378 (SC), the Apex Court decried the disturbing practice thus: “As I went through the facts of this case, I was wondering how a purely civil matter could easily metamorphose and transubstantiate into a purely criminal case. The end result now, is that the Appellant has suffered irreparable damage, disgrace, shame, odiousness and untold hardship in the hands of the Police that is constitutionally and legally saddled with the prosecution of criminal offences. The Police have muzzled the rights and freedom of Nigerians, even where cases are clearly outside their jurisdiction, power or corridor….if this is not tackled, everybody would have suffered in the merciless hands of the Police, who has become a law unto itself in this country”.

Now, the above dictum of Abba Aji, JSC, pretty sums up the notoriety of the Police, particularly in the context of the ongoing protests, as the protesters have continued to chronicle cases of police officers encroaching into the personal affairs of private citizens, and in the process, harassing and abbreviating their rights as citizens.

Yet, all the above decisions are only but a footnote in the compendium of cases of judicial intervention in Nigeria, for which space constraints would not allow us to explore.

Suffice to state however, that the judiciary has had its own faire share of the protests against Police brutality through the leaves of our law reports.

Conclusion This intervention will be incomplete, without mentioning the infamous #ApoSix case. A case so emblematic of the Police menace in Police, involving the murder of six young civilians in 2005 by a team of the Police at a checkpoint on Gimbiya Street by Ahmadu Bello Way, in the Apo district of FCT Abuja, while returning from a night out.

Despite the conviction and sentence to death of two out of the Police officers involved in the dastardly act, three years ago by an Abuja High Court, (and acquittal of the other suspects including one Danjuma Ibrahim, a Deputy Commissioner of Police at the time, whom witnesses told the Court personally shot at the victims), the circumstances surrounding the case, continues to highlight the impunity culture of the Nigeria Police, and stands out as the climax of the fractious relationship between the Police and the citizens in recent history.

What we saw in the streets during the #ENDSARS protest, is therefore, the expression of years of accumulated grievances against the Police by citizens, particularly the youth. And, if it eventually opens a new slate of Police-citizens relationship in Nigeria, then it would have been worthwhile.

Raymond Nkannebe, Legal Practitioner, Lagos

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Police Reforms: A

One of the spinoffs and salutary effects of the nationwide #ENDSARS protests, is the urgent need for a holistic Police Reform in Nigeria. Every administration has paid lip service, to this rather crucial national concern. The social anguish which the abysmal performance of the Nigeria Police has occasioned, is the subject-matter of this Discourse by Olawale Fapohunda, Kemi Okeyondo, Professor Etannibe Alemika, Dr Benson Olugbuo, Okechukwu Nwaguma, Danladi Plang and Innocent Chukwuma, who suggest various ways in which the Nigeria Police can be reformed and repositioned, to better carry out its constitutional duty of securing the civil populace, without terrorising the very masses they are meant to protect

A Frustrating Exercise accommodation. (g) Police-Public relations. The reports noted that Nigerians view the Police as corrupt, inefficient, politically partisan and unresponsive. These perceptions of the Police are largely based on citizen’s unhappiness with the manner Police handles complaints, particularly against abuse by its officers.

An important addition that is missing from all the reports, is how to ensure that our Police are enabled to respond to the avalanche of social and technological changes, fuelled by the internet and the new social media that are fast changing the nature, intensity and the reach of crime, leading to unprecedented and frightening dimensions of lawlessness.

Olawale Fapohunda For most justice sector reform advocates, writing about Police reforms or participating in government inspired conversations on policing, has become a frustrating exercise. It is sad to admit that over the years, we have simply had zero political will to undertake the far reaching reforms that are required to ensure that we have a Police that works in the interest of our citizens. I sympathise with the frustrations of those who complain that the tangible outcome of the #ENDSARS protests, appear to be limited to the establishment of Judicial Panels of Inquiry into rights abuse of some officers of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the States.

While these panels are necessary for the purpose of reversing a culture of impunity that largely characterised the operations of SARS, they cannot by any stretch of imagination, be seen to be the vehicle through which sustainable Police reforms will be achieved.

After #EndSARS: All Noise and No Action There is palpable worry that the current hullabaloo about Police reforms may, at the end of the day, be just all noise and no action. Several of my colleagues in government have argued that, Police reforms cannot be achieved in a day. That it will be a process and not an event. I agree. They say such is the enormity of the challenges facing our Police, that government should be forgiven for taking its time. I disagree. We simply do not have the luxury to remain frozen in our thoughts, about the enormity of what needs to be done.

An important lesson from the #ENDSARS protests is that Police reform is not simply a matter of law and order, but one that has direct and consequential implications on our economy. There is nothing that needs to be done about Police and policing reform in Nigeria today, that cannot be found in the reports of the many government enabled high-level Commissions on Police, many dating back to at least 1999. Our reality is that all of these reports, are gathering dust on the shelves of several government institutions. These reports, without exception, are as relevant today as they were when they were written.

Summary of Police Reforms Reports 1999 to date A casual reviewer of the reports of Committees and Commissions established by the Federal Government from 1999 to 2019, will find similarities in their findings and recommendations. They all agreed that in a large and populous country like Nigeria, the Police need to be well equipped, in terms of personnel, weaponry, forensic, communication and transport support. Further, the reports state that the Police need to have the operational, freedom to carry out their responsibilities professionally with satisfactory working conditions, while being held accountable for

Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda

“CURRENT EFFORTS TO SADDLE THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NIGERIA POLICE WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADING POLICE REFORM INITIATIVES, IS ALMOST GUARANTEED TO FAIL. THE POLICE CANNOT REFORM ITSELF”

poor performance or misuse of power. The reports also identified several areas in which the Nigeria Police were failing Nigerians. Some of these areas include (a) Limited capacity to collect and analyse preventive intelligence, especially pertaining to serious crimes (b) Poor Criminal Investigation ability. This was identified as one of the reasons behind the under-reporting of crime in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, the so-called premier investigation agencies like CID, were said to be underperforming (c) Vacancies. The Nigeria Police continue to have huge vacancies. The reports noted that efforts to recruit, have largely been politicised.

While even in those cases where recruitments were achieved, the process and quality of those recruited was said to leave a lot to be desired.

The reports identified an under-strengthened Police Force as an immediate outcome of a poor recruitment policy. (d) Outdated arms and equipment. The reports stated that our Police Force continue to use obsolete equipment and arms, and lack the latest technology that would help in investigation and intelligence gathering. (e) Lack of proper training. The reports specifically noted that existing Police training academies are poorly staffed, and often don’t have the necessary facilities in terms of equipment and technology. This is particularly regrettable, given that well-trained and motivated human resources are key to any Police Force’s success. (f) Poor Police infrastructure.

The reports noted the unsatisfactory practice of housing Police stations in impoverished

Mr. President must lead In my respectful view arising from our many failed attempts at Police reforms, transformative reforms in the Nigeria Police can only be achieved though deliberate presidential intervention. Previous ministerial interventions have always stopped at the level of the host Ministry. Current efforts to saddle the leadership of the Nigeria Police with the responsibility of leading Police reform initiatives, is almost guaranteed to fail. The Police cannot reform itself. Similarly, the existing Police oversight institutions, the Ministry of Police Affairs, Police Service Commission and the Police Council, have all proved incapable of setting an actionable agenda for Police reform.

Mr. President must simply lead the Police reform initiative. As a first step Mr. President should convene a review of the existing reports of all previous Commissions and Committees on Police reform, including those of the Constitutional Conferences, with a view to identifying immediate to long term key interventions areas. All these reports contain bold and practical proposals, that can form a working document for a Federal Government action plan for Police reform.

Olawale Fapohunda, Honourable AttorneyGeneral, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Assessment of Police Reform in Nigeria Kemi Okenyodo Need to Revisit Community Policing Police reform in Nigeria has been driven until very recently, by international donors and experts. This created a gap in ownership and adaptation of the programmes and other interventions, to suit our local context. Closely related to this, is that Police reform cannot take place in isolation of the broader governance reform, within the political and public sector.

The interventions we have experienced have been hinged on the introduction of Community Policing … one gets the impression that once a country or Police organisation embraces community policing, the challenges with the

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Holistic Approach Police organisation, its officers and policing as a practice, would be addressed. This is definitely not true … yes, Community Policing can contribute to reduction of violence and tension, it can help to build public confidence, provided that the communities are involved.

The model of Community Policing to be adopted in Nigeria is something that is work in progress, and there seems to be no consensus around this. I tend see that the concept of State Policing is usually misconstrued, to be the same as Community Policing. Further to this is that, interventions aimed at building and reinforcing accountability, is not an area that is well accepted or resourced.

These issues have been brought once again to the front burner by the 2020 #ENDSARS protests, which has once again raised the issues with reform of the Nigeria Police Force.

Underpinning the demands of the protesters, are issues of ‘accountability’ cut across issues linked to human rights abuse, bribery and corruption, underfunding of the institution, professionalism etc.

Going forward, there are opportunities for the country to own the reform initiative, make it more participatory and engaging, for example, as regards Police community relations, the NPF with support from CSOs have set up platforms such as the Community Safety Partnerships, Eminent Persons forums and Public Complaint Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU) to promote constructive engagement between the Police and community. According to the 2019 annual report of the PCRRU, a total of 2,161 complaints were reported, 1,621 (75%) complaints were resolved, 216 (10%) complaints were found to be false and 324 (15%) complaints are still under investigation.

According to reports, since the initial launch of Community Policing in 2004, which was relaunched in 2017, 13 billion as funding for takeoff in August 2020, has been allocated. It will be interesting to know how this fund is being utilised. There is also the Police Trust Fund which was set up 2019, and seeks to provide funds for the training, purchase of equipment and general welfare of personnel of the NPF. The Trust Fund seeks to pull from various funding sources, including 0.005% levy on the net profit of companies. Unfortunately, the Trust Fund is yet to be utilised effectively, as the board tasked with managing the Fund was only inaugurated in May of this year.

Most worthy of mention is the Police Bill 2020 which was signed into law by the President in September 2020, after numerous attempts to review the Police Act. The three identified opportunities could be interpreted to mean political support to Police reform, in recent times.

However, still missing is hard notch of Accountability. This needs to looked into, and a strategy of engagement of crucial accountability partners working together needs to be put in place, for there to be sustainable reform.

Kemi Okenyodo, Executive Director, Rule of Law AND Empowerment Initiative (also known as Partners West Africa -Nigeria)

Police Reform and the #ENDSARS Movement in Nigeria Dr. Benson Olugbuo Slow and Uncoordinated Police Reform Police reform in Nigeria, has been a winding journey since independence. It is instructive to note that, the #ENDSARS protests took place during the year when the Nigeria Police Force Act 2020 was signed into law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari. The truth is that, Police reform has been slow and uncoordinated, lacks political will and unable to meet with the yearnings and aspirations of young Nigerians

“THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE CANNOT EFFECTIVELY REFORM, WITHOUT THE ENTHRONEMENT OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA”

violations of fundamental human rights.

Therefore, it is obvious that Police reform goes beyond cosmetic changes. There is a need for deep rooted reform, based on the principles of democratic policing.

Kemi Okenyodo

who have borne the brunt of the excesses of some officers and men of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

No Capacity for Criminal Investigation Police brutality in Nigeria has been a subject of discourse and has continued to elicit concern among local and international human rights groups, media and the general public especially in the last decade. We have noted the increase in the use of torture by security agents in Nigeria, generally. This is largely attributed to the lack of capacity for criminal investigations, the historical antecedent of the Police being used as agents of oppression, the arbitrary use of force, lack of effective internal and external accountability mechanisms, as well as lack of public confidence in the Police and other security agents.

The defunct SARS has been noted as a major perpetrator of human rights violations, specifically extra-judicial killings, extortion, harassment, torture and other human rights abuses, before and during the pandemic.

The public clamour against the detestable activities of the SARS operatives led to the '#ENDSARS' campaign, a national call to disband the unit which gained public support nationwide, through the use of social media.

The protests were precipitated by years of brutality and professional misconduct by operatives of this particular Police unit, for too long, derailed from the core mandates of their establishment and became threats to the citizens whom they are obliged to protect by the general mandate of the police under the Nigerian Constitution and other extant laws.

This clamour by young Nigerians led to the disbandment of the SARS on the 11th of October, 2020, and the setup of a new tactical unit called Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). However, while disbanding SARS is a step in the right direction, a lot more is required for sustained reform. In addition, the establishment of SWAT did not follow an inclusive process, thereby prompting the call for the disbandment of the unit by #ENDSARS protesters.

A Tragic Culture of Committees The Federal Government in the past had established several presidential committees to pilot major Police reform programs, which have proffered several recommendations.

These include the Muhammad Danmadami Presidential Committee on Police Reform 2006; M.D Yusufu Presidential Committee on the Reform of the Nigeria Police Force 2008; Parry Osayande Presidential Committee on the Reform of the Nigeria Police Force 2012; and the Anthony Ojukwu Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force 2018.

In addition, in 2012, the CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with the Network on

Police Reform in Nigeria, coordinated the Civil Society Organisations Panel on Police Reforms which made several recommendations on effective and human rights centred policing in Nigeria. There has not been any noticeable adoption and implementation of these recommendations, except those captured in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015; Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act 2015; Anti-Torture Act 2017; the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act 2019 and Nigeria Police Force Act of 2020, largely driven by CSOs and other episodic changes championed by different Inspector Generals of Police. The existence of these laws notwithstanding, the problem of police brutality and extra-judicial killings continued unabated.

No Political Will There has been deep neglect and lack of political will on the part of the Government to implement different recommendations to reform all of or at least aspects of our policing system. For instance, Anthony Ojukwu Panel on SARS Reform 2018 proffered recommendations to improve the accountability of SARS and law enforcement officials in Nigeria, amongst which were the dismissal of 37 Police officers and prosecution of 24 officers found guilty of human rights violation, compensation of various sums of money in 45 complaints, tendering of public apologies in five complaints and obedience to court orders in five complaints, the creation of State Police and renaming of SARS, which will operate under the intelligence arm of Police. Despite efforts to reform the Nigeria Police Force, the institution continues to curry for itself an image of coercion, fear and an institution largely known for gross

Dr. Benson Olugbuo

Good Governance is the Key Police reform has been compounded by internal and external challenges, confronting both the Nigerian State and the Police Force. It also clearly shows that, the hood does not make the monk. Enactment of laws are yet to bring desired changes, in the performances of the men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force. This is because the fortunes of the Police and that of Nigeria, are inseparable. The Nigeria Police Force cannot effectively reform, without the enthronement of good governance in Nigeria.

Dr. Olugbuo, Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation

Political Economy and Police Reform Nexus Professor Etannibi Alemika Police as Political Agents Police work is a hazardous vocation. Though vested with enormous powers, the exercise of such powers is always contested by different groups, because of the unequal distribution of the burdens and benefits of policing. Police are political agents, whose culture and actions reflect the political and economic relations in society. Thus, the quest for democratic and rights-based policing in an undemocratic polity with wide inequalities and absence of effective social protection services, is an illusion.

Demand for Police reform must be embedded in broader struggle for social democratisation (not liberal-free market democratisation) of politics, economy and society. The problems encountered with and by the Police in Nigeria, resulted from the political and economic structures of the country.

Enhancing police professionalism To a limited extent permitted by structural political and economic constraints, several measures can be taken to enhance professionalism, efficiency and accountability of the Nigeria Police Force. At strategic level, the Police should establish or properly equip the following departments: (1) Research and Statistics Division to produce accurate statistics on all aspects of crime, to produce reliable national crime statistics that meet global standards and aid strategic planning, operations and management, (2) Monitoring and Evaluation Division to be responsible for monitoring compliance with directives and standards by Police formations; evaluate implementation and effectiveness of policies by the NPF, and (3) Policing Innovation and Strategy Division to be responsible for developing and monitoring management and operational strategy for the Force, under the direction of the Police management; responsible for coordinating innovative approaches to policing and maintain liaison with relevant civil society organisations. cont'd on page 10

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Police Reforms: A Holistic Approach cont'd from page 9

Review of Criminal Laws The activities and powers of the Police are defined by substantive and procedural criminal laws, that define behaviours that violate laws and liability to criminal process.

Nigeria criminal laws need to be reviewed to decriminalise petty offences, strengthen human rights protection, and provide for realistic bail conditions. Fundamentally, the Police station should be made the fulcrum of most Police work, and the proliferation of roving special units should be discontinued, because they undermine supervision and accountability.

Inadequate intelligence and investigation capacity, are responsible for most of the incidences of unwarranted arrests and brutality during investigation. Therefore, the intelligence and investigation capacities and competencies of the Police, should be strengthened through training, utilisation of relevant technologies and conducive working conditions. The practice of Police arresting suspects before investigation, is linked to several factors, including inadequate personnel for investigation, pressure by influential complainants for the arrest of suspects, and inadequate resources. The practice of hasty arrest prior to diligent investigation should be limited by legal provisions, effective judicial scrutiny and oversight, as well as appropriate standard operating procedure within the Police.

Reform Recruitment and Conditions of Service Lack of stringent and reliable screening of applicants for recruitment, permits the enlistment of unsuitable candidates into the Police Force. Undue interference in the recruitment process by powerful people in the legislative and executive arms of government, politicians and traditional rulers, as well as corruption compromise recruitment into the country’s Police Force. Stringent educational, physical, psychological, attitudinal and behavioural screening tools, should be developed and applied. Poor remuneration and welfare of personnel, inadequate facilities, lack of modern policing technologies and inadequate training, are disincentives for efficient and civil policing.

Adequate remuneration and working conditions, as well as continuous training of officers are necessary for professionalism. There is a lack of effective supervision of junior officers who carry out most Police duties pertaining to patrol, stop and search, arrest, investigation and detention of suspects. The ranks of Sergeant and Inspector are critical, as line supervisors.

The ratio of officers in these cadre relative to those on the ranks of Corporal and below is wide and needs to be bridged, while appropriate training should be provided to enhance supervision. Real-time automated database should be maintained at the Police Service Commission, Police Force Headquarters, and State Commands, to enhance efficient human resources management pertaining to recruitment, training, deployment, monitoring, performance evaluation, promotion and discipline.

The Nigeria Police Force operates the general duty system, which is inappropriate to contemporary policing. Specialist investigation, intelligence, patrol and special forces should be introduced. Officers should be deployed to specialist tracks after initial three years of general duty deployment, considering their competence, interest, disposition and potentials. This will develop the competence, professionalism, job satisfaction, efficiency and accountability of officers.

Professor Etannibi Alemika Force to its original role as an intervention force that is highly trained, well-trained, fully-barracked and appropriately deployed.

Weapons acquired and used by the Police should be reviewed; assault weapons should be restricted to serious crime response teams, while Police on regular duties should bear self-protection and non-lethal weapons. The use of lethal weapons for the control of peaceful protests, should be prohibited. Police should be equipped with appropriate crowd control equipment and technology. Patrol should be adopted as the primary means of policing the cities, highways and communities instead of roadblocks where corruption and brutality often take place. Communication between patrol officers and vehicles properly coordinated in control rooms, should be procured and efficiently maintained and utilised.

For effective, professional and accountable Police, Nigerians have a duty to respect and obey the law, respect the rights of other citizens, and assist law enforcement agencies.

Etannibi Alemika, Ph.D., Professor of Criminology and Sociology of Law, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Jos, Jos, Nigeria

Lack of Political Will: Bane of Police Reform in Nigeria Okechukwu Nwanguma No Genuine Commitment to Reform In 2016, the World Internal Security and Police Index ranked Nigeria’s police as the world’s worst in a global survey of 127 countries,

Towards Effective Policing There is need to restore the Police Mobile

Okechukwu Nwanguma

“.....THE QUEST FOR DEMOCRATIC AND RIGHTSBASED POLICING IN AN UNDEMOCRATIC POLITY WITH WIDE INEQUALITIES AND ABSENCE OF EFFECTIVE SOCIAL PROTECTION SERVICES, IS AN ILLUSION�

with an overwhelming 81% of respondents saying they had paid a bribe to a Cop in the past year. Many of these bribes happened at makeshift roadblocks set up by SARS officers, in order to extort drivers and passengers.

The same year, Amnesty International found that SARS “perpetrate[s] acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against detainees in their custody, on a regular basis�. The problem is that, successive Nigerian governments lack genuine commitment to Police reform. They only pay lip service to Police reform. Otherwise, why is it that successive administrations show penchant for setting up one or more Presidential Committees or Panels on Police Reform, only to shelve the reports and fail to implement the recommendations, despite the huge resources spent in the work of the various Committees?

Setting up Government Committees, became a pretext to evade responsibility. It is said that when government does not want to do anything about any problem in Nigeria, it sets up a Committee. From the 2006 M.D. Yusuf-led Presidential Committee on Police Reform, to the 2008 Danmadami- led Committee, to the 2012 Parry Osayande-led Committee, to the 2014 Uwais-led Political Conference report which also touched extensively on the Nigeria Police, and many others, there is a surplus of reports and recommendations for Police reform. The problem is that government lacks the will to implement them. The reason for government’s lack of will to implement far reaching reforms, is a different subject-matter altogether.

A Historic Culture of Impunity Between 2008 and 2011, NOPRIN, in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Police Service Commission (PSC), the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) and the National Committee on Torture (NCoT), organised series of Public Tribunals on Police Abuse across the geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The tribunals were aimed at providing opportunities for victims or their representatives and survivors of Police abuse, to testify before a panel of eminent persons about their experiences and to seek redress and justice. The public tribunal was intended to give voices to the numerous victims, relatives of victims, survivors and witnesses of Police abuse across Nigeria, and to assist them to seek and secure remedies through the use of mechanisms of internal control and external accountability. It was also aimed at mobilising eminent Nigerians, to join the campaign to end Police abuse of human rights in Nigeria.

The tribunal found that impunity remained the order of the day, in many Police stations across Nigeria. This is unacceptable, in a democracy. Many Police officers involved in human rights abuses were left unpunished, while their victims were denied justice.

The tribunal identified some specific issues and concerns, which are similar to many of

the issues and concerns we are still faced with today. That despite enormous efforts and resources devoted to police reform in Nigeria, patterns of Police abuse and misconduct persisted. Impunity was the order of the day, and political authorities lacked the will to implement genuine Police reform in Nigeria. Other findings include: r 5IF 1PMJDF DPOUJOVFE UP USBNQMF VQPO citizens’ rights to life and human dignity, by continuing to resort to torture as a tool of interrogation of suspects. Criminal suspects and other citizens were daily subjected to Police brutality, inhumane and degrading treatment. r 5IF SJHIU UP CF QSFTVNFE JOOPDFOU XBT routinely disregarded. r 1PMJDF PGĂ DFST GBJMFE UP JOGPSN TVTQFDUT of the charge(s) against them upon arrest. r 1PMJDF DPOUJOVFE UP ĂĄBHSBOUMZ BCVTF the rights of women, to be protected from sexual harassment in police custody. Cases abound of rape and other forms of sexual violence and abuse of female suspects and detainees, by the Police. r 1PMJDF BMTP BSSFTUFE BOE EFUBJOFE VOEFS aged children in adult detention centres. r 1PMJDF DPOUJOVFE UP UBLF CSJCFT UP SFMFBTF suspects on bail, despite notices of “No payment for bailâ€? boldly displayed at Police stations. r *ODJEFOUT PG BDDJEFOUBM EJTDIBSHF DPOUJOVFE to occur, and led to the brutal and senseless killing of several innocent people. Police often did this either as a show of force or power, or due to lack of knowledge about use of weapons, or even sheer impunity.

Sometimes, the plea of ‘accidental discharge’ was used as a cover up. r "QQSPQSJBUF BVUIPSJUJFT GBJMFE UP JOWFTUJHBUF cases of Police abuse and misconduct, and to ensure accountability for abuses. Instead, Police authorities covered up the misdeeds of their officers. r 5IF USJCVOBM OPUFE XJUI DPODFSO UIF practice whereby Police officers were hired by individuals to settle personal scores, in matters that were purely civil. There were frequent cases where some Police Officers embarked on odd hour arrests, acting in commando fashion and disturbing the peace of the whole house, in cases of simple assault.

Road to Police Reform r 5IF DVSSFOU FGGPSUT UP JORVJSF JOUP OVmerous allegations and complaints of Police brutality and especially, against particular operatives, including those contained in several petitions by several organisations and individuals and in reports by notable human rights organisations, with a view to bringing officers to account for abuse, corruption and misconduct, is a welcome first step. While these inquiries are ongoing in different States and at the Federal level, government must ensure that security agencies henceforth, operate with civility, responsibility, professionalism and restraint and avoid more acts of brutality or killing.

If abuses continue, it will lend credence to public doubts about government’s sincerity to end abuse. Government must start building confidence, and ensure that the outcomes of these public inquiries will be made public, and the recommendations for justice, redress, accountability and reform are implemented. r 5IF 4UBUF KVEJDJBM QBOFMT PG JORVJSZ NVTU be transparent, independent and firm in their work. They must look into all cases and allegations of unlawful detention, extortion, torture and other egregious abuses committed by any of the personnel of the units across the States. r 5IF QBOFMT PG JORVJSZ NVTU SFWJFX BMM cases involving the disbanded SARS, IRT, STS and all other Police units, and audit all the funds and properties confiscated by them either as exhibits or illegally converted, and determine to what extent some or all of these were stolen by the Police officers involved. Such funds and properties must be retrieved, and returned to their owners. r 1PMJDF PGà DFST NVTU CF USBJOFE BOE SFtrained on the various laws and legislation that will improve Police conduct and operational effectiveness, including the Anti-Torture Act 2017, Force Order 237 and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, as well as the Guidelines for Law Enforcement Agencies on Covid-19 Enforcement, among others, to enhance their professional efficiency r 1PMJDF SFDSVJUNFOU QSPDFEVSF NVTU CF reviewed, to ensure that it does not leave room cont'd on page 11

COVER /11

10.11.2020

Police Reforms: A Holistic Approach cont'd from page 10

for misfits and criminals to find their way into the Police. Politicians must be stopped from interfering with, and compromising Police recruitment. r *U JT JOTUSVDUJWF UIBU BNPOH UIF àWF DPSF demands put forward by the #ENDSARS protesters, is increase in Police salary, so that they are adequately compensated for QSPUFDUJOH MJWFT BOE QSPQFSUZ PG DJUJ[FOT *U NVTU IPXFWFS CF OPUFE UIBU 1PMJDF XFMGBSF HPFT CFZPOE JODSFBTJOH TBMBSJFT *OUJNJEBUJPO of officers by their superiors; Police promotion corruption, and shortchanging Police officers through withholding or tampering with their duty allowances, must be addressed. Police promotion must be based on merit, and done as at when due. Payment of allowances, insurance, housing, health benefits, education for the children of Police officers and other such welfare packages, must be guaranteed to humanise the Police and enhance morale. *NQSPWJOH XFMGBSF XJMM BMTP CF B NFBOT PG fighting corruption.

- Okechukwu Nwanguma, former National Coordinator, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN); currently, Executive Director, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC)

The Role of Development Partners: The British Council Danladi Plang Funding Police Reform *OBEFRVBUF GVOEJOH JT POF PG UIF LFZ DPODFSOT about Police reform. Although outside help is needed, the basic responsibility for reforms SFTUT XJUI UIF 'FEFSBM BOE 4UBUF (PWFSONFOUT BOE *OTUJUVUJPOT 5IF JNQPSUBODF PG this point should not be under-estimated.

No programme of funding for the Police will accomplish meaningful change or be TVTUBJOBCMF JG JU JT DPODFJWFE PS JNQPTFE GSPN BCSPBE %FWFMPQNFOU 1BSUOFST IBWF QMBZFE a significant role, in pushing the agenda for KVTUJDF TFDUPS SFGPSNT JO /JHFSJB 5IFZ IBWF brought the much-needed practical and techniDBM BEWJDF BT XFMM BT UIF àOBODJBM SFTPVSDFT GPS USBJOJOH BOE QJMPU QSPKFDUT 5IFZ IBWF TVQQPSUFE DJWJM TPDJFUZ HSPVQT XJUI GPDVT on Police reforms, and alerted the Federal BOE 4UBUF (PWFSONFOUT PO UIF TUFQT OFFEFE to maintain reform. A well functioning and trustworthy Police and broader justice sector, JT OPU POMZ JNQPSUBOU UP JOEJWJEVBMT CVU UP UIF EFWFMPQNFOU PG UIF OBUJPO

The British Council and Police Reform 5IF #SJUJTI $PVODJM IBT IBE B MPOH BOE DPOTUSVDUJWF SFMBUJPO XJUI 'FEFSBM BOE 4UBUF (PWFSONFOUT JO UIF BSFB PG 1PMJDF SFGPSN From its work with communities across /JHFSJB PWFS NBOZ ZFBST UIF #SJUJTI $PVODJM CFMJFWFT UIBU UIF RVFTU GPS 1PMJDF SFGPSN JT rooted in an aspiration to make life better JO /JHFSJB GPS BMM BOE UP SFáFDU UIF FWPMWJOH OFFET PG JUT DPNNVOJUJFT 5IF #SJUJTI $PVODJM has implemented three main programmes of justice and security reform support, from UP EBUF 5IFTF BSF UIF 4FDVSJUZ +VTUJDF (SPXUI 1SPHSBNNF UIF +VTUJDF GPS "MM Programme; and the Rule of Law and "OUJ $PSSVQUJPO 3P-"$ 1SPHSBNNF Community Policing 8JUI LFZ TUBLFIPMEFST UIF #SJUJTI $PVODJM EFWFMPQFE B DPNNVOJUZ QPMJDJOH TUSBUFHZ focusing on answering the needs of the DPNNVOJUZ BOE JNQSPWJOH 1PMJDF TFSWJDF TUBOEBSET 5XFMWF .PEFM 1PMJDF 4UBUJPOT IBWF CFFO FTUBCMJTIFE JO -BHPT &OVHV /JHFS ,BOP ,BEVOB +JHBXB BOE UIF 'FEFSBM $BQJUBM 5FSSJUPSZ JODMVEJOH 'BNJMZ 4VQQPSU 6OJUT UP TVQQPSU WJDUJNT PG HFOEFS CBTFE BOE EPNFTUJD WJPMFODF "T B SFTVMU PG UIF JOUFSWFOUJPOT DPNNVOJUZ TBUJTGBDUJPO XJUI UIF 1PMJDF IBT SJTFO CZ NPSF UIBO QFS DFOU JO TPNF 4UBUFT JO UIFJS àSTU ZFBS PG operation.

5IF $PVODJM UISPVHI JUT HSBOU GVOE GPS DJWJM TPDJFUZ PSHBOJTBUJPOT IBT BMTP IFMQFE FTUBCMJTI UXP 4FYVBM "TTBVMU 3FGFSSBM $FOUSFT UIF .JSBCFM $FOUSF JO -BHPT BOE UIF 5BNBS $FOUSF JO &OVHV *O JUT àSTU ZFBS PG BDUJWJUZ UIF .JSBCFM $FOUSF EFBMU XJUI PWFS DMJFOUT 5IFTF DFOUSFT QSPWJEF B SBOHF PG TFSWJDFT UP DMJFOUT XIP IBWF TVGGFSFE TFYVBM BTTBVMUT 5IF QSPHSBNNF JT BDUJWFMZ QVSTVJOH UIF establishment of further centres, in other focal States.

4VQQPSU IBT CFFO QSPWJEFE UP JNQSPWF

Danladi Plang

the performance of the Voluntary Police 4FSWJDFT OFJHICPVSIPPE QSPUFDUJPO HVBSET BOE WJHJMBOUF HSPVQT JO .PEFM 1PMJDF 4UBUJPO KVSJTEJDUJPOT $PNNVOJUZ "DDPVOUBCJMJUZ 'PSVNT IBWF CFFO TFU VQ BOE IBWF SFTPMWFE nearly 80 local safety issues in the first year across six sites in Lagos, Kano and Enugu.

Others Areas of Intervention "EEJUJPOBM BSFBT PG JOUFSWFOUJPO CZ UIF #SJUJTI $PVODJM PO 1PMJDF SFGPSN B %FWFMPQFE DPSF TUSBUFHJD NBOBHFNFOU TUSBUFHJFT JODMVEJOH $PNNVOJUZ #BTFE 1PMJDJOH 4USBUFHZ *OUFMMJHFODF -FE 1PMJDJOH 4USBUFHZ "DDPVOUBCJMJUZ 4USBUFHZ $SJNF .BOBHFNFOU &MFDUJPO 4FDVSJUZ )VNBO 3FTPVSDF .BOBHFNFOU C *OUSPEVDUJPO PG iDPNNVOJUZ CBTFE QPMJDJOHu UISPVHI XPSLJOH JO PWFS Police stations; D %FWFMPQFE 'BNJMZ 4VQQPSU 6OJUT E 3BJTFE UIF DBQBDJUZ PG 7PMVOUBSZ 1PMJDJOH 4FDUPS 714 HSPVQT BDSPTT TJY 4UBUFT BOE UIF '$5 e. Supported the Police to create the central $PNQMBJOUT 3FTQPOTF 6OJU $36

G 5IF QBTTBHF PG UIF OFX 1PMJDF "DU UP SFQMBDF UIF DPMPOJBM MBX H #VJMEJOH DBQBDJUZ GPS UIF *OTQFDUJPO PG QMBDFT PG EFUFOUJPO JODMVEJOH 4"34 CZ .BHJTUSBUFT JO MJOF XJUI "$+" h. Piloting the establishment of Statement 5BLJOH 3PPNT JO 1PMJDF TUBUJPOT JO UIF '$5 and Anambra and Lagos States, with audio WJTVBM GBDJMJUJFT UP EFUFS UIF VTF PG UPSUVSF UP obtain confessional statements from suspects; J 'BDJMJUBUFE JOTUJUVUJPOBMJTFE )VNBO 3JHIUT EFTL JO BMM "SFB $PNNBOET UP FOTVSF DPNQMJBODF UP IVNBO SJHIUT QSPWJTJPOT for all Nigerians Proposals for Police Reform Provide the Police what they need r 3FGPSN CBDLFE CZ SFTPVSDFT TJODF UIF SFUVSO UP DJWJMJBO SVMF JO TFWFSBM 1PMJDF 3FGPSN $PNNJUUFFT IBWF CFFO TFU

“..... THERE IS A SURPLUS OF REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICE REFORM. THE PROBLEM IS THAT GOVERNMENT LACKS THE WILL TO IMPLEMENT THEM”

Innocent Chukwuma

up. Among their recommendations, funding the reform has appeared consistently. )PXFWFS UIF DVSSFOU EFDSFQJU TUBUF PG NPTU Police facilities across the country, shows either we are still not resourcing the Police well; or the resources are being misused.

8IJDIFWFS JU UFMMT UIBU XF IBWF JO UIF QBTU not mustered sufficient political will to sustain 1PMJDF SFGPSN 5P HFU B CFUUFS PVUQVU GSPN the Police, our input will need to change significantly r %FDFOUSBMJTF QPMJDJOH UISPVHI SFTPVSDF BMMPDBUJPO 5IF QSJNBSZ SFTQPOTJCJMJUZ PG UIF 1PMJDF JT UP TFSWF UIF QFPQMF CZ QSPUFDUJOH UIFJS MJWFT BOE QSPQFSUZ 5IF NPTU JNQPSUBOU VOJU PG UIF /JHFSJB 1PMJDF UP TFSWF UIF NBKPSJUZ PG DJUJ[FOT JT UIF 1PMJDF %JWJTJPO 4BEMZ UIF EJWJTJPOT IBWF CFFO MFGU UP GFOE GPS UIFNTFMWFT 5IF SFTVMU JT UIBU UIF UZQF PG TFSWJDF FYQFDUFE PG UIF 1PMJDF JT OFWFS BWBJMBCMF JUT JOUFHSJUZ JT CSPVHIU UP RVFTUJPO and it loses respect, the one commodity it needs to stamp its authority in the public space. For these important Police units to properly function, they must be empowered.

Resource allocation in the Police, should be decentralised to meet their basic needs for TFSWJDF UP UIF QFPQMF Strengthen Oversight r 5IF 1PMJDF IBT B MPOH MJTU PG FYUFSOBM PWFSTJHIU TUSVDUVSFT JODMVEJOH UIF 1PMJDF 4FSWJDF $PNNJTTJPO 5IF /BUJPOBM )VNBO 3JHIUT $PNNJTTJPO UIF /BUJPOBM "TTFNCMZ BOE NPTU SFDFOUMZ UIF KVEJDJBSZ 5IFTF CPEJFT must be allowed to function unfettered, UP JNQSPWF BDDPVOUBCJMJUZ JO QPMJDJOH 5IF "ENJOJTUSBUJPO PG $SJNJOBM +VTUJDF "DU GPS JOTUBODF QSPWJEFT GPS .BHJTUSBUFT BOE +VEHFT DPOEVDUJOH QFSJPEJD JOTQFDUJPO WJTJUT UP QMBDFT PG EFUFOUJPO JODMVEJOH 1PMJDF GBDJMJUJFT *O UIF '$5 GPMMPXJOH DBQBDJUZ CVJMEJOH PG .BHJTUSBUFT BOE PSJFOUBUJPO GPS 1PMJDF %10T JOTQFDUJPO WJTJUT DPNNFODFE XJUI SFNBSLBCMF TVDDFTT *O %FDFNCFS GPMMPXJOH UIF JOTQFDUJPO WJTJU PG .BHJTUSBUFT JO UIF '$5 UP UIF 4"34 GBDJMJUZ PWFS EFUBJOFFT XFSF transferred to correctional facilities around UIF '$5 #VU UIJT QSPWJTJPO UIPVHI JO UIF "$+ -BXT PG WBSJPVT 4UBUFT JT OPU CFJOH BQQMJFE UP NBYJNVN CFOFàU UP JNQSPWF 1PMJDF BOE MBX FOGPSDFNFOU TFSWJDFT r 5IFSF TIPVME CF DPNNVOJUZ DFOUSFE BQQSPBDI UP QPMJDF PWFSTJHIU 5IJT TIPVME OPU just be the establishment of structures and processes for consulting local communities about their policing priorities and problems; but should also include a Police accountability GPSVN XIJDI DBO CF DPOWFOFE BT UPXO IBMM meetings to address public concerns on Police performance, conduct and excesses.

Danladi Plang, National Programme Manager, RoLAC, The British Council

Nigeria Should Look Beyond State-Centric Policing Innocent Chukwuma 5IF &/%4"34 QSPUFTUT JO 0DUPCFS IBWF CSPVHIU UP UIF GPSF JO XBZT UIBU IBWF OPU been seen in recent history of Nigeria, the JTTVFT PG 1PMJDF WJPMFODF BHBJOTU SFTJEFOUT PG /JHFSJB DPNNVOJUZ DPVOUFS WJPMFODF BHBJOTU the Police, and the larger question about the

type of Police and policing reforms that need UP CF FNCBSLFE VQPO UP FOUISPOF FGGFDUJWF FGàDJFOU BOE BDDPVOUBCMF QPMJDJOH TFSWJDF JO Nigeria. At the heart of the challenge is the troubling colonial history of the Nigeria Police 'PSDF /1' UIF GBJMVSF PG QPTU JOEFQFOEFODF HPWFSONFOUT UP SFPSJFOU BOE USBOTGPSN UIF /1' from a colonial occupation force to protectors of the security and liberty of the Nigerian people; and decades of military dictatorship UIBU FSPEFE 1PMJDF DJWJMJUZ 5IF PUIFS DIBMMFOHF and perhaps, most importantly, is the fact UIBU JNQSPWJOH TBGFUZ BOE TFDVSJUZ JO /JHFSJB IBT CFFO MPPLFE VQPO CZ UIF HPWFSONFOU BT TPNFUIJOH UIBU JT BDIJFWBCMF CZ NFSFMZ increasing the capacity of the NPF and other State security forces, without seriously addressing underlying socio-economic triggers of JOTFDVSJUZ WJPMFODF BOE FGGFDUJWF JOUFHSBUJPO PG PUIFS QSPWJEFST PG TFDVSJUZ TVDI BT QSJWBUF BOE social sectors in a nodal policing arrangement. *O UIF MBTU UXFOUZ POF ZFBST PG FMFDUFE DJWJMJBO HPWFSONFOU UIFSF IBWF CFFO OP MFTT UIBO àWF QSFTJEFOUJBM QBOFMT FTUBCMJTIFE CZ TVDDFTTJWF HPWFSONFOUT UP FYDMVTJWFMZ GPDVT on deliberating and making recommendations for the reform of the NPF. Each of these panels worked tirelessly to complete its assignment, submitted reports and recommendations to UIF HPWFSONFOU :FBST BOE NPOUIT BGUFS completion of their assignments, most of the SFQPSUT IBWF OFJUIFS CFFO NBEF QVCMJD OPS TJHOJàDBOUMZ BDUFE VQPO 5IF OPUBCMF FYDFQUJPOT are the ongoing implementation of community QPMJDJOH QSPHSBN VOEFS UIF DVSSFOU *OTQFDUPS (FOFSBM PG 1PMJDF .VIBNNBEV "EBNV BOE the enactment of the Nigeria Police Force &TUBCMJTINFOU "DU XIJDI XBT TJHOFE JOUP MBX CZ 1SFTJEFOU #VIBSJ PO 4FQUFNCFS A critical examination of why these apparently XFMM JOUFOUJPOFE SFGPSN FGGPSUT BQQFBS UP IBWF GBJMFE JO FJUIFS JNQSPWJOH UIF QFSDFQUJPO PG safety and security by residents, or made the Police more accountable indicate that the SFGPSN QBOFMT SBSFMZ DPOTVMUFE UIF DJUJ[FOT JO concerted ways that prioritise their inputs, and the fact that they were dominated by people with Keynesian thinking about the role of the 1PMJDF BT B 4UBUF EPNJOBUFE FOUFSQSJTF 5IFSFGPSF they failed to ask and answer the fundamental question about whether the Nigerian economy, currently dominated by export of crude oil as the main source of foreign exchange, can afford or support a modern State-centric policing, XJUIPVU JOUFHSBUJOH PUIFS QPMJDJOH TFSWJDF QSPWJEFST 5IF VOJOUFOEFE DPOTFRVFODF JT UIBU UIFTF SFGPSN FGGPSUT BQQFBS UP CF NPWJOH policing backwards in Nigeria, because they IBWF CFFO TFFLJOH UP NPOPQPMJTF QPMJDJOH BU precisely the time that Police organisations BSPVOE UIF XPSME IBWF CFHVO UP SFDPHOJTF this as an impossible aspiration. A sought of mission impossible.

Suggestions .Z TVHHFTUJPO UP UIF HPWFSONFOU BOE UIF /1' JT UIBU UIFZ TIPVME HJWF VQ PO UIJT NJTTJPO BOE jump directly to the front of the international 1PMJDF SFGPSN NPWFNFOU "O BOBMPHZ IFSF would be the telecommunication industry in Africa, which in the last two decades has CFFO WFSZ XJTF JO SFDPHOJTJOH UIBU UIF XPSME PG UFMFQIPOFT JT B NPCJMF XPSME BOE IBWF leapfrogged straight there rather than trying to build elaborate landline network first. A similar jump is needed in policing in Nigeria, through a framework known in the literature as nodal policing or nexus policing. Under it, the NPF SBUIFS UIBO TFF JUTFMG BT B NPOPQPMZ TFSWJDF QSPWJEFS XPVME BDU BT B OFUXPSL DPPSEJOBUPS JO B GSBNFXPSL PG QPMJDJOH UIBU JODMVEFT QSJWBUF TFDVSJUZ BOE DPNNVOJUZ JOJUJBUJWFT GPS TBGFUZ BOE TFDVSJUZ 0ODF UIF 1PMJDF TFF UIFNTFMWFT as Nodal Police whose role it is to encourage UIF EFWFMPQNFOU PG FGGFDUJWF MFHJUJNBUF BOE integrated policing networks, the current competition or antagonism between it and QSJWBUF TFDVSJUZ BOE DPNNVOJUZ JOJUJBUJWFT PO DSJNF QSFWFOUJPO XJMM EJTTJQBUF 1SJWBUF TFDVSJUZ BOE DPNNVOJUZ JOJUJBUJWFT OPX CFDPNF important players in a total policing landscape, rather than a threatening competitor to State Police.

5IJT XPVME PCWJPVTMZ SFRVJSF OBUJPOBM EJTDVTsion, research, organising and lobbying, to agree on broadly acceptable framework; amendment PG UIF 1PMJDF "DU BOE UIF $POTUJUVUJPO UP QSPWJEF EFàOFE SPMFT GPS QSJWBUF TFDVSJUZ BOE DJWJD organisations in the public safety and security QSPWJTJPOJOH BUUJUVEJOBM DIBOHF PO UIF QBSU PG UIF 1PMJDF GSPN NPOPQPMZ TFSWJDF QSPWJEFS UP OFUXPSL PS OPEBM DPPSEJOBUPS FGGFDUJWF SFHVMBUJPO PG QSJWBUF TFDVSJUZ JOEVTUSZ BOE DJWJD QPMJDJOH BU DPNNVOJUZ MFWFMT BOE QJMPUJOH demonstration and national rollout. Let the real debate about the type of policing framework UIBU XPVME CFTU TFSWF /JHFSJB BOE /JHFSJBOT begin.

Innocent Chukwuma, Director for West Africa, Ford Foundation

12/

10.11.2020

The Lekki Tollgate Massacre and Government’s Skewed Revisionism and Apostasy (Part 1) Introduction In difficult and trying times like this, such as we are presently experiencing in Nigeria, it becomes incumbent on patriots to be extremely circumspect, even advisedly taciturn, in making public comments on trending burning issues.

This is to prevent further pouring petrol, on an already blazing inferno. But, I am now forced to do this follow-up write-up after three earlier major outings on the #ENDSARS protests by deprived, ignored, marginalised and repressed angry Nigerian youths.

This intervention is centred on what I call the “Lekki Tollgate Massacre”, that was watched live on TV, like a reality show. It was on Tuesday, October 20, 2020. I watched it live. Millions of Nigerians and members of the international community, also watched it LIVE, with their “korokoro – eyes”. We all watched, with awe, disgust and spine-chilling horror, how a platoon of about 20 camouflage-wearing military personnel, with vehicles flashing their multi-coloured lights, savagely invaded the tollgate. Unprovoked, they opened a staccato hail of hot lead bullets directly on defenceless, unarmed, innocent singing, dancing, sitting and flag- waving Nigerian youths, who had converged at the tollgate to peacefully protest. They were even singing the National Anthem; perhaps a reaffirmation of their belief in a reordered and rejigged Nigeria, where social justice, equity, egalitarianism, mutual respect, and ethnic and religious tolerance shall reign supreme.

The youths had hoped to make their voices heard, get empowered to go to school, secure living wages in employment, and live a decent life. They didn't ask for the impossible. They simply wanted to end decades of crude Police brutality, especially SARS, against them and other hapless innocent citizens.

They only desired a better society. They roundly rejected and wanted to end poverty and grand larceny, especially by our so- called 'elected' servants' in government. The time of the youths’ protest at the tollgate as recorded by people across the world, was about 7.00 PM (18.00 GMT). The youths were unarmed. They were not violent. They were peacefully protesting. The world had watched and heard a while earlier, before the military invasion, how an eye witness near the tollgate had started commenting on what he observed.

Failed Attempts at a Cover-up The narrator told a shocked world how some persons had started demobilising and disconnecting the CCTV, CAMCORDERS, tollgate and street lights, and other gadgets at the tollgate.

The video maker and narrator was making instantaneous commentaries, reminiscent of the football commentaries of Ernest Okonkwo and Olu Fatoyinbo (all of blessed memory), during the glorious days of real titanic football finals in Nigeria, which involved the big teams - Enugu Rangers of Enugu, Bendel Insurance of Benin, IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Mighty Jets of Jos, Stationery Stores of Lagos, etc.

He was saying something to the following effect: “Some people have arrived the Lekki tollgate. They are right now demobilising and disconnecting the CCTV cameras fixed at the tollgate, including the street lights. Why are they doing this? We do not know. Are they planning to attack people, and erase the evidence of the killings? We are here monitoring. Oh, they are still going ahead disconnecting the security gadgets.

Nigerians and the international community must watch live what is going on now....”.

The government has tried, albeit vainly, to conceal and obfuscate their dastardly and horrific acts. But, they did not reckon with the fact that, most people nowadays have cell-phones with cameras; and that thousands were recording live. Witnesses instantaneously posted live images, videos, tweets, on Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. They even live-streamed the goings-on. Millions across the world, watched bestiality displayed in the most hideous manner.

It was live. It was not hidden. It was global. So, why is the government trying very hard to pull the wool over Nigerians' eyes, by attempting to change the narrative? Why this cheap historical revisionism?

Why the Bollywood Fashola camcorder scenario, Baba Sallah’s Alawada Keri Keri's stage histrionics and pathetic self-denials?

Why the frenetic attempts to bury evidence, and rewrite the scene of and happenings at the tollgate? Why the accusations and counter- accusations between Governor Sanwo-Olu and the Army High Command? Why? Why? Why? Do these dramatis personae in this cold-blooded murder of unarmed youths, not have children? Do they know God? Do they have a conscience, which Uthman Dan Fodio, once described as an open wound that can only be healed by truth? Do they even have red blood flowing in their near plastic veins?

Some Questions and Dramas Many questions: Who put off the CCTV Cameras, tollgate and street lights and other gadgets at the tollgate? Who deployed the military officers to the tollgate in the first instance? How did Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Minister of Works and Housing, who led Federal Government delegates, to sympathise with Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, suddenly “discover” or “find” a “hidden” camera at the tollgate, five clear days

Lekki Tollgate

after the bloody massacre?. Fashola’s mysterious “discovery” later became the butt of jokes of Nigerians across the world.

They wondered how a secret camcorder lens, could be found by only him. Some described the “finding” as a pantomime.

Others said they are embarrassed, ashamed and insulted to think these government officials think Nigerians are all foolish, daft and unthinking zombies, who would fall cheaply for these make-belief theatricalities of “discovery” five days after Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) had cleaned up the scene of incident; and after Governor Sanwo-Olu had himself toured the entire scene.

Fashola had said, “some subversive elements” must have planted a camera there, while gingerly picking up the device with a handkerchief. Many Nigerians accused Fashola of a ridiculous Netflix manipulation, stunt and attempt at a cover-up. Some described him as the new Sherlock Holmes, Raymond Reddington, Scooby Doo, Inspector Gadget, and such names to humour him.

The Army, Amnesty and Sanwo-Olu’s Brickbats Since the Lekki-tollgate massacre, the Nigerian Army, Governor Sanwo-Olu and Amnesty International have been engaged in an orgy of denials, finger-pointing, accusations and counter accusations.

Amnesty reported that Army troops opened fire on peaceful protesters without provocation, killing at least 12. The Army had maintained that its troops were not at the site of the shooting, but on Tuesday night, a military spokesman, Maj. Osoba Olaniyi, reversed that position, saying soldiers had been deployed there to enforce a curfew; however, he denied that the troops shot at the protesters.

"At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian,” Olaniyi said in a statement. He however, maintained the soldiers were deployed on the orders of the Lagos State Government (gosh!). But, Governor Sanwo-Olu initially denied this, saying the State government has no authority over the deployment of Nigerian Army personnel.

“THEY ALSO WONDER WHY THE TOLLGATE CONCESSION MANAGEMENT COMPANY, WOULD SWITCH OFF THE LIGHTS. WAS IT TO PROVIDE COVER FOR THE NIGHT SOLDIERS TO SHOOT DEFENCELESS PROTESTERS, EVEN BEFORE THE OFFICIAL CURFEW STARTED AT 9PM ON TUESDAY, 20TH OCTOBER, 2020?”

The military's admission of its presence at the plaza, came after Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu pointedly said security camera footage clearly showed Nigerian soldiers firing at the peaceful protesters at Lekki plaza.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu had on October 21 denied any record of fatality at the bloody tollgate massacre - this was during a live broadcast. He had said “three of the injured protesters have been discharged, while some are in the hospital. There is no record of any fatality”.

Later, that same day, the Governor immediately admitted his words and that “a life was lost at Reddington hospital, due blunt force trauma to the head”. He described this as “an isolated case”.

Amnesty International later issued a strong report, citing security camera footage which it said showed Army vehicles leaving the Bonny Camp barracks, and arriving at Lekki plaza shortly before shots were fired: “What happened at Lekki Tollgate has all the traits of the Nigerian authorities’ pattern of a cover-up whenever their defence and security forces commit unlawful killings", said Osai Ojigho, Amnesty's Nigeria Country Director.

“Nigerian authorities still have many questions to answer: Who ordered the use of lethal force on peaceful protesters? Why were CCTV cameras on the scene dismantled?

“Many people are still missing since the day of the incident, and credible evidence shows that the military prevented ambulances from reaching the severely injured in the aftermath”, she said.

A Judicial Panel set up by the Lagos State Government has begun investigating the shooting. The panel is also investigating allegations of abuse against the Police unit, the Special AntiRobbery Squad, known as SARS. Already, the Army, through its 81 Division (55 battalion), had already denied the panel access to its military morgue.

The widespread #EndSARS campaign had erupted in Nigeria first on the social media, in early October after a video circulated showing a man being beaten-up, apparently by SARS officers.

The peaceful and well-organised protests had disrupted traffic in Lagos, and other major Nigerian cities. President Muhammadu Buhari's government had agreed to disband the SARS unit. But, the protests continued, with participants demanding sweeping reforms of the repressive Police, and action against increasing corruption.

Although the protests were largely peaceful, they later turned violent due to many factors. At least 56 people died across the country, according to Amnesty, which accused security forces of using unnecessary brutal force. It was on October 20 when the Lagos State government imposed a curfew and ordered everyone to stay at home, that the bloody mayhem occurred at the Lekki plaza. For two clear days thereafter, Lagos witnessed widespread violent rioting that also spread across Nigeria. In order to restore order in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city with nearly 20 million residents, the Lagos State Government had, on 20th October, 2020, imposed a curfew from 8 p.m. until 6.a.m.

People wonder why the Governor declared a curfew after midday in a bustling city of nearly 20 million people, where commuting is always a nightmare. They also wonder why the tollgate concession management company, would switch off the lights. Was it to provide cover for the night soldiers to shoot defenceless protesters, even before the official curfew started at 9pm on Tuesday, 20th October, 2020? Did they for once think we are still living in the 70s of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s Unknown Soldier best seller? (To be continued).

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK “We've seen over time that countries that have the best economic growth are those that have good governance, and good governance comes from freedom of communication. It comes from ending corruption. It comes from a populace that can go online and say, 'This politician is corrupt, this administrator, or this public official is corrupt.” (Ramez Naam)

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

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REPO 6.40 5.70

CALL 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

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Group Business Editor Obinna Chima

Email obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08152447875

N O V E M B E R

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

746.22% -0.00% -0.38%

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

6 , 19.07% 55.09%

2 0 2 0 EXCHANGE RATE N379/1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes Auwalu Becomes NSChE Fellow

NPA COUNTS LOSSES

R-L: Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman; Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Onari Brown; Board Member, Abdulwahab Adesina, and Board Chairman, Chief Akin Ricketts, during the inspection of NPA Headquarters that was attacked by unknown persons in Lagos...recently

NLNG: Regulatory Uncertainties Constraining Gas Market Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, a joint venture between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell Gas, Total and Eni has called for the debottlenecking of the country’s gas value chain in order to drive massive industrialisation.

Speaking at the Association for Consulting Engineering in Nigeria (ACEN) Annual Conference and General Meeting in Abuja, Managing Director of the company, Mr. Tony Attah, who spoke on “Maximising the Use of Natural Gas in Nigeria�, reiterated that Nigeria has more gas reserves than crude oil and called on policy makers to take full advantage of the resource.

Attah, who was represented by the NLNG’s Corporate Strategy and Planning Manager, Dr. Yakie

ENERGY Ogon, listed other hindrances to growth in the industry as default in payment obligations, regulatory uncertainties, inadequate infrastructure and the power sector illiquidity.

He stated that the success of the company was a testimony to what Nigeria could achieve with gas, including huge revenue earnings and cleaner energy source, if due attention is devoted to the sub-sector. “Nigeria is more of a gas country than oil. We can’t discuss the future of gas in Nigeria without the NLNG story. NLNG is proud of its history which is told in a block of 30 years. “It took 30 years to set up NLNG. After incorporation in 1989, it grew to become the fastest growing plant at the time with six trains on Bonny Island. Next

phase for the company is Train 7. “This is the right time to take gas seriously in Nigeria with the advent of renewable energy. There is so much gas resources in Africa.

With over 600tcf, Africa is still called the dark continent. What do we need to do to maximise these resources?� “We need to take a look at the gas value chain to unclog and eliminate obstacles standing in the way of deriving value from our gas resources. We need that value from gas to urgently drive industrialisation in Africa,� he emphasised.

According to Attah, the current crisis in the market has created the best opportunity to explore the gas sub-sector, adding that if Nigeria allows itself to lag behind, the world will leave the country behind. “The time is now, else existing challenges will worsen and it will

be too late. Already, investors in Europe are not looking at fossil fuel investments anymore because of climate change. So how do we ensure gas remains an attractive investment? “Nigeria needs to take care of obstacles for things to flow.

Lack of investments, lack of commercial framework, general business climate, security of supply and the sanctity of contracts and agreements still hinder progress in the gas sector. “Other key constraints include default in payment obligations, regulatory uncertainties, inadequate infrastructure and the power sector illiquidity,� he stated.

According to the NLNG boss, Qatar, which was a small pearl fishing economy in the 1970s, has now transformed into a $124,000 GDP per capita economy because Continued on page 24

No Significant Improvement in Electricity Since 2015, ANED Insists Peter Uzoho The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has argued that no significant improvement had been recorded in the energy generated and wheeled to the distribution companies (Discos) by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) since 2015.

The umbrella body of Discos disclosed this in its latest quarterly performance report, saying the volume of energy received by them since then continued low and flat.

ANED said: “Since 2015, there has been no significant improvement in the energy generated and wheeled by TCN, that is finally received by Discos. It continues

ENERGY low and flat, only affected by a seasonal effect between the dry and rainy seasons. “Historical projections of the MYTO (Multi Year Tariff Order) model has, demonstrably, remained inconsistent with the energy assumptions of the tariff model and this misalignment ends up increasing the tariff shortfall and accelerating NESI (Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry)’s liquidity crisis. “Moreover, NERC (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission) in the last TCN’s minor reviews, stated that ‘whereas the capital expenditure provided to TCN in MYTO-2015 Order was

to support the evacuation of the average projected generation of 5,465MW in 2016 to 10,493MW in 2019, actual average generation remained between 3,500MW to 4,000MW during the same period’�

ANED noted that the Discos’ uncertainty on the energy to be received from the TCN had become a major threat and will hurt the core of their performance improvement plans as many of the plans were based on the basis of the projections done by NERC at June’s minor review.

The Discos’ body, however, revealed that the commercial performance improvement recorded by the Discos within the last quarters had been affected negatively by the impact of the

COVID-19 lockdown.

It said collection efficiency dropped to an average of 64 per cent in the second quarter of this year, adding, “In particular, the collection efficiency in April was only 49 per cent, although it recovered to 76 per cent in June.� According to the report, the Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses moving average increased to 45.7 per cent by the end of June from 43.3 per cent in March, changing the declining trend that had been achieved in the last three years. “The energy to be received by the Discos continues to be flat, low and far from any of NERC’s projections under the Continued on page 24

The Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Sarki Auwalu, has been inducted as a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (NSChE).

A statement from the Head of Public Aairs, DPR, Mr. Paul Osu, said Auwalu was elected into the NSChE fellowship at the 2020 virtual conference of the society which took place recently.

The award, according to the society, was in recognition of a thoroughbred professional who has continued to be a game changer in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Auwalu attended the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, where he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering.

He proceeded to Bayero University, Kano (BUK) where he earned a Post Graduate Degree in Management.

His quest for knowledge took him further to Norway and USA where he acquired Diploma CertiďŹ cates in risk assessment and Petroleum Policy and Management at PETRAD and oshore technology from Petroskills respectively.

He has continued to shift the paradigm in the oil and gas industry regulatoryspacebydevelopinginitiativesandputtinginplacestrategies that has now refocused DPR as a business enabler and opportunity house for investors and stakeholders.

NACCIMA Organises Forum on AfCFTA

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), will hold a webinar on the panAfrican Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) on November 24.

ThePAPSS,whichisoneoftheďŹ veoperationalinstrumentsthatwould governtheAfCFTA,wasdevelopedbyAfreximbankincollaborationwith the African Union as a platform that would domesticate intra-regional payments, drastically reduce payment transaction costs and help to formalise informal intra-African trade.

AstatementfromNACCIMA’ssecretariatinLagosState,toannounce the virtual conference said the webinar would be used to inform the organised private sector of the Nigerian economy on the status of the implementation of the PAPSS. It also said the webinar would be used to appraise the readiness of the Nigerian ďŹ nancial services sector, especially the banking and ďŹ ntech sub-sector, to participate in the PAPSS. NACCIMA explained: “The private sector recommendations on the practicability of the AfCFTA agreement in Nigeria during and post COVID-19 pandemic will also be submitted during this webinar. The Nigerian private sector’s access to capacity-building funds under the AfCFTA agreement will be discussed at the webinar. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) will present their numerous initiatives in support of the AfCFTAâ€? during the webinar.

Audiomack Partners Trassion

Committedtoelevatingyounglocaltalentsinthecontinentbyinvesting capitalandknowledgeresourcesintoAfricancultureandcommunities, Audiomack has announced a partnership withTranssion Holdings, the manufacturer of popular smartphone brands, Tecno, InďŹ nix and Itel.

The partnership would further drive the growing need for a techenabled platform for entertainment especially for the growing market within music lovers in Nigeria.

With a presence in all 54 African countries, Audiomack has focused on democratising music streaming by providing accessibility for all, a mission whichTranssion smartphone owners will greatly beneďŹ t from.

This approach has resulted in signiďŹ cant organic growth for the app amongst its highly engaged users.

Fortherapidlygrowingdigitalcommunity,thispartnershippresents access to Audiomack’s uninterrupted stream of the best and newest of music and diverse playlist selections.

According to the Head of Business Development and Partnerships, AudiomackAfrica,CharlotteBwana,“Wearetrulyexcitedattheprospects of this partnership to oer best and hottest new music through a mix of real-time trending, top charts, and expertly-curated playlists to the Transsion smartphone users.â€?

“Without proper governance and ethical practice in an organisation you might succeed for a short while and even get away with it for quite a time but the moment of reckoning will always come when everything can fall apart “ Chairman of FirstBank, Ibukun Awosika

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BUSINESSWORLD NLNG: REGULATORY UNCERTAINTIES CONSTRAINING GAS MARKET it intentionally created the right environment for its growth.

He repeated that NLNG has delivered over 5,000 cargoes with 23 dedicated ships and over $11 billion asset base, reaffirming that it is time for gas because it is cleaner, cheaper and available.

Earlier in his welcome address, ACEN President, Mr. George Okoroma, stated that the coronavirus pandemic had proven that in times of turbulence, every nation looks up to her indigenous team of expertise and skilled professionals to proffer swift and find lasting solution to challenges.

He called for the internalisation of local content in all Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) of government and private organisations, saying that there’s no better time than now for Nigeria to start investing and patronising her own professionals.

NO SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN ELECTRICITY SINCE 2015, ANED INSISTS MYTO financial model. “In the last minor review of December to January, NERC dropped its previous projection for 2020 from 123,000 MWh/ day down to 96,000 MWh/ day (an almost 30 per cent downwards review), which is the main reason for increasing the forecasted tariff shortfall for 2020 to N534bn (N426bn compared to 2019 June’s minor review),�

ANED explained.

It said the number of registered end-users in the NESI kept increasing, saying it is currently at a rate of about 75,000 new customers per month, resulting in more than 9.5 million customers in total.

It added that, “Delays/barriers in the implementation of the Meter Asset Providers regulation is making the metering gap to grow, with almost a 59.7 per cent of the end-users unmetered.

MAP regulation is not working as NERC expected.�

ANED said the collection by the 10 private Discos dropped

by N14billion or 11.4 per cent to N105billion in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, compared to the same period in 2019.

NEWS

OPEC: COVID-19 Effects on Oil Market Horrifying Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said the level of decline experienced in energy and oil demands since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was steep, adding that the pandemic’s impacts have been horrifying.

OPEC stated that efforts by its members and allies to stabilise the oil market resulted in them taking extra production cuts down to 9.7 million barrels a day (mbd), the deepest they have ever done in the history of the cartel.

Its Secretary General, Dr. Mohammad Barkindo, stated this at the fourth high-level meeting of the OPEC-India Energy Dialogue which was held via a video-conference.

The meeting also had the Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan in attendance.

According to him: “The effects of the pandemic have been absolutely horrifying, not only at the human level, but also regarding the oil market and the global economy. It has resulted in the sharpest downturn in energy and oil demand in living memory. The scale and reach of the pandemic is to say the least unprecedented.�

He noted that the actions of OPEC and its Declaration of Cooperation (DOC) partners over the past eight months to stabilise oil prices and rebalance the oil markets has been useful to the global oil market. “The DOC participants collectively adjusted down production

over a two-year period, starting with 9.7mb/d - the deepest and the longest adjustment in history, and nearly five times more than historic adjustments made during the last downturn of 2014-16. “This dramatic action has helped put markets on a path to rebalancing, though the road to recovery is most certainly still going to be long and wrought with difficulty,� Barkindo explained.

He stated that key demand centres like India which were affected by COVID-19 have begun to record gradual rise in oil demands as easing COVID-19 restrictions support economic

activity and travel. “The US has seen strongerthan-expected economic indicators in the third quarter of this year, with 2020 growth revised up from last month’s –5.1 per cent to –4.2 per cent in the latest Monthly Oil Market Report. “We also see significant overall oil demand growth of +6.5 mb/d in 2021. Although we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we are optimistic that the future will be much brighter and that the world will see a way out of this pandemic next year,� he added.

Barkindo stated that OPEC

will be keen to strengthen its relationship with India, adding that while the country is projected in OPEC’s World Oil Outlook projects to transition to clean energy sources by 2045, the country’s rapidly growing need for energy is equally expected to quadruple by 2045.

He said: “India is predicted to be the largest contributor to incremental oil demand over the longer term, adding some 6.3mbd between now and 2045. With this in mind, the strengthening connection between OPEC and India represents a key element in energy security.

“Indeed, given the future outlook, we will have much to discuss today. We hope, your Excellency, that our relationship will continue to deepen, including addressing the role of OPEC as a partner in the energy transition. “We have always said that all sources of energy will be needed to meet growth in energy requirements in the coming decades. At the same time, the entire world is threatened by climate change. It is up to all energy producers and consumers to do their utmost to make all sources of energy cleaner and greener.�

MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

L-R: Head, Lead Management and MarketPlace, Cars 45, Patricia Duru; Chief Executive, Ganguly Soumobroto; Head, People Operations and Central Support, Jumoke Obembe and Head, Technical Operations, Pankaj Bohra, at the company’s media engagement session held in Lagos... recently Abiodun Ajala

NERC Admits Proposing N294m for Office Partitioning Despite Fiscal Challenges Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Despite constantly complaining of illiquidity in the power sector, operating at a deficit and allegedly failing to approve accruals to the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has admitted proposing a budget of almost N300 million for partitioning of its Abuja office.

There were also various reports last week that NERC budgeted a whopping N2 billion for the purchase of office furniture and the partitioning of offices at its headquarters in Abuja when it appeared before the federal lawmakers.

But in a statement from the commission headed by Prof.

James Momoh, NERC said it budgeted N294 million for the job and not N2 billion as earlier reported. “The attention of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has been drawn to publications in the media relating to an interactive session with our organisation at the national assembly on the 2021 budget. “The commission further clarifies that no contracts in the sum of N2 billion have been awarded to any person or company for the purpose of renovating and/ or furnishing of the head office complex in Abuja. “The only capital project

included in the 2021 budgetary appropriation is a request for the provision of a sum of N294,064,276 for the partitioning and furnishing of the head office complex in Abuja.�

Although it did not also indicate whether the monies it owed the REF had been paid after the lawmakers’ ultimatum, NERC stated that it had paid all amounts due the rural fund, but added that all other surpluses will be paid after its 2019 finances are audited. “The commission hereby notifies all stakeholders and the general public that it has fully paid all amounts due to the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in compliance with the

provisions of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act. “Any surpluses that may be due for the 2019 fiscal year would be paid to the REA upon completion of the ongoing audit of the commission’s accounts for the year ended December 31, 2019,� it stated.

The House of Representatives Committee on Power recently vowed to withhold approval for the 2021 budget proposal by the commission if it fails to pay all outstanding debts owed the rural electrification body.

In its latest financial report covering the first quarter of this year, the commission which sources its revenues mainly from levies and market charges, disclosed

that it still has existing liabilities of N0.23billion as at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Executive Director, REF, Dr Sanusi Ohiare, in an interview recently, had flayed the commission for failing to determine the fund’s statutory accruals on the excuse that the market is illiquid and that people are not paying. “So, if you as the commission is still getting something no matter how bad the market is and you are only using the fund to pay for salaries and recurrent expenditure and take care of yourself and buying a big office, we that are the agency that should cater for the rural communities, we are not getting anything and you keep giving us excuses,� he lamented.

Nigerian Nuclear Agency Ramps Up Regulation of Radioactive Ores Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă? (Money Market) Ă™Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă•Ă’Ă&#x;ÙÑÓĂ? (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

The Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), has ramped up its efforts to regulate the exploration, mining and milling of radioactive ores and other ores associated with the presence of harmful substances.

Director General of the NNRA, Dr. Yau Idris, who disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Permanent Secretary of the Ecological Funds Office, Dr Habiba Lawal in Abuja, said the call to other government

agencies was to ensure better service delivery to the nation.

He solicited for collaboration from the agency to enable NNRA to carry out its mandate of regulating harmful ores, thereby protecting life, health, property and the environment from the dangerous effects of ionising radiation, amongst others.

Idris cited an instance in 2006, where the NNRA through the ecological fund conducted a study on Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) which happened as a result of the mining activities by companies

in Jos Plateau.

He stated that the exercise had exposed about 5,000 houses which were affected by tin tailings found in materials used in building houses and thereafter removal of the NORMS by environmental officials, thereby averting more deaths. He added that a similar exercise was conducted in the Niger Delta region with specific focus on oil and gas installations that release such materials, which ultimately led to the cleaning up of the NORMS in the region.

Permanent Secretary in the Ecological Fund office, Lawal

while responding, acknowledged the vital role NNRA was playing in protecting lives and environment and commended the effort of the authority.

She stated that the existence of such projects could have averted the mysterious deaths that occurred in Zamfara State in 2010.

Lawal added that though grants are competitive to obtain, the authority’s proposal will be presented to the president at the next meeting in December, urging NNRA to remain steadfast in its efforts to safeguard lives and the

environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) led by its Chairman , Senator Bassey Akpan, has engaged the NNRA on the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act No. 19, (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill,2020.

Idris, who led the management staff of the authority to the hearing, explained that the bill seeks to re-establish an already existing legal and regulatory framework for the safe application of nuclear technology.

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Legalising Downstream Deregulation Operators in the downstream sector of the Nigeria petroleum industry are demanding for a special legislation to support the deregulation of the sector and save it from the danger of policy summersault, writes Peter Uzoho

N

otwithstanding their consensus endorsement of the deregulation of the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry by the current federal government, operators in the sector are demanding for a legislation to back the deregulation up.

After years of resistance to the clamour for a free market regime in the nation’s downstream sector that would allow pricing of petrol be determined by market forces and end government’s meddlesomeness in petrol pricing, the federal government finally listened to the voice of reason.

Last September, the government announced, to the excitement of a good number of Nigerians, downstream operators/oil marketers, economic policy analysts and the international economic/ monetary policy bodies, the deregulation of the sector, particularly petrol price fixing.

By that move, marketers of petroleum products can now import petrol and fix pump prices while taking into account all the market fundamentals. The new pricing dispensation equally offers marketers increased margins with which they can play and make decent returns.

The downstream deregulation had been projected to open up the space for more investments, to increase local participation in the sector, bring in more money into government’s coffers, and allow government to channel its limited resources to the development of critical sectors rather than spending it on petrol subsidy.

However, as brilliant and beneficial as this deregulation would be for the nation, especially considering the present state of the national economy, downstream operators believe that there is need to legitimise it by enacting a law to back it up.

Although, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which is currently before the National Assembly provides for the establishment of a single regulatory body for the midstream and downstream sectors under the name: ‘Nigerian Midstream-Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDRA), it does not make provision for the legalisation of the downstream deregulation.

The operators said that lack of legal provision for the downstream deregulation is a major vacuum that needs to be filled if the government wants them and Nigerians to have trust in the policy.

The oil marketers who dissected the “PostDeregulation Agenda for Nigerian Downstream Petroleum,� at the recent virtual Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Week, espoused the concepts of self-regulation, discipline and standard setting as important components of the new dispensation which can be driven by consultations between industry associations and the industry regulator.

They said their major concerns border on how business, laws and policy converge to deliver value to all stakeholders in the industry. These, according to them, include thoughts on competition, self-regulation, the market itself, issues of pricing, and aspirations of the PIB transiting into the Petroleum Industry Act. In his intervention at the session, the Managing Director of OVH Energy Marketing, Mr. Hubb Stokman, raised doubts as to the sincerity of government’s intention to deregulate the market. “While the government has categorically stated its intention to deregulate the market, removal of subsidy is not the same thing as deregulation, as deregulation has to be backed by law�, Stokman said.

He said that to have effective downstream deregulation, three building blocks comprising fair market practices, consumer protection, and sound legislation were required.

According to Stokman, “The existence of a fair interest credit market is all about operating on a level playing field to avoid market distortion.

Elements of fairness in this case include marketdriven pricing based on operators’ structural efficiencies; equitable and transparent access to foreign exchange and access to infrastructure such as pipelines, jetties and depots on equal terms.�

He called for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which is present in every step of the downstream petroleum value chain, to adhere to commercial processes and play by the same rules. “Deregulation must be built on the bedrock

Buhari of legislation as the law needs to remain valid into the future. The legislation needs to be an act of parliament that will eliminate government interference and ensure that price regulation cannot be introduced under any guise. “Consequently, there should be a review of current legislation, while the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) need to be repurposed,� he said.

In the area of consumer protection, the OVH Energy boss pointed out the necessity of establishing an authority to ensure fairness for consumers and operators. “The body will be required to focus on price monitoring; regulate market competition to eliminate predatory business practices; enforce compliance with technical approved standards and enforce sanctions for violations�, he explained.

Highlighting the concept of self-regulation in the new dispensation, the Chairman of Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Tunji Oyebanji, said the industry’s vulnerability to corruption and sharp practices also contributed to calls for deregulation.

Oyebanji warned against the erroneous notion that deregulation means lack of regulation, explaining that “on the contrary, self-regulation is the best form of regulation to encourage best practices and build confidence and trust in the industry. “To be driven by industry associations, selfregulation must brace up over and beyond what is provided in the PIB and develop based on industry operations�.

He noted that in a deregulated market, industry associations would be required to consult and contribute to guidelines provided by the official regulator. Oyebanji, who is also the Managing Director of 11Plc (formerly Mobil), however, referenced the activities of vibrant industry associations such as the South African Petroleum Retailers Association (SAPRA); the Petroleum Institute of East Africa and the American Petroleum Institute (API).

He outlined some action points for industry associations, among which were promoting Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ), attracting investment, regulating standards and advising

Industry needs to engage with the regulator to develop consistent technical standards and regulations in areas such as HSEQ, consumer protection, product quality, corporate governance, and ethics and human resources development

Sylva on global policy issues such as climate change.

He added that the industry associations also provide advice on business development models, lobby policy makers, facilitate security of petroleum products supply and develop sustainable standards that are widely cited by the international regulatory community.

The MOMAN chairman encouraged industry associations to establish charters on dos and don’ts for their operators, focus on HSEQ, corporate governance, services and methods of implementing rules and sanctions.

He equally tasked the proposed industry regulator to collaborate with industry associations to take appropriate action.

In a review of provisions of the National Petroleum Policy (NPP) in view of Nigeria’s ambitions in the petroleum industry, the Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr. Clement Isong, reiterated the significant role of industry associations in a deregulated market.

Quoting the NPP, he said: “Around the world, technical standards are usually developed by industry consultations, while standards are produced by technical committees of industry associations. “Industry needs to engage with the regulator to develop consistent technical standards and regulations in areas such as HSEQ, consumer protection, product quality, corporate governance, and ethics and human resources development.�

Going forward, Isong said that the intention of the policy was to avoid unnecessary cost.

He further said: “If we are going to be competitive and keep prices down, the industry needs to get polices and economics right across the value chain to guarantee full cost recovery and investment in logistics optimization. “We have not done very well in the past three decades and the petroleum sector has been dominated by state ownership and dominant market power. “Consequently, the private sector has been constrained while the lack of regulation impacts governance and cost efficiency. As a result, state control has limited the growth of self-sustaining industries�.

Also contributing at the session, the Chairman, Energy Institute Nigeria, Mr. Osten Olorunsola, expressed optimism that the PIB, if hinged on critical success factor, would soon morph into the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

He listed some of those factors to include corporate governance, level playing field, commercial operations, robust regulation and effective collaborations. Olorunsola, while asserting that the downstream petroleum industry would be primed for business when the PIB transited into the PIA, also highlighted possible benefits of the regime. “We will witness increased revenue and an improved economy; significant impact on cost savings; and reduction in overhead costs. “The legally backed deregulation framework will also ensure quality and security of product supply, create jobs and develop improved capacity to sustain the industry�, he said.

Examining the legal perspectives of the

deregulation saga, the Senior Partner, Akabogu and Associates, Mr. Emeka Akabogu, queried the legitimacy of the deregulation regime as announced by the PPPRA and promoted by the NNPC. Akabogu, who advocated for a full blown change of the law for deregulation to exist, stated that the removal of fuel subsidy has not changed anything.

He faulted the position of the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who posited that deregulation was a policy issue and that petroleum product pricing was not a subject of any law.

Asserting that petroleum prices in Nigeria are still controlled, Akabogu said it was important for the market to realise that against the backdrop of extant laws in the petroleum industry, the laws provide for price fixing by the government. He said until those laws were changed, anything being done now was just pandering to market and budgeting realities which may change at any time. “If you look at section 6 of the Petroleum Act, the Minister of Petroleum is able to fix prices. In section 5 of the Price Control Act, the government can fix prices of some good including petroleum products and it can be deemed a criminal offence if products are sold above such a fixed price. “Meanwhile, in section 9 of the Petroleum Act, the Minister can determine the amount of crude oil to be supplied to a refinery and the price at which the refinery may sell its refined products�, Akabuogu argued.

According to him, these are the realities of the situation until the industry transits from the Petroleum Act and the exiting legislation, to the Petroleum Industry Act in order to have any semblance of deregulation.

He advised that pending transition of the law, realities require the industry to conduct due diligence and ensure that government offers more guarantees for trading and increased investments within the segment.

This, he said, may come in the form of gazetting the policy and in the short-term, repealing the PPPRA Act; the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) Act; the Price Control Act; and the relevant provisions of the PIA immediately.

Akabogu also called on the industry to engage on the PIB and peruse it carefully to unearth hidden conditions which may assail the principles of the policy.

Particularly, he drew attention to clause 31 (L) of the bill which makes provision for the authority to develop and endorse a framework for tariff and pricing for natural gas and petroleum products.

He also highlighted clause 122 (6) of the bill, with the provision for the authority to, due to the exigency of the circumstances, establish a tariff methodology without a stakeholders’ consultation where it considers it necessary to do so.

Akabogu suggested that the industry needed to engage with the bill from a position of knowledge to deal with several other such ambiguities.

He stated that without doubt, investments in the sector must be made on the strength of certainties and constitutional guarantees.

26

T H I S D AY Ëž UESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT Foreshore Waters’ Exciting Homes Improving Ikoyi Skyline Bennett Oghifo The drive to attain higher status in society and the desire to have an opulent lifestyle has increased the demand for luxury homes in Nigeria’s metropolis, especially in Lagos state.

Factors such as improved loan facilities, reduced rate of interest and high disposable income has further heightened this demand thereby keeping the luxury segment afloat among the elite buyers.

Leading private real estate company, Foreshore Waters is pioneering luxury living with lush housing projects that exude the highest order of structural splendour, functional aplomb and creates a personalised experience for homeowners

in Lagos, according to a Real Estate Broker, Mr. Oladele Thomas. “With a history of delivering magnificent real estate projects and guaranteeing investors maximum returns on their investments, Foreshore Waters has built a reputation as the ‘king of luxury’ living having delivered hundreds of housing units in the Ikoyi metropolis. Standout projects like the Riverside Apartments, Insignia, Signatoria and Ikoyi Terraces amongst others have all contributed significantly to the disruption of Ikoyi’s skylines.�

IME Towers, their most recent introduction in the region is planted in the heart of Banana Island, Ikoyi – one of Africa’s most affluent neighbourhoods.

Standing at a record 66 metres tall and totaling 22 floors, the planned waterfront edifice will demystify luxury living in every square meter of the plush project deploying the use of A-grade concrete and providing access to land and water commute, advanced 5-star resident’s facilities including City View Glass Gym, Infinity Pool, Recreational Centre, Sports Centre etc. The property also offers access to leading multinationals, rare networking opportunity with Nigeria’s “Who is Who� and an industry leading 100 years warranty on the structural component of the building.

Foreshore Waters is undoubtedly focused on becoming a market leader in the development of

innovative, unparalleled luxury homes with exceptional facility management services in upscale areas and the introduction of the prestigious IME Towers which is already fast selling out is a great testament to this fact.

With the announcement of IME Towers and the massive acceptance its getting amongst elites, homeowners and real estate investors can only begin to imagine what next to expect from the developer.

In the meantime, Lagos is expanding vertically like other major cities across the world and we are excited at this development cause it guarantees the availability of more habitable homes in prime locations for the city’s budding middle-class.

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APDC Builds Multiple Homes, Ease Purchase ËÎ�Õ�×Ó ÔËÕËÓã�

The Abuja Property Development Company (APDC) is selling homes in its Capital Estate at different stages of completion to make them affordable to buyers.

This is with the take-off of the development of phases 2 and 3 of the sprawling APDC

Capital Estate, located Kubwa Expressway, with its wide tarred roads and spacious surroundings is made up of flats, terrace houses and detached duplexes, all fully equipped with modern amenities. APDC is also offering Sites and Services (plots of land with infrastructure) for sale in the estate.

Managing Director, APDC, Mr. Lawal Aliyu Magaji, told newsmen in Abuja recently that “APDC has a lot of products, depending on the desire of the client, because we are here to satisfy the needs of the clients. And to do that satisfactorily, we build and sell completed homes, we also sell houses at DPC level, and

at foundation level, that is at sub-structure level. We also offer Sites and Services. And all these at moderate prices.

This is to afford Nigerians the opportunity to own their homes. We also have other products because we play in different market segments.

When you come to us, you will always get what is best

for you. As a governmentowned developer, our homes and lands are without issues.

We ensure we deliver joy and peace of mind.�

Magaji called on Nigerians, especially Abuja residents to take advantage of the various purchase options to become homeowners or invest for generous returns

on their investments. Close to 1,400 homes of different types are expected at the estate and about 400 homes have already been fully completed, while others are at different stages of completion. APDC has other parcels of land primed for housing development in different parts of Abuja.

Lagos Nigeria which the firm launched as its 5-star brand called “Royal Residences�

Hotel and Apartments. Other prominent developments in its exquisite stable currently include Ilupeju Gardens & Canalily Place, where it is currently developing apartments, maisonettes and penthouses for the Ilupeju and Lekki markets.

Design Union Limited has announced that these locations will have 5 floors, each floor will have 1,2,3 and 4 bedrooms well-designed spaces with

green parks featuring 50 Neem (Dongoyaro) trees.

The company has also completed many other construction projects for 3rd party developers in Nigeria and across Africa over the past 20 years.

Design Union has not been into marketing in the past, the company had sold her developments through word-of-mouth.

The real estate firm says this is because of the location of the developments and the company’s credibility built over the years.

obtained. With the condition that the obtained monthly loan can be repaid within 40% of the public servant’s salary, all public workers can access different variations of personal loans.

The Sycamore public sector loan is committed to empowering the public workers more than profit-making, as it has a very competitive interest rate. “The initiative is borne to solve the problem that all public servants face in getting timely access to loans,� the Company’s Board Chairman, Mr. Bade Aluko added.

The application for this loan is made as seamless as possible and can be completed within three minutes. Only two details are required in applying for this loan. The first is the Bank Verification Number (BVN),

which is needed in every banking or financial activity in Nigeria. The other required detail is the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) number, which is peculiar to federal public workers in Nigeria. With these details, any and every public sector worker can obtain loans.

The initiative eradicates the hassle of collateral, guarantor, and other paper works that are usually required in obtaining a loan.

Sycamore has ensured speed and accountability in the disbursal of the public sector loans. The company offers instant loan disbursements for amounts of N50,000 and below, with a turnaround duration of less than six for applications higher than N50,000.

Design Union Marks 20th Anniversary Design Union Limited, a reputed name in the real estate industry, has praised God for its survival as it marks 20 years of corporate existence.

A statement issued by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Architect Anthony Aihie said, “the last 20 years have gone by so quickly.

Considering our achievements amidst four local recessions and two major global economic crisis, one must be grateful to God for our survival as a business.� It is true we have huge talents

as reflected in the designs that we produce from our stable, we also work very hard but it is the grace of God that has sustained us through periods of thin and thick this year in particular. On an occasion like this, we appreciate the patronage of our clients who have reposed implicit trust and confidence in us. We acknowledge and commend the contributions of our past and present staff, consultants, contractors and other stake holders who helped to make our brand the exceptional

one that it is.�

Design Union in keeping to its Mission Statement of solving living conditions in Africa, has consistently churned out design solutions in the built environment, some of which have been internationally acknowledged through several awards. The company has not only been able to deliver and operate projects in its stable at acceptable international standards but also been able to abide with high ethical standards at all times.

The company was established

as Design Union Consulting Ltd, a firm of architects and engineers, it has grown organically since then. Some of the clients served by the company include several blue- chip and multinational companies for whom projects worth over $500 million have been successfully delivered with the company working as consultants or contractors.

In the company’s diverse portfolio of top of the range architectural designs, is the ultra- luxury 17- storey Eden Heights tower in Victoria Island,

Sycamore Launches Loan Platform To eradicate the bureaucracy and difficulty faced by federal public servants in obtaining a loan, Sycamore.ng has launched

a loan initiative for all public sector employees in Nigeria.

Following the Sycamore’s mission to financially empower

people to achieve their dreams in Nigeria, this initiative stands to empower all federal government workers in Nigeria

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including the Nigeria Police Force and other qualified staff.

According to the Chief Executive Officer Sycamore, Mr. Babatunde Akin-Moses, “The difficulty faced by public servants in obtaining a loan is glaring. The Sycamore USSD loan initiative opens the possibility of obtaining a loan from any mobile device.�

All public sector employees in Nigeria can obtain a loan from their mobile devices by simply dialing a USSD code.

The Chief Marketing Officer, Miss Onyinyechukwuka Okonji said, “By dialing the code *347*34#, all qualified applicants can access quality loans of N20,000 and above with a repayment duration of one month and above.�

There is no limitation to the amount of loans that can be

27

T H I S D AY ˾ UESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

U.S. to Assist Nigeria, Others to End Wildlife Trafficking Bennett Oghifo The United States has said it looks forward to a continued dialogue with Focus Countries and Countries of Concern to thwart transnational organised crime engaged in wildlife trafficking.

This is contained in a statement ‘Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Report 2020’, issued at the weekend by Morgan Ortagus, Spokesperson, The U.S. Department of

State, which announced that “The U.S. Department of State submitted the fourth annual report to Congress as required by the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (the END Wildlife Trafficking Act).”

According to the U.S. in its END Wildlife Trafficking Report 2019, “Countries of Concern” in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are the DRC and Madagascar, and “Focus Countries” are Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya,

Mozambique, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

The U.S. Department of State submitted the fourth annual report to Congress as required by the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act of 2016 (the END Wildlife Trafficking Act).

The statement said, “Wildlife trafficking is a serious transnational crime that threatens security, economic

prosperity, the rule of law, long-standing conservation efforts, and human health.

In Executive Order 13773, President Trump called for a comprehensive and decisive approach to dismantle organised crime syndicates, specifically recognising the connection between wildlife trafficking and transnational criminal organisations.

“The U.S. government’s three-pronged approach to combating wildlife trafficking — strengthening law enforce-

ment, reducing demand, and building international cooperation — deprives criminals of a key source of financing and reduces the threat to U.S. citizens.

“The END Wildlife Trafficking Act directs the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, to submit to Congress a report that lists Focus Countries and Countries of Concern, as defined in the Act. Each Focus Country is a major source, transit point, or

consumer of wildlife trafficking products or their derivatives.

Identification as a Focus Country is neither a positive nor a negative designation.

A Country of Concern is defined as a Focus Country whose government has actively engaged in or knowingly profited from the trafficking of endangered or threatened species. Many Focus Countries have already taken significant steps to combat wildlife trafficking, including in partnership with the United States.”

AGIS Begins Online Payment for Services January 1, 2021 Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) and the FCT Land Administration Department will from January 1, 2021 receive only online payment for its services.

This disclosure was

made by the Director/ Chief Executive Officer of AGIS, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Jalo at a recent meeting with top management staff of the organisation.

The migration to an online payment system is to facilitate improved service delivery to the public, as well

as ease customers’ payments, which can even be made at their comfort zone.

Jalo noted that the payments would be done through the REMITA platform, which could also be accessed through a customer’s mobile phones, desktop and laptops, as bills will

be generated electronically.

The services to be covered by the payments include fresh application, ground rents, legal search, payment for premium, power of attorney, deed of assignment, obtaining certified true copy, title registration, application for sub-divisions, deed of

sub-lease, as well as consent to assign.

“This action has become necessary in furtherance of the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the determination of the government to optimize its revenue collections,” he said, while stressing that

AGIS/Lands Department are already making all necessary arrangements to make the migration hitch free.

He said that the action was in compliance with the TSA Account policy and principles of the federal government on ease of doing business.

Real Estate, Infrastructure Spending Drive Dangote Cement Sales Up 40% Bennett Oghifo The Group Chief Executive Officer, Michel Puchercos has said that company’s sales volumes in Nigeria went up in the third quarter of this year on account of favourable activities in the real estate market and an upsurge in government spending on infrastructure.

The managing director stated this in his presentation of the company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended 30th September 2020.

“This quarter has really shown the ability of

Dangote Cement to meet the strong recovery of the cement market in Nigeria and Pan-Africa after a challenging Q2,” said Puchercos. “In Nigeria, we have witnessed a strong appetite for real estate investment and the recovery of infrastructure spending – including more concrete roads.

“Sales volumes in Nigeria were up 40% in the quarter and Pan-Africa reached a record high EBITDA margin of 24% in the quarter.

“I am delighted to report that Dangote Cement experienced its strongest quarter

in terms of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) and strongest third quarter in term of volumes. Despite a challenging environment, Group volumes for the nine months were up 6.6% and Group EBITDA was up 17.1%, at a 46.6% margin.

“In the quarter, our Group net profit was up 135.1%.

“We continue to focus on our export strategy and are on track to ensure West and Central Africa become cement and clinker independent, with Nigeria as the main supply hub. Clinker exports have

steadily been ramping up in Q3 after our maiden shipment in June 2020, whilst land exports have also resumed.”

He said Dangote Cement’s strategy to offer high quality products at competitive prices is meeting customers’ expectations in Nigeria and across the continent, where we continue to deploy excellent marketing initiatives and operational excellence across the continent.

“We remain committed to protecting our staff and communities by being fully compliant with health and safety measures in all our

territories of operation. We are focused on adapting to the rapidly evolving markets in which we operate,” he said.

Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with nearly 48.6Mta capacity across Africa. A fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer, we have a production capacity of 32.25Mta in our home market, Nigeria.

Our Obajana plant in Kogi state, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 16.25Mta of capacity across five lines; our Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed

capacity of 12Mta and our Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta. Through our recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.

In addition, we have operations in Cameroon (1.5Mta clinker grinding), Congo (1.5Mta), Ghana (1.5Mta import), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (1.5Mta), Sierra Leone (0.5Mta import), South Africa (2.8Mta), Tanzania (3.0Mta), Zambia (1.5Mta).

Julius Berger to Relocate Diversion at Aseese on Lagos-Sagamu Road Bennett Oghifo Julius Berger Plc., the company reconstructing the Lagos-Sagamu stretch of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, has agreed to relocate the point of vehicular traffic diversion at Aseese community.

The decision was reached after a multi-stakeholder meeting it had with members of the community, led by its traditional head, Baale, Chief Jamiu Kasumu Sholola.

According to the Baale, “The Aseese community people are happy with Julius Berger. We did not like motorists having to make u-turn at the junction of our community. We complained to Julius Berger and they have agreed to address our concern by closing that u-turn and relocating it. We sincerely appreciate Julius Berger’s considerate willingness to address our community’s safety concerns about the said u-turn. The company’s action assures for every member of our community. So, whatever disagreement there was as a result of the location of the u-turn at our community junction has been resolved

by Julius Berger’s very good, swift and proactive action in our mutual interest. This is the

reason we trust the company’s reliability in every professional and social situation regarding the Lagos-Shagamu expressway project. We have total confidence in the contractor.”

Also present at the meeting with the community was the Deputy Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC and head of the organisation’s operations on the Lagos Shagamu highway, GK Hamzat.

He appealed to the community leaders saying that construction work in any area should not be seen as some problem adding that it is a blessing of progress coming to the community. The Deputy Corps Marshal said, “I wonder why people look at construction work in an area as problem. Construction work can only cause little delay especially in vehicular movement.

Speed may then be reduced to say, 50km per hour. It is not supposed to cause holdups.

It is not good to blame the construction company every time traffic jams occur, especially when occasioned by drivers’ impatience and sometimes, even drivers’ reckless and unprofessional behaviour at the wheels.

They must know today that majority of the accidents and

traffic holdups are caused by pedestrians and vehicle owners.

Whether the vehicle owners are commercial or private, they are responsible wholly for the hiccups at construction areas like Aseese.”

The Chief Resident Engineer of the Federal Ministry of Works, Engr. MO. Komolafe thus urged the leaders to continue to sensitise their people that Julius Berger means well and that whatever construction works and relevant adjustments the company embarks on in the process are for improved traffic and welfare of the people of the community.

“Help tell the very good community people that Julius Berger means well. Whatever inconveniences they feel now is only temporary. We are building the road for the people”, the ministry official added.

Head of Operations, Ogun state-owned Traffic, Compliance Enforcement Corps, TRACE, Ojerinde Kabir, expressed his delight at the pace of work on the busy highway. “But Aseese people will thank God for a company like Julius Berger.

I have followed their every moment on this Expressway by virtue of my official duty here.

I praise them highly because the company really means well for the communities situated along the highway.”

Julius Berger’s Head of Operations on the LSE project, Olaf Thamm did not mince words in detailing to the community leaders on aspects of the ongoing construction work at Aseese area. He said the company has plans to address the community’s complaints including the

need to close a u-turn earlier created on the highway in the area. An alternative route, he added, will be opened to ease vehicular traffic in and out of Aseese town. He seized the opportunity to inform the community leaders that there are plans in the project to build pedestrian bridges and related accesses across the highway.

Work on these he added, would soon be kicked off.

Other participants at the stakeholders meeting include the Iyaloja of Aseese, Mrs. Ogunleye, Aseese Community Development Committee Chairman, Oyelakin Lawrence, Aseese Community Development Association Chairman, Pastor Dare Ajayi, Traffic Coordinator of the project, Solace Orlu and representative of Media Relations Department of the company, Emmanuel Isibor.

L-R: Deputy Corps Marshal, FRSC, GK Hamzat; community leader, Aseese, Chief A. Adelanwa; Baale of Aseese, Chief Jamiu Kasumu Sholola; Iyaloja of Aseese, Mrs Ogunleye; and a representative of Aseese community, Chief Adeola Sorinmade, after Julius Berger-stakeholders’ meeting at Aseese...recently

28

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍŽËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Peterside Highlights Factors Hampering Infrastructural Devt in Nigeria Peter Uzoho The President and Founder, Anap Foundation, Mr. Atedo Peterside, has outlined factors responsible for non-take-off of concessioning and other forms of public-private-partnership (PPP) models that ought to have accelerated infrastructure development in Nigeria.

Presenting a paper on, “Increasing Portfolio Flows: Privatization, Concessioning and Direct Investment as a Strategy for Sustainable Economic Growth,� at the November edition of the Lagos Business School (LBS) breakfast meeting recently, Peterside said one of such reasons was the federal government’s preference for Chinese loans.

He listed other factors as lack of political will, corrupt officials, dysfunctional legal system, and the failure to de-risk projects to

facilitate pension fund participation.

He also listed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) willingness to print more naira for the federal government and financial repression, as part of the reasons for the delay of concessioning and other PPP projects in the country.

Peterside expressed worry that Nigeria was not among the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa by percentage growth.

On the efforts made in the area of privatisation, he said Nigeria completed some “big deals� between 2011 and 2015, including the privatisation of all the 11 electricity distribution companies.

He said almost all the power generation companies were privatised, adding that Nitel was liquidated and its assets sold off.

He, however, observed that there has been some years of inactivity in the privatisation business, saying no big deals were done since 2016.

Dwelling on direct investment as a strategy for sustainable economic growth, Peterside said investment activity was curtailed due to rising insecurity and lack of level playing field.

Other reasons for the curtailed investment activity in the country, according Peterside, are the rigging of the economy in favour of the well-connected; too many rogue regulators, with the #ENDSARS as the tip of an Iceberg.

He listed others as the threatened macroeconomic stability, high inflation rate in addition to foreign exchange market distortions, dysfunctional legal system plus lack of sanctity of contracts.

Peterside

Lagos Postpones Ehingbeti Summit to Q1 2021 The Lagos Economic Summit Group (LESG) has announced the postponement of Ehingbeti, the Lagos Economic Forum, earlier scheduled to hold from November 10th to 12th, 2020.

The summit is now expected to hold in the first quarter of 2021, in view of recent developments in the statement.

According to a statement, with the postponement, the Economic Summit with the theme: ‘For a Greater Lagos: Setting the Tone for the Next Decade,’ has become a component of the ‘Rebuild Lagos Agenda.’ “A new date for the summit conceived to provide a robust platform for deliberations on pragmatic optimisation of the inherent opportunities in Africa’s fifth largest economy and offer perspectives on how to manage

the peculiar socio-economic landscape of the State in the coming decade, will be announced in the coming weeks. “Happenings in our immediate past have not significantly altered the focus of the Ehingbeti, but they have broadened breadth of discussions that will happen at the Summit and expanded the composition of stakeholders’ expected to participate in the summit next year,� it quoted the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, who is also a Co-chair of the Steering Committee, Mr. Sam Egube, to have said. “We have recently witnessed circumstances that were hitherto not part of our social fabric in Lagos State.

These surprises have not only

necessitated the postponement of the summit, but also compelled a methodical reappraisal of our social system, which Ehingbeti will address in the first quarter of 2021,� Egube added.

Earlier in October, the Group had at different interactive sessions with their private sector counterparts and the media announced a date for the summit and refreshed the Ehingbeti logo to reflect the contemporary outlook of the annual summit.

Specifically, the logo refresh was to ensure that the summit did not disconnect from the economic heritage of the Marina and Broad Streets areas of Lagos, which served as the springboard for Nigerian and West African economic development since the European incursion in the 15th century.

BudgiT, CODE Launch Initiative for Covid-19 Fund Accountability Oluchi Chibuzor BudgIT Foundation and Connected Development (CODE), two civic-tech nongovernmental organisations have launched the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP).

CTAP is an initiative that seeks to promote accountability and transparency through the tracking of COVID-19 intervention funds across seven African countries.

According to a statement, both organisations would be leveraging their Tracka and Follow The Money platforms, as well as international chapters in other six focus African countries to activate a Pan-African tracking

system for all COVID-19 funds received and donated to these countries. “Retrospectively, our experience with tracking COVID19 has shown a deeply rooted systemic profiteering culture, especially in an environment that lacks accountability and civic engagement,�BudgIT’s Director and Co-founder, Oluseun Onigbinde said. “We also observed that there is an increasing mistrust from citizens on the delivery of palliative care in Nigeria, Kenya and Liberia due to representatives who abuse the process and the absence of comprehensive citizen data� he added.

CODE’s Founder and Chief

Executive, Hamzat Lawal, stated that, “as nations of the world tackle the plague of coronavirus, with funding for African countries amassing in millions of dollars, it has become expedient to block financial leakages and ensure funds do not end up in personal pockets.� “With CTAP, BudgIT and CODE will advocate for accountability, transparency, and open governance while strengthening civic awareness and ensuring that targeted governments use COVID-19 intervention funds effectively. The project will address the threat of lack of accountability and the effects of COVID-19 on socio-economic development� Lawal added.

FastGas Launches Online LPG Delivery App Oluchi Chibuzor FastGas, a gas vendor in Nigeria has launched its online store application that enables users of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) make and receive an order of the product at the comfort of their home.

This, according to the firm is to deepen the usage of the LPG in the country by utilising technology to deliver the product to end-users. Disclosing this to journalists in Lagos during a

press conference, the Team Lead, FastGas, Modupe Onaiyekan, said with over 1000 retailers the firm was set to deliver LPG to end-users within their community, adding that they are committed towards providing dependable delivery service for the convenience and safety of users across the country.

She added that with its strong partnership with vendors the app users have opportunities to buy others accessories, stressing FastGas

is poised to help customers cut out delays and transit time when they run out of cooking gas by delivering LPG to them within 30 minutes of request.

According to her, “FastGas has been in existence since 2018, but started distributing LPG gas recently after perfecting necessary technical aspect of the business. Now we have overcome these challenges and have tested; we can see there is a market out there.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020 Money Supply (M3)

36,822,751.47

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

3,476,121.25

Money Supply (M2)

33,346,630.22

-- Quasi Money

120,764,479.02

-- Narrow Money (M1)

12,582,151.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,002,026.89

---- Demand Deposits

10,580,124.31

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,637,137.23

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

29,185,614.24

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

39,711,115.95

---- Credit to Government (Net)

19,521,851.08

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

-130,189,264.87

--Other Assets Net

3,472,017.70

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,421,827.07

--Currency in Circulation

2,395,917.03

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

11,025,910.04 317,234.17

Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ʹ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $39.22 a barrel on Friday, compared with $39.79 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

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

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

29

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍŽËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

NSE All-Index Rises 4% as Market Opens on Positive Note Goddy Egene The stock market opened on a highly bullish note as shares surged further lifting the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) by four per cent to close at 32,243.05, while market capitalisation added N641.1 billion to be at N16. 8 trillion.

The market has maintained a positive performance since this month after posting a record growth in October. Market

analysts had said the bull run would be sustained this week.

For instance, analysts at Cordros Research had said: “As the Q3 earnings season winds down, we expect investors to shift their attention to yet-to-be published results from the big banks in the week ahead. In the short term, we still see scope for expansion in valuation multiples as hunt for alpha-yielding opportunities in the face of increasingly negative real returns in the fixed income

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

market remain positive for stocks.

However, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.�

Similarly, speaking, analysts at Greenwich Research said: “Positive sentiment, boosted by impressive earnings performance continued to spur interest in the equities space, in the face of record low yields

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

in the fixed income space.

Notably, gains recorded at the start and the end of the week pinned the market in the green zone. We expect his momentum will be sustained by positive Q3 earnings results, particularly from the banking space.�

When trading resumed yesterday, 49 stocks appreciated while 11 depereciated. Although gains by Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria Plc and BUA Cement Plc influenced the jump

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

recorded by the NSE ASI, Lafarge Cement Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc and Oando Plc led the gainers’ table with 10 per cent apiece.

Lafarge Cement recently delivered an impressive nine months results ended September 30, 2020, thereby raising investors’ hopes for a good at the end of the year.

The cement firm reported a revenue of N179.877 billion in

O F

2020,up 10.3 per cent from N163.1 billion. Selling and marketing expenses were reduced by 11.9 percent to N2.811 billion, from N3.189 billion. Also, financing cost declined by 54.5 per cent from N16.578 billion to N7.541 billion in 2020.

As a result, profit before tax (PBT) rose by 70.3 per cent fromN20.139 billion to N34.291 billion, while profit after tax (PAT) increased by 37.5 per cent from N20.5 billion to N28.2billion.

0 5 / 1 1 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

30

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Russia, China, Mexico, Brazil Hold-off on Congratulating Biden Trump set to revive campaign-style rallies during litigation Martins Ifijeh inNewJersey,USA A number of countries, including Russia, China and Mexico are holding off on congratulating the United States President-elect Joe Biden since the poll’s electoral body is yet to officially announced the winner.

This is even as President Donald Trump has planned to bring back his large-scale rallies that were a hallmark of his presidential run - during his litigation with the president-elect.

Biden has won the mandatory 270 Electoral College votes needed to be declared winner of the

presidential contest.

He is presently on 290, while Trump is on 214 votes.

Results are still being expected in the remaining three states.

Trump is yet to concede and he is launching legal challenges against the results in several key battleground states, after making claims of electoral fraud.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said he will remain silent about the results, adding that: “We think it appropriate to wait for the official vote count.”

Speaking through his Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, he said: “We believe it is correct to

...US President Sacks Defence Secretary United States President, Donald Trump, yesterday fired the Secretary of Defence, Mark Esper.

He immediately replaced Esper with Director of National Counterterrorism, Christopher Miller, in acting capacity.

Trump, who was defeated

by Democratic Party candidate, Joe Biden, in his reelection bid, tweeted: “I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately. “…Chris will do a GREAT job!

Mark Esper has been terminated.

I would like to thank him for his service.”

It was not particularly clear why Esper was fired but sources revealed that it might not be unconnected with the president’s defeat at the polls last Saturday.

Esper, 56, from Pennsylvania was the 27th US Defence secretary.

He succeeded General Jim Mattis last year.

Esper was a former U.S. Army officer and defence contractor lobbyist before his appointment.

He previously served as the 23rd United States secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019.

wait for the official results of the elections that have taken place.

I would like to remind you that President Putin has repeatedly said that he will respect the choice of the American people whatever it may be.”

The head of the Russian electoral commission, Ella Pamfilova, on Monday said that postal voting in the US has left “immense spaces” for possible electoral fraud.

Putin was one of the first leaders to congratulate Trump on his victory in 2016, with a message a little over an hour after US media projections said that he had won.

Peskov said Putin is “ready to work with any president of the United States”, adding Russia hopes it will be possible to have “a dialogue and agree on ways to normalise bilateral relations” with the next president.

Russian-American relations have continued to deteriorate since Moscow was accused of interfering

in the 2016 presidential election to promote the election of Trump.

Biden’s election is likely to further increase tensions, as the former vice-president has promised to be tougher with Moscow than his predecessor.

In the same vein, China said it has taken note of Joe Biden’s declaration of victory but was holding off on sending any message of congratulations.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday that the result would be determined under US laws and procedures, and Beijing would follow international practices in extending its sentiments.

China has had a fractious relationship with Trump, characterised by growing friction over trade, technology and competition for influence in Asia and the world, with the two powers sparring over issues from blame for the COVID-19 pandemic

to Beijing’s human rights record in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Analysts say Biden will likely return ties to a less contentious state, although Beijing has stuck throughout the election to a position of not commenting directly on what it says was an internal American political issue.

“I noticed that Mr Biden has declared victory of the election,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. “We understand that the presidential election result will be determined following US laws and procedures.”

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has a working relationship with Trump despite tensions over immigration policy, praised the president at a news conference Saturday.

“President Trump has been very respectful of us, and we have reached very good agreements, and we thank him because he has not interfered and has respected us.

We don’t want to be imprudent nor act hastily,” he added Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, known as the “Trump of the Tropics,” and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also not congratulated Biden.

Meanwhile, President Trump has planned to bring back his largescale rallies that were a hallmark of his presidential run, but these will be focused on his ongoing litigation against President-elect Joe Biden.

He has filed multiple court papers against vote count in different states, including Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania According to a report by Axios and confirmed by Fox News Monday, Trumps’ campaign plans to take less traditional path to challenging the results of the election, including holding “a series of Trump rallies” focused on the campaigns ongoing legal efforts in numerous states across the country.

UK, EU Resume Crunch Brexit Talks in London Britain and the European Union resumed crucial negotiations in London on Monday for a postBrexit free trade deal, with time running short and both sides saying major obstacles remain.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier arrived in the British capital late Sunday before another week of talks with his UK counterpart David Frost, as they scramble to find an agreement.

Britain formally left the bloc in January but remains bound by most of its rules until the end of the year under the terms of its divorce.

Parliaments in London and Brussels need time to ratify any deal struck, leaving scant time for the two sides to find a compromise on key outstanding issues.

These include establishing rules for competition between British and European companies, oversight mechanism and fishing rights.

Barnier said on Twitter the keys to unlocking the door to a deal were “respect of EU autonomy and UK sovereignty” alongside “robust guarantees of free and fair trade” and “stable and reciprocal access to markets and fishing opportunities”.

In a weekend phone call, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged big differences must be bridged after two weeks of “intense” meetings ended last Wednesday.

Von der Leyen vowed both negotiating teams would “continue working hard” while Johnson said they would “redouble efforts to reach a deal”.

However, neither side has indicated yet that they are willing to make the compromises needed for a breakthrough.

Observers have said an agreement is needed by mid-November to allow for ratification.

Britons voted to end decades of EU economic and political integration in 2016 but implementing Brexit has proved immensely difficult ever since.

After finally agreeing initial divorce terms last year, the two sides began fraught negotiations over a future free trade deal.

They had predicted a draft would need to be finalised by mid-October in order to be ratified by the EU and UK parliaments before the end of the year.

But the coronavirus pandemic strained the already ambitious timetable, while the most divisive issues have stalled the talks for months.

Without a deal, Britain would leave the EU single market and customs union on January 1, triggering immediate and significant barriers to cross-Channel trade and business.

London and Brussels still insist they would prefer to avoid the economic disruption that this would entail.

Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, observing a demonstration of a COVID-19 swab sampling at a booth during the inauguration of a rapid testing centre at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod …yesterday.

AFP

Over 3,000 Ivorians Flee to Liberia as Ivory Coast Council Ratifies Ouattara’s Re-election Ivory Coast’s constitutional council on Monday formally validated President Alassane Ouattara’s reelection to a third term after an October 31 ballot that was marred by clashes and an opposition boycott.

This is as a UN refugee agency official yesterday said more than 3,000 Ivorians have fled to neighbouring Liberia, escaping electoral violence triggered by a contentious presidential poll.

Ouattara’s bid for re-election angered adversaries who said the Ivorian leader was breaching the

country’s two-term presidential limits, a charge he rejected.

“Alassane Ouattara is proclaimed elected in the first round,” Council President Mamadou Kone said in a national broadcast.

He ratified results giving Ouattara more than 94 per cent of the vote and noted “no serious irregularities” in the conduct of the election.

The West African nation’s opposition leaders are now under investigation for insurrection after they rejected the result

and called for a rival transitional government.

Opponents said Ouattara’s third mandate was illegal, calling for a boycott and a campaign of civil disobedience to disrupt voting.

Nearly 50 people were killed since August in clashes over Ouattara’s reelection, which he said was allowed after a 2016 reform reset presidential term limits.

Ouattara won a third term on October 31 by a landslide, but his political opponents had

boycotted the poll after accusing him of breaking a two-term limit for presidents.

Opposition to Ouattara’s candidacy in francophone West Africa’s top economy has led to clashes which have claimed at least 40 lives since August.

“We have 3,600 people who have already crossed from Ivory Coast to Liberia,” said Roseline Okoro, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ representative in Monrovia, adding that numbers had surged in the past week.

Trump Whistleblower Joins Biden’s COVID-19 Task Force President-elect Joe Biden’s task force to combat the growing coronavirus emergency will include a former Trump administration official who sounded the alarm over untested drugs promoted by the president as his aides ignored warnings and rewarded cronies while the nation’s case count surged.

Rick Bright, whose office was responsible for overseeing the

development of a vaccine, alleged in a stunning whistleblower report – among the first high-profile revelations of the inner-workings of the administration’s response to the pandemic – that US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar ”appeared intent on downplaying this catastrophic threat” and linked government contracts to private companies to pressure from Jared

Kushner, the president’s top adviser and son-in-law.

The president-elect’s task force also includes former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler, who served under both the Bill Clinton and George W Bush administrations, as well as Barack Obama’s former surgeon general Vivek Murphy.

Dr Zeke Emanuel, a former

Obama adviser who helped design the Affordable Care Act, will also join the panel.

The president-elect and vice president-elect Kamala Harris are expected to receive a briefing from the coronavirus transition advisory team on Monday, followed by remarks from Mr. Biden about his incoming administration’s plans to tackle the growing public health crisis.

31

Ëœ ͚͸˜ ͺ͸ͺ͸ Ëž T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

AFCON 2022 QUALIFIER

Only Maduka in Camp as Rohr Replaces Injured Onyeka with Abdullahi Iheanacho, Musa, Etebo, Onuachu, Others expected today Duro Ikhazuagbe Super Eagles AFCON 2022: camp in Benin City is expected to roar into life today as Nigerian internationals stream into the Edo State capital for the clash with Leone Stars of Sierra Leone on

Friday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.

Head Coach of the Nigerian senior national team, Gernot Rohr who arrived Benin City yesterday ahead of his wards, announced Cypriot First Division defender with Omonia Nicosia, Shehu

Pinnick Shelves Ambition to Rule CAF, Guns for FIFA Council Seat

Abdullahi as replacement for injured Frank Onyeka of Danish side, Midtjylland.

Onyeka picked up the injury in his team’s 4-0 win at FC Copenhagen in a Danish Superliga game on Sunday. He is expected to be sidelined for minimum of three weeks, his club’s medical team confirmed yesterday.

The former Bursaspor of Turkey right back Abdullahi made his Europa League debut in Omonia’s 2-0 loss to Ramon Azeez’s Granada.

The last time Abdullahi donned Eagles color was in October 2019.

He was introduced as a stoppage-time substitute in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Brazil in Singapore.

While the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Oghenekaro Etebo and Paul Onuachu are expected in Benin today for Rohr to have full complement of his players to begin training ahead of the Friday clash with the Leone Stars, Spartan Rotterdam’s Maduka Okoye was the first and only Eagle at their Eterna Hotel Camp last night.

Super Eagles head into Friday’s match against Sierra Leone at the

Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium as Group L leaders having won their first two games against Benin and Lesotho.

They are scheduled to play the reverse fixture in Freetown on November 17.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has ruled that no journalists or supporters would be allowed inside the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium for the clash with Sierra Leone as part of Covid-19 protocol to avoid spread of the virus.

In the guidelines communicated to the Nigeria Football Federation,

CAF instructed, under Media Operations, that there would be no mixed zone, virtual press conference only if possible (media officers from both teams only), and that only the TV channels with the rights will be allowed flash interviews.

Also, only photographers of participating teams would be allowed at the match.

NFF’s Director of Competitions, Bola Oyeyode said yesterday that only individuals accredited by the NFF would be allowed inside the Ogbemudia Stadium for the Day 3 qualifier, which will kick off at 5pm Nigeria time.

Duro Ikhazuagbe President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick has shelved his ambition to run for CAF presidency slated to hold in Morocco next March.

Instead, the CAF executive committee member has opted to contest for a place in the FIFA Council.

If the former Delta Sports Commission Chairman wins, he will become the third Nigerian after Oyo Orok Oyo (1980 to 1988) and Amos Adamu (2006 to 2010) to occupy the seat.

South Africa Football Association (SAFA) President, Danny Jordan was to seek a re-election to the FIFA Council membership but he too has shelved that ambition to pave way for his compatriot, Patrice Motsepe who has thrown his hat into the ring to wrestle the CAF top job from the grip of Ahmad Ahmad of Madagascar.

Interestingly, Pinnick who was one of the top actors in the election of the Malagasy to the CAF leadership after Isa Hayatou’s 29-years vice grip on the position, is backing the South African billionaire who is Africa’s 10th richest man.

If Motsepe wins the election, he automatically becomes a FIFA Council member as a Vice President.

He thus becomes the third person to formally bid for the role, after incumbent Ahmad and Jacques Anouma of Cote d’Ivoire. Two Tunisians- Tarek Bouchamaoui and Wadie Jary. showed intentions, but are yet to make formal bid.

In a statement issued by Pinnick yesterday and titled “My Journey, My Passion, My Intention�, the NFF President explained that “there is no alternative to being true to yourself in seeking to deliver on promises made when seeking office, and this has guided every step of the journey of my life in public service. “It is this passion, nurtured from adolescence, that has kept me going and working for Nigeria football despite the bricks and bats, the odds, hurdles and obstacles, and man-made challenges that would have seen men of weaker fibre throw in the towel long ago. “It is this same passion that has made Following consultations far and wide and within the broad spectrum of continental and global footballing interests and concerns, I have decided to be a candidate for the FIFA Council at the next Elective Congress of the Confederation of African Football scheduled for 21st March 2021 in Rabat, Morocco. “For me, it has never been a matter of personal ambition.

Amaju Pinnick is gunning for a seat in FIFA Council Always, it has been the passion for service and desire to change the old ways of things and embrace wholeheartedly the new and exciting, and more innovative and impactful ways. “I come from a very small minority ethnic group in my native Nigeria, a part of the country known as the Niger Delta, known globally for its combustibility and ruggedness, indeed with a touch of brilliance and resilience. Scores of Nigeria’s most famous football players ever hail from the Delta region, and our football culture is enrapturing. So, I cottoned on to football from an early age. “From the beginning, even while contributing at the local level, I imagined myself at higher levels, making impact, giving joy to multitudes through this game that means so much to millions, billions of people me put life and limb on the line, 3 years and 8 months ago, for what I believed was a genuine collective desire for change – in the governance of African football. “In an alignment of forces with kindred spirits, we were able to effect a change at the top of African football administration, tossing out a 29-year old conservative regime.

Opportunities and possibilities have been presented to the hierarchy to make positive changes sincethen but these have been nonchalantly, frittered away. “For more than six years, I have worked very hard, with like minds, to effect a positive change in the administration of football in Nigeria, and this has been attested to by many. As 1st Vice President of CAF and President of the Organizing Committee of the AFCON, I know the hard work and commitment that went into enabling the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt. At great personal risk, I toured all the venues in Egypt, travelling at night most of the time, all to ensure the success of the tournament, yet gave all the credit to the President�, he explained.

Sparta Rotterdam’s Maduka Okoye was the only Super Eagles player in camp in Benin City...last night

Coaches Praise Gov Wike Pre-season Tournament Coaches of some of the clubs participating at the ongoing Governor Wike Pre-Season Tournament in Port Harcourt have heaped praises on the organisers of the championships, as they described it as a good way to prepare their teams for the coming league campaign.

MFM of Lagos coach, Tony Bolus, said the tournament afforded him the opportunity to access his team after losing some key players during the transfer window.

According to him, his team is still work in progress and with four points from two matches, he

has been able to identify some loopholes in the team which the technical crew would work on. “It’s just work in progress for us,� the coach said. “We have been working on the boys immediately after the lockdown and needed to come to a reputable place like this to test ourselves. “The boys were decent against Bayelsa United, it’s a gradual process. Before the end of the pre season they should be where we expect them to be.�

For Lobi Stars coach, Kabiru Dogo, the championships afforded him to test several

players amidst different formations against some solid teams like Akwa United and the rest.

Lobi Stars forced the former AITEO Cup winner to a 1-1 draw on Sunday after defeating host, Rivers United 1-0 on the opening day of the preseason.

The former Sunshine Stars of Akure coach added: “I believe my wards are improving in every game and as you can see I introduced a new team today just to test the quality that we have.�

The Chairman of the Organising Committee of the

Governor Wike Pre-Season Tournament, Badawiy Bashir, said he was impressed with the performance of teams at the games. “I’m impressed with what is going on in the tournament so far. If you watched the cracker between Akwa United and Lobi Stars at the weekend, it was a standard one. “Other clubs have been putting in their best. We are very comfortable and happy with the standard so far.

So many have changed and we are progressing and this year’s edition is far better than what we saw the last time,� he concluded.

Adegoke Aiming to Reclaim CBN Tennis Title Two -time CBN champion, Sarah Adekoge is determined to reclaim her women singles title from holder, Oyinlomo Quadri as the Central Bank of Nigeria promises to keep supporting the tennis tournament which got underway in Abuja on Monday.

Adekoge lost the opportunity to reclaim her crown for the third consecutive time following her none participantion in ithe 2019 edition won by youngster

Quadri Oyinlomo.

Adegoke is back in action after being away for sometime, courtesy of her quest for professional stint. And she is indeed optimistic of her chances of dethroning her younger professional colleague. “To play her, (Oyinlomo Quadri) will be very interesting, it’s something I am looking forward to. She is a very young player who has been doing

very well this couple of years.

Honestly I adore her game on and off the court.

So sharing a court with her sometime soon will be a dream come true for me because right now, she is really hot and on fire and I love playing those on fire�.

Meanwhile. Ag. Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi who spoke on behalf

of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said the championship has over the years served as a good platform for Nigerian youths, giving them a source better living.

Aside the women’s singles and doubles, action is equally on-going in the men and wheelchair categories of the 2020 edition of the Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship.

Tuesday November 10, 2020

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE MOSOP to FG “The Ogonis wish to remind all Nigerians and the international community that we will continue to oppose oil exploration and exploitation in Ogoni until Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists are exonerated, and the clean-up of Ogoniland is completed” – Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People vowing not to allow oil exploration to resume in Ogoniland.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

Goodbye, Mr. Trump…

T

he most exhilarating part of the US Presidential election 2020 is the fact that President Trump lost the election. It is what many observers thought would happen. They prayed for it. They wished it. In the end, that is what happened on Saturday, November 7, 2020. The major news networks called the election and announced Joe Biden as the President-elect of the United States. Whatever level of excitement that the election may have generated however, it was after all, an American election. It was one of the closest and most fiercely contested elections in American history. Over 160 million voters participated; turn out was 66.9%.

President-elect Joe Biden got over 74 million of the votes (the highest in 120 years), leading President Trump by over 4 million votes, and an impressive 290 Electoral College votes. Trump had over 70 million votes, with 214 Electoral College votes. The turn out was very much about how this was an election like no other.

It was a battle for the soul of America. For many Americans, the nightmare is over. That nightmare is represented by four years of a divisive, problematic, abusive Trump Presidency.

Trump talked about “America first”, a phrase that past and future American Presidents have also projected as a guiding principle.

The difference with Trump is that everything got reduced to his own big ego, his rants, his abrasive, corrosive, fake, omniscient posturing.

He turned Americans against Americans.

He turned America against the world. He crushed established traditions. There was no one too big for him to abuse or insult. He alienated the world. He behaved very much as if the White House was an extension of the Trump Towers. Those who loved him did so passionately. Those who were opposed did so with as much fervor.

It would be wrong to assume though that he has been disgraced. Far from it. He may even in fact in the future be remembered as a great American President, depending on what the future holds. Or he may leave a legacy as one of the worst Presidents America has ever seen. The large volume of votes that he received shows he has a strong followership and a solid base whose views cannot be ignored. While Biden’s supporters and the Democrats celebrated across the United States on November 7, half of the voting population in the United States was in a sour mood. Trumpism, the ideology that has defined the US Presidency in the last four years is like an intoxicant. It turns its users into fanatics. With such persons, Trump can do no wrong. And the Trumpians are not restricted to America. They can be found as far away as Brazil where an incumbent President enjoys being described as “the Trump of the Tropics”, the UK and India whose political leaders (Boris Johnson, and Narendra Modi) admire Trump.

Here in Nigeria, the weekend before the election, a church leader, Daddy Hezekiah took to the streets of Onitsha, Anambra State to campaign for President Trump and organize prayers for his victory. Trumpians are mostly Christian evangelicals who support his pro-life, anti-gay position and conservative views (even if Trump himself cannot be exactly described as a Christian); the far-right, ultraconservative establishment whose members lap up his “America for Americans” rhetoric like honey, even when they are immigrants

Trump or descendants of immigrants. Trump did not want to see Muslims from certain countries in the United States. He would rather build a wall to keep out Mexicans. He signed off a series of Executive Orders which smacked of fascism. His failure has been attributed however to two unfortunate incidents: COVID-19 and his careless handling of it which has resulted in over 235,000 deaths. There is also the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests which further divided the United States. If there was no COVID-19, the murder of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and the Black Lives Matter movement, Trump would probably not lose.

Trump insists that he won the election. He accuses the media networks of declaring an election unofficially. He was still hoping that he would win. He was in fact playing golf when Joe Biden was announced winner. Trump supporters in Africa admire him in part, I suspect, because his tactics are so familiar in African politics. Incumbent first-term, democratically-elected African leaders do not readily accept defeat. The exceptions to this rule are quite few (Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, John Mahama of Ghana…). The pattern is for them to sit tight, change the Constitution and play the Messiah as we have seen in Cote d’Ivoire (Alassane Ouattara), Tanzania (John Magufuli) and Rwanda (Paul Kagame). Shortly after voting ended on November 3, President Trump had gone to Twitter, his virtual office, to announce that he had won “BIG” and “by a lot”. He didn’t wait for the counting to start or end. As counting continued and the popular and electoral votes were being announced, he and his supporters became restless. They crowded around the counting centres in Detroit, Michigan, Phoenix, Arizona and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There was unease in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona where recounts have been ordered given the closeness of the margins.

When President Trump began to protest that the counting should be stopped and thieves were stealing his votes, it all looked surrealistically African. His second son, Eric was not left out.

He resorted to false claims and conspiracy theories. At some point, Paula White, Trump’s Spiritual Adviser began to pray and speak in tongues. She called on “Africa Angels” to come to Trump’s rescue. Those angels could

not get their visas before November 7! They were held back in their “shit-hole countries”.

Before the US elections, there had been fears that there would be a typical, Third World break out of violence over the elections. In Manhattan and Ithaca, Denver, Colorado and San Francisco, there had been violent confrontations between pro-and anti-Trump demonstrators. It looked as if the United States faced the prospect of a civil war over election results. Biden and the Democrats want all votes counted: both in-person election day votes and mail-in votes. Trump and his supporters regard the latter as “illegal votes”. But Trump is the victim of his own miscalculation. Mail-in and absentee ballots are the real angels of the US 2020 Presidential elections. Trump’s lawyers are all over the courts. There are projections of drawn-out legal battles all the way to the Federal Supreme Court. It is interesting to see a President who did his very best to compromise the Constitutional Order now looking up to the same institution to save his Presidency.

Unfortunately, the horse has left the barn.

The feeling around the world is one of relief.

Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris captures the mood of the world in three telling words: “Welcome back, America!” World leaders have congratulated Biden and Harris, and that includes friends of Trump: British PM Boris Johnson, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian PM Narendra Modi. Inside the United States, not all Republicans share Trump’s allegations of theft and voter fraud, and his attempts to raise questions of legitimacy about the Biden victory. Even while Trump insists that there can be no transition except General Services Administration certifies the winner after the recounts and a final tally, it seems all too clear that the Presidency has slipped from his hands.

Within his own close circles, the only people still standing with him are few- his wife, Melania, his son, Eric, his lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, and Senator Ted Cruz who says: “Every time they close the door and shut out the lights, they always find more Democrat votes”. What is the matter with Senator Cruz?

Republicans should accept defeat and allow America to move forward. President Trump should be advised to stop stoking the embers of hate, fear and uncertainty. The legal and Constitutional options that are available to him and the Republicans should be kept open and exhausted if they so insist. It should be noted however that if the contested ballots are not so significant, the courts will be reluctant to take any hard decisions, and in any case, re-counts do not necessarily produce huge swings. Former Republican President, George W. Bush says the election was “fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld and its outcome is clear.” That is statesmanship, which Mr. Trump may prove incapable of when he is no longer President.

But will he leave the White House? He clearly has no option in the matter. He may continue to play decisive politics. He may even choose to boycott Biden’s inauguration ceremony in January. He may also leave enough entrenched marks of Trumpism behind to make the transition process difficult for the Biden administration.

These are some of the reasons why Mr. Biden and Ms Kamala Harris have their job cut out for them. Joe Biden in his first speech as President-elect says: “This is the time to heal in America” Indeed, America is in need of healing and reconciliation. The Democratic

landslide that was predicted by the left did not happen. There was no Blue Wave in the election. The Democrats lost seats in the House of Representatives even if they are still holding on to their majority. The Republicans seem set to retain control of the Senate, even with the run offs scheduled for January. To heal America, Biden must be the President of all Americans as he has promised. He must reach across the aisle to forge a bi-partisan relationship with Republicans, many of whom may nurse a grudge for a long time to come. President Trump has been busy playing golf, we are told. He is probably swinging out his anger on obsolete golf balls. But Republicans in the Senate could give a Biden Presidency a tough time over key economic policies, appointments and his plan to chart a new course for the United States. Mr. Biden’s maturity, experience and style should stand him in good stead. He has the additional luck of a gifted Vice President, Kamala Harris whose unique accomplishments strengthen the narratives of hope, possibilities, diversity and historicity.

Whatever may have been the uncertainties and tension arising from the US elections, it is America that has won in the end. The American dream remains strong and alive, significantly through Kamala Harris who has shattered the ceiling, standing on the shoulders of women whose heroism has made it possible for a day to come in the United States when a woman will be Vice President, a child of immigrants, an Asian-American, an African-American, whose ancestors and relations can be traced to India Tamil Nadu, and Brown’s Town in Jamaica.

It is the kind of America that Trump fought against. It is the kind of America that has made America truly great. There are expectations that a Biden Presidency will be more open to the rest of the world and that there will be changes with regard to immigration, trade and aid as America re-engages with the global community. But certain things will not change.

America will always be America. Biden may not build any walls of division, but it is not as if the US Mission will start giving immigrant visas automatically to anyone who applies for it. His leadership will be more nuanced, and we may not have to wake up every morning rushing to Twitter to find out whatever POTUS came up with overnight. Even the managers of Twitter are heaving a sigh of relief already.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have hit the ground running. A Transition Programme is in place. A 12-man Presidential Task Force has been announced to tackle COVID-19.

Biden will not wait for six months to make key appointments or to provide clear policy directions on key issues: COVID-19, economic stimulus, healthcare, race, justice and diversity, climate change. African leaders who have been firing off congratulatory letters should also look at lessons that can be learnt from the American experience.

China is so far strategically silent. Russian President Vladmir Putin and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro are holding back on congratulating Biden. Loyalty? Friendship? Or do they know something that we do not know? What we know is that on January 20, 2021, a new US President will be inaugurated. The US military will be duty bound to hand over the nuclear codes to the new Commander-in-Chief. Trespassers will not be allowed. “Welcome back, America…”

Goodbye, Mr. Trump…

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