MONDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2020

BOFIA Tightens Noose on Banks’ Control of Dormant Accounts MPC holds last meeting in 2020, to fight recession Obinna Chima in Lagos and Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020 has tightened the noose on banks’ control of funds in

dormant accounts as well as the procedure for reclaiming such funds by owners of such bank accounts. A dormant account is one with no financial activity for a long period of time. The

handling of bank accounts designated as dormant and those without Bank Verification Numbers had resulted in much money lying idle in the banking sector. This has prompted stakeholders to

call for definite provision to accommodate such abandoned funds and provision for the treatment of dormant accounts. The CBN's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is also billed to hold its final session for

2020 from today to tomorrow and fashion out measures to quicken Nigeria's exit from recession. Data from the National Statistics Bureau had shown at the weekend that Nigeria

slipped into its second recession under the Buhari administration and the worst in 33 years. According to gross domestic Continued on page 10

FG, Labour Talks on Petrol Price Increase End in Stalemate... Page 8 Monday 23 November, 2020 Vol 25. No 9359. Price: N250

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1,247 Petitions Filed on Alleged Police Brutality in 30 States, FCT Kano, five others fail to set up judicial panels Our Correspondents Barely five weeks after the National Economic Council (NEC), headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, directed the establishment of judicial panels of inquiry nationwide to investigate complaints of alleged police brutality or extrajudicial killings, 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that have complied with the

directive, have received no fewer than 1,247 petitions. THISDAY, however, gathered that Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno and Yobe States are yet to set up panels in their states. THISDAY’s investigations revealed that the over 200 petitions received by the FCT panel were from victims of #EndSARS protests. Continued on page 10

APC, PDP in Suspense Game over Zoning of Presidency Chuks Okocha in Abuja All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are playing hide and seek over the zoning of the 2023 presidency even as the South-east geo-political zone continues its agitation for the slot, particularly in the main opposition party, which has lost a governor to the ruling party over the issue.

Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Dave Umahi, had last week deserted the PDP for the APC, complaining that the former had treated the South-east shabbily despite its loyalty to the main opposition party. But PDP chieftains, including Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, contended that Umahi left because of his presidential ambition, which he Continued on page 10

UPDATING NATIONAL SECURITY... L-R: Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and DirectorGeneral, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, during an inspection of maritime security assets, in Lagos...weekend

Kyari: NNPC, Partners’ Dispute over $9bn Assets Nears Resolution...Page 5

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

Atiku Proposes Panacea to Exit Second Recession

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar yesterday prescribed how Nigeria can exit its second recession, proposing a 15 per cent tax on those he described as super rich and on luxury items. In a statement, he issued, Atiku said: "We cannot afford hand wringing and navelgazing. We must act now by taking necessary and perhaps painful actions. "Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already bad situation. However, we could have avoided this fate by disciplined and prudent management of our economy. "Be that as it may, it serves no one’s purposes to quarrel after the fact. We must focus on solutions. Nigeria needs critical leadership to guide her back to the path of economic sustainability." Atiku added that given the current economic reality, the proposed 2021 budget presented to the National Assembly on October 8 is no longer tenable. According to him, Nigeria neither has the resources nor the need to implement such a heavy budget. “The nation is broke, but not broken. However, if we continue to spend lavishly, even when we do not earn commensurately, we would go from being a broke nation to being a broken nation," he warned. He recommended that every non-essential line item in the proposed 2021 budget must be expunged. Atiku identified estacodes, non-emergency travel, feeding, welfare packages, overseas training, new vehicle

purchases, office upgrades and non-salary allowances as some of the items that should be removed from the budget. "Until our economic prospects improve, Nigeria ought to exclusively focus on making budgetary proposals for essential items, which include reasonable wages and salaries, infrastructural projects and social services (citizenry’s health, and other human development investments). "Additionally, we have to stimulate the economy, by investing in human development and increasing the purchasing power of the most vulnerable of our population. Only a welldeveloped populace can generate enough economic activity for the nation to exit this recession," Atiku explained. He said Nigeria must invest in those most likely to be impacted by the effects of the recession, the poorest of the poor, "as well as stimulating the economy, this also ensures that they do not slip further into extreme poverty." The former vice president recommended a stimulus package, in the form of monthly cash transfer of N5,000 to every bank account holder, verified by a Bank Verification Number (BVN), whose combined total deposit in the year 2019 was lower than the annual minimum wage. He stated: "How will this be funded? By more profligate borrowing? No. I propose a luxury tax on goods and services that are exclusively accessible only to the super-wealthy - tax on the ultra-wealthy to protect

the extremely poor. "A practical approach to this is to place a 15 per cent tax on all business and first-class tickets sold to and from Nigeria, on all luxury car imports and sales, on all private jets imports and service charges, on all jewellery imports and sales, on all designer products imported, produced or sold in Nigeria, and on all other luxury goods either manufactured or imported into Nigeria, with the exception of goods made for export. "The proceeds of this tax should be exclusively dedicated to a Poverty

Eradication Fund, which must be managed in the same manner as the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, or the Ecological Fund," he stated. Atiku also proposed legislation by the National Assembly mandating all international oil companies operating in Nigeria and international airlines doing business in the country to pay a one per cent poverty alleviation tax from their profits, which should also go towards the proposed Poverty Eradication Fund. "It is inhumane for us as a nation to increase the cost of goods and services that affect the poor while keeping the

cost of luxuries fairly stable. We must flip this, and flip it immediately. "Nigeria must stop borrowing for anything other than essential needs. Again, for the avoidance of doubt, borrowing to pay salaries or to engage in white elephant projects is not an essential need. This is particularly important as we need cash at hand because the world and our economic and development partners are also focused on helping their home economies overcome the effects of COVID-19. We must be our own saviours." He added that more borrowings will put more

pressure on the nation's finances as Nigeria will need cash to make interest and principal payments. He explained that meeting debt obligations will rob Nigeria of cash to invest in the economy. "If we keep borrowing, we stand the risk of defaulting and that will make the recession a child’s play because we will lose some of our sovereignty," he warned. He urged the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to accept its limitations and consider others' ideas, without caring who the messenger is.

ROYAL VISIT TO JAGABAN... Wife of Olubadan of Ibadanland, Mrs. Rasheedat Adetunji; Oba Saliu Adetunji; and National Leader, All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu, during Olubadan’s visit to the APC leader in Lagos‌yesterday

Kyari: NNPC, Partners’ Dispute over $9bn Assets Nears Resolution Peter Uzoho The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has said the corporation and its partners are close to resolving two of the disputed oil assets - the Oil Mining Leases OML 118 and OML 125. Kyari also debunked media reports that the NNPC made an unauthorised withdrawal from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Dividend Account, describing such reports and allegations as pedestrian. The two assets, Bonga and Abo respectively, are products of the contentious Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement and have been subject of litigation for years, contributing to the delay in achieving the country’s three million barrels per day oil production target. NNPC had previously signed the Abo OML 125 Head of Terms Agreement

with Nigeria Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) in a move at resolving issues, which have lingered in most deep offshore PSCs. Kyari, at a media parley in Abuja at the weekend, expressed optimism that the resolution will end all the conflicts on the assets and bring back production at the assets. “As I speak to you now, on two of the assets –Bonga asset (OML 118) and OML 125 asset, today, we are almost close to having complete commercial closure, which will take away all the conflicts, so that we and our partners can move forward in this and we are very proud of it,� he said. Narrating how Nigeria entered an agreement with the oil companies without proper knowledge of its outcome, Kyari said concessions were granted to companies to go into production in the deepwater assets, noting that that had resulted in the over $9 billion of contingent

liability to the corporation and to the country. He said: “In the past and as you may be aware, we had entered several production arrangements, from the Joint Venture to the Production Sharing Contract and some Service Contracts. "The popular one is the 1993 PSC, which at that time, we all thought that the Niger Delta deepwater was a much unknown terrain and so many concessions were granted so that people could go into production. “But with the benefit of hindsight, we ran into an agreement that we really didn’t understand. And the end result is litigation over $9 billion of contingent liability to the corporation and to the country of course. We made the mistake on your behalf, so you take the bullet. But that we know – it’s a big distraction for the industry.� Kyari also said Nigeria recorded progress in its daily oil production this year, revealing that for the first time

in 15 years, Nigeria reached the production of 2.49 million barrels per day on April 17. He added that the three million barrels per day oil production target is achievable if the right things are done. He said if COVID-19 had not come, Nigerians would have been celebrating the three million bpd achievement by now. He said: “The target was to grow production to three million barrels per day. By the 17th of April this year, to be precise, we reached the production of 2.49million per day. The last time we were getting close to that was 15 years ago. "We all know that it is possible to improve your efficiency, reduce your cost, be focused on your production choices, select assets that will work for you, and you can be there. “We know that three million of oil production is within sight, within reach and actually, if COVID-19 hadn’t come, we would

surely be celebrating that today because today we have clear visibility around what asset will produce the balance of those 450,000 barrels per day that would have been achieved anyway.� On the alleged illegal withdrawal from the NLNG Dividends Account by the NNPC, Kyari said such had never happened, describing the reports as pedestrian. Kyari and the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah, had been under attack for allegedly colluding to withdraw $1.05 billion from the NLNG Dividends Account. The NLNG had earlier denied the allegation, describing it as “totally baseless and untrue and should be disregarded.� Making clarification on the matter, he said: “Also, let me use this good privilege of Femi (Femi Adesina who was also at the event) to speak about this. You know the media is awash with NNPC making illegal withdrawals

from the NLNG dividend account. “It's very pedestrian to say the least, probably unfortunate. It’s just impossible for anyone to take out any money from any government account, not this government, without authorisation and illegally." Kyari explained that the dividends accounts were in the Treasury Single Accounts (TSA) and that the NNPC was not even a signatory to it and cannot do anything in that account without authorisation. “We can’t do anything without proper authorisation and we gave the instructions, we can’t withdraw it. Let me just clarify this so that Nigerians will let this matter to rest. “So the alleged illegal withdrawal from the NLNG Dividend Account is just hype and a very pedestrian talk. That is not possible. At the appropriate moment, we will have no difficulty publishing the statement of that account,� he said.

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FG, Labour Talks on Petrol Price Increase End in Stalemate

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The meeting between the federal government and the organised labour on the hikes in fuel pump price and the electricity tariffs yesterday ended in disarray as the labour leaders walked out of the parley in anger, barely 10 minutes after it commenced. As soon as the meeting started at 8:18 pm at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), President, Mr. Quadri Olaleye, raised the issue of the latest hike in fuel pump price from N160 to N170. The labour expressed disappointment at the manner in which the federal government treated its negotiations with the unions. It frowned at the decision by government to further increase fuel price while discussion was still not

concluded on the effects of the earlier hike in prices. Addressing the meeting, Olaleye described government’s action as a slap on the face of labour and an attempt to blackmail them in the minds of the public as compromised unions. Representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), also spoke in similar tone, accusing the federal government of reneging on their understanding with the labour team. Olaleye said that nothing has been done in terms of implementing the promises made to labour during the previous talks held over a month ago. The labour staged tha walk-out when the Deputy President of NLC, Mr. Joe Ajero insisted that the issue of the recent increase in fuel price should be put first on

the agenda for discussion but the government side said that it would rather have other issues deliberated on before delving into the fuel price increase. At this stage, there was heated argument with the two sides engaging in a shouting from match, leading to the walk-out by the labour team. Speaking to journalists shortly after, Olaleye said:�We decided that it is not going to be businessas-usual because we have seen the insincerity of government and that they are putting us at risk. “They are taking us for a ride. We are in the process of negotiations and in the middle of discussion, they just announced an increase in the pump price of petrol. And it is no other authority

but the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). When has the NNPC become the sole authority to approve fuel price increase? Government is taking us for ride and we leaving the meeting and we are going to consult with our organs and will brief the media on our next move,� he said. Also while speaking on the fallout of their disagreement with government team, the NLC General Secretary, Mr. Emma Ugbaja said: “We came to a meeting with the federal government and you are aware that we have been having these meetings for sometimes over two key issues, hike in fuel price and electricity tariff. We have had some understanding over time, but while these

meetings were ongoing, we were slapped with a new increase in petrol price. We felt that was beyond our understanding with the federal government and we felt that should be the first item on the agenda for discussion yesterday but government side said the discussion should be on some imaginary palliatives before what was causing the need for the palliatives and we felt that was putting the cart before the horse. At this point, we felt that we should not continue with a meeting whose agenda is wrongly prioritised�. However, the Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige told journalists that the government team was willing to discuss issues of the petrol price but that it

felt that the meeting should follow the fixed agenda. Ngige said that the government side accepted to include the issue of increase in petrol in agenda but to be discussed after other related issues. Ngige said that there was nothing bad about what happened, since labour said they were going to consult their organs, adding that government would fix a date for another meeting. While welcoming labour to the meeting, the Secretary to Federal Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha thanked them for giving federal government strong support so far. He also explained some of the efforts being by the government to reduce the sufferings of Nigerians.

APC, PDP Bicker over Govs’ Visit to Jonathan Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (PDP) were locked in a spat yesterday over a visit to former President Goodluck Jonathan by some APC governors. The Chairman of APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee and Governor of Yobe State, Mr. Mala Buni, had last week led the APC delegation to visit the former president to celebrate with him on his 63rd birthday. While the PDP said the visit had further affirmed that Nigeria, as a nation, is better under the PDP, the ruling party countered that the main opposition party was rattled and disoriented by the visit to the former president. The PDP also likened the visit of the APC governors to Jonathan to an open apology to the PDP and Nigerians for APC maladministration and mismanagement of the economy. The PDP described the visit as an endorsement of the acceptability of its administration, adding that it indicated that the APC, in 2015, only created artificial symbols of misgovernance, corruption and other alleged misgivings just to discredit the PDP and grab power to achieve their selfish desires. In a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said it is evident that the Jonathan administration succeeded in office basically because the PDP understands the nuances of the nation, which it translated into people-oriented policies and programmes, in line with the manifesto of the party, to make life comfortable for Nigerians.

It said: "This visit to Jonathan by the APC governors is a direct acceptance of the successes recorded by our party in building a strong nation with a virile economy that was rated as one of the fastestgrowing economies of the world. "The visit is, therefore, a subtle step by APC governors into the corridors of the PDP in agreement that our party holds the solution to the myriads of problems brought to our nation by their APC and President Muhammadu Buhari." The PDP added that it viewed and received the visit by APC governors as an apology by the APC to it and Nigerians over the lies, beguilements and other irresponsible allegations deployed by the APC to grab power, only to lead the nation on a journey to nowhere. "We therefore caution Nigerians to be watchful of the antics of the APC that have failed in governance and the management of its own affairs. "For us in the PDP, the unity, stability, progress and development of our dear nation remain paramount and as such, we will not allow the failed APC and its pranksters, who have betrayed the trust of Nigerians, to mislead them once again." But in a swift reaction, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Yekini Nabena, in a statement, yesterday, said the APC would continue to consolidate on its national appeal and acceptance. "At a time when the PDP and its leadership is grappling with a crisis of confidence, one would expect the failed opposition to focus on picking itself up," he stated.

HONOUR FOR FIRST LADY... L-R: Osun State Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola; his wife, Kafayat; Ekiti State governor’s wife, Bisi Fayemi; and Governor Kayode Fayemi during the conferment of honorary fellowship of the Osun State College of Education, Ilesha on Bisi in Ilesha‌weekend

Army Insists No Live Bullet Fired at Lekki Tollgate Protesters Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The 81 Division of the Nigerian Army yesterday reiterated its stance that soldiers shot blank bullets into the air and not live bullets, even though they had both in their kitty when they were deployed in Lekki Tollgate on October 20, this year, to enforce the Lagos State Government curfew. Commander, 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Taiwo, had during the cross-examination at the Lagos Judicial Panel, admitted that while deployed troops had both live and blank bullets, they only fired the latter because the threat level was minimal. According to the army, it became necessary to reiterate its stance following the backlash it generated when

they admitted that soldiers went to Lekki Tollgate with live bullets as well as blank bullets. In a statement issued by the acting Deputy Director, 81 Division Army Public Relations, Major Osoba Olaniyi, the Army argued that there was nothing wrong for troops to carry blanks and live ammunition because it’s part of their equipment for internal security operations. Olaniyi said: “The attention of the Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to news items on both the social and mainstream media insinuating that the troops of Nigerian Army contradicted its evidence of firing blank ammunition when it also carried live ammunition for Internal Security Operations on October 20, 2020.

“We hereby state unequivocally that carrying both blank and live ammunition is part of our Table of Equipment for Internal Security Operations. “It is part of the Rules of Engagement for soldiers on internal security operations to carry both live and blank ammunition. “The use of any of these ammunitions as stated in our Rules of Engagement depends on the level of threat at the operational area.� Olaniyi who stressed that one of the principles of internal security operations is the use of minimum force, noted that its use is a function of the assessment of the commander on the ground. In the Lekki Tollgate circumstances, he said the commander on the ground assessed that there was no

need to use live ammunition, which was why only blank ammunition was used “The blank ammunition was fired into the sky and not at the protesters. The results are all glaring as there was no fatality recorded - this has been corroborated by both BBC report and other reputable news media outfits. “The use of blank ammunition/minimum force achieved the aim of dispersing the hoodlums and crowd. “It is pertinent to reiterate that the Nigerian Army is a law-abiding institution that acts in tandem with her Rules of Engagement. “We therefore wish to advise all stakeholders to guard against being used by local and foreign agents of destabilisation who do not wish this country any good,� he added.

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PAGE TEN 1,247 PETITIONS FILED ON ALLEGED POLICE BRUTALITY IN 30 STATES, FCT

The NEC, at a meeting last month attended by governors and chaired by Osinbajo, had directed the establishment of the panels to deliver justice for all victims of the dissolved Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other police tactical units. The judicial panels, to be set up in all the states, will comprise representatives of youths, students, civil society organisations and to be chaired by a retired judge. In Abia State, the 21-member judicial panel, headed by Justice Sunday Imo, a retired chief judge of the state, has so far received no fewer than 100 petitions. Imo, who confirmed the number of petitions, said the panel has fixed tomorrow as the deadline for submission of petitions. In Adamawa State, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri had also constituted an 11-man judicial panel in the state, headed by Justice Adamu Hobon. The secretary of the panel, Mr. Usman Suleiman, said the panel started sitting last week and had received five petitions so far. In Taraba State, the panel set up by Governor Darius Ishaku has since commenced sitting in Jalingo, the state capital. The Chairman of the 10-man panel, Justice Christopher Awubra, confirmed the receipt of 11 petitions from members of the public. Following a series of allegations of human rights abuses carried out by officers of the SARS, Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has inaugurated an eight-man panel. THISDAY gathered that the panel has so far received 30 petitions and will continue to accept petitions from members of the public until February 2021. The Delta State panel headed

by Justice Celestina Ogisi has also received about 15 petitions, according to a member of the panel. However, unlike other judicial panels, which have six-month tenure, the Secretary of the panel, Omamuzo Erebe, said the judicial panel has three months from the date of its inauguration to submit its report. In Cross River State, the seven-member panel, headed by Justice Michael Edem, has received 54 petitions. Hearing of petitions by the panel was adjourned till November 26 to enable the police to respond to the petitions. The Chairman of the panel in Rivers State, Justice Chukwuneye Uriri, said it was wrong to disclose the number of petitions received before the inaugural sitting of the commission. The commission has fixed tomorrow for its inaugural sitting in Port Harcourt. The public sittings will last for one month. However, THISDAY gathered that the commission has received several petitions and that many lawyers are set to present the cases of victims before the panel. The Chairman of the Ogun State panel, Justice Solomon Olugbemi, put the total number of petitions received from victims of police brutality, human rights violations and other related offences at 40. The 11-member panel, inaugurated recently by Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, has received 50 petitions, according to a source close to Justice Badejoko Adeniji -led panel. The source told THISDAY that no specific date has been fixed for the panel to begin sitting, adding that the panel is taking its time to do a thorough job. The Benue State panel,

which has commenced its sitting, has received a total of 28 petitions from victims. The panel, constituted by Governor Samuel Ortom, and headed by Justice Adam Onum (rtd), has a six-month life span. FCT’s 18-man ministerial committee set up to assess the scale of losses and destruction suffered by businesses and individuals during the #EndSARS protests has received over 200 petitions. The committee, which was inaugurated by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammed Bello, and headed by the Director-General, FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Mr. Abbas Idris, is to identify the families of those killed during the violence as well as assess and assign value to destroyed public and private properties. In Gombe State, the 11-member judicial panel inaugurated by Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, and headed by Justice Sa'ad Mohammed, has received five petitions so far. The Akwa Ibom State panel under the chairmanship of Justice Ifiok Ukana has so far received 92 petitions from members of the public for consideration. The eight-man panel has three months within which to submit its report, unlike other panels in most of the states, with a six-month mandate. In Anambra State, the panel headed by Justice Veronica Umeh has received 114 petitions. Governor Willie Obiano had announced that the sum of N200 million had been set aside for the compensation of all victims of police brutality in the state. In Nasarawa State, the Chairman of the eight-man panel, Justice Badamasi Maina, confirmed that the panel has

received 16 petitions so far, while its counterpart in Osun State, headed by Justice Akin Oladimeji, has received six petitions since the inauguration by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola. The Edo State panel inaugurated by Governor Godwin Obaseki said it has received about 70 petitions since it commenced sitting two weeks ago. The chairman of the 20-man panel, Justice Ada Ehigiamusoe, urged all victims to submit their petitions on or before November 29. The Katsina State inquiry inaugurated by Governor Aminu Masari, has received 61 petitions. Its Chairman, Justice Abbas Bawale, confirmed at the weekend that the panel will today commence hearing on the petitions. He said the panel would begin its public hearing from Funtua zone where the majority of the petitions emanated from, adding that, thereafter, the hearings would shift to Katsina and Daura zones respectively. He said: “Presently, we have 56 petitions from Funtua zone of the state and five petitions from Katsina zone. We are expecting more petitions from Daura zone. For now, we have a total of 61 petitions in all." The Imo State Inquiry panel has confirmed the receipt of 92 petitions. The 16-member panel is headed by Justice Florence Duroha-Igwe. In Ondo State, the panel, headed by Justice Adesola Sidiq, has received 26 petitions from both private individuals and civil society organisations. However, the panel in Kaduna State is yet to compile the number of petitions received. The Secretary of the panel, Mrs. Hajaratu Abubakar, said the panel was not in a position to ascertain the number of

petitions submitted because the secretaries of the 23 local government areas of the state were yet to make such information available to the panel. In Ekiti State, the Chairman of the panel, Justice Cornelius Akintayo, confirmed that the panel has received 22 petitions from the members of the public. The 12-member panel inaugurated by Governor Kayode Fayemi was given six months to discharge its assignments. In Bauchi State, the 17-member panel, inaugurated by Governor Bala Mohammed, and headed by Justice Habibu Idris, has received four petitions. The 10-member panel led by Justice Babatunde Garba in Kwara State, has received 18 petitions while its Plateau State counterpart constituted by Governor Simon Lalong and chaired by Justice Philomena Lot has received 44 petitions. The Bayelsa State panel, inaugurated by Governor Douye Diri and headed by Justice Young Ogola has received 20 petitions. The Justice Aloy Nwankwo (rtd)-led panel in Ebonyi State has received over 15 petitions from members of the public.

Kano, Five Others Fail to Set up Judicial Panels But unlike other 30 states, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno and Yobe States are yet to set up the panels in their states. In Kano State, the state government has so far failed to set up a judicial panel, despite calls by human rights activists in the state for the setting up of the commission to hear complaints from the residents and human rights activists over the SARS

activities in Kano. An activist in Kano, Mr. Ibrahim Wayya, at the weekend, appealed to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje to immediately set up the committee in the state to allow the residents to report their complaints against the disbanded SARS. All efforts to speak with the state Commissioner for Information, Mallam Muhammad Garba, proved abortive. The Kebbi State government said it had not received any petition on police brutality to warrant the constitution of a panel of inquiry as directed by NEC. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yahaya Sarki, told THISDAY that since NEC gave the directive, the state government has not received any petitions from individuals or groups. "We can't constitute a panel when we have not received any complaint or petition,� he stated. Officials of the Sokoto and Zamfara State governments refused to comment on the issue. THISDAY reliably gathered that they were on the same page with Kebbi State on the matter. Borno and Yobe states did not constitute panels because there were no records of police brutality. THISDAY gathered that the youths of the two states did not come out to protest during the #EndSARS protests across the country. It was learnt that the youths in Borno State came out to march in support of SARS with some even requesting that the members of the SARS should be deployed in Borno State to help to fight Boko Haram. They stated that the SARS in the state had assisted in fighting insurgents.

BOFIA TIGHTENS NOOSE ON BANKS’ CONTROL OF DORMANT ACCOUNTS product numbers released by the NBS, the economy contracted 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, making it the second consecutive quarterly GDP contraction since the recession of 2016. The cumulative GDP for the first nine months of 2020, therefore, stood at -2.48 per cent. The last time Nigeria recorded such cumulative GDP was in 1987, when GDP declined by 10.8 per cent. However, the BOFIA 2020, which was assented to recently by President Muhammadu Buhari, states that “where a current or savings account has not been operated for a period of one year or such other period as the bank may specify, from time to time, no withdrawal shall be made on the account except with the approval of two authorised signatories of the bank, specialised bank or other financial institution involved.� It explained that such

accounts shall be transferred to a separate register of dormant accounts and remain deposit liabilities in the books of the bank, specialised bank or other financial institution and the account holders would be notified in writing. “Where an account, which is transferred under sub-section (2) of this section is subject to a service charge, the charge may continue to be levied up to the date on which the account was transferred to the register of dormant accounts. “Where an account which is transferred under sub-section (2) of this section is interest-bearing, interests shall be applied to the account up until the time when the balance is transferred to the bank in accordance with subsection (8) of this section. “Where an account is transferred to the register of dormant accounts and has been on the register for ten years, the bank, specialised bank

or other financial institution shall advertise in at least two daily newspapers with national circulation, giving notice that the account has been transferred to the register of dormant accounts.� The new legislation requires all banks to submit to the central bank quarterly reports on all dormant accounts stating the efforts made by the financial institutions to locate the account holders. It prescribed that an account, which has been transferred under sub-section (2) of this section, may only be transferred out of the register following a request by the depositor or the legal representative of the depositor, where such depositor is dead or incapacitated, once all necessary identification and evidence of account ownership has been established by the bank. It said: “Where an account has been in the register of

dormant accounts for 10 years, the bank, specialised bank or other financial institution shall after the advertisement under subsection (5) of this section, transfer the balance on the account including the interest earned to an account earmarked for that purpose at the bank. “Where a balance has been transferred under sub-section (8) of this section, the bank shall refund the balance to the depositor, or if the depositor is deceased, to the legal representative of the depositor’s estate, once the bank is satisfied that the claimant is the owner of the funds requested. “The bank shall invest the funds deposited with it pursuant to sub-section (8) of this section, in treasury bills or other securities as the bank, may determine and interest accrued on any such sums shall be payable to any claimant pursuant to subsection (9) of this section.

“The bank shall issue guidelines on the administration of unclaimed funds in banks, specialised banks and other financial institutions pursuant to the provisions of this Act.� Meanwhile, the MPC is to hold its two-day meeting, which is the last for 2020, today. This comes two days after the NBS revealed that Nigeria’s real GDP contracted for the second consecutive quarter by 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of the year, as the country officially went into a second economic recession, after the first in 2016. During the Q3 2020, aggregate GDP stood at N39.09 trillion in nominal terms, compared to N34.34 trillion in the second quarter, while real GDP stood N17.82 trillion, compared to N15.89 trillion in the preceding quarter. Analysts at Greenwich Merchant Bank expect the MPC members to be focused on how to stimulate growth.

Umahi's allegations, saying it had adequately rewarded the South-east, a stronghold of the opposition party, for its loyalty, especially during its 16 years of being a ruling party. It enumerated top political positions, including Senate presidency, deputy president of the Senate, deputy speaker, House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and party chairmanship as some of those conceded to the geo-political zone then. In addition, the party dissolved the executive council of its Ebonyi State chapter and constituted a caretaker committee to run its affairs in the interim. A source told THISDAY that some of the PDP chieftains at the three meetings believed that

"if it is true that the APC has given its presidential ticket to the South-east, then, the main opposition party will equally choose its presidential flag bearer from the South-east. "But, if the APC decides to pick its presidential candidate from the South-west, then the presidential candidate of the PDP will come from the North. I cannot say which part of the North; but this is the position in the PDP for now." THISDAY gathered that the PDP will not like to commit any political blunder for now as it is waiting for the APC national convention. The outcome of the ruling party's national convention will help guide the PDP to decide the choice of the zone that will produce its presidential candidate.

APC, PDP IN SUSPENSE GAME OVER ZONING OF PRESIDENCY felt would be better realised in the APC. THISDAY had also reported that three more PDP governors, including Prof. Ben Ayade (Cross River), Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Senator Bala Muhammed (Bauchi) are in transit to the APC also arising from 2023 presidential zoning permutation. THISDAY, however, gathered at the weekend that none of the two leading parties would make public its zoning of the presidency until late in 2022, and PDP, in particular, a source close to the permutation, would wait for the APC to make a decision on the matter before it would decide on its own zoning. “The PDP would not make a decision before the APC,� said the source, adding: “If the APC

zones it to the South, the PDP might consider the South too, most likely the South-east.� He added that there are agitations in the PDP to consider zoning the top position to the South-east or North. Sources familiar with political permutations in the party in the wake of a series of meetings of its national organs, held between Thursday and the weekend after the defection of Umahi, confided in THISDAY that the opposition party will, however, tarry awhile in taking a final decision on zoning until it is sure where the presidential candidate of the APC will come from. Umahi's defection is already causing disquiet in both the PDP and APC as analysts project that the governor and his Yobe State counterpart, Mallam

Mala Buni, who chairs the national caretaker committee of the APC may jointly run for the party's ticket. The PDP National Caucus, Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) had met last week to fashion out a strategy to contain the fallout of Umahi's defection. The governor, citing alleged injustice and shabby treatment of the South-east by the PDP, had left the party with the state executive council members, lawmakers in the state House of Assembly and other political appointees. But National Assembly lawmakers from the state distanced themselves from the governor's defection and reaffirmed their commitment to the PDP. However, the PDP denied

They added: “We believe the committee faces a myriad of challenges such as the surging inflation numbers, the streak of pressures at the FX window, alongside several other factors that constrain an economic recovery. Against this backdrop, the committee could weigh the option of either hiking, loosening, or maintaining the status quo. “While tightening may curb inflationary pressures, increase capital flows and strengthen external reserves, it may dampen the progress made by real sector players towards accessible credit and may further weaken growth prospects. This may reverse the feat achieved in credit growth to the real sector."

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COMMENT

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

BUILDING, MANAGING AND PROTECTING WEALTH Timi Olubiyi writes that wealth strategy involves the accumulation of assets, mindful spending, and inculcating healthy habits

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ealth has so many connotations. However, in the context of this piece, wealth is described as the abundance of items of economic value and freedom. For many, it is mainly about money, but that is only partly true, wealth is different from riches and riches are a part of wealth. There are different constructs of wealth: financial, health, social network, intellectual, cultural, and influence. Being wealthy is not about money alone; being wealthy is majorly about value and essence. When you create wealth, it benefits the people around you, and the people who will be there after you are gone. Many people confuse getting rich with being wealthy because often the two words are used interchangeably. They don’t mean the same thing, getting rich simply means having a high income and that could be short-lived, especially without corresponding assets. It simply means having more spending power than the average person. A distinctive explanation of riches is the proceeds from winning a lottery — you would be rich because there will be access to fund than most other people (hence more spending power), but you could just spend it all on luxuries and have none left at the end, stripping away the status of “rich�. One of the stereotypes about rich people is that they drive flashy cars and use latest gadgets. Buying a brand-new car or latest mobile phone from savings is nearly always a poor financial decision. According to experts the minute you drive a car off the lot, it loses 11% or more of its value. That cannot translate to being wealthy, the habits of rich people are very different from those of wealthy people. To be wealthy, savings must go into investing and the returns on the investment can then be utilized on luxury items. Consequently, building wealth requires sustainability and perseverance. That said, wealth usually involves the difference between assets and liabilities and even much more. One can be financially stable and yet weak in other wealth constructs mentioned above. I agree that financial independence is about money, but living a wealthy life is actually not, it particularly involves freedom and enjoying good health (emotional, physical, spiritual and mental). However, true wealth is when the passive income from assets and financial instruments such as property investment, bonds, securities, stocks, share, and other investment opportunities generate enough income to provide financial security. More so the income is high enough to cover costs of living that you no longer need to work to survive. Therefore, wealth is the foundation for financial health and freedom for a lifetime and even for your heirs. To substantiate the above assertion, opinion of some residents of Abuja, the federal capital territory of Nigeria and Lagos State the economic nerve center of the country, was randomly sampled on what wealth signifies. Here are some key findings in the survey from the respondents, building and owning a house (65 percent), having millions (Naira) and sufficient fund in the bank account (96 percent), freedom and spending time with family (42 percent), and owning the latest cars, phones, and tech gadgets (92 percent). The finding of the survey surprisingly indicated that the majority of the respondent cannot distinguish between being rich and wealthy. Because almost those surveyed felt that sufficient money (Naira) in the bank account and having latest gadgets signifies wealth. Truly wealthy people spend money on assets (like businesses, knowledge acquisition, property, social network, influence and investments) and not liabilities. They spend money on things that improve or enhance wealth, net worth and also give freedom. Furthermore, wealth is

TRUE WEALTH IS WHEN THE PASSIVE INCOME FROM ASSETS AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS PROPERTY INVESTMENT, BONDS, SECURITIES, STOCKS, SHARE, AND OTHER INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES GENERATE ENOUGH INCOME TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SECURITY

measured in time, not in Naira. That is how many days could you survive if you stopped working today? The simple approach to survive is to own investments in businesses, assets, and other wealth instruments. More importantly, having a net worth that generates enough income that can sustain you for a long time without having to work for money is key. In addition, being wealthy instead of being rich means that you have the freedom to spend your time however you want and you also do not have to stress about paying any bills. Invariably, wealth creation can be defined as the process of building a stable, steady income and the consistent accumulation of assets over time. Therefore, to create wealth individuals, need to be disciplined with savings and investments including expenses and debt. It is important to state that we are all limited by the number of years we have to be able to run around actively. Because either ready or not, retirement is coming and it will change things. Therefore, to create wealth, take good care of your health, invest in education and improve your wealth knowledge, spend money on assets that can generate more money continuously and passively. Make this a culture until the passive income from various assets is higher than your cost of living. Then you achieve some level of freedom and a secure financial future. Eventually, it is usually not how much fund you make that matters but how much of it is kept and how long that kept fund works for you and provide continuous cash flow. A big part of building wealth is determined by regular habits, so start investing early, educate yourself to improve your skills, keeping fit, and enjoying good health (emotional, physical, spiritual and mental), be disciplined, avoid debts, maintain and increase assets, take an appropriate level of risk is an important step to grow wealth and stay ahead of inflation. Many people can easily become rich due to hard work, but only financially intelligent people can become wealthy, and develop a huge net worth. However, that will take a strong financial education and strong investing culture. Significantly, it does not matter how much funds you have today in savings or you earn, having wealth creation strategies, being disciplined and continually getting informed, can still help build vast wealth. Remember not only does wealth creation help live life more prosperously, it also helps secure the future of the next generation. The absence of effective wealth creation strategy such as the principle of compounding may result in delay or compromise in one’s financial goals. Simply put, wealth strategy can involve the accumulation of assets, mindful spending, keeping expenses in check, budgeting, inculcating healthy habits and having stern focus on investing or building additional sources of income. To reiterate this includes property investment, bonds, securities, starting up a business, stocks, share and other investment opportunities. Even after considering all these adequate measures according to reviewed large volumes of literature, to protect the wealth is equally important. Both wealth creation and wealth protection contribute towards greater financial success and security. It eventually gives these life goals - financial independence, future security and a comfortable retirement. Mindful Spending: A Life & Money Hack – The Finance Twins Mindful spending means being fully aware of how your money is being spent, and being thoughtful about the way yo... Dr. Olubiyi is an Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management expert

SO FAR, SO HOPEFUL

Tokunbo Abiru, the APC senatorial candidate for Lagos East, has a track record of performance, writes

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head of the bye-election for the Lagos East Senatorial seat, campaigns have reached fever pitch. So have subterfuge, mischief, and mudslinging – the greatest weapons in the hands of those without cogent message for the people – which tends to confirm the maxim, “He that is down fears no fall.� The unique feature of the looming poll is the natural separation its campaign process has seemed to create between competence, epitomised by Mr. Adetokunbo Mukail Abiru, and incompetence, symbolised by the others in the race. This leaves the voters with a clear choice between the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abiru, a man with the agenda of hope for Lagos East, and the naysayers and complainants, who have simply come to squirm and writhe, either comically or in fury, just to hide their lack of message for the people. Even though the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Babatunde Gbadamosi made some unsubstantiated claims ranging from voter registration issues to financial fraud, it’s been an interesting contest between fact and fiction, the serious and the unserious. Abiru is in this race to win, and he will win because of his popular acceptance. A man of high moral rectitude, he has never been involved in or indicted for any act of criminality. As a lawful citizen, he has done what is expected of him. He has written to the Inspector-General of

Police, through his lawyers, “to cause a very detailed investigation into the allegations to ascertain the veracity of same and culpability of anyone involved in such actions.� He is a man of good repute and sterling professional and political attainments, who has distinguished himself in both public and private lives over the last decade. In 2011, Abiru was appointed Lagos State Commissioner of Finance, from where he resigned to become an Executive Director in First Bank of Nigeria until 2016, when he was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Skye Bank Plc. Based on his excellent record of performance, Abiru was retained by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank, which took over Skye Bank. He held the position till his retirement this year. As Commissioner for Finance, Abiru oversaw a far-reaching transformation of the Lagos State revenue generation system. His tenure saw the widening of the state’s tax net, with the inclusion of over five million eligible taxpayers that were not previously captured. This resulted in an exponential increase in the state’s internally generated revenue. On his watch, also, Lagos State bagged serial financial competency recognitions, including the Europe, Middle East, and Africa Best Local Currency Bond Award, after successfully floating an N80 billion bond. In the private sector, Polaris Bank wit-

nessed increased market share and massive transformation under Abiru as Chief Executive Officer. He was given a specific mandate to restructure and reposition the bank, which he achieved, leading to the renewal of his tenure. Abiru has served as non-executive director at Airtel Mobile Networks Limited, FBN Capital Limited, and FBN Sierra Leone Limited. His wealth of experience and knowledge stood him out wherever he worked, either in the public service or in the private sector. Unsurprisingly, APC picked Abiru as standard-bearer in the Lagos East senatorial by-poll. Abiru, a man at peace with his party and his constituency, has remained focused and refused to be distracted. He comes to the race with a lot of value under his belt. “In the professional space, I have reached the peak,� he says, adding, “I have always had the desire to serve my people and state. I think this is the right time. I can bring a lot of value to public space, taking into account my experience in the private sector, as the Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, and my familiarity with Lagos East Senatorial District.� Besides his knowledge and experience, Abiru’s legislative agenda conduces to the needs of the times. He says if elected into the senate, he would be “preoccupied with issues of banking and finance, technology in banking, improving the efficiency of our

financial system, boosting fiscal policy for national economic growth, especially revenue generation at the federal level, and bringing succour to our people.� Nigeria is at a difficult juncture in its journey to economic development. The economy is struggling, unemployment is high, and incomes are too low to give many who are employed a decent living. The anger on the streets is all too obvious. Nigeria, more than ever before, needs creative, knowledgeable, well-prepared, and accomplished persons in leadership, especially at the highest legislative chamber in the land. Abiru fits the bill perfectly. Back home, he says he would prioritise the actualisation of the long desired special status for Lagos State, completion of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, and the reconstruction of the Ikorodu-Sagamu road and Ikorodu-Epe-IjebuOde highway. Abiru, certainly, guarantees quality representation for Lagos East, Lagos State, and Nigeria. He is out to reclaim the streets for the young, the old, and all the good people of Lagos East Senatorial District. Those close to the political and social pulse at the grassroots confirm this. As one resident put it, “The difference is clear between the man who is campaigning with his record and those only trying to ride to power on the back of unfounded aspersions.� Nnodim wrote from Somolu

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EDITORIAL

DEPLORABLE CONDITION OF CAMPUSES Administrators must be more creative to stem the decay

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ow that the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are reaching common grounds on contentious issues in their protracted negotiations, it is expected that students who have been at home for almost one calendar year, may soon resume on their campuses. We therefore urge the lecturers to reciprocate the compromise position on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and the financial offer from the federal government by calling off the strike. But when the students eventually resume WITHOUT AN ACTIVE classes, the state REAL-TIME MAINTENANCE of their campuses DEPARTMENT, EVERY SUCH should also be of concern to the INSTITUTION GOES INTO authorities of DISREPAIR AND BECOMES A these institutions. NIGHTMARE Today, most of the structures housing the different faculties and departments in these institutions are unkempt and unmaintained. The hostels where the young men and women are sheltered are unfit for human habitation. The lecturers’ quarters in most of them are in need of repairs. There is of course the central question of what quality of minds will emerge from these squalid environments. In most of the campuses, the toilets are in bad shape and where they are functional, water is not available; the rooms are overcrowded. During rainy season, many of the roofs leak. On one campus, according to a recent report in a national newspaper, “the hostels, which are located at the end of the administrative and lecture blocks, are surrounded by bushes while the forecourt of the two hostels is water-logged. It was observed that the paint on the buildings had faded, the walls cracked and the windows as well as sliding doors were half eaten by termites.� There have also been reports of armed robbers attacking hostels and carting away students’ belongings.

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Thus while we call on the Alumni associations of these institutions and other public-spirited people in the private sector to rally for urgent assistance, the problem must be tackled holistically. The main thrust of the physical disrepair of these institutions is first the caliber of administrators that supervise this decay. However, there are other reasons for the sliding decay on our campuses, some of them, ironically, inflicted by the government. The growth trend in number of federal and state universities and polytechnics is expansive instead of developmental. As a nation, we seem to like building large structures without the least care about how they will be maintained in the future. Without an active real-time maintenance department, every such institution goes into disrepair and becomes a nightmare. That is how slums and ghettoes are born. The danger of such dark places is that they tend to breed murky characters and nasty ways. Perhaps it is time for an independent maintenance audit of our public buildings, especially the federal and state universities and polytechnics. The result is likely to be a monumental scandal. A certain lack of creativity is a hallmark of the new breed of vice chancellors of universities and rectors of the polytechnics. They are more of contractors and politicians than decent academic leaders and managers of scarce resources. One way in which these institutions can manage their maintenance and general management services would be to create student work/study programmes in which interested students get hourly paid employment to be part of these services. That way, they earn income while being a part of the upkeep of campus municipal services. This would of course be only complementary to the compulsory presence of well-equipped maintenance and parks and gardens units. Perhaps in addition to all these, the rudiments of decent living and healthy environmental habits should form part of the general studies in our institutions of higher learning to stem the current tide of a national elite that mostly lacks environmental decency.

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.

NIGERIA AND WORLD TOILET DAY

he World Toilet Day is an official United Nations International Day usually observed on 19th November every year. It was declared in 2013 at the 67th session of the UN General Assembly. Toilets are important because access to a safe functioning toilet has a positive impact on public health, human dignity and personal safety, most especially women. According to the United Nations, “a toilet is not just a place where people pass faeces or waste, it is a life saver, dignity protector and opportunity maker.� Statistics from the United Nations indicate that about 4.2 billion people live without safety-managed sanitation and 673 million people practice open defecation globally, an important reason, the World Toilet day is celebrated to create awareness about the category of people living without toilets and also take necessary action so as to tackle the global sanitation crisis and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year 2020 World Toilet day focuses on “sustainable sanitation and

climate change� as climate change is getting worse, flood, drought and rising sea levels are threatening sanitation system. From toilet to septic tanks, to treatment plants, everyone must have sustainable sanitation and clean water as well as hand washing facility to maintain health security. The Coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 1.3 million people in the world has further stressed the need for sustainable sanitation. Sustainable sanitation begins with a toilet that effectively captures human waste in a safe, accessible and dignified setting. The waste then gets stored in a tank which can later be emptied later by a collection services or transported away by pipe work. Lack of household toileting facilities affects men and women especially women, forcing many of them including young ladies to travel long distance from their home to defecate as well as manage their menstrual necessities which make them vulnerable and in some cases exposes them to danger like rape. The United Nations also adds that the practice has huge impact on

Nigeria’s development; economically, about 1.3 percent (N455 billion) of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product is lost yearly to poor sanitation and open defecation. Healthwise, over 100 children under the age of five years die annually of cholera disease contracted from water contaminated by human feaces leading to stunted growth and malnutrition in some children. It’s saddening that open defecation is practiced not only in rural areas but also in some semi-urban areas as some of the houses do not have toilet facilities especially those at new site. The practice is very dangerous to human health as human excreta contains a variety of microbes which includes about 106 pathogenic viruses. The United Nations plans to end open defecation by 2030. But President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria cannot afford to wait till then, a determination which led the president to sign the Executive Order 009, and a national campaign to make Nigeria open defecation free by 2025. If we are to get rid of open defecation by 2025, provision of latrine, proper sanitation awareness, behavior

change, communication and enhanced community-led total sanitation campaign and enforcement are the most likely joint strategies to enable both rural and pre- urban become open defecation-free. Government while working on eradicating poverty through various interventions must also take bold steps by addressing this challenge of open defecation, not just by using the law but by implementing the laws and providing more toilet facilities where needed. Corporate organizations must also note that their efforts are also required in terms of addressing the challenge through the provision of more toilet facilities as well as sensitization campaigns. In conclusion, aggressive campaign should be made: every building must have a minimum of one toilet. Government at all levels should consider building efficient toilet facilities at markets, parks and even at some strategic areas of our roads for travellers. Nosimot Soneye, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State

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Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E Rumble in the East Over Defection of Umahi to APC Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Benjamin Nworie examine closely and thoroughly the change of political party loyalty from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress by Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State

Buhari

Buni

Umahi

Malami

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bers, House of Representatives considered the decision of the governor as impolitic, indecent and unwise to give ultimatums and conditionalities in a bid to secure zoning. Senator Egwu who is a ranking Senator said that it was not fair for the governor to describe the PDP as not fair to the South East Zone when he has benefited immensely from the party in the past. They, however, stated their support for the South-East to fly the Presidential flag of any of the major political parties come 2023. The read text was signed by Senator Sam Ominyi Egwu; Senator Obinna Ogba; Senator Mike Ama Nnachi; Hon. Sylvester Ogbaga; Hon. Igariwey Iduma Enwo; Hon. Chukwuma Nwazunku; Hon. Edwin Anayo and Hon. Livinus Makwe. The statement read, “We, the undersigned members of the Ebonyi State PDP caucus of the National Assembly, wish to address our fellow PDP members and other well-meaning Nigerians, on the defection of the Governor of Ebonyi State, Chief David Umahi from the PDP to the APC. “The major reason given by Chief Umahi for defecting from the PDP to the APC is now in the public domain which is that the PDP has not been fair to the People of the South

East on the issue of zoning the Presidency and vice Presidency. Viewing the the maximum damage that an Umahi defection could cause to the PDP, the party quickly dissolved the leadership of the party in the state in an attempt to neutralise the impact of the Umahi move. But such was the all encompassing nature of the Umahi defection that even the party he was moving into had to adjust its structure in order to accommodate him, as the APC in Ebonyi also carried out a restructuring of its leadership. As Chairman of the South-east Governors Forum, Umahi has been put on the spot concerning topical issues on a number of occasions. Agitators for a sovereign state of Biafra have been in an unending war of words with Umahi because the Ebonyi Governor openly disagrees with their methods of operation. However, he is very vocal for the realisation of an Igbo presidency in,Nigeria. Not a few believe if there is an Igboman who has the temperament and the capacity to lead Nigeria in 2023, Umahi is the one. National Caretaker Chairman of the All Progressives Congress who is also the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni pleaded with Umahi to give a thought to all members of the APC across all levels in the State.

Buni described Umahi’s defection to APC as timely and appropriate, as they have started to rebuild the party with reconciliation and registration of new members. Speaking in Abakaliki during the formal reception of Umahi to APC, the Yobe state Governor noted that they were not just happy receiving Umahi to APC but they were happy with the great performance of the Governor in the State. He noted that the national ruling party believes in equity and fairness and that was why President Muhammadu Buhari does not consider party affiliations when making sure that the welfare of the Nation is being into consideration. He further described the President as a man of Justice and fairness which he said was the reason that Governor Umahi left his former Party to the APC. Harping on the administration of the APC administration, the National Chairman recalled that when the President took over the mantle of leadership, Buhari discovered that over 27 States and many local government areas were unable to pay salaries and the President had to provide bailout funds to enable the States pay salaries. He also added that some of the flagship programmes of the federal government like the Anchor Borrowers were executed by States without party considerations. Buni said, “We have received the Governor, Umahi and his supporters to APC. Your Excellency, you are most welcome. We are happy to receive you on behalf of the APC family. We are happy not because we are receiving you but because you have performed, you’re performing; you have delivered, you are delivering”. “Your intention to join APC is timely; it’s appropriate because you are coming to our party at a time we have started rebuilding the Party. And to rebuild this Party, we have started with reconciliation and now we have started the second phase which is membership across the country”. “Today marks the new beginning in the political history of Ebonyi State. Your Excellency, I know you are a man of justice. You will do justice to all manner of members across all levels of the state from ward, local government to the state level.” Umahi stated that the state is now 99.9% APC pointing out that in no distance time, all the PDP National Assembly members from the state will join the APC, as they are all tired of PDP and its empty promises. The Governor who promised to be fair to all members in the state noted that he left PDP for the interest of the South East zone. He also announced that he joined the APc

overnor David Umahi of Ebonyi built on his reputation and confidence step-by-step. He served as the State Chairman of Ebonyi Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 2003 and 2007; deputy governor of the state; between 2007 and 2015. He threw his hat in the ring to become governor of the state in a contest in which he was not favoured by his boss and governor of the state at the time, Martin Elechi. However, having been the chairman of the PDP in the state, Umahi clearly understood the workings of the party and had secured the understanding of the leadership of the party in the local government. Therefore, he was able to remove the carpet from the feet of the Elechi, who thought he could deploy the influence of money to kill Umahi’s ambition. Against the incumbent governor’s wish, Umahi won the ticket of the PDP to run for the office of Ebonyi State and went on to win the general election in 2015. He was reelected in 2019, mainly on the basis of the amazing transformation his administration achieved within four years. Before Umahi became Governor, Ebonyi used to be the least state in the South-east. Within his first tenure, he was able to turn the table completely. He inspired the Ebonyi people who were once derided as the most backward among the Igbo states to rise to a place of honour. Umahi stepped into the national honours scroll when he became the only governor in the South-east, arguably, in this political dispensation, who is accepted across partisan lines. He easily became Chairman of the Southeast Governors Forum. In the period leading to the 2019 national elections, almost all the opposition party candidates surrendered to him. The few who went ahead to contest against him lost woefully, and thereafter preceded to the elections petition tribunal, but soon beat a quick retreat. Therefore, it was not unusual that the first hint of Umahi’s change of political party loyalty from the PDP to the APC came from elements in the erstwhile opposition. Indeed, when Umahi was in the PDP, there was little or no opposition. Now that he has moved the the APC, he expected the entire state to queue behind him, but it was not quite so. The Ebonyi State caucus of the PDP in the National Assembly denied support for Umahi’s move. On behalf of the three senators and five members of the House of Representatives, former governor of Ebonyi State, Senator Sam Egwu, PDP, Ebonyi North said that no single lawmaker in the National Assembly will follow as they remain full-blooded and loyal PDP members. According to Egwu, the Senator and mem-

Umahi stepped into the national honours scroll when he became the only governor in the Southeast, arguably, in this political dispensation, who is accepted across partisan lines. He easily became Chairman of the South-east Governors Forum. In the period leading to the 2019 national elections, almost all the opposition party candidates surrendered to him. The few who went ahead to contest against him lost woefully, and thereafter preceded to the elections petition tribunal, but soon beat a quick retreat. Therefore, it was not unusual that the first hint of Umahi’s change of political party loyalty from the PDP to the APC came from elements in the erstwhile opposition. Indeed, when Umahi was in the PDP, there was little or no opposition. Now that he has moved to the APC, he expected the entire state to queue behind him, but it was not quite so

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020

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MONDAY DISCOURSE

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Secondus

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with the 23 members of the state House of Assembly, 106 members of his cabinet, 13 Council chairmen and 171 Councillors and over 3000 other political appointees. Umahi said, “Today, Ebonyi State is 99.9% APC, the remaining 1% are the National Assembly members and some of our Elders Council. I know too well that all of them will soon join us in APC because in Ebonyi State, there is no opposition”. “I know what the National Assembly members are looking for and the moment they get it, they will join us in APC. I want to assure all that this new house built on equity and trust will accommodate all”. “Party should not divide us, I believe that together we will be stronger. So there is no need for anyone to be aggrieved. Its high time South East move to APC in totality. We are tired of PDP and their empty promises”. “We have gotten our freedom now, freedom from one person deciding the faith of millions of people as seen in PDP”. “I want to assure all that everyone would be carried along. No one would be discriminated. We are going to work as a family to achieve our common goal and aspiration”. Umahi also commend President Buhari for all the support and encouragement so far given to the state adding that the support of Mr. President is the testimony of the transformation being witnessed in Ebonyi State today. “We must thank the leadership of the APC for giving us the opportunity to be part of the transformation in the country. South East must get it right now”. A leader of APC in the South-east and Former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani commended Ukahi for taking Ndigbo to where they belong. The former Senate President noted that Umahi has set the space in the state and has position the aligned with the ruling party and cannot deviate from it. The state Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe declared he will follow Govenor Umahi to anywhere since he was the one that called him to work with him. Those who attended the function includes, Attorney General of the Federation, Justice Abubarka Malami, Governors of Kebbi, Niger, Jigawa and other APC National leaders from the South East region. Reacting to slaves fired at him by his Rivers State counterpart Mr. Nyesom Wike in an exclusive interview on ARISE TV, a subsidiary of THISDAY Newspapers, Umahi berated Wike for hijacking the NWC of the PDP and dictating virtually everything that happens in the party. The NWC had earlier dissolved the wards, local government and state executives of the party in the state. The governor said it was shameful how Governor Wike attacks and disparages fellow governors and further warned him to be careful how he talks to sitting governors. “I can’t join issues with my friend, Governor Nyesom Wike. He is a dictator and controls the PDP. He dictates virtually everything that happens in the PDP. Wike said I made my younger brother the National Vice Chairman of the PDP but he has forgotten he made Prince Uche Secondus the National Chairman. He has forgotten how he imposed the House of Representatives Minority Leader of PDP”. “He has called me so many unprintable names and it’s very shameful. In as much as I don’t want to take my fellow governor

to the cleaners, he should be very careful how he talks to fellow governors. The PDP NWC is being remote controlled and it’s very unacceptable and unless there is a change, you will see a lot of governors leaving the party. People should stop talking as if they are good. Sometimes, my colleague talks as if they are my God, Umahi said. Umahi while reacting to Wike’s claim that his defection to APC was a show of ingratitude to the PDP which made him all he is, said that it was on recorded that he was the soul sponsor of the PDP in the South East zone. The governor also noted that his problem in PDP was that he failed to castigate President Muhammadu Buhari. “PDP wants me to be castigating the President. That’s not in my character. The President remains my father and boss. I am happy doing what am doing, Umahi. Everything is not politics. My respect for Me President will never change. Mr President is a man of character and he has been very fair to all the governor’s irrespective of political differences”. He also reiterated that his decision to leave the PDP was due to the injustice of the party against the South-east zone. While debunking that the President never lobbied him to join the APC, the governor noted that he is not joining the APC in other to be given the presidential ticket or for it to be zoned to the South East region. “I want to tell you that my movement to APC doesn’t mean they should give to South East or myself. I am protesting against injustice. I am protesting because the PDP is marginalizing the South East and if it doesn’t

yield result today, it will yield tomorrow. I am not protesting because APC must do this or that. By 2023, we must have supported the PDP for 24 years. If we support APC for such years and they didn’t do something, then we have reason to protest. Umahi said that though the NWC said it was too early to talk of the presidential ticket but the way they were going showed that PDP was not going to zone it to the South-east. Like most human beings who command considerable influence, Umahi is sometimes given to grandstanding and ostentatious speech. Perhaps goaded by sycophants who are encouraging him to think he is superhuman, the Ebonyi governor sometimes takes sweeping and arbitrary decisions. Consider this statement from the Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe. According to him, Governor Umahi has assumed the position of a political teacher, a mentor and a father to him in particular and the entire council members. He said, “Your Excellency, a book will not contain your marks, that of this Exco and this administration. No man can fully understand or comprehend you. I say to you: you are an enigma and you are maverick. This State that you have rewritten its history will never forget you. I have no regrets serving and working with you and to say to you that no governor in Nigeria will have the privilege of working with great minds and brains like this exco.” They even try to encumber him with bogus appendages. For instance, Umahi has been addressed with the larger than life title, ‘Akubaroaha’ (meaning ‘wealth that benefits the people’). He was also made the Grand

Commander — Empowerment Hall of Fame. Feeling giddy from this kind of enticement, it is understandable that Umahi can take a whimsical action like appointing 1000 Special Assistants, whose duties clash with other appointees playing similar role Sometimes, his vision sounds grandiose and boastful. From the way he sees himself, Umahi thinks he has the capacity to deliver so much to Ebonyi that those who will come after him will have nothing to do. At a recent event, he stated, “Our target is to completely solve the problem of infrastructure by 2023 when we shall be handing over to a new administration. We will create jobs for our citizens, most especially in the private sector, thereby addressing the current huge dependence on civil service employment and its clearly adverse implications for overhead costs.” Considering his track record, it may not be out of place to give Umahi a benefit of doubt. In the days ahead, he has committed himself to construct additional eight flyovers at vulnerable locations across the state, complete the new Government House, International Market, industrial clusters, build an airport and numerous other projects ongoing in the state. Ebonyi State Governor, Engr David Umahi said that he was joining the APC because the Party is amenable working for the interest of the South East zone. The governor also noted that he has no presidential ambition and has not been promised by anyone for the presidential seat in 2023. He stressed that contrary to the allegation that he left because he was not promised the presidential ticket by the PDP, the governor noted that he would not have collected the ticket even if it was given to him. He said that his decision to leave PDP was because of the injustice against the people of the South East zone by the Party not minding that the late Vice President, Alex Ekwueme was a foundation member of the party. Briefing journalists in Abakaliki, the Governor also faulted claims made by the Board of Trustees Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Walid Jubril who said that the South East never requested for the Presidential ticket of the Party. Umahi said: “anybody saying I asked PDP for a PDP presidential ticket is being mischievous. Because, even if PDP promises anybody the presidential ticket, how does it work when over 8000 delegates will be electing the person? And such promise cannot happen with more than 10 or 20 people”. “People are just being very mischievous about that. But there are a lot of prominent people from the Southeast and I don’t want to list them, but I think the State House of Assembly wrote to the PDP and listed many qualified persons from the Southeast that can take the presidential slot of the PDP”. “Some people said that why I am moving to APC was that I was promised the Presidential ticket of the party, but there was nothing like that. APC never promised me any position and they never promised Southeast any position. There was no such discussion”. “However, I offered myself for this movement as a protest to injustice being done to Southeast by the PDP; that since 1998 the Southeast people have supported PDP in all elections”.

PDP wants me to be castigating the President. That’s not in my character. The President remains my father and boss. I am happy doing what am doing, Umahi. Everything is not politics. My respect for Me President will never change. Mr President is a man of character and he has been very fair to all the governor’s irrespective of political differences. He also reiterated that his decision to leave the PDP was due to the injustice of the party against the South-east zone. While debunking that the President never lobbied him to join the APC, the governor noted that he is not joining the APC in other to be given the presidential ticket or for it to be zoned to the South East region. I want to tell you that my movement to APC doesn’t mean they should give to South East or myself. I am protesting against injustice. I am protesting because the PDP is marginalizing the South East and if it doesn’t yield result today, it will yield tomorrow. I am not protesting because APC must do this or that. By 2023, we must have supported the PDP for 24 years. If we support APC for such years and they didn’t do something, then we have reason to protest

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020

POLITICS

A Peep Into the New Police Reform Bill Udora Orizu writes that the House of Representatives has presented a draft of the much awaited police reform bill to stakeholders for their inputs

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ing of the Legislative Agenda, Hon. Henry Nwawuba, said the 9th House has committed itself to seeking collective and holistic ways to find lasting solutions to our national needs. Nwawuba said the dialogue was an innovative step in the Bill process to get stakeholders buy-in even before the presentation of the Bill on the floor of the House. Also, the Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon. Bello Kumo said his committee would provide an enabling environment for people to cross-fertilize ideas when the Bill gets to them.

allowances as prescribed by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission. The Bill also empowers the President to remove a member of the Commission, in accordance with the provisions of Section 157 of the Constitution, if he is satisfied that it is not in the interest of the Commission or the interest of the public that the member should continue in Office. Some of the functions of the commission includes appointment and promotion of persons to offices (other than the office of the InspectorGeneral of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over persons (other than the Inspector-General of Police) in the Nigeria Police Force; develop guidelines and procedures for investigating allegations and complaints of misconduct against police officers and employ, train, and deploy persons to serve as investigators in all the State Offices of the Commission. On complaints against police officers, a person may make a complaint of professional misconduct against any member of the Nigeria Police Force to the nearest state office of the Commission, from where the incident took place or any designated office of the Commission. The complaint may be made orally, in writing, or by any electronic means and shall contain the nature and particulars of the misconduct, the name of the police officer involved, the force number of the officer involved, date and time estimates of when the incident took place and any other relevant information to aid easy identification of the officer involved. After a complaint has been made to the Commission, the State coordinator in the state where the alleged misconduct occurred shall take immediate steps to identify the officer(s) against whom the complaint has been made; and necessary steps to confirm the basic facts supplied by the complainant. Also based on the complaint and any supporting facts, the State coordinator shall decide whether to proceed with an investigation. On investigation duration, witness protection and disciplinary action, the legislation proposes that investigation into complaints made against police officers shall be concluded within six months of the original complaint

and a final report submitted to the Secretariat of the Police Service Commission for action. It read in part, ‘’The Police Service Commission shall take all reasonable steps to protect the identity of witnesses and protect them from retaliation, victimisation or any risk arising from their witness testimony or other evidence provided. Upon the conclusion of an investigation into a complaint against a police officer, the Coordinator of the State Office and the lead Investigator assigned to the complaint, shall sign the report of the investigation, and submit same to the Secretariat of the Police Service Commission; and the relevant police command where the indicted officer is attached. ‘’At the conclusion of investigation of a complaint by a State Office, an independent Investigator or Monitor, a Committee or any other body saddled with investigative responsibility by the Commission, the Commission shall enter a verdict and issue a report detailing one, or a combination of the following disciplinary actions; Further training of the officer involved for low-level matters of misconduct; Final written warning where the officer is not a first offender; Temporary suspension without pay; Reduction in Rank; and Dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force. ‘’The decision of the Commission in respect of an Investigation Report by a State Office, an independent Investigator or Monitor, 3 Committee or any other body saddled with investigative responsibility by the Commission shall be final.’’

s part of efforts to reform the Nigeria Police Force, the House of Representatives on November 18 presented a draft copy of the Police Service Commission (Reform) Bill to stakeholders at a public dialogue for their input before the Bill is presented on the floor of the House. The proposed legislation was sequel to the public outcry for the disbandment of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria police and a total reform of the police. The members of the House on October 7 resolved to work with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to draft new legislation within 30 days that will ensure erring officers of the police are accountable for their actions. Titled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Police Service Commission (establishment) Act, 2001 and to enact the Police Service Commission (reform) Act 2020, to make further provisions for the composition and management of the police service commission; its functions and powers; and for related matters’, the legislation among other things is seeking to establish a body to be known as the Police Service Commission (in this Act referred to as “the Commission”), headquartered in FCT and as well creation of state offices to take public complaints and investigate allegations against the police. Section 6(1)(I) and 7(c) will give Nigerians power to make complaints against erring police officers, and the commission will be empowered to set up panels to investigate policemen and recommend sanctions or prosecution for them. The Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila addressing stakeholders at the public dialogue, themed ‘Policing and Human Rights in Nigeria’, said the House intends to carry out a wholesale reform of the Police from recruitment to training and welfare of officers. The Speaker said the Police cannot be effective when the mechanisms for accountability and discipline are too weak to identify, remove and prosecute rogue officers. He said that the country does not have an effective system of policing as the relationships between communities and the police are defined by fear and mistrust. The Speaker while calling on all wellmeaning Nigerians to make their inputs toward the enactment of the Bill, opined that effective policing is only possible when the policing institutions are grounded in the rule of law. Also the President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata, whose organization is one of the bodies working with the House on the Bill, said they were doing a lot to re-energize relevant bodies of the NBA to face issues of human rights violations squarely. Akpata said, ‘’This is one collaboration that we’re proud of. The issues that confront our country and the Nigeria Police are issues that predate most of us. With regards to human rights violations, I think it’s a matter of orientation. In the proposed law, the issue of orientation is being addressed.’’ In a remark, the Chairman of the House Committee on Implementation and Monitor-

Some Provisions in the Proposed Legislation When passed into law, the Police Service Commission which will be established, shall comprise a Chairman, who shall be the Chief Executive Officer, and eight (8) members, appointed in line with the principles of Federal Character and in accordance with Section 156 of the Constitution. The Chairman shall be a person who is not more than the age of 55 at the time of the appointment and not a card-carrying member of any political party at the time of his appointment or for the five years preceding the appointment; According to the Bill’s draft, those eligible for the position of Chairman are as follows; ‘A woman who has experience working in the area of sexual harassment and genderbased violence. A youth, being a person who is not more than thirty five years of age at the time of appointment, and a member in good standing of a recognized profession. A retired Police Officer not below the rank of Commissioner of Police. A retired Justice of either the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court of Nigeria; and a representative each of National Human Rights Commission; Nigerian Bar Association, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission; and CiviI Society Organisations. The Chairman and other members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate. On tenure of office and salaries for members of the commission, each member of the shall each hold office for a single term five years and no more and shall be paid salaries and

The Police Service Commission shall take all reasonable steps to protect the identity of witnesses and protect them from retaliation, victimisation or any risk arising from their witness testimony or other evidence provided. Upon the conclusion of an investigation into a complaint against a police officer, the Coordinator of the State Office and the lead Investigator assigned to the complaint, shall sign the report of the investigation, and submit same to the Secretariat of the Police Service Commission; and the relevant police command where the indicted officer is attached

Stakeholders Input Speaking on the proposed Bill, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu, who was represented at the event by the DIG research and planning, Adeleye Olusola, urged the House to allow the NPF to study the draft bill and before making inputs. He said, ‘’The police service commission, going by the draft as presented, I listened very carefully when you mentioned some areas of interventions to be made. In the first instance, police are supposed to be accountable and there’s no doubt about it. So police reform act 2020, the Nigerian Police will go back and look at all of this. We just got this draft of the Bill. I don’t think the police has made some input at this stage, so I am requesting your permission to allow us to go back and take a very critical look at it. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well, we are talking about policing, and we all know with what we’ve seen today, that a lot has to be done. I know that he has given it some of our legal people to look at it, and bring a document that can be meaningful to what we’re doing right now. I want to seek your permission to give us some time to look at it and come back. But we are so much grateful and honored.’’ Also speaking, the Chairman of Police Service Commission, (PSC) Musiliu Smith, represented by retired Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, commended the House for coming up with the Bill, saying it would enhance the operations of the commission, requesting for more time to study the draft law. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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FEATURES

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

Who will Save Apapa from Open Defecation? Apapa, an erstwhile serene environment that houses Nigeria’s largest sea ports and other organisations in Lagos, has in the past few years been greatly degraded by the activities of trailer and tanker drivers who openly defecate and urinate at every available space, thereby making the whole area totally unbearable as they park on the road for as long as three weeks at a stretch. Chiemelie Ezeobi wonders who will save the area from these unruly drivers

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lobally, toilets are important because access to a safe functioning toilet has a positive impact on human dignity, public health and personal safety. Thus, societies that are bereft of such facilities lack sanitation and hygiene in general, which is an important factor that cause various diseases; the most common being diarrhea and intestinal worm infections but also typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, polio, trachoma, and others. In most cases, open defecation not just pollutes the environment and cause health problems, its high levels are linked to high child mortality, poor nutrition, poverty, and large disparities between rich and poor. Apapa’s Sordid Roads In Apapa, a suburb in Lagos State, the level of degradation and environmental nuisance caused on the roads by heavy duty drivers is sordid. In fact, the wanton disregard for environmental laws by these drivers, is causing much damage that government cannot afford to treat it with kid gloves. Aside the horrible traffic gridlock that has become synonymous with Apapa, the issue of open defecation and urination has turned Apapa into one of the dirtiest areas in Lagos. From Creek Road to Airways, Marine Beach, Ijora, Iganmu, Orile, Mile 2 Bus Stop, and even Boundary in Ajegunle, the menace of open defecation seem to have run riot. As is the norm with the heavy duty drivers, they are often parked on the side of the road waiting for their turn at the ports or even customers to engage them. Given the degradation the parked heavy duty vehicles have on the roads, it is further compounded by how they, alongside their conductors, openly defecate and urinate on the roads without recourse to the dangers of such irascible action- endangering their health and that of the residents, thus making them prone to transmitted diseases, especially diarrhoea and cholera. Aside the exposure to transmitted diseases, passersby, residents and commuters are left to battle with the unfriendly stench that comes from the open defecation and urination, especially when the sun is out. In Apapa, almost all roads leading and out are bugged with excreta, tied up either in nylons or styrofoam plates, which was hitherto used to eat. While many have blamed this on the absence of public toilets, the resultant effect is a sore sight and a threat to the legs. Notwithstanding the stench, the heavy duty drivers seem to be comfortable in the malaise as they still live on the roads in the midst of such filth. In their watery defence, the drivers blamed the unavailability of public toilets in some areas and then the cost of consistently using such toilets in the area where it is situated. They also claimed it was dangerous to leave their trucks unattended to as they search for public toilets, forgetting that they have conductors they can alternate with when the call of nature comes. Prevalence of Open Defecation in Nigeria Nigeria has the second-highest prevalence rate of open defecation with 24 per cent, about 47 million, of its population engaging in the act according to a 2018 national survey. According to UNICEF, currently, only 13 of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria are open defecation-free. Statistics put the North Central states with a lead of 53.9 per cent, followed by South-west with 28.0 per cent, South-east with 22.4 per cent, South-south with 17.9 per cent and North-east with 10.3 per cent. According to UNICEF, with these figures, Nigeria now ranks second in open defeca-

Public toilets such as these are urgently needed in Apapa and environs Guterressaid, “The Sustainable Development Goal 6 is badly off track and it is hindering progress on the 2030 Agenda, the realisation of human rights and the achievement of peace and security around the world.�

Open defecation is a menace to any society

Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu tion in the world and first in Africa among countries with the highest number of people defecating in the open. Sustainable Development Goals According to the United Nations (UN), “a toilet is not just a toilet-it’s a life-saver, dignity-protector and opportunity-maker. Whoever you are, wherever you are, sanitation is your human right. And yet, billions of people are being left behind.� But lamentably, the UN posited that

worldwide, 4.2 billion people live without "safely managed sanitation" and around 673 million people practice open defecation, which is a far cry from the Sustainable Development Goal six which aims to "ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all". In particular, target 6.2 is to "End open defecation and provide access to sanitation and hygiene". In fact, when the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020 was published, United Nations Secretary-General AntĂłnio

World Toilet Day One of the measures put on ground to tackle the menace of open defecation is the commemoration of the World Toilet Day (WTD). Globally, the WTD is marked every November 19 and this year was not different. The WTD is an official United Nation's international observance day to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. The resolution declaring World Toilet Day titled, ‘Sanitation for All’ (A/RES/67/291), was adopted on July 24, 2013 and it urges UN Member States and relevant stakeholders to encourage behavioural change and the implementation of policies to increase access to sanitation among the poor, along with a call to end the practice of open-air defecation, which it deemed “extremely harmful� to public health. In essence, World Toilet Day seeks to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), which promises sanitation for all by 2030. This year, the theme was 'Sustainable sanitation and climate change' and although it was marked low key because of COVID-19 pandemic, the essence was still observed, especially by private organisations, given the importance of sanitation and climate change. In Nigeria, WaterAid Nigeria, revealed that 112 million Nigerians do not have toilet of their own. While commemorating the 2020 WTD, they harped on, ‘Living in a fragile world: The Impact of Climate Change on the Sanitation Crisis’, in which they highlighted the link between poor sanitation and the transmission of fatal, but preventable illnesses – such as cholera and how these are now compounded by the effects of climate change. According to them, “where decent toilets are lacking, human faeces can contaminate the groundwater or end up in rivers and lakes, polluting what is often the only supply of water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Children play on ground rife with pathogens and as a result of faecal contamination, whole communities can contract diarrohea diseases.� The international not-for-profit organisation noted that climate change currently

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FEATURES aggravates the sanitation crisis with extreme weather conditions including floods, rising temperatures, prolonged droughts are causing irreparable damage to weak sanitation systems and causing illnesses to spread further in vulnerable communities. They further disclosed that an estimated 250,000 additional deaths per year are predicted between 2030 and 2050 due to climate change and many of these deaths will be linked to poor sanitation. For Apapa and other parts of the state, some public toilets were refurbished by Harpic, Nigeria’s leading toilet cleaning brand from Reckitt Benckiser (RB) in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources. As part of measures to commemorate the WTD, they upgraded and refurbished 47 public toilet units for six communities at Oshodi, Ojota, New Garage, Apapa, Costain, and Leventis in Victoria Island. Funding Gap One of the challenges facing open defecation has been funding. Harping on this, WaterAid recently expressed concern over the $20 billion annual funding gap for WASH in Nigeria, which is crucial to achieving universal access to water and sanitation by 2030. Calling for scaling up of funds, the organisation noted that with what is on ground, it has become clear that there will need to be a significant up-scaling of resourcing over the next decade if the National WASH Action Plan is going to create real results for Nigeria. They further charged government to include ambitious sanitation plans in their climate change adaptation strategies so communities are better prepared to withstand the impacts of climate change, as well as increase investment in sanitation services since safe, reliable, and inclusive sanitation services help prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Efforts by LASG Just last year, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recommitted to rewriting the narrative around water and sanitation access in the state by pledging to embed the “transformative power of toilets� in policy-making, according to globalcitizen.org. Sanwo-Olu made this pledge in New York during UN General Assembly when he was hosted by Global Citizen partner Reckitt Benckiser. According to the governor, having access to modern toilet facilities and proper sanitation is an issue that is “very often underestimated by many people, for the simple reason that it is very easy for it to be taken for granted. It is also easy — and erroneous — to assume that it is primarily a rural problem. It is all too often an urban one as well. I stand here because I have the experience�. Noting that Lagos is the largest megacity in the whole of Africa, whilst growing tremendously, he said; “So we know firsthand what it feels like to struggle to make sure clean water is available to everyone. For me personally, as governor of Lagos State, it is a defining issue for me, and one to which I am fully committed to creating a sustainable solution for over the next four years�. He further posited that the issue of not having access to toilets is particularly pronounced for women and girls — both through heightened vulnerability to violence and assault, and through poor menstrual hygiene management impacting their education. In 2018, as part of its WTD declaration, the Lagos State government said it is finalising implementation plans on its Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) policy, envisaged to complement extant laws and curb the menace of open defecation and urination in the state. Decrying the practices of open defecation and urination as unwholesome with a lot of negative impact on the environment, public health, human dignity and personal safety especially for women, children and those in vulnerable situations, the state government has consistently promoted the campaign against open defecation. But the question remains- how effective has that campaign been? Roadmap Towards Eliminating Open Defecation According to statistics, Nigeria is among the nations in the world with the highest number of people practicing open defeca-

Infographic by NOIPolls tion, estimated at over 46 million people. According to the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, the practice has had a negative effect on the populace, especially children, in the areas of health and education and had contributed to the country’s failure to meet the MDG target. Poor sanitation impacts the entire country – it is estimated that Nigeria loses 1.3 per cent of its GDP annually due to poor sanitation. In 2018, the Nigerian Federal Government declared a state of emergency in its water, sanitation and hygiene sector, and launched a National WASH Action Plan in response to the huge challenges linked to the poor sanitation and hygiene. This was followed the next year by the ‘Clean Nigeria: Use the Toilet’ campaign, which aims to end open defecation by 2025. He noted that the sanitation situation in the country prompted the National Council on Water Resources in 2014 to prioritise the development of a roadmap towards eliminating open defecation in the country, in line with the United Nations global campaign for ending open defecation. This initiative tagged “Making Nigeria Open Defecation Free by 2025: A National Roadmap� was developed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources with invaluable support from UNICEF and other key sector players across Nigeria. In 2016, the National Council on Water Resources endorsed this road map as a mean to eliminate open defecation in Nigeria. He said: “The Roadmap provides a guide towards achieving an open defecation free country using different approaches such as capacity development; promotion of improved technology options through sanitation marketing; provision of sanitation facilities in public places; Community-Led Total Sanitation; promotional and media campaigns; creating enabling environment and coordination mechanism. “In this strategy document an indicative investment required for achieving the roadmap

is estimated, showing the cost by government at all levels and the private sector, especially for construction of sanitation facilities in public places and the cost by households for construction of household sanitation facilities. “I am glad to stress that the cost benefit of investment in sanitation on the health, economic and education sectors cannot be overemphasised as reduction in diarrhea diseases among children, increased school attendance, reduction in health care cost and job creation for sanitation services will contribute to economic growth and development. “The Roadmap also provides a basis for the development of the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply and Sanitation (PEWASH) programme which aims to establish a multi-sectoral partnership between government, development partners and the private sector to support the empowerment of rural dwellers in Nigeria through the provision of adequate water supply and sanitation services. “The Federal Ministry of Water Resources will provide the enabling environment, leadership and coordination required in achieving this target by working together with communities, civil society, development agencies, private sector and government at sub-national levels.� Also, to ensure that citizens remain committed to being open defecation free, President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 signed an executive order 009. The Order declares that the National Open Defecation Free Roadmap developed by the Federal Ministry of Water Resources with support from other key sector players across Nigeria be put into effect. "There has been established in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources a National Secretariat called ‘Clean Nigeria Campaign Secretariat. The Secretariat is authorised on behalf of the president to implement this order by ensuring that all public places including schools, hotels, fuel stations, places

of worship, market places, hospitals and offices have accessible toilets and latrines within their premises," a statement by Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said. Also, the minister of water resources said such laws is not to compel people but rather to promote behavioural change in hygiene promotion and curbing the menace of open defecation, adding that “we need the individuals and communities to have this behavioral change. It’s a personal responsibility of a household for their well being and dignity to imbibe the culture of building and looking for toilets around them to relive themselves. "In the national wash action plan that we are promoting, which the states are adopting, there’s provision for some legislation to be made against open defecation, and there’s going to be an executive order signed by President Buhari to that effect, where there’s a law against open defecation, the law enforcement agencies will do their bit. "We are hoping that once the campaign gets into the mind of people, our job is done. So when the communities begins to see that this is not right, this behaviour will change. And at the end of the day what is left for us is monitoring the process and if the communities are not doing it we will apply some tested methods to go and trigger them and find a way to mobilise them and do more advocacy for them. "Open defecation is a bad practice and should be stopped and we as government at federal and state level have our own responsibility where these facilities are not available we should make a concerted effort now to provide an alternative, If we all unite in this, we will get there by 2025.� Given that one out of four Nigerians defecates in the open, with about 32 million others not having access to improved toilets, there is indeed a need for political will in order to achieve the 2025 target of making Nigeria open defecation free.

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MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 •T H I S D AY

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET OVERNIGHT OBB

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2 0 2 0 EXCHANGE RATE ͹;͡˚ͯ ̊ ̊

Quick Takes CIBN Holds 55TH Bankers’ Dinner Friday

CAPACITY BUILDING

L-R:Director,Advapro,HelenOfili;CEO,WavelengthOil&GasServices,OnealLajuwomi;Legal/CorporateAffairsDirector,InternationalBreweriesPlc,Temitope OguntokunandCorporateCommunicationsManager,InternationalBreweriesPlc,EniolaAlli-Faweya,atthe2020KickstartInitiativeAlumniWorkshopheldin Lagosrecently ETOPUKUTT

FG to Commence $195m Maritime Security Project Q1 2021 Eromosele Abiodun The federal government has disclosed that barring any unforeseen circumstance, the $195 million Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also called the Deep Blue Project, which has suffered many delays will commence in the first quarter of next year. The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi announced this during an inspection of some of the Deep Blue Project equipment in Lagos at the weekend. Amaechi, who was accompanied on the tour by the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd), Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ete Ibas and the Director General of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh, said apart from aircrafts, most of the equipment

MARITIME needed for the project are now in the country He said the Deep Blue Project, which aims to tackle insecurity on the nation’s waters would commence next year, adding that the aircraft were expected to arrive the country by March 2021. The federal government had in 2017 approved a $195 million maritime security contract with an Israeli firm, HLS International Limited under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also called the Deep Blue Project. The contract was in line with efforts to curb increasing criminal activities such as piracy, sea robbery, kidnapping, oil theft, illegal bunkering, smuggling

and illegal trafficking in drugs and persons within the Gulf of Guinea, especially Nigeria. Under the initiative, the government was supposed to have commenced the deployment of security assets first week of January this year to curb maritime criminality. The current postponement is the fourth time the government would be shifting its position on the takeoff date of the deep blue project, which was expected to have kicked off in 2019. However, Amaechi said while 85 per cent of the assets have been delivered, others were still expected. According to him, “Only the helicopters are being awaited. Every other thing has arrived and we hope to receive the helicopters by first quarter of next year. I don’t know when the

assets will be deployed because that is a security question. Allow the security men to meet with us the policy makers and then we will conclude.� He who decried the embarrassment incessant pirates attacks on ships has caused Nigeria blamed past administrations for the problem but reiterated the Muhammadu Buhari government’s determination to rid the nation’s waters of criminal activities. “No matter how embarrassing the situation is, the fact that the federal government is addressing it is most important. Don’t forget they tried it under Obasanjo, the PICOMMS project, it never worked. They tried it under former President Goodluck Jonathan, it never worked Continued on page 24

Stock Market Declines 2.5% on Profit Taking Goddy Egene The stock market declined by 2.5 per cent last week following profit taking after weeks of sustained growth. The market, which spiked by 12.9 per cent the previous week, closed lower last week as the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) shedding 2.5 per cent to be at 34,136.82. The market capitalisation closed lower at N17.838 trillion. Despite the decline, analysts at Cordros Research said in the short to medium term, they still see scope for expansion in valuation multiples as the depressed yield environment remains compelling

CAPITAL MARKET for yield-seeking investors to rebalance their portfolio towards equities. “In the week ahead((this week), we expect a mixed market performance due to continued profittaking activities and positioning by early birds in dividend-paying stocks ahead of full year (FY) 2020 dividend declarations. We reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,� the analysts said. Meanwhile, investors traded

11.4 billion shares worth N35.892 billion in 39,265 deals compared with 4.509 billion shares valued at N58.733 billion that exchanged hands in 47,140 deals the previous week. The Construction/Real Estate industry led the activity chart with 8.529 billion shares valued at N6.055 billion traded in 438 deals, thus contributing 74.8 per cent and 16.8 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Financial Services Industry followed with 1.991 billion shares worth N19.933 billion in 21,725 deals, just as the Conglomerates Industry occupied the third position with a turnover of 423.702 million shares worth N526.698

million in 1,962 deals. Trading in the top three equities namely UAC- Property Development Company Plc, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc and Jaiz Bank Plc accounted for 9.259 billion shares worth N6.639 billion in 1,958 deals. The price movement, showed that 55 equities depreciated in price, higher than 12 equities in the previous week, while 21 equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 69 equities in the previous week. Coronation Insurance Plc led the price losers with 21.1 per cent, trailed by Oando Plc with 19.7

TheGovernoroftheCentralBankofNigeria(CBN),Mr.GodwinEmeďŹ ele willhostthe55thAnnualBankersDinnerorganisedbytheCharteredInstitute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Friday, November 27, 2020. The event will hold in Lagos, with strict adherence to the protocol against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The event will also be transmitted simultaneously through Zoom teleconferencing to accommodate participation across the globe. According to a statement, EmeďŹ ele will delivering a keynote address where he is expected to present the banking industry’s score card for the current year as well as provide economic insight into the monetary policy and regulatory direction for the coming year. The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other state governors are expected to grace the occasion as special guests of honour. OtherdignitariesexpectedattheoccasionincludethePresident/Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chairman, Fate Foundation, Mr. Fola Adeola; President, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Chairman, Elizade Nigeria Limited, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo; and Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu. Others are Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, Managing Director/Chief Executive, NDIC; all Deputy Governors and Directors of Central Bank of Nigeria; all Chairmen and Managing Directors/CEOs of banks; Mr. Wale Tinubu, Chairman, Oando Plc; Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Airtel Nigeria Ltd among others. ThePresident/ChairmanofCouncil,CIBN,Mr.BayoOlugbemiisexpectrd b FCIB, President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, will deliver the Welcome Address while Mr. ‘Seye Awojobi, FCIB, Registrar/CEO, CIBN give the vote of thanks.

MTN GlobalConnect Wins Award

MTNGlobalConnecthasannouncedthatitwasnamedthe“BestAfrican Wholesale Operatorâ€? at the Telecom Review Excellence Awards held in Dubai, recently. Inaddition,MTNGlobalConnectCEO,FrĂŠdĂŠricSchepenswaspresented with the, “Leader Merit Awardâ€? in the category of Industry CEO of theYear for Wholesale Operators at the 14th edition of the industry publication’s awards. “The MTN GlobalConnect team and I are humbled to win these awards,â€? a statement quoted Schepens, to have said. “In a year that has been challenging for everyone, the recognition fuels our mission to grow Africa by doing the work we do in infrastructure, supporting MTN’s belief that everyone deserves the beneďŹ ts of a modern connected life,â€? he added. Established in 2018, MTN GlobalConnect is based in Dubai and its team is made up of more than 25 nationalities. Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is an emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our more than 270 million customers. “We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the beneďŹ ts of a modern connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code “MTN.â€? We are pursuing our BRIGHT strategy with a major focus on growth in data, ďŹ ntech and digital businesses in Africa,â€? the statement added.

Sky Capital Appoints New MD

Sky Capital & Financial Allied International Limited, a subsidiary of SIFAX Group, has appointed a new Managing Director in the person of Mr. Maxwell Ideh. The company in a statement said Ideh, a seasoned banking professional with over twenty years’ experience, is a 1994 graduate of Biological Science from the University of Lagos and also holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from the China Europe International Business School in 2012. “He started his professional career with Allied Bank in 1995 and has worked with Eko International Bank, Access Bank, Oceanic Bank, Bank PHB, Keystone Bank, Mainstreet Bank and Polaris Bank, “it said. Speaking on the appointment, Group Executive Vice Chairman, SIFAX Group,Dr.TaiwoAfolabisaidthequalityofthenewhelmsmanwasinformed by the vision of the company to become a leader in all its business sector and drive it for more proďŹ tability and impact.

“This recession is going to be longer than we thought, even though not as deep as originally feared. The recovery is going to be slow and painful, so policy actions and policy pronouncements have to be consistent � CEO, FDC,

Continued on page 24

Bismarck Rewane

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BUSINESSWORLD FG TO COMMENCE $195M MARITIME SECURITY PROJECT Q1 2021 but here you have gentlemen who are determined to make it work and now it worked so just be patient and give us some more time. “We have said that we expect all the equipment to arrive by March next year and we expect that training should be able to end before March so allow the government to take a decision,�he said. Also speaking, Magashi said ongoing efforts to deploy all assets needed for the project showed the level of preparedness of the government to tackle insecurity on the nation’s waters. “We have always been prepared but our coming here today will further increase the preparedness of the Nigerian Navy and the security of our waters. We have commenced training of the naval personnel that will man the equipment and we hope to complete their training by next year. STOCK MARKET DECLINES 2.5% ON PROFIT TAKING

per cent. Japaul shed 18.1 per cent, just as Transcorp Plc went down by 13.0 per cent. FBN Holdings Plc and Sterling Bank Plc depreciated by 12.1 per cent and 11.9 per cent respectively. Other top price losers: Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (11.5 per cent); Fidelity Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc (11.4 per cent apiece); and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (11.2 per cent). On other hand, BOC Gases Plc led the price gainers with 39.8 per cent, trailed by Tripple Gee & Company Plc with 19.5 per cent. NEM Insurance Plc chalked up 17.2 per cent. AIICO Insurance Plc gained 12.2 per cent, just as Ikeja Hotel Plc and Linkage Assurance Plc went up by 10 per cent apiece. Other top price losers included: Conoil Plc (9.4 per cent); UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (9.2 per cent), Cornerstone Insurance Plc (6.9 per cent) and Champion Breweries Plc (6.0 per cent).

NEWS

Operators Fault Nigeria’s Unclaimed Dividend Bill Goddy Egene Securities dealers in the Nigerian capital market has faulted the plan by the federal government to manage unclaimed dividends which is projected to hit N200 billion by the end of this year. As one of its last options to fund the economy, the federal government has in Section 39 of the 2020 Finance Act proposed that unclaimed dividends of less than 12 years be managed on behalf shareholders through Unclaimed Dividend Trust Fund, while after 12 years, the money would be forfeited to the government as perpetual debt to shareholders. However, the plan has drawn the ire of capital market operators, who argued that the proposed legislation would have adverse effects on investor confidence and future growth of the market. Addressing the Investigative Arm of House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions recently, the Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Chief Onyenwechukwu Ezeagu, said the bill was unnecessary because capital market regulators and operators had leveraged technology to put in place many initiatives that are already addressing the issue of unclaimed dividends. According to him, such initiatives included: dematerialisation of shares which entails upload of quoted companies’ shares in the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) for ease of reconciliation, adoption of E-Dividend and E-

Mandate, consolidation of multiple accounts, identity management engagements, and introduction of electronic Initial Public offering (e-IPO). Others are the adoption of Minimum Operating Standards (MOS) for operators to enhance efficiency; intensified investor education, continuous stakeholders’ engagement, process reform and streamlining and know your customer (KYC) update on clients’ accounts among others. “Generally, the incentives for savers and capital providers in the

capital market is the expectation of dividends and capital appreciation. It is therefore our considered view that the proposed legislation, if passed, will be a great disincentive to savings, long-term capital mobilisation and serious disruption of the Nigerian economy since it will take away the only expectation of investors in the market,� Ezeagu said. Speaking in the same vein, the President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr.Olatunde Amolegbe,

described the Bill as objectionable at this stage of the market. According to him, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would always ensure that unclaimed dividend is transferred to capital reserves of the company for restricted utilisation such as capital expansion and issuance of bonus shares to the company’s shareholders. The Chief Executive Officer, Wyoming Capital, Mr.Tajudeen Olayinka, expressed dismay at the Bill, saying: “ If passed by the National Assembly, would

amount to deleveraging the banking system, whose stockin-trade is cash, while at the same time, putting too much pressure on public companies’ additional source of finance. Capital formation and investor confidence are at stake as well.’ Already, shareholders and financial experts have to kicked against the controversial Bill, saying government has no business with unclaimed dividends. Some shareholders’ groups are contemplating going to court to stop the bill.

SUPPORT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

L-R: Head, Risk Management, Monitoring and Internal Control, Lagos State EmploymentTrust Fund (LSETF), Mr. Adewumi Oni; Director, Programmes and Coordination,Tosin Faniro-Dada; Executive Secretary, Mrs.Teju Abisoye; Director, Agri-business, Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Aramide Gansallo, and Head, Internal Audit, LSETF, Mr. Damola Jolaoso, at the launch of the LSETF Lagos Economic Acceleration Programme (LEAP), a N5 billon post COVID 19 economic recovery supportforsmallbusinessesinLagos...recently

DAWN Advises FG to Promote Fiscal Federalism, Regionalism Raheem Akingbolu The Director General of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN), Seye Oyeleye, has urged the federal government to embrace fiscal federalism, a re-organisation of states as well to embrace regionalism in order to promote socio-economic development. Speaking to journalists in Ibadan at the weekend, Oyeleye, a strategic management expert, said there was an urgent need for infrastructural development in the country to strengthen the internal generated revenue of various states ahead of the

looming economic challenge that may come with decline in the oil revenue. The Director General urged the federal government to enhance ability of states and regions in leveraging on areas of comparative advantage, instead of totally relying on the centre and going to Abuja cap in hand every month to collect monthly allocation, while local opportunities are left unharnessed He said: “At the global level, technology is driving the process so much that most of the countries that rely on oil producing nations for petrol and diesel are thinking of electronic-powered vehicles.

For instance, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has called out his countrymen to warm up for total switching to electronic vehicles by 2030. “No doubts, many other countries of the world would follow and this would tell negatively on the economies of countries that rely mostly on oil to survive. The first thing that should be on the front burner for Nigeria now is infrastructural developments like rail, road and power. “For instance, when America wanted to change her story, the business class started investing hugely in rail transportation and the country became better for it.

We can do the same because if there is connectivity among states, there will be mutual growth economically,� Using the south-west states as case studies, the Director General commended the respective state governors for their commitment to regional integration and development and urged them not to allow the rhythm to go down pointing out that regional integration would bring about common economic growth. “So far, the south-west Governors, regardless of their political lineage have bought fully into the drive for regional integration and development because they

know it will enrich the region by increasing the IGR of the various states. The truth is that there cannot be increase in the IGR if there is no infrastructure. “For instance, if the five states in the South-West can be linked by rail and the roads are good, the development would attract investors and there would be economic cooperation. Today, it is no more news that residents of Lagos alone consume food items that worth millions of naira daily. If there are semblance of infrastructural developments in neighboring states, they will be earning so much in revenue from farm produce sold in Lagos,� he added.

FG Urged to Fully Deregulate Downstream Oil Sector

Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafor (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Stakeholders in the downstream value chain of the oil and gas sector has stressed that deregulation remaines the most appropriate and sustainable direction available to the nation as global price of crude oil continues to reel under the pressure of the global coronavirus pandemic. They stated this following the recent increase of about five per cent, from N160/litre to N168/litre in the retail prices of premium motor spirit (PMS). According to a statement, an analysis of the sector showed that with the current pump price of PMS at N168/liter, the Cost of Sales (COS) which represents the direct cost attributable to bringing PMS to the point of sales is estimated at about N161.81/liter. This represents 96.32 per cent of the total cost to marketing and

distribution companies, which implies that such companies based on the pricing template only have a margin of about 3.68 per cent to cover running costs and make additional investments in infrastructure development. Further analysis showed that access to forex which leans in favour of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) creates what experts described as a, “monopolistic wholesale market� that thrives on “lopsided pricing mechanism within the market.� The statement quoted energy expert and Director, National Oilwell Varco based in Houston, United States, Dr. Babajide Agunbiade, to have said Nigeria may never harness full development potential of its oil and gas sector with the continued inefficiencies within the value chain. “Deregulation would reposi-

tion the sector sector and free the government to focus on its traditional role of creating an enabling environment for the growth of the sector.� Furthermore, industry watchers say there is an urgent need for marketers to participate in the supply of PMS in order to promote efficiency, sufficiency and greater value for consumers. They opined that a full and transparent deregulation of the downstream sector would lead to competitive pricing mechanisms which would facilitate the more partnerships and investments in the sector. “Market forces should be allowed to determine price mechanisms and regimes as this will ultimately balance out challenges relating to availability, thereby attracting needed investment into the sector and optimising supply

chain efficiencies,� they added. Speaking on deregulation of the sector, Chairman, DAPPMAN, Mrs Winifred Akpani, said the organisation welcomes recent development around the subject but believes “now is the time for the sector to embrace full deregulation.� “As deregulation opens up the market for new opportunities, we will begin to witness unprecedented push in the sector towards promoting global standards in the Supply Chain Management thereby creating a system that gives the buying public added value for money. We have an opportunity to transform this sector to ensure more transparency, professionalism and long-term sustainability,� she explained. She added: “DAPPMAN is committed to our objectives of creating, maintaining and manag-

ing a Supply Chain System that would bring about Value Added service provision to the buying public as well as increase job creation atmosphere (directly and Indirectly) through the needed stakeholder investments in infrastructure development, new technology and human capital.� Akpani added: “However, for collaboration to be effective, we need to have a system where economic principles of demand and supply play a lead role in the deregulation process thereby increasing the levels of competition that would stabilize the market disequilibrium and ultimately deliver a system of market driven pricing mechanism for all stakeholders, she said. PMS pricing remains a contentious issue in Nigeria amid calls for full deregulation which are expected to continue.

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ABCON Warns FX Speculators, Optimistic about Naira Stability The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has sent strong warning to foreign exchange speculators pushing the naira to forceful depreciation through their illegal activities. ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, in a statement said forex speculators were taking huge risks with their funds, saying the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has enough financial muscle to defend the naira and close the widening gaps between official and parallel market rates. The naira has the in last few days depreciated to N480 to dollar in the parallel market, but has remained stable at N379 to dollar at the official CBN rate. According to Gwadabe, with nearly $36 billion foreign reserves, the CBN has what it takes to punish the enemies of

the economy forcing the naira to depreciate through speculative activities. He said the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has continued to take the right steps to achieve exchange rate stability and ensure that foreign exchange is made available to manufacturers and end users who need the funds for their medical trips, school fees payment, travel allowances among others. According to him, the funding of Bureaux De Change (BDCs) has also helped to deepen the forex market and reduce the level of forex scarcity that always formed the basis for speculative activities. He said with the CBN having the needed financial strength to fund the market, the rates will soon converge to save the naira. He said exchange rate unification would further narrow

the gap between official and parallel has been canvassed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank because it makes for positive transparency, it makes for clarity of direction and drastically reduces speculative demand for the naira. “I think that the CBN by pushing the official foreign exchange rate from N306 to N379 to dollar is in line with market demand. It has also helped to narrow the officinal-parallel market rates gap that formed the basis of ridiculous speculations among unpatriotic forex dealers and spectators,� he said.

Gwadabe advised the federal government to enhance security surveillance at the nation boarders to checkmate illegal foreign currency cash transactions. He further called for BDC operators’ liquidity ratios to be raised to discourage dollar holdings. He said ABCON Executives will from this week begin enforcement of regulatory compliance of its members in BDC designated offices nationwide. He said that ABCON will continue to enlighten and educate its members on the need to continue to trade within the official BDC selling rates set by the apex bank.

The ABCON boss said the beyond trading within set rules, a liquid forex market will always be a disincentive for speculative activities. He said now is the time to deepen forex market by making BDCs agents of International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs). He said the move would help attract more dollars to the economy and promote more diaspora remittances. Gwadabe said ABCON has been working with industry consultants in designing and developing a robust automation and deployment of technology

that will enable BDCs fit into the IMTOs role in deepening dollar liquidity in the economy. He warned domestic, foreign investors, companies and individuals against patronising the unofficial market, saying it was helping to overheat that market. Gwadabe disclosed that ABCON Executive Council under his leadership will continue to promote transparency and efficient market dealings while commending the CBN Management for its progressive policies towards a stable exchange rate that aligns with its mandate of exchange rate stability.

Firm to Train Software Engineers, Offers Job Placement Emma Okonji In a bid to boost digital skills in software engineering, Nigerian singer and entrepreneur, Mr. Eazi has concluded a partnership deal with Decagon, organisers of Nigeria’s top software engineering training program, designed to help brilliant young Nigerians actualise their dream of becoming software engineers. The training comes with job placement for all successful candidates. Mr Eazi has equally volunteered to serve as a sponsor to five residents or indigenes of Ogun State to attend the Decagon training. Decagon recently opened applications for its six months training program which includes accommodation, feeding, laptop, internet and a monthly stipend, followed by an immediate job placement into companies like Access Bank, Sterling Bank and Etranzact after graduating. Interested candidates can apply before November 22nd to attend the training programme, which doesn’t require any fee until the

trainees have graduated and placed on salary jobs that will be facilitated by Decagon. Although the training comes free of charge, but successful applicants are required to have a credible guarantor in order to access the Pay-Later model and this has proven difficult for some otherwise successful applicants in the past. In order to help address the guarantor challenge, Mr. Eazi volunteered to step in and guarantee five applicants who are indigenes of Ogun State, or that reside in the state with proof of evidence. Speaking about the opportunity for the training programme, the Chief Executive Officer at Decagon, Chika Nwobi, said: “ For some who do not have access to someone in their family or network to stand in for them, Mr. Eazi is providing a lifeline and this is the type of collaboration that will move Nigeria forward.� Mr. Eazi, who is also a songwriter is passionate about music and any programme that supports emerging talent in Africa.

New Book by Senior Lawyer Aims to Connect Businesses, Investors A new book which discusses private equity with emphasis on business and legal considerations, published by Prof. Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), has been unveiled in an online event. Titled: “The Law & Practice of Private Equity�, the book which the author said had been in the works since 2014, was published by Thomson Reuters. On why he wrote the book, the senior lawyer noted that it was to stir discussions on private equity as the common thread of the book is the legal and practical issues on the topic. He explained that businesses now face the challenge of obtaining valuable financing, stressing that the fight to get funding for a business venture often leads to massive debt for a fledgling enterprise with its many disadvantages. “Following the paradigm shift from an industrial society to an information society, the entrepreneur’s role has shifted from being an inventor of product/services to a value creator.

“Hence, the focus of entrepreneurial ventures has shifted towards creating viable business models rather than superior products/services. “Private equity has come in to fill this financing gap and provide itself as a credible financing option for businesses in emerging markets,� he said. In her remarks, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer, ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund Managers, Mrs Tariye Gbadegesin, stated that the book could not have come at a better time. “We can’t build the economy on debt alone, and this has given rise to other financing option,� she stated. Speaking on the advantages of private equity, the Chief Financial Officer, Capital Alliance Nigeria Limited, Mr. Anthony Ogbechie, stressed the importance of working with legal experts in every step of negotiating and closing financing deals, as doing otherwise could have dire consequences.

NIFESTANNUALCONFERENCE

President,NigerianInstituteofFoodScienceandTechnology(NIFST),Mr.OluwoleToye(left)andRegionalDirector,WestAfricaTechnoServe,duringNIFST44th annualconferenceheldinLagos...recentlyvisitofTetfunddelegationtoNavalHeadquartersinAbuja...recently

NCS Intercepts N767m Falsely Declared Cargoes at Lagos Ports Eromosele Abiodun The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs service (NCS), Strike Force has announced the interception of contrabands and raised Debit Notes (DN) on under-declaration of cargoes worth N767million. The co-ordinator, CGC’s Strike Force, Zone A, Lagos, Deputy Compt. Ahmadu Bello Shuaibu stated this while unveiling the seizure in Lagos. He said while the contrabands were goods smuggled into the country from neigbouring Benin Republic, the DN raised were from 13 containers falsely and under declared at the nation’s seaports in the last three weeks. He added that while N350 million were raised from DN in

cargoes from Tincan and Apapa seaports, N417million were Duty Paid Value (DPV) of contraband smuggled into the country from neigbouring countries. He said 2,147 cartons of cosmetics, vehicles of different models, 1,185 bags of smuggled rice, 1,320 bales of textiles materials falsely declared as machinery were seized in the weeks under review. According to him, “These are some of our anti-smuggling effort. We have containers loaded with footwear and we know shoe is a contraband and these particular goods are falsely declared and by our statue book, classified foot wears are contrabands. “The Duty Paid Value of 935 Cartons of shoes is N32 million

and from the ICT section, the intervention we have made so far are on 13 containers of various items that are contraband as well as falsely declared worth over N350 millio.� He continued, “Also, we intercepted 756 bales of lace materials with DPV of N34million and the reason for seizure was that they were falsely declared as machinery. If the declaration had been honest, we wouldn’t have seized such consignment because it isn’t on the contraband list.� Shuaibu, however, advised smugglers to desist from unlawful practice while enjoying importers and clearing agents to embrace honest declaration. “We want honest declaration. Importers and agents should help the government by making ac-

curate declaration so that the right duty is collected for the benefit of all because no need for seizure if they had made open declaration and paid duty correctly, “he said. Also speaking, the National Public Relation Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller, Joseph Attah, said the interception of contrabands and DN of N767million raised in last three weeks have explained the relevance of the strike force team to the Nigerian economy. “Smuggling is not only for someone who brought in arms, ammunition, cocaine or someone who followed unapproved routes but someone who brought in imported dutiable items but chose to evade customs duty. The idea for false declaration is to evade appropriate payment of duty.

FAO Boosts National Capacity on Bio-security, Swine Flu James Emejo in Abuja The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has taken steps empower epidemiological officers with competencies for management and containment of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country. The outbreak of ASF in February had claimed about 70 000 pigs worth N20 billion in Aro Oke, one of the largest pig settlements in Africa situated on the borders of Lagos and Ogun States, according to the Federal Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services (FDVPCS).

The FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Fred Kafeero, said:’ Many operators became apprehensive, as the disease continued to spread to other states in the country, threatening livelihoods supported in the value chain. Speaking at a workshop on ‘Strengthening Global Coordination of Animal Health Emergencies of International Concerns’ project, in Jos, Plateau State, which was organised by FAO in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD)

and funded USAID, he added that, “Unlike other Transboundary Animal Diseases (TAD), ASF has no known vaccine or cure, its continued spread in Nigeria has socio-economic and food security consequences if uncontrolled.� Kafeero said the capacities of epidemiological officers from at-risk-states, because of their large pig population- need to be enhanced to ensure that the disease is contained and effectively managed to prevent the continued loss of livelihoods. The Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of the Federation, Dr.

Olaniran Alabi said measures were taken by the government through the FDVPCS to mitigate the spread adding however that poor perception of the disease, low awareness and compliance to biosecurity measures by operators in the value chain had continued to enhance prevent the spread. He said: “The most effective measure for its prevention and control remains proper and strict adherence to hygienic practices, commonly known as biosecurity measures along the pig production, transportation, marketing and processing value chain�.

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Joda: Raising Microfinance Banks’Capital Inevitable The Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Accion Microfinance Bank, Mr. Taiwo Joda, in this in this interview speaks about issues around the timeline for recapitalisation of microfinance banks, the impact Covid-19 on the sub-sector and other pertinent issues. Nume Ekeghe presents the excerpts:

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hat has been the impact of the COVID-19 on microfinance banks in Nigeria? The impact has been very severe but it has also created opportunities. The majority of the people that we serve are the vulnerable. When COVID-19 started, the first thing was that several markets were shut in Lagos and the first set of people that were affected were the vulnerable people whom we serve. So, the shutdown of businesses affected them and because it affected our customers, it affected our business too as these people were unable to repay their loans. We have customers who buy things from China and other countries across Asia to sell in Nigeria and because of the pandemic and closure of borders, there was disruption in the value chain and they didn’t have products to sell. So, it was really a big challenge for them and by extension that affected their loan repayment. Some of them defaulted, not because they wanted to default, but because they didn’t have money to pay. Additionally, some even had major issues that bothered on mental stress and health issues. The effect of the pandemic left us with a lot of portfolio that were at risk and we had a lot of loans that went bad. We had a lot of customers who were doing well before, but their performance has nosedived and we had to do something differently to allow them to continue in business. You said a lot of customers were affected by the pandemic which in turn saw increase in loan default, what can be done to cushion this effect? In July the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came up with a directive that MFBs can extend moratorium on customers’ loans. They also said customers can be allowed to do a few other things like a loan holiday for them to be able to get back into business. There were however qualifying conditions and that you must have been a MFB that ticked some boxes like having regular returns to CBN, before you can qualify. And also because of the nature of MFBs’ businesses, the tenure given for such moratorium was restrictive. So, for example, the communiquÊ stated that you cannot extend beyond January or February next year and if schools have been shut down since March and some of them were planning to go back to business in the month of October, if we consider when their finances would stabilise, it could extend to next year January or February when schools reopen. So, if you cannot give moratorium beyond that period that segment of the business is going to be badly affected. The economic reports we have seen says that the bad loan in the Q3 of 2020 saw customers default across banks and it may take us another year or 18 months to really come out of this effect. So, while some might assume that once there was an easing of lockdown then the problem is over, however, the problem is far from being over. And so, the time slot given to banks, especially MFBs for the moratorium is a big issue and I think something still needs to be done beyond what the CBN has done. Are you in talks with CBN for an extension? Yes, we have actually gone beyond talks on the extension of moratorium to discuss some other palliatives that we think the regulators can extend to businesses that have been badly affected. A good thing they have done is the N50 billion that was given to the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), but we felt more can be done. There is need to operate through other MFBs because there are existing customers of these MFBs that also need to be helped and they have loans with the MFBs they are doing business with. So, if you give them fresh money from NIRSAL, there is a high probability that they will not use it to service their loan and it is going to increase their debt burden and it then becomes more challenging for them to pay both the NIRSAL

fintech today, or even the ones who give loans online whom we are in direct competition with or those who make payment services, the first thing they ask a customer is for your account details. In other words, you must have had a relationship with a bank and if you haven’t, they can’t deal with you. So, the more the merrier for both parties because as long as you bring in a lot more customers, who have accounts with them, they are not going to steal your customers, they just want to make money by servicing those customers. And you also make money by driving efficiency and you save cost by working with them while serving your customers. With digitisation comes fraud, how are MFBs coping and what has your bank put in place to mitigate fraud? When you talk about fraud cases in MFBs, because we are micro, the amount is micro. Accion has put in place a lot to ensure that there are stopgaps to prevent frauds from happening. But the biggest mitigant against fraud is education, because the cybercriminals also need you to provide some information. And if they are not able to get that information from you, 60 per cent of frauds would not be successful. For us, we continually educate our customers and we have put in place some critical infrastructure to help mitigate fraud. For example, initially our customers had to call a hotline if they believed their card has been stolen or if they were getting fraudulent alert for transactions they didn’t initiate. They were expected to call a hotline and that may take time and if time elapses a lot of money could be averted. So, we have now enabled an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) solution, an avenue for our customers to block their cards directly. So, you don’t need to call the contact center or rely on third party to do so for you. Once you have your phones with you and you get the first alert and you can block it. Joda loan and the existing loans they have. What we expect is that the N50 billion intervention, rather than give it to them afresh, it should be used to refinance their existing loans by a portion so that the burden of interest rate on the existing loan is reduced to single digit. The CBN can look at the size of the loan book of an MFB and give the fund to refinance the loans and extend the tenure of existing loans. So, if the tenure is one year, it can be extended to two years, reduce the interest rate and give them the equivalent amount as a buffer, so that the credit risk is still with the banks but the deposit like an intervention fund is also there to cushion the effect. The reason MFBs give out loans at a very high cost is simply because they are not able to attract the funds they can on-lend at a cheaper rate. So, the CBN can give them for specific purpose to intervene in that market, to reduce the interest amount, increase the tenure and let existing genuine businesses that have taken loan be able to survive. That will be one way to look at it.

Recapitalisation is inevitable and with the pandemic, the chances that a lot of microďŹ nance banks would make losses this year and even next year is high. If they don’t make losses, they are not going to make signiďŹ cant proďŹ t

The second will then be to increase the amount of loan for them so that for those who are having business challenges it will be able to jumpstart their businesses again. If they go that route, we are going to see a faster and better recovery than the one we are seeing. Are ďŹ ntechs perceived as competition to MFBs or are MFBs leveraging on them to grow their businesses? I think a lot of MFBs are beginning to use fintechs and really it is the way to go. There is a joke we normally make in the industry, we say, who helped you with your digital or financial technology strategy? Is it the pandemic or the board of directors? So even where you are seeing a laid-back attitude for some MFBs, the lockdown, the chances that there may be a second wave of lockdown or the chances that even if there is no lockdown because of the pandemic, you can have one because of protests, you would realise that customers still need to be serviced at the convenience of their homes. And because a lot of other people are coming into the MFB space serving customers with technology also imposes some responsibility on you to serve your customers the way they want to be served. And so, it is inevitable that financial technology or digitalisation should catch up with industry. The challenge has always been the cost outlay and how to be able to do that successfully especially when you consider that there are some MFBs that are very small. And so, I believe what should be done is to look for and embrace collaborations. I think it is inevitable and I also believe that microfinance institutions should look at collaborating, partnership and embrace working with fintechs. It is not competition. Actually, fintech organisations needs the banks as much as the banks needs them. That is because If you talk of a typical

On recapitalisation of MFBs, how prepared or how much time would be sufďŹ cient for MFBs to meet the deadline? Recapitalisation is inevitable and with the pandemic, the chances that a lot of microfinance banks would make losses this year and even next year is high. If they don’t make losses, they are not going to make significant profit. Now if that happens, whenever you make a loss, it eats your capital. So, at the end of December 2020, I see the capital of MFBs lower than the position it was in 2019 because of the effect of the pandemic. That also makes us vulnerable to external financial shocks and may eventually erode the confidence of investors, especially foreign direct investors (FDIs) who want to bring money in. It will also affect confidence of those who want to do business with you locally. So, we need to increase the capital. When MFBs were directed in 2019 to increase the capital base by 2021, it was before the pandemic. Although they later revised it to 2022 for us to meet the minimum capital by 2021, and then the balance by April 2022. My take is that before we talk about timing, we should allow December 2020 to pass. We should allow MFBs submit their audited financial report for December 2020 then the regulators can gauge the available capital for each of those institutions that were probably doing well before now, but have been badly shaken or badly affected by the pandemic. Then we can have that discussion in 2021 to ascertain a responsible timeframe. We may need to push it to 2024 with milestones for every year. So rather than have it in two years, you can extend to three years. Because where we were in 2019 is not where we are now and it is not going to be where would be in December. Again, a lot of discussion on recapitalisation and injection of fresh capital from investors have stalled because of the pandemic. Therefore, you cannot make any reasonable progress. Continued on page 31

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

JODA: RAISING MICROFINANCE BANKS’ CAPITAL INEVITABLE People who would want to give money to recapitalise and those who want to discuss mergers and acquisition would be cautious and would be looking at the books of banks to know how the pandemic has affected them. Also, I am aware of a lot of talks on mergers and recapitalisation that have been put on hold until the effect of the pandemic is seen. Presently, a lot of organsations are playing that wait and see attitude and to pitch the capitalisation story at this point is like removing yourself from the reality that is on ground.So, raising capital is inevitable, it is very important but I think the timing needs to be re-worked clearly. There is school of thought that the MFB model we run in Nigeria is faulty and that is why the microfinance banks are not having the desired impact on the Nigerian economy, what would be your take on that? I want to take that with a lot of caution because you need to grow solution to the kind of business you run. So, what do we even mean by microfinance model or Is it group lending technology or individual lending? I have had opportunities to visit India and Kenya where I visited numerous microfinance institutions and I saw their model and it is a model that works for them. We have to have develop our own microfinance but on what I can agree on is that a lot of MFBs want to operate microfinance as if they are operating a mini-bank. Microfinance is for microbusinesses. Microfinance is not reducing the amount the banks would give to a particular customer and still do the business the banks are doing. If you are doing microfinance, then look for the micro-customers and vulnerable sector because building this critical class would drive economic growth. So, we can have a home-grown solution, which would be hugely successful in Nigeria so that every other people and countries can also come to understand our module of microfinance banks and operate it. There are MFBs in Nigeria that have operated successfully for over 14 years and are still

Joda waxing very strong. So, there is something they must be doing right that we can learn from. Going forward, what can your customers expect from you and how do you plan to add more value to your customers? The first, we did was to touch base with our customers during the pandemic period and then we gave them interest rate discounts on all their loans and we also restructured several of

their loans. We also looked at those businesses badly affected and we carried out a survey which indicated that some were not sure if they could bounce back from this turmoil. So, what we did at a cost to Accion MFB, was engaged an SME doctor who worked with them and helped them in restart their businesses. We also partnered with some initiatives from Bank of Industry. But it gives us a huge opportunity

to upscale our digital services and so today, we have our internet banking working which is in the test environment and is going to be rolled out. Our digital loan is ready and it is going to be rolled out at the end of the year so our customers can actually take loans from the comfort of their houses. We have also improved on our save brighter product. Also, what we have done which is also very unique in the market is that if you have just N5,000 in your savings account, you are entitled to health insurance cover for a period. And if you don’t want the health insurance and there is an emergency where you have to go the hospital, we would give you back your money. We are doing this because we believe that a healthy nation is a nation that can proper more. And even though business activities have been low, it has just given us time to close-in our digital aspiration, roll out our product and services and we are excited about the future. The last thing we have done is that we have also engaged an e-commerce company and we are going to be onboarding all our customers on ecommerce platforms. And so apart from having physical shops, they can now sell their products online. I am excited about the prospects and new products we are rolling out for our customers and I think the customers would be the winners at the end of the day. For Accion, with all these products you are rolling out, what is the outlook for 2021? 2021 is going to be a good year, it is going to be a year of recovery. Like our tagline which is ‘Accion your future is bright’ our future is bright. We believe so much in our customers and we are customer centric and I would say 2021 would be the year of our customers. We are going to bounce back; we are going to be stronger and our customers are going to be grateful that Accion stayed with them and partnered with them. And we would see a brighter future both for our customers and for Accion Microfinance bank.

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Malta Guinness Promoters Assure on Quality, Unveil Anniversary Campaign Raheem Akingbolu Promoters of Malta Guinness, from the stable of Guinness Nigeria, have promised to sustain delivery on quality products as the brand marks 30 years of being in existence. The Marketing Manager, Malta Guinness, Ifeoma Agu, while addressing a virtual press briefing to mark the 30th anniversary of the non-alcoholic drink, also assured that, “we would not compromise on our quality and standards.� She said Malta Guinness, with presence in about 14 countries, remains Africa’s best premium malt drink through various innovations and commitment to fuelling the greatness of the people. She said the firm had sponsored various festivities, especially the Argungu festival in Kebbi and durbar festivals in various parts of the North. “We are celebrating 30 years of bustling with goodness; 30 years of fueling the greatness of Nigeria; 30 years of Vit B magic that has consistently and constantly nourished millions of icons across Africa,� she said. As part of the 30 years’ anniversary celebration, Agu explained that the company brand has unveiled a campaign that brings excitement and goodness to a lot of Nigerians for their patronage and support over the years.

“We have been in several goodness campaigns in the past. Despite that this year has been a tough year, we have remained unrivalled in our commitment to Nigeria. We continue to encourage the people to nourish the goodness of Nigeria Meanwhile, the brand is also launching a series called, “Journey to Greatness� featuring some of the Nigerian topmost celebrities including Basketmouth, Kaffy among others. Speaking about the series, Assistant brand Manager Cynthia Ufele during the press briefing, stated that “to celebrate decades of incredible impact, the brand has started a series titled “Journey to Greatness� to tell the stories of inspiring Nigerians who have enjoyed the goodness of Malta Guinness on their greatness journey. The 6-episode series showcases the journey of talented individuals from various fields, telling their stories of trials and truths as well as the significant role of Malta Guinness in their growth, development and careers. “The Journey to Greatness Launch of the series coincides with the brand’s 30th anniversary. We cannot celebrate our incredible milestone without acknowledging the greatness of our Nigerians who have supported us through it all,� Ufele added.

COVID-19: WFP, FG Disburse $1.1m, Food Items to Vulnerable Nigerians James Emejo in Abuja The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with the federal government has distributed cash and food items to over 50,000 vulnerable residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to help ameliorate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative which was earlier launched in Kano last month, aims to provide cash and food assistance valued at about $4 million in the three urban centers mostly affected by the pandemic in the country. With Kano and Abuja successfully covered, the initiative will now shift to Lagos for the final lap of the intervention. Speaking during the distribution of the palliatives to residents of Karmajiji in the FCT over the

weekend, WFP Representative and Country Director, Dr. Paul Howe, said about $1.1 million will be given as cash to beneficiaries in three council areas of AMAC, Bwari and Gwagwalada. He said the joint initiative with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and community leaders seeks to address the problem of hunger caused by COVID-19. Howe added that the one-off, two months distribution exercise specifically aims to meet the needs of vulnerable Nigerians who are struggling with limited resources. He said: “What we are trying to do is to support Nigeria to achieve zero hunger by 2030 and that’s not just providing cash or food but it needs to be sustainable not just on saving lives but changing lives. That’s working on livelihoods

and food system.� He added that those already identified as vulnerable people will henceforth be included the National Social Protection Registry so they could benefit from future interventions for chronically vulnerable residents. He said the idea was to also ensure that beneficiaries are financially included going forward. The country director further acknowledge contribution of the Government of Switzerland, which is a key contributor to the funding of the project. Since 2015, the Swiss government has continued to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of crisis-affected people in Northeast Nigeria through the WFP. Head of Programmes, WFP, Barbara Clemens, said the palliative

included about N14,000 in cash and 75kG of cereals donated by the federal government from its Strategic Grain Reserves. “What we are doing is something innovative in the sense that we’re doing last mile deliveries by bringing assistance right to the doorstep of beneficiaries...,�she said. She added that the by-product of the exercise was to have bank accounts opened for beneficiaries who hitherto lacked one, stressing that the idea was to create an existing mechanism for future funds transfer by any institution willing to intervene. The federal government had released 2,000 metric tons of food from its strategic grain reserve while WFP is releasing $3 million to provide cash assistance to 500,000 vulnerable residents in affected states.

Unity Bank Posts N33.9 Billion Gross Earnings in Nine Months Unity Bank Plc has declared gross earnings of N33.906 billion for the nine months period ended September 30, 2020. The bank also recorded a 44 per cent asset growth during the period. A review of the unaudited third quarter (Q3) 2020 results released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange showed that the gross earnings of N33.906 billion represented an eight per cent growth from the N31.256 billion recorded in the same period in 2019. The lender’s total assets rose to N420.870 billion in the 9-month period ended September 30, 2020, from N293.052 billion in the corresponding period of 2019, representing a growth of 44 per cent. This is even as the bank grew its bottom-line by six per cent as it realised profit before tax of N1.710 billion from N1.611 billion in 2019. Profit after tax equally grew by six per cent to N1.573 billion compared to the N1.482 billion recorded in the same period in 2019. The performance comes on the heels of the unmitigated impact of the global pandemic on the economy, which lingered throughout the quarter with its attendant headwinds that slowed down economic activities. The lender also substantially grew its customer deposit portfolio to N332.362 billion, from N257.691 billion for the same period in 2019, creating a 29 per cent increase affirming the confidence reposed by its wide spectrum of the banking public. Commenting on the result, Unity Bank’s Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Tomi Somefun welcomed the steady growth of the balance sheet especially from both assets and

liability side of the business and across key performance indices. She said this has had sustained impact on the bottom-line, even as the bank continues to innovate in its e-business product bouquet to target and support value chain business with robust technology and thus diversify its earnings base.� Looking ahead, Somefun stated that, “One of the areas that will define our strategic direction going forward is investment in alternative channels leveraging further deployment of resources in technology. COVID-19 gave us a chance to test the integrity and scalability of our technology, the IT infrastructure, and the electronic banking channels, and provided us an opportunity to see where we needed to improve and strengthen, knowing that the future of sustainable banking business is in alternative channels�. During the period under review, the bank enhanced and deepened its collaboration and partnership with major commodity associations including the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria and the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) to finance over 400 smallholder farmers’ crop production with its overall strategic intent of fostering food security, employment generation and aggregate economic welfare of citizens across the value chains. The Bank also worked with processors and members of Millers’ Association of Nigeria to provide working capital through the CBN’s various intervention funds, while providing credit facilities to large number of input suppliers and vendors through the Anchor Borrower’s Programme.

MultiChoice Nigeria Introduces New Contents on DStv, GOtv Femi Solaja Multichoice Nigeria has announced that it is set to entertain subscribers during the festive season with its array of entertaining content across different channels on DStv and GOtv, as well as special price offers. The company disclosed this during a recent event in Lagos. MultiChoice Nigeria also disclosed beginning from today, it would provide new DStv customers with an opportunity to get DStv HD decoder Dish + 1-month Compact subscription for N18,600, while the GOtv decoder + GOtenna + 1-month Jolli will go for N8,400, to all new customers. Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe said: “As we

get closer to the Festive Season we keep all customers at the heart of everything we do. And that explains why we have an amazing line up of content on DStv and GOtv to bring families together, to strengthen the bond between them and showcase some of the most exciting and entertaining programmes that reflects who we are as Africans and indeed, as Nigerians. “Our contents are local and original, steep in our culture, values and traditions and there’s no better time to give these content to our subscribers than now.� Some of the contents lined up on DStv customers can look forward to during the festive season include the European football league season live include: Man United Vs Man City on Saturday

12 December, Liverpool vs Spurs on Wednesday 16 December, Chelsea Vs Arsenal on Saturday 26 December and Chelsea Vs Man City on Saturday 2 January, in La Liga, there is the Real Madrid Vs Atletico Madrid taking place on the 13 of December football games, all available on the SuperSport channel. While on Formula 1, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, will be available to entertain subscribers on the 29 November and 13 December, respectively, and Basketball lovers can look forward to the NBA as it returns on ESPN. “GOtv Sports fans can also look forward to an exciting festive season with LIVE football action from La Liga featuring the Atletico Madrid and Barcelona on Saturday, 21 November on

SS La Liga; the 21st edition of GOtv Boxing Night on Friday, 27 November on SS Select 2; WWE Survivor Series on Sunday, 29 November on SS Select 2; Kardashian Kristmas special on E! Entertainment; BET offers a week of Christmas movies from 21 to 27 December; TNT Christmas Day special with The Best Man and The Best Man holiday movies “The kids are also not left out as more fun awaits them with a whole lot of animated content on the Kidz Klub Festival on M-Net Movies 4 plus holiday stunts on Cartoon Network, Da Vinci and Nickelodeon. MultiChoice Nigeria wants everyone to be part of the DStv and GOtv family this festive season and celebrate valuable moments together with friends and family.

Firms Collaborate to Empower Youth on ICT Skills Poise Nigeria and EkoBits Academy in partnership with Oxfam, have transformed the lives of 37 more Nigerian youths from different underserve communities around Lekki-Ajah axis. The youths had ICT and soft skills training for 12 months, where they learnt graphic design, web design and development, photography, video editing and soft skills that will make them employable and keep them on

their jobs. Recently, all 37 youths from Jakande, Ikota, Ajiran, Awoyaya and Ikate communities graduated from the academy, and the graduation took place at Poise training school, where parents of the youths, alumni of the academy and invited guest attended. One of the guest speakers at the graduation ceremony, who is an alumnus of Poise Graduate Finishing Academy and currently

a people centric Product Manager at Descasio Limited, Mrs. Bunmi Malik, spoke to the graduating students on a topic ‘Get More Out of Now.’ She advised them not to stop at just the skill they learnt but should explore opportunities around them and learn more. Also, another guest speaker, the COO of Poise Nigeria, Mrs. Nonye Calli-Bechi, motivated the graduates with an insightful speech, and laid emphasis on

dedication. Awards were presented to; Mr. Oversenri Emmanuel as the Overall Best Graduating Student, Miss. Adedoyin Favour as the Best Graduating Female Student, Mr. Degbor Johnson as the Best Web Developer, Mr. Opeyo Michael as the Best Graphics Designer and Mr. Oduola Tolulope as Mr. Congeniality, an award that was presented in recognition of his soft skills.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Account, Rep. Oluwole Oke (left) with the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Abdullahi Abdulkadir, during an accounting session with the DirectorGeneral of Budget OďŹƒce of the Federation, at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja..recently

L-R: Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; receiving a copy of the book, entitled Nigeria at 60: from the author, Akogun Lanre Alfred, at the Governor’s oďŹƒce, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State...recently

R-L: Papal Nuncio to Nigeria, Most Rev. Anthonio Filipazzi; Bishop Godfrey Onah of Nsukka; Governor. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Mr. Peter Obi during the dedication of St. Theresa’s Cathedral Nsukka....recently

L-R: Chief Host/Co- Pioneer, The Church of the Lord Aladura (Church of Antioch), Rev. Mother Superior Olive Adejobi (rtd); Evangelist Adedoja Ojelabi; Member, Church Management Committee, Evangelist Oladele Olaniyan; Member, Church Management Committee, Rev. Dr. Abisola Ayeni and Member, Church Management Committee, Rev. Dr. Mrs. Ibidola Adeniyi during the 50th Adult Harvest of the church in Lagos...recently

L-R: Head CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Chioma Okolie; Airtel Touching Lives Season 5 BeneďŹ ciary, Baby Daniel & mother, Adeola Ayoola and Senior Business Manager, Airtel Nigeria, Oluranti Owoborode, during the presentation of N3million naira cheque to Baby Daniel for a heart surgery, under the company’s Airtel Touching Lives initiative in Lagos...recently

L-R:: Chief Executive OďŹƒcer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar Onyema; President/Chairman of Governing Council, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), Mr Bode Ayeku; and Registrar of ICSAN, Mrs Taiwo Ganiyat-Olusesi, during the 2020 Conference, Luncheon and Awards of ICSAN in Lagos...recently

President Muhammadu Buhari(left) receiving the report of Judicial Commission of Inquiry on the Investigation of Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, from Chairman of JCI , Justice Ayo Salam at the Presidential, Villa , Abuja...recently PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI

L-R: Dr Olufemi Oni, Mr Sola Oni and his wife, Olufunke at Oni’s 60th Birthday Thanksgiving in Lagos...recently

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35

L-R: Director, African Brands, Mazi (Dr) Sam Anyamele; Managing Director/CEO, Richway MicroďŹ nance Bank, Mr. Adenrele Oni, and Shareholder of the bank, Mrs. Margaret Oni, during the presentation of the Best MicroďŹ nance Bank CEO to Adenrele Oni at the Africa Banking Brands Awards 2020 held in Lagos...recently

L-R: Provost, Osun State College of Education, Ilesa, Prof. Labayo Kolawole Kazeem; Ekiti State First Lady, Erelu Bisi Fayemi; and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; during the conferment of honorary fellowship of the College on Erelu Fayemi at the institution’s 27th convocation ceremony in Ilehsa‌recently

L-R: Commissioner for Health Dr. Raji Razaq; former Minister and Kwara State Net Ambassador Dr. Aminat Ndalolo; Representative of the Minister of Health Dr Abubakar Adamu; Deputy Governor Kayode Alabi; Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Speaker Kwara State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Yakubu Salihu Danlandi; and Hon. Olatunji Olawuyi Ajulopin; during the ag-o of the house-to-house distribution of 2.3m free Insecticide Treated Nets, in Ilorin...recently

R-L: Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State; Chief of Sta to the president, Amb. Ibrahim Gambari; Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and other oďŹƒcials, being briefed by the Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, (contractors), Lars Richter, during an inspection of the ongoing Kano-Kaduna-Abuja highway construction by a powerful delegation from the Presidency...recently

L-R: Coordinator, Lagos Mainland district, Women Ministries (WM) Assemblies of God Nigeria, Rev (Mrs.) Bright Okorie; President, Lagos Mainland Women’s Ministries, Mrs. Joy Ezeigbo; Guest Speaker, Rev Bethel Nwanebu; Rev (Mrs.) Rosemary Ibeji; and Assistant District coordinator,Pastor (Mrs.) Charity Awazie, at the annual thanksgiving of the Women Minisries, Assemblies of God Nigeria in Surulere, Lagos...recently PHOTO :ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Sponsorship Manager, Tolaram Group Mr. Opeyemi Awojobi; Maintenance Manager, Ojodu Berger Toilet, Mrs. Adenike Adebayo; Director Public Health Education, Lagos State Ministry of Health Mrs. Sola Hassan; Brand Manager, Hypo Toilet cleaner, Mr Akintayo Akinseloyin; and Cleaner Ojodu Berger toilet, Mrs. Olasunkanmi Fasilat, during the Hypo Toilet cleaner maintenance activity to commemorate 2020 world toilet day in Lagos... recently

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN presides over a virtual National Economic Council Meeting in Abuja... recently

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T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

CITYSTRINGS

ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ăš Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ™ĂœË? Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă? äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă– Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă–Ă“Ă?Ë›Ă?äĂ?Ă™ĂŒĂ“ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ă™Ă—Ëœ ͙͔͙͚͚͓͖͑͑͑͒

Assessing Toll of Aftermath of EndSARS Destruction in FCT The scale of destruction of human lives and property following protests over police brutality in the FCT proved shocking and disturbing as the ministerial committee began its assessment of the real toll of the demonstration, Olawale Ajimotokan reports

T

he Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has set up a ministerial committee to assess the losses incurred by businesses and individuals during last month’s EndSARS protests that virtually put the territory on a lockdown. The 18-man ministerial committee, headed by the DG FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Abbas Idriss, is also to assess how many persons died during the protest and identify and recommend the appropriate compensations for the victims. The FCT Minister, Muhammed Musa Bello charged the committee to identify the families of those killed during the violence and assess and assign value to the damages inflicted on both public and private properties. The setting up of the committee is consequent upon the resolve of the FCT Administration to compensate traders and local people whose property and means of livelihood were affected as a result of the violence that escalated during the protest against police brutality in Abuja. It would be recalled that the fallout of the street protests in the FCT was the brazen looting of warehouses by hoodlums, targeting relief items that belonged to both government agencies and private companies. The scale of the pillage leaves more to be desired. Some of the burgled items included food stuff like bags of rice, packets of noodles, mattresses, electronics, motorcycles, tricycles, textile materials, generating sets, computers and COVID-19 medical equipment among others. Three persons were said to have been fatally shot on October 21, while many sustained various degrees of injuries, when Customs officers opened fired on hoodlums that had invaded the Nigeria Customs Quarters in Gwagwalada, Abuja, supposedly to plunder food palliative believed to be stored in the premises. The scale of destruction was also pronounced in some of the worst affected places in Kwali and Gwagwalada Area Councils, where the hoodlums laid bared the Ladi Kwali Pottery Centre and looted warehouses belonging to FCT Teachers Multipurpose Cooperative Society plus the FCT Fertiliser store among others. They damaged the Gwagwalada Area Council Secretariat and vandalised a micro finance bank in the area. A veterinary clinic was also not spared of the villainy of the hoodlums. The FCT Fadama House, Gwagwalada Radio Nigeria Station and FCT Central store in Gwagwalada among others were also damaged by the miscreants. Idriss assured that the committee would do justice to all the affected persons and institutions, while appealing for calm from those directly or indirectly affected. The Chairman Gwagwalada Area Council, Adamu Danze, commended the FCTA for constituting the committee to assess the damages caused by hoodlums, while the Chairman of Kwali Area Council, Mr Danladi Chiya, said the council had compiled a comprehensive report of all the affected places and had summited to the committee for onward presentation to the minister. The FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) otherwise known as the Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs), estimated that its vehicles, valued at N1billion were either stolen or vandalised by the hoodlums, who broke through its auto pond in the Gosa area of Abuja, during the EndSARS protests. The losses were presented by the Direc-

A looted warehouse

Ladi Kwali Pottery Centre left in ruins

The strong room of FCT Micro Finance Bank was vandalised tor, FCT DRTS, Wadata Aliyu Bodinga to the FCT Ministerial Committee. He disclosed that the hoodlums carted away 174 vehicles, including 3,432 motorcycles and 43 tricycles. He also added that the miscreants, who roamed the streets, unhindered for three days, vandalised offices in the premises and removed an electricity transformer and about 40 solar panels. "Not even a bolt was left because everything was completely looted, including the roofs which were removed. The observation post was vandalised. Anything metal, whether alloy or nonalloy was removed. "We have evaluated the items. Like the motorcycles, we placed a value or N26,000 on each and even at that value, you have money running into over N800 million and the value of the vehicles is about N76 million. So, in

all, what has been looted here is over N1 billion," Bodinga lamented. Similarly, this lamentation was echoed by the Chairman of the Abuja, Nasarawa and Niger Branch of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Odun Emasealu. He said that investments valued at N1.5 billion were vandalised by hoodlums that barnstormed the Idu Industrial Layout. He said about 12 factories were damaged by the miscreants, while four warehouses belonging to the association were looted. The hoodlums carted away equipment, removed windows, doors other things including toilet seats and bathtubs. "We have gone round and the industrial equipment looted are very expensive. They raided the buildings and vandalised equipment. They took away windows and doors. They have rendered these

factories totally incapacitated and in fact, the owners need to reinvest to get some of them back up again. We just hope that these people will not be demoralised, that they will have the faith to come up again", Emasealu lamented. The hoodlums also looted the Kuje Area Council central store, which contained medical supplies and other non-medical assets, in addition its ICT centre and library, where 20 desktop computers, eight standing fans and eight Air Conditioning systems and 13 inverter batteries were stolen. The Apo Traders Association claimed two of its members, Luka Bitrus Ganklin and Elisha Ayuba, were killed by hoodlums. The traders, represented by Okhueleigbe Desmond and Obiorah Ugwu said cars and other assets valued at N932 million were set ablaze during the crisis. Desmond listed the vehicles set ablaze and their market value to include a feet of expensive BMW cars. These series include, Bullet proof E-65 BMW- N214 million, BMW GT-N53 million, BMW X65.01-N120 million, BMW E703.0- N33 million, BMW E-90- N11.5 million, BMW X6- N44 million, BMW X75 TO1- N188 million, BMW 1Series-N7.5 million, BMW E46-N1.8 million and BMW- N1.9 million. Others are Tipper Lorry-N28 million, Tata Truck-N13.5 million, Mack LorryN28 million, Toyota Car containing spare part N6.5 million, Highlander and a Toyota Corolla- N6.3 million, Kia- N2.8 million, Honda- N3 million, Golf- 1.8 million, Mercedes Truck- N.5 million, Mini Copper-N4.7 million, Golf-N1.2 million, Hyunda for repair-N350,000, Izuzu Jeep- N530,000, and spare part container-N7.8million. A warehouse that was razed is valued at N2.4million, a tricycle- N1.2 million, a block moulding machine N6 million, a full container of cement- N3.4 million, two trucks-N48 million, stores N2.8 million, Tata Truck N6million, a warehouse-N3. 4million, water tanks N42,000, a parking shop N8 million and working tools and missing itemsN450,000. An NGO, Shelter Initiative for Africa Women, said palliatives kept in its warehouse and electronic items meant for its building were also stolen. Mrs Mariam Sulaiman put the value of items lost at the estate at N129 million. The women centre in Jiwa was also not spared by the band of looters. The Sarkin Jiwa, Dr Idris Musa said most of the hoodlums that committed the crime came from other parts of the north and Niger Republic. The FCT Customary court, the health centre and police station were vandalised and set ablaze by hoodlums in Dutse Alhaji and Dutse Makaranta in Bwari Area Council Also at Dutse Makaranta, a trader, Dike Elvis Chinedu, lost his son, who was attacked and killed by hoodlums. Idriss described the scale of the destruction caused by hoodlums during the protest as unprecedented, shocking and beyond what was earlier imagined. “A lot of devastation took place in the FCT, it is unprecedented. We thought no life was lost, but we are shocked to discover that some lives were lost in Apo and Dutse. “Setting an Islamic school ablaze was to complicate the crisis by giving it a religious colouration, but we thank God, it was contained. We pray this never happens again.� Idriss assured that the committee would compile a comprehensive report and forward to the FCT Minister for consideration.

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CRIME&SECURITY

Navy’s Support for the Maritime Deep Blue Project As the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s Deep Blue Project, a security structure designed to secure all anchorage areas in the nation’s maritime domain, is gradually coming to fruition, Chiemelie Ezeobi writes on the valuable support expected from the Nigerian Navy in giving covering at sea and manning the special mission vessels

W

orld over, security threats keep evolving from traditional to conventional warfare. In the maritime domain, the same rings true. In the past, the maritime domain was threatened by piracy, sea robbery, illicit trafficking, narcotics and arms smuggling, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF) and marine pollution. Now, emerging security threats within the Nigerian maritime domain stem largely from non-military causes such as socio-economic agitations and unemployed youths within the coastal communities, which are manifested through attacks on shipping, sabotage of hydrocarbon infrastructure and maritime resource theft. Given that the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) is also the primary conduit of international trade and is central to the economy of the associated regions, it is increasingly looked upon today as resource provider and critical contributor to national growth and prosperity of the several nations lining its coasts and even those landward and with no shared boundaries. It was in its constant bid to find lasting solutions to the myriad challenges bedeviling the nation’s maritime domain and even the GoG, that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), partnered the Nigerian Navy (NN) to give covering at sea. The Deep Blue Project Known as the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure or the Deep Blue Project, the security structure which is championed by NIMASA, is designed to comprehensively secure all anchorage areas in the Nigerian maritime domain. Lauded by stakeholders, the Deep Blue Project will see the federal government take total control of the country’s maritime security, which includes anchorage, where all vessels calling at the various ports across the country berth. Budgeted to cost $195 million, the Deep Blue Project was last year awarded to HLSI Security Systems and Technologies Limited, an Israeli firm. According to NIMASA DirectorGeneral, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, the Secure Anchorage Area, which has been a subject of contention, would now be covered under the Deep Blue Project, a multi-spectrum security architecture. Stressing that there is absolutely no need for the nation to have private security in its maritime space, he said it only increases the cost of shipping in the country. Navy’s Role With the Deep Blue Project, it is expected that the maritime space and Exclusive Economic Zone, up to the Gulf of Guinea, will be a whole lot safer. As has been disclosed by both NIMASA and NPA, it would be easier to interlink the C3i technology of the NPA, the C4i of NIMASA and the Falcon Eye of the Nigerian Navy (NN), thus leading to an interchange of information that would speed up the navy’s response to threats at sea. As laudable as the Deep Blue Project is, it can only work with partnerships, one of which is the navy’s. For the project, most of the assets like the Special Mission Vessels and aircraft, would be manned and commanded by the officers of the Nigerian Navy. In April this year, NIMASA and the Nigeria Navy began to harmonise a regime of improved information sharing as arrangements to integrate the

The Abuja Deep Blue Boat and Lagos Deep Blue Boat, which are part of the Deep Blue Project

Chief of the Naval Sta, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (far left); Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi (second left) and Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd) inspecting the UAVs of the Deep Blue Project

L-R: Maritime Guard Commander, NIMASA, Commodore Aniedu Ibok; Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr Magdalene Ajani; Chief of the Naval Sta Vice Admiral Ibok- Ete Ibas; Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd) and Flag OďŹƒcer Commanding Western Naval Command Rear Admiral Oladele Daji on an inspection of Deep Blue Project at Western Naval Command, Apapa, Lagos yesterday....DINFO NHQ

Command, Control, Computer Com- the Falcon Eye of the Nigerian Navy munication and Information Centre, are ongoing. As was disclosed by the Flag Officer otherwise known as the (C4i) Centre of the Deep Blue Project along with Commanding (FOC), Western Naval

Command, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, when he led a team of senior officers from the command on a working visit to NIMASA, there is need for continuous information sharing to aid daily operations towards ensuring a safer and secure maritime sector. Daji further appealed for cooperation with the NIMASA hydrography unit especially with regards to standard charting of the Nigerian waters as well as mapping out the wrecks. He said this would go a long way in ensuring unhindered navigation. In his response, NIMASA DG said both agencies have mandates that are interwoven, adding that since NIMASA is not an arm bearing organisation it was important for it to support the navy with necessary platforms for it to be able to optimally safeguard Nigerian Waters. Also in June this year, the Flag Officer Commanding, FOC, Naval Training Command, NAVTRAC, Rear Admiral Fredrick Ogu, revealed that NIMASA and navy have concluded plans to harmonise the training procedures for the personnel of both institutions. Inspection Thus, towards the successful take-off of the Deep Blue Project in Nigeria, Ministers of Defence and Transportation, Major General Bashir Magashi (Rtd) and Rotimi Amaechi; Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas inspected the state of readiness of the facilities of the project in WNC, Apapa, Lagos. Some of the equipment inspected include the Antennas for Special Mission Vessel, Drones, Weapon site, CPR kit, C4i Centre, Special Mission vessels, Satellite Communication Centre, among others. At the inspection, Amaechi disclosed that 85 per cent of equipment and assets for the project take-off had been procured and that by March 2021, all equipment would have been fully acquired. From Lagos, the entourage moved to Warri, Delta State and then Benin, to assess the level of preparedness of assets for the take-off of the project. The minister of defence said the deep blue project was a maritime security project designed to tackle insecurity and secure maritime assets in the country, adding that all the services are involved in the project, as well as NIMASA and Ports Authority are also involved.

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T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ 2020

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Report: Cyber-crimes Result to Expensive Losses Ebere Nwoji A recent report by Allianz Global Corporate and Speciality (AGC), a business unit of Allianz Group has stated that though external attacks on companies result in most expensive cyber insurance losses, employee mistakes and technical problems as well as other emerging claim have remained the most frequent generator of claims. The AGCS, in its latest report tagged: “Managing the Impact of Increasing Interconnectivity – Trends In Cyber Risk,â€? which it analysed 1,736 cyber-related insurance claims worth â‚Ź660mn (US$ 770mn) involving AGCS and other insurers from 2015 to 2020, stated that, “losses from incidents such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks or phishing and ransomware campaigns account for a significant majority of the value of cyber claims today.â€? According to Catharine Richter, Global Head of the Allianz Cyber

Center of Competence, although cybercrime generates the headlines, everyday systems failures, IT outages and human error incidents can also cause problems for companies, even if their financial impact is not, on average as severe. It said this being the case, employers and employees must work together to raise awareness and increase cyber resilience. She noted that the number of cyber insurance claims AGCS has been notified of, has steadily risen over the last few years, up from 77 in 2016, when cyber was a relatively new line of insurance, to 809 in 2019. “In 2020, AGCS has already seen 770 claims in the first three quarters. This steady increase in claims has been driven, in part, by the growth of the global cyber insurance market which is currently estimated to be worth $7 billion according to Munich Re.� “AGCS started offering cyber insurance in 2013 and, in 2019, generated more than EUR 100mn

in gross written premium in this segment�. The report, also highlighted that there has been over 70 percent increase in the average cost of cyber-crime to an organisation over five years to $13 million and over 60 percent increase in the average number of security breaches. According to the report, losses resulting from external incidents, such as DDoS attacks or phishing and malware/ransomware campaigns, account for the majority of the value of claims analysed about 85 percent according to the report, followed by malicious internal actions 9 percent – which are infrequent but can be costly. The report, however warned that losses could quickly escalate in the case of more serious incidents. “Business interruption is the main cost driver behind cyber losses, accounting for around 60 percent of the value of all claims analysed in the report, followed by costs involved with dealing with data breaches.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

Notore Records N9.3bn Operating Profit Notore Chemical Industries Plc has recorded N9.3 billion operating profit for the fourth quarter of the twelve-month period ended 30th September 2020, which was a 172 per cent increase from the previous year. In a statement signed by the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Onajite Okoloko, the company said the increase was mainly attributable to surpluses from the professional revaluation of its assets. It recorded revenues of N18.80 billion. The company said despite the harsh economic situation – largely due to the COVID-19 global pandemic – and the political climate in Nigeria, Notore achieved several important milestones to position the company for a great future. “Afreximbank, on 31st December 2019, disbursed a N13.32 billion facility, which set the stage for the commencement of the Turn Around Maintenance programme (TAM) for our plant. “A significant part of all the equipment and spares ordered

during the year for the TAM programme have been delivered, while most of the others are in transit. “Although disruptions to global economies as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in supply chain and logistics interruptions, particularly with respect to acquisition of parts and spares occasioned by the various restrictions and health advisories put in place by governments globally, the TAM is on course and expected to be completed at the end of January 2021, barring any further shutdowns or restrictions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.� It continued: “Once completed, we expect significant improvement in the Plant’s reliability and production output to meet and sustain its 500,000MT per annum nameplate design capacity. Achieving this level of production output will not only lead to significant improvements in the company’s cash flows from operations, but also significant increases in revenues annually

post-TAM. “It is worth noting that about 70 per cent of the additional post-TAM revenue will contribute straight to the company’s bottom line, a major key to returning the company to profitability.� On the outlook for the New Year, the company maintained that the Nigerian fertilizer demand remains robust and is expected to continue to grow considering the federal government’s strong and decisive policy focus on agriculture as one of the keys to unlock the diversification of the Nigerian economy. It added, “Notore believes that the domestic fertilizer market is yet to reach its full potential, as the consumption of fertilizer per hectare of arable land in Nigeria is still far below the 200kg per hectare recommended by Food & Agriculture Organisation. “Furthermore, the demand for urea and compound fertilizers, such as NPK, from the West African markets and neighbouring countries bordering the northern part of the country is also quite significant.�

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

Month

March 2018 15.16

Access Bank, IFC Empower 50 Female Entrepreneurs

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR)

Nume Ekeghe

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

Access Bank Plc and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have empowered 50 women across Africa who graduated from the bank’s ‘W’ Womenpreneur pitch-a-ton Africa initiative. The participants were put through a mini Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programme by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. The programme, in its second edition, had over 40,000 applications which was later pruned down to 50 participants, who took part in the free mini Masters in Business Administration (MBA) certification programme. The Womenpreneur Pitch-aton Africa 2020 campaign was designed to provide female owned businesses across Africa an opportunity to access to finance and world-class business

Group Head, Women Banking at Access Bank, Ms. Ayona Aguele-Trimnell, added that the bank took the campaign to other countries in Africa where the bank has presence like Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, Gambia and Sierra Leone to ensure that many women in the continent take part in it. She said: “We are here to help women of Africa take their businesses to the next level. All the 50 final participants are winners as what they have learnt through the IFC mini MBA classes will assist them in running their businesses and we hope that they will be able to expand their businesses to bigger ones in the next one year.� The highlight of the virtual event was the selection of five outstanding female entrepreneurs from the 50 participants in this year’s programme. They won prizes ranging from N500,000 to N5 million as the total prize won stood at N9.250 million.

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Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Inter-Bank Call Rate

training as well as mentoring opportunities. This programme has been designed to create an enabling environment for female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Also, this year’s programme was extended to six other African countries where Access Bank’s W Initiative has its presence. These countries are Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Gambia. Speaking at the virtual event, Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Mr Victor Etuokwu, said: “We created the W Initiative to drive the course of women and the Womenpreneur-pitch-a- ton Africa is a brainchild of the W Initiative. I need to stress here that we saw great qualities in all the 50 participants in this year’s programme and I want to say that they are rare women. We are happy to assist them and we are very sure that they will impact the business world positively.�

(MILLION NAIRA)

JULY 2020

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OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE Ëœ ÍŻÍś Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $43.05 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with $42.76 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

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T H I S D AY Ëž Í°ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍ°ÍŽ

FBN Holdings Grows Profit by 32% to N68bn in Nine Months Goddy Egene FBN Holdings Pl has reported a growth of 31.7 per cent in its profit after tax (PAT) for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, raising the hope of investors for a robust dividend at the end of the financial year. The financial group posted PAT of N68.256 billion, up from N51.747 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. Details of the results showed

that FBN Holdings recorded gross earnings of 325.279 billion, up from N324.152 billion, while net interest income stood at N192.737 billion compared with N203.53billion in 2019. Fee and commission income rose from N62.434 billion to N72.988 billion. Impairment charges rose from N28.46 billion to N46.675 billion. Profit before tax improved from N54.469 billion to N63.280 billion, while PAT grew faster from N51.747 billion to N68.156

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

billion. Loans and advances expanded by 10.3 per cent from N2.607 trillion to N2.869 trillion, while customers’ deposits rose from N4.019 trillion to N4.630 trillion. FBN Holdings ended the period with total assets of N7.243 trillion, up from N6.204 trillion. The impressive results recorded despite the COVID-19 pandemic did not come as surprise to some stakeholders as the Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings Plc,Mr. UK Eke,

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

had said necessary steps had been put in place to ensure the bank mitigate the impact of the pandemic. According to him, FBN Holdings continued to assess the impact not only on its income in the immediate but also medium-to-long-term impact on its customers and their ability to meet obligations. “And in line with the commitment to supporting our customers and providing leadership in the

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

financial services industry, we will continue to provide unfettered access to financial services to our customers and address their needs. We are working in line with the guidance of the regulators including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in providing access to funding as we seek to kick-start the economy and drive growth,� he said. He assured stakeholders that overall, “the impact on our business has been broadly in line

O F

with our expectations, and our resilience, breadth of offerings, and investment in alternative channels have ensured that the Group is able to cushion the effect and thrive.� Eke had also said the shares of FBN Holdings had been undervalued because the valuation does not reflect the growing fundamentals as evidenced by the return on equity which has continued to improve quarteron-quarter.

2 0 / 1 1 / 2 0 2 0 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS

9M: GTBank Explains Performance, Posts N176bn Profit before Tax Goddy Egene The Managing Director/CEO

of GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, has attributed the improved nine months’

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

results to strong balance sheet, loyal customers, hard work and dedication

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 19Nov-2020, unless otherwise stated.

of staff and support from all stakeholders. GTBank ended the nine

months with a profit before tax (PBT) of N167.352 billion as against N170.652 billion

in 2019, and profit after tax of N142.283 billion compared with N146.989 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 Afrinvest Dollar 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 1.05 1.07 16.92% ACAP Income Funds 0.85 0.85 11.27% 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 3.26% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.75 3.88 53.26% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 1.03% Anchoria Equity Fund 131.89 132.35 22.72% 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 N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Eurobond Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A ARM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 125.55 126.43 30.67% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 1.93% CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.31 2.31 22.49% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.34 2.38 56.48% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 3.25% Paramount Equity Fund 16.11 15.81 26.37% Women's Investment Fund 134.35 132.89 20.49% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.77% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 127.90 128.53 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 155.34 156.92 Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 107.22 107.22 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 1.63% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.12 1.13 20.46% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.75 1.75 31.51% 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 1.27% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 1.68% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,190.97 1,207.92 7.52% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,482.87 1,484.44 24.84% FBN Balanced Fund 183.32 185.01 24.86% FBN Halal Fund 110.69 110.72 10.69% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.79% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional 118.89 119.25 5.41% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 119.07 119.44 5.04% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 149.21 151.54 14.66% 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 100.00 100.00 2.03% Nigeria Entertainment Fund 127.26 127.79 18.65%

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 1.94% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.83 2.89 29.41% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 7.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 156.01 156.94 8.90% 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 1.34 1.44 22.38% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,143.84 1,143.84 9.97% 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 1.59 1.62 28.65% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.06 12.16 7.09% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 2.42% PACAM Equity Fund 1.51 1.53 PACAM EuroBond Fund 109.10 111.46 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 141.01 144.36 10.64% 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 8.42% 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 27.34% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 210.33 210.33 6.09% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.88 0.89 26.67% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 273.87 273.95 7.25% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 154.92 156.64 30.61% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 1.35% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,674.15 7,756.30 24.06% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.22 1.22 4.99% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 110.53 110.53 6.06% 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 1.40 1.43 17.38% United Capital Bond Fund 1.88 1.88 8.41% United Capital Equity Fund 0.87 0.90 24.05% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 2.00% United Capital Eurobond Fund 116.07 116.07 6.19% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.07 1.08 2.03% 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 N/A N/A N/A Zenith Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Zenith Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Zenith Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A

REITS NAV Per Share

Fund Name SFS Skye Shelter Fund

Yield / T-Rtn

119.62

6.57%

53.51

2.80%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

11.63 120.09 89.32

11.73 120.09 90.99

37.94% 25.78% 18.91%

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.42

4.46

28.25%

Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund

5.83

5.91

-1.40%

Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund

16.17 1.00 16.11

16.27 1.00 16.31

34.31% 2.21% 54.54%

230.82

232.82

22.62%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.71

13.11%

Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund

Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

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.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSXTRA

Buhari, Gov Sule Vow to Fish out Killers of Nasarawa APC Chairman

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja, Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia and James Sowole in Akure

President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State have vowed to fish out the killers of the Chairman of the All Progressives

Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, Mr. Philip Shekwo, who was abducted by armed men from his residence in Lafia, the state capital, on Saturday night, and found dead yesterday. The APC has also called on the Police and other relevant security services to fish out the killers of

CCB Invitation: Magu Can’t Access Assets’ Documents, Says Lawyer Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Counsel to the suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commision (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, Mr. Wahab Shittu, yesterday gave reasons why Magu was yet to appear before the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The CCB had via a letter titled: “Investigation of Activities- Letter of Invitation, Breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers,” summoned Magu to appear before it. However, Magu’s failure to appear before CCB had triggered reports that he shunned the invitation. But Shittu said Magu did not shun the invitation. He said the assets declaration papers were part of his documents locked away

in his office , which he could not access since his arrest and subsequent appearance before the Justice Ayo Salami-led panel. “We wish to state with high sense of responsibility that we have written two letters to the Chairman of the CBB, intimating him about the inability of our client to have access to the relevant documents as required by the CCB. The letters, dated November 16 and 17, 2020, were addressed to the CCB Chairman. “The letters were titled- Re: Investigation of Activities- Letter of Invitation, Breach of Code of Conduct for Public Officers. Please note that the letters were stamped and acknowledged by the office of the CCB Chairman on the said date of November 17, 2020.

Nine Abducted ABU Students Regain Freedom John Shiklam in Kaduna The nine students of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State, who were abducted on the Kaduna- Abuja road by bandits have been released after five days in captivity. The students were abducted on November 15, 2020, when the bandits blocked the highway and opened fire on motorists. The 300 level students, from the Department of French, were traveling to Lagos for a programme at the Nigerian French Language Village (NFLV), when the bandits struck. It was gathered that the students were released at about 12 midnight last Saturday after their parents allegedly paid various sums of money ranging from over N500,000 to N4 million as ransom.

One of the parents, who confirm the release of his daughter, said he paid over N500,000 after pleading with the bandits. “After series of bargaining, they said I should pay N1 million, but I told them that I cannot afford to raise that amount. I told them I have over N500, 000 and they asked me to bring it. “I sold my goats, pigs and other belongings to pay the money,” he said in a telephone interview. Also, another parent, who was among the team of four parents that went to deliver the ransom to the bandits, said they were directed to come to Abuja Junction. In a telephone interview yesterday, he said: “They call me yesterday (Saturday), and said if I am not able to pay N1 million, they will kill the girls or marry them or use them as sex slaves.

Dakuku’s Book Out in January 2021 Safari Books Limited will release the long-awaited book, ‘Strategic Turnaround: Story of a Government Agency,’ by the former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, in January 2021. A statement issued yesterday by the General Manager, Safari Books Limited, Olayemi Onakunle, said the book would be released in hardcover, paperback, digital and audio book editions. Giving an insight about the book, Onakunle added that the 300-page book is a straightforward narrative of events, and

turnaround initiatives embarked upon in the agency in the four years of Dakuku’s management that changed NIMASA from a laggard institution to one of the most respected and admired government agencies in Nigeria. “The book critically explores leadership and management principles, both theoretically and practically, in a public sector setting, which anyone serious about improving performance in governance must pay attention to. More than a story of successes and failures, the book highlights critical lessons for those desirous of renewing, repositioning or reforming public sector organisations.

Shekwo. The gunmen were said to have exchanged gunfire with the security detail attached to the APC chairman before whisking him away. The state Police Commissioner, Bola Longe, who confirmed the incident, had said his men were combing forests and flashpoints to ensure that Shekwo was rescued. But the spokesman of the state Police Command, Raman Nansel, yesterday revealed that Shekwo had been killed. “We discovered his corpse today and it has been taken to the morgue for post mortem examination,” he said over the phone. “Investigation has begun. We are determined to unravel the cause of the incident.” Nasarawa State has witnessed a spike in the kidnapping of prominent individuals in the state. The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Works in the state, Jibrin

Giza, was kidnapped in February and released after a ransom was paid. The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state, Joseph Masin, was kidnapped by gunmen in May, and he regained freedom after three days. Sule had recently signed into law the state Kidnapping Prohibition Law 2020 in February, prescribing the death penalty for anyone convicted of kidnapping. Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, yesterday quoted President Muhammadu Buhari as saying that the nation’s security agencies must do more to end violence in the country. Shehu, in a statement made available to journalists, and titled “President Buhari condemns killing of Nasarawa State APC chairman, Chief Shekwo,” further quoted Buhari as welcoming the

decision of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to send reinforcement to the state. According to the statement, police investigation would determine if it was a case of assassination or kidnapping-related murder. “The late APC Chairman was shot twice leading to his death. Police investigation is expected to determine if this was an assassination or kidnapping-related murder.” Governor Sule has also assured that the assassins of the slain state chairman of the APC will not go scot- free. Sule gave the assurance in a press statement issued to journalists in Lafia by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ibrahim Addra, in reaction to the murder of the state APC chairman by gunmen at the weekend. He said: “I will like to assure all that the perpetrators of this dastardly act will not go scot-free.

“Investigations have already commenced by our security agencies who will do all it takes to hunt down these criminals and bring them to justice.” Meanwhile, the Ondo State chapter of the APC yesterday decried the murder of Shekwo. The Chairman of Ondo State APC, Mr. Ade Adetimehin, described the killing as unforgivable wickedness. He implored security agencies to unmask the heartless murderers. Also, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Yekini Nabena, in a statement issued yesterday described the incident as “a dark day for the APC family.” “We urge a thorough investigation by the police and other relevant security service to quickly fish out the sponsors and perpetrators of this evil, heinous and barbaric crime and made to face the full weight of the law.”

ROYAL VISIT…

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left), and the Emir of Bichi, His Royal Highness, Dr. Nasiru Ado Bayero, when the governor hosted the monarch at the Government House, Enugu… yesterday.

PDP Accuses Buhari of Plunging Nigeria into Recession Dismisses purported suspension of Egwu, others in Ebonyi Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to accept their failure and allow competent, transparent and honest hands to effectively manage the economy, as that is the only way to save Nigeria from an imminent economic collapse. The main opposition party also yesterday dismissed as misleading the purported suspension of some key leaders in Ebonyi State, including former state Governor, Senator Sam Egwu, and 23 other party leaders. The PDP in a statement signed

by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the economy has plunged into another recession under the APC confirms the PDP stand that the Buhari presidency and the APC lack the competence and integrity to run a national economy. The report, according to PDP, showed that the Buhari administration and the APC have been lying to Nigerians with false performance claims when they know that they have “in a space of five years wrecked and plundered the economy, which was rated as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, when they took over from the PDP.”

According to the party, “Indeed, Buhari will be the first president in our history to score a hat-trick in plunging his country into economic recession, both as military and civilian leader. “The economic recession we face today is a fallout of President Buhari and APC’s restrictive, vindictive and anti-trade policies; bizarre foreign exchange controls and monetary policies that impede growth; an over-bloated public sector that encourages waste and incurable corruption, reckless treasury looting and failure to decisively deal with the escalated insecurity, which has destroyed economic activities in most parts of our country.

“While the Buhari residency pretends to be running a freemarket economy, it is in reality, running a corrupt exclusionist market economy tailored to service the interest of a selfish few while frustrating millions of hard working Nigerians with restrictive policies, lack of access to incentives and support as well as high taxes and levies.” The PDP spokesperson added that this has crippled domestic production and competiveness, eroded investors’ confidence and occasioned a dearth in foreign direct investment, which has led to the economic contraction Nigerians have continued to witness under Buhari’s watch.

NDPHC to complete 2,000 MW Power Stations in Abia, Imo, Bayelsa Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) has disclosed that it will expedite work on four power plants located in Alaoji, Egbema, Omoku and Gbarain with a combined capacity of about 2,000 megawatts of power to boost national supply. The company jointly owned by the federal, state and local governments, noted that some of the projects were delayed due to the cancellation of the contracts by NDPHC to the

contractor that was handling it. New Executive Director, Generation, NDPHC, Mr. Kassim Abdullahi, who spoke during an inspection visit, said the company was making efforts to engage new Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors to complete the plants and make them available to the national grid. “We are going to ensure that for all these power plants that are still undergoing installation, we will engage the right EPCs to make sure we complete them, have a thorough follow

up on all the key open issues that these power plants have not to make them operational. “We will employ the strategy of getting competent consultants to ensure that these projects are followed through. The aim is to make these power plants available and also ensure speedy engagement with the right government agencies for evacuation of power from the plants,” he stated. He added: “We have gone round to see the condition of the parts for the completion of the

steam turbine; we have taken note of some of the quick fix we need to work on quickly. So I believe that in the next few months, we will see a lot in the progress of this project.” In Egbema, Imo State, he revealed that the NDPHC had just taken back the project from its EPC contractors after a long period of delay, lamenting that a lot power was stranded there at a time a lot of Nigerians need it. He, however, commended the company handling the gas receiving station for keeping it prepared and ready for the power plant.

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Lagos Govt’s Threat will Create Nationwide Fuel Crisis, Say Tank Farm Owners Insist N300m charge outrageous, unacceptable EmmanuelAddehinAbuja Some petroleum products marketers and tank farm owners in Lagos yesterday raised the alarm over the threat by the state government to shut down their operations, describing it as a clear threat to petroleum products supply and distribution across the country. They also described as outrageous and unacceptable, the demand by the state government for each operator to pay roughly N300 million. The tank farm owners under the umbrella of the Ijegun-Egba Tankfarm Owners and Operators’ Association (ITOOA), also faulted the allegation by the state government that its members were operating illegally, destroying infrastructural facilities within their operational areas and not paying taxes. ITOOAis engaged in the operation of petroleum storage tank farms and facilities at Ijegun – Egba, Satellite Town, Lagos, along the Ojo Creek Channel. Some of its members are: A.A. RANO Nigeria Limited, AIPEC Oil & Gas Limited, Bond Global Energy Projects Limited, Chipet International Limited, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, First Royal Oil Nigeria Limited and MAO Petroleum Company Limited. Others are Menj Oil Limited, Ocean Pride Energy Services Limited, Stallionaire Nigeria Limited, Star Synergy Petroleum Services Limited, Wosbab Energy Solutions Limited and Rainoil Limited. In a statement issued yesterday by the association’s Secretary, Mr. Eshiet Eshiet, the marketers stated that they were committed to conducting their

businesses in line with best practices and in strict adherence to safety rules and regulations. The association argued that contrary to the state government’s statement, all its members were duly licensed and authorised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to operate petroleum storage facilities at Ijegun and have all requisite permits, and licenses from all appropriate agencies of government to operate. It added that its member companies have their facilities mostly on the shoreline of the Ojo Creek Channel, with a considerable distance to community houses and were granted title by the land registry, federal ministry of lands and housing to use same for industrial or commercial purposes. “It will be counterproductive to shut down or close the tank farms at Ijegun or at any place. Any shutdown or closure of tank farms will result in national economic crisis, energy insecurity, massive unemployment, banking and financial crisis. “Theshockinthebankingsectorwill adversely affect other business and commercial activities. These might be difficult for the nation to bear. “With the threat to shut down or close tank farms, we wish to state that our national economy and energy supply, marketing and distribution of petroleum products across the country will be adversely affected. “It will include a resultant unprecedented negative impact on energy security, scarcity of petroleum products and long queues with attendant impacts on

Q3 2020: UBA Grows Gross Earnings to N454.4bn United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, the Pan African financial institution, has announced commendable performance in its unaudited 2020 Third Quarter Financial Results, with impressive growth in Gross Earnings, which rose to N454.4 billion, up from N428.7billion recorded in September 2019 According to the report filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, UBA reported a Profit Before Tax of N90.4 billion compared to N98.2 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2019. Similarly, the Bank recorded an after-tax net profit of N77.1 billion, thus putting its annualised return on average equity at 16.4 per cent. Operating income also improved by 10.4 per cent year-on-year to close at N293.7 billion, up from N265.9 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2019. The bank continues to maintain a very strong balance sheet, with Total Assets of N7.1 trillion, a 26 per cent increase over the N5.6 trillion recorded at the end of December 2019. UBA benefitted largely from its technology-led initiatives targeted at improving customer experience over the past few years, as Customer Deposits leaped to N5.2trillion from N3.8 trillion at the end of the last financial year. The shareholders’ funds remained very strong at N655.3 billion rising by 9.6 per cent from N598.0 billion recorded in

December 2019, thus reflecting a strong capacity for internal capital generation and growth. Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said, “In spite of the current turbulence in the operating environment, occasioned by the global pandemic, we have continued to record significant progress in our business segments. Notably, our innovative financial inclusion propositions have helped us moderate cost-of-funds to 3.2% (4.0 per cent in FY 2019), as low-cost deposits (which accounts for 76.2 per cent of our customer deposits) grew 40.8 per cent by the end of the third quarter. Our Direct Sales Agents, Agency Banking Network, and Digital Banking propositions have positioned us at the forefront of financial inclusion across geographies where we operate,” Uzoka stated. He pointed out that during the period under review, the Bank was able to provide support to customers across its footprint, assisting them to navigate the negative impact that Covid-19 pandemic has had on livelihoods, businesses and social life, adding that “since March 2020, we have provided transaction fee waivers to customers, rescheduled loans where business cashflows have been impacted, and donated generously to governments and communities to help catalyse a comprehensive pan-African response to the fight against the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

business, movements and safety will resurface in response to the cut in supply chain,” the association said. The marketers emphasised that the cluster they currently occupy was

a wetland, of which rigorous sand filling and shoreline protection were undertaken at great cost and thereafter pilling in line with best practices to sustain the structures thereon.

They stated that members had submitted documentations for regularisation, but that each company was arbitrarily charged approximately N300 million, which they said was

not acceptable. “With the present global economic outlook, this is outrageous and a big strain on our members,” the association said.

RENEWED PARTNERSHIP...

L-R: Senior Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina; Chairman of Energy Correspondents Association of Nigeria, Mr. Olu Phillips; Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari; and Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, after a media briefing by the NNPC in Abuja...recently

Gbajabiamila Promises Scholarship, Foundation for Children of Slain Vendor House to honour deceased at plenary tomorrow

Kingsley Nwezeh and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has offered scholarship up to university level to the children of the slain vendor, the late Mr. Ifeanyi Okereke. He said the House, would also at plenary Tuesday (tomorrow) honour the deceased by sitting for half-day. The vendor was shot dead by an operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Abdullahi M. Hassan, when some vendors approached the speaker’s convoy to greet him. The shooting triggered protests by the vendors’ association, who called for justice. Gbajabiamila, yesterday met with members of the Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association (ANDA) and the Newspapers Vendors Association, Abuja (NVAA) to condole with them over the death of their colleague, Okereke. Gbajabiamila, who visited the Abuja newspapers distribution centre at Area 1, said Ifeanyi

would get justice. He also said that after a visit to the family of the late Ifeanyi at the Kwata area of Madalla-Suleja on Saturday, where he met with his wife and children, he directed his lawyers to immediately set up a trust fund for them until adulthood. The Speaker said the House would upon its resumption of plenary on Tuesday honour the late Ifeanyi and invited the leaders of the two associations to be part of the event to be held on the floor of the House. He said, ‘Let me address you not as the Speaker but as Femi Gbajabiamila a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who has been caught unawares in the middle of this unfortunate incident. Many of you that have been following me from the beginning know that championing the cause of the masses has been my life work as a legislator. I have been a champion of the common man and therefore the irony of this is not lost on me and many of us. However, I will continue to do this as long as I live.

“This is a very difficult time for me. Like many have said, you guys have been my friends for years. I have no idea and I don’t know why you guys have always taken to me over the years including campaigning for me in the streets of Abuja during the speakership election. You’ve always been there for me. As you were selling your papers, you were also selling me. “That’s why each time I pass you guys , I stop to say hi. Some people said why did I stop in the middle of the road? But as we were moving, the lights changed to red which meant to stop. We could have moved on, but I have always instructed my convoy to be law- abiding. So, we stopped and my friends, as usual, besieged the vehicle, shouting and were jubilant. Recalling the incident, he said after he had made inquiries about the gunshot, he was initially misinformed but later received the accurate account of the incident. “Immediately I heard the gunshot, I screamed and said why did they do that? At that

time I thought it was just a shot into the air. As we moved on, I asked that they should park the car. It’s against security training as they made me realise, but I insisted and they parked. They said everything was okay. Indeed some other road users behind us did say everything was okay. We moved on. It was later that night that I got the full gist of what had happened. I want to commiserate with you over what happened.” “Those children have now become my children. I have made commitments to the family to train them until they become adults. I have instructed the lawyers in my office to immediately set up a trust fund for them until adulthood. The incident has touched me in no small measure and in ways difficult for anyone to understand. I am a man of peace and not violence. Also, I have cancelled all my engagements, because I’m indeed mourning, and I can’t be mourning and be celebrating or attending joyous occasions or functions at the same time.’’

Wike Imposes 24-hour Curfew in Parts of Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has imposed a 24-hour total curfew for two weeks on the entire area around the Okoro-Nu-Odo flyover in Rumuokoro area of Port Harcourt metropolis due to an upsurge of cult activities and related violence. The governor has also warned that government would spare no efforts to deal appropriately with anyone who decides to disturb peace and security in the state with cult activities and associated violence and killings. Wike, in a state-wide broadcast yesterday explained that the

decision to impose the curfew was taken after the State Security Council meeting in Port Harcourt. He explained that the state government was seriously disturbed by the recent upsurge of cult activities and related violence and killings around the adjoining areas of the Okoro-Nu-Odo flyover in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. “As part of measures to tackle this menace, therefore, government has imposed a 24-hour total curfew for two weeks on the entire area along and around the Okoro-nu-Odo

flyover up to one-kilometre radius from Saint Emmanuel Anglican Church, Rumuokoro, extending to the Rumuodomaya Slaughter and local government area daily market with effect from Monday, November 23, 2020. “Consequently, no form of trading, human or vehicular movement is allowed within the afore-mentioned restricted areas until further notice. Only staff and vehicles belonging to Julius Berger Nigeria Limited are exempted from the curfew and associated restrictions on movement so

that construction work on the Okoro-Nu-Odu flyover is not stalled,” he said. The governor directed security agencies to enforce strict compliance with the curfew and arrest and summarily prosecute any person, trader or vehicle that may attempt to violate the curfew. “Again, we wish to warn that community leaders that allow cultism and related activities to thrive unabated in their communities would be treated as collaborators to the resulting crimes and dealt with accordingly.

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MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Gombe Judge Petitions CJN, Alleges Illegal Exclusion from CJ List Akpata charges council to end judicial discrimination Justice Beatrice Iliya of the Gombe State High Court has written a protest letter to the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the exclusion of her name from the list of judges to be considered for appointment as the Chief Judge of Gombe State. Also ahead of today’s interview by the NJC Committee for the

appointment of a Chief Judge for the Gombe State Judiciary, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olumide Akpata has tasked the council to stamp out discrimination in the country’s judiciary. Akpata declared that he “expects the NJC to do the right thing”.

Akpata was reacting to the exclusion of Illiya from the list of names forwarded to the NJC for consideration as appointment for Chief Judge. Illiya had forwarded to the NBA, a copy of the petition she wrote to the NJC. In the petition, dated November 13, addressed to the NJC Chairman and Chief

One Dead as Policeman Allegedly Shoots Two Persons in Ekiti Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti Barely 30 hours after a policeman was allegedly shot dead in a police station in Ekiti State due to an alleged mishandling of firearm, two persons were reportedly shot by cops in Ado Ekiti last Saturday night. One of the victims was said to have died on the spot while the other is presently in a critical situation at the Emergency Unit of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti, the state capital city. The incident happened at a hotel located on Ado-Ikere road when a retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police allegedly visited the facility. It was rumoured that the victims were shot by one of the

police orderlies of the former police top brass. Meanwhile, a policeman was allegedly shot and bled to death last Friday at the Okesa divisional police station during a protest staged by a family of a motorcyclist killed by a driver. The policeman was said to have been shot when his colleagues were dispersing the violent protesters out of the police station to avoid unexpected attack. Recounting the shooting incident in the hotel, an eyewitness said: “The policemen came into the hotel with one retired police officer. They were up to five in number. “They appeared to be in gyration mood in the hotelthey were shooting into the air and creating scene. In the

process, two persons were hit by bullets. “The policemen conveyed the victims in their Hilux to the hospital, but they took to their heels moment after dumping the victims.” The police escort Hilux van, which was believed not to belong to the Ekiti State Police Command, was also abandoned since last night by the policemen at the entrance of the EKSUTH emergency unit. Substantiating further how the two men were allegedly shot, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday Abutu, said the policeman fingered in the shooting had been arrested and detained at the police headquarters in Ado Ekiti.

Nigerian Guild of Editors Holds Annual Conference November 26 The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the umbrella body of all editors in Nigeria, will hold this year’s edition of its annual flagship conference, the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC), on Thursday, November 26, 2020. ANEC is usually a three-day event but President of the Guild, Mr. Mustapha Isah, said this year’s edition will be VIRTUAL (Via Zoom) and it will be for one day. Themed: ‘Media, People and COVID-19: How to Create Sustainability in the Digital Era,’ Isah explained that the guild had to adjust the conference in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant safety protocols of social distancing, virtual communication, among others. “Every year, members of the guild physically gather under one roof to brainstorm on national issues including state of the media, but this year, as thought-leaders and agenda-setters, we have decided to model our conference in tune with the exigencies of the moment hence the decision to make it a one-day event,” Isah said. ANEC 2020 is the 16th in the series and will be chaired by Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf, a Fellow of the Guild and Chairman of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust newspapers among other publications. The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Mr Steve Nwosu, said this year’s edition is essentially a capacity building session to be keynoted by Mr.

Taiwo Obe, a Fellow of the Guild and Founder/Director, The Journalism Clinic, a Lagos-

based journalism training centre with international affiliations.

Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, Justice Iliya contended that the exclusion of her name from the list sent to the NJC by the Gombe State Judicial Service Commission was a violation of the NJC directive on the appointment of a Chief Judge. She noted that as the most senior judge on the Gombe State High Court bench, there was no justification for the JSC not to send her name to the NJC. The judge said, “I have been reliably informed that the JSC has sent a memo to the NJC

re-submitting the names of Honourable Justice Muazu A. Pindiga and Honourable Justice Joseph Ahmed Awak for appointment of the Chief Judge of Gombe State, excluding my name as the most senior judge, which is not in compliance with the directive of the NJC, following its meeting on 11th August, 2020; and the duo of Honourable Justice Muazu A. Pindiga and Honourable Justice Joseph Ahmed Awak are now being invited for an interview by the NJC Interview Committee to be conducted on the 23rd of

November, 2020. “I wish to state that the current re-nomination made by the JSC is in defiance to the directive earlier issued by the NJC on this matter.” Justice Iliya said there was no legal or moral justification for the JSC to depart from the tradition of appointing the most senior judge as the Chief Judge. “I humbly pray for the upright intervention of the NJC to curb the excesses of the JSC and salvage the system of administration of justice in Gombe State,” Justice Iliya stated in the letter.

ASUU Wants Children of Public Holders Banned from Schooling Abroad James Sowole in Akure The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akure Zone, yesterday declared that children/wards of public office holders should be banned from studying in tertiary institutions abroad. The Akure branch of ASUU made the call in a statement signed by it Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Olu Olu Olufayo, and the FUTAASUU branch Chairman, Dr. Olayinka Awopetu, saying such policy would reduce the decadence in the country’s education sector. Apart from that, the union also called on the federal government to compel member of the ruling class and their dependents from seeking medical intervention outside Nigeria. They said the policy, if implemented, would help to rebuild the country’s education

and health sectors. The union stated in the statement that “members of the ruling class and their cohorts have their wards schooling abroad, so they have no commitment to end ASUU strike since political office has become occupational rather than public service. “Until we domesticate two very important practices as laws in Nigeria, we may not get out of this doldrums. Firstly, there should be an act to compel all public office holders and government appointees to have their wards educated in Nigeria public schools from primary to the tertiary level. “Secondly, there should be an act to prohibit all political office holders, appointees and their dependents from seeking medical attention outside Nigeria. “When these two laws are enacted, perhaps we will gradually

see the end of needless ASUU strikes in the country. “Until the government does the needful (our ivory towers properly funded, our withheld emoluments paid among other issues), the struggle continues. “For the patriotic and hardworking Nigerian who desires a future for his/her children as well as building and developing this country, it has become imperative that you all call out the government to attend to issues apolitically and objectively to get the system running efficiently and effectively.” ASUU explained that the union has been on strike for the past eight months over issues which has been ignored by successive governments in the country, adding that “the deplorable situation of our universities has grown from bad to worse since then.

MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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FG Targets Q4 2022 for Commercial Operation of $6bn Lekki Deep Seaport Eromosele Abiodun The federal government has targeted the fourth quarter of 2022 for the completion of the construction and commencement of commercial operation of the $6 billion Lekki Deep Seaport. The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi stated this yesterday while addressing journalists during on-the-spotinspection of the facility.

The minister directed the contractor of the Deep Seaport to ensure that commercial activities take off not later than end of 2022. According to him, “It was in March 2018 that the contract talks for this facility commenced. Yes, they have had glitches, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and a lockdown, but it is important that this project becomes operational by 2022.

“Am I impressed by the pace of work? As a layman, my views might not matter. However, we must tie them to a written agreement that it must be commissioned by Mr. President in 2022. “There are so many things tied to a port construction. As a layman, I might not be able to say categorically that by 2022, Lekki port will be operational. There are so many factors that could work

No Attack on Zulum’s Convoy, Security Aides, Says Gov’s Spokesman Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri The Borno State Government yesterday debunked a report on the alleged attack by Boko Haram on the convoy of Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, saying there was no attack on the governor’s convoy or his security aides. Zulum’s spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, in a statement issued yesterday said the governor traveled to Baga, to supervise the distribution of food and other relief to thousands of residents and returned to Maiduguri safely with no incident, whatsoever. “For the record, we write to quickly clarify that contrary to a “breaking news” by an

online news medium, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum was neither attacked nor was any component of his convoy attacked by anyone. The governor was actually in Baga from Saturday to Sunday (Sunday), during which he supervised the distribution of food and cash to 5,000 residents and he assessed major reconstruction and resettlement efforts with no hitch whatsoever. While we continually accord respect to all media organisations as supportive partners, we importantly clarify that we have no knowledge of the breaking news” in question. As members of the public can testify, it is the culture and principle of Professor Zulum to say things as they are, and in this case, it is what

it is- no attack whatsoever. Any media organisation that wants further clarification may wish to contact the Nigerian military. “Meanwhile, Governor Zulum appreciates all well- wishers, and he gratefully commends armed forces and civilian volunteers for the relentless efforts to fully regain lasting peace in Borno State,” the statement explained. Zulum was alleged to have been attacked on Saturady, the fourth attack on his convoy since his assumption of office on May 29, 2019. The latest attack, according to unverified sources claimed the lives of seven soldiers and two members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF).

against that date like force majeure issues or if anything goes wrong with the contractor. That is why we need to tie them to a verbal and written agreement that by 2022, Lekki port must become operational,” he said. Amaechi added that with Lekki, Bonny and Ibom deep seaports, all expected to come on stream very soon, the issue of too many river ports with shallow draft will become a thing of the past in Nigeria’s maritime sector. Earlier, the minister, while touring sections of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) head office building burnt by hoodlums

expressed shock at the level of destruction carried out on the agency’s headquarters by unknown persons. “I have made decisions that with the level of damage done here, NPA should be able to come forward to cabinet to ask for the reconstruction depending on integrity. The damage is disastrous. No matter how you want to vent your anger over police brutality, you don’t need to destroy people’s property. “I was once a student, and we never took laws into our hands even when we were protesting. If you remember in 1983, during the time of Major General Buhari

and Babagida, we were always on the street as students. We never took laws into our hands and we never destroyed public property. “During the time of Tai Solarin, there was a national protest that we partook in, and we never took laws into our hands. It is legitimate to protest, but it is illegitimate to hide under the guise of protest to destroy public property,” he said. He said under Nigerian laws, it is legitimate to protest but added that the law does not allow for the burning of property or closing highways because there are other road users who want to use the highways.

NNPC to Intensify Oil Search in North Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will continue its search for more crude oil in the north, despite recently discovering reserves of commercial quantity in the area, the corporation has said. The national oil company said at the weekend that it is now seriously exploring the Kolmani River 111 area after its successful drilling of Kolmani 11, to increase the current 36 billion barrels reserves to at least 40 billion. Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, told journalists in Abuja during an interactive session that

the chances of finding oil in the area remains very high, adding that thereafter , the NNPC will re-launch its search in the Chad basin. “In our core business, I did promise that we will boost exploration and production with a view to raising national reserves to 40 billion barrels and production to 3 million barrels per day. Much has been put in place to make these a reality. “For example, we have revved up exploration work in the inland basins culminating in the oil find in commercial quantity, in the Upper Benue Trough.

“The drilling of the Kolmani River 111 Well is ongoing with very high prospect of oil find. Seismic data collection is ongoing in the Bida Basin and we are re-launching exploration work in the Chad Basin,” The NNPC boss noted that some disputes that had led to the shut in of production in some facilities had also been reduced, disclosing that immediately the curtailment placed on production by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is lifted, the company will “unleash” all the pending initiatives to rev up production.

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MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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Jonathan Thanks Govs, Others on His Birthday Former President Goodluck Jonathan has thanked Nigerians from different walks of life, who visited him on Friday in his Abuja residence to honour him on the occasion of his 63rd birthday. The guests, which included his former aides as well as serving and former Governors from both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), prayed for him and thanked him for the good things he has continued to do to promote peace and the image of the country since leaving office. Responding to the goodwill messages, Jonathan thanked the visitors for honouring him and commended his wife and other family members for organising the private get-together and for their prayers on his birthday. He said: “This (Friday) morning, I came down at about 6 am and saw people already waiting to

pray for me to mark the day. “That means that those people must have woken up from their houses before 5:30 am to be able to get to my house that early. “And since that time up until this (Friday) evening, we have been receiving visitors. “I want to sincerely thank my wife who has put this together and thank all for coming here without any announcement in the newspapers or any form of text messages to invite guests,” Jonathan said. Earlier, former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan presented to her husband a customised card she made for the occasion. Reading from the big card, she said, “My husband, my hero, my king, the father of my children. I thank almighty God for choosing you to be my life partner. “Not only are you the most loving husband a woman could

ever wish for, but you are also my best friend. “On this special birthday, I want to tell you how much I appreciate you in my life, it has been a blessing making this life journey with you. “If I have to do it again my love, I would choose you to be my husband over and over, you are the best. “To me, you mean the whole world and I love you more than words could ever express. May God bless you always; Happy Birthday.” The numerous guests who visited Jonathan to felicitate with him included Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed; Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru; the Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi; and former Governor of Gombe State Ibrahim Dankwambo.

Yobe Indigene, Umar Dagona Wins $400,000 in World Chemistry Competition Yobe State indigene who represented Nigeria at the World Chemistry competition beat candidates from many countries to secure the second position. Umar Usman Dagon,

from Gashua town of Yobe state, took part in the “Imaginechemistry” competition and made it to the top five that appeared in the final round. He eventually made it to

the second position, winning the sum of $400,000. Dagona obtained NCE in Chemistry Education at Yobe State Umar Suleiman Collage of Education in Gashua town.

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MONDAY NOVEMBER 23, 2020 ˾ T H I S D AY

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FG: 2022 Remains Delivery Date for Second Niger Bridge Obiano, Okowa upbeat about early completion

Peter Uzoho The federal government has restated its commitment to the

completion of the Second Niger Bridge, irrespective of challenges, stating that the 2022 delivery date for the project remained sacrosanct.

Five Killed as Gunmen Attack Zamfara Mosque The police in Zamfara State yesterday confirmed that gunmen killed five worshippers and kidnapped 18 in an attack on a mosque during prayers in the state. Around 100 cattle thieves on motorcycles opened fire on a Muslim congregation in remote Dutsen Gari village in Maru district as residents

were observing the weekly Friday prayers. “The bandits killed five worshippers and kidnapped 18 others, including the imam,” state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said. But residents however said more than 30 worshippers were abducted.

This is coming as the Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, and his Delta State counterpart, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, have expressed their satisfactions with the pace of work on the project. The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, gave the federal government’s assurance in Asaba, Delta State capital, during his inspection visit to the project and town hall meeting with the project’s stakeholders at the weekend. According to Fashola, “2022 remains the project delivery date. That is the federal government’s commitment on the N414billion

bridge investment by the government. Of this amount, roads 2a and 2b alone is costing the government N208 billion.” The minister said the contractor of the project “needs about 4million cubic meters of sand, a lot of supplies of cement, 19 million litres of diesel, including local labour to deliver the project.” He added that all of that were already spinning off multiplier economic and commercial activities within the host communities and states. On compensation to the communities in the project area, Fashola said the state governments were in the best position to liaise

with communities on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. In their remarks, Anambra State Governor, Obiano, and his Delta State counterpart, Okowa, have expressed their satisfaction with the pace of work on the project. According to Obiano “COVID-19 or no COVID-19, we can all see that the president, the honourable minister and his team at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing as well as the contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, have remained committed to the work to deliver the Second Niger Bridge.” On his part, Okowa, who was

represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Chinedu Ebie, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari, for “the massive project and the good progress achieved so far on site as we look forward to the successful commissioning in 2022.” The Managing Director of Julius Berger Nigeria, Mr. Lars Richter, explained the need for the Second Niger Bridge arose due to population growth in the area, the high rate of urbanisation and the geometric increase in traffic volumes over the years.

Gombe Chief Judge Saga: Group Tasks NJC on Female Judges’ Protection Alex Enumah in Abuja A civil group, the Centre for Public Accountability (CPA), has called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to rise up to the defence of female judges from perceived discrimination by some state governments, particularly in the appointment of a Chief Judge. CPA in a petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the NJC, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, specifically lamented what it described as unconstitutional process in the selection of a substantive Chief Judge for Gombe State. Executive Director of the group, Mr. Olufemi Lawson, in the said petition, drew the attention of the NJC to the “unconstitutional decision of the Gombe State Government to prevent Justice Beatrice Illiya

from assuming the position of the state Chief Judge, in a manner which clearly violates the known conventions and our laws.” The group alleged that the continued refusal of the Gombe State Government to make Justice Illiya the substantive Chief Judge is premised on her religion, gender and her Tangale-Waja ethnic background. “The action of the Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya, is just one of his numerous attempts at desperately seeking to control the judiciary. This desperation has been taken further with the appointment of Justice Mua’zu Pindiga as a replacement, in clear violation of Section 271 subsection 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

RCCG Tasks Bauchi Residents on Tolerance, Peaceful Co-existence Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi As part of its symbol of love and social responsibility as well as community relations, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has unveiled two water projects in two communities in Bauchi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, with a call on the people to imbibe the culture of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationship among the various ethno-religious groups in the state. The Special Assistant to the General Overseer(GO) of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, in charge of Northeast zone, Pastor Jimi Ajibade, made the call last Saturday while inaugurating the two projects sited in Wunti Dada and Kafin Tafawa under the ‘Water for Life’ (W4L) project funded by Africa Mission Nigeria RCCG headquarters in Lagos. Ajibade stressed that no efforts should be spared in spreading the values of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and harmonious relationships among the people knowing that God is one and the creator of everything.

The special assistant to the GO in charge of the North-east region of the church, who also emphasised that God created human beings equally, and therefore, want them to coexist, said there is no need for acrimonious relationship between adherents of the two widely accepted religion of Christianity and Islam. Citing copiously from the Bible, he stated that God is love and so He is expecting us to show love for one another not in words alone but in actions and deeds, a reason he said is driving the church to embark on social responsibility and community relations. The cleric added that the RCCG is ensuring that the communities surrounding it got a little of its love through different ways, including education, health and water provisions. Ajibade then advised the beneficiaries of the water projects to see them as their own and maintain them effectively for their use, because according to him, “the projects belong to you; take care of it so that you can continue to enjoy the services for a long time.”

PROMOTING TOURISM…

L-R: Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Timothy Owoeye; Regional Business Executive, Sterling Bank, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi; and Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, during the unveiling of Osun Sterling Tourism Vision 30:30 in Osogbo…weekend

Anambra Govt, Senator Ubah in War of Words over Promissory Note Deji Elumoye in Abuja DavidChyddy Eleke in Awka The Anambra State Government and a Senator from the state, Ifeanyi Ubah, yesterday engaged in war of words over a promissory note the state government accepted from the federal government. While the senator gave the state Governor, Mr. Willie Obiano, a 48-hour ultimatum to explain what he did with the N25 billion promissory note allegedly issued to the state government by the federal government through the Debt Management Office (DMO), the state government has accused the senator representing Anambra South senatorial zone of working hard to discredit the Obiano-led state government.

A statement issued by the state commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C. Don Adinuba, stated that Ubah at the weekend accused the state government of negotiating away N8billion in a promissory note it accepted from the federal government for money spent on federal roads in the state. Adinuba also quoted Ubah as threatening to go to court over the forfeited N8billion. “Senator Ubah and his hirelings are the only traducers of Anambra State’s exceedingly impressive financial management. It is a conundrum that someone should be de-marketing the very state he wants to govern by all means. “Let him go to court at once to demonstrate how, as he claims,

Anambra State lost N8billion as discounts on N25billion promissory notes of the federal government. Otherwise, he has to resign from the Senate forthwith. If he refuses, the people of the Anambra South senatorial zone know what to do with his continued presence in the hallowed chambers of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he stated. The commissioner advised Ubah to quickly proceed to court, saying that that would amount to displaying his ignorance to the world, “as it is very clear that it was rather out of wisdom that Obiano pressured the federal government to issue him the promissory note, instead of waiting endlessly for cash, which isn’t available. ““If Senator Ubah fails to go to

court with his fanciful figures and ideas, he has to resign from the Senate. The legislature, especially the Senate, is for thoughtful men and women who have prepared themselves for public service in the finest tradition. If he refuses to resign honourably, the people of the Anambra South senatorial zone know what to do.” However, Ubah has given Obiano a 48-hour ultimatum to explain what he did with the N25 billion promissory note issued to the state government by the federal government. The Young Peoples Party (YPP) senator said failure by Obiano to give a detailed breakdown of how the facility was expended, he would not hesitate to approach the court of law to compel him to do so.

Bichi Emir Preaches Unity, Brotherhood in Enugu The Emir of Bichi, Dr. Nasiru Ado Bayero, has stressed the need for the country’s unity and expressed gratitude to the Government of Enugu State for the peace the Northern community has been enjoying in the state. Speaking when Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi played host to him at the Government House, Enugu, the Emir commended the state government’s commitment to national integration and peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians living in the state, irrespective of tribe,

religion and political differences. The monarch also appreciated the traditional rulers in Enugu State, stressing that based on “your relationship with the Northern community in your own local communities, our reports from them have been positive; so we are very grateful”. He used the opportunity to assure the governor that “back in Kano State, we will protect your interest; we will make sure that any Igbo man or any other Nigerian who lives Kano is safe.

He maintained that “our relationship has grown beyond now and we will not allow this to grow any bad situation”. The Emir therefore lauded the state for its hospitality and also commended the governor for what he described as his uncommon leadership style anchored on peace, security, and good governance. Describing his visit to Enugu State as a homecoming, he narrated the enduring relationship his late father, Ado Bayero, enjoyed with his Igbo friends, especially

when he was the Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) for over 20 years. He disclosed that his visit to the state was “to build that bridge between the Northern Nigeria and this part of Nigeria, the East”, stressing: “We shall continue to build that bridge; we shall continue to make sure that Nigeria remains one and despite all of these, we shall remain brothers by the grace of God”.

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MONDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

A F C O N Q UA L I F I E R S FA L LO U T

Sports Minister Vows to Overhaul Super Eagles After Draws with S’Leone Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, has promised that the Federal Government will overhaul the senior national football team, the Super Eagles, to ensure they get to the best possible height in world soccer. The minister also promised to align the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) administrative architecture to the aspirations of people of Nigeria. Speaking on the recent 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying

series double header against Sierra Leone, the minister, who apologised to Nigerians over Super Eagles’ disappointing outings against the Leone Stars, said the results of the matches have once again highlighted the urgency in restructuring the national team, adding that the games showed that the technical crew led by Gernot Rohr cannot meet Nigerians’ aspirations. He said: “Football sometimes throw up unpredictable outcomes.

....Egbe Rallies Support for Under-fire Rohr Stadium facility expert and CEO of Monimichelle Limited, Ebi Egbe, has rallied support for the under-fire Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr. Egbe whose outfit has been credited with constructing some of the best football turfs in Nigerian stadiums insisted at the weekend that Super Eagles would surely bounce back after the two draws with Sierra Leone in Benin City and Freetown respectively. “Super Eagles is our team and to be honest, I think we have a very good team made up of good players,� Egbe explained. “I make bold to say that the Super Eagles will do very well at the next Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and they can lift that cup because we have the players. “What we have presently in the Super Eagles are refined players and many of them grew up training and playing under smooth surfaces and as we all know, the AFCON pitches are always refined tournament pitches which do not outlive the tournament for which they are constructed... I think we are going to see the best of our team in Cameroon,� stressed the stadium facility expert. Egbe who is handling renovation of numerous playing facilities around the country at the moment, insisted that German

coach, Gernot Rohr should be supported rather than constant bashing of the team when things go awry, adding the Super Eagles cannot do well without the support of all and sundry. “ I don’t think the coach (Gernot Rohr) is bad. We have to give him the necessary tools in order for him to succeed because he can’t do it alone; and that I think is the honest truth. He can’t succeed alone; most people might not really understand when I dwelled on the fact that we have ‘refined players’ and because of their up-bringing, we just need to give them refined pitches to play upon.� Egbe stressed that Sierra Leone did their homework on our players, hence they took them to the “rice field� in Freetown where no player can play to his full potentials. “I repeat that we need not to make our players struggle in home and away games. At home, our boys should enjoy the luxury of playing on the kind of pitches they play on out there in Europe and this is why I m clamoring for Nigeria to have world-class pitches...pitches with zero undulation and lush green.� Egbe re-echoed the vision of his outfit which is the eradication of bad pitches not just in Nigeria but in the entire African continent.

Covid-19 Limits Asoju Oba T’Tennis to Two Categories Femi Solaja Owing to the new normal caused by Covid-19 pandemic, the organisers of the annual Asoju Oba Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Championship, have limited this year’s events to just two categories. The annual event which is in its 52nd edition, is the oldest, uninterrupted sporting tournament in the country and is scheduled to hold between November 30 and December 1 inside the Molade OkoyaThomas Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos. This 52nd edition is expected to be organised in line with Covid-19 protocol laid down by the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) and Federal Ministry of Health with players battling for honours in the men and women’s singles events. There used to be 17 categories before Covid-19 crept in. According to Mr. Ayodeji Okoya-Thomas, this year would be the sixth edition without the

initiator who passed on after the 46th edition in 2014. “We have decided to organise this year’s tournament being the 52nd edition in order to ensure the tournament continues uninterrupted being one of the oldest sporting competitions in the country. “We will surely observe the laid-down COVID-19 protocol for all participants and guests during the competition. As usual we will reward outstanding players and we believe this competition will also help to prepare Lagos State athletes for the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Edo State,� he remarked. He added: “The competition has been the grooming ground for table tennis stars in the country and we believe that more stars would also emerge this year having seen some of them moving to the senior national team like Olajide Omotayo who now plays professionally in Europe.�

We believe in the skills and talents of Super Eagles players. The team’s set up to correct the obvious lapses. “We believe that when we hire a technical adviser; when we put our fate in the hands of some people, we expect some returns. If you hire a manager for your company and you don’t get the results you expect, you have the right to review your operation and take very critical decisions. “My point is that we are going to sit back, review what has happened‌we will review

the entire team and whether the players are qualified or not to play for the team. Whether they are ready for this level of competition. We will also look at the technical adviser and also the entire people involved in football administration and the Super Eagles. “You see when you fail to do the necessary checks, then you run the risk of repeating the same mistakes, failures and disappointments.� Dare dismissed the claim in some quarters that he has no power to wade into the Super

Eagles since there are elected officers in charge of the country’s football. According to the minister, as the chief custodian of Nigeria’s sports sector, he has the powers to correct any shortcomings he discovers in any arm of the sector, including football. He added: “The Super Eagles represent Nigeria, sing Nigeria’s national anthem and wear Nigerian jerseys. So, without Nigeria as a sovereign country they have nobody to represent. “When we look at their operations to make them better,

it is no interference. They represent 200 million Nigerians and not any association or any individual. They carry our hopes and aspirations and as minister of sports of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my responsibility to ensure that the interest of Nigerians is protected. “To ensure that we have a football administration that serves the purpose, the vision and hopes of our country‌ we will review the way football is run in this country. It is not an interference; it will be a collective activity to make our football better.â€?

Under-fire Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr (backing camera), at training with his wards

AFROBASKET 2021 QUALIFIERS

Mike Brown Arrives Kigali, D’Tigers Expected Today FIBA lists Ahmedu, two others as match ofďŹ cials Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, Mike Brown, has arrived in Kigali, Rwanda ahead of the AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers. The competition is scheduled for between November 27 and November 29. Coach Brown who touched down in Kigali on Saturday nightwas accompanied with one of his assistants, Kuester John, a former Detroit Pistons coach. As a player, he spent three seasons in the NBA from 1977 to 1980 and then coached in the college ranks before moving on to the NBA sidelines as an assistant. The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Vicepresident, Babs Ogunade, left Lagos for Kigali on Friday ahead of the team. He is the leader of the delegation.

Former national team point guard, Musa Adamu who serves as the General Manager of the Nigeria team confirmed the arrival of the coaches and stated that the players are expected in Kigali from today. Ogunade who spoke from Kigali on Sunday said all the players would assemble in Kigali directly from their bases. “Mike Brown and one of his assistants are here and the players will be coming in on schedule to prepare for the qualifiers. Col. Sam Ahmedu (retd) and referee Kingsley Ojeaburu who are to serve as officials arrived on Kigali on Sunday. Both men are among the three Nigerians appointed by the world basketball ruling body, FIBA for the November window. According to a circular

made available to reporters at the weekend by FIBA, the appointments list Ahmedu as FIBA Technical Delegate while Kingsley Ojeaburu and Opeyemi Ogunleye will serve as referees. Col. Sam, who is also FIBA Africa Zone Three President is to serve alongside Ferrets Jose of Mozambique and Charles Sanders of South Africa. While referee Ogunleye will

head to Alexandra, Egypt, Ojeaburu will be on duty in Kigali. He will be working with 14 other referees. This second window will see 12 teams from Groups A, B and D in action at the Kigali Arena. D’Tigers will compete in Group D against host Rwanda, Mali and South Sudan which has taken the place of Algeria who withdrew owing to fear of Covid-19.

Nigeria’s D’Tigers are expected to arrive Kigali, Rwanda to begin preparations for AfroBasket 2021 qualification rounds

Over 1000 Athletes Ready for Maiden Ogbomosho Marathon Barely days after seeing to the successful organisation of the first Kaduna International Half Marathon in Kaduna, officials of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) led by Olamide George are set for another first-of-its-kind road race in Ogbomosho tagged the Ogbomosho Marathon. The 10km road race is the first official road race that will be organised in South West town of Ogbomosho and AFN officials said at the weekend that they will be on ground to ensure

another successful event this Saturday. “The race has received the endorsement from the AFN and we are delighted that it is one that is strictly restricted to athletes around Ogbomosho and its environs which is a bold move to create the culture of road running in that part of the country as well as unearth talents that can be groomed. This is one of the reasons the race got the nod from the AFN,� Secretary General of the AFN, Niyi Beyioku stressed.

“The AFN will desptach its technical officials led by Gabriel Okon to help in the technical organisation of the race,� added Beyioku. Among dignitaries expected at the event are Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, AFN Ag President, Olamide George, former Director of Sports Development in the Federal Ministery of Youth and Sports Development, Dr Amos Adamu, amongst several past commissioners under the Alao

Akala administration in Oyo State. The Soun of Ogbomosoland, Oba Jimoh Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade 111, CFR alongside other traditional rulers in Ogbomoso zone would be on ground as royal fathers of the day. Meanwhile, organisers of the race have confirmed that over 1,000, athletes across the Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas in Ogbomoso zone have registered for the Race.

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‘It is All About the Athlete’

T

he Olympic Games is centred around the athletes. Everyone agrees with the slogan “It is all about the athletes�. For this reason a lot of things are done to make the athletes feel special during the Games. Athletes are priority in the Games Village. They are provided with top of the class medical facilities, very decent accommodation, 24-hour food services with an endless supply of menus from all over the world. The village is littered with vending machine that dispense cold drinks anytime an athlete needs one. Also in the village, the athletes can enjoy casual dining of barbeques and fast foods, night clubs, cinemas, leisure swimming and Games Park. And all these services are totally free for the athletes. It is a kind of paradise that seems to emphasis that the Games are for the athletes. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not stop there. The body encourages the athletes to be part of the organization. There is a commission for the athletes. A strong commission at that and some members of the athletes are part of the IOC executive committee (the highest ruling body of the organization). The idea is

simple. The athletes are the athletes on the issues of the focus of all Games and so athletes’ commission and so an integral part, so it is a no its current chairman, former brainer that they should be NBA player Olumide Oyedeji part of the decision making. had graciously invited me to The Athletes’ Commission’s speak. mission is to represent What was immediately athletes within the Olympic obvious was how the Nigerian movement and support them athletes are totally oblivious to succeed in their sporting and non-sporting careers. It also has a key responsibility to empower athlete participation in the Olympic Movement decision making. It has a goal to ensure that all athletes’ representatives are empowered through a network of effective athletes commissions. This is vital in ensuring that athletes remain at the heart of the Olympic movement. Last week, I was honoured to be a resource person at the Nigeria Olympic Committee Athletes Forum held in Abuja. Simultaneously, I also had to be present at the Association of National Olympic Committees in Africa (ANOCA) Athletes Commission forum which was Olumide Oyedeji Chairman, held virtually on the same Athletes Commission NOC day. It was mandatory for me to attend that forum of the roles and functions of too because I am a member the athlete commission. It was of the ANOCA Athletes also clear that the Nigerian Commission. It was equally administrators are weary of important to be present at the having athletes’ commissions Nigerian one too as the former in individual federations as chairman of the Nigerian is required in the Olympic Olympic Committee Athletes Movement. The reasons is Commission. There was a not far-fetched. The Nigerian lot to educate the Nigerian athletes see themselves

so much as victims of a corrupt system and victims of corrupt administrators. While the forum on the African scene was concerned about athletes strength in the decision making process of the Olympic movement, right to free speech, clean sports, doping and how to ensure that clean athletes are protected, the Nigerian athletes in their forum were angry about lack of welfare, non-transparency or discrepancies of allowances and non-payment of grants and promises. The Nigerian administrators on their part also view the athletes with skeptism. Afraid that athletes would use the commission to unionize and start demanding stakes or holding them to ransom. Both groups of people are wrong in their perception and mind set. Having an athletes’ commission in a federation and sporting organization is a clear demonstration of commitment to good governance benefiting both the athletes and the organization. For the athletes, it ensures that all decisions across the organization consider the impact on the athletes. It provides a platform and resource for discussion and research related to new ideas. An athletes’ commission provides advice and a

perspective straight from the field of play. It ensures that athletes are consulted and get early feedback on potential decision that would affect them eg. Rule change and finally it also strengthens links with athletes through peer to peer communication. The athletes’ commission also benefits the organization by updating athletes about the organizations activities from an informed position. It enables athletes become ambassadors to support the organization in its mission to develop and promote the sports. It creates a point of contact for their athlete community to support both the athletes and the organization in communication. So it is important that everyone realizes that a commission is not set out to antagonize the administrators. It is also key to note that it is not a pressure group or a labour union. The athletes’ commission is and should be part of the process of governance. The athletes have to be part of the process. The key issue is part of the decision making process

with a powerful vote in the process. When this happens, trust builds between the organization and the athlete community. Then issues of discrepancies in allowances, discrimination etc will not surface because every decision made that affects athletes would have been taken with the athletes involved. It therefore is time for us to join the rest of the world to understand that the integrity of our sport is more important than the irrelevant personal bickering of allowances and personal grudges. We need to change our mindset and talk of how we can develop the sport we love so much and building trust is key in making the athletes and administrators work together‌.and establishing an athlete commission is essential to that.

* EneďŹ ok is an author, Speaker, administrator, Life coach, businessman and Nigeria’s ONLY Male two Time Olympic Medalist

Victorian Quarantine Rule Force Shift of Aussie Open The 2021 Australian Open could be postponed after concerns were raised over tennis players’ ability to arrive in Australia and complete the mandatory quarantine period before the Grand Slam. Melbourne-based newspaper the Herald Sun reports that the

organisers will finalise dates for the tournament in the next 72 hours, with it likely to be pushed back to February or March. A Tennis Australia spokesperson has branded this “pure speculation�, however. The latest mandate from

the Victorian Government has made it impossible for players to arrive in Australia in December – but they will likely still need to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. The Australian Open is currently scheduled to start on January 18, running until

PREMIER LEAGUE

Iwobi Shines as Everton Return to Winning Ways at Fulham Pepe sees red in Leeds, Arsenal draw Nigerian international, Alex Iwobi was in excellent form yesterday as Everton defeated Fulham 3-2 to return to winning ways. However, it was Dominic Calvert-Lewin who stole the show as he continued his excellent scoring form with two goals in an absorbing encounter with Fulham. Richarlison made an immediate impact on his return from a three-match suspension by providing the cross for Calvert-Lewin to bundle in after just 42 seconds. In a dramatic game, Bobby Decordova-Reid equalised for the hosts with a clean right-foot

finish before England forward Calvert-Lewin went top of the Premier League scoring charts with his 10th of the season from Lucas Digne’s cross. France defender Digne provided another assist before half-time, this time for Abdoulaye Doucoure to head home unchallenged for Everton’s third - and his first since joining from Watford. Iwobi has struggled to nail down a regular slot in the side but was dynamic in south-west London. With Brazil forward Richarlison eager to make up for lost time in his first club game since 17 October and Digne

providing a couple of quality assists, Everton dominated Fulham for long periods. In addition, Calvert-Lewin continues to impress and now has 15 goals in 16 appearances for club and country this season. Fulham missed their third penalty of the season, awarded for Ben Godfrey’s foul on Ruben Loftus-Cheek, when Ivan Cavaleiro slipped, hit the ball against his wrong foot and sent it over the bar. Elsewhere, Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe was sent off for a headbutt as Leeds’ wasteful finishing cost them a Premier League victory. The game ended goalless.

January 30, in Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria. This would leave very little time for training before the event, whereas it was previously hoped players could arrive next month. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews recently said he was “very confident we will have an Australian Open in the early part of the next year�, but would not reveal any further details. “The exact timing of it, the exact arrangements we put in place, they are not settled yet.� The Junior Australian Open has been postponed by tournament directors due to Covid-19. Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Brazil’s Bruno Soares have all stated their opposition to current plans. The Brazilian called the situation “dangerous�, with players unable to train for a twoweek period before immediately before the tournament if things

were to stay as they are. In 2020, the Australian Open was the only one of the four Grand Slams not to be impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

Wimbledon was cancelled, while the French Open and US Open were both postponed but eventually held in bubbles.

Novak Djokovic is defending champion of 2020 Australian Open

Serie A: Sanchez, Lukaku Inspire Inter Comeback Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku were both on target on Sunday as Inter Milan scored four times in the final 26 minutes to come from 2-0 down and beat Torino 4-2. Ex-West Ham forward Simone Zaza put Torino in front and Cristian Ansaldi scored from the spot to

make it two with 62 minutes played. Inter were level within five minutes. First Sanchez scrambled home after Lukaku had struck the bar before the Chile forward’s cross gave his former Manchester United team-mate a tap-in.

Lukaku converted from the penalty spot to put Inter ahead for the first time after 84 minutes and Lautaro MartĂ­nez added a late fourth. Inter sit fifth in Serie A, three points behind leaders Sassuolo.

NIVEA Partners Ikeja Golf Club on Medal Competition

Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe (left) was sent off for head butting a Leeds player

Ikeja Golf Club has held its Monthly Medal competition for November. The edition which was sponsored by NIVEA, a global leading skincare brand. Monthly Medal tournaments are stroke competitions held every month which are used in grading and re-grading club members. The event which held at Ikeja Golf Club was a convergence of golfers, caddies, and lovers of the game early in the month of November.

It was an impressive showing as golfers were engaged from the bespoke NIVEA brand theatre that was strategically located between the starting and finishing point on the course. The golfers’ engagement continued on the course as golfers were again ‘play-gingered’ with inspiring stimulators. Captain, Ikeja Golf Club, Mr. Ladi Durojaiye, commended the brand for its partnership and support, stating that the Club

hierarchy and management have received positive reactions from members. “We were delighted to partner NIVEA on the November Monthly Medal competition and we look forward to future support and collaborations. Feedback from our members has been awesome�. He reiterated that the Club will continue to seek positive partnership with individuals and corporate bodies to enhance golf development in Nigeria.

Monday November 23, 2020

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Atiku to FG

“This could have been avoided had this administration taken heed to the patriotic counsel given by myself and other well-meaning Nigerians on cutting the cost of governance, saving for a rainy day, and avoiding profligate borrowing” – Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, chiding the federal government for plunging Nigeria into a recession.

OKEYIKECHUKWU Biden and the Global Gender Crisis EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

F

emi Fani-Kayode recently described a Biden victory as an Obama/Hilary Clinton victory, as well as the return of (possibly) forceful projection of the gay culture all over the world. The Obama Government threatened Nigeria with official sanctions, when the National Assembly passed a law against same-sex marriage. The Obama government also refused to sell arms to Nigeria to fight Boko Haram. It also discouraged other countries from selling arms to Nigeria; even as thousands were being slaughtered every day. The argument, then, was that the Nigerian government was not respecting the human rights of the terrorists! But let us not digress too much from today’s business. The Obama Presidency stood out in its promotion of gay relationships under the LGTBQ+ movement. This is an umbrella movement for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, “Queer” and others. While, Bisexuals are people who are sexually attracted to both men and women, Transgender are those whose sense of personal identity and gender do not correspond with their presumed sex at birth. Then you have Pansexuals, who could be sexually attracted to animals, little children, or whatever caught their fancy. The Polysexual, Agender, Bi-gender, Ecosexual, Intersex, Androgynous, Gender Fluid, Non-Binary, Gender Queer, Transspecies, Transaging, Transable and the Ecosexual are also there. The Ecosexual are people whose sexual desires are directed towards the earth itself. They may use sex toys inspired by the earth, and they believe that ‘having sex with the earth’ helps to heal it from natural disasters. Polysexuals, are sexually attracted to more than one gender, while Agenda do not identify themselves as belonging to any particular gender. The Bi-gender, on the other hand, are sexually attracted to two “genders” outside the well-known categories of “men” and women. Thus, the acronym for all these tendencies is sometimes written as LGBTQIA, where “queer” refers to non-straight people making up the LGBTQ+ universe. The Obama Presidency was quietly creating a world in which all these groups would freely exercise their ‘rights.’ Some people in whom male and feminine characteristics combined due to birth defects caused by mutation, or inappropriate medication, and who could be helped by surgery, were discouraged from doing so by promoters of the LGBTQ+ agenda. Reason? “Such people should be identified as Intersex and allowed their rights.” And, believe it or not, the LGBGTQ+ movement has a well mapped out agenda, is well-funded and is being pursued with great singleness of purpose. As same-sex marriage is being promoted, every sort of sexual orientation is being encouraged and protected under civil and minority rights. People’s understanding of who they are, their beliefs and their values of right and wrong are being changed through veiled campaigns. Can we, as human beings, simply make a declaration about gender and it will be so? Can someone wake up one day, declare himself a camel and then demand that we accept his new identity and allow him to graze in the public park; or in his neighbour’s garden? Does a deliberate campaigned that emphasizes the right of everyone to do what pleases him not rest on a fundamental distortion of the very concept of freedom? Right now, they are using sophisticated public relations and marketing tools to progressively make the average person

Biden shrug his shoulders and say of aberrant things: “Oh, it’s alright, since we all have the right to do what we like.” The effort in this regard is quietly changing government policies all over the world and promoting “license” as freedom. The adoption of children by gay couples, the distortion of the concepts of “mother” and “father,” and much more are part of the mix. Get humanity to redefine what it means to be human, and what makes a human being male or female, and you will get a wrong definition of “human” rights. Wrong notions of right and wrong, correct and incorrect beliefs and so on will then follow. The new ideas, teachings and practices that are being spread under the LGBTQ+ umbrella are raising doubts and creating confusion in the minds of people about the concepts of male, female, right, wrong, and much more. It is a way of making people forget that “right’ and “wrong” cannot depend on human opinion. Also, a global leadership elite that is making human opinions and personal preferences the basis for everything cannot be on the right path. Why are world leaders, especially of the nations classified as “developed,” desperate to “level humanity” and deny any core values? Why are many “globally significant” individuals working towards the globalisation of all manner of lifestyles and values pyramid with

a controlling few at the top holding sway with skewed values? Why are most world figures speaking of freedoms and rights, but not of knowledge and true humanity? Why are they talking of making people happy but saying nothing about the true meaning of happiness? Why is much funding and orchestrated media support being given to every endeavor that promotes the protection of all manner of rights, without any attention to whether the rights in question are adding positive values to our humanity. Why are many people who are seeking political office in many advanced nations now desperate to prove that they have no strong views on anything? Why is there a growing insistence that LGBTQ+ be allowed in the military service of many nations, as well as the progressive inclusion of LGBTQ+ history and themes in public education? The deliberate projection of new identities and lifestyles is now rife; especially the encouragement of heterosexuals to go into homosexual relationships, seeking and obtaining special treatment for homosexuals, distorting Biblical teachings and science, and interfering with gender distinctions. And it is so organised! The 1987 essay titled “The Overhauling of Straight America”, by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen spelt out a six-point plan for the LGBTQ+ campaign. Gays were urged to portray themselves in such a way that the world will just think of them as normal people who prefer to do certain things differently. These two men updated their thoughts in 1989 with the book, After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the ‘90s. This book mapped out a public relations strategy for the movement, arguing that gay rights groups should adopt more sophisticated and more professional public relations techniques, to convey their message. Many people noted this and raised their voices. Oklahoma Senator, Tom Coburn, in 2004 saw the gay agenda as a more pressing danger than terrorism. In 2005, James Dobson, Director of Focus on the Family, described the homosexual agenda as including “universal acceptance of the gay lifestyle, discrediting of scriptures that condemn homosexuality, muzzling of the clergy and Christian media, granting of special privileges and rights in the

Why are world leaders, especially of the nations classified as “developed,”desperate to “level humanity”and deny any core values? Why are many “globally significant” individuals working towards the globalisation of all manner of lifestyles and values pyramid with a controlling few at the top holding sway with skewed values? Why are most world figures speaking of freedoms and rights, but not of knowledge and true humanity? Why are they talking of making people happy but saying nothing about the true meaning of happiness?

law, overturning laws prohibiting paedophillia, indoctrinating children and future generations through public education, and securing all the legal benefits of marriage for any two or more people who claim to have homosexual tendencies.” To make personal opinion the basis for all decisions is to, ultimately, assault and destroy every teaching that tries to focus humanity on the Will of God. And this is going hand in hand with the legalization of gay unions, the introduction of LGBTQ+ ideas and history into the education of children, the establishment and promotion of homosexual and paedophile networks and clubs, the use of fashion, movies, television shows, popular music, novels and beauty pageantries to embed gay colours and symbols in public consciousness. This is driving a new value-agenda for humanity. Considering that the U.S. Supreme Court legalised same sex marriage in 2015, the question today is whether “God’s own country” has not been taken over by those who have actually declared war against God. Many major institutions with global reach and muscle appear to be involved in ways no one can easily detect. Remember the story about the World Health Organization officially declaring inability to find a sexual partner a disability? It broke in 2016, but was denied later in a way that still left a peculiar taste in the mouth. Assuming such a move was made, how many people in the world would have seen it in any deeper light? Is finding everyone a sex partner of his choice more of a global emergency than higher values and questions about the meaning of life? The CNN Town Hall Meeting of October 2019 on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues, organized for the nine US Democratic presidential candidates, was very revealing. Joe Biden said that Trump’s rollback of President Obama’s pro-gay health policy was a step backward “on equality” and that he would correct it once elected President. His tweet said: “We need a president who will fight to further LGBTQ+ equality – not roll back the hard-won progress we’ve already made.” He said at the CNN debate that America should “root out discrimination and homophobia,” while Cory Booker called violence against the LGBTQ+ community a “national emergency.” Pete Buttigieg said he would overhaul rules prohibiting gay men from donating blood, Elizabeth Warren, another candidate, said she was wrong in 2012, when she said: “I don’t think it’s a good use of taxpayer dollars” to pay for a transgender inmate’s gender confirmation surgery. Yet another candidate, Kamala Harris, swore at the CNN debate that she would tackle homelessness among LGBTQ youth, while Beto O’Rourke promised to outlaw conversion therapy, to change the sexual orientation of gays, lesbians and bisexuals “everywhere” in the US if elected president. While Amy Klobuchar, declared conversion therapy illegal and said that she would recognize a third gender marker option on a federal level, candidate Julián Castro said that only nations with good records on the rights of the LGTBQ+ community would receive foreign aid if he was elected president. Then, Tom Sayer, promised to increase oversight over health care access to LGBTQ asylum seekers. Question: “Is the hysterical optimism about a Biden Presidency really justified? Gay issues apart, will the global political and economic outlook, among other thing, really change?

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