FRIDAY 22TH DECEMBER 2023

NNPC Completes PH Refinery Rehabilitation, Resumes Production after Christmas, Dangote Gets Second Cargo Phase two of Port Harcourt slated to come on stream by 2024 Peter Uzoho and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt The federal government and the

Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) yesterday announced mechanical completion of Area 5 Plant of the old 60,000 barrels

per day Port Harcourt Refinery under construction, disclosing that the facility would resume production of petroleum products after Christmas.

Relatedly, two weeks after receipt of the first cargo containing one million barrels of crude from Shell in readiness for the commencement

of refining operation at its 650,000 barrels per day petroleum refinery in Lagos, Dangote Refinery Limited, yesterday, announced that it had

received an additional one million barrels from NNPCL. Continued on page 5

Nigerian Society of Engineers Elects First Female President in 65 Years... Page 8 Friday, December 22, 2023 Vol 28. No 10481. Price: N250

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Nigeria Wins Again as UK Court Throws Out P&ID’s $11bn Damages Bill... Page 6

Supreme Court Now Has Full Bench as Senate Confirms 11 New Justices Adjourns plenary till next Friday Through the lenses of their judgments – Page 6

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Senate, yesterday, confirmed

the appointment of 11 new justices of the Supreme Court appointed by President Bola

Tinubu to fill vacancies at the apex court.

With the confirmation of the

11 justices, the Supreme Court now has the full complement of 21 justices on its bench, as

required by law.

The confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of a

report by the Senate Committee Continued on page 5

Briggs: I Witnessed Wike, Fubara Peace Meeting, Tinubu Handed Down Presidential Proclamation Insists state still PDP’s, speaker, four other assembly members in majority in eyes of law Analysts claim gov may have grabbed victory from jaws of seeming defeat

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt A member of the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, David Briggs, who was present during President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the state’s crisis, has said he an witness to what transpired at the meeting with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and other Rivers stakeholders to find lasting peace to the crisis that had engulfed the state following the disagreement between Wike and Fubara.

Briggs, who appealed to patriots in the state and across the country to take steps to ensure that the president’s action did not belittle the constitution, disclosed that contrary to impression that an understanding was reached at the end of the meeting, the president walked in with the controversial peace terms already drafted.

Also, contrary to some swirling Continued on page 5

OFFICIAL MECHANICAL COMPLETION OF PH REFINERY...

L-R: Non-Executive Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Ledum Mitee; Minister of state for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; Chairman NNPC Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure and Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mr. Mele Kyari, as Akinyelure cuts a tape to mark the official announcement of mechanical completion and flare start-up of Area 5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refinery…yesterday

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Tinubu Arrives Lagos for Christmas Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, others receive president at airport

President Bola Tinubu yesterday evening, arrived Lagos from Abuja ahead of the Christmas celebrations.

Nigeria’s Presidential Jet NAF 001, which conveyed the President arrived at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, at 03:55 pm local time, according to a statement

from the Chief Press Secretary to Lagos State Governor, Gboyega Akosile.

It also revealed that the President was welcomed by a waiting crowd of supporters.

According to the statement, Tinubu was received at the airport by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat;

Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Abimbola Salu-Hundeyin; Head of Service, Mr. Olabode Agoro, Chief of Staff, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, among others.

It added: “Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains led by his Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi; members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), State Executive

Council, and top government officials were also at the airport to receive Mr. President.

“President Tinubu was accompanied by his Principal Private Secretary, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, and other close aides. The President came into the waiting hands of the Lagos State Cultural Troupe, who treated him to the traditional music and

cultural dance of Lagos.

“President moved around the airport and waved at the crowd who came out to welcome him to Lagos for the Christmas celebrations.

“The President later boarded a helicopter from the airport to Dodan Barracks in Ikoyi from where he will move to his private residence in Lagos.

Tinubu

BRIGGS: I WITNESSED WIKE, FUBARA PEACE MEETING, TINUBU HANDED DOWN PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION misrepresentations of the implications of President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the Rivers State political crisis, Governor Siminalayi Fubara is actually a big winner, according to analysts. According to them, with the presidential proclamation, it will be difficult to turn round and impeach Fubara.

While noting that the president not only flashed the document in obvious attempt to intimidate the governor and the entire sitting, he claimed Tinubu actually declared it a presidential declaration that no one could afford to undermine.

Briggs, a former Commissioner for Water Resources in the state, spoke against the backdrop of the controversial terms of settlement between Fubara, and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

In a no-holds-barred interview, yesterday, Briggs said discussions preceding the signing of the peace agreement were laced with subtle threats and chest-beating.

He said with the president walking into the meeting with a document he declared as presidential proclamation, he did not leave any room for opinion of Rivers State elders at the meeting.

"I’m a participant in that purported meeting. I was there. We were invited to a meeting but that was not a meeting because a meeting means opinion will be sought.

"There will be discussion by both parties and opinions will be sought and resolutions will be reached.

"But the President walked in with a resolution, addressed us and said what he had in his hand was a presidential proclamation, a presidential directive and at the point, he emphasised that

he was the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"Therefore, we can weep and anybody who tends to say no to what he's saying, has consequences. That is not democratic. That, in a simple layman's word, is a threat," he said.

According to him, "He (Tinubu) wrote the resolution but refused to read the resolution, and handed the resolution to doctor (Peter Odili) to read, but interjects him, and each time he interjects, it comes with a polite threat, and a smiling insult.

"Thereafter, he asked the governor to speak. Let's get it clear, If you were the governor, what would you do?

Get up and say, ‘Mr President, no?’

With that kind of subtle but energetic threat, realising that back home, we are fighting an internal aggression?

"If you are in his position, will you still attract another external fight? The answer is no," he said, urging Tinubu to uphold the constitution.

“I do know that the president is to protect the constitution of the federal republic and therefore, Nigerians are watching him. Rivers people are watching him whether he is upholding by his pronouncement.

"I am not in a position to say that, but I believe there will be peace in Rivers State and that's what the governor is saying. But Rivers knows what is best for them.

"The moment you allow the third party to come into their matter and you are unable to establish the intention and interest of the third party, who has come to arbitrate, you are failing.

"And as one of the founding members of PDP in Rivers, we will not allow this thing to come to pass," he said.

He maintained that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) remained the party in majority in the Rivers Assembly.

"Of course, I am not a lawyer but I have consulted lawyers. In the eyes of the law, and I am educated enough to read the letters of the law. In most cases, it says the symbol of the law is blind and double-edged, so it can be misinterpreted.

Rivers State is PDP and PDP is majority in the Rivers State House of Assembly. We are not minority because we only have four or five members including the speaker and they are majority in the eyes of the law," he said.

The president said the governor should represent a bill already passed into law. The law is never made proactively. That's why I said the president swore to uphold

the constitution not to destroy the constitution.

"When one president belittles the constitution, then persons outside the country will belittle the constitution.

I know he will not belittle the constitution," he said.

On the implementation of the agreement, he said, “I tell you it is very simple. Why were we there?

Why was Tinubu there? It is because it is a democratic set up.

“I haven't been to his house but I was told he has a very beautiful house even better than the president's house.

"But the villa is the foundation of democracy and I do know that the president is to protect the constitution of the federal republic and therefore, Nigerians are watching him,” he said.

Analysts claim gov may

have grabbed victory from jaws of seeming defeat Meanwhile, contrary to some swirling misrepresentations of the implications of President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the Rivers State political crisis, Governor Siminalayi Fubara is actually a big winner, THISDAY has leant.

Tinubu’s intervention in the Rivers crisis yielded an eight-point peace deal, which had since elicited reactions from different quarters.

The peace terms included, “All matters instituted in the courts by Governor Fubara, and his team, in respect of the political crisis in Rivers State, shall be withdrawn immediately.

“All impeachment proceedings initiated against the governor of

Rivers State by the Rivers State House of Assembly should be dropped immediately.

“The leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as led by Amaewhule, shall be recognised alongside the 27 members who resigned from the PDP. “The remunerations and benefits of all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and their staff must be reinstated immediately and the governor of Rivers State shall, henceforth, not interfere with the full funding of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“The Rivers State House of Assembly shall choose where they want to sit and conduct their legislative business without interference and/ or hindrance from the executive arm Continued on page 44

SUPREME COURT NOW HAS FULL BENCH AS SENATE CONFIRMS 11 NEW JUSTICES on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, during plenary.

Tinubu had asked the Senate to confirm the nominees, who were recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to fill vacant positions following death and resignation of some justices.

Those confirmed were Justice Haruna Tsammani (North-east), who chaired the Presidential Election Petition Court, Justice Moore Adumein (South-south), Justice Jummai Sankey (Northcentral), Justice Chidiebere Uwa (South-east), and Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (South-east).

Others were Justice Obande Ogbuinya (South-east), Justice Stephen Adah (North-central),

Justice Habeeb Abiru (South-west), Justice Jamilu Tukur (North-west), Justice Abubakar Umar (Northwest), and Justice Mohammed Idris (North-central).

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters,, Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno), while presenting his panel’s report, said the nominees possessed the requisite qualifications and experience to occupy the position and there was no petition against them.

Monguno, therefore, recommended their confirmation.

However, some senators, who spoke before the confirmation, expressed concern over the delay

in the appointment of justices for the Supreme Court bench.

Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa) advised that in the event of subsequent vacancies, a provision should be made for immediate replacement.

Dickson said, “Anytime these vacancies occur, they should be filled immediately. I want to draw that to the attention of the president. There shouldn't be delay so that we don't become a laughing stock.”

The Senate Leader, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (APD, Ekiti), said it was important to screen and appoint those next in line immediately as vacancies occurred at the apex court.

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia) stressed that the funds allocated to the Supreme Court in the 2024 budget should be reviewed upward to ensure its effectiveness.

Kalu said, “The Senate should look at the budget of the judiciary because even the state courts are in a mess. How can they give good justice? This is not the way it was before; we were doing better.”

The red chamber in plenary, which was presided by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, adjourned to Friday next week, after Thursday’s plenary, to enable members celebrate Christmas and Boxing Day with their families and constituents.

NNPC COMPLETES PH REFINERY REHABILITATION, RESUMES PRODUCTION AFTER CHRISTMAS, DANGOTE GETS SECOND CARGO The Port Harcourt Refinery completion was announced during a tour of the refinery complex by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, in company of Chairman of NNPCL Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), NNPCL, Mallam Mele Kyari, among other officials.

The stakeholders also disclosed that Phase Two of the refinery would be completed and brought back on stream by 2024, adding that resumption of production at the facility would help stabilise petroleum products supply and distribution and also lead to reduction in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).

Rehabilitation work had been ongoing at the refinery for over two years and NNPCL had pledged to complete Phase One of the project (mechanical completion and flare start-up) of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery (Area 5) by December 31, 2023.

In his short remarks before the business meeting of the Refinery Rehabilitation Steering Committee and tour of the facility, Lokpobiri disclosed that Phase One of the refinery achieved mechanical completion and flare start-up on December 20.

The flare start-up was an indication that the mechanical aspect of the refinery was working.

The minister said, "This is just to announce to Nigerians the fulfilment of our pledge to bring on stream Phase One of the Port Harcourt Refinery by the end of 2023 and the subsequent streaming of the Phase Two in 2024.

We heartily announce the mechanical completion and flare start-up on the

20th of December, 2023.

"This heralds the commencement of production of petroleum products after the Christmas break. We want to thank Nigerians for their patience and the trust in NNPC to deliver on our promise and mandate on the rehabilitation of our refineries.

This is also another landmark of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration.

Congratulations to NNPC." Lokpobiri said the feat achieved with the completion of the phase one signalled the beginning of the completion of other refineries in Warri and Kaduna to enable Nigeria benefit from the massive investment made in the facilities.

He stated, "So, I want to congratulate the NNPC team. I want to congratulate Nigerians for being patient with us. And I can assure you that with this good news, all of us should go home and celebrate Christmas and then expect a very prosperous 2024."

Ekpo also said the promise made a few months ago had been accomplished. He said Nigerians would be happy with the cheery news.

"Like my colleague mentioned, in August, when we came here, we were told that by December, this thing will come on stream, and today, we have witnessed that. So, I'm really impressed," he added.

The minister assured users of LPG, popularly known as cooking gas, that with the refinery set to commence production after Christmas, they would have sufficient supply of the energy source, adding that the refinery production would automatically reduce import of the product.

Ekpo added, "So, it's something to celebrate, and if I pour encomium on the GCEO, it is not flattering because

I know the joy that is in the hearts of Nigerians with the coming on stream of this phase one. Others will follow suit because they have fulfilled the first assignment, I believe others will be completed on schedule."

Speaking during an inspection tour of the rehabilitation project, which also coincided with the 15th Refineries Rehabilitation Steering Committee meeting, GCEO of NNPCL said as at December 15, 2023, 84.4 per cent of Area 5 Plant, a key component of the refinery, and 77.4 per cent of the entire rehabilitation project had been completed.

He commended NNPCL's staff and the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning (EPCIC) contractors for doing an excellent job in ensuring that the refinery achieved that significant milestone.

Kyari stated, “In our quest to ensure that this refinery is re-streamed to continue to deliver value to Nigerians, we made a promise that we will reach a mechanical completion of the Phase One of the rehabilitation project by the end of December and also get the other plants running in 2024. Today, we have kept to those commitments.”

He said the company would complete the Phase Two as promised by the last quarter of 2024, at the latest.

Kyari added, "More importantly, for my colleagues in NNPC, particularly those of them on this beat, I would like to thank you for your commitment and for your loyalty to the company.

And of course, that also goes to our colleagues from the contracting group of companies. And, of course, all the support that we have from the government.

"We understand the concerns of government. We know all of the

scepticism that is in the public space.

But today has proven that we can make our commitments and NNPC is here to deliver value and we will get things done going forward."

Chairman of NNPCL Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, described the milestone as “historic”, and stressed that the board was proud of the staff and management of the refinery.

“We are just starting. We want to be at the highest level of production so that we will keep the prices of petroleum products in the country stable in order to give comfort to our people and also generate more revenue for our country,” Akinyelure stated.

Other top government and NNPC officials present during the tour were NNPC’s Executive Vice President (Upstream), Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan; her counterpart at the Downstream, Mr. Adedapo Segun; Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Mr. Ibrahim Onoja; and Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, among other staff of the company.

In a statement issued after the event, Soneye said NNPCL and its contractors achieved over 9.6 million man-hours without Lost Time Injuries (LTI). He explained that the PHRC rehabilitation project, which costs about $1.5 billion, was an EPCIC project covering Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commissioning phases.

According to Soneye, for Area 5, the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation have all been completed, and the mechanical completion signifies the closure of the Construction and Installation phases.

He added, "More importantly, the milestone was achieved under an

excellent Health Safety & Environment (HSE) record, which stood at over 9.5 million man-hours with zero Loss Time Injury (LTI)."

Dangote Refinery Receives another One Million Barrels of Bonny Light Crude from NNPCL Dangote Refinery Limited, yesterday, announced that it had received an additional one million barrels of crude oil from NNPCL. The latest crude supply, which was of Bonny Light grade, was supplied to the refinery through the Shell terminal via the MT Otis owned by Trafigural.

This one million barrels marked the second consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility out of the six million barrels of crude being expected by the world's largest single-train refinery.

Managing Director of Dangote Ports Operations, Mr. Akin Omole, disclosed the receipt of the second batch of feedstock supply from NNPCL during a chat with journalists yesterday at the Dangote Quay, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

Omole stated that the refinery was expecting more crude before the end of the year to put the refinery in good stead ahead of commencement of actual refining operation.

Two weeks ago, Dangote Refinery had announced receipt of one million barrels of Agbami crude grade from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (STASCO), one of the largest trading companies in Nigeria and globally, trading over eight million barrels of crude oil per day.

The latest one million barrels

represented the second phase of the six million barrels of crude oil to be supplied to Dangote Petroleum Refinery by a range of suppliers for the production of petroleum products.

The company stated that once the six million barrels were fully delivered, it would facilitate the initial run of the refinery as well as kick-start the production of diesel, aviation fuel, and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) before subsequently progressing to the production of petrol.

The latest development was expected to play a pivotal role in alleviating the fuel supply challenges faced by Nigeria and its West African neighbours.

Designed for 100 per cent Nigerian crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Petroleum Refinery could process most African crude grades as well as Middle Eastern Arab Light and even US Light oil and crude from other countries.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is also reputed of being able to meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s requirement of all refined products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation jet, and also have surplus of each of these products for export.

The refinery was built to take crude through its two Single Point Mooring (SPMs) facilities located 25 kilometres from the shore and to discharge petroleum products through three separate SPMs. In addition, the refinery has the capacity to load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck loading gantries.

Dangote Refinery has a self-sufficient marine facility with the ability to handle the largest vessels globally available. In addition, all products from the refinery will conform to Euro V specifications.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

NEWS

THROUGH THE LENSES OF THEIR JUDGMENTS

Justice Habeeb Abiru (S'West)

Justice Tsammani (N'East)

Justice Jummai Sankey (N'Central)

Justice Chidiebere Uwa (S'East)

Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (S'East)

Justice Obande Ogbuinya (S'East)

Justice Stephen Adah(N'Central)

Justice Moore Adumein (S'South)

Justice Jamilu Tukur (N'West)

Justice Abubakar Umar (N'West)

Justice Mohammed Idris (N'Central)

held on the issue of when legislative immunity clause will/will not be applicable to protect a lawmaker that, "The immunity provided by Section 3 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, Cap L. 12, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, heavily relied on by the appellant, covers only words spoken or written before a Legislative House or a committee thereof in the course of bona fide exercise of legislative duties by a legislator. The immunity cannot reasonably be expected to apply to words spoken or written by a legislator in the pursuit of an illegitimate business of the lawmaker."

employment could be said to have statutory flavour, the statute must expressly make it so, otherwise, the employment will be treated on the basis of the common law principle of master and servant."

On the issue of conditions that must be fulfilled before a master can be held vicariously liable for the acts of his employee and the effect of failure, in the case of Bonghe Microfinance (Nig) Ltd v.

Savannah Sugar Co. Ltd & Ors (2022) LPELR-57103(CA), he held that, "It has not been proved that the 2nd - 5th respondents were employees of the 1st respondent.

“On the other hand, assuming they were, there are conditions that must be met before their employer or master could be held responsible for acts or torts committed by their supposed employee or servant. It must be pleaded and proved that: (a) There was at the time the relationship of employer/employee between the supposed employee and the party sort to be held responsible for their acts. “(b) The tortfeasor must be found liable through evidence. (c) The act must have been in course of employment or within the authority/ command of the master or principal. The appellant has not fulfilled these conditions.

The 2nd - 5th respondents were not called to testify to confirm their relationship with the 1st respondent as their employer/master. The appellant totally failed to establish the relationship between those that vandalised their property and the 1st respondent.”

or neglects to attend the sitting of the court, he cannot later be heard to complain of fair hearing.”

must be professional, thorough and diligent.”

The judge also held in FBN PLC v. Ghanny Int'l Ltd & Anor (2022) LPELR-58083 (CA) on the meaning and nature of libel thus: “Libel, is a statement reduced into writing, by one about the other, which statement has been published to a third party and has the effect or tendency of lowering the addressee in the eyes of right thinking members of the society generally. Particularly, the statement causes its victim to be regarded with ill-feelings, fear, ridicule or disdain.”

From the above provision, it means any pre-election matter brought after 14 days of the event complained of in the suit, such matter will be deemed statute barred.

On the issue of who has the duty to render account of the estate of a deceased, Justice Umar held in the case of Adesola & Anor v. Lawrence & Ors (2023) LPELR-60439(CA) that It is trite that the duty to render account of the estate of the deceased is on the executors, administrators or other named agents of the estate and not on the children of the deceased.

T

he appointments of the 11 new Supreme Court justices, who completed the bench of 21, spoke largely to their contributions to the judiciary and the development of democracy, through some of their landmark judgments. Some of their key cases below would suffice.

Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani In a landmark decision on whom lies the evidential burden to establish non-compliance with the Electoral Act; effect of failure, Justice Tsammani, quoted authorities and following precedents, held in APC v. INEC & ORS (2019) LPELR-48909(CA).

"Now, the appellant's complaint before the tribunal centred on various acts of improper/non-accreditation of voters, improper and nonuse of the Smart Card Reader, inflation (and reduction of votes), alteration of results, etc; which the appellant contend are acts of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and the manual and guidelines for the conduct of the election.

“It is now settled by statute and case law, that the burden of proof lies on the party, who wants the court to give judgment in his favour. This is because, it is that party who asserts the existence of facts, who would fail if no evidence at all were given on either side.”

On the nature of a banker/ customer relationship, he held:"Now, as pointed out earlier in the course of this judgment, the relationship between the appellant and the 1st and 2nd respondents is that of a banker and its customer(s).

That relationship is therefore contractual.

“The relationship is primarily that of a debtor and creditor, though the ordinary rules of debtor and creditor may not entirely apply. That banker/ customer relationship is saddled with some rights and responsibilities the parties owe each other. Thus, in the course of performing its banking business, the banker enters into several contractual relationships and performs other roles on behalf of its customers.”

Justice Moore Aseimo Adumein On the extent of the role of the lower court in arbitral matters, Justice Adumein, in a landmark decision, held that,“where parties opt for arbitration, instead of civil litigation, they are at liberty to choose how the arbitration is conducted; the duty of the court is to respect and pronounce upon the wishes of the parties, and ‘not to make a contract for them or rewrite the one they already made for themselves."

In the case of Lawan v. Zenon Petroleum & Gas Ltd & Ors (2014) LPELR-23206 (CA), he

Justice Jummai Hannatu Sankey Justice Sankey once held that, "The decision in the case of Magit v University of Agric, Makurdi (supra) relied on by the appellant is no doubt good law. However, it must be distinguished from the facts of this case as it is trite law that a case is only an authority for what it decides."

On whether court, parties and counsel are bound by the record of proceedings, it was held by Justice Sankey in Suleman v. Adamu (2016) LPELR-40316 (CA) "Be that as it may, it is an accepted principle of legal practice that the court and obviously all parties are bound by the record of proceedings, which are conducted in court."

Justice Chidi Nwaoma Uwa While delivering judgment on whether a case is solely an authority for what it decides, Justice Uwa , in the case of WAEC v. Obisesan (2008) LPELR-8500 (CA), held that, "An employment with statutory flavour arises where the body employing the man is under some statutory or other restriction as to the kind of contract which it makes with its servants and the grounds on which it can dismiss them.

“Where an appointment is regulated by statutory provision, such an appointment is said to enjoy statutory protection or statutory flavour.

Olaniyan v. University of Lagos (1985) 2 NWLR (Pt 9) 599; Shitta-Bey v. Federal Civil Service Commission (1981) 1 SC 40. Before an

Justice Chioma Egondu NwosuIheme Justice Nwosu-Iheme held in the case of Motorcycle Transport Union of Nig & Ors V. Delta State Motorcyclist Association & Ors (2010) LPELR-4503(CA) that "It is trite that the best evidence of the juristic personality such as the 1st appellant and the 1st respondent as incorporated persons is the production of their Certificate of Registration or Incorporation.”

Furthermore, in the case of Olatunbosun v. Annenih (2008) LPELR-8582(CA) she held that "Where a party to a suit has been accorded a reasonable opportunity of being heard in a manner prescribed by law as in this case, and for no satisfactory reason or explanation he fails

Justice Obande Festus Ogbuinya Justice Ogbuinya held on the function of a recital in Golden Construction Company Ltd. v.

Stateco Nig. Ltd. & Anor (2013) LPELR-22832(CA) that in law, recitals are used in construing documents, see Amuroti v.

Agbeke (1991) 6 SCNJ 54.

In Olaifa v. Adeniji & Ors (2017) LPELR-42708(CA), he held on the meaning of trade dispute: "By virtue of Section 54, the definition clause of it, trade dispute means: any dispute between employers and workers, or between workers and workers, which is connected with the employment or nonemployment, or the terms of employment or conditions or work of any person."

Justice Stephen Jonah Adah Justice Adah, while delivery judgment on the nature and basis of the doctrine of vicarious liability, held in Adah v. FCMB (2018) LPELR-45180(CA) that, the issue of vicarious liability was usually specifically pleaded.

It could not be conjured or subjected to conjecture. Vicarious liability is a matter of law. Facts must be adduced to ground same and the relief must be specifically sought. It cannot be a consequential order.

Also in Okidegbe v.

Mohammed & Ors (2021) LPELR-55191(CA), he held general rule of equity with regards to the issue of priority that, "In equity, the first in time ranks higher in priority. See Zaccala v. Edosa (2018) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1616) 528."

Justice Habeeb Adewale Olumuyiwa Abiru On the duty of the police to investigate criminal allegations and how same should be discharged it was held in Isah v. State (2022) LPELR-57411 (CA) by Justice Abiru ruled that, "Once criminal allegations are made against a citizen, it is a constitutional and statutory duty of the police to investigate it and investigations of crimes by the police, particularly of serious capital offences, which are to be prosecuted in law courts

Justice Jamilu Yammama Tukur In Agbabiaka & Ors V. Das & Ors (2015) LPELR-49857(CA), Justice Tukur relying on Bankole & Ors Vs Dada 2002 LPELR CA/1/3/98, held on the duty of the plaintiff to establish the identity of the land in dispute and how same can be discharged thus: "The law is trite that it is the duty of the plaintiff who seeks declaration of title, to identify the land in dispute with definitive certainty by filing a composite plan to show the relative positions of the areas claimed by either side.”

On the requirement of the law on service of a notice in forfeiture, he relied on his previous judgment in Council of Legal Education v. Dange & Ors (2019) LPELR-50497(CA) and held: "With regards to forfeiture, the law also requires the service of a notice, informing the lessee of the covenant breached and giving him an opportunity to remedy such breach before seeking an order in court for forfeiture and re-entry."

Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar One of Justice Umar’s landmark judgment was in the case of Agom-Eze V. Umahi & Ors (2022) LPELR58785(CA), where he held that the time frame within which pre-election matters can be entertained by the court has been provided in Section 285(9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

He added that notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution, every pre-election matter shall be filed not later than 14 days from the date of the occurrence of the event, decision or action complained of in the suit.

Justice Mohammed Baba Idris Justice Idris, in the case of Bamgbopa & Ors V. Stallion Property & Dev. Co. Ltd (2020) LPELR-51368 (CA) held that, "It is a settled principle of law that any acceptance, which is made subject to a condition, is invalid and unbinding. An offeree may make his/her acceptance conditional on some happenings. If the acceptance is subject to a condition, there is no binding agreement until that thing is done.

In Best (Nig.) Ltd Vs. B. H (Nig.) Ltd (2011) 5 NWLR (PT. 1239) 95 at 126, the Supreme Court held as follows, "Where a contract is made subject to the fulfillment of certain specific terms and conditions, the contract is not formed and not binding unless and until those terms and conditions are complied with or fulfilled."

On the law as it relates to libel, Justice Idris in the case of Sunrise Estate Development Ltd v. Abdulrahman & Ors (2021) LPELR-52827(CA) held that, "...The law as it relates to libel is that it is the gist of the libel that is the most important consideration. Once the gist of libel has been proved and the defence of justification has also been successfully established, it is not necessary for the defendant to prove the truth of each word comprised in the alleged publication.

“It is the broad and general impression conveyed by the publication complained of that is considered and construed as a whole. It is therefore enough that the main substance of the statement is true and the defendant need not justify statements which do not add to the gist of libel.”

•Materials were sourced from 'Law Reports by Law pavilion'

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NEWS

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

RENEWED HOPE CASH TO THE ELDERLY… L -R: The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Wife of the Chief of Defence Staff and President of DEPOWA, Mrs Oghogho Musa; Wife of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mrs Benjamin Kalu; and Wife of the Minister for Works, Mrs Rachel Umahi, at the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme (RHIESS) held at the Armed Forces Officers Mess, Abuja...yesterday GODWIN OMOIGUI

Nigeria Wins Again as UK Court Throws Out P&ID’s $11bn Damages Bill Angola leaves OPEC over oil quota dispute

Emmanuel Addeh and Alex Enumah in Abuja An $11 billion damages bill against Nigeria for a collapsed gas processing project which was procured by bribery has been thrown out by London's High Court, Reuters reported yesterday.

The West African country was on the hook for the sum – representing around a third of its foreign exchange reserves – after a little-known British Virgin Islandsbased company took Nigeria to arbitration over the deal.

But the High Court ruled in October that the contract was procured by Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) paying bribes to a Nigerian oil ministry official.

Judge Robin Knowles also found that P&ID failed to disclose the bribery when it later took Nigeria to arbitration.

He said in a further ruling yesterday that the damages award should be thrown out immediately, rejecting P&ID's argument that

the case should be sent back to arbitration.

P&ID was also refused permission to appeal against the ruling, though the company can apply directly to the Court of Appeal, Reuters said.

Earlier this month, Knowles ordered P&ID to pay the Nigerian government £20 million in damages and compensation.

The company had filed for fresh arbitration to revive their claims against Nigeria for alleged breach of a 2010 gas supply agreement.

However, the High Court in London ruled that the arbitration could not proceed as long as the 2023 judgment remained in place.

The judge found that P&ID had paid bribes to Nigerian officials involved in the drafting of the gas supply and processing agreement (GSPA) in 2010.

On January 31, 2017, a tribunal had issued a ruling requiring Nigeria to compensate P&ID with $6.6 billion in damages, in addition to both pre-and post-judgment interest at a rate of 7 per cent.

The sum later hit over $11 billion after bearing interests.

Ross Cranston, a judge within the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, granted the application in September 2020, but lawyers representing the federal government alleged that P&ID executives had resorted to bribery to obtain the contract.

P&ID refuted the accusation and levelled claims against the Nigerian government, stating that they were making “unfounded allegations and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.” Recently, Knowles sitting in a court in the UK court, ruled in favour of Nigeria.

The judge held that: “ The arbitration awards were obtained by fraud and the awards were, and the way in which they were procured was, contrary to public policy”.

Meanwhile, Angola yesterday said that it was leaving the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because membership was not serving its interests, according

to its Oil Minister, Diamantino Azevedo.

Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, produces about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, compared with 28 million bpd for the whole group.

Confirming an earlier report by local news agency ANGOP, Azevedo told public television the decision to leave was because OPEC membership was not serving Angola's interests, but did not give further details.

Oil prices extended losses on the news, with Brent prices down over $1 to $78.50 a barrel yesterday, Reuters said.

Angola's exit is a setback for OPEC and its allies, just as the group tries to get members to cut output to support prices.

Last month, Azevedo's office protested a decision by OPEC to cut its production quota for 2024.

Bloomberg also quoted Angola's OPEC Governor, Estevao Pedro, as saying the country was unhappy with its 2024 target and did not plan to stick to it.

Nigerian Society of Engineers Elects First Female President in 65 Years Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) yesterday elected its first female National President in 65 years, with Mrs. Margaret Oguntala, set to lead the organisation from January 1, 2024.

Announcing the outcome of the online polls in a press briefing in Abuja, the outgoing President of the society, Tasiu Gidari-Wudil, stressed that the election took place after the court set aside an earlier interlocutory injunction stopping it.

Aside Oguntala, other officials of the body elected alongside her were the Deputy President, Ali Alimasuya Rabiu as well as six vice presidents namely: Joseph Sunday Adebayo, (South-West); Danladi Ushiki Adamu, (NorthEast), Rose James Madaki (NorthWest); Felicia Nnenna Agubata,

(South-East); Bemogho Ofoeyeno (South-South) and Ademola Isaac Agoro (South-West).

The new national executive committee also comprised Ibrahim Hammadikko (North-East); Aliyu Dutsinma Ibrahim, (North-East); Rachel Serumun Ugye, (NorthCentral); Ndifon Mbeh Agbiji, (South-South) Abraham Aghadike, (South-East) and Prof. Olumide Moses Ogundipe, (South-West) The statutory audit committee members are: Greg Obiajulu Ashibuogu, Clara Chizoba Anyanwu-Amadi and Dr. Omolola Adenike Adetona.

At the event, the outgoing president noted that the elections were supposed to hold during the last Annual General Meeting (AGM) to elect the 2024 officers into the national executive committee and the statutory audit committee, but had to be put on hold to respect

the court order.

“You may have been reading reports in the media of a situation that seemed like a crisis within the ranks of the NSE, in the week preceding the just concluded National Engineering Conference and AGM and even after.

“The background information is that one of the contestants in the 2021 elections who felt aggrieved about the outcome of the election results went to an Abuja High Court and secured an interlocutory injunction stopping the 2023 elections.

“However, the AGM gave approval for the president to call an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) after the court case had been resolved.

“I am happy to announce to you that on December 18, 2023, the court, having taken the application filed by the society challenging the

said order and the arguments of both counsel, set aside the order it made on November 24, 2023.

“Therefore, as agreed at the AGM, an EGM was called for today (Thursday) December 21, 2023. The elections were conducted online and results have been announced,” he stated.

Deriving from the declared results, the elected officers, GidariWudil said, will run the affairs of the society henceforth, beginning January 1, 2024, under the leadership Oguntala as president, the outgoing leader noted.

He informed the general public that the state of affairs of the NSE was stable and robust and saluted his team members for the unalloyed support they gave him.

Even though there may have been few challenges, he noted that he was happy leaving a united house.

Although Nigeria earlier disagreed with OPEC on the 2024 quota handed down to it, it however made a U-turn, agreeing

to abide by the 1.5 million bpd production allocation for next year even though its proposed budget has over 1.7 million bpd for 2024.

Consumer's Rights' Commission Generates N56bn from Penalties in 2023, Remits N22.4bn

Irukera: If you don't hold people accountable, you cannot promote good behaviour James Emejo in Abuja The Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, (FCCPC), Mr. Babatunde Irukera, yesterday, said the commission generated N56 billion in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from issuing penalties to erring companies in 2023.

He said of the amount, the sum of N22.4 billion was remitted to the federation account as operating surplus, compared to N5.2 billion recorded in the previous year, out of which N2.6 billion went into government's coffers.

Speaking at a strategic media engagement, with the theme, "Reflections on the Road So Far, and Road Ahead", Irukera said, "We believe that businesses must be held accountable. If you don't hold people accountable, you cannot promote good behaviour."

He said 90 per cent of the revenue came from penalties, adding that the FCCPC was no longer funded from the treasury.

He said having applied to be removed from the annual budget list, the National Assembly had effectively excluded the commission from the public purse from December 2022 - becoming a self-funded institution.

Irukera said, "So, 2023 is the first year of being on our own. Now, you see that our personnel costs have hovered from N511 million to about N633 million year on year.

"By the time we end 2023, our personnel costs went up from about N600 million to about N2.5 billion.

Essentially our personnel costs went up four times, when we got off the budget and paying our own salaries, meaning that it is not that we have even increased staff but we have

increased salaries.

"And in 2023, our internally generated revenue is already N56 billion."

He said, "And for me, what this demonstrate is the real possibility of our country. Our possibilities are absolutely limitless.

"We don't approve a single product, we don't take fees for registration of anything; we don't take sponsorship or support from companies and we will not even let them buy tyres for our vehicles.

"All our revenue, any anywhere, go ask companies - they would tell you they don't pay FCCPC any annual fees, there nothing like product registration and we don't get money from the banks."

Irukera said, "All the vast majority - 90 per cent of our revenue is from penalties.

"We believe the market should be unlocked. We believe businesses should be allowed to operate well.

We believe they should thrive but we also believe in consequence.

"We believe that businesses must be held accountable. If you don't hold people accountable, you cannot promote good behaviour.

"And that is why there is no case in court; there's no report against us anywhere on whether we are oppressive or whether we have over-penalised."

He said all penalties were mutual resolved by the parties involved.

He said, "As a matter of fact, there is no penalty that was not a mutual conclusion - meaning that the targets our work by themselves in each situation, reached out and said, we understand the problem, we've seen what we've done wrong: is there an administrative process where we can close this by penalty?

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NEWS

UNVEILING THE RECIPIENT OF THIS YEAR’S OBAFEMI AWOLOWO PRIZE FOR LEADERSHIP… L-R: Member, Governing Council, Awolowo Foundation, Dr. Layi Ogunbambi; Executive Director. Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, Ambassador Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu; Chairman Selection Committee, Obafemi Awolowo Foundation, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; Member, Selection Committee of the foundation, Chief Ayo Adebanjo; and Member, Technical Committee, Prof. Oyebanji Oyelekan- Oyeyinka; , at the press conference unveiling the recipient of this year’s Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership at Gbagada, Lagos…yesterday KOLAWOLE ALLI.

CBN Alleges Banks Colluding with PoS Operators to Disrupt Naira Circulation Creates digital feedback box to address complaints House seeks improved monitoring of banks Tells PoS operators to remove excessive charges Adedayo Akinwale and Juliet Akoje in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday warned banks and Pointof-Sale (POS) operators against acts undermining availability and flow of the naira across the country.

The bank in a statement issued by its acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Sidi-Ali Hakama, alluded to an alleged cases of collusion between banks and PoS operators which had reportedly affected the availability of cash as well as disruption of the seamless circulation of the naira.

Also, yesterday, the House of

Representatives urged the CBN to improve on its monitoring and supervision of commercial banks in the country due to the worsening incidence of naira scarcity.

Furthermore, the central bank in its statement, also said it was investigating reported cases capable of defeating the smooth running of the economy.

Hakama, therefore, warned banks and PoS operators to desist from such activities, saying relevant sanctions shall be meted out to those found wanting.

She said, "The CBN frowns at such inappropriate actions by certain individuals and is

investigating the reported cases capable of undermining the smooth running of the economy.

"Meanwhile, members of the public are encouraged to use alternative payment channels as well as report any case of unauthorised activities, such as capping and hoarding, by banks or PoS agents to the CBN branch in their locations..."

The bank further provided customers with a digital link - https://forms.office.com/r/ frZJ0f2hFQ for complaints and inquiries on the subject.

Only recently, the apex bank, as part of efforts to stem the scarcity of

naira, announced the suspension of processing fees of two per cent and three per cent previously imposed on all cash deposits above N500,000 for individuals and N3 million for corporates respectively, with immediate effect.

The central bank had said the suspension shall remain in effect until April 30, 2024.

The bank had disclosed this in a circular dated December 11, 2023 and signed by CBN acting Director, Banking Supervision, Dr. Adetona Adedeji, which was addressed to all banks, Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) and non-bank financial institutions under the apex bank’s

House Urges FG to Use Savings from Subsidy Removal to Provide Free Malaria Treatments, Drugs Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency use part of the savings from the removal of petrol subsidy to provide free malaria treatments and drugs in all government hospitals in Nigeria.

It also urged the Ministry of Health to set up units in all government hospitals in Nigeria for the provision of free malaria treatments and drugs.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent national importance moved at the plenary yesterday,

by Hon. Amobi Ogah.

Presenting the motion, Ogah said malaria was a serious disease that spreads when you are bitten by a mosquito infected by the tiny parasites called plasmodia.

He added that if not treated, malaria could cause severe health problems such as seizures, brain damage, trouble breathing, organ failure and even death.

The lawmaker noted that malaria was common in the tropics and does not have “respect” for either race, tribe or class, because it infects everybody.

Quoting 2020 Health Essentials report, he said there were 241

million reported cases of malaria throughout the world, with 627,000 deaths with the majority of the death (90%) in Africa with more than 80 per cent involving children under the age of five years.

Ogah, added that the most severe form of malaria, which may progress to coma was known as cerebral malaria, stressing that this type represents about 15 per cent of deaths in children and nearly 20 per cent of adult death.

He said according to malaria treatment (2023) statistics, about 45 per cent per cent of the total population of Nigeria get infected by the disease on an annual basis.

Ogah, noted that an estimated 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths due to the disease were recorded in 2021, adding that Nigeria has the highest burden of Malaria globally, accounting for nearly 27 per cent of the global malaria burden.

He said: "Malaria is a cause and a consequence of poverty because both are inter-related.

Thus, creating a very dangerous scenario that is very critical.

Because a predominantly sick population cannot have any strong economic power.

"It is disturbing to understand that, the average cost of treating

malaria in Nigeria today by selfmedication is about N5,000.00 and upon consultation with a healthcare provider with a laboratory test may cost over N10,000.00.

“Many Nigerians cannot presently afford these.

Consequently, they may resort to using local herbs or substandard drugs that may lead to complications or even death."

Ogah, expressed concern that

the present national economic hardship where a single meal per day was hardly affordable by most average and lower-class citizens with the exorbitant cost of living due to the removal of oil subsidy, affordability of the purchase of malaria drugs becomes even more difficult thus, the need for the intervention of the government in the provision of free malaria treatments and drugs in all government hospitals.

regulatory supervision.

Sources at the apex bank also confided in THISDAY that the scarcity of cash in banks especially during the yuletide season had been a major worry to the apex banking regulator.

Some Nigerians see no reason to keep their money in banks any longer given the current difficulty in withdrawing such funds when needed.

The sources alluded to the fact that the Christmas period was a time when people prefer to keep physical cash for spending purposes – part of the reasons given for the current scarcity.

In effect, PoS operators have arbitrarily increased their service charges according to findings by THISDAY. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has urged the CBN to improve on its monitoring and supervision of commercial banks in the country due to the worsening incidence of naira scarcity.

The lawmakers also urged PoS operators to immediately remove excessive charges they collect from customers across the country.

Furthermore, the House mandated its Committees on Banking Regulations and Digital and Electronic Banking to invite the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the CBN to explain why commercial banks were not

paying customers over-the-counter and ATM machines.

These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion on the ‘Need to Curb the Sale of Naira Notes by the Point of Sale (POS) Operators in Nigeria,’ moved by Hon. Mohammed Dan Abba Shehu at plenary yesterday.

Shehu, noted that POS machine was invented and produced to address hiccups in financial transactions by commercial banks in Nigeria, adding that the financial transaction machines have significantly transformed the financial sector in the country by assisting the public in resolving challenges in banking.

He stated that, "PoS machines have been adopted in advanced countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom and South Africa to facilitate financial transformation without manipulation.

"Sections 1 and 2 of the CBN Act 2007, empowers the CBN to regulate commercial banks and advise the government on financial issues to achieve good governance."

The lawmaker however said, "PoS operators are now selling naira notes at exorbitant prices of N1,000 for N300, while N10,000 goes for N4,000, thus, causing concern among citizens who are currently experiencing economic hardship.

NBS: Unemployment Rose Marginally to 4.2% in Second Quarter James Emejo in Abuja

The country's unemployment rate increased marginally to 4.2 per cent the second quarter of the year (Q2 2023) compared to 4.1 per cent in the preceding quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.

According to the Q2 2023 Nigerian Labour Force Survey (NLFS), which was released by the statistical agency, the rate of unemployment among persons with post-secondary education was 8 per cent in Q2 2023.

Unemployment rate among youths aged (15-24 years) in Q2 2023 was 7.2 per cent, compared to 6.9 per cent in Q1 2023, the NBS stated.

Urban unemployment was 5.9 per cent in Q2 compared with 5.4 per cent in Q1 while unemployment in the rural areas was 2.5 per cent, down from the 2.9 percent recorded in the preceding quarter.

The share of those in wage employment was 12.0 per cent in Q2, indicating a marginal increase from the 11.08 per cent

recorded in Q1.

The NBS said the rate of informal employment, which is the share of employed persons working in the informal sector and informal employment (including agriculture) stood at 92.7 per cent, a slight increase from 92.6 per cent in Q1.

The rate of informal employment among people living in rural areas stood at 97.3 per cent while the urban informal employment was estimated at 88 per cent.

Essentially, the labour force participation rate stood at 80.4

per cent in Q2 2023, which was higher than 79.9 per cent in the preceding quarter.

The NBS also stated that the participation rate of men in the labour force under the reviewed period stood at 82.1 per cent while for women records stood at 78.8 per cent.

It said the participation rate was higher in the rural areas with 82.6 per cent, while the urban areas recorded 78.4 per cent, indicating that most people were engaged in some form of work either for pay or profit, during the reference period.

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FOODS FOR LESS PRIVILEGED AND INDIVIDUALS IN NEED… L-R: Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta ; GMD/CEO, Oliver Alawuba; Group Deputy Managing Director, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Muyiwa Akinyemi; Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Alero Ladipo; Group Head, Customer Fulfilment Centre(CFC), Uzoamaka Oyeka; Regional Head, Investigation, UBA Plc, Amina Danesi and with some beneficiaries of UBA Foundation Annual Food Bank initiative, where the foundation served food to the less privileged and individuals in need around the bank's headquarters in Marina, Lagos last Friday

Dangiwa Seals Deal with Consortium for Delivery of 100,000 Housing Units Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium to deliver 100,000 affordable housing units across the nation.

Dangiwa stated that the MoU signed at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, marked a milestone for the ministry’s

housing action plan and continued effort to leverage private sector collaboration towards bridging the housing deficit in Nigeria.

The agreement with the consortium of private sector-led companies, headed by Continental Civil and General Construction Company Limited and Ceezali Limited, the government said, will be delivered in two phases, starting with 20,000 units in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),

Umahi: Bad Roads Contributing to Soaring Inflation in Nigeria Inaugurates FERMA board Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Works, David Umahi, yesterday argued that the many bad roads in the country were contributing to Nigeria’s soaring inflation, which hit 28.2 per cent in November.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new Federal Emergency Road Management Agency (FERMA) board in Abuja, the minister stressed that if Nigerian roads improve, the prices of goods and services will fall.

Describing Nigerian roads as being in very critical conditions nationwide, he stated that the bad roads were affecting everything from the transportation of petroleum products, agricultural produce as well as trade and commerce.

While the rich could afford to send their children to good private schools and private hospitals, Umahi argued that one thing linking both strata of the society was the massively deteriorating road infrastructure in Nigeria.

“We have a very critical situation with our roads all over this country.

For me, the number one thing that Nigerians needed as early as yesterday is good roads. Good roads are everything.

“If we fix our roads today, we will bring down inflation in this country because bad roads are affecting every aspect of our economic activities, including transportation of our petroleum products, agricultural produce, trade, industry and even tourism, education and hospitals,“ he stated.

He explained that projects worth over N260 billion have now been approved by the president as palliatives on the roads, stressing that contractors

were already receiving their award letters pending the release of the money.

Within the next two years, Umahi stated that Nigerians will begin to see serious transformation in the country’s road network, disclosing that President Bola Tinubu had directed a review of the powers of the zonal FERMA officials to be able to tackle smaller road jobs.

“What we have today are boreholes which developed from pin holes on our roads, but nobody took care of it, now we have potholes to boreholes,” he added.

He charged the newly inaugurated members of the governing board of FERMA to rise up to the challenge of road infrastructure maintenance facing the country.

He also thanked the president for approving the 2023 supplementary budget which provides for interventions on federal roads.

The minister added that President Bola Tinubu understands the plight of the people as far as road infrastructure is concerned, explaining that the president is doing everything within and outside the budget to fix the roads.

The president had on October 13, 2023 approved the appointment of members of the governing board of FERMA who had already been confirmed by the senate.

They include: Dr. Chukwuemeka Chijioke Agbasi (Managing Director) as wells as lbi Terna Manasseh; Dr. Kenneth Ugbala; Senator Timothy Aduda; Babatunde Daramola and Preye Oseke as members.

Others are: Aminu Adamu Papa, Abubakar Bappa, Shehu Mohammed and Yusuf Lawal Othman.

followed by 80,000 units across the six geopolitical zones.

Dangiwa described the deal as the result of months of hard work and strategic planning, resulting in a robust framework to ensure the arrangement was structured to succeed.

“The federal ministry of housing and urban development will facilitate provision of affordable mortgage loans to off-takers through the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

“It will also facilitate the approval and the grant of legal titles of select lands for the projects across the country as part of its efforts to create an enabling environment in order to massively upscale private sector investment in the housing sector.

“Target beneficiaries are Nigerians in both the public and private sectors of the

economy. The 100,000 Renewed Hope Housing Project is to be implemented in two phases.

“Phase one will deliver 20,000 in the FCT while phase two will deliver 80,000 houses in select locations across the six geopolitical zones of the country,” he stated.

He acknowledged the severe housing crisis in Nigeria and the inadequacy of budgetary allocations to address the deficit, emphasising the need to see increased access to decent and affordable housing as a collective endeavour.

Dangiwa explained that this requires the active participation of all stakeholders across the entire housing value chain.

The minister further touched on the job creation component of the project, noting that it was in line with the vision of President Bola Tinubu to raise 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

According to him, the private and public sector arrangements will create 2.5 million direct and indirect jobs at 25 jobs per housing unit.

He asked the consortium to continuously engage the technical staff of the ministry in the location, design, monitoring, and cost evaluation of the project and ensure the delivery of the project within agreed timelines.

“These partnerships enable leveraging the strengths of both the public and private sectors, fostering innovation, efficiency, and increased access to funding. “ By combining the resources, expertise, and creativity of both sectors, we plan to facilitate the development of affordable housing, infrastructure, and sustainable communities that align with the diverse needs of our populace.

“Our long-term goal is to

address the housing shortage and enhance the quality of life of our citizens,” the housing minister stated.

Also speaking, Consultant for the consortium and Principal Partner of C23 Consultants Limited, Damola Akindolire, noted that the PPP arrangement was first of its kind in Nigeria, in respect of the scale and scope of the project.

He added that the MoU speaks to the focus and seriousness of the leadership of the ministry to address the housing deficit in Nigeria.

On their part, Executive Director of Continental Civil and General Construction Company Limited, Alamu Adegbenga and Contract Manager of Ceezali Limited, Sule Wada, assured the minister of their technical and financial capacities to deliver on the project based on their track record and experience.

FG Launches First Home-grown Gas Leak Detection Device, Recommits to R&D in Oil Sector NCDMB says new facility will curb loss of lives, property Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government yesterday officially launched Nigeria’s first home-grown gas leak detection device manufacturing plant, stressing that it will help reduce the heavy loss of lives and property in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja at the unveiling of the facility built by Amal Technology, the Minister of State, Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, described the event as a significant landmark and a breakthrough in local manufacturing of electronic circuitry and devices.

The innovation was supported by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) under its erstwhile Executive Secretary, Mr Simbi Wabote.

Lokpobiri explained that the facility was one of the proposals that had benefited from the NCDMB’s research and innovation intervention, which included the adoption of Internet of Things (IOT) for its operation.

The minister was represented by the Director, Upstream at the Ministry of Petroleum, Kamoru Busari.

According to him, the new facility

has the capability to generate a Short Message System (SMS) and call phones of homeowners in the event of a gas leak as well as the capability for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing.

In line with NCDMB’s mandate to drive indigenous technology development in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, Lokpobiri noted that the board had been focusing on providing institutional and funding support for market-driven research and commercialisation of breakthrough innovations with high market prospects.

He noted that a major plank under President Bola Tinubu’s administration was the commitment to deepen gas penetration and gasbased industrialisation anchored on the penetration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles, and gas conversion for power generation, fertiliser production, among others.

The deployment of the flagship Amal technology gas leak detection device, he said, provides a significant safety tool that will accelerate the adoption of gas as a preferred source of energy for homes, transportation, and industry.

To support Nigeria’s net-zero target by 2060, he explained that targets were underway to establish fuel-to-gas conversion centres and CNG refuel stations nationally.

“The federal government expects that the deployment of the Amal Technology safety device will also complement our efforts to accelerate the net-zero pathway.

“Furthermore, the Job creation potential of start-up companies such as Amal Technologies is critical to the creation of a circular economy and aligns with Mr. President's eight-point agenda for economic recovery,” he added.

In his remarks, the new Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Omatsola Ogbe, stated that the smart gas leak detector research was just a proposal submitted to the board in 2018, while the idea was nurtured through the NCDMB's incubation process hosted in the innovation centre.

“The recurring menace of gas leaks and explosions leading to heavy losses in human lives, property damage, and pollution of the environment is the problem statement that the device seeks to address.

“We may recall that in 2020, a

gas explosion in Lagos took over 20 lives including students, injuring over 200, and displaced over 500 Nigerians. 2021 also saw record six deadly gas explosions claiming scores of human lives and more recently in 2022 and 2023 preventable gas explosions in Kano, and various parts of Lagos claimed many lives and property.

“As Nigeria’s development priorities trend towards gas-based industrialisation with an exponential increase in gas utilisation, it has become even more compelling to deploy safety and preventive tools such as the Amal smart gas leak detection to ensure the safety of lives and properties as the citizens embrace gas usage,” Ogbe stated.

He added that the PCB manufacturing will provide the springboard for the replacement of imported PCBs with locally produced ones, in line with the vision to be the catalyst for the industrialisation of the Nigerian economy and its linkage sectors.

According to him, the facility will also generate employment opportunities, pay due taxes, and provide a critical platform for instrumentation and electronicsrelated research and development.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

NEWS

MTN'S COURTESY VISIT TO NCC...

L-R: Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Adeleke Adewolu; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola; Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida and Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC, Ubale Maska, during a courtesy visit by MTN Nigeria to the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja on Wednesday

FG Unveils Education Roadmap, Says 15m Out-ofSchool Children to Be Brought Back to Classrooms Seeks establishment of Almajiri, out-of-school children commission Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The Minister of Education, Prof.

Mamman Tahir has unveiled the roadmap for 2024-2027 activities for the sector which among others, has the basic education and the reduction of out-of-school children by 15 million as its priorities.

To achieve this, the ministry has started operationalising the establishment of the National Commission for Almajiri and

Out-of-School Children and has approved a policy on Early Child Care Development in Education (ECCDE).

It has also commenced engagement with state governments on removing bottlenecks that negatively impact on their ability to optimally utilise the Universal Basic Education funds.

The theme for the next three years, "Education for Renewed Hope Agenda: Roadmap for

Catholic Bishops Clarify Church Position on Same-sex Marriage Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has said the recent pronouncement by Pope Francis has nothing to do with same-sex marriage but an assertion of the church's disposition to offering blessings to all God’s children, irrespective of their status.

It said the pronouncement of the Pope does not in any way change the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage and non-recognition of same sex marriage.

While reacting to the Fiducia Supplicans issued by the Vatican which has created confusion among Christians, especially the Catholic faithful, the Bishops said the declaration by the Pope only seeks to clarify the different forms of blessing that could be given to persons and objects in the Catholic Church, including the possibility of blessing persons in irregular unions.

They explained that such blessings to unions include but are not limited to divorced and remarried couples whose previous marriages had not been annulled, those living in same-sex unions, those in polygamous unions, in concubinage, among others.

The clarification was contained in a statement signed by the President of CBCN, Bishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji and the Secretary, Bishop Donatus Ogun.

The CBCN said: “The Declaration acknowledges and carefully distinguishes between ritual, liturgical, and informal blessings.

“While ritual or liturgical blessings are imparted according to the established norms of the Church, informal blessings refer to prayers

over people who ask for them outside the liturgy or any formal celebration in the Church.

“The Declaration offers a consideration of the possibility of extending the informal blessing to all God’s children, irrespective of their moral condition, when they ask to be blessed.

“Nevertheless, the Declaration insists that the blessing of persons in irregular unions – and never the union itself – can only take a nonliturgical form to avoid confusion.

“It should not be imparted during or in connection with a civil wedding ceremony or with clothing, words, and signs associated with a wedding”, the statement said.

The Bishops said rather than deviate from the church's tradition, the declaration re-enforces the Catholic Church’s long-standing teaching on marriage as an “exclusive, stable and indissoluble union of a man and woman, naturally open to the generation of children.”

The Bishops stated that the Church does not have the power to impart a blessing on irregular unions.

The statement further said the Pope's Declaration also reinforces the truth about God’s mercy.

“For one to willingly ask for a blessing demonstrates one’s trust in God and the desire to live according to God’s commandments.

“Asking for God’s blessing is not dependent on how good one is. Imperfection is the reason for seeking God’s grace. Therefore, those in irregular unions are invited never to lose hope but rather to ask for God’s grace and mercy while remaining open to conversion.

the Nigerian Education Sector 2024- 2027,” was subjected to stakeholders’ review, adoption and approved for implementation by the National Council on Education at its 67th Session.

Speaking in Abuja yesterday, during a one-day stakeholders’ meeting, Tahir, while recounting the gains of the ministry in the past four months, noted that once the country gets it right in the education sector, development would be on the right trajectory.

He also stated that a population with the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitude would engender a society with the right economic model for delivering services to the people.

He said the roadmap which contains practical, problemsolving and realistic approaches

across thirteen thematic areas delineated would allow for concurrent implementation as parts of a synergistic whole.

He added that in achieving high premium on foundational and basic education, strengthening the integration of existing non-formal schools into formal education systems, scaling-up adult literacy and non-formal education interventions, increasing opportunities for girl-child education as well as forging partnerships with all tiers of government and development partners would be key.

He said: "Suffice to say that it is an embarrassment that Nigeria is continually associated with the highest number of Out-of-School children in the world.

"We would be paying particular attention to this

unacceptable phenomenon and in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's commitment, would work towards returning 15 million Out-of-School children back to the classrooms by year 2027.

"We will re-invigorate our focus on basic education including ensuring the harmonisation and coordination resources and activities amongst all tiers of government and development partners.

"We have, therefore, began operationalising the establishment of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children, approved a policy on Early Child Care Development Education (ECCDE) and commenced engagement with State governments on removing bottlenecks that negatively impact on their ability to

optimally utilise the Universal Basic Education funds."

On partnership with state governments, Tahir disclosed that the focus would be centered on: "A commitment to improve governance accountability, coordination and relentless focus on results at all levels; federal and State governments commit to increasing public financing as well as transparent and timely release of funds.

"State government fulfill jointly agreed counterpart obligations on efficient programme execution and achievement of results; and funding from federal government and development partners to the states should be performance-based and disbursed on achievement of agreed results on policy reforms and service delivery outputs/ outcomes."

FG Appoints New Directors for Aviation Agencies Chinedu Eze The federal government has appointed new directors for the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).

According to a list made available by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development yesterday, the the appointments were in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The names released by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo were as follows: the Nigeria Meteorological Agency, Prof Vincent Ezikornwor Weli as Director, Weather Services; Prof. Odjugo Peter Akpodiogaga Ovuyovwiroye, Director, Research and Training; Onyegbule Glory Amarachi, Director, Applied Meteorological Services; Abdulkareem Hamid Olayinka, Director, Engineering and Technical Services; Funke Adebayo Arowojobe, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection; Shola Gabriel Director, Legal Services/ Company Secretary; Nasiru Sani,

Director, Human Resources and Administration, Alex Akoji Yusuf, Director, Finance and Accounts and Airiohuodion Henry Omonzojie, Director, Corporate Services.

At the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, the federal government appointed the following Directors: Engr Balang Godwin, Director, Aerodrome and Airspace Standards; Yinka Boboye Director, Air Transport Regulations; Capt.

Donald Spiff, Director, Operations, Licensing and Training; Michael Achimugu, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection; Omogo Bernard Onwe Chinedu, Director, AVSEC (Aviation Security) Regulation; Olufemi Odukoya Director, Finance and Accounts; Engr. Victor Goyea, Director, Airworthiness Standards; Barr Mary Tufano, Director, Legal Services/ Company Secretary; Anastasia Gbem, Director, Human Resources and Administration; Horatius Egwa, Director, Special Duties and Rebecca Eyiuche Aghadinazu, Director, Corporate Services.

At the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency the Directors appointed were as follows: Muonemeh Ndubuisi Lotenna, Director, Finance and Accounts; John Tayo, Director, Operations;

Abimbola Ladipo, Director, Human Resources and Administration; Engr Ijeoma Ihenachor, Director, Safety Electronic and Engineering Services; Rita Isemiuhonmon Egbadon, Director, Legal Services/ Company Secretary; Abdulahi Musa, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection; Abba Ahmad, Director, Special Duties and Ibrahim Aliyu, Director Corporate Services.

Also, at the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau the following Directors were appointed: Engr.

Abdulahi Babanya, Director, Engineering Services; Odita Francis Isioma, Director, Operations; Engr.

Nwobu Patrick, Director, Transport Investigation; Esosa Eremwanarua, Director, Legal Services/ Company Secretary; Engr Lawal Abdulmumin, Director, Human Resources; Mrs Bimbo Olawunmi Oladeji, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection; Dr Mrs Okundaye-Oke Itohan Folake, Director, Finance and Accounts and Baro Henry Minabowanre, Director, Corporate Services.

Similarly, at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the federal government also appointed the following Directors: Engr.

Muniru Adejare Abiola, Director, Engineering Services; Capt.

Abdullahi Mohmood, Director, Airport Operations; Ayodele Olatiregun; Director, Finance and Accounts; Luqman Olatubosun Eniola, Director, Human Resources and Administration; Igbafe Afegbai, Director, Aviation Security Services; Mrs. Bridget Gold, Director, Legal Services/ Company Secretary; Jensen Asaba, Director, Corporate Services; Obiageli Orah, Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection and Henry Agbebire, Director, Special Duties; Adebola Joy Agunbiade, Director, Commercial and Business Development and the Director of Cargo Services who would later be appointed by the Federal Government.

A statement signed by the Minister’s spokesman, Odutayo Oluseyi, directed all the newly appointed Directors to get in touch with the Director, Human Resource Department of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development to collect their letters of appointment, stating that the appointments were with immediate effect.

It added that a, “new Directorate called the Cargo Services has been created at the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria to ameliorate issues besetting the sector (department).”

18

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY DECEMBER 22, 2023

POLITICS

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

Uzodimma: A Hidden Treasure from South East Jerry Chukwueke writes that Governor Hope Uzodimma has demonstrated ability to turn things around for good through his execution of visible projects in Imo state.

I

mo state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, is the Chairman of both the Progressive Governors’ Forum and the Southeast Governors’ Forum. Those who were privy to his emergence in the two groups in May, 2023 attest to the fact that it was effortless and seamless. It was even said that his colleagues were jostling over who would first nominate him for the positions.

The reason was (is) simple. Senator Uzodimma exudes sheer charisma, charm and warmth.

The two offices require no specific qualifications outside just being a governor but Uzodimma’s colleagues knew that he has something beyond what every one of them has.

Since Uzodimma’s emergence on the nation’s political landscape in June 2011, many keen observers have not failed to wonder how it took his people – the people of the Southeast – so long to discover such a hidden treasure. To be sure, Southeast, if you like Igboland, has an array of brilliant politicians but what stood Uzodimma aside was that he came to Nigeria senate exuding an aura of confidence and a grasp of issues never known of new comers. Minus his earlier exposure as governorship aspirant and candidate in his home state, Uzodimma was essentially a private-sector operator.

As a matter of fact, one major issue raised by his key opponents during the 2011 general elections was that he was bereft of public service experience needed to represent his people at the hallowed chambers of the senate. Uzodimma not only shamed his critics but he also went ahead to prove that he was a rare gift to the rest of the country, not just from his people in Imo West but also the entire Southeast.

Signs that Senator Uzodimma was going to introduce a new vista into Nigeria’s politics were seen when he emerged as the chairman of the senate standing committee on aviation even as a new comer. That was a clear feat as such committees were usually reserved either for ranking legislators or those who had had an earlier exposure in the relevant sector in their career.

As is well known, it was during his tenure as chairman of that committee that the nation embarked on far reaching reforms in the aviation sector, prominent among which was the transformation of some of the leading airports in the country including the two in the Southeast – the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri and the then Enugu airport, now the Akanu Ibiam International airport.

In his eight years in the senate, Uzodimma sponsored over 20 motions and bills but perhaps the most significant – for the purpose of this article at least– were those that had to do directly with the well being of the people of the Southeast. One was the motion calling for the acceleration of work on the second Niger Bridge and the rehabilitation of the older bridge, in the interim, to make life easier for his people who were subjected to untold hardship as a result of the dilapidated state of the first bridge built in 1963.

That motion awakened the executive arm of government which moved in with greater alacrity. The other was a bill to establish an Erosion Control and Prevention Commission which Uzodimma sponsored essentially with the Southeast in mind. While leading the debate on the floor of the senate on August 12, 2015, Senator Uzodimma was emphatic that the issue of erosion was “more catastrophic in the Southeast”.

But certainly the real discovery of Goodhope Odidika Uzodimma, the son of Michael and Rose Uzodimma, took place on January 14, 2020, the day the Supreme Court of Nigeria restored his mandate as the winner of the March 9, Imo state governorship election. The story is, of course, too well known to be retold here but what no one can be tired of saying is that Uzodimma as governor has succeeded in telling the rest of the country that an Igboman has the capacity to provide good leadership even in the face of the most debilitating or provocative circumstances.

The steadfastness and resilience with which Governor Uzodimma confronted the security situation in Imo state – taking that as an example

– is a lesson which ought to be learnt off by heart by anyone who aspires to a position of leadership whether at the national or sub-national level.

Again, the story is too well known to be repeated here but what must not be glossed over is that the contrived insecurity in the state was quite capable of halting even the most modicum of development. Even though those who vowed to make the state “ungovernable” knew they had no such capacity in the real sense of it, they did all they could to make the state physically uninhabitable. Again, realizing that that was not possible, they shifted their target to distracting the governor to the extent that

he would not have the time and resources to carry out his assignment.

Of course, not many knew what the governor was going through since the details of security breaches and those involved are usually guarded. Even when things got to a point when Governor Uzodimma promised the people to name names, he was constrained by the fact that such disclosures are the prerogatives of the security agencies.

Even so, the conspirators got what they never expected from Governor Uzodimma.

For, against their expectations to smoke him out for a fight, at the detriment of governance, he

refused to be distracted and even accommodated elements amongst them who, seeing the futility of their antics, at a point gave up.

The point being made here is that it was Governor Uzodimma’s God-given attributes as tolerant, accommodating and slow to anger that saved Imo state from erupting into a conflagration as intended and planned by those who lost to him in the power game.

In my view, the Uzodimma experience should be a subject of further inquiry for political scientists.

Needless to say, what the rest of Nigeria went ahead to witness in Imo state in the first four years under Senator Uzodimma is a study in resilience and uncommon passion to serve. As it is today, there is a compelling new narrative taking shape under Governor Uzodimma, evidenced in the increased investment in education, healthcare and infrastructural facilities in the past four years.

Governor Uzodimma’s educational reform emphasizes the need for skill acquisition in order to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. Hence, the inauguration of the Skill-up Imo project which is specifically designed to provide free training and support for hundreds of youths for either productive employment or self employment.

Part of this strategy also involved the creation of a full-fledged ministry of job creation and employment as well as the ministry of digital economy; making Imo the only state to do so in the federation. This is with a view to introducing a digital economic blue print to enhance development in accordance with best global practices.

-Chukwueke writes in from Owerri NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

It’s Time for N’Assembly to Clean Up Budget Process Tunde Bamise warns the National Assembly against padding the 2024 budget currently before it as was the situation during past budget seasons.

I

t is Budget Season again for Nigeria. In November, 2023, President Bola Tinubu assented to the 2023 Supplementary Budget, and, a few weeks later, presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.

Naturally, this has been followed by a lot of debate and conversation about the details of the budget.

President Tinubu, in his presentation speech to the National Assembly, described it as “Our Budget of Renewed Hope; a budget which will go further than ever before in cementing macroeconomic stability, reducing the deficit, increasing capital spending and allocation to reflect the eight priority areas of this Administration.”

With an aggregate expenditure of 27.5 trillion naira, it is fairly impressive, with about 30 percent of this devoted to capital expenditure.

However, the Renewed Hope ambition of this budget will be muted or of no effect if the budget is not implemented in a credible and efficient manner.

One of the biggest ongoing challenges being faced in federal budgeting in Nigeria is the issue of “padding”, where various line items are allegedly inserted into the budgets of agencies which should ordinarily have no business with those projects.

In his speech at the signing ceremony for the 2022 Appropriation Speech, President Buhari had cause to complain about some “worrisome changes” that were made to the proposal originally submitted by the Executive. Among other things the then President lamented that “Provisions made for as many as 10,733 projects were reduced while 6,576 new projects were introduced into the budget by the National Assembly.”

This is truly alarming, to realize that the National Assembly can unilaterally include more than 6,000 projects into a Federal Budget,

without consultation with the President whose signature turns the Bill into an Act. It is necessary to quote the former President in some detail, to drive home the magnitude of the problem: “Most of the projects inserted relate to matters that are basically the responsibilities of State and Local Governments, and do not appear to have been properly conceptualized, designed and costed. Many more projects have been added to the budgets of some MDAs with no consideration for the institutional capacity to execute the additional projects and/or for the incremental recurrent expenditure that may be required.”

The same pattern played out in the 2023 Appropriation Bill as returned to the President by the 9th National Assembly. Again, President Buhari raised the alarm: “I have also noted that the National Assembly introduced new projects into the 2023 budget proposal for which it has appropriated N770.72 billion.”

But there is no evidence that anything was done to address this. Just as there is no proof that anything will change in this 2024 Appropriation Bill cycle. Going by the already established pat-

tern, Nigerians should expect that the National Assembly will again toe the path of introducing hundreds if not thousands of new projects into the Bill, and also move things around without regard for the “institutional capacity to execute the additional projects and/or for the incremental recurrent expenditure that may be required.”

Nigerians need to pay greater scrutiny to these issues. Insanity, it is said, is repeating the same things while expecting different results.

It is imperative that the National Assembly reject any budgetary items that are out of place.

During the 2023 Budget Defence, the Senate questioned and rejected the insertion of 11 billion Naira worth of contracts in the Ministry of Defence Budget, including N2.25 billion for Safe School Initiatives that should have been in the Budget of the Ministry of Education.

Sometimes these insertions are done by legislators themselves. I have heard from reliable NASS sources that it has become a habit for some legislators to include constituency projects like roads and water projects in the budgets of agencies and parastatals whose mandate has nothing to do with such.

In 2022, BudgIT, a civil society organization found that that 64 percent of the budget of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW) was allocated to the procurement of street-lights, motorcycles and other contracts with no relevance or connection to the mandate of the Agency. The River Basin Development Authorities have also been reported to face these challenges.

-Bamise writes from Lagos NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

FRIDAY DECEMBER 22, 2023 • T H I S D AY

19

THISDAY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

20

PERSPECTIVE

Plateau 2023: Justice Abdulaziz Waziri on the Scale

By Steve Daniel

A

ppellate Court Justice Abdulaziz Waziri possibly exited charted territory when he recently voiced certain positions regarding the nullification of all People’s Democratic Party (PDP) elected candidates in Plateau State in the 2023 polls. This was reported

by Sahara Reporters and other national news media. But more importantly, it spawned concerns about judicial decorum, legal interpretation and procedural fairness.

I will enlist a seven-part summarized position to ventilate why Justice Waziri’s curious voyage is inherently flawed and subsequently raise pertinent posers. From a jurisprudential perspective, Justice Waziri’s decision to publicly discuss ongoing cases violates judicial standards outlined in the code of conduct for judicial officers. Public confidence in the judiciary requires judges to avoid impropriety and refrain from discussing live issues.

Specific legal precedents were seemingly, willfully thrown to the dogs against the backdrop of public discussion of ongoing cases by Justice Waziri. His decision to publicly discuss ongoing cases violates codified judicial decorum. Public confidence in the judiciary requires judges to avoid impropriety, and refrain from discussing live issues.

Worse, the contradictions and legal misinterpretations associated with the judgments in Plateau State under reference not unexpectedly met with widespread public criticism and have raised legitimate concerns. Justice Waziri claims the Plateau State PDP case is not a pre-election matter, contradicting legal precedents like Uduma v. Arumsi (2012) and Kente v. Bwacha (2023), which establish that nomination and sponsorship issues are pre-election matters.

The Court of Appeal’s selective application of pre-election jurisdiction in the Plateau State PDP case raises concerns about impartiality raises questions about selective jurisdiction and partiality. Justice Waziri’s emphasis on alleged disobedience of a court order and lack of party structures as grounds for disqualification overlook the Supreme Court’s position in Kente v. Bwacha (2023), which emphasizes that internal party matters are outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Contrary to Justice Waziri’s claims of PDP’s non-compliance with Justice Gang’s Court order, evidence exists that the PDP complied with the Plateau State High Court’s order for a repeat congress. The order in PLD/J304/2020 was complied with, and the repeat congress took place on 25 September, 2023, and was monitored by the INEC. However, the court could not have concluded that PDP did not comply with the judgment of 2020 delivered by Justice Gang without rubbishing the repeated congress, which the Court eventually tagged as not a full compliance, but partial compliance with the judgment of Justice Gang. In doing so, the Court (sitting at election Tribunal) found itself venturing into the propriety/validity or otherwise of the repeated congress.

Cut to the bone, the issue now is not that of lack of compliance with the judgment of Justice Gang, but that in complying with the judgment, certain things were not done properly.

For instance, does the Court, sitting as a Tribunal, have the jurisdiction to look into the propriety/ validity or otherwise of the repeated congress, including how it was done?

Only a regular Court, as opposed to Election Tribunal, has the jurisdiction to entertain the issue of validity or otherwise of a party’s congress. Under section 285 of the Constitution, the jurisdiction of an Election Tribunal is very restricted. Like Mount Gibraltar, it cannot be expanded.

Only aspirants in the repeated congress, who are aggrieved can approach the Federal High Court with complaint about the propriety/ validity or otherwise of the repeated congress.

Did Bitrus Kaze and his group challenge the outcome of the repeated congress in any court of law? The answer is NO!

Justice Abdulaziz Waziri

Significantly, the Federal High Court in SUIT NO: FHC/J/CS/64/2022 confirmed PDP’s compliance with the said Court order and was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Augustine Timkuk’s suit challenging the legality of the leadership of the party and elected ad-hoc delegates that conducted party primary election in the state.

These judgments, including the INEC report, were tendered before the trial Tribunal in Jos which affirmed the election of Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang and other PDP candidates who stood for the 2023 elections.

But the question begging for answer is that did Justice Waziri look at the INEC report and the Federal High Court judgment including the Court of Appeal ruling that show that the Plateau PDP has valid structure during the Judgements delivered by its panel at the Court of Appeal in Abuja?

If these documents were before the panel, is it the APC that will determine how PDP conducted its party primaries when the Supreme Court had ruled in other cases that it is an internal affair of the party?

Apparently, the appellate court disregarded judgments and relevant constitutional provisions. Its refusal to consider judgments like CA/J/300/2022 and UDUMA v.

ARUNSI raises questions about objectivity.

Additionally, disregarding constitutional

provisions like sections 285(1) & (2) limiting the tribunal’s mandate to election conduct, raises procedural concerns. Justice Waziri had also alluded to the fact that PDP appealed the State High Court judgments that ordered for the repeat congress.

This was a misrepresentation of facts and the records are there for references.

PDP only challenged the exclusion of the party from participating in the 2021 Local Government Elections conducted by the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) on account of a letter written by one Bitrus Kaze and NOT on repeat congress!

It is interesting to note that clarification has been made on the matter by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, while declaring open the 39th Annual Federal High Court Judges’ Conference and the Court’s 50th Anniversary Lectures in Abuja. He said there that the Federal High Court has the largest courts in Nigeria and it is the best Courts of trial.

Hear him: “The jurisdiction of the court has kept being expanded. It is the only court that has originating jurisdiction on electoral matters.” This assertion implies that it is only the Federal High Court that has the jurisdiction to listen to pre-election matters with regards to internal affairs of

political parties.

Against the forgoing background, certain germane posers arise. Why has Justice Waziri not bothered to explain why the Appeal Court chose to appoint a ‘dedicated’ Panel ONLY for Plateau cases, as opposed to what obtained for other states? Why is he particularly interested in explaining what he did in Plateau? What is his special interest in the Plateau scenario?

Is Justice Waziri afraid that the Supreme Court Justices will insist on looking at the issues fairly and is out to avoid that, hence the bizarre desperation to explain away what he did?

The posers are actually many but need not be exhausted here. Clearly, Justice Waziri’s remarks speak volumes about the Court of Appeal’s judgments regarding the Plateau State PDP cases.

His remarks raise serious concerns about legal interpretations, procedural fairness, potential and possible biases. These concerns warrant a comprehensive review by the National Judicial Council, NJC. At a period when Nigeria is uncertain about its values, its leadership and its safety, the judiciary certainly looms large as the last safeguard of society’s civilized survival. Ensuring the integrity of the judicial process is therefore crucial for maintaining public trust in our legal system.

•Steve Daniel, a Human Rights Activist, writes from Jos

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

21

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

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

08056356325

D E C E M B E R

S & P INDEX

2 1 , 2 0 2 3

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

19.12%

INDEX LEVEL

611.31%

1/4 TO DATE

-0.07%

N795.28/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

16.25%

1-DAY

0.03%

YEAR TO DATE

0.48%

*AS AT MONDAY, JULY 24, 2023

3-MONTH

15.75%

MONTH-TO-DATE

-0.7%

Stakeholders Warn Political Appointments in Aviation May Derail Industry’s Critical Safety Status Chinedu Eze Stakeholders in the aviation industry have observed that political considerations have relegated competence and technical knowledge in the appointment of head of aviation agencies, directors and other critical personnel in the last eight years and warned that if the trend continues the safety status of the sector may be eroded.

According to them, about a year ago some persons without cognate aviation experience were appointed to become inspectors in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), adding that in other agencies, political connection rather than industry skills, experience and values were the factors that led

to the appointment of personnel to sensitive positions that could mar air safety.

The stakeholders said there were not much to cheer in the current appointment, which followed the old trend, adding that gone were the days when technical egg-heads were appointment to head aviation organsiations like the NCAA, the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, which foresees the training of aviation technical personnel.

Seasoned pilot and Chairman of West Link Airline, Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, told THISDAY that Nigeria would derail from proper running of civil aviation, should the situation persists,

insisting that such development may injure the future of the sector.

He regretted that politics has eroded professionalism in the way aviation is run in Nigeria, stressing that ideally, as obtained in other parts of the world and in cognizance of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, NCAA should buoy all aviation activities in Nigeria.

“We are not running a proper aviation sector. We are running a federal ministry of aviation department. NCAA is not autonomous and it is the agency that should be in charge of aviation in Nigeria. But NCAA reports to the Minister of Aviation.

The whole industry is supposed to be under the purview of the Civil Aviation Authority. Because when they come to do ICAO

inspections, for example, who do they come to inspect? They say civil aviation. And who is the regulator, NCCA? So NCAA must be given its rightful place, very sound, intelligent, dedicated, patriotic citizens should be allowed to head the agencies.

“What we have been doing is just giving jobs to our relations.

In most places (other countries), they select the best brains and the people who have the wherewithal to head these aviation agencies. And number two, besides identifying that this is what we need to do and take politics away from aviation, we also need to make sure that we decongest the civil aviation. I would like to see a civil aviation that is not more than the required number of experts and their support staff. Support means

drivers, maybe admin officers, HR people, even lawyers should be trained. They have aviation law schools. They must be trained to go and work in the NCAA or any of the agencies because everything we do is different from everywhere,” Mshelia said.

Mshelia further said once politics is separated from civil aviation, the number of staff would be trimmed, geared towards who deliver technical results and who propel the industry.

“Once we are able to separate these two, then you find that even the internally generated revenue will be sufficient to take care of these people very well. And you pay inspectors like you are paying pilots in the airlines. That way, they will not be induced to do anything by the airlines. They will

look them in the eye and say, ‘this is wrong, that is wrong, this is wrong, stop this, stop that.’ The heads of the agencies should have access to their money directly when it’s needed. No bureaucracy. Remove all these civil service things from aviation,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of TrainTech Integrated Services Limited and former Managing Director of Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO), Mr. Bates Sule, told THISDAY that the aviation industry deviated from the professionalism that hitherto guided its operations, as it has gradually been mired in politics that the sector is beginning to lose its substance.

The story continues online on

www.thisdaylive.com

INSURANCE FOR PETROLEUM TANKERS DRIVERS…

L-R: President, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Othman Yusuf; National President, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Williams Akporeha; Head of Operations, Leadway Health, Dr. Gideon Anumba; National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Comrade Augustine Egbon and General Secretary, Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Olawale Afolabi, at the official launching and commencement of the Comprehensive Health Insurance scheme for Petroleum Tanker Drivers- an initiative of NUPENG in partnership with Leadway Health in Lagos… recently

Respite as LASG Orders Tankers, Trailers to Vacate Apapa-O shod i E x p re ssway Oluchi Chibuzor Apapa residents and commuters yesterday got the needed respite when the Lagos State Government (LASG) directed the immediate evacuation of all tankers and trailers from the Cele Bus Stop Inward Tin Can Port axis along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway.

In a statement, the Special Adviser on Transportation to the LASG, Sola Giwa said the directive aims to curb the indiscriminate parking of heavy-duty vehicles causing traffic congestion in the area.

These trailers and tankers have been notorious for obstructing traffic flow and causing gridlock along

the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, creating significant challenges for commuters and residents.

Giwa stressed the government’s commitment to mitigating ongoing congestion issues and improving the transportation experience for citizens along the affected route.

The statement read, “In a decisive move to address the

ongoing congestion and alleviate the challenges faced by commuters along the Cele Bus stop Inward Tin can Port axis, the Lagos State Government has issued a directive instructing all tankers and trailers to stop the indiscriminate parking along the corridor forthwith.

“The directives underscore the commitment of the state

government to ensuring the smooth flow of traffic and minimising disruptions caused by the persistent presence of these heavy-duty vehicles in the specified location, saying the order aims to enhance the overall mobility experience for residents and commuters in the affected area.

“Prioritising the safety and well-

being of the public, the government emphasises the importance of a clear and unobstructed road network, urging tanker and trailer drivers to comply with this directive or be sanctioned in line with the State Transport Reform Law.” The story continues online on

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

BILLS

OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS

MATURITY

Discount Yield

NTB 26-Oct23 NTB 9-Nov23 NTB 7-Dec23 NTB 25-Jan24

1.80

1.80

Change (%) Updated Time November 0.00 2, 2023

MATURITY

2.57

2.57

November 0.00 2, 2023

3.92

3.94

November 0.00 2, 2023

3.50

3.53

November 0.00 2, 2023

JULI CP II 25-OCT-23 ZEDC CP I 17-NOV-23 NSDL CP IIA 22-NOV-23 MTNN CP V 23-NOV-23

NTB 8-Feb24

4.39

4.45

November 0.00 2, 2023

NSDL CP IIB 23-NOV-23

Change Time Discount Yield (%) November 0.00 2, 16.95 17.00 2023 November 14.71 14.89 0.00 2, 2023 November 19.25 19.60 0.00 2, 2023 November 11.27 11.39 0.00 2, 2023 19.24

19.60

November 0.00 2, 2023

CONTRACT Current TENOR Contract Rate ($/₦) (MONTH) NGUS OCT 1 – 30 2024 NGUS NOV 2 – 27 2024 NGUS DEC 3 – 24 2024 NGUS JAN 4 – 29 2025 NGUS FEB 5 – 26 2025

Date

November 2, 2023 November 2, 2023 November 2, 2023 November 2, 2023 November 2, 2023

22

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

Air Peace: Why Fares are High on South-east Destinations Chinedu Eze Nigeria’s largest operator, Air Peace, has reacted to numerous complaints about its fares, especially on social media, alleging that the airline charges higher fares on Eastern destinations, insisting that the principle of demand and supply are the factors that determine cost of tickets.

The airline in a statement signed by its management explained that Air Peace fare system is automated and configured in a unique way that as aircraft seats are filled, the higher fares automatically get displayed, noting that this is not just applicable to domestic airline fare system but even the international airline fare system

follows the same principle The airline explained that this is in accordance to international standard practice because it is the same system that govern ticketing and fares globally, noting that as passengers demand for seats the fares will be going up in response to that demand.

It noted that during the Yuletide season there were usually high demand to Eastern destinations, as more people travel to the airports located in the South-south, and South-east regions, adding that every year people of these regions travel en-mass to celebrate Christmas and New Year in their communities.

“Increased demand for flight tickets/high passenger traffic

this season to these destinations automatically impact the way the aircraft seats get sold. The seats get sold out faster than some routes with less traffic. Therefore, the airline booking engine reservation system displays the higher fares faster even though eventually, the higher fares will get displayed on the less traffic routes as the seats get fuller, too,” the Air Peace management said.

It also added: “Air Peace is an airline that fosters and promotes peace and unity amongst the different ethnic groups in Nigeria, hence we are compelled to address the misrepresentation of facts and wrong accusations about the airline’s business model making the rounds on social media.

A I R WATCH Sudden Management Change at Aviation Agencies

FAAN Inducts 201 New Aviation Security Cadets The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is poised to respond to the 21st century challenges of airport and passenger management.

This was announced by the Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, in her speech at the passing out parade ceremony held for newly-recruited Aviation Security Cadets at the Digital Bridge Institute, Lagos, recently.

The STP 123 Course is a residential training programme with a duration of eight weeks designed to help integrate new Cadets into the Civil Aviation Industry to implement, monitor and enforce Aviation Security

measures proactively in accordance with locally approved regulations.

In her speech, the Managing Director of FAAN informed the cadets that the training was one of the steps being taken by the agency to ensure total safety at the airports.

“This ceremony not only marks a significant milestone in your careers but also in the journey of FAAN towards bolstering the nation’s aviation security. It is also one of our strategic responses to the increase in volume of passengers using our airports,” she said.

Kuku charged them to put to good use all they have learnt during the training program, urging them

to embody the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.

She emphasised that globally, aviation business is hinged on security and safety, the aviation security department is, therefore, very critical to passenger facilitation and airport operations.

The Managing Director used the opportunity to express her appreciation, and indeed that of the entire management and staff of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as well as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Chief Festus Keyamo for their support and encouragement.

Ethiopian Airlines, Citi Sign $450m Loan Agreement Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, has announced a whopping $450 million loan agreement that will finance five new Boeing aircraft, which include three Boeing 737-8 and two Boeing 777F (Cargo).

The loan will be secured against the value of the five planes and has been arranged exclusively by Citi’s Corporate Banking and Export Agency and Finance teams. It is guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

Ethiopian Airlines is a longstanding client of Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) business, and their support and partnership have been instrumental

to reaching the deal. Different parts of the bank, all working together, reflect Citi’s unique ability to offer different banking services to clients with cross border needs. The $450 million loan is Citi’s largest aircraft financing in Ethiopia within the last decade and will help support both the bank’s bid to increase its footprint in the region, and the airline’s ambitious growth plan.

The five new aircraft will bolster Ethiopian Airline’s fleet to 150 in total and delivery of all the aircraft will be completed in the US state of Washington in December. The new arrivals will help Ethiopian serve all its destinations by accelerating

its expansion throughout the world and will further bolster Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services’ position as Africa’s largest cargo network operator. Ethiopian Airlines has ambitions to grow its fleet to over 270 aircraft by 2035.

Lauding the long-standing partnership of the two parties, Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew said: “We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement with Citi to secure a USD $450m loan. This financing will allow us to expand our fleet size by adding five new aircraft, three B737-8 MAXs and two 777 Freighter.”

Subscribers Kick against Hike in Cable TV Subscriptions Emma Okonji

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

Subscribers of telephone and cable television services have kicked against the incessant hike in cable television subscriptions and have called on the federal government to intervene immediately.

The subscribers, under the aegis of the Association of Telephone, Cable Tv and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS), on Wednesday in Lagos, expressed their worries over what they described as incessant hike in pay TV subscriptions across the country.

They have therefore called on the federal government to break the monopoly of Multichoice in order to create a level playing field for others who want to play in the sector.

Speaking at a press conference to express their concerns, the National President of ATCIS-

Nigeria, Mr. Sina Bilesanmi, said the pay TV services have consistently attracted hike in tariffs, to the detriment of ATCIS-Nigeria members.

He said Multichoice, being the major cable TV operator in the subsector of the broadcast industry, has continued to hike its subscription fees unapologetically in Nigeria. He urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to borrow a leaf from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which has a consumer affairs department and has made the protection of consumers its priority.

According to him, “It’s unclear if the NBC’s sphere of supervision extends to that of the pay TV industry because if it does, the South African operator will not be taking everyone for a ride hiding under the excuse of an increase in content costs.

Chinedu Eze Almost at the time that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration was thought to have completed fundamental appointments and reappointments across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), a hurricane of change swept through the aviation industry to the shock of many Nigerians.

The new development led to the sack of some management staff at aviation agencies.

The sack further entrenched the tradition that whenever there is change in political leadership, there must be a change in the management of MDAs, as political party supporters are compensated. It is a time when the newly elected officers and appointed officials like the ministers, must bring in their own persons to work with them.

Some industry stakeholders that spoke to THISDAY, said competence was swept under the carpet because “no matter your dedication to duty, your efficiency and passion for your job, they must remove you and sometimes replace you with incompetent successor who may not know the job.”

Many in the aviation industry saw the change as the usual routine, but it was at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) that workers became emotional. THISDAY gathered that when it was announced that Mr. Kabir Mohammed was removed as the Managing Director of FAAN, a loud cry ripped the atmosphere from FAAN workers both in Lagos and Abuja.

Explaining why his removal drew tears and grief from the workers, a senior FAAN staff told THISDAY, “We are used to all these removals and replacements but once in a long while a competent leader comes in. Kabir Mohammed was such an efficient and dedicated leader that he can only be compared to Mr. Peter Igbinedon who was FAAN Managing Director many years ago.

“Kabir Mohammed treated staff equally. He was more interested in what you can do and he will make you feel free with him. He was so dedicated to duty that he would be the first to come to the office and the last to leave. By 7:30 am he was already in the office. In fact, he encouraged us to show more commitment to our job. You saw how he transformed the Abuja airport as Regional Manager. He came in March 2022 and within one year he had transformed the landscape of the airport, eliminated vehicular congestion with introduction of FAAN taxi solution, eliminated touting, improved revenue generation, improved security at the airport and introduced seamless and centralised information technology.

He really inspired all of us.”

In her maiden speech after she was officially handed over as the Managing Director and Chief Executive of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Oluwaseun Kuku hinted at the reaction of the workers on the removal of her predecessor and said that she would sustain and improve on what her predecessor left behind.

“My mission at FAAN is simple. I’m here to complement the good work you have all been doing and consolidate on the foundation that previous managements have laid. We will pursue and deliver on all our obligations to the nation and the international community. Together with you all, we can make FAAN a greater institution than it already is.

“We shall be working within the framework of the Renewed Hope Agenda as enunciated by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubuand

in accordance with the policy and program direction of the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN.” Describing FAAN as a national asset designed to operate airport infrastructure and equipment and as a tool for economic development, the MD/CE said her vision was to improve on the agency’s professionalism in enhancing user experience, passengers’ seamless facilitation, security, safety and standards. She also affirmed that improving the country’s image would be a core ambition for her office.

“Under my leadership, revenue generation will be optimised and waste will be eliminated as much as possible. Staff welfare will also be a priority but I also expect the staff to be committed to put their best. As every institution is only as powerful as the human resources managing it, we will prioritise the improvement of institutional and human capacity. Working in collaboration with national and international bodies, we will promote the image of Nigeria and strengthen the network of FAAN,” she added.

On the challenges of passenger facilitation and general airport operation during the Yuletide season, she said, “There is an urgency of yesterday in revving up our operations as we have fully entered the busiest season of the year for airline operations. To this end, we shall be interfacing with the various professional interests, sister agencies and partners to ensure we have smooth, safe and secure operations throughout the season. Let us do our jobs with patriotism and a smile on our faces, spreading the joy of the Yuletide.”

At the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), the agency announced the assumption of leadership by the new Managing Director, Ahmed Umar Farouk, who has three-decade career marked by significant contributions to Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure.

“Farouk’s tenure, which commenced with his entry into NAMA in 2002 from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, has been characterised by engineering prowess and strategic deployment of critical systems such as installation of instrument landing system and Doppler very high-frequency omnidirectional radio range. His planned retirement on January 18 marked the conclusion of an era dedicated to advancing the nation’s aviation capabilities,” the agency said in a statement.

At the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), the new Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr, disclosed that his vision was to build an agency that is defined by the transformative advancements it inspires in transport safety, and not by the tragedies it investigates.

The Director-General, who took over the reins of leadership fromAkin Olateru, following his appointment

by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, stated this during the handover ceremony, which took place at the Bureau’s Head Office in Abuja.

Also, Prof. Charles Anosike officially assumed office as the Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet). The transition ceremony, which held at NiMet headquarters in Abuja, witnessed the symbolic passing on of the baton of leadership from the outgoing CEO, Prof. Mansur Matazu.

With the change of the baton, the new chiefs are now expected to work and deliver the services expected of them.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

23

BUSINESSWORLD

BRANDS AND MARKETING

Marketing Communications as Economic Enabler The answers to the question about the lingering challenge of value disorientation and image crisis in Nigeria have been provided by experts in the marketing communications industry who converged in Abuja for the 2023 National Advertising Conference and tasked the federal government and its agency to explore communication as a tool for national transformation. Raheem Akingbolu reports

A

s a professional body, the players in the marketing communications industry have over the years used logical proposition to tell federal government and other stakeholders in the Nigeria project to look inward and identify the lacuna in their communication strategies. They have argued in many fora that the problem of Nigeria is not entirely about not having a good policy but lack of poor communication strategy to attract global attention as well as getting the buy-in of members of the public.

The 2023 edition of the National Advertising Conference, held recently in Abuja, provided yet another opportunity for the nation’s creative community to further push the narrative. For the participants, the conference, which was put together by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and other sectoral bodies, was also an eye opener on both global and local trends in the industry.

The tone of what to expect was set on the arrival day at the Fireside Chat night held at the open terrace of John Wood Hotel By Bolton in the Wuse area of FCT, where veterans and industry leaders like Lolu Akinwunmi and Seni Adetu told the truth the way it was about advertising practice in Nigeria and the practitioners. Both Akinwumi and Adetu admitted that the industry is troubled within and without. They both agreed that there’re self-inflicting challenges and those created by the system. The speakers and contributors also agreed and they were unanimous in their rating of the current pilot of the industry -the Director General of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, that he has done perfectly well to reform and reposition the industry.

Perhaps deliberately, the organisers successfully used day two to tell the world that Nigeria’s ad community has advanced and groomed a new generation of practitioners who can stand any market.

The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, who represented the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, to declare the conference open, also proved within five minutes that he knew the industry and understood their workings. He raised the bar of the conversation at the opening ceremony by declaring that the Federal Government needed marketing communications practitioners to redefine the country’s corporate entity. Issa-Onilu didn’t pretend as he pointed out that the role of stakeholders in the marketing communications ecosystem in enabling national transformation cannot be overemphasized. He told the creative community that they are needed to help bridge the divide between the government and the citizenry.

He said he was delighted that this year’s theme focused on the role of marketing communications as an enabler of national transformation. The former newspaper Editor told participants that it was a direct acknowledgement of the power and responsibility of marketing communications practitioners to facilitate the transformation that Nigeria requires and deserves.

Onilu charged practitioners on the need to use their immense influence to enlighten Nigerians on some of the reforms and policies of the federal government.

“I ask that you as communications professionals rally around to help us convey that information without sensationalism or distortion,” he stated.

Though the three-day event was another opportunity for Fadolapo to tell Nigerians what the industry is capable of doing to reset the country, he achieved more in the area of building the confidence of the practitioners that they have transited their years in the wilderness.

Fadolapo disclosed that research has shown that marketing communication as an economic activity is strategic to the growth and development of Nigeria’s economy. Thus, he confirmed the position of many experts that communication is the driver of a healthy and thriving society.

Indeed, the theme for this year’s edition could not have been more apt! For practitioners in the nation’s integrated marketing communication

space, advertising and marketing communications are quite influential in shaping hearts and minds.

But how well has this influence been leveraged by stakeholders and practitioners in achieving national integration, cohesion and transformation?

Interestingly, the general consensus was that practitioners must know their onions, be aware of this power, and own it, before they can conveniently deploy it.

Speaking at the Fireside Chat, the Group CEO, Prima Garnet Africa, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi said practitioners must be professional, ready to stand their grounds anytime, to be able to make the necessary impact.

Going down memory lane, the Prima Garnet Africa boss recounted how his agency had insisted on being paid a pitch fee, by a frontline financial institution in the country, a demand many of the nation’s agencies are still scared stiff to make, for fear of being dropped from the process.

According to him, while the first generation bank initially turned the agency’s request

down, it later agreed to pay when it was obvious to it that it wouldn’t be able to go ahead with the process without the agency’s participation.

He added that the agency was able to temporarily walk out of the pitch process because its management team knew their onions, and they were not ready to compromise industry standards.

For the President of the National Institute of Marketing (NIMN), Idorenyen Enang, there is the need for practitioners, especially marketers, to cultivate the ‘farmer’s mentality of cultivating before harvesting, to enable them to grow.

Enang, while discussing the topic ‘Growing talents for the IMC Industry’ argued that talents can only be grown when the individuals, in question, are willing to be mentored.

He charged the younger ones, aspiring to be marketing professionals, to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by the institute to develop themselves and grow their careers.

Other speakers at the conference, especially leaders of the various sectoral bodies like the President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Steve Babaeko and the President of Media Independent Practitioners

Association of Nigeria Femi Adelusi leveraged the platform to play up the industry dynamics and new trends.

Babaeko, who is the Chief Executive Officer of X3M Ideas and Chairman of the Brand Nigeria Committee, stated that the idea of the committee, comprising of the best strategists in the country, was to change the ugly narratives about the Nigeria Brand, and promote her positives to enable it attract the much-needed investments.

“Gone are the days we’ll leave the narratives in the hands of strangers,” he stated.

He explained that the task, which was done pro-bono by members of the committee, represents the industry’s own contribution to the nation’s socio-economic growth.

The Chairman, Organising Committee of the National Advertising Conference, Mr. Tunji Adeyinka explained that one of the aims of the Conference was to deal with the issues of determining the size of the marketing communications industry, understand the contribution of the sector to GDP and frame the discussion around the multiplier effect of every naira spent on the marcoms sector.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the Director General of ARCON, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, had explained that this year’s

edition of the conference, the third in the series, was designed to take a detailed look at Advertising as an economic enabler.

This, he noted, was to bring forth suggestions and recommendations that will impact the industry positively and the Nigerian economy at large.

Fadolapo also used the opportunity to assure practitioners that the reforms being embarked upon by the Council are meant to sanitize the industry, enhance its standards, and reposition it for growth.

He however warned of the Council’s readiness to drag any erring practitioner, or professional body, to the recently-constituted Advertising Tribunal to answer for whatever misdeed they must have committed.

Meanwhile, the conference was also used by the DG to explain why the ARCON was restructured with new identity and nomenclature. Fadolapo said the decision to change the name of the apex regulatory body in the advertising sector from Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to ARCON, was informed by the need to address some lacuna created by the former Act setting up APCON. Fadolapo, who gave the The story continues online on

www.thisdaylive.com

1

T H I S D AY FRIDAY DECEMBER 22, 2023 24 TR

UT H

& RE A S O

Friday December 22, 2023 Vol 27. No 10479

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

SANWO-OLU’S AMBITIOUS BUDGET OF RENEWAL Lagos’ budget promises more freedom for entrepreneurs, writes SEUN SIMPSON

See page 25

HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, LOW TRUST: NIGERIA’S VICIOUS CYCLES JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA reckons that the business environment is, in many cases, unfriendly

See page 25 EDITORIAL

FRANK OVIE KOKORI (1943-2023)

26

President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the Rivers State crisis was essentially a political rather than legal resolution of a political issue, writes BOLAJI ADEBIYI

CRYING MORE THAN THE BEREAVED President Bola Tinubu has come under searing attacks since the outcome of his intervention in the political crisis in Rivers State became public on Tuesday.

It didn’t matter that his traducers were among the legion of leaders of thought and social analysts, who had urged him to bring the warring parties to the negotiation table.

The president had held a meeting on Monday night with Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor, and his estranged predecessor and godfather, Nyesom Wike, who is also the minister of Federal Capital Territory, in the presence of Nuhu Ribadu, national security adviser, Femi Gbajabiamila, presidential chief of VWDͿ DQG 3HWHU 2GLOL D IRUPHU JRYHUQRU of the state, among others to resolve the logjam in the oil-rich state. %ULHÁ\ WKH HLJKW SRLQW UHVROXWLRQ enjoined the warring parties to discontinue suits pending in the courts, and more or less, revert to the status quo ante belum. The 27, or is it 25, lawmakers, who had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, and whose seats had been deemed vacant, were to return to the House of Assembly; the governor was to represent his 2024 spending estimates to them; and the 10 commissioners, who resigned their appointments due to the crisis were to be recalled. In return for all these, the noose around Fubara’s neck was to be loosened. All parties signed the resolutions with the NSA also appending his signature, perhaps as a witness and guarantor.

2Q WKH IDFH RI LW WKH UHVROXWLRQV were skewed against Fubara and ORRNHG GL΀FXOW WR VHOO QRW RQO\ WR KLV supporters back home but also to the public which, seeing him as the underdog had pitched their tent with him. It was not long before the torrent of criticisms came, principally from the usual quarters of habitual critics of constituted authority, especially, the central government. Incidentally, the president, whose signature was not on WKH UHVROXWLRQ KDV GUDZQ WKH PRVW ÁDN “From all that transpired at the meeting,” an angry Edwin Clark, former minister of Information and Ijaw ethnic leader, said at a press conference on Tuesday, “the laws of the land have not been obeyed,” adding, “President Tinubu simply sat over a meeting where the constitution, which is the IXOFUXP RI KLV R΀FH DV 3UHVLGHQW DQG which he swore to uphold and abide by, was truncated

and desecrated.” +H ÀUHG RQ ´7KH HLJKW UHVROXWLRQV reached, are the most unconstitutional, absurd, and obnoxious resolutions at settling feuding parties that I have ever witnessed in my life. Some media captured it very well when they described it as directives.”

More adversarial conferences and statements were to follow, including the one by a group of elders in the state, led by Rufus Ada-George, a former governor; and the Ijaw National Congress as well as learned silk, Femi Falana, who more or less dismissed the presidential intervention as meddlesome.

Ironically, Fubara, on behalf of whom the critics were agitating, would pour FROG ZDWHU RQ WKHLU ÀUH ´, WKDQN DOO of you for the love and support from Rivers people. And I want to say that no amount is too big for peace. I will continue to pay for it,” he said, almost tearfully at the third convocation and sixth Founders Day ceremonies of the 3$02 8QLYHUVLW\ RI 0HGLFDO 6FLHQFHV LQ ,ULHEH 7RZQ LQ WKH 2ELR $NSRU /RFDO Government Area of the state.

His emotional statement, which betrayed the pain he was going through would be given meaning by Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesman, ZKR DOVR KLQWHG DW WKH GL΀FXOWLHV LQ reaching the much-assailed resolutions.

“There was a compromise involved.

All sides of the political divide within that state have had to compromise to ensure that there is a fair resolution,” he told a national television network on Wednesday night.

The public angst is understandable.

Not privy to the circumstances of the resolutions, which as Clark correctly said, practically suspended certain provisions of the 1999 Constitution as altered, and more or less sat as an appeal over subsisting court rulings, it is not GL΀FXOW WR DSSUHFLDWH WKH RSSRVLWLRQ WR the Abuja settlement.

However, if pains had been taken by the peacemakers to explain to the public the basis of the settlement, perhaps the president would have been saved from the bashings that he got. The fact of the matter is that what occurred at the presidential villa was an attempt at the resolution of a complicated political issue complicated by law. It must have been obvious to the peacemakers that since the dispute arose from politics the way out was a political resolution because a strict application of the law would only further complicate the matter.

The political option became more obvious with the usual resort to the SURFXUHPHQW RI FRQÁLFWLQJ FRXUW RUGHUV by both sides of the divide, which threatened to institute anarchy. This was why it became necessary for the matters to be pulled out of the courts while the disputants met themselves halfway with the president issuing guarantees of compliance by all sides.

Could the political resolution have been better managed without a public feeling of a breach of the Constitution DQG WKH ODZ" 'HÀQLWHO\ \HV 7KH SUHVLGHQW·V ÀUVW LQWHUYHQWLRQ DWWHPSWHG this. He had advised better political management of the dispute, advising the godfather to accord the governor respect as he had taken responsibilities for which he would be held to account.

The latter was also admonished to give the godfather his due as his promoter.

It was the failure to recognise this dividing line that led to the breakdown RI WKH ÀUVW SUHVLGHQWLDO LQWHUYHQWLRQ ,W has to be understood that the seat of the government of Rivers State is in Port Harcourt, not Abuja. So, whether the PXFK YLOLÀHG HLJKW SRLQW UHVROXWLRQ succeeds will depend on this realisation, particularly as the settlement is seen as an agreement of imperfect obligations, which can only perpetuate tension in a polity that is increasingly becoming polarised by ethnicity.

Adebiyi, executive editor of Western Post, is a member of the Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers

T H I S D AY

3 25

FRIDAY DECEMBER 22, 2023

Lagos’ budget promises more freedom for entrepreneurs, writes SEUN SIMPSON

SANWO-OLU’S AMBITIOUS BUDGET OF RENEWAL The Lagos State Appropriation bill for the year 2024 was presented before the State House of Assembly recently. The governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu raised the bar among other subnational entities in Nigeria with a staggering N2.2 trillion for the 2024 fiscal year.

The pivotal role Lagos State plays in stabilising the Nigeria’s economy and the economic growth potential of the state, vis-a-vis massive infrastructure projects which will translate to more wealth for the state and the people necessitated the audacious budget proposal. Lagos is the 5th largest economy in Africa. Its GDP accounted for 26.7% of Nigeria’s total and more than 50% of non-oil GDP. Over 50% of Nigeria’s non-oil industrial capacity is located in Lagos. The State is also Nigeria’s financial hub with all major banks having their headquarters in the city. It is home to the Nigerian Stock Exchange [NSE]. It accounts for over 80% of the country’s foreign trade flows, and generates over 50% of Nigeria’s port revenues.

Lagos, as an economic force in West Africa, boasts of 29 Industrial Estates and four Central Business Districts [CBD], largest market in subSaharan Africa, home of the Nigerian Capital and Money Market [Financial hub],West Africa Oil/Gas Pipeline Project and National Power/ Energy Load Centre, home to Nigeria’s chief ports – Apapa & Tin Can Island [70% of total National cargo freight], Media hub and international telecommunication gangway [over 50% of Nigeria’s PTO/GSM subscribers].

Other interesting socio-economic data on Lagos include hosting Nigeria’s busiest international/ regional aviation hub – Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja with over 70.61% of international and 58.30 % of domestic traffic, over 70% of the country’s total industrial investment and 65% of its commercial activities, Internally Generated Revenue accounts for over 60% of State’s annual budget skewed in favour of capital expenditure, home to over 200 financial institutions All these data and the economic dynamics of the State, raised the stake of governance in Lagos State.

The pedigree of the helmsman in Lagos matters.

From Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who had an accomplished career in Accountancy to Babatunde Raji Fashola, an erudite Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, to the incumbent, Sanwo-Olu, who is a successful banker and financial services expert. These are the calibre of people that have been advancing the socio-economic development of Lagos State.

Sanwo-Olu has been consolidating the gains of his predecessors on many fronts, in the areas of human capital and infrastructure development. He innovatively decongested vehicular conflict points in the commercial hub of Yaba with an overpass bridge that made commuting on the axis seamless.

The same approach solved the gridlock at the Awolowo Road, Ikeja enroute popular Agege motor-road, via Lagos/ Abeokuta Expressway. In the same manner, the governor expanded the roads leading to the Ikorodu Roundabout, the major access road to the Ikorodu township, Sagamu, Itoikin and Epe. All the road improvements in all these locations were done with human face, taking into consideration the economic hardship in the country. Therefore the proposed budget is expected to advance the ongoing projects and various social interventions to the people of Lagos State.

The governor noted that the 2024 appropriation proposal will further cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal and other economic hardships on the people of Lagos. Sanwo-Olu added that the budget will consolidate the achievements recorded by his administration.

The proposed budget comprises N1.02 trillion recurrent expenditure, which is 45 per cent of the

total budget, and N1.22 trillion capital expenditure, 55 per cent of the budget.

He said the process of putting the budget together was guided by his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.+ Agenda, which is building on previous budgets of his government since inception in 2019.

On the performance of the 2023 budget, the governor said his government had implemented 78 per cent of the budget as of the end of quarter three, and projected that at least 90 per cent implementation would have been achieved by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the governor believed that revenue potential of Lagos if well harnessed will reduce the widening budget deficit. He shared the sentiment when he met with Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, and other members of the committee in Lagos.

He said that the state government was carrying out governance with huge fiscal burden as its revenue collections were far below its governance responsibilities, estimating that for the government to meet its socio-economic obligations for the people living in the state, it will require over N7 trillion yearly budget.

“For us in Lagos, we know too well that we have capacity to do a lot from the revenue generation standpoint; more importantly, from the effective generation and utilization of the tax. During our bilateral meetings in preparation to present next year’s budget, we pulled numbers up to N7 trillion based on our needs. But we are constricted by only the amount of revenue we can generate and pegged the value at N2.2 trillion.

“This speaks to the huge gap that we have in our capacity to develop the economy quicker and faster.

We can no longer continue to complain. What are those things we can do to improve our revenue stream and our ability to be able to leapfrog and take governance in a more audacious way? This engagement with your committee is critical at this time, as you go round states to have feelings of what the bottlenecks are”, he added.

Sanwo-Olu lamented that the state government was carrying out governance with huge fiscal burden as its revenue collections were far below its governance responsibilities, estimating that for the government to meet its socio-economic obligations for the people living in the state, it will require over N7 trillion yearly budget.

He concluded, “We all need to work collaboratively on this objective. If all constraints are attended to, we should begin to see monumental changes in our revenue projection. The potential is there and the numbers show the results we can achieve if fully explored, but we cannot sit back and think things will change overnight if we did not take the right approach to resolve the issues”.

The fiscal year of 2024 promises to be interesting as a result of the sectoral allocations of funds for critical sectors of the Lagos economy. Jobs will be more available for young Lagosians and economic opportunities for the people.

Simpson writes from Lagos

JOSHUA J. OMOJUWA reckons that the business environment is, in many cases, unfriendly

HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, LOW TRUST: NIGERIA’S VICIOUS CYCLES I returned to the country after a short they hired to create value and earn money holiday in the UK and Canada. As usual, I do not consistently get away with acts tried to pretend I was coming into the country WKDW DUH GHLJQHG WR NLOO WKH EXVLQHVV 6WDͿ IRU WKH ÀUVW WLPH MXVW WR LPDJLQH ZKDW D ÀUVW directly stealing stock, others tampering time visitor to Nigeria sees when they land with your CCTV to get away with some at our airports. From experience, I know the crime or the other. best airport to land when coming to Nigeria This is not limited to nightlife businesses is the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport though.

Every other person knows Abuja, however, it felt like a great opportunity someone who invested money in a vehicle to experience arrival in Lagos again. This isn’t or more, hired drivers and had agreements a piece about the failings of government, so on the sharing formula and other issues I’d just say it wasn’t a pleasant sight to see 11 surrounding the business. There are endless R΀FLDOV QLQH PHQ DQG WZR ZRPHQ ZDLWLQJ tales and tears of how those generally turn for passengers who had just waited about an out. You are unlikely to notice any problem hour or more to collect their luggage.

LQ WKH ÀUVW IHZ ZHHNV RU VR ³ LI \RX DUH Their collective appearance looked like, OXFN\ ³ \RX DUH KRZHYHU JXDUDQWHHG D “who sent you here?” “what are you doing in constant tale of woes soon after. Pensions this country?” “You are not welcome here!” and savings have been buried on the Whilst that image would look normal to the altar of these businesses. Things going as average Nigerian, like hearing an immigration planned is the exceptional case, because R΀FLDO WHOOLQJ DQ DGXOW ´SOHDVH FDOO \RXU things will most likely take a terrible turn. parents” as part of the process of stamping These tales cut across various businesses. their Nigerian passport, it just cannot be In our country, you cannot set up a QRUPDO WR DQ\RQH YLVLWLQJ 1LJHULD IRU WKH ÀUVW business and then just trust others to run time. That was a tragic sight, so unwholesome it. It is not even something to be imagined, and unwelcoming. let alone try out. It also hardly matters if We have many challenges as a country, they are family members. That you are sadly though, a lot of them have nothing to do even available to manage the business does with money, it has got everything to do with the fact that we have just gotten overly used to accepting anomalies as normal. We need not wait to discover how to ease arrival into our country, those in charge of these things travel around the world, so they clearly know exactly what to do. Sadly though, they aren’t patient enough to go through the process here themselves, so they are probably blind to the reality.

This piece, however, is not about government and its copiously documented failings since WKH DGYHQW RI WLPH ,W LV DERXW WKH RWKHU ÀQJHUV and their often-forgotten direction. When a Nigerian starts a business, you already know what you are going to get from government, not mean everything that can go bad will what you may not know is what you are going QRW ,W LV \RX YHUVXV VRPH VWDͿ PHPEHUV to get from those hired to make the business hellbent on getting more reward than the thrive.

VDODU\ RQ RͿHU I was reading Olumide Soyombo’s book, Note that these aren’t normal. It should Vantage, where he wrote extensively about be okay for one to make some money, set his experience investing in tech startups and up a business and just trust hired hands running Bluechip Technologies. Interestingly, to keep the business running. Often, if his experience as a former co-owner of a you risk that in Nigeria, you’d run out nightclub, Club 57, caught my attention of business. There would be more jobs if when it comes to running certain businesses FDSLWDO GLGQ·W KDYH WR HQGXUH VXFK ORZ ³ in Nigeria. The author, Olumide Soyombo, DOPRVW ]HUR ³ WUXVW VLWXDWLRQV called it a peculiar crime. He mentioned that We are obsessed with taking advantage a lot of barmen wouldn’t mind being hired of one another. This is costing everyone. for next to nothing. If as a business owner you Someone, with say N50m savings, would see that as a convenient opportunity, you’d rather look to buy a property or invest it have reality staring at you soon. He went on LQ VRPH ÀQDQFLDO LQVWUXPHQW 7KDW 1 P to write that some of these folks were in the would have done more for the economy if habit of bringing their own stock of drinks to it were to be used to set up a business. It WKH FOXE WR VHOO SDVVLQJ VDPH RͿ DV SURGXFWV goes into rent, salaries and creating a cycle of the club. In essence, they do not steal your of value daily. stock or your money, they just sell their own The absence of trust in our society is a products – smuggled in with the connivance price we pay every day. That cynicism is not of your security team. Whilst you are there unfounded. If you aren’t in denial, you’d appreciating that your clients are popping see why every day. The menace of fake a lot of bottles, you’d soon be shocked to see drugs and fake drinks is as much a failing that not only are you left with more stock than of government as it is a representation of should be expected after such a great night, but people’s wickedness. This is a cascade of \RXU PRQH\ DOVR LVQ·W PLVVLQJ HLWKHU ³ HYHQ vicious cycles. If we don’t start looking out though your business is getting killed. This is a for one-another, we will stay in these cycles classic theft in that business. for a while.

Alongside Olumide’s experience, I have read viral twitter posts on the experiences of Omojuwa other bar and restaurant owners on all they is chief strategist, Alpha Reach/ author, QHHG WR JHW XS WR MXVW WR HQVXUH WKDW WKH VWDͿ Digital Wealth Book

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T H I S D AY

FRIDAY DECEMBER 22, 2023

EDITORIAL

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

FRANK OVIE KOKORI (1943-2023) Frank Kokori, frontline labour leader, activist and politician dies at 80

T

1/& 2IWHQ GLVWLQJXLVKHG IURP WKH ODERXU FURZG he death on 7th December of Comrade by his elitist mien, Kokori earned the respect of Frank Ovie Kokori on his 80th birthday JRYHUQPHQW DQG SULYDWH HPSOR\HUV DOLNH $V marked the exit of a labour leader and NUPENG’s general secretary-general, he won a lot SROLWLFLDQ ZKR ZDV FRXUDJH SHUVRQLÀHG RI EHQHÀWV IRU ZRUNHUV XVLQJ WKH LQVWUXPHQWDOLW\ RI $ WRZHULQJ ÀJXUH ZKR QHYHU VKLHG DZD\ FROOHFWLYH EDUJDLQLQJ ,QFLGHQWDOO\ .RNRUL·V RULJLQ IURP D ÀJKW LQ GHIHQFH RI VRFLDO MXVWLFH in the labour movement was the right-wing United and the rights of oil workers, Kokori was a true /DERXU &RQJUHVV RQH RI WKH ULYDO ODERXU FHQWUHV OHDGHU DV DWWHVWHG WR E\ DOO ZKR NQHZ KLP ´)UDQN EHIRUH WKH UHVWUXFWXULQJ RI WUDGH XQLRQV LQ +H .RNRUL ZDV D WKRURXJKEUHG GHPRFUDW DQG DFWLYLVW RQFH VDLG SURXGO\ WKDW WKH ÁDPER\DQW WUDGH XQLRQLVW +H IRXJKW IRU GHPRFUDF\ DW D JUHDW SHUVRQDO FRVW +H DQG ODWHU EXVLQHVVPDQ $OKDML %DEV $QLPDVKDXQ VXUUHQGHUHG KLV OLEHUW\ WR ÀJKW IRU WUXWK DQG MXVWLFH ZDV KLV UROH PRGHO 6R LQ D ZD\ KH ZDV DQ XQOLNHO\ +H ZDV WKH ÀQHVW DPRQJ UHIRUPHUV DQG FKDPSLRQV candidate for the role history beckoned on him to of civil rights in Nigeria”, President Bola Tinubu SOD\ LQ WKH -XQH FULVLV VDLG LQ KLV WULEXWH ´+H ZDV D EURWKHU LQ WKH -XQH However, Kokori was immensely trusted by VWUXJJOH +H ZDV XQFRPSURPLVLQJ XQEHQGLQJ DQG the oil workers who he LUUHSUHVVLEOH +H ZDV DQ served honestly and H[HPSODU\ FRPUDGH µ GLOLJHQWO\ )RU LQVWDQFH A native of Ovu, As NUPENG’s general secretary-general, he won a lot of benefits for when the union got near Warri in Delta IDFWLRQDOLVHG LQ WKH State, Kokori will workers using the instrumentality of collective bargaining .RNRUL PDMRULW\ IDFWLRQ be remembered for tested its popularity by leading oil workers in calling an industrially a paralysing strike to crippling strike to resolve ÀJKW IRU WKH UHYDOLGDWLRQ WKH LQWUD XQLRQ GLVSXWH RI WKH SUHVLGHQWLDO The military government T H I S D AY election, which was won by Bashorun Moshood KDG WR SURPXOJDWH D GHFUHH WR UHVROYH WKH SUREOHP EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU $ELROD 7KH PLOLWDU\ JRYHUQPHQW RI 3UHVLGHQW DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE Meanwhile, Kokori’s foray into politics started Ibrahim Babangida annulled the election while the MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO LQ XQGHU WKH %DEDQJLGD WUDQVLWLRQ WR FLYLO military regime of General Sani Abacha incarcerated DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU rule programme when he was nominated as a $ELROD IRU UHIXVLQJ WR UHQRXQFH KLV PDQGDWH CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI UHSUHVHQWDWLYH RI WKH 1/& WR WKH &RQVWLWXHQW EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN While many were hobnobbing with the military, $VVHPEO\ KHDGHG E\ -XVWLFH $QWKRQ\ $QLDJROX THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE .RNRUL FKDOOHQJHG WKH $EDFKD MXQWD ZKLFK LQ Kokori was also a member of the Patriotic Front, DUUHVWHG DQG SXW KLP LQ GHWHQWLRQ ZLWKRXW WULDO +H one of the political parties which the military RQO\ VHFXUHG KLV IUHHGRP LQ IROORZLQJ WKH government dissolved to pave way for the VXGGHQ GHDWK RI $EDFKD %HFDXVH RI KLV VWUXJJOH IRU FUHDWLRQ RI WKH ¶OLWWOH WR WKH /HIW· 6RFLDO 'HPRFUDWLF GHPRFUDF\ .RNRUL VXͿHUHG SHUVRQDO WUDJHGLHV +LV T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D Party (SDP) and the ‘little to the Right” National EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA wife, Esther, who was in the thick of the national 5HSXEOLFDQ &RQYHQWLRQ 15& .RNRUL ODWHU GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, and international mobilisation for his freedom, ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI HPHUJHG WKH ÀQDQFLDO VHFUHWDU\ LQ WKH 6'3 QDWLRQDO VXͿHUHG D VWURNH DQG QHYHU UHFRYHUHG WLOO VKH GLHG DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, H[HFXWLYH FRPPLWWHH .RNRUL KLPVHOI FDPH RXW RI MDLO HPDFLDWHG DQG KDG ANTHONY OGEDENGBE While we commiserate with the family he left WR EDWWOH LOO KHDOWK XQWLO KH GLHG DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI behind, they can take solace in the fact that Kokori’s SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH A rugged negotiator and a well-educated trade SODFH LQ KLVWRU\ LV VHFXUH +H ZDV D G\QDPR LQ WKH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI unionist, Kokori organised the National Union VWUXJJOH IRU GHPRFUDF\ DQG VRFLDO MXVWLFH LQ 1LJHULD of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG), a CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO 0D\ KLV VRXO UHVW LQ SHDFH IRUPLGDEOH D΀OLDWH RI WKH 1LJHULD /DERXU &RQJUHVV TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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

LETTERS KOGI AND THE ENEMIES OF DEMOCRACY

In Nigeria, those who rig elections no longer stop at visiting YLROHQFH RQ WKH EDOORW ER[HV WKH\ QRZ IROORZ XS DW JXQSRLQW They now also snatch the complaints of those who would go to FRXUW 2Q 1RYHPEHU ZKLOH D EHOHDJXHUHG ,1(& VHQW LWV VWDͿ XQGHU WKH PLGGD\ KHDW D VFDQGDO VLPPHUHG ,Q 0DJRQgo, even before voters could dust up their accreditation and cast their votes, result sheets showing an overwhelming victory for WKH UXOLQJ $3& VXUIDFHG In the run-up to the election, the state had become punctuatHG E\ JXQVKRWV RVWHQVLEO\ ÀUHG E\ DJHQWV RI WKH VWDWH In what quickly became a game of imaginative intimidation, while the state government maintained that it had nothing to do with the surging violence, and that it was doing everything it could to curb insecurity in the state, there were multiple security EUHDFKHV UHFRUGHG Even when concerned political parties within the state took their protests to the relevant security agencies, they were quickly dismissed, and lazily described as disgruntled stakeholders KHDGHG IRU GHIHDW As the attack on the Resident Electoral Commissioner, and WKH VHFUHWDU\ WR WKH WULEXQDO KDYH VKRZQ GDQJHU ORRPV 1RW MXVW WR WKH JRRG SHRSOH RI .RJL 6WDWH EXW WR GHPRFUDF\ DV D ZKROH

With the amount of calculated and coordinated chaos witnessed in Kogi, but also in Imo State on the same day, Nigeria UXQV DQ HQRUPRXV ULVN ,I WKH DFWLRQV RI WKRVH ZKR KDYH RSHUDWed without let or hindrance in Kogi State are allowed to serve as a blueprint, then Nigeria runs the risk of ceding control to the DJHQWV RI FKDRV (OHFWLRQV GR QRW KDSSHQ LQ D YDFXXP 7KHUH DUH ODZV (YHQ LQ 1LJHULD·V VXͿRFDWLQJ OHJLVODWLYH VSDFH WKRVH ODZV KDYH VRPHKRZ PDQDJHG WR VWD\ VWURQJ DQG HYHQ HYROYH The struggle to administer those laws, to enforce them, has EHHQ D PDPPRWK The Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria’s FKLHI HOHFWRUDO XPSLUH KDV EHHQ DW WKH KHDUW RI WKLV VWUXJJOH Struggling to get even the basics of free and fair elections right, ,1(& KDV VWUXJJOHG WR LPSOHPHQW LWV ODZV DQG JXLGHOLQHV ,WV response to concerns raised about its operation has often left PXFK WR EH GHVLUHG However, the greatest fear many Nigerians have nursed for ,1(& KDV QRW EHHQ RYHU LWV LQFRPSHWHQFH 5DWKHU LW KDV EHHQ RYHU LWV FKDUDFWHU DV D FRPPLVVLRQ ,W KDV EHHQ RYHU WKH LQWHJULW\ RI WKRVH ZKR VWDͿ LW There is a consensus that no matter the sophistication of any venture that depends on men to power it, once those men are

FRPSURPLVHG HYHU\WKLQJ HOVH JRHV RXW WKH ZLQGRZ The presidential election of February was greeted by alleJDWLRQV RI ELDV DJDLQVW ,1(& $V DOZD\V WKH FRPPLVVLRQ·V UHVSRQVH ZDV ZHDN DQG GLYHUVLRQDU\ $ FRXSOH RI HOHFWLRQV VLQFH then have further exposed a commission that is seemingly unUHSHQWDQW DQG LQFRUULJLEOH %XW WKH SDWWHUQ FRQÀUPHG LQ .RJL LQWURGXFHV D IULJKWHQLQJ GLPHQVLRQ WR WKH DFWLYLWLHV RI HOHFWLRQ ULJJHUV ,W DSSHDUV WKDW WKH OHYHO RI YLROHQFH WKH\ DUH SUHSDUHG WR XQOHDVK LV XQSUHFHGHQWHG It happened in Rivers State when some lawyers were abducted and held for days because they were representing a certain FDQGLGDWH DQG SROLWLFDO SDUW\ LQ DQ HOHFWLRQ SHWLWLRQ In Kogi State the Resident Electoral Commissioner came under heavy attack before the secretary to the tribunal was DWWDFNHG :KDW VKRXOG ZRUU\ 1LJHULDQV PRVW LV WKH FKLOOLQJ DXGDFLW\ RI WKRVH EHQW RQ WUXQFDWLQJ WKH GHPRFUDWLF SURFHVV They weaponize fear before the elections by attacking and killLQJ WKHLU RSSRQHQWV 7KH\ PDQLSXODWH WKRVH FKDUJHG ZLWK WKH FRQGXFW RI WKH HOHFWLRQ 7KHQ WKH\ WDNH GHVSHUDWH PHDVXUHV WR IUXVWUDWH MXGLFLDO LQTXLULHV LQWR WKH SURFHVV Ike Willie-Nwobu, Ikewilly9@gmail.com

This

Weekend

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

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

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE

Lighting up Christmas at Transcorp Hilton Abuja

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˜ ͰͰ˜ ͰͮͰͱ ˾ T H I S D AY

COVER

Lighting up Christmas at Transcorp Hilton Abuja In the heart of Abuja, the Transcorp Hilton Hotel transforms into a festive wonderland, heralding the Christmas season with a spectacular tree lighting ceremony and carol. This year, Mrs. Dupe Olusola, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp PLC, unveiled not just twinkling lights but also a commitment to making a meaningful impact on the community. Sunday Ehigiator writes

L-R: Betty Aguiyi-Ironsi; Commercial Director, Transcorp Hilton Abuja; His Lordship, Most Reverend Dr. Anselm Umoren MSP; Islam ElMaddah; Hotel Manager, Transcorp Hilton Abuja; Dupe Olusola; MD/CEO, Transcorp Hotels PLC; Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi; Mandate Secretary, Women FCTA; Jasmine Ozdogan; Director of Operations; Transcorp Hilton Abuja; Olakunle Olorunnisola; Director of Human Resources, Transcorp Hilton Abuja; and Toun Oseni; Head of Human Resources, Transcorp Hotels PLC

EMPOWERING THE GIRL-CHILD: A SEASONAL INITIATIVE

O

lusola, with enthusiasm radiating in her voice, announced Transcorp’s special focus this Christmas – empowering the girl-child. Beyond the glittering decorations and festive cheer, the hotel is extending its reach to children and less privileged communities, ensuring that the spirit of giving remains at the forefront of the season.

As part of their social outreach, Transcorp Hilton is launching initiatives like the soap program, aiming to impart skills to the girlchild through mentoring. The soap-making program is not just about creating products; it symbolises recycling and repackaging opportunities for these young minds.

Leftover soaps will be transformed into

thoughtful gifts for the girls and their communities, a creative endeavor that blends festive spirit with sustainable practices.

“We want to be merry as the Christmas season begins. We want our customers to have the feeling of thanksgiving, celebration, and appreciation for the success of the entire year,” Olusola expressed, highlighting the importance of community engagement during the holiday season.

CHRISTMAS AT TRANSCORP HILTON: BEYOND LIGHTS AND DECORATIONS The festivities at Transcorp Hilton promise much more than beautiful lights and ornate decorations. The CEO shared insights into the varied

experiences awaiting guests this Christmas. Families are encouraged to partake in activities that strengthen bonds, including comedy shows and a magnificent buffet featuring a diverse array of local and international dishes.

Adding a unique touch, Transcorp Hilton introduces the ‘Nigerian theme night,’ an extraordinary culinary experience where traditional delights like roast or boiled corn and plantain take center stage. It’s a celebration of Nigeria’s rich food culture, bringing unexpected but delightful flavors to the festive table.

THE SPIRITUAL ESSENCE: A REFLECTION ON CHRISTMAS Most Revered Anselm Umoren, in his inspiring exhortation, drew attention to

the profound significance of Christmas. He stressed that beyond the glitter and glamor, the nation and the world crave light, reconciliation, and hope – the very essence symbolised by the lighting of the Christmas tree.

“Our country Nigeria, and indeed the whole world, desperately need light. We need hope, reconciliation, kindness, fellowship, love, peace, unity, joy, and goodness,” he passionately declared. The Christmas tree, standing tall and illuminated, becomes a beacon of these virtues, reminding everyone of their potential to be lights unto others.

As the Transcorp Hilton radiates with festive spirit and goodwill, it becomes more than just a hotel; it transforms into a hub of compassion, community engagement, and celebration. In a season that resonates with the spirit of giving, Transcorp Hilton is not just lighting up Christmas but also illuminating lives with hope and opportunity.

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˜ ͰͰ˜ ͰͮͰͱ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Ford Foundation, TechnoServe Explore Women’s Economic Empowerment, Gender-Based Violence in West Africa Stories by Mary Nnah Therelationshipbetweenwomen’s economic empowerment and the risk of gender-based violence varies significantly based on the geographical,socio-economic,and culturalcontextofahousehold.That wastheprincipalfindingofarecent studyfundedbytheFordFoundation. The research was carried out in Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal by aninternationalnonprofitorganisation, TechnoServe.

Drawing on primary research conducted in Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal, the report provides recommendations to civil society, the government, the private sector, and the global aid community.

According to the research, Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significantandpersistentchallenge in WestAfrica and other regions of the world.

The report stated that, for example,statisticsfromtheGlobalDatabaseonViolenceagainstWomen have shown that 22% of women

Physical and virtual participants at the event in Nigeria experience physical or sexual violence or both from a spouse or partner during their lifetimes.

Although Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal are signatories to several international conventions against GBV and have developed a legal frameworkthatpunishesoffenders, the report finds that there is still a low level of confidence in the

protection offered by the law. For that reason, the report warns, it is important for development initiatives to consider how programs may impact levels of GBV. Speaking during a launch event for the report, the organisation’s Nigeria country director, Adesuwa Akinboro, said, “A fundamentalethosofinternational development is ‘do no harm,’ and

this certainly applies at TechnoServe”, adding, “In this case, when women are empowered through the different capacitybuilding tools, we want to ensure that this does not expose them to the risk of violence and if it does, that there are mitigation plans that eliminate their exposure to GBV while empowering them economically.”

Guinness Renews Commitment to Providing Nigerians Healthy Eyes No fewer than 1.3 million Nigerians are blind while an estimated 24 million people are living with treatable sight loss, no thanks to cataract, pterygium, refractive errors, age-related degeneration and glaucoma.

Indeed, Nigeria accounts for half of all glaucoma cases inAfrica according to estimates published

by Sight Savers.

But last Thursday, the health sector got a big boost when a refurbished30-year-oldGuinnessEye Centre,whichhadtreatedabout72 thousandcases,wascommissioned at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi Araba.

As part of its corporate citizenship initiative, the brewing conglomerate spent N161.3 million for the extensive renovation works including re-roofing and structural restoration all aimed at preserving the integrity of the building and ensuring the continued delivery of exceptional healthcare services.

Board Chairman, Guinness NigeriaPLC,DrOmobolaJohnson said the edifice, built in 1994, was not officially handed over to the hospital. She said the company recognised the importance of sustaining and enhancing the quality of healthcare services provided by theGuinnessEyeCenter,hencethe need for extensive renovation and provision of modern equipment.

“It is our commitment to help the Nigerian people beyond what we do as a brewing company. It is a testament to our corporate social responsibility, what we like to see, what we like to do, and helping the community that has helped

L-R: Board Chairman, Guinness Nigeria PLC, Dr Omobola Johnson; Consultant Pediatrician, Prof Chris Bode; CR Director, Guinness Nig PLC, Mr. Rotimi Odusola; MD/CEO, Guinness Nig PLC, Mr. Adebayo Alli; and the CMD LUTH, Prof Wasiu Adeyemo at the commissioning of refurbished Guinness Eye Centre at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, at the weekend us to be successful. We expect that the Federal Government will do their part to support LUTH in maintaining the facility,” said Mrs. Johnson.

The in-coming MD/CEO Guinness Nigeria PLC, Mr Adebayo Alli said the company realised the importance of eye health and is committed to supporting health facilities to bring excellent and affordable healthcare to Nigerians.

“The facility we are officially commissioning today was built 30 years ago. And since inception, wehaveworkedcloselywithLUTH Management to ensure its smooth andeffectiverunning,”saidAlli,who disclosed that there are three of such facilities in the country.

AlliassuredLUTHmanagement of continued support. “We give our word that the Five million Naira an-

nual grant will continue. What we expect in return is for the hospital to also maintain and keep the facility in good condition and then we can explore what the next frontier couldbeintermsofeyecare.Wewill partner with LUTH and see how we can take this across the nation, touching lives yearly.

“The Guinness Eye Centre is also a research centre, our prayer is that we get more people internationally to come into the centre and explore treatment.ItwillbeniceforNigeriato be the centre foreyesurgeryinAfrica and we will be more than happy to come in and assist in whatever way we can to make that a reality. The driving force is simply giving back to society,” Alli explained.

The Chief Medical Director, LUTH,Prof.WasiuAdeyemo,while appreciatingthegesture,emphasised

that provision of quality health services is beyond the capacity of government. “Government alone, evenindevelopedcountries,cannot fullyfundhealthcare.Ithereforeappealtoallwell-meaningNigerians, corporate bodies, multinational companies to emulate Guinness Nigeria PLC to also extend their Corporate Social Responsibility to us as an institution,” he pleaded.

Prof.Adeyemo said: “On behalf oftheboard of management, staff and students of LUTH, and Nigerians in general, I will like to publicly appreciate this singular effort by Guinness Nigeria PLC to contribute their own quota as part of their corporate social responsibility to improve the facilities in our hospital. We shall forever be grateful.”

Giving a background story to the partnership,ProfAdeyemosaid: “In 1993, Guiness Nig PLC built andhandedoverthemulti-million Naira Guinness Eye Centre to the LagosUniversityTeachingHospital.

Although no formal opening/ commissioning was done, the Department of Ophthalmology moved into the complex in December 1993. In 1995, as part of the commitmentofthemanagementof Guinness Nig PLC to maintain the standard of practice at the centre, a yearly grant of N5,000,000 (Annual Equipment support) was approved. This has been given to date (28 years), making a total sum of NI40,000,000 committed to Equipment support. In 2011, a sumofN3,200,000wasreleasedby Guinness Nig PLC for the general renovation of the complex.

Farmers’ Association Expresses Solidarity with Tingo Group The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has declared its unflinching support for Tingo Group.

The association was reacting to the accusation leveled against the Tingo Group by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a press statement on Wednesday,AFAN said it “acknowledges the ongoing case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) involving Tingo, a pivotal figure in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

“AFANstandsunwaveringinits support for Tingo recognising the criticalroleitsecosystemofproducts and services play in the daily lives of millions of Nigerian farmers.

“Tingo’s contributions are

instrumental in empowering millions and any disruption could have far reaching consequences.”

Some local online media had reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission said the Tingo Group lied in the financial status of its subsidiary; Tingo Mobile’s Nigeria’s bank account.

TheAFAN had therefore called for considerate, transport and balanced approach.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the TingoGroup,Mr.DozyMmobuosi reacting to the media reports said Tingo has never raised money in any market adding that he, not Tingo is currently building the food processing facility in his home town of Onicha-Ugbo.

He wondered why the Security and Exchange Commission is not

looking into the operations of MICT inAsia as he insisted that the livelihood of millions of farmers is at stake. It would be recalled that at least ten million farmers in Nigeria have fully adopted the Tingo Mobile’s smart phone application which enables them conduct their business transactions seamlessly from the comfort of their homes.

In the same vein, Tingo Group; a leading provider of Fin-Tech solutions in Nigeria had reached deals with the foremost farmers’ association,AFAN on supply and storage of farms produce particularly rice and wheat as the firm made in roads to export business.

President of AFAN, Farouk Rabiu Mudi had expressed his appreciation for the significant

investment from Tingo Mobile Plc, emphasising the positive impact it will have on Nigerian farmers.

Mudi stated that the loan facility will greatly enhance their ability to cultivate extensive hectares of land, leading to transformative improvements in rice and wheat production.

HeacknowledgedTingo’sdedication to Nigeria’s agricultural development and reiteratedAFAN’s commitment to responsible fund.

Tingo Mobile some months ago announced that it had provided a N3 Billion approximately USD $6.5 Million loan facility to the All farmers Assocication of Nigeria (AFAN) for the primary purpose of cultivating 3,000 hectares of new farm lands for rice and wheat production.

DR. STELLARITA ASOGWA RECEIVES CHIEFTAINCY TITLE To mark the 1st Ofala/Iwaji festival and investiture of the cabinet of the Igbo community in Maitama, Dr. (Mrs.) Stellarita Asogwa (JP) has been conferred with the prestigious title of Kpakpando Oma Ndigbo by His Royal Majesty, Igwe David Kingston Okey-Dede (Eze Igbo 1 of Maitama, Igwe Obata Obie 1 of Abuja).

The traditional event attracted dignitaries and lovers of culture and tradition from all walks of life.

In a statement made available by her manager, Mr Williams Dr. Stellarita Asogwa Omeji, she conveyed her gratitude to His Royal Highness and his cabinet for the honour bestowed on her and thanked everyone who graced the event.

She expressed satisfaction for the new title promising to be a good ambassador of the Igbo culture and to remain a worthy source of inspiration to women and girls in the society.

Chief StellaRitaAwelle NwachukwuAsogwa (JP) graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State and got her master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in 2015 from the Business School Netherlands (BSN). She was awarded honorary postgraduate doctoral degrees (PhD (h.c)) from Janus University, California and Prowess University, Delaware, USA. Though Stellarita is an entrepreneur of diverse interests, she is the CEO of Marcoriano Chinese restaurant. The restaurant has achieved a milestone of 12 years in business overcoming challenges and has two branches in Abuja, Nigeria.

She is a member of the She Trades in the Commonwealth as well as a World Peace ProgrammeAmbassador. She acquired a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management from Pan African University.

WINNERS AT 2ND TITUS SARDINES PROMO DRAW GET N1 MILLION, TRIP TO MOROCCO Mr. Anthony Ugochukwu from Enugu and Garba Melchizedek, a secretary in a Law firm in Abuja, were the lucky winners of the grand prize of an expense trip to Morocco and a whopping sum of N1 million, respectively, at the just concluded Titus Sardines Win Big Promo.

The eight-part draw categories also saw 20 winners go home with N5,000 cash, 10 winners carted away a carton of Titus sardines each, five winners in the N30,000 fuel voucher category and one winner for a double-door fridge.

Others were one winner for a generator set and one winner for the air conditioner.

Speaking during the event, the General Manager, Ekulo Group of Companies, Joseph Okonkwo, said, “The Titus brand occupies a privileged position in national and international markets. The brand is manufactured by the Unimer group in Morocco. That’s why we want our grand prize winner to visit the home of Titus and have a first-hand feeling.”

Okonkwo who said further that the draw aimed to reward Nigerians who have been patronising Titus sardines over the years, described Titus Sardine as a healthy product enriched with Omega 3 vitamins, with the purest of oil.

He noted further that the brand has enjoyed Nigerians’ patronage and thought it was wise to give back to the people.

“What we are doing today is very important to us because for us it is not just about the promo and reward but also a way to say thank you to our consumers who remain the centre of what we do’, he said further.

RCCG EMPOWERS 1000 YOUTHS ON JOB CREATION No fewer than 1000 youths converged at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Redemption City Career Fair event aimed at fostering job creation and empowering youth in pursuit of their professional aspirations.

Over 1,000 young people from across the country attended the Career Fair which was held at The Youth Centre, Redemption City Ibadan Expressway.

The Redemption City Career Fair stands as a testament to the power of collaboration between religious institutions and corporate entities in driving positive social impact.

The event, supported by leading entities such as Lighthouse Capital, DareAdeboye Foundation, BlakSkill, CADD Centre, Tripplex LTD and PremiumTrust Bank, brought together Human Resources industry leaders, aspiring professionals, graduates and students in a dynamic forum of networking and collaboration.

The event witnessed an impressive turnout, featuring an engaging panel discussion, product showcase, career clinic, business clinic, job Interviews and networking opportunities.

Akey supporter of the Fair, MTN Nigeria showcased its commitment to empowering the youth through technology and innovation.

Lighthouse Capital and PremiumTrust Bank also played pivotal roles, providing invaluable insights into financial literacy and career development.

The highlight of the Redemption City Career Fair was the gracious presence of the National Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Sunday Akande who delivered an inspiring address reaffirming the church’s unwavering commitment to job creation and youth empowerment.

The National Overseer emphasised the pivotal role of education and skills development in shaping the future of the nation, encouraging collaboration between the church and corporate partners to drive positive change.

“We are delighted with the success of the Redemption City Career Fair and deeply appreciate the support from our partners.

“This event reflects RCCG’s dedication to nurturing a generation of empowered and skilled individuals ready to contribute meaningfully to society,” Akande said.

˜ ͰͰ˜ ͰͮͰͱ ˾ T H I S D AY

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METRO

…Your city life in print

Double Honour For RichyGold Chieftain as Nigerian Red Cross Society, Institute of Public Administration Make Him Patron, Fellow Precious Ugwuzor It was an exciting moment for the Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of RichyGold Group of Companies, Chief Richard Ifeanyichukwu Agbapuru as the Nigerian Red Cross Society and the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration honoured him last Saturday for his outstanding contributions to humanity in various spheres.

Officials of the Lagos State Branch of the Nigerian Red Cross Society led by the Vice Chairman, Mr. Segun Olabanji Akande were at Lagos Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, to honour Chief Agbapuru as a Patron/ Platinum Member of the Red Cross in view of his remarkable financial, material and other contributions to the Society, particularly towards the welfare of the Motherless babies at its orphanage.

The RichyGold boss, well noted for his philanthropic gestures over the years had a shining moment as the Red Cross officials took time to give a brief history of the Society and why personalities like him have occasionally been chosen to be honoured due to their commitment to the ideals of the Swiss businessman Henry Dunant who inspired the establishment of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in 1863.

Historically, Dunant had begun the Movement after being upset with the suffering of thousands of men on both sides of the Battle of Solferino in 1859. Many of the fighters were left to die due to lack of care.

As the Red Cross officials performed the investiture ceremony, there was a thunderous applause from members of Hazie Masters International Club; a well reputed organization largely made of professionals, entrepreneurs, industrialists and other businessmen ably led

RichyGold boss during his investiture

by Chief Agbapuru.

The members had earlier gathered for their 2023 annual general meeting before the investiture event commenced.

At the same venue, Agbapuru was conferred with a Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration.

According to the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of the Institute, Dr. Uche Okereke who came with other officials of the Institute, Chief Agbapuru who was listed as No.5 among the 23 Fellows officially inducted at the Institute’s 21st Induction

Ceremony which held on 9th December, 2023 at the University of Lagos could not make it to the induction ceremony hence the Institute had chosen to use another occasion to officially present him with his certificate and other accoutrement.

The Registrar pointed out that conferment of the Institute’s Fellowship on anyone comes with a very credible evidence of what the honoree had done to merit it.

He emphasized that Agbapuru noted for his astuteness in human and resource management and administration rightly deserved the Fellowship and should be

proud to be an ambassador of the Institute.

However, he did not hesitate to advise the RichyGold boss to remain deserving of the honour as the Institute reserves the right to withdraw any Fellowship from an honoree who chooses to abuse the honour in future through indulgence in unlawful activities.

The Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration as a professional training institute, was founded in 1996 and became chartered by Act of Parliament No.1 of 2017. While highlighting the background of the Institute and the enviable place it occupies in the country, Dr. Okereke enjoined more Nigerians particularly people from the South-East part of the country to aspire to belong to the Institute and other professional bodies.

He explained that acquisition of university degrees and other academic qualifications was not enough in positioning anyone to face contemporary professional challenges and has therefore enjoined Hazie Masters International Club members and other Nigerians to take advantage of the Institute’s programme to improve themselves professionally as many of them may seek public offices in the years to come.

Meanwhile, apart from Chief Agbapuru, another Hazie Club member Mr. Onwumere Anthony Eke was among the 23 Fellows inducted at the 21st Induction ceremony. As part of its 2023 activities, some other worthy Nigerians across various states of the Federation have recently been inducted as Fellows and Members of the Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration. Notably, the Law which established the Institute empowers it to grant Diplomas, Certificates, Associates, Members and Fellows and other titles to deserving individuals.

Currently, the Institute’s President is Prof.

Adekunle Meshach Awotokun, a Professor of Local Government Studies, at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

NAFDAC @ 30: Testament to Visionary Leadership Dr. Abubakar Jimoh

T

here is an agelong unresolved debate in the Social Sciences about whether Leaders are born or made but the ramifying and far-reaching impact of Leadership in the life of any organization or Institution is not in contest.

There is an intricate nexus and strong correlation between a functional and formidable organization and effective, dynamic and visionary Leadership.

Show me an organization and I will tell you the quality of its Leadership.

In its 30 years of existence as a Regulatory Agency, NAFDAC has providentially and reverentially thrived under the careful guide, watch and ambience of visionary, dynamic, selfless, patriotic, pragmatic and result-oriented Leadership in the genres of the pioneer Director – General, Professor Gabriel Ediale Osuide, Late Prof. Dora Akunyili, Dr. Paul Botwev Orhii, Mrs. Yetunde Oluremi Oni and Prof. Moji Christianah Adeyeye.

NAFDAC’s genealogical emergence as one of the World Class Regulatory Agencies and attainment of World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Maturity Level 3 is not fortuitous but

a byproduct of transformative, qualitative and phenomenal leadership. It is also an axiomatic fact that effective and qualitative leadership begets productive, achievement- oriented, loyal and dedicated followership.

NAFDAC’s three decades of painstaking, resolute, unwavering and unalloyed commitment to the promotion and protection of the health of the Nation is therefore predicated on mutually reinforcing good leadership, formidable and dedicated workforce. No gigantic edifice can stand on a quicksand and weak foundation. In retrospect, we pay obeisance and glowing tribute to the pioneering, visionary and unparalled efforts of Prof. Osuide in the establishment of NAFDAC in 1993 with the proclamation of Decree 15 of 1993 by Ibrahim Babangida administration. The popular aphorism is that a tree does not make a forest. Professor Osuide couldn’t have succeeded without the administrative sagacity and unflinching support of the pioneer Directors and Management Staff in the persons of Mr. Joseph Bankole, Mr. Usoro, Pharm. Moses Azuike, Mr. Nda Yakubu, Pharm Kayode Omotayo, Pharm.

Justina Onwudinjo, Dr. Patrick Okwuraiwe, Mrs. Folashade Adebiyi, Mr. Momodu Segiru

Momodu, Pharm. Hashim Ubale Yusufu. Mr. Sikiru Olowo, Mrs. Victoria Bako, Dr. Monica Eimunjeze, Barrister Kinglsey Ejiofor, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh and a host of others too numerous to mention.

We cannot forget in a hurry the messianic role played by the Late Honourable Minister of Health, Professor Olikoye Ransom Kuti in the establishment of NAFDAC despite attenuating challenges and high-wire politics in the Federal Ministry of Health. The pragmatic steps taken by his successors, Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi and Dr. Sarki Tafida to nurture the fledgling Agency remain indelible in the annals of this great organization.

The 30th anniversary of NAFDAC’s creation is an auspicious moment to fondly remember and pay tribute to the courageous, dedicated and selfless Regulatory Officers who have toiled day and night to safeguard the health of the nation and those who died on the line of duty. The personal and supreme sacrifices of these officers is the principal reason why Nigerians have continued to enjoy access to safe and efficacious medicines, wholesome food, good quality packaged water and other regulated products.

Life without NAFDAC is difficult to contemplate. Before the creation of NAFDAC, the nation was awash with preponderant circulation of counterfeit medicines, unwholesome foods, corrosive cosmetics, substandard medical devices, abuse of hazardous chemicals and absence of good quality packaged water. The near elimination of spurious medicines, water and food borne diseases today is a testament to the pivotal and omnibus role of NAFDAC in our national life.

As we celebrate NAFDAC’s 30 years of stewardship to the nation, it is apt to appreciate the support of key stakeholders in the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cosmetics and allied industries who made the Agency’s regulatory oversight function successful and rewarding. Space constraint makes it impossible to mention those captains of Industry, Trade Groups and Professional Associations whose invaluable support crystalized into making NAFDAC a great Regulatory Agency. rDr. Abubakar Jimoh, Retired Director of Public Affairs (NAFDAC) after 30 years of meritorious service to the Nation

Veritas University Confers Doctorate on Idigbe Precious Ugwuzor A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr Anthony Idigbe, has urged the Federal Government to priotise primary education. He spoke after being conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by the Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja.

The ceremony was held during the institution’s 12th convocation lecture and ceremonies at the weekend.

Idigbe, Senior Partner at Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, was honoured in recognition of his contributions to national development, law and academia.

He has over 40 years of experience in corporate governance, insolvency, business restructuring, arbitration, dispute resolution, privatisation, capital markets, mergers & acquisitions, and oil and gas.

Idigbe holds a doctorate in cross-border insolvency from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

He is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dominican University and co-founder of the

L-R: Senior Partner, Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, Dr Anthony Idigbe (SAN); Veritas University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku; and Managing Partner of Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, Mrs Elizabeth Idigbe at the conferment of honorary doctorate degree on Dr Idigbe Punuka Foundation.

Speaking with reporters after accepting his

honorary doctorate, Idigbe called for more investment in primary education.

He said: “It is easier to mould a child from the primary school level.

“With good moulding from that stage, it becomes easier for the child to become a better person during secondary school and university level, but the first training a child needs is the foundation which is the primary level.

“A strong foundation in languages, sciences, culture and civics is needed.

“These habits and learning are better created when these children are young and their minds are ready.

“At the tertiary level, the government seems to be doing a little better, but then if the foundation is weak, there is a problem.

“This is why all efforts should be geared towards starting with the children from primary school.”

Idigbe said the honour was significant to him knowing that the society recognises the effort he has put into giving back, especially through his work on social justice, charity and other involvement in university activities.

T H I S D AY ˾ DAY DECEM ͰͰ˜ ͰͮͰͱ

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IMAGES

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

L-R: Director, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Certification, Mrs. Mina Fasakin; acting Director, Finance and Accounts, NYSC Mr. Batan Akut, representative of the NYSC director-general/Director, Ventures Management Department, NYSC, Prince Mohammed Momoh; and representative of the director, Community Development Service and Special Projects NYSC, Mrs. Mercy Bamai, during the opening ceremony of the 2023 NYSC Finance and Accounts Officers’ Workshop held in Abuja...recently

L-R: Head of Brands and Marketing, Airtel Nigeria, Bolanle Osotule; Director, Corporate Communications and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran; Head of CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Chioma Okolie; and Director, Supply Chain Management, Airtel Nigeria, Raghvendra Gupta, with the SERAS award plaque for ‘Partnership of the Year’, at the 17th Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility Awards (SERAS), held at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos… recently

L-R: Parents of the groom, Mr. Akinsola Omoniyi and Mrs. Oluwatoyin Omoniyi; the newly married couple, Tolulope and Adebola Omoniyi; parents of the bride, Mr. Kayode Awelewa and Mrs. Debora Awelewa, during the wedding reception of Tolulope and Adebola, held at Euphoria Event Place, lkeja GRA, Lagos...recently

L-R: Marketing Director, International Breweries Plc (IBPLC), Bamise Oyegbami; Operator, Naija Stop, Isolo Road, Sanwo Ganiyat; and Director, Route to Market, IBPLC, Herman Franken, at the International Breweries Retailers’ Development Programme held in Lagos… recently

L-R: Chief Finance Officer, Qorepay Technology, Qudus Ogunsola; Partnerships and Sales Manager, Shutterscore, Nsikan Benjamin; Chief Executive Officer, Qorepay Technology, Josh Owoseni; Chief Operating Officer, Qorepay Technology, Tolu Owoseni; and the Chief Technology Officer, Oluwatobi Olayiwola, at the launch of Qorepay in Lagos…recently

L-R: Economic Associate, Dr. Ayo Teriba, President, Nigerian Economic Society, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju; Director, Economic Intelligence Department, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, Mrs. Olayinka Ojo; Director, Lagos State Bureau of Statistics, Mr. Baruwa Basit; Council Member, Nigeria Economy Society, Dr. Emeka Osuji; and Economy Editor, Vanguard, Mr. Babajide Komolafe, during the economic roundtable of the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos…recently

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FRIday, DECEMBER 22, 2023 T H I S D AY

business/MOnEYGUIDE

InfraCredit Admits AIICO Insurance as Second Domestic Institutional Investor Kayode Tokede InfraCredit, a specialised infrastructure credit guarantee institution has announced the equity investment by AIICO Insurance Plc (AIICO).

With the equity investment, which represents 5 per cent of total share capital of InfraCredit, AIICO Insurance joins Leadway Assurance Plc as the second private domestic institutional investor.

Further to this new equity investment, InfraCredit’s paidin capital base will increase to $175.14 million (N148.55 billion) translating to an aggregate guarantee issuing capacity of up to N742.77 billion ($875.7 million).

According to a statement, the equity investment will be part of InfraCredit’s core capital and will enhance InfraCredit’s guarantee issuing capacity to sustain InfraCredit’s ‘AAA’ credit rating. It will also result in the diversification of InfraCredit’s

ownership structure in line with its envisioned capital structure. InfraCredit would continue to deploy innovative credit enhancement solutions in mobilizing private sector financing for infrastructure projects in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Speaking on the investment, CEO, AIICO Insurance, Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun said, “This investment is the evolution of what we at AIICO Insurance believe will be a long-term partnership with InfraCredit.

Over the past two years, AIICO Insurance has invested in InfraCredit guaranteed bonds, and participated in novel financing arrangements promoted by the company to bring infrastructure investment to areas that have been significantly underserved.”

Chairman of the InfraCredit Board of Directors Mr. Sanjeev Gupta, said, “AIICO’s investment is in line with our vision of creating a strong partnership between the public and private

sectors. This partnership aims to attract private sector capital for infrastructure financing in a sustainable manner. This investment marks another significant turning point and a significant milestone for InfraCredit, as we aim to increase private sector involvement in the ownership structure.”

Commenting on the new equity investment, the Chief Executive Officer, InfraCredit, Mr. Chinua Azubike, stated; “The admission of AIICO Insurance, the second private domestic institutional investor in InfraCredit, reinforces the confidence in the sustainability of InfraCredit’s unique business model. AIICO’s equity investment further strengthens our core capital base and expands our guarantee capacity as we continue to act as a catalyst to attract domestic credit from pension funds, insurance firms and other long-term institutional investors into credit-worthy infrastructure projects.”

Polaris Bank CEO, Adekunle Sonola (right) with the Chairman of the NBA Lagos Dinner Committee, Adeleke Alex-Adedipe during the branch Annual Law Dinner event held in Lagos...recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS (MILLION NAIRA)

Yuletide: UBA Rewards 74 Customers With N36m

In line with its usual custom of rewarding loyalty especially during the yuletide season, Africa’s Global Bank - United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc- has rewarded its loyal customers in the just concluded UBA Super Savers Draws giving out over N36million in cash prizes.

The winners were announced following a highly transparent draw, which held at the Tony Elumelu Amphitheatre, UBA House and was witnessed by members of the press as well as representatives of the Federal Consumer Protection Council (FCPC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

A UBA Bumper account customer, Fabian Matthew Okon, copped the biggest prize of the day as he won the N10m

jackpot, while Abiodun Joseph Aduramigba, emerged winner of the N5m star price for the day. Kahalla Mohammed was the lucky winner of the N1.8m rent for a year cash prize.

Ten lucky savings/current account holders: Emmanuel Onyeka Ozoude; Nneka Ali Ologwu; Juliana Obioma Idoko; ThankGod Gagbe; Babayo Dahiru; Ahmad Hamza; Wisdom Otaghogho; Ecdelson Chukwuamaka Amusa; Genom Isaac Jibrin and Atimanu Eunice Bala, emerged lucky winners of N1m each; while Monica Onuzurike, a bumper account holder carted N500k shopping voucher.

In another category; 15 Kidddies and Teens account holders: Giovanni Chidera Ikwuagwu; Brinemigha

Prince, Prezide; Oguzie Ugonna Mitchell-Chris; Chimamanda Chikamso Samuel Louis-Okafor; Oyebola Jayden Okikiola; Ugomsinachi Emmanuel Obiegbunam; Bonaventure Odira Udoyibo; Jayden Obehi Lucky; Chimdiebube Joan Ugoma; Isaac Ibrahim; Emmanuel Dominion Innocent; Daniel Tamarakuro Oyadonghan; Ayibanugha Lawson; Muhammad Mohammed Murtala and Abdullah Ndanusa Abdulkadir were each rewarded with N200,000 each.

When contacted over the phone, the N10m jackpot winner, Fabian Matthew Okon, expressed gratitude to the bank for the prize, adding that he was very grateful. “Thank you UBA, I am very happy” he said.

Galaxy Backbone Increases Email Slots to MDAs Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The number of federal government emails slots allocated

by Galaxy Backbone (GBB) to MDAs has increased to 100,000 from 2009 till date The Director, Galaxy Backbone, Mr Adeniyi Dada made this disclosure in his presentation on government email initiative at a one-day retreat on digitalisation for the Head of Service and Permanent Secretaries held in Abuja.

He assured that the office would meet the 2025 target for MDAs, saying allocated email slots by GBB had increased from 10,000, 40,000 to 100,000 from 2009 to date.

The Permanent Secretary,

Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mr. Olusade Adesola, urged MDAs to fast-track the implementation of their digitalisation processes by engaging with the OHCSF for guidance.

In response, MDAs were requested to be more proactive in streamlining issues that need GBB’s attention, as well as ensure that they make adequate provisions in their budget as digitalisation is dear to the heart of Mr. President.

In his Address, the Honourable Minister of Communication, Digital Economy and Innovation, Mr. Bosun Tijani said that technology, having made things a lot easier, will enhance service delivery, greatly. He stated that the

eight Presidential Priorities will not be realisable without technology.

He disclosed that the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) was the system and capacity needed to deliver services to the public, also it enables broad socio-economic activities in a social age.

In her remarks during the parley themed: “Towards the Digitalisation of the Public Service by 2025,” the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoSF), Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, reiterated that MDAs having been given the opportunity to ensure adequate budgetary allocation in the 2024 budget, will have no excuse not to up their game on digitalisation come 2024.

Pal Pension Surpasses N700bn in Assets Under Management

Funmi Ogundare

PAL Pensions, has announced a significant achievement of surpassing N700 billion in Assets Under Management (AUM).

With a strong commitment to financial security and customer satisfaction, the organisation has reached this remarkable milestone, solidifying its position as

a trusted partner in retirement planning.

Boasting a client base of over 572,000 active individuals, the Managing Director, Mr Sa’ad Jijji said his organisation has consistently demonstrated its dedication to providing reliable and innovative pension solutions, adding that a notable success is the disbursement of

N307,143,994.65 as equity for mortgage contributions to 30 deserving clients.

“The combined mortgage value for these 30 individuals now stands at an impressive N928,593,600, a testament to an unwavering commitment to empowering clients on their journey toward homeownership and financial independence,”Jijji stated.

August, 2023

Money Supply (M3)

65,445,154.2

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

552,553.58

Money Supply (M2)

64,892,600.61

-- Quasi Money

40,870,301.28

-- Narrow Money (M1)

24,022,299.33

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,295,309.10

---- Demand Deposits

21,726,990.23

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,144,158.92

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

58,300,995.27

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

87,273,966.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

32,511,333.17

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

54,762,633.63

--Other Assets Net

13,347,376.27

Reserve Money (Base Money

19,429,603.25

--Currency in Circulation

2,660,138.92

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

16,769,464.34 428,519.21

• Source - CBN

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

August 2023

Inter-Bank Call Rate

3.89

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

18.75

Treasury Bill Rate

5.13

Savings Deposit Rate

5.26

1 Month Deposit Rate

7.31

3 Months Deposit Rate

7.55

6 Months Deposit Rate

8.30

12 Months Deposit Rate

8.13

Prime Lending rate

13.99

Maximum Lending Rate

27.59

• Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE As At 29th September , 2023

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $97.48 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $97.08 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basrah Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

T H I S D AY ˾ DAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

33

MARKET NEWS

Okomu, 49 Others Lift Stock Market by N488bn Kayode Tokede The stock market segment of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) yesterday continued on a positive note driven by price appreciation in Okomu Oil Plc and 49 others.

Consequently, the benchmark All Share Index (NGX-ASI) gained 891.31 basis points or 1.21 per cent to close at 74,289.02 basis points.

Also, market capitalisation rose by N488 billion to close at N40.652

trillion.

The upturn was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; Okomu Oil, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN), Transcorp Hotel, Multiverse Mining and Exploration and FBN Holdings (FBNH).

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 50 stocks gained relative to 19 losers. Industrial and Medical

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

Gas Nigeria and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent each to close at N9.35 and N8.47 respectively, per share.

Multiverse Mining & Exploration and OKOMU Oil followed with a gain of 9.96 per cent each to close at N12.70 and N263.90 respectively, while Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank advanced by 9.87 per cent to close at N4.12, per share. On the other side, John Holt led others on the

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

QUANTITY TRADED

losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N2.34, per share. Ellah Lakes followed with a decline of 9.94 per cent to close at N2.90, while Tripple Gee & Company shed 9.66 per cent to close at N2.15, per share.

Regency Alliance Insurance lost 8.11 per cent to close at 34 kobo, while UAC of Nigeria (UACN) depreciated by 5.96 per cent to close at N15.00, per share.

The total volume traded increased by 37.19 per cent to 760.930 million

T R A D E D

VALUE TRADED ( N )

MAIN BOARD

A S O F

units, valued at N 13.026 billion, and exchanged in 7,990 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Abbey Morgage Bank led the activity with 224.085 million shares worth N365.279 million. Access Holdings followed with account of 65.795 million shares valued at N1.523 billion, while Transcorp traded 65.305 million shares valued at N552.557 million.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 45.979 million shares worth

N1.198 billion, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) traded 43.593 million shares worth N1.744 billion. According to analsts at Afrinvest Limited the bullish rally is part of the Santa Claus rally phenomenon, was fueled by robust buying activity in major banking sector stocks as fund managers engaged in window dressing and investors selected fundamentally strong stocks toward the end of the trading year.

D E C E M B E R / 2 1 / 2 3 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

NEWS

WELL DESERVED AWARD...

L-R: Executive Director, Operations & Business Development, GPC Energy & Logistics Limited, Sola Tijani; Deputy Managing Director, Opemikun Ibotoye; Director General, Africa Centre for Supply Chain( ACSC), Dr.Obiora Madu; Managing Director/CEO, GPC Energy & Logistics, Elvis Okonji, and Chief Finance Officer, GPC Energy & Logistics, Ifeanyi Ikwuegbu, when the company won the "Supply Chain Excellence in Transport & Logistics Sector Award" in Lagos...recently

Shettima Wants NEC Members to Jettison Yuletide Vacation Says burden of Nigerians rests on their shoulders Council sets up committees on economic affairs, crude oil theft, management Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Kashim Shettima has charged members of the National Economic Council (NEC) to shelve the idea of vacation during the yuletide and carry on with issues of governance to ease the burden of Nigerians hanging on their shoulders.

He charged the Council members to be alive to the demands of Nigerians, noting that, "as the year draws to a close, none of us

in this chamber should anticipate a vacation.

“I tend to think so because upon our shoulders rests the weight of responsibilities from which we cannot escape. We are returning to be judged by the promises we made to be here."

Speaking yesterday, during the 138th monthly meeting of NEC held virtually, Shettima said his principal, President Bola Tinubu, had shown that the challenges inherited by his administration

were surmountable and has offered visionary leadership and presented a coherent development plan to assist in the country's pursuit of order, abundance, and stability.

According to him: "Each of us owe their constituents the scorecard of their stewardship in these few months of translating ideas into tangible actions. That’s why we can’t afford to fail, and the new year must be, for us, a timeout to reflect on how we have fared so far and what we must do differently to

keep the hope of the nation alive."

Apparently keen about getting results of the government's ongoing reforms in good time, the Vice President stressed the need for the citizens to feel the positive impact of fuel subsidy removal and forex unification, noting that high inflation and cost of living were global challenges that have affected the economies of all countries.

Shettima said they should be considered as enough, "inspiration for us to come together and tackle

ours through realistic interventions."

Meanwhile, following deliberations on critical economic matters and assessments of potential short-term, medium and long-term strategies for addressing pressing economic issues, NEC set up the committees on Economic Affairs, Crude Oil Theft and Management.

Both committees are to be headed

by Kwara State Governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazak, and his Imo State counterpart, Senator Hope Uzodimma, respectively.

Power Intervention: Ondo Govt to Take Delivery of New Gas Engines Worth N7.8bn David Fidelis in Akure Barring any last-minute changes, the acting Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, will soon formally receive new sets of German-made reciprocating gas engines to augment the power supply in Ondo State.

The Akeredolu-Aiyedatiwa government is hopeful that a successful off-grid or captive power project in the state will free more megawatts of electricity from the national grid for the use of the people and productive clusters across the state.

This is sequel to the perpetual blackout in several parts of Ondo South senatorial district and other locations around the state.

The government was said to have embarked on direct interventions through public-private partnership (PPP) to arrest the drift.

Such interventions have now yielded positive results. Our correspondent in Akure, the Ondo State capital, confirmed the arrival and delivery of the first sets of reciprocating gas engines ordered for the Alagbaka Independent Power Plant (IPP), a critical power intervention project in Akure.

The plant is to be operated by Alagbaka Power Limited, a joint venture between the Ondo State Government and Advad Nigeria Limited.

The new gas engines and associated balance of plant facilities worth over N7.8 billion were seen

being offloaded earlier in the week at the power plant located in the serene Alagbaka G.R.A. in the state capital.

A staff of the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak asked that we approached the Office of the Commissioner for Energy, Rasaq Obe, for detailed information.

He, however, volunteered that “the first set of engines will generate over 3MW while the plant itself can scale up to over 16MW and more in the future with the potential to feed some of the government-owned housing estates such as Ijapo, Oba-ile, and Alagbaka GRA”.

Our findings at the Ministry of Energy and the Ondo State

Electricity Board showed that the Alagbaka IPP project was one of about thirty-six ambitious power intervention programmes across the state that were awarded by the Ondo State Technical Committee on Electricity led by Engr. Olatunji Ariyomo when he was the Special Adviser on Energy to Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, before his exit from the government

Abiodun Harps on Intelligence Sharing as South-west Security Chiefs Meet in Abeokuta James Sowole in Abeokuta Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, called for intelligence sharing among security agencies to enable them tackle the security challenges confronting the nation.

Speaking at the 4th South West Conference of Directors of Security meeting held, in Abeokuta, the governor emphasised that intelligence was one of the needed tools that would assist security agencies to perform their duties optimally He noted that criminals have adopted new methods in carrying out their nefarious activities, hence the need for the security agencies, particularly those in the Southwest region, to up their game and share intelligence to nip crimes in the bud.

He said: "It is important that as a region, we share intelligence and see how to better secure our

region because there can never be any meaningful socio-economic development in an outmostphere of insecurity.

"Nobody will come and invest in your state no matter the amount of road you build, no matter the amount of infrastructure you provided. As long as there is an air or a feeling of insecurity, all that will amount to nothing "It is important we understand that the socio-economic development that we all desire in our various states and zones can only be achieved when we have peace and security."

Abiodun, said the issue of securing the region and bridging the gap in community policing led to the emergence of Amotekun, even as he expressed delight that the idea has led to the formation of similar outfits in other regions across the country.

"As a region, we still have a lot

of things in common. We have the challenges of migration across the border from the north to the south. We have a student population, particularly in Ogun State, with a lot of tertiary institutions.

"Being close to Lagos State, which is the financial capital of Nigeria, we have a spillover of activities from there. Anything that happens in Lagos, within a few minutes, you will begin to feel the impact.

"We see ourselves as providing services that has to do with buying of land, setting up industry, people that want to live close to Lagos as possible and of course, people that are traveling from Lagos to the rest of the country all pass through Ogun, Oyo and at times, Osun, before going to the rest of the country," he added.

Abiodun also called on the meeting to deliberate and look into the root causes of cultism in the region.

in 2021.

Some of the projects that are in advanced stages of financial close include the Okitipupa IPP, which is designed to power the state-owned university and most-deprived parts of Okitipupa and Igbokoda as well as the Owo and Ondo town IPPs. While the Akure intervention, as well as the IPPs meant for Okitipupa, Ondo town, and Owo, are gas-fired, the state has taken the lead with several power projects using a hybrid of gas with solar.

Some of the completed solar hybrid IPPs are located in Ala-Elefosan, Odonla, Ugbonla, Obejedo, Lomileju, and Gbagira, among others.

Adesina Ogooluwa, a staff member of the Ondo State Electricity Board, told our reporter that Ondo State had executed the highest number of Independent Power Projects more than any other state in Nigeria.

“We have done over 23 hybrid solar mini-grids even before Oga Tunji left government. These are in towns and communities that never had electricity since Nigeria was founded.

“Under Akeredolu, Engr Tunji Ariyomo led us to pass a full-fledged power sector law, the first completely independent state power sector law in Nigeria. We were the first to set up a State Electricity Regulatory Commission in Nigeria. We were the first to issue legitimate licenses to power companies outside NERC in Nigeria’s history.

The Economic Matters committee to be chaired by AbdulRahman, was saddled with the task of preparing a clear roadmap for dealing with petroleum subsidy, including a framework for defending wage negotiations, exchange rate management and fiscal consolidation sustainability, liquidity management and inflation, medium term investment and growth, fiscal transparency and accountability, as well as state of emergency on food production for 2024.

Members of the committee include the Gombe State Governor, representing North East; Governor of Lagos (South West); the Governor of Akwa Ibom (South-South); the Governor of Anambra (South East); the Governor of Niger (North Central), and Governor of Kaduna (North West).

Rukaiya El-Rufai, Special Adviser to the President on NEC and Climate Change is to serve as Secretary.

The second committee on Crude Oil Theft and Management, an existing NEC committee was reconstituted with Uzodimma as chairman.

Other members are the Governor of Ogun State representing South West; the Governor of Plateau State (North Central); the Governor of Rivers (South-South) Governor of Borno (North East); Governor of Jigawa State (North West); the Governor of Abia State (South East); Minister of Budget and Economic Planning; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; CBN Governor; GCEO of NNPCL, NDDC Chairman, and Service Chiefs.

The Secretariat would be domiciled at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Tope Fasua, would serve on the committee.

NEC also received an update on account balances as at 31st October 2023. The Excess Crude Account as at 31st October, 2023 stood at $473,754.57, while the Stabilisation Account was N32,063,186,474.96 during the same period.

Development of Natural Resources Account as at 31st October 2023 stood at N156,770,745,529.74.

42

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

NEWS

4TH SOUTH WEST CONFERENCE OF DIRECTORS OF SECURITY… L-R: State Director of Security (SDS), Osun State, Folorunsho Bankole; his Ogun State counterpart, Folashade Adekaiyaoja; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and the SDS, Ekiti State and Chairman of the conference, Bolade Olori during the 4th South West Conference of Directors of Security, held in Abeokuta, on Thursday

PDP Warns Lamido, Others against Unguarded Statements, Reassures Members on Rivers State Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The National Working Committee (NWC) of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, cautioned stakeholders against unguarded statements. It assured party members, critical stakeholders, and supporters that its interventions, particularly with regard to the political developments in Rivers State, were yielding desired results.

NWC also reassured members that PDP remained united and firmly on the ground in Rivers State and other parts of the country, despite its challenges.

The party’s comments were in

reaction to a recent statement by the former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, who accused the leadership of PDP of docility and inability to manage the affairs of the party In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, PDP said the NWC, under the acting chairmanship of Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, remained unwavering in providing steady and effective leadership. It said its leadership remained focused on ensuring stability, growth and effective management of interests and corporate integrity of the party, in spite of the onslaught of the ruling

All Progressives Congress (APC), which PDP alleged was determined to decimate opposition and impose a oneparty state on the country.

Ologunagba expressed displeasure over incautious conduct and activities, as well as unguarded utterances by some party leaders, who were out to disparage PDP’s critical organs, inflame passions, cause division among members, and bring the party to public disrepute for selfish reasons.

According to the statement, "Of particular reference is the deleterious public statement credited to the former governor of Jigawa State, His Excellency, Sule Lamido, which was made

apparently with the intent to inject bad blood and drag down our party for self-seeking motives."

It said the NWC had received very disturbing reports that such unscrupulous individuals were recruited by the one-party-state seeking APC administration to undermine cohesion within the PDP, which would enable it to perform its opposition role for the sustenance of democracy and the wellbeing of Nigerians.

Ologunagba stated, "It is rather unfortunate that such inexcusable conducts, comments, utterances and betrayals are coming from individuals, who have benefitted immensely from the PDP but who have

the record and notoriety of brazenly betraying the party in various elections and at slightest opportunity for their selfish interests.

"It is instructive to state that some of the challenges that plagued our party in the recent past and those confronting it at the moment are traceable to the comments, utterances and actions of these unpatriotic individuals, which are inconsistent with the opportunity that the party gave them in the past.

"The minimum that Nigerians and, indeed, members of the PDP expect from such leaders is to show appreciation and commitment to the party

and the nation by engaging in constructive suggestions that will be in the interest of our party and Nigerians with regard to good governance, and not to engage in actions that undermine the genuine efforts being made by the leadership of the party, which may not be in line with their selfish political venture and expectations.

"These leaders must understand and recognise that their actions and utterances are not only inimical to the wellbeing of Nigerians, but also in gross violation of the provisions of the constitution of the PDP, especially Sections 57, 58 and 59 of the constitution of the PDP."

AfDB President, Adesina, FG to Reintroduce Undersecretaries Wins 2023 Awolowo Prize for Leadership into Its Foreign Policy Administration

Ayodeji Ake and Ugo Aliogo in Lagos

The Selection Committee of the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, yesterday, announced the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, as the winner of the 2023 Awolowo Prize for Leadership.

Addressing newsmen at the press conference held in Lagos, the Chairman of the committee, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, revealed that there were several entries for the prize, but after critical scrutiny the participants, Adesina was found worthy of the prize.

Anyaoku described the former Minister of Agriculture as a transformation and development leader who served diligently and fought corruption in the agricultural sector during his tenure.

He further noted that Adesina, as the president of AfDB, has contributed immensely to the development of Nigeria and is still very active in the development discourse of the nation.

He said: “After a careful, detailed, and rigorous screening process, the Selection Committee

was unanimous in deciding the recipient of this year’s Prize. I have great pleasure in informing you that the considered view of the Selection Committee is that of all the nominees presented before it, the person adjudged to possess the attributes for the award to the highest degree and therefore is the recipient of the 2023 Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership is Dr Akinwunmi Ayodeji Adesina, CON, President of the African Development Bank.

“Dr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture in the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, is currently serving a second term as President of the African Development Bank. Besides being a Pan Africanist with an enthusiastic commitment to the positive transformation of the continent, he has demonstrated core leadership qualities that have been associated with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and which this Prize is meant to encourage and reward. Besides his manifest intellectual leadership, Dr. Adesina is a person whose outstanding leadership has occasioned public policies that have positively transformed millions of lives.

Tuggar insists constitutional governance solution to terrorism Michael Olugbode in Abuja Nigeria has concluded plans to appoint undersecretaries as part of its foreign policy, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar has said.

Tuggar also said the threat to peace from terrorism and irridentism in the Sahel could only be countered with a solid foundational basis of constitutional governance, strong democratic institutions and an alliance of democratic countries in the region.

The minister, who said plans were underway to reintroduce undersecretaries, noted that it was to enable the federal government achieve the set foreign policy agenda under President Bola Tinubu's administration.

Tuggar made the disclosure while presenting a paper: “The Foreign Policy Agenda under the Tinubu Administration” at the Annual Lecture of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) yesterday in Abuja.

He explained that Tinubu's

4Ds foreign policy (Democracy, Diaspora, Demography and Development) could be attained in a technology-driven foreign affairs ministry with appropriate bureaucracy.

The minister noted that, “None of these (4Ds) will be possible without reforming our workplace – the Ministry into a technology-driven environment with the right bureaucracy to achieve our smart objectives.

"The reform is already in place and we are improving the working terms and conditions of the ministry’s staff.

“We also intend to bring back the system of undersecretaries in the New Year, with the return of several senior ambassadors," he said.

He stressed that Nigeria's foreign policy objectives still existed and were entailed in the country's constitution.

"With regards to Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives, they exist and remain immovable because they are enshrined in our constitution.

"They are to promote and protect Nigeria’s national

interest, to promote African integration and support African unity, promote international cooperation for the consolidation of universal peace and mutual respect among all nations and elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations.

"The Renewed Hope Agenda that catalogued President Bola Tinubu’s promises to Nigerians during the Presidential campaign further elucidated three objectives: to protect against all forms of external aggression; promote the best possible outcomes for Nigeria in all engagements with other nations; improve Nigeria’s standing and dignity among the comity of nations," he said.

On reemergence of coup d’etat in West Africa, the minister noted that the illusion that military regimes might be better equipped to fight terrorists and separatists remained just that, stressing that soldiers were prone to turning their guns on each other instead of terrorists, in their contestation for control of the capital metropolis.

"This leaves the periphery and border areas more at the mercy of non-state actors, creating more insecurity and instability to neighbouring countries and the region as a whole."

He said many countercoups had been encountered in West Africa and perhaps more to come, adding that Burkina Faso government currently only controls less than 40% of its territory.

He, therefore, said it was incumbent on Nigeria as Africa’s largest democracy (and serendipitously Chair of ECOWAS) to pull its weight with other democracies and constitutional governments to reverse this deadly trend.

In his remarks, the President ARCAN, Amb. John Shinkaiye stated that the formulation and execution of the foreign policy of the country was crucial as decisions made in this aspect of the nation’s governance have far-reaching implications for Nigeria, the West Africa region, the African continent, and even beyond.

43

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

NEWS

CHRISTMAS CAROL IN IMO...

L-R: First Lady of Imo State, Barr. (Mrs.) Chioma Uzodimma; Governor Hope Uzodimma; Anglican Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev David Onuoha; and Lifeline Assembly Founder, Bishop Maxwell Korie, during the Christmas Carol organised by Imo State government in collaboration with the Christian Association of Nigeria at Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu Square Owerri... Wednesday

INEC Defends Kano Guber Poll, Says Unsigned Ballot Papers Authentic Court reserves judgment in Bauchi election Alex Enumah in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, defended its conduct of the Kano State governorship election, saying the disputed 165,616 ballot papers were authentic and originated from it and not elsewhere.

The commission had joined Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf and his party, the New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) to ask the Supreme Court

to void the concurrent judgments of the governorship election petition tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

The electoral umpire argued that the election it conducted was free, fair and credible and that the two lower courts erred in law in voiding results from over 165,000 ballot papers used for the March 18 governorship election in Kano State.

INEC had announced NNPP's Yusuf as winner of the March 18, 2023 election, haven scored 1,019,602

Oil Theft: House to Probe Rivalry Between Navy, Private Security Firms Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The House of Representatives has mandated its Special Committee on Oil Theft in the Niger Delta to investigate the causes of the endless rivalry and conflict of operational responsibilities between the Nigerian Navy and private security firms engaged by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC).

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

by Hon. Donald Ojogo.

Moving the motion, Ojogo said the Nigerian Navy, by law, is a statutory national security agency established with the sole purpose of protecting Nigeria’s maritime integrity and territorial waters.

He said the sole responsibility covers the protection of Nigeria’s national assets, including the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure across the water belts of the country covering inland, onshore and offshore waters.

The lawmaker noted that the Nigerian Navy has a history of commendable exploits within and outside Nigeria while on operations, making the nation proud.

Ojogo stressed that in its bid to take full advantage of human potentials across the nation’s oil belt, the Niger Delta and the NNPC in August 2022, firmed out intricate aspects of securing the nation’s oil and gas assets to some private security firms with deep knowledge of the areas in question.

He explained that this was done to protect such assets from vandals

in order to stem oil theft, enhance productivity and ultimately engender higher production output to grow the nation’s economy through increased revenue.

The lawmaker pointed out that such arrangements have recorded some positive results with regards to production output even as the 2024 budget estimates presented to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu alluded to high expectations of further increase in output by benchmarking the same at 1.7 million bpd.

He expressed concern that the high expectations that could strengthen robust collaboration appeared to be threatened by an unhealthy rivalry and incessant conflicts of operational responsibilities.

Ojogo expressed worry that the cases of unchecked open conflicts and altercations have almost reached an embarrassing level of media brickbats between the Navy and some private security firms with such assigned responsibilities. "(We are) further concerned that just last week, there was a reported case of exchange of gunfire between men of the Nigerian Navy and operatives of a private security outfit on the coastal waters of Ondo State and parties involved adduced or advanced reasons for their actions and inactions with accusations and counter accusations," he said.

The lawmaker noted that if the trend continues, an unachievable oil output projection looms ahead of the 2024 fiscal year and that the implication of such development on the economy will be negative.

votes to defeat Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC),who got 890,705 of the votes cast.

But following APC and Gawuna's petition, the tribunal held that there was evidence of irregularities and corrupt practices resulting in the cancellation of over 165,000 ballot papers on grounds that the ballot papers “were not signed or stamped

by INEC.” Faulting the judgment of the tribunal, Yusuf approached the appellate court to nullify the judgment and affirm his election as Kano governor, but the Court of Appeal in its judgment delivered last month agreed with the decision of the tribunal and dismissed the governor's appeal for lacking in merit.

Dissatisfied, the governor took his case further up, listing several grounds upon which he claimed justices of the appellate court erred in law in arriving at the conclusion that he was not validly elected by the people of Kano State.

When the matter came up for hearing on yesterday, the commission rose in defence of the election it conducted in Kano State, insisting that the two lower courts were wrong in quashing and subsequently deducted votes cast at the poll on the grounds that the ballot papers were not signed by INEC. Its lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, argued that the key witness whose testimony was used in deducting the 165,616 votes of Yusuf

was incompetent, on the grounds that being a subpoenaed witness his testimony ought to have been frontloaded and filed alongside the petition, adding that failure to do so rendered his evidence inadmissible.

Besides, he submitted that the said contested 165,616 ballot papers were authentic and originated from INEC and not elsewhere, stressing that it was not the duty of a voter, on the day of election, to check if a ballot paper was signed or stamped and without date of election, adding that such was the task of a party agent.

Mahmoud further informed the apex court that the recounting of votes was done privately at the tribunal's chambers after the deduction of the contested 165,616 votes.

In addition, the senior lawyer stated that even when they were brought to the Court of Appeal they weren't demonstrated, pointing out that only a portion of the said unlawful ballots were examined at the tribunal.

He however, clarified that INEC was not taking sides except with respect to the correct interpretation of the law.

On Yusuf's membership of the NNPP, Mahmoud noted that the issue was an internal affair of political parties and could not be determined by the court.

Counsel to Yusuf, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, submitted that the judgment of the two lower courts

was outside the provisions of the electoral laws, adding that this was the first time in the annals of electoral jurisprudence, where an election was nullified on the grounds that ballot papers were not signed or stamped at the back.

He said INEC guidelines did not envisage that the courts would nullify an election on the basis of INEC purportedly failing to stamp ballot papers on the back.

"The judgment of the lower courts is very unfair to the appellant and we urge your lordships to upturn it," Olanipekun said.

NNPP, through its counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, argued that the said ballot papers were actually cast at the polling units but the APC legal team did not specify the polling units affected at the Tribunal in line with rules of court.

While responding to questions from the panel, Awomolo said ballot papers not signed ought not to affect the validity of an election.

Meanwhile the apex court reserved judgment in the appeal against the election of Bala Mohammed as Governor of Bauchi State.

The apex court took the decision after listening to arguments of parties in the case.

A former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Rtd) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had approached the apex court to challenge the concurrent judgments of the Bauchi State Governorship

Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which held that Mohammed was validly elected governor of Bauchi State.

INEC had declared Mohammed and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), winner of the Bauchi governorship election, having scored majority of the lawful votes cast at the poll.

While Mohammed polled 525,280 votes to emerge victorious, Abubakar on the other hand scored 432,272, to emerge second.

Dissatisfied, Abubakar and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) which came second at the poll, proceeded to the Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the electoral umpire's declaration.

But his petition was dismissed for lacking in merit, thereby prompting the instant appeal.

However, the appellate court in its unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations of noncompliance and other irregularities.

In faulting the case of the appellant, the court held that the appellant did not call relevant officials of the electoral umpire, such as Supervising and Presiding officers to give evidence to prove that the said forms were not filled and why.

Not satisfied, Abubakar and APC lodged their joint appeal at the apex court.

Union Bank, Niger Food Partner to Invest N50bn in Food Production in 5 Years Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Union Bank of Nigeria ((UBN) will invest N50 billion in partnership with Niger Foods to boost food production, starting from January 2024, the Executive Chairman, Niger Food, Sammy Adigun said yesterday.

In a statement in Osogbo, he stressed that the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Bago,

had already signed a framework agreement for commodities off-take between Niger Food Security and Logistics Company - a state-based limited liability company and Tropical General Investments, a privately-owned company, to ramp up efforts at food security and promote economic diversification in the state.

"In the agreement, the Niger state government, the

producer, shall be responsible for the cultivation, harvesting, aggregation, and sales of rice paddy, soya beans, maize, sesame seeds to the off-taker, Tropical General Investments, which shall be responsible for the transportation, logistics, and purchase of farm produce.

"Tropical General Investments is part of the conglomerate that includes Union Bank, Wacot Rice,

Wasil, and Chi groups," he stated.

The Chairman noted that the transaction involved the production of 600,000 to 1 million tons of food per year over the next five years.

According to him, during the period, the programme will employ over 100,000 farmers, cropping on over 100,000 hectares across Niger state. “This will bring over N1 trillion a year to the Niger state economy," he stated.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

NEWS

HONEYWELL FLOUR MILLS AGM...

L-R: Finance Director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc (HFMP), Mr. Mathew Chadzimura; Non Executive Director, HFMP, Mr. Sadiq Usman; Non Executive Director, HFMP, Mr. Joseph Umolu; Company Secretary, HFMP, Mrs. Osomomen L. Olukoya; Chairman, HFMP Board of Directors, Mr. Boye Olusanya; Vice Chairman/ Independent Non Executive Director, Mrs. Kate Iketubosin; Non Executive Director, HFMP, Mr. Olanrewaju Jaiyeola; and Non Executive Director, HFMP, Mr. Anders Lars Kristiansson, at the HFMP 2023 AGM held in Lagos ... recently

Fagbemi: FG Committed to Recovery, Repatriation of Nigeria’s Stolen Wealth Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagemi (SAN) yesterday disclose that the federal government was seriously committed to the recovery and repatriation of Nigeria’s stolen wealth.

To this end, Fagbemi said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was expected to continue to lead the charge to trace, recover and facilitate the return of the stolen monies.

He also said that the war against corruption will be fought within the ambit of the laws of the country.

Fagbemi stated this in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital yesterday during the official opening of the Ilorin zonal office of the EFCC. The event was also attended by the executive chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, the state governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, Justices of the High Court of Ilorin, among others.

"Let me state in unequivocal

terms that the EFCC is pivotal to the president's plan to remove impediments to accountability in governance, institutions and fighting mechanisms and platforms by which Nigeria can hold public officers to account.

"To this end, the government is poised to support the commission in whatever way possible to deliver on its mandate," he added.

Fagbemi urged state other the tiers of governments in the country to join the federal government in its fight against corruption.

"I use this medium to call on the constituent states of the federation, legislative and judicial arms of the government to key into the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes in Nigeria.

"Corruption cannot be effectively tackled without the buy-in of the citizens. I therefore urge the new leadership of the EFCC to strengthen public education and awareness with a view to mobilising all Nigerians to embrace the anti-corruption fight," Fagbemi said.

The law officer admonished personnel of the EFCC to conduct

Chevron, NUJ Collaborate to Train Journalists in Delta Sylvester Idowu in Warri Chevron Nigeria Ltd (CNL), operator of the joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC) has urged journalists to contribute to the development of Nigeria while maintaining the ethical principles that guide the profession.

General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs (PGPA), Esimaje Brikinn, gave the charge yesterday during a one-day NUJ Media Capacity Building Programme sponsored by the NNPC and CNL joint venture in Asaba, Delta State.

While appreciating journalists for the quality of work they do in generating the contents that not only inform, but also educate and enlighten the society, Esimaje reiterated their role of agenda-setting and opinion moulding.

Brikinn, who was represented by the Communications Manager, Victor Anyaegbudike, at the event commended the NUJ for impacting the oil and gas industry in the country over the years.

“As members of the fourth estate of the realm, your role as agenda-setters and opinion moulders cannot be over-emphasised. I want to thank you for your impactful role

in reporting the oil and gas industry and providing effective perspectives to the complex industry operations.

“We continue to partner with the media for the development of society.

In this light, we also recognise the need for capacity building of the media practitioners to enhance their capacity to perform their duties.

“That is why CNL sponsors the Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (AWARES) programme in collaboration with the Pan Atlantic University, Lagos. Over 120 journalists have benefitted from the programme since its inception in 2014.

“Through programmes such as AWARES, we help to improve professional capacity and build lasting partnerships with our media stakeholders. We are also partnering with the NUJ to organise capacity building programmes that will involve an increasing number of journalists in Lagos, Asaba and Abuja before the end of this year," he stated.

Brikinn said the company recognised that the success of the larger society invariably translates to success in CNL business, stressing that it is in its long-term interest to add value to society and create value for stakeholders.

their affairs within the ambit of the law.

"I hope all the personnel will appreciate the fact that corruption is best fought within the ambit of the law. I remind the commission to conduct its affairs strictly in accordance with the rule of law," he said.

He assured the country's development partners that Nigeria will continue to comply with its international obligation and do all that will be necessary to sustain and win the fight against corruption as wells as economic and financial crimes commission.

"Plans are underway to improve investments in technology that are necessary to automate vital

aspects of the operation of our law enforcement agencies," he pointed out.

Earlier, Executive Chairman of EFCC, Olukoyede said the commission would not relent in its war against illegal miners in the country.

He said: "As you are aware, the Ilorin zonal command occupies a strategic place in the financial crimes enforcement blueprint of the EFCC. "Along with the Abuja command, it is responsible for enforcement activities in most of the North Central region, with huge deposits of solid mineral resources which exploitation has lately attracted bands of criminals like bees to honey.

"The burgeoning criminal

activities is a matter of concern and many of us are aware of the breakthroughs which the Ilorin command has recorded in this area through the arrest and prosecution of illegal miners in the state and beyond.

"I expect to see more vigorous enforcement of the law against illegal miners to ensure the actualisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Bola Tinubu administration in the solid minerals sector.

"It bears reiterating that we must be unsparing in our efforts to sanitise the business environment and support our country’s drive to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by tackling frauds of all hue. There will be no excuses for

non-performance."

AbdulRazaq in his remarks, said his administration was imbibing the culture of prudent management of resources into public servants and political office holders under his administration .

The governor said that his administration recently organised a three-day intensive training on compliance with anti-corruption policies and financial regulatory frameworks to keep commissioners, permanent secretaries, and other top government officials abreast of key issues in public financial management, sustainability reporting, tax frauds, among others.

First Lady Announces N950m Package for Military, Police Retirees Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday, announced a package of N950 million for 250 retirees from the police and military.

She spoke at the launch of the maiden edition of the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support in Abuja.

She said each of the beneficiaries will receive N100,000.

She said the scheme was designed to cushion the effect of the economic situation on senior citizens.

“This economic empowerment programme is borne out of a steadfast commitment to the well-being of our elderly citizens and it marks a significant stride in our collective pursuit of a more inclusive and compassionate society.

“This scheme is to support 250 vulnerable elderly citizens aged 65 and above in all 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory and veterans from the Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association.

“These selected beneficiaries will receive N100,000 each. This is to cushion the effect of the economic situation and to alleviate the burdens of our esteemed elders during this festive period", she said.

“The total sum to be disbursed is N950m as approved by the Governing Board of the Renewed Hope Initiative", she said.

She noted the 36 states of the federation would be given N25m each to give to beneficiaries.

“Each state of the federation will receive the sum of N25m. We are committed to ensuring that each state receives this gesture,

without discrimination.

“By reaching out to the elderly this festive period, we not only honour their contributions but also acknowledge the unique encounters they face", she said.

She urged the senior citizens to support and pray for the president.

“This period should be a time of joy and comfort for all, even as we hope for a greater Nigeria, in security, education, health, employment, and business opportunities for all.

"We seek your continued support and prayers for the administration of President Bola Tinubu, as we look forward to better days ahead", she said.

The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, said the efforts of the First Lady towards the retirees would motivate those still in service.

Represented by the Director, Veteran Affairs, Defence Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Danladi Saliu, noted that history would be kind to the First Lady for her gestures to the military.

“I most sincerely appreciate Her Excellency for this gesture towards our retirees. You have demonstrated once again that the welfare of our armed forces both serving and retired and their families are of ultimate priority to you.

"This noble act is one which you will forever be remembered for and posterity will judge you fairly for repeatedly bringing renewed hope to the members of the armed forces and their families. This will have a multiplier effect on the morale and efficiency of the serving members of the armed forces", he said.

BRIGGS: I WITNESSED WIKE, FUBARA PEACE MEETING, TINUBU HANDED DOWN PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION of government.

“Governor Fubara shall represent the state budget to a properly constituted Rivers State House of Assembly.

“The names of all commissioners in the Rivers State Executive Council, who resigned their appointments because of the political crisis in the state, should be resubmitted to the House of Assembly for approval.

“There should not be a caretaker committee for the local governments in Rivers State. The dissolution of the local government administration is null and void and shall not be recognised.”

But some stakeholders, both within and outside the state, had condemned the terms of peace arrived

at following Tinubu’s intervention.

Their grouse was mainly hinged on the allegation that the eight-point peace deal was designed largely to favour the immediate past governor and current Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and make Fubara vulnerable, an interpretation that earned the president knocks from around the country.

But with the terms of reconciliation forbidding the majority lawmakers, from impeaching the governor, the security of his seat has been guaranteed. What this means is that the lawmakers, who have already announced the withdrawal of the impeachment notice, would be unable to disregard the instructions of the

president.

Thus, if the impeachment threat is off the path of Fubara, it therefore means he has secured a major victory from crisis, courtesy of Tinubu’s intervention. And this precisely is what has happened.

Second, with the manner the disagreement between Fubara and his estranged godfather, Wike, panned out, he has regained some measure of independence from Wike.

Wike must also have understood that with the president’s intervention in the crisis, he cannot just go and instigate another impeachment plot against the governor. And should that be the case, it will reflect badly on the president if he allows it. It will damage his authority and standing

with other governors and other stakeholders, who would be very reluctant to welcome his intervention on any matter or dispute in the future.

The presidential intervention has put the governor firmly under the orbit of presidential protection.

It is the thinking in some critical quarters that Wike understands this and would think twice before taking any action in furtherance of the impeachment.

In the final analysis, therefore, as much as the peace deal may not be pleasing to his team, Fubara appears to be the biggest winner in the current power equation, having secured his seat from threat of impeachment, and being saved from Wike’s constant harassment.

FRIday december 22, 2023 • T H I S D AY

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NEWSxtra

House to Probe National Air Carrier Project Invites immediate and past Minister of Aviation, NCAA

Juliet Akoje in Abuja The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the National Air Carrier Project as it has mandated its Committee on Aviation to invite the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo to brief the Committee on Aviation about the National Carrier Project.

The lawmakers also resolved to invite the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, to brief the Committee on the status of the project at the point he handed it over and provide insights on

a wide range of controversies and allegations surrounding the project.

Consequently, the House resolved to invite the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). to brief the Committee about the Nigeria Air Carrier Project and its certifications as applied to the National Air Carrier along with the eight local airlines and their associations to afford the House a full overview of the project and carry out a forensic audit of the process of Nigeria Air and report back within four weeks

for further legislative action.

These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion on the Need to Investigate the National Air Carrier Project moved by Hon. Tarkighir Dickson at plenary on Thursday.

Dickson noted that in 2016 the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika proposed an aviation roadmap with national carrier as the signature project, aiming to deliver it to Nigerians by the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Gunmen Kidnap District Head, Two Policemen, 20 Others in Taraba

Wole Ayodele inJalingo

Twenty Three people, including the District Head of Pupule in Yorro Local Government Area of Taraba State, Alhaji Umar Abubakar, his son, and two policemen were last Tuesday kidnapped by gunmen.

The gunmen, according to residents of the community, invaded the town on motorcycles and shot sporadically to scare the residents before taking away with their victims.

Confirming the incident to journalists in Jalingo, the state Police Public Relations Office (PPRO), Abdullahi Usman, disclosed that the two policemen, an Inspector and a Sergeant, are among those kidnapped by the gunmen.

He further revealed that the Inspector was on casual leave while the Sergeant was resident in the town, adding that the District Head is a second class traditional ruler in the state.

The PPRO equally revealed that the gunmen are living on the mountains surrounding Pupule and other communities in the area, and it’s from there that they launch attacks on innocent people in the communities.

He, however, noted that the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Eribo, had already deployed a team crack team, comprising the Police Strike force, Anti-Kidnapping Squad, and local vigilantes to rescue the victims.

Yuletide: Niger CP Orders Adequate Protection for Places of Worship, Highways, Others Laleye Dipo in Minna

Niger State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ebenezer Danmamman, has directed that adequate security should be provided at all places of worship and the highways during the yuletide and after.

Danmamman gave the directive yesterday at a meeting with area commanders, tactical commanders and divisional police officers in Minna. He also ordered that they should ensure adequate deployment of police personnel and operational assets to public places, most especially recreation centres.

He said: “You must strictly adhere to and enforce the operation order drawn for the season and ensure intelligenceled and high visibility policing across the highways in the State for security of travellers and free flow of traffic for road users.”

He commanded that township patrol of “Operation Flush” and constant raids of black spots should be carried out as proactive measures emplaced for crime prevention and quick rapid response for intervention in case of any incident should also be carried out He, therefore, urged the

public, especially Christians, to be law abiding, orderly and vigilant before, during and after the yuletide, adding that they

FSDH Merchant Bank Signs N20m Facility with AfDB to Boost Business in Nigeria

FSDH Merchant Bank has signed $20 million Trade Finance Facility Agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), aimed at significantly impacting trade financing across emerging sectors in Nigeria.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Trade Finance Facility comprises a $15 million Trade Finance Line of Credit tailored to support medium-sized businesses and indigenous corporates engaged in international trade value chains along with a $5 million Transaction Guarantee aimed at facilitating the confirmation of FSDH’s trade finance

The Vice -Chancellor of the Osun State University, Professor Odunayo Clement Adeboye, yesterday challenged the school students who matriculated to dream big, work hard, and aim for the stars.

Speaking yesterday at the 17th matriculation ceremony of the institution, Professor Adeboye noted that the Osun State University is the Launchpad of the students, and the sky is not the limit, it’s just the view.

He enjoined them to seize every opportunity and make the most of their time in the Institution, and let the spirit of excellence

transactions.

Commenting on the development, Managing Director FSDH Merchant Bank, Bukola Smith, said: “We have been looking forward to receiving this financing, we are glad to take this pivotal step in empowering businesses. We have a long-standing partnership with AfDB and just like we did with the first facility we received from the AfDB, we promise that this one will be well utilized because it will help us grow our business and meet the needs of our clients, including sectors like Agriculture, renewable energy and women-owned enterprises.”

Federal College of Agric Raises the Alarm over Destruction of Economic Trees Fidelis David in Akure

The management of the Federal College of Agriculture (FECA), Akure, Ondo State, yesterday raised the alarm over the alleged unabated encroachment of the land belonging to the

Osun Varsity VC Challenges Students to Dream High in Academic Pursuit

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

should also continue to support the police with adequate information towards achieving a peaceful atmosphere.

guide their entire journey.

The vice -chancellor emphasised that “Osun State University stands as a symbol of academic excellence. Our commitment to providing quality education has earned us a distinguished reputation not only within our country but globally. We continuously strive for excellence in teaching, research, and community service.

“In this esteemed institution, we uphold the values of integrity, discipline, and moral uprightness.

Social vices such as examination malpractice, cultism, indecent dressing, drug abuse, sexual harassment, and truancy are vehemently condemned.

institution by land grabbers, and lately, using bulldozer to pull down economic trees worth N150 million.

This came two weeks after staff and students of the institution held a protest, alleging that the activities of the land grabbers were affecting the training of students of the college, describing the activities of land grabbers as illegal.

Speaking at a press conference held at the institution, the Provost of the college , Dr. Akinyemi Albert Fadiyimu, expressed concern over the alleged persistent attacks and harassment of both students and staff of the institution by land grabbers.

He said: “The latest incidence of encroachment began on December 7, 2023, and occurred again on the 8, 13, in the day time, and late night of December 16 up till 20, 2023, when a gang of land grabbers led by one of the children of late Clement Aladegbaye Falodun and his ‘surveyor’ assisted by retinue of thugs and uniformed ‘security officials’ who were most probably on illegal duty.

FRIday december 22, 2023 • T H I S D AY

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NEWS xtra

Bolarinwa: I was Not Aware of N800m Committed to Kwara APC Victory in 2019

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state, Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa, has said that he was not aware of the N800 million allegedly given to the party≠≠≠≠ to work for the success of the party during the 2019 general elections in the state.

During that elections, the APC swept all the seats in both the State and national assemblies and also crowned the

election with that of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Senator Adam Oshiomhole recently, at public function, in Abuja, claimed that the party expended over N4 billion to win the Kwara, Imo and Ogun states governorship elections in 2019.

However, in a chat with newsmen in Ilorin on yesterday, the former APC chairman said: “I had no knowledge of N800 million allegedly handed over to the party by the then national

chairman of the party Adams Oshiomhole for the prosecution of the 2019 governorship election. I am saying this as the state chairman of APC that led the Otoge movement in 2019 in Kwara state that I am not aware of the money.

“Though, APC’s victory in the election was one of the major achievements of the then Adams Oshiomhole-led national APC, but I was and still not aware of any N800 million given to the party in the state.

Labour Party Rates Nwoye, Umeh as Performing Senator Says Soludo brought Poverty to Anambra State

ChuksOkochainAbuja

As the year gradually comes to an end, the Labour Party in Anambra State has passed a vote of confidence on two of its senators at the National Assembly, stating that they performed above average Theparty hasalsoratedthegovernor ofthestate low in performance,stressing that he has increased poverty in the state through its policies.

Labour Party in the state singled out SenatorTonyNwoyeandSenatorVictor

Umeh as performing above average in the senate.

In a statement by Anambra State Chairman, Labour Party, Ugochukwu Emeh ,said that “within the first six months the duo have been in the senate, it has been all about service delivery.”“Withinthefirstsixmonths,the following Bills and Motions have been sponsored, co-sponsored in their names and they have attracted and facilitated some projects within their Senatorial zones. Within the period in review, Dr Tony Nwoye has proven that he

is in the Senate for serious Business,” Ugochukwu Emeh stated .

Giving details of the performance of Senator Nwoye in the senate, the chairman said: “Tony Nwoye has facilitated the release of funds for the rehabilitationofOtuocha-Nzam-InnomaIheaka-Ibaji-Kogi Federal Roads in the 2023 supplementary budget. Not only did he champion it, he followed it up withactionsbywritinglettersandseeing the Minister in charge, on the need for that road to be completed to ease the pains of our people travelling toAbuja.

Bridge Credit Conducts Free Cancer Screening for NSCDC Officers in South-east Gideon ArinzeinEnugu

A financial institution, Bridge Credit Limited, yesterday conducted free Prostate and Cervical Cancer screening for 50 and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the South-east region.

Bridge Credit Limited is a credit company which gives credit facilities such as loans to specific ministries and government agencies, including the Police, Immigration, Custom and the Correctional Service.

Speaking during the exercise, which took place at the Headquarters of the Command, Enugu, branch head of the Bridge Credit, Sixtus Okpala said that it was part of the institution’s 2023 corporate social responsibility(CSR) project.

He explained that the screening, which was administered by Reliance HMO, a health management organisation, is also intended to create awareness about the need for security operatives to always look after their health while they work to protect the lives and property of Nigerians.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as Baiyere, Stella Oluwakemi, now wish to be known and addressed as AJINUHI, Stella Oluwakemi. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Uzoamaka Jasmine Ononuju, now wish to be known and addressed as Uzoamaka Jasmine Aruoture. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as miss Stellamaris Otoijaghale, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Ikharebhore ogbeide Stellamaris. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OLARINDE RACHEAL OLAWUNMI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS FATUYI RACHEAL OLAWUNMI. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

“For the men, we are doing Prostate screening while for the female, we are doing Cervical

Screening, all for free. With this, they will know their status and take it a step further,” he said.

Nwifuru Releases N100,000 as Christmas Bonus to Ebonyi Civil Servants Benjamin Nworie in Abakaliki

The Ebonyi State Governor, Mr. Francis Nwifuru, has approved the sum of N100,000 as Christmas bonus to every civil servant in the state.

Governor Nwifuru announced this during Christmas’ party for elderly citizens and widows held at the Christian Ecumenical Centre (CEC), which was put together under the aegis of the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme (RHIESS) of the Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.

The governor, in his message

during the party, highlighted the importance of impacting on the lives of the elderly and widows.

He said: “I am delighted to be part of this programme. What informed me to be here is the great disposition of the First Lady of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. She has shown she can complement the efforts of her husband in this administration.

“She is a role model. And I urge wives of governors to emulate her. She has taught us how best to celebrate our elders.

That is why we came back to celebrate our elders.

WAPTV Hits 200m Views on Youtube Sunday Okobi

As 2023 draws to an end, the management and staff of Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP) is exhibiting high spirits as their organisation’s YouTube Channel recently hit a milestone in the digital world by amassing over 200 million views on the channel.

The organisation said the WAP’s YouTube Channel, named

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as LANRE OLANIRAN, now wish to be known and addressed as JACOB OLANREWAJU ADEYANJU. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Yusuf Basirat Motunrayo, now wish to be known and addressed as Abdulhameed Yusuf Basirat. All former documents remain valid.

The general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as EFERICA OSAZUWA. now wish to be known and addressed as OMAKWU OSAZUWA EFE. All former documents remain valid. the general public should please take note.

‘waptvchannel’, contains fresh and classic episodes of WAP’s several multiple-award-winning content, including Superstory, Papa Ajasco & Company Reloaded, The New Babington Family, Akpan & Oduma, This Life, Binta My Daughter, Mr. & Mrs, and others; as well as celebrity interviews, events, vocational training videos, fitness, standup comedy, and lots more.

According to the Managing Director, WAPTV, Wale Adenuga, “We truly appreciate every single one of our over 600,000 registered subscribers on our YouTube channel ‘waptvchannel’, which we opened in 2012.

“While we are a company largely known for our long history of over 40 years of providing entertainment through the traditional media platforms-television and magazineswe are also a forward-thinking organisation with our fingers on the pulse of new media which we use to entertain, inform, educate, and interact with our diverse audience members on Instagram: ‘waptvchannel’; Twitter (X): ‘wap_tv’; Facebook: ‘waptvchannel’; and TikTok: ‘waptvtiktok’.”

He added that the subscription to ‘waptvchannel’ on YouTube is free, “and it’s accessible by anyone in any part of the world using smartphone, tablet, computer, or smart TV.”

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Jesus and Mary as a Misread Sign By: Spahic Omer/IslamiCity

W

hen Allah created the universe, He planted His signs (ayat) throughout it, both in the smallest and in the grandest components.

The universe is a “created book” of signs which man, as Allah’s vicegerent on earth and to whom everything in the universe had been subjected, is invited to discover, read, and act upon. In addition to the “created book” of signs, there is also a “revealed book” of signs (ayat). The latter is in the form of the sacred Word revealed to all holy prophets.

The last and only authentic and binding Word is the Qur’an, which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as the Seal of the prophets.

Man’s earthly mission and signs Man is created but to fulfill his earthly vicegerency mission relying on the signs’ imports and directional competences. He should read and integrate the two “books” so that the “book of revelation,” owing to its supreme authoritative, guiding, and authenticating powers, leads the way. The authority of the “book of creation” is relative and conditional. It is perennially tied to the “book of revelation” and the power of its signs. The statuses and functions of the two “books” are neither compromised nor swapped under any circumstances. Independently they are incapacitated. On its own, neither can take man over the line. In this world, man can know his Creator only via His revelations and via the creation as the effects of His holy Attributes. That is to say, by means of His revealed and created signs.

What is a sign?

A sign is a thing, quality, event, or being, whose existence and purpose signify the existence and purpose of something else, also a thing, quality, event, or being.

A sign could also mean a motion or action employed to convey information or instruction.

Signs connect and communicate. For example, natural signs indicate types of weather, medical symptoms are signs of diseases, and bodily gestures and manifestations are signs of emotional states. The letters, words, and expressions of a language are also signs expressing particular meanings.

Numbers are signs too, so are certain physical objects that function as conventional signs people agree on their definitions.

Signage is defined as “the design or use of signs and symbols to communicate a message.” In philosophy, semiotics is the “study of signs and sign-using behavior.” One must be literate and knowledgeable enough to be able to read and understand any form of signs. Otherwise, signs will be misread, misunderstood, and misapplied.

Prophet’ Isa (Jesus) and Maryam (Mary) as a sign for the worlds A significant sign of Allah is Prophet’ Isa (Jesus) and his mother Maryam (Mary). Allah says: “And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign” (al-Mu’minun, 50). Also: “And We made her (Mary) and her son a sign for the worlds (al-‘alamin: all nations, peoples, or beings)” (al-Anbiya’, 91).

It is noteworthy that the Qur’an uses the word “sign (ayah)” in its singular form, while it speaks about both Jesus and Mary. That means that both of them shared a single above all historical destiny and represented a unique set of conditions that changed the course of human history. A person can never talk about one of them without referring to the other, as the name “Jesus, son of Mary (‘Isa ibn Maryam)” implies.

They were a unified sign, rather than two separate ones.

In passing, the very name of Jesus dispels the biggest untruth about him. He was not the son of God, but the son of Mary. The sign exemplified Allah’s power and lordship, validating that He is the only One and that only He is worthy of all worship. He likewise does whatever and whenever He wants. He is not questioned, whereas everybody else will be questioned. He is not in need of anybody or anything, whereas all are in need of Him. The relationship between Allah and all other things and beings is one of the Creator and creations, and one of the Lord and servants. No matter what, there can never be an exchange of entitlements and rights.

The sign is misread However, most people failed to come to terms with and understand that extraordinary sign. They were unable to read it, and instead of making the Jesus phenomenon a source of blessings and authentic fortune, they made it a source of especially spiritual bedlam and tragedy.

Instead of reading thus the presence and greatness of Allah and drawing ever closer to Him, they confounded first themselves and then others concerning Him, and set out on a journey of perpetual alienation from His grace.

Allah repeatedly tries to bring home to them the reality of the matter, appealing to their rationality and common sense. As if He tells them, what else can you trust besides the combination of reason and revelation conveyed to you

by My holy messengers? Allah thus imparts: “Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him: ‘Be,’ and he was. The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among the doubters” (Al ‘Imran, 59-60).

The situation increased the hardness and treachery of most Jews, to whom Jesus had originally been sent, and the misguidance as well as confusion of all those individuals and groups who subsequently associated their religious sentiments with the life-story of Jesus – and his mother.

They all held myriads of conflicting beliefs as to the purpose and mission of Jesus. To them, anything but the actual truth was making more “sense” and seemed more “attractive” - as is always the case with one who labors in a sea of uncertainty and delusion.

One should only examine the extent of people’s disagreements about the most critical aspects of Jesus’

mission, such as his miraculous birth and the events surrounding the crucifixion. It is there that ideological disagreements get most apparent and most inconsistent.

By illustration, Jesus’ birth, as the most miraculous event, occurs only in Matthew and Luke. In comparison, some scholars wonder if Mark and Luke are irreconcilably in conflict regarding the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Allah says: “But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not” (al-Nisa’, 157).

To make the terrestrial end of Jesus ambiguous might have been an additional trial and a punishment, for those who were supposed to follow and obey him. But they refused to do so, for they did not deserve anything better.

The name and legacy of Jesus were set to haunt such people forever. The perennial disagreements with reference to the fundamental issues surrounding Jesus are unmistaken evidences of Almighty Allah’s plan at work. Allah cursed such people and sealed their hearts, stirring up bitterness and aversion among them.

Who misreads signs and why?

Allah is explicit in the Qur’an that His signs are misread and denied only by disbelievers, wrongdoers, unjust ones, and all who are treacherous, arrogant, heedless, and ungrateful.

Indeed, those who rejected Jesus as a sign and prophet of Allah during his lifetime and afterward, the Qur’an repeatedly associate them with disbelief, evildoing, injustice, ungratefulness, arrogance, and betrayal.

For example, about the Jews, Allah says: “So for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort words from their (proper) usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded” (al-Ma’idah, 13).

And about Christians, Allah says: “And from those who say ‘We are Christians’ We took their covenant; but they forgot a portion of that of which they were reminded. So We caused among them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. And Allah is going to inform them about what they used to do” (al-Ma’idah, 14).

Allah warns the Children of Israel in general not to be of the first to disbelieve in His revelations and signs, and, as an indication of treason and arrogance, not to exchange His signs for a small price (al-Baqarah, 41).

This way, all of them rendered themselves deaf, dumb, and blind about the presence of the truth and its signs – including Jesus and his mother. They were spiritually illiterate and intellectually debilitated. The sign(s) of Jesus meant nothing to them. They only knew that something remarkable was happening, which they subjected to their shallow understanding and stained proficiencies, coming up after that with whatever they came up with.

Their fabrications about Jesus were based on doubt, ignorance, and following conjectures, all of which stand no chance against the revealed knowledge’s consistency and certitude (signs).

Both Judaism and Christianity could be termed as forms of misreading and misapplying the Jesus phenomenon and sign. They were not only national (the Jews) but also international (Christians) in character.

This is expected and on account of Jesus and his mother being a sign not merely for the Jews but also for all nations and peoples (al-‘alamin) (al-Anbiya’, 91).

Jesus as a sign lives on The story of Jesus and him being a sign is not over yet.

It lives on and will do until the end of days. According to the Qur’anic message, he was neither killed nor crucified.

He was taken up by Allah to heaven, body, and soul, and is still there (al-Nisa’, 157-158).

The Prophet (pbuh) said that Jesus would descend from heaven as a significant sign of the Day of Judgment (Sahih Muslim). To all, but especially the Jews and Christians, he will be manifested as an ultimate sign of the heavenly truth.

To make sure that no amount of blindness, deafness, or dumbness stands between anybody and the power of him as a sign, Jesus will break the Cross, kill the swine (pig) and abolish jizyah (a tax on Christians and Jews). Allah will put an end to all religious sects except Islam during his time. He will furthermore slay the Antichrist (Dajjal).

After staying in the world for 40 years, he will die, and Muslims will perform the funerary prayer (Sunan Abi Dawud). According to some accounts, he will be buried near Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Madinah.

When all this takes place, no Jew or Christian will remain heedless. They will see the truth and eventually testify to Jesus both as a prophet and a sign. However, it will be too little too late.

Allah says: “And there is none from the People of the Scripture but that he will surely believe in Jesus before his death. And on the Day of Resurrection he will be against them a witness” (al-Nisa’, 159). According to some commentators of the Qur’an, “before his death” rather means before the death of every member of the community of the Scripture.

Such a viewpoint should be comprehended as follows: Allah says: “And the intoxication (stupor or agony) of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid” (Qaf, 19). The intoxication of death is a moment – or a series of moments - when a person is transported from this world to the Hereafter. It is at that point that every person sees the truth and attests to it.

Naturally, all evildoers wish to return to this world and mend their ways. People are told while departing this life: “Certainly you were heedless of it, but now We have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp and strong” (Qaf, 22).

When a Jew or a Christian dies, as part of his ultimate realization, he understands the truth about Jesus as well, duly accepting it. The significance of Jesus as a sign finally dawns upon him, but again, it is a case of too little too late.

47

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2023

FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Egbe: Stop Blaming Peseiro for Snubbing Home-based Players Wants playing Surfaces fixed to elevate qualities of domestic stars

Duro Ikhazuagbe

The inclusion of just three domestic-based goalkeepers in Nigeria’s provisional list of 41 players submitted by Super Eagles Head Coach, Jose Peseiro, to CAF ahead of the 2023 AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, has been described as the fallout of bad pitches across the country.

Ebi Egbe, one of the country’s facility experts, insisted yesterday that the trend will continue under foreign coaches hired by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) until clubs in NPFL choose to do the right things by elevating their playing surfaces.

Egbe who is the CEO of Monimichele Limited, one of the best stadium turf experts in Nigeria, stressed that it will be difficult for the local players making the senior national team because of the level their talents have been reduced to by the poor playing surfaces their play in the domestic League.

“I swear, in the next 15 years, it will be difficult to see our local players making the senior national team as we have seen over the last couple of years,”began Egbe.

He said that it was sad that the highest scorer in the NPFL could not make the provisional list of 40 drawn up by Peseiro.

“The coaches will always rely on the foreign legions because they play on the latest surfaces in Europe thereby elevating their games. It is

only an indigenous coach who is used to the bad pitches here that will look in the direction of our league players. “ Egbe said that the moment these players move to excellence pitches, their deficiencies will show. “Any wonder now that instead of our players leaving Nigeria to play in top teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester City etc, we end up seeing them in other African leagues in Egypt, Sudan, and even Uganda and those who succeed to reach Europe are playing in backwaters leagues not better than what we have at home but having better facilities and remuneration.”

He counseled Nigerian ball fans to stop accusing the foreign coaches of not giving playing time to players from the domestic league.

“Stop blaming the foreign coaches.

There is no way our local players can make it. See the provisional list released this week. All the three players from the league here are goalkeepers.”

Egbe concluded that for the great talents in the country to reach their potentials, clubs must invest in facilities, good playing surfaces if they want to make headway in continental Inter-club competitions.

From Peseiro’s list of 41 players submitted to CAF ahead of the AFCON, Ojo Olorunleke of Enugu Rangers, Christian Nwoke of Sporting Lagos and Amas Obasgie of Bendel Insurance are the only

players invited.

Along with South Africa-based Stanley Bobo Nwabali, are expected

to outperform widely criticised Francis Uzoho to stand any chance of making the final list.

From the list of 41, Peseiro is expected to prune the squad to 27

by January 3. He has to remove 14

names to compose the final squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE FALLOUT

Barca, Madrid to ‘Cash Out’ '€1bn Loyalty Bonus from Super League Barcelona and Real Madrid would both net a loyalty bonus of as much as €1billion (£870m) should the Super League project ultimately emerge, according to reports in Spain.

The Spanish giants have been the survivors of the Super League project launched in 2021, with 12 founder clubs having initially signed up before the majority withdrew after fan protests.

Both clubs have welcomed the European Court of Justice's ruling that UEFA and FIFA had acted in contravention of EU competition law in sanctioning the rebel European Super League clubs.

The binding ruling handed out marked the latest stage in a legal process initiated by the European Super League Company.

It followed clubs who participated in the breakaway being threatened with sanctions by the governing bodies.

Within hours of the verdict, a new format - which was revealed

by A22 CEO Bernd Reichart - will see both a men's and women's competition, with 64 teams competing in the men's and 32 in the women's.

In terms of the men's competition, the 64 clubs will be split into three separate leagues - star, gold, and blue - with the star league the strongest and blue the weakest.

According to the Barcelona-based newspaper Sport, the Catalan giants and Real Madrid could both net a bonus potentially as much as €1billion (£870m) should the competition eventually go ahead.

The report claims the two clubs will be rewarded for their

loyalty to the Super League despite pressure from governing bodies and governments.

A significant bonus would be welcomed in particular by Barcelona, with the club a reported £477m (€552m) in debt.

The remaining 10 founding clubs - including Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Man United and Tottenham - who withdraw from the Super League could reportedly face a €300m (£260m) fine, it is claimed.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta welcomed Thursday's judgment on the case.

“European Justice agrees with us. There is a monopoly situation,” Laporta said.

“A historic opportunity opens up to solve some of the serious problems that compromise the clubs.”

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez also called out a 'monopoly' in his statement which lauded the verdict with 'tremendous satisfaction'.

“Starting today (Thursday), the present and the future of European football are in the hands of the clubs, the players and the fans.

Our destiny now belongs to us and we have a great responsibility in our hands.

“This day marks a turning point.

It is a great day in the history of football and sport in general.”

Atletico Madrid and Man United, who were among the Super League's founding members have both released statements confirming they will not be part of the revived project.

Ojo Olorunleke (left) and Amas Obasogie are two of the three domestic goalkeepers included in the 41-man provisional list submitted to CAF by Eagles Head Coach Jose Peseiro

Two Late Goals Take Remo Stars Back to Summit of NPFL Femi Solaja

The duo of Sikiru Alimi and Adedayo Olamilekan were the heroes of the night with two late goals deep into injury time as leaders, Remo Stars, beat visiting Lobi Stars of Makurdi 2-0 in the table topper clash at the Remo Stars stadium in Ikenne.

The win takes the Kunle Soname lads to the top in what is their last home match for the year as they play away at Heartland of Owerri next Thursday.

But yesterday it was the visiting team that took the initiative from the start but the home boys were lucky not to have conceded an early goal following a brilliant show from goalkeeper Kayode Bankole.

Remo Stars’ first attempt at goal

was in the 11th minute but Dayo Ojo’s long shot missed the target by whiskers.

However, Lobi Stars got their chance to score a few minutes later but efforts from goalkeeper Bankole and timely clearance by captain Junior Nduka rescued the day for the home side.

Thereafter it was Remo that dominated play but the Makurdi side were able to stop several incursions till the end of the half.

Remo Stars look better to getting the opener but a good display by the away side makes things difficult for the team while two penalty calls were waved off by the referee.

With the match looking like a goalless affair, Sikiru Alimi, opened the score late in the regulation time when Lobi Stars’ goalkeeper

mistimed a corner kick for the ball to sail into the net.

Hard-working Olamilekan doubled the lead in the injury time off a rebound from another corner kick.

The win takes Remo Stars to the top with 29 points while Doma United follow with 28 points and Lobi Stars in third position with 26 points.

In some of the other matches, Gombe United pipped Katsina United by a lone goal while Akwa United and Sunshine settled for a goalless draw in Eket.

Bendel Insurance secured a lone-goal win against visiting Abia Warriors while Kwara United had to come back from a goal down to beat visiting Kano Pillars 2-1.

...Rangers Get NPFL Nod to Return to Enugu Rangers International have been granted approval to return to their home ground, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.

The former Champions have been playing their home fixtures in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) in Awka, Anambra State since the stadium in Enugu was declared unfit for NPFL matches in the 2022/23 season.

The club subsequently embarked

on extensive rehabilitation of the ground covering re-grassing of the turf, modernisation of the dressing rooms and the Spectator stands.

The NPFL said it has reviewed the decision banning the stadium following a recent inspection of the facility on the invitation of Rangers International.

A correspondence from the NPFL to Rangers and signed by its Chief Operating Officer, Davidson

Owumi, conveyed the approval which opened the stadium for matches from Match-day 16.

Interestingly, the Flying Antelopes will be hosting traditional rivals, Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan at the Coal City.

It also means that the teeming of the oldest clubs in the country would again return to the famous Cathedral to watch and cheer their favourite club.

RESULTS Gombe 1-0 Katsina Akwa Utd 0-0 Sunshine Insurance 1-0 Abia Kwara 2-1 Plateau Tornadoes 1-0 K’Pillars Remo Stars 2-0 Lobi Sporting 1-1 Bayelsa Sporting Lagos had to rely on a late goal from Aliu Salawudeen against Bayelsa United to earn a score draw at their Mobolaji Johnson Arena fortress at Onikan.

The last matches of the year will hold next week with Abia Warriors against Gombe United while Bayelsa will take on Enyimba.

Enugu Ranger will return to their base in Enugu to host Shooting Stars of Ibadan while Heartland play host to Remo Stars in Owerri.

Katsina United have a date with Akwa United while Lobi Stars will aim for a comeback against Niger Tornadoes in Makurdi.

Sporting Lagos will play away in Jos against Plateau United just as Rivers United will battle Bendel Insurance. Sunshine Stars and Doma United will round up the year-ending fixtures.

75

Friday, December 22, 2023

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Tinubu to NNPCL Board

“The challenge is corporate governance. Yes, we will improve the security situation. We are working very hard...But you could be suddenly dissolved if there is no sustained excellence in performance. It is my honour to inaugurate this Board. Niger Delta must be seen as the goose that lays the golden egg and we must treat that region with the deserved respect and care...”

–President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, tasking the new NNPCL Board, and warning them against underperformance.

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MAGNUSONYIBE GUEST COLUMNIST

WIKE-FUBARA DUEL:

A Master Class on Politics of Governorship Succession

A

new orchestra has entered Nigeria’s music and entertainment scene. It was launched

by Rivers State Governor, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, on Friday, December 15, in Port Harcourt, during the flag-off of a 20,000-unit housing estate for low-income earners located in the lkwere area of the state.

The hit song of the debutant band is titled “Dey Your Dey, Make I Dey My Dey, Nobody Worry Nobody.”

The message conveyed in governor Fubara’s new symphony is that Mr. Wike, who currently serves as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and was the immediate past governor of Rivers State, should mind his own business in his new role as the FCT minister.

In fact Mr Fubara, as the current Rivers state governor and new lord of the manor in the garden city, is urging his predecessor to refrain from interfering in the exercise of his mandate to govern Rivers state.

That seems like a fair demand right?

But in politics where ‘l owe You’(loU) is the main currency of trade, promises are expected to be kept, otherwise there would be consequences such as enforcement in the manner that we have seen governance in Rivers state descend into anarchic condition.

Now, a lot has already been written and discussed both on print, broadcast and social media platforms about the origin of the crisis, so there is no need to dwell further on the loU behind the godson/ godfather conundrum and methods of enforcing/extracting payment.

Rather the focus of this piece would be on the propriety or folly of godfather/godson relationship as a way of guaranteeing protection after serving as governor or serving third or multiple terms in subterfuge after officially completing a constitutionally mandatory two terms tenure.

Before assuming his current role, the incumbent governor served as the Accountant General (AG) of Rivers State under the leadership of Mr. Nyesom Wike, who was the governor from 2015 to 2023.

Given the inherent trust associated with the AG position which makes the occupant of that office the treasurer, astute players and observers in politics can attest to the fact that a strong bond must exist between the governor and the AG. So when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) sought answers regarding some alleged financial irregularities in the state, during the run up to the 2023 elections, it was incumbent on then Governor Wike to take on the responsibility of ensuring that his AG vamoosed literally in order to evade scrutiny.

At that time, Mr. Fubara seemingly disappeared into thin air to evade the security agencies, particularly the EFCC, which allegedly sought to thwart Wike’s presidential ambition and Fubara’s plan to succeed his boss as governor.

Since governor Wike enjoyed immunity at that time, apprehending and prosecuting Fubara was the main agenda of the law enforcement agencies, it was alleged.

So the AG did a disappearing act and only re-emerged to participate in the gubernatorial election, once the tumultuous period had subsided.

For occasions such as that, where, as the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Wike steadfastly stood like the rock of Gibraltar behind Fubara in pursuit of the agenda to make him his successor, for himself to become the president of Nigeria in 2023, they reportedly created deadly havoc in the political landscape in order to have their way .

By the same token both of them equally weathered severe political storms from their opponents that posed a threat to the realization of both Wike’s and Fubara’s ambitions to become president of Nigeria and governor of Rivers state respectively.

As a partner in the trenches together with his boss, Fubara enjoyed the privilege accruable from the political muscles of Governor Wike, boosted by his power of incumbency. As such he was termed Governor Wike’s political godson.

Even after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had declared Mr Fubara victorious,

Fubara (left) and Wike both Wike and Fubara remained in the trenches, fending off onslaughts from Wike’s former godfather, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, another ex-governor of Rivers State, who also had a stake in the March 11 governorship race through Mr. Tonye Cole, an accomplished entrepreneur and pastor who contested the governorship from the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC. Unfortunately, Mr Cole, a fine gentleman, pastor of the Redeem Church of God, and an ally of Amaechi got caught up in the crossfire between Amaechi and President Tinubu, whom Amaechi had earlier contested against in the ruling APC presidential primaries.

At this juncture, we will not be delving into the granular details of the governorship succession imbroglio that often ensues in Rivers State, and which has become perennial because it is too complex to be exhaustively discussed in this short presentation. As such, the focus will first of all be on the ongoing crisis and it’s ramifications on the good people of Rivers state. Thereafter attention will be shifted to the historical antecedents of Governorship succession pains and pleasures in Rivers State and indeed Nigeria.

Hopefully, that historical background would give some context to the discourse on the unfolding godfather/ godson fiasco.

On Friday, December 15th, ‘during the launch of the new musical band’, which also marked the foundation laying ceremony for a real estate project targeting low-income earners, Governor Fubara intentionally emphasized to the audience that his governorship is “not in service to the elite, but to the poor and low-income earners.”

He was most likely alluding to his former boss whom rumor mills were abuzz with his demand on a monthly basis for humongous sums of money too mind-boggling to mention.

The quest of the embattled governor Fubara was to curry the support of the masses. That is perhaps the reason he broke into the ‘dey as you dey, make l dey as l dey, nobody worry nobody’ song, which resonated amongst his audience.

Apparently, Fubara was only following in the footsteps of his former boss Wike who is fond of singing when he wants to taunt or torment his political foes.

Applying the tool of trend analysis, the moment that a video clip of the FCT Minister Wike in the office of the Chief of Staff of President Tinubu singing: “ On your mandate we shall stand, Jagaban…”, one immediately reckoned that something sinister was about to occur in Nigeria’s political firmament. But one could not specifically figure out where and what the individual that has been described as hurricane Wike was going to make a landfall.

Incidentally, much like Governor Wike’s flagship song, “As e dey sweet us, e dey pain dem,” sung in mockery of the PDP leadership that thwarted his ambition

to become the party’s presidential candidate during the 2023 presidential contest, Governor Fubara’s tune, “Dey your dey, make I dey my dey, nobody worry nobody,” is self-explanatory.

For the avoidance of doubts, it serves as a clear signal to FCT Minister Wike that his former godson has come of age, and he is therefore asserting his independence.

As it may be recalled, while the main opposition party, the PDP was experiencing a deluge of political setbacks orchestrated by Mr Wike and four other fellow rebellious governors, including Abia’s Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, Enugu’s Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Oyo’s Engr. Seyi Makinde, and Benue’s Mr Samuel Ortom, collectively known as the G-5 or Integrity Group, he often broke into the ‘ As e dey pain dem e de sweet us ‘ song.

It is the malicious song that members of the notorious, and perhaps nefarious group, used to engage the PDP in a war of attrition in protest against the ambition of the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

To the credit of Wike and his group, it is the schism which they triggered and nurtured that led to the loss of the 2023 presidential contest by Waziri Atiiku Abubakar to the incumbent president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC. The narrative above clearly indicates that Wike is good at what he does.

But as it pertains to the ongoing face-off between him and Fubara, the jury is not yet out, as he might have under estimated governor Fubara’s capacity to stage a counterattack against adversity.

Even though he has a reputation for being the master of the absurd, Minister Wike must have been a tad shocked by the fact that the incumbent governor who is often taciturn could go to the extreme extent of flattening the building hosting the state House of Assembly to prevent his ouster via impeachment by dissident lawmakers.

As we will learn from the historical experiences that will be delved into shortly, political upheavals and the politics of gubernatorial succession in Rivers State precede both Wike and Fubara.

Since 1999, when multiparty democracy was reintroduced into Nigeria, classical cases of trust and betrayal in politics have plagued the people of Rivers. They have witnessed political betrayals from the days of Dr. Peter Odili, who governed the state between 1999 and 2007, to the reign of Rotimi Amaechi, who held sway 2007/2015 and the Amaechi -Wike era of intense conflict which took place between 2015 to 2023, including the Wike -Fubara partnership which has presently collapsed barely six months after it started, resulting in the the unfolding debacle which is currently wracking the state.

By way of historical background, Amaechi who was Dr. Odili’s godson lost the trust of his former boss.

Thereafter, he engaged him in a political dogfight as he turned against his erstwhile godfather, which is similar to the dynamics that are currently playing out in Rivers State as evidenced by the ongoing supremacy battle between Wike and Fubara.

As we are all well aware, despite the numerous challenges that Amaechi faced in 2007, given that his then-boss, Odili, did not want him to succeed him in office, he managed to overcome the obstacles through the legal system by leveraging the instrumentality of the law courts.

What worked in his favor is that along the way, then governor Odili had replaced Amaechi in the INEC list of gubernatorial candidates with his new preferred and anointed candidate, Mr. Celestine Omeihia.

So resorting to legalese, the man known as the Lion of Mbiama, Amaechi,in the complex and complicated history of Rivers State became the first to literally wrestle power, against all odds and power of incumbency, from his former boss, Dr. Peter Odili.

It did not matter that Mr Amaechi had served under Dr. Odili as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and, prior to that, as a Personal Assistant during Odili’s time as the medical director of Pamol Hospital in private practice.

If one were to draw parallels with mascurades, Amaechi’s actions can be likened to literally de-robing the king masquerade.

In other words he floored his erstwhile mentor, showcasing the intricate dynamics of political relationships in Rivers state history.

With the court ruling that the party, not the individual, is the candidate in an election, Amaechi, who was declared the winner of the primaries, was directed by the courts to be recognized as the legitimate governor almost two years after Omehia was sworn into office.

The Supreme Court’s decision, the first of its kind in the nation’s recent history, seemed absurd and resembled fiction to the ordinary person.

But in the end, as Mr. Rotimi Amaechi prevailed, he became the governor of Rivers State, thereby achieving the distinction of being the first in Nigeria to assume the governorship of a state without participating in the traditional political campaigning, including the printing of posters or mounting the rostrum to canvass for votes.

Would the ongoing Wike - Fubara duel be a re-enactment of the Odili-Amaechi tango?

The situation echos the past experience in Enugu state whereby only six (6) legislators operated in Enugu state when Chimaroke Nnamani faced-off with his former godfather Chief Jim Nwobodo.

Would the courts affirm the laws passed by the august body that has amongst others put N800 billion which is only N200 million short of one trillion naira under the control of the distressed Rivers state governor in the name of passing the state’s 2023 appropriations bill without the 27 law makers loyal to Wike?

That is another huddle which has once again been put on the path of the judiciary to test their integrity which has been under severe scrutiny lately. Would the third branch of government step up to the plate and uphold the letter and spirit of the law fairly, justly and transcendently?

In recent years, politicians derogatorily labeled as ‘courtmade governors’ had become increasingly common in Nigeria’s political landscape and the latest election cycle has seen the emergence of ‘court-made’ legislators too , further expanding this trend. *Magnus Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, democracy advocate, development strategist, alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos, Nigeria.

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