FRIDAY 23TH DECEMBER 2022

NPAN, NGE, NUJ, Others Slam Misrepresentation of ARISE/THISDAY, APC PCC Peace Meeting Say NPO, not Arise/THISDAY owner initiated peace meeting THISDAY: Obaigbena never sought any meeting, but honoured invitation by Osoba, Amuka, other media leaders

Emameh Addeh in Abuja Contrary to the misinformation

and representation of a peace meeting between the Founder, Arise News Channel/Publisher

of THISDAY newspapers, Prince Nduka Obaigbena and the All Progressives Congress

(APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) that Obaigbena reached out for a truce, media

stakeholders have urged organisation and individuals to stop embellishing the matter.

The organisations as well Continued on page 6

Finance Bill 2022: FG Proposes to Change FIRS to NRS... Page 8 Friday 23 December, 2022 Vol 27. No 10118. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

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PDP to Buhari: Don’t Waste Your Time Campaigning for Tinubu... Page 42

Tinubu: No Matter How Long You Protest, I'll Remove Subsidy Visits Buhari at State House

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress

(APC), Bola Tinubu, has said there was no going back on fuel subsidy removal if elected president next year.

Tinubu, who stated this while speaking at the business luncheon with business owners titled: "Business Forward"

yesterday in Lagos, hinted that, no matter how long people protest, it would not stop him from removing fuel subsidy.

Tinubu in a statement by his Media Office, signed by Mr. Tunde Rahman, insisted that Nigeria would not continue to

subsidise fuel consumption in neighbouring countries.

Continued on page 6

Emefiele Chronicles Gains of Cashless Policy, Assuages Lawmakers’ Concerns Says currency redesign will curb inflation, banditry, strengthen naira Declares cashless policy not targeted at politicians or intended to disenfranchise Nigerians, businesses Insists it’s in public interest to promote efficient payment system Cost of currency management hits N47.25bn in 10 months Again, CSOs protest in Abuja, caution DSS Maintain apex bank governor not terrorist James Emejo, Udora Orizu, Emameh Gabriel in Abuja Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday, said the Nigerian payment system had recorded significant achievements since the introduction of the cashless policy in 2012. Emefiele said this while addressing the House of Representatives on CBN’s implementation of the cashless policy and new withdrawal limits.

The CBN governor was represented at the hearing

by Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability (FSS) Directorate, Dr. Aisha Ahmad.

Emefiele said following the successes achieved in the payment system, Nigeria had been adjudged Africa’s Continued on page 6

BUHARI IN AUDIENCE WITH PSC...

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; Acting Chairman, Police Service Commission, Hon. Justice Clara Bata Ogunbiyi JSC (Rtd); Commissioner Aig Lawal Bawa (Rtd); Commissioner, Rommy Mom, during an audience at the 2022 Annual Report and proposed 2023 Budget of the Police Service Commission, Council Chambers…Abuja SUNDAYAGHAEZE

N'Assembly Postpones N20.51trn 2023 Budget Passage over Errors in Fiscal Document... Page 43

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PAGE SIX EMEFIELE CHRONICLES GAINS OF CASHLESS POLICY, ASSUAGES LAWMAKERS’ CONCERNS undisputed real-time and digital payments leader, with over 3.7 billion real-time transactions in 2021. He also pointed out that electronic banking adoption had significantly increased among the Nigerian populace while the cashless policy had further spurred policy innovation that had expanded the breadth and depth of financial system participants, transaction channels, and financial access points.

Emefiele told the lawmakers that CBN’s recent redesigning of the N1, 000, N500 and N200 notes and the nationwide implementation of the cashless policy were intended to further sustain the achievements in the payment system. This was in line with the quest to foster a safe, credible and efficient payment system that would be the pride of all Nigerians and the envy of the world, he stated.

He insisted that the cash withdrawal policy was neither targeted at any segment of the society nor intended to disenfranchise hardworking Nigerian citizens and businesses, as insinuated in some quarters.

The House of Representatives, also yesterday, mandated the CBN and commercial banks to put in place measures to prevent the deportation of Nigerian students abroad by ensuring that forex was made available for the payment of their school fees at their various institutions of learning. The resolution of the lawmakers was sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Akande Sadipe at the plenary, Thursday.

That was as a coalition of civil society organisations continued to mount pressure on the Department of State Services (DSS) to retract its unverified charges against Emefiele. They maintained that the CBN governor was not a terrorist.

However, Emefiele assured during the hearing in the House that the central bank would continue to monitor the implementation of its monetary policies and be flexible on the limits in response to feedback received.

He said, “We crave the National Assembly’s continued support as the bank continues its implementation of transformational payments and financial industry initiatives in line with its mandate.”

According to him, the CBN’s October 26 pronouncement on the redesigning of some denominations of the naira and its circular of December 6 on the revised cash withdrawal limits and nationwide implementation of the cashless policy had elicited mixed reactions by

the public, as keenly noted by the bank.

He said while a segment of Nigerians applauded the policies, others raised concerns, particularly with respect to the effect of the policies on the underserved and rural communities in Nigeria.

Justifying the naira redesign policy, Emefiele stressed that it would help control inflation, as the exercise would help mop up currency outside the banking system, thereby ensuring more reliable data on money supply, which will in turn facilitate better monetary policy formulation and effectiveness.

In addition, he said the policy would boost the appreciation of the naira, as the higher denomination and the volume of banknotes outside the banking system used to speculate on the currency would reduce.

Emefiele stated that the naira redesign programme would help fight banditry and terrorism, as the large volumes of cash used to pay ransom to bandits/terrorists would be reduced.

He explained, “It will assist in the fight against corruption as the exercise would rein in the higher denominations used for this purpose and the movement of such funds from the banking system could be tracked easily.”

The CBN governor noted, “Despite the dominance of highly advanced payment systems, many countries carried out currency redesign to remain ahead of counterfeiters, ensure durability, fight corruption, and reduce the cost of currency management, among other reasons.

“It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that the CBN, in line with its statutory powers as enshrined in Section 2(b) and 19 of the CBN Act 2007, sought and obtained the approval of Mr. President to redesign and issue new series of naira notes in the N200, N500, and N1000 denominations.”

Commenting on the revised cash withdrawal limits, Emefiele noted that the CBN was not unmindful of the concerns raised in response to the new cash withdrawal policy and remained flexible to make the necessary adjustments to ensure wider public acceptance of the policy.

He said, “Consequently, we have reviewed the cash withdrawal limits upwards to N500,000 weekly for individuals (from N100,000) and N5,000,000 weekly for corporates (from N500,000). Furthermore, the applicable charges above the limit have been reduced to three per cent and five per cent, respectively.

“Mobile money agents

who provide cash-in cash-out services in rural areas have also been recognised and provided for in the revised guidelines.”

Further justifying the cashless policy, Emefiele pointed out that the CBN carried out an in-depth analysis of over-the-counter intra-bank cash transactions over 12 months (November 2021- October 2022) to assess the impact of the policy on the generality of citizens.

He said the outcome showed that a significant volume of cash transactions was below the maximum thresholds indicated under the extant cashless policy and was, thus, not subject to the cash processing charges.

He added, “It is worthy to note that 94.04 per cent and 62.63 per cent, respectively, of volume and value of cash transactions by individuals were below the threshold while 82.36 per cent and 39.38 per cent of the volume and value of cash transactions by corporates was below the threshold.

“Transactions at agent locations are also below the thresholds. For instance, 99 per cent of cash withdrawals at agent locations are below N300, 000, average cash out transaction size per individual is N18, 000, whilst average cash withdrawals by agents is between N1, 000,000 and N2, 150,000.”

According to him, “The proliferation of financial access touch points and e-payment channels across urban and rural areas, which presents citizens with ample alternative for financial transactions further justifies the nationwide implementation o the policy.”

Emefiele said there were 6,500 branches of deposit money banks, and OFIs, 1.4 million agent locations, 900,000 POS and 14,000 ATMs, including 31 commercial banks with 4,603 branches; 878 MFBs with1,966 branches; 1.4 million agents; 899,642 PoS Terminals and over 14,000 nationwide.

According to him, it is in the public interest to promote an efficient payment system via the cashless policy, which helps reduce the punitive costs of cash processing, often passed on to bank customers.

Emefiele added, “It is instructive to note that the implementation of the cashless policy in six states resulted in a reduction in the cost of currency management by 15.20 per cent, from N36.97 billion to N31.35 billion between 2013 and 2014.

“The trend, however, reversed in 2014 following the suspension of cash deposit charges in the six states currency handing cost increasing by 17.20 per cent between 2014 and 2015 following the suspension.”

The CBN governor also said the cost of currency

management had been on the increase, reaching N47.25 billion between January and October 2022.

Among other things, he said the CBN cashless policy was in line with the bank’s quest to adopt international best practices and international conventions, especially in view of recent reputational damage with some Nigerians perpetuating advance fee fraud.

He added that the CBN’s mandates and responsibilities under the CBN Act 2007 as amended empowered it to promote a sound and stable financial system and credible efficient payment systemSection 2d, Section 47 of the CBN Act and the policies were issued pursuant to these legal provisions, adding that actions are well within its mandate.

He said, “It is also important to note that extensive engagement continues across multiple stakeholders since the cashless policy was first launched in 2012. By January 2023, the initiative will be entering its 11th year and stakeholders would have been adequately enlightened.

The initial go-live date for its implementation nationwide was 2015.”

On the misconceptions about the cashless policy, Emefiele told the lawmakers that there were many fallacies about the naira redesign and cashless policy, which needed to be resolved.

He said currency denominations of N5, N10, N20, N50, and N100 remained legal tender and were unaffected by the naira redesign policy. The denominations were available for use across the country, including at markets in rural areas and the informal sector of the economy, while there were currently no processing fees applied to cash deposits, he stated. He stressed that unlimited amounts could be deposited without charge, to enable seamless and unrestricted deposit of any notes affected by the currency redesign.

standard of living.

“My government will collaborate with the private sector to bring about massive infrastructure renewal that enhances economic opportunities, lower business costs and overheads while producing jobs that spur further growth and development through increased consumer demand. This is the virtuous economic cycle we seek to create."

He also promised to work towards creating a better security in the country to allow them an enabling environment to do their businesses, adding that, business and insecurity cannot thrive side by side.

On Security, he said, “I am committed to securing Nigerians from violence and the fear of such violence. Terror, kidnapping and banditry have no place in the society I envision. Upon entering office,

we will move to implement several measures:" The measures, Tinubu said, included increasing the numbers of military and non-military security forces, as well as anti-terrorist battalions with integrated special forces units would also be established.

“We did it in Lagos with the RRS Scheme. We can do it again for Nigeria. As we fight insecurity, we must deal with our economy at the same time.

We know that business and insecurity cannot thrive side by side," he stressed.

Tiinubu Visits Buhari At State House Meanwhile, the APC Presidential candidate visited President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja.

The APC flag bearer's visit, on Wednesday evening, to the President's official residence

nationwide stakeholder engagement and sensitisation to promote understanding of the cashless policy, particularly in rural areas, markets, and underserved communities across the six geopolitical zones of the country that stood to benefit the most.

He also said the CBN, Bankers Committee, and SANEF would intensify agent rollout across the country (especially in underserved locations) and enhance agents’ ability to carry out a wider variety of financial services in addition to cash in and cash out (electronic card distribution, wallet/account opening, BVN onboarding, bills payment, etc), which would also be enhanced.

He added that the CBN would continue to be flexible in its implementation of a cashless policy and monitor its impact, especially on vulnerable segments of society, but ensure the multiple advantages were achieved.

He disclosed that the CBN had ordered the printing of N500 million pieces of currency from the minting company.

Emefiele also said the apex bank worked with the National Bureau of Statistics, banks and other financial institutions to generate the data it used in making certain decisions.

He stated, "We have to make it very clear that the CBN is an independent institution. Our decisions are taken based on research, data and it is the work of many teams working together across the different directorates. At no time do we make decisions based on any political consideration and I think it's important that I state that. We are trying to work with the National Orientation Agency (NOA), local religious leaders and market leaders and people in the local communities.”

In his remarks, House Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, said it was obligatory for the CBN under Continued on page 44

NPAN, NGE, NUJ, OTHERS SLAM MISREPRESENTATION OF ARISE/ THISDAY, APC PCC PEACE MEETING as veteran media managers, in a statement, also refuted a phantom news item by an online medium purporting that Obaigbena initiated the meeting between himself and the APC PCC, stressing that it was at the instance of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO).

The statement was jointly signed by the President, Newspaper Proprietors' Association of Nigeria (NPAN) /NPO, Mallam Kabiru Yusuf; the President Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr. Mustapha Isah and the President Nigeria

TINUBU: NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU PROTEST, I'LL REMOVE SUBSIDY "How can we be subsidising fuel consumption of Cameroon, of Niger, of Benin Republic.

No matter how long you protest, we are going to remove subsidy," he said.

The APC presidential candidate said his government would give room to allow the private sector to thrive by not interfering, while opening rooms for collaborations.

He noted: “Thus, where the private sector is doing well, my government will not interfere. Our guiding principle regarding economic policy shall be to provide the right policy framework so that business can flourish.

“But I want to do more than help existing businesses to exist. We must create the space, where new sectors and lines of business can open. We must grow this economy so that it can accommodate over 200 million people with a decent

The CBN governor said, “The processing fees on cash withdrawals are not new, as these have been in place in Lagos, since 2012, and in the five other cash-less states and FCT, since July 2013.

“The charge applies on the excess over the prescribed limit only, not on the entire transaction amount. For instance, a withdrawal of N550,000 by the individual- fee is excess over the N500,000 limit (i.e. N50,000x 3%= N1,500); Withdrawal of N6,000,000 by a corporate- fee is excess over N5,000,000 limit (i.e.N1,000,000 x 5%= N50,000).

“The policy does not prohibit cash transactions above the prescribed limits. Such transactions shall attract the processing fees to serve as an incentive for account owners to embrace more efficient electronic payment channels.

“The policy applies nationwide in recognition of the plethora of financial touchpoints that are available in all the States of the Federation.

Nationwide implementation is effective January 9, 2023.”

Reiterating the benefits of the cashless policy, Emefiele said, “Reduction of cost of cash management (processing, movement, security, destruction of old notes) which is often passed on indirectly to Nigerians including eliminating the physical risk of cash – robbery, kidnapping, terrorism.

“Promote Nigeria’s positive reputation for fighting money laundering and terrorist financing. Cash limits are recognised in Anti Money Laundering Laws due to their role in advancing these illegal activities.

“Reduction in incidences of crime – armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism financing, advance fee fraud, graft, ransom payment and extortions.

Deepening the Nigerian payment system through more innovation and cheaper costs.”

On the way forward, Emefiele said the CBN had commenced

at the Presidential Villa, took place few hours after President Buhari declared his readiness to campaign vigorously for the electoral victory of Tinubu and other candidates of the APC in the 2023 general elections.

The visit, which was captured with two photographed, was announced Thursday by Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad, on his verified Twitter handle.

Ahmad's tweet, in just one sentence, said "President Muhammadu Buhari receives our Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier today, in his residence at the State House, Abuja".

Although the purpose of the meeting between the President and Tinubu was not disclosed, it may however not be unconnected with reports on how the party's presidential campaigns are progressing.

Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Chris Isiguzo.

According to the statement, those at the meeting were NPAN Life Patron and former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba; Publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers/ NPAN Life Patron, Mr. Sam Amuka and President of the NPAN, Yusuf.

In addition, the statement stated that NGE President, Isah and President of the NUJ, Isiguzo, were present at the peace meeting.

It stated that also present at the meeting were the leadership of Arise TV and the Media Directorate of the APC PCC, the two parties that were engaged in recent exchanges in the media.

“The Arise TV was represented by Mr. Nduka Obaigbena along with two of his top managers: Eniola Bello, Managing Director of ThisDay Newspapers and Kayode Komolafe, Group Executive Director /ThisDay Ombudsman.

“On the other side were Mr. Dele Alake, Director of Strategic Communications of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and Mr. Olawale Edun, a member of the Presidential Campaign Council/Chairman of The Nation Newspapers.

“Also present at the meeting which held at the residence of Chief Osoba, was Mr. Gbenga Adefaye, the General Manager/Editor-in-chief of Vanguard Newspapers/ Acting Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. The meeting was at the instance of

the Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO),” the stakeholders stated.

According to the statement, the meeting resolved that considering the fellowship, “among us and overall interest of press freedom in the country,” the disagreement between the two parties should be settled amicably and without any preconditions.

In the spirit of this gentlemanly agreement, the media veterans added that the meeting decided that it was not necessary to issue a public statement.

“However, we are forced to rescind this stand when news reports began to appear that misrepresented what happened.

“We wish to draw the attention of our friends in the media and the public at large, that the main parties in this dispute have agreed to let bygones be bygones and that any embellishment on the outcome of the meeting represents the figment of some people's imagination,” the statement added.

THISDAY stressed that Obaigbena never sought for the meeting; he only honoured the invitation of Osoba and Amuka to the peace meeting.

Also, it is important to note that a photograph being circulated on the social media by some misguided elements and organisations, which has Obaigbena and the APC presidential candidate, Mr. Bola Tinubu, was taken in August, during the funeral ceremony of Obaigbena’s mother which Tinubu attended in Delta State.

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

BUHARI RECEIVES NIGER REPUBLIC NATIONAL HONOURS AWARD RECIPIENTS...

L-R: Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello; Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru; Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu; President Muhammadu Buhari; Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, and Special GODWIN OMOIGUI Envoy to Lake Chad, Amb. Babagana Kingibe, during visit of Niger Republic National Honours Award Recipients to the Presidential Villa , Abuja...yesterday

Finance Bill 2022: FG Proposes to Change FIRS to NRS Chairman to be known as Commissioner General Seeks amendments to 34 Sections of 10 existing acts Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, yesterday appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend the amendments proposed in the 2022 Finance Act which was recently sent to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The amendments to the Finance Act are expected to be passed with the 2023 Appropriation Bill which is expected to be considered and passed next week.

The Finance Bill, is the fourth in the series that seeks to complement the budget cycle of January to December, that was re-established with the 2020 Appropriation Act by the 9” National Assembly.

Briefing the panel, the minister highlighted the key provisions in the Finance Act 2022 to include the change of the name of the Federal Inland Revenue service

(FIRS) to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).

She said, "It also included the reorganisation of the board of the FIRS by separating the executive management from the board "The Chairman of the agency will now be referred to as Commissioner General.

"It also proposed the 35 per cent on electronic money transfer levy receipt to be paid to local government as against the initial 15 per cent to the federal government and 85 per cent to state.

"It proposes 50 per cent tax increase from the 30 per cent to companies involved in gas flaring among others."

The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Solomon Adeola, while welcoming the minister, explained that the bill generally seeks to review and possibly amend sections of existing legislations on revenue for the nation.

He said, "The intent of these

amendments is not only for generating increased revenue for the government, but also providing clarity, removing ambiguities, providing succor for deserving persons and sectors as well as bringing our laws up to speed with global best practices.

"Let me restate that in our nation’s legislative development, the way forward at present is not much about enacting new laws as much as amendments of old laws to take care of new realities and

reform observed shortcomings in the implementation of existing laws.

"Such new realities include the development of new technologies and its implications for revenue/ income generation by individuals, corporate bodies and government agencies.

"This among other realities and observed challenges are the rationale for the yearly amendments contained in proposed Finance Bill.

"In the bill referred to

The House of Representatives yesterday mandated its Committee on Banking and Currency, Financial Crimes and Telecommunications to investigate the alleged sharp practices and abuses by fintech and loan shark firms in Nigeria and report within four weeks.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a motion raised under matters of urgent national importance on the, "urgent need to investigate sharp practices by unregulated online Fintech lending companies and abuse of mobile digital loan apps in Nigeria " sponsored by Hon. Alhaji Satomi at plenary yesterday.

Satomi, noted that the proliferation of online loan apps across Nigeria by those he described as fraudulent and unscrupulous profiteers. He said they coerce many low income Nigerians to borrow and get trapped in the web of sham loan apps hosted on Google Play Store by individuals and companies to swindle the low-income earners.

According to him, the

COVID-19 pandemic that affected many economies including Nigeria led to job losses due to the lockdowns, restrictions on movement and face-to-face interactions. This, he said sped up the pace of digitalisation of financial services and the infiltration of some unscrupulous unregulated financial service operators.

The lawmaker stressed that the predatory lending apps are disguised as platforms where unsuspecting members of the public are promised access quick loans with no collateral except provision of bank verification number (BVN).

"Victims are expected to repay loans at astronomical interest rates within three to seven days as against the 91 to 365 days claim on Google Play store which has over 83.07 per cent market share in Nigeria,” he added.

According to him, most of the loan apps or companies and individuals operate with no regulation by government, expired licences and in some cases, none at all.

He raised concern that searches

before us for consideration and possible amendments. We are to understand that our economy is facing serious challenges occasioned by many factors including crude oil theft, armed insurgency and banditry as well as spiraling inflation rate that are being tackled by the government.

"The expectation is that at the possible passage of these amendments and its faithful implementation, our country can be propelled toward appreciable economic outlook."

Atala’s OML 46: Senate Asks NUPRC to Reallocate Licence to Hardy Oil, Others Declares allocation to Halkin Exploration and Production Limited lacks due process Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Senate yesterday faulted the revocation of Atala

Marginal Oil Field (OML 46) Upstream Petroleum Regulatory in February 2020, by the defunct Commission (NUPRC).

It consequently ordered Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), now Nigerian the commission to reallocate the oil field to its original owners as earlier directed by the Presidency.

The Senate's resolutions were sequel to recommendations made to that effect by its committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.

The Senator Ayo Akinyeluremany of such online loan apps operating in Nigeria disbursing led committee had on the loans to customers with no mandate given by the Senate collateral and defaulters were investigated petitions forwarded always sent threatening messages to it by Daniel Chukwudozie and that Loan apps and other on behalf of Hardy Oil Nigeria fintech products can be used for Limited , Bayelsa Oil Company money-laundering and other Limited ( BOCL) and Century forms of illicit financial flows Exploration and Production Limited ( CEPL) against (IFF).

"These unregulated Nigerian NUPRC for alleged illegal fintech companies shame, threaten and fraudulent revocation of customers for late payment of Atala Marginal Field ( OML loans. Cognisance of the need to 46) and its re award to Halkin investigate activities these fintech Exploration and Production companies including OKash, Limited.

They noted that the award Opay, PayLater, PalmCredit, Branch, QuickCheck, Aella of the oil field to Halkins as Credit, FairMoney, KiaKia, stated in the petition was in EasyCredit, NewCredit, Umba, breach of due process and Carbon, FirstNell, SoftNaira, presidential directive.

The committee after several SharpCash, Newcredit, Cash Mall, NairaLand, Naira9ja, months of interface with all the New Credit Loan App, Future interested parties on the oil field, Cash, SharpCredit, MoneyHub, recommended to the Senate that 9jaCash, Henloan, Get Loan, it should be reallocated to the Plenty Cash, Fundy, iMoneyPlus, original owners who were Hardy CashCredit, LifeLine, Lumos Oil Nigeria Limited, Bayelsa Oil Loan, NairaPlus, Care Finance, Company Limited and Century Cashbean, CashMe, LoanMe, Exploration and Production LifePurse iLoanPro, LairaPlus, Limited.

The adopted recommendation OxLoan and NoNowMoney, etc, of the committee by the Senate " the lawmakers alleged.

House to Probe Alleged Sharp Practices, Abuses by Fintechs, Loan Shark Firms Juliet Akoje in Abuja

the Committee, a total of 10 existing Acts are proposed for amendments namely: Capital Gains Tax Act, Companies Income Tax Act, Customs, Exercise Tarrif, etc (Consolation) Act, Federal Revenue Service Establishment Act e Personal Income Tax, Petroleum Profits Tax Act, Stamp Duties Act, Value Added Tax Act, Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act, Public Procurement Act "In all, 34 Sections of the various Acts are in the bill

for the registration status of loan apps in Nigeria from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) showed that founding directors of such apps or companies were foreign nationals without the required licences to operate the volume of financial transactions and illegally operating in the country.

"The operations of Kash Kash with a hosted operating account under the name Super Car Universal Limited with a certain commercial bank in Nigeria where Kash Kash, carries out activities of the loan app, such as the exorbitant interest rates they collected from customers and defamatory messages sent to contacts of their customers when they missed their repayment date" "Such account holder did not have the required licence to operate as a money lender, which led the commercial bank to close the first account, but such operations were moved to another account named Speedy Choice which is still operational and managed by the same people who managed the previous account," he said.

Furthermore, he explained that

read: "That since the revocation of the Atala Marginal Field (OML 46) was based on misleading information supplied

by Halkin Exploration and Production Limited.

"Since the NUPRC was unable to produce written evidence that President Muhammadu Buhari actually reversed his initial directive on consideration of owners/operators of Atala Marginal Field for re - award as claimed by NUPRC, the committee strongly recommends that the oil field be returned to its original owners/operators.

"This recommendation is in line with the presidential directive which was applied in returning the nine marginal fields to their original owners/ operators."

Before the Senate's resolutions, President Muhammadu Buhari had in October 2022, ordered the NUPRC to reallocate the oil fields to the original owners since Halkins was not even a registered company when Hardy Oil Nigeria Limited, Bayelsa Oil Company Limited and Century Exploration and Production Limited, developed the oil field from 2014 to 2018 and acquired licence for its exploration .

Halkin Exploration and Production Limited as clearly stated in the petition and listed in the records of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), became an incorporated company on September 9, 2019.

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GRASSROOTS MOBILISATION FOR PDP...

L-R: Former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Vice presidential candidate of the People Democratic Party and Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; State Chairman of the party, Mr. Kingsley Esiso; Governorship candidate of the party in the state, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori; his wife, Tobore; and Deputy governorship candidate of the party, Sir Monday Onyeme, at the party’s governorship campaign for the 2023 general election in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state…yesterday

Obaseki Targets One Million Tourists Yearly with Ongoing Reforms in Culture, Tourism Sectors The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has said ongoing reforms in the culture, arts and tourism sector would ensure the influx of at least one million tourists yearly into the state.

Obaseki, who spoke to journalists in Benin City, said the government was focusing on the state’s tourism and culture assets to improve internally generated revenue in line with the

government’s plan of diversifying the economy.

He said, “Our goal is to make sure that in about five years’ time, our transformation in this sector will attract a minimum of one

million people to the state yearly to see our culture, forests and environment.

“This will lead to spending dollars in the state and it will boost the economy as the money

HURIWA Carpets FG over Planned Tolling of Second Niger Bridge Says bridge built with recovered Abacha, Ibori loots Alex Enumah in Abuja A civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has carpeted the federal government over its planned tolling of the almost completed 1.6 kilometers long Second Niger Bridge which links Anambra and Delta States.

According to the group, the federal government cannot collect toll on the bridge because it was being built with taxpayers’ fund returned in the form of loots recovered from former Nigerian military leader, General Sani Abacha and former Governor of Delta State, James Ibori.

In a statement yesterday, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said tolling the bridge, which is about to be the only road with toll

gate in the whole country, would be an injustice to all Nigerians plying through the route.

HURIWA argued that the returned $332.4 million Abacha loot from the United States and the £4.2 million Ibori loot paid to the federal government of Nigeria by the United Kingdom were the stolen commonwealth of all Nigerians which should be used on essential infrastructure for the betterment of the entire country.

Therefore, “it is unacceptable that the Second Niger Bridge will be tolled upon its completion after decade-long stalemate on the project,” it stated.

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola had on Channels Television on Wednesday, said the temporarily opened Second Niger Bridge would be tolled with the same model as the Lekki toll

gate in Lagos.

The Bridge was opened to traffic from December 15, 2022, to January 15, 2023, to ease the experience of travellers during the Yuletide before the final delivery date of May 2023.

Continuing, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The bombshell released by the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola that the Second Niger Bridge will be tolled is totally unacceptable and a betrayal by the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“It is on record that the Buhari regime pledged to use the $332.4 million recovered Abacha loot and the £4.2 million returned Ibori loot to fund the construction of the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos–Ibadan and Abuja–Kano Expressways to benefit the citizens of each of these important regions.

“The UK and the US especially ensured that the Nigerian Government commit its agreement to use the two recovered loots for infrastructure development as administered by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.

“HURIWA, therefore, finds it traitorous and preposterous that the Buhari regime will turn around to plan the tolling of the Second Niger Bridge."

While describing the government's decision as totally unacceptable, he argued that Nigerians should for once should enjoy their stolen taxes and resources returned in the forms of Abacha and Ibori loots.

HURIWA called on all Nigerians to resist the planned tolling of the Second Niger Bridge which is the only federally built bridge that would be tolled.”

will be bigger than any budget of the state. We are encouraging tourism, culture and arts to diversify our economy and creating jobs for our people and young ones. All these can be possible if only we get support and commitment from our people.

“But those displaced from the old order are still doing all to distract us from our transformational drive as the system doesn’t benefit them again. They are doing all to ensure they pull us down.”

Obaseki, while reiterating the government’s commitment to environmental sustainability, noted, “Next year 2023, we need to clean and green Edo State.

So, we will be coming to you seeking your cooperation and commitment to achieve this as one of the biggest problems and challenges facing Edo State.

“We should take the issue of our environment seriously, as climate change sets in. It is doing a lot of damage to our environment.

If you look at Benin City and many cities around the world, you will not believe that Edo is in the rain forest as there is a massive deforestation of the land and it's a big threat to us.

“We are experiencing a serious increase in rainfall. When the rain falls, there is nothing to hold it and it's causing massive erosion across the state. To tackle this, we will be coming to you next

year to appeal for your support to stop this threat. We will be needing the cooperation of our traditional, religious leaders and other stakeholders as we build our natural environment yet again.

“We thank our legislature as this set of legislators have passed more laws in the state since 1999 than any parliament. The judiciary has been very supportive to our administration as they ensure there is security, law and order in the state, while the traditional institution is the backbone of this administration as they have cooperated with us in forming a formidable security system in the state. We also thank our religious leaders whose prayers have helped this administration so far.”

The governor further noted, “The Edo State civil and public servants have been amazing.

They have great potential. We are amazed by their output and proud to say that the Edo State Civil Service has achieved greatly as no state, not even the federal government, has achieved as much.

“With over 4,000 computers deployed across the civil service, today over 70 per cent of our civil servants prepare their files and papers on our e-government platform and by the time we would be leaving office on November 11, 2024, Edo will not only have stopped using physical files but operate digital services to develop the state.”

Civil Society Groups Lament Attacks on Pencom DG Segun James A coalition of civil society (CCS) groups have cautioned against what it called, "frivolous allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement" against the Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar.

The group, in a statement signed by Ebun Sowumi for the Campaign for Democracy (CD); Alex Omotehinse for Centre for Human Rights and Justice; Emmanuel Goodnews for Sustainable Initiative for Good Governance; Declan Ihehaire for Activists for Good Governance, and Sola Abisogun

for Media Rights Concern, among others, lamented, "the recent happenings at the National Pension Commission, where a group of persons have decided to embark on a campaign of calumny against the Director General of the Commission, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar on the frivolous allegations of corruption and financial mismanagement.”

According to them, "these groups of persons are trying either by hook or crook to hold the Commission to ransom for their selfish gains and interests.

The information available indicates that some persons who we have uncovered are at the vanguard of these efforts.

"These people, whose corrupt

past has been brought to the attention of the Director General of PenCom, thinks they can divert attention from their persons to destroy one of the enviable institutions in the country today."

They complained that, "the agenda of these individuals is to deploy coordinated media attacks to draw the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari to remove the Director General PenCom despite her sterling achievements since her assumption of office in 2017.

"One thing we are 100 per cent sure of is that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and the International community are very well aware of the

transformational leadership that Mrs. Dahir-Umar has brought to the Commission since the assumption of office."

They stressed that, "it is on record that under the leadership of the current Director General, the National Pension Commission has recorded the following unprecedented feat as follows: "The exponential growth of pension assets from N6.42 trillion in 2017 when she assumed office to N14.6 trillion as of October 2022 shows an increase of over 100 per cent in Nigeria's pension assets.

"Successful recapitalisation of the pension industry from N1 billion to N5 billion. A move

that has increased investor confidence in the sector.

"The introduction of the multifund structure in the investment of pension fund assets to address the investment appetite and preference of contributors and their age profile.

"Approving a structured reduction of fees on the Net Asset Value of pension fund assets; and introducing the Micro Pension Plan for the participation of informal sector workers in the Contributory Pension Scheme.”

In addition, the group listed the, "introduction of mortgage scheme for Retirement Savings Account Holders, the first of its kind that will enable RSA holders to use the balance of their RSA

savings for mortgage, among many other brilliant innovations introduced by her.”

They stated that the Pencom boss’ reforms led to the approval by the president towards the end of last year, the sum of N159.466 billion for the payment of outstanding accrued rights and other pension liabilities of the government's retirees.

They insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari and stakeholders in the pension sector were aware of these giant strides and, "will not be distracted by the cheap blackmail by a group of persons on account of their dislike for the Principled and determined stance of the DG to her responsibilities."

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022

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POLITICS

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

Gateway Agro-Cargo Airport Project Nearing Completion Kunle Somorin writes about the 16 year-old abandoned Agro-cargo airport project resuscitated by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State which is billed for completion by early 2023

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hen at the recent Federal Executive Council media briefing, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, lampooned state governors for the rising poverty in the country, saying they relish in “executing bogus projects” instead of improving lives of people particularly in the rural areas, many thought he had not thought through the revolution going on in a State like Ogun.

“I think from the Federal Government’s side we are doing our best. But we need to say that rather than governors continuing to compete to take loans to build airports that are not necessary, where they have other airports so close to thema, or governors now competing to build flyovers all over the place,”Agba had blurted.

Ogun State present a case that is distinctly different from the one painted by Agba. The airport being put in place has job creation, agriculture and social welfare components that will not only benefit the elite but the grassroots people.

Although not building a new bridge or flyover, Governor Dapo Abiodun is finishing all the abandoned projects started by his predecessors. The airport itself is an inherited project.

Said the Governor at a parley on Budget:“I will not leave any project abandoned by previous government. Those they funded or abandoned midway will be completed by us. When we were drawing up budget too, we asked for your inputs and these are the roads and projects you chose by yourselves “Infrastructure, especially road will be given the right attention in order to open up the state for more economic development”, he had said after inspecting major roads in the East and Central Senatorial Districts of the State, adding that the Kuto flyover and service lanes in Abeokuta, though awarded by the last administration, was completed because taxpayers money had been expended on it.

It is the same reason that informed the return to the airport project that was initiated 16 years ago by another of his predecessors.

The vision behind the airport and most of the projects, he summarised as one “which is to give Ogun State focused and qualitative governance and to create an enabling environment for a public- private sector partnership, which is fundamental to reliable economic development and individual prosperity of the people of Ogun”.

Partnership on the airport project was given an expression with the $400m investment by the Gagan Guptan-led Arise Integrated Industrial Platfrom, a multinational company, working in collaboration with African Finance Corporation and Africa Import-Export Bank.

These foreign investors performed the ground-breaking ceremony of what they called a special agro-industrial processing zone (SAPZ)early this month.

Similarly, the Nigerian Customs Service has booked 100 hectres and the Nigerian Airforce has also committed to bringing their operations to what promises to be an aerotropolis (airport city) that will accommodate other concerns.

The Gateway Agro-cargo airport is strategically located within an Aerotropolis (Airport City) along the Ilishan-Iperu-Remo road of the busy Lagos Ibadan expressway and the Sagamu – Benin expressway. It shares close proximity to key industrial and agro-economic clusters within the state and its Southwestern neighbours.

“We are strategic in siting the airport here.

This is the centre of the state and a quick get-away and alternative route from Lagos, the country’s commercial capital. Activities at the airport will be supported by a Distribution and Logistic hub located within the airport,”the State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, has been

quoted as saying.

Already in place are facilities like the fourkilometre runway, the 36-metre tall control tower, fire station, cargo apron and terminal buildings and 750 workers on site daily working with floodlights round the clock.

All the pavement sections are going on while the cargo apron of 82,000 square metre for 2 type E and 2 type C aircrafts are being schedule for completion this month. The total are for the terminal apron is 50,000

square metres and can take one Type E and one Type C aircraft or 3 Type C aircrafts simultaneously.

All aprons are paved - plain, rigid and reinforced. The airport would provide facilities for cargo processing, storage, warehouses, training centre, provide an international standard testing centre for agricultural produce, serve as a logistic hub and also provide routine commercial flight.

Commenced in March 2021 and due for

commissioning at the turn of the year, the Gateway Agro-cargo airport at Ilishan-Remo in Ikenne local Government Area of Ogun State, is an ambitious project. It aspires to turns the hitherto refuse dump site to an aerotropolis – an airport city. It needs no gainsaying that agriculture value chain, the people and the economy of the state and individual prosperity of the people will be enhanced when the airport comes full stream.

“This is an aerotropolis; it is not just an airport but one that adds value to services.

The agro serving part is the most interesting. It is going to be a conglomeration of agro processing companies that take raw materials, turn them into finished goods. We will also have aggregation centres, storage facilities for agro produce so that the agro processing centres will not run out of raw materials.

“This is a truly an International Cargo Airport. At the stage it is now, it is already attracting a lot of attention and investors. The Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Air Force are coming. The Customs alone has requested and paid for 100 acres of land to build their base and training school. Others have signified interest to build warehouses. Cargo companies have also applied to have their presence here.

So are commercial flight operators “Those that want to go into the hospitality business have applied to build hotels. We will also have demonstration farms that would be run through an outgrower scheme.

That is the entire gamut of what will be seen here. I don’t have any doubt that this airport, in the first instance, will generate over 25,000 to 30,000 jobs,” Governor Abiodun enthused.

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

Adamawa: Oasis of Peace in an Unstable Zone Adamu Ganye writes about steps taken so far by Governor Umaru Fintiri towards ensuring that Adamawa remains a crisis free state through the provision of logistics support to the military, police and other security agencies in the state

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ometime, not too long ago, around 2013 up to 2016, Adamawa state was one of the terrorists ravaged states, in the country.

Within that time, life was very nasty in that part of the country, with several communities fallen to the firm grips of terrorists. Towns, communities and villages were sacked. People were chased out of their homes, and resorted to waiting for philanthropy at the Internally Displaced Peoples Camps.

Even after the restoration of peace by the military especially since President Muhammadu Buhari took over the helm of affairs of the country in 2015, life has been gradually returning to normalcy with several of the IDPs returning to their homes and starting life afresh, having lost their homes and habitation.

But, at no time did the people of Adamawa witness unparalleled peace in the past ten years, than during the ascendancy to the Governorship of Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, the current Governor of the state.

Fintiri came into office with the determination to turn things around for the better, not just for people living in the urban areas, but for those in the rural communities.

Since he assumed office in 2019, he not only provided needed support to the security agencies, including the Military, the Police, Department of State Services, and Civil Defence, but also to the paramilitary services, including the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service

and the Nigerian Correctional Service.

Although the above-mentioned are federal agencies, Governor Fintiri has no doubt in his mind that creating that synergy with them, as much as he can, would translate to peace of mind, not just for the entire people of Adamawa State, but for the visitors, some of who are international visitors, even across the neighbouring Republic of Cameroon.

To provide fillip to the efforts to sustain peace in the state, the Governor embarked on massive infrastructural development, rehabilitating roads which were hitherto rendered unstable through the activities of terrorists and bandits, but also due to the wear and tear that gravitate around construction efforts.

Consequently, Governor Fintiri embarked upon and completed 10 key rural roads, among which are: 27.91km Yolde Pate Prison - Yadim road; 18.09km Parda Muninga -

Fufore road; 19.71 Longa Ewa - W/Yombe road; 15.58km Kwanan Yaji - Amdur road; 25.58km Hong - Mijili - Kuva Gaya road; 16.93km Shelleng - Bakta road and 13.14 Polewire - Ndikon road, among others, spanning across the three senatorial zones in the state.

All these were done, not neglecting township roads like Gwaida Mallam - Izala - Rafael road in Numan LGA; European Quarters Road in Hong LGA; Gulak Township road in Madagali LGA; Kiri - Shelleng road in Shelleng LGA; Jada Township roads in Jada LGA; Michika Township road in Michika LGA; Buwangal - Sangasumi road in Ganye LGA; ADSU Road in Mubi; Pella - Maiha road in Hong. Maiha LGA; Mubi-South road in Mubi-South LGA; Lamurde Road in Lamurde LGA, as well as Guyuk Phase 11 road in Guyuk LGA, among others.

Not left behind are the urban roads in the state capital, where he has completely turned around the landscape, introducing beauty and panache to the lives of the people of Adamawa State and the entire residents in general.

On this score, Governor Fintiri embarked upon and completed several flyover bridges, the first of its kind in the entire North-West geopolitical zone of the country.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022

POLITICS

EPISTLES of ANTHONY KILA

The Final Buhari Christmas? From Qatar with Love

Chido Nwangwu writes about the difficult times Anthony Kila writes about the gains of the recently Nigerians are going through as President Muhammadu concluded World Cup football tournament won by Buhari celebrates his last Christmas in office Argentina in Qatar

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“It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid.

At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade.

And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy”

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hose are the opening lyrics of the 1984 globally acclaimed charity song written |by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money to benefit Ethiopia during the 1983 to 1985 famine crisis in the African country.

It was performed under the banner of a congregation of artists called Band Aid. In many ways, I believe that the inspirational words of those opening lyrics speak to the reality of millions/billions of citizens of different countries around the world.

For those, some of whom we’re familiar, these are scary times! Instead of the colorful cadences, joyful gathering of families and merriment in celebration of the birth of Christ, it’s become turned into a season of thunder and deaths and scarcity.

Scarcity of hope. Scarcity of salt and foods.

Scarcity of fuel and gas and kerosene, in the land where these exist and could be better, optimally extracted and refined to benefit its millions of hapless and traumatized citizens.

From Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, to Venezuela, the experiences are largely same— unless you have the funds for the escalated prices.

For millions of Nigerians and visitors to the perennially traumatized and patientno-more fellows, these past fews weeks, months and recent years of The Buhari Christmas have become a very dangerous season of insecurity and kidnapping — especially this 2022 season.

There’s fire on the mountain, burning into the early hours of 2023.… Few leaders and some incompetent personifications of the vulgarity of corrupt hijacking of public mechanisms for its and incapable mas-

querades seeking to “rule” as President of Nigerians seem to care.

Governors and civic leaders, defenseless women and children, unarmed men and political aspirants have since become targets of the new “kill and go” battallions and “unknown gunmen” In Nigeria, millions of citizens are going through The Final Buhari Christmas season without seeing “a light”, and a “smile of joy.”

Despite all of his promises and sanctimonious posturing, President Buhari has, in the practical realities of Nigerians and all sensate persons, failed to provide light/ power/energy!

Without near adequate power generation for the whole of Nigeria (which is far less than what Houston, one city in Texas, uses in 21 days only!).

From all the reports on the prices of Garri, yam, chicken, difficult times yeah speakable level of poverty as you’re moving to 2023 is astonishing and crushing.

From physical abuses, states-sponsored terrorism and violence against some ethnic and religious /faith groups, and other forms of crimes, their Christmas is merely an apparition of hell on earth!

I know several dozens of Nigerian diasporans who did not want to risk being kidnapped and possibly be killed during The Final Buhari Christmas.

Several of those in the south east battlegrounds — especially within the acidic geography of five miles radius to or from the hometown/village of the embattled Imo Governor Hope Uzodinma.

So many are not travelling home for The Final Buhari Christmas due to cautionary reasons and lawless impunity of the “unknown gunmen”, Fulani herdsmen and other bandits on freelance killings.

-Dr. Nwangwu, is Founder of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com Follow him on Twitter @Chido247

ear Readers, Somehow, maybe due to the influence of my Yoruba mother who is a compulsive greeter, I feel it would be blatantly in bad taste for me to start today’s epistle without serving a “compliments of the season to all”, mind you and let us be clear I mean it from the bottom of my heart and to prove how much I mean it we shall come back to those greetings and well wishes very soon.

Today however, the object of our missive is football and where else to take the cue from, if not from the new temple of football, Qatar?

For over two and half decades now, every time I think of football or observe football fans and players a thought comes to my mind: I tend to see football as the most important of the least important things in the world.

Don’t blame or praise me, the thought was planted in my head by legendary Italian coach, Arrigo Sacchi.

More than any other event, the just concluded Qatar 2022 world cup makes the case for anyone who needs to be convinced about the importance of the unimportant event called football that we see in different shades from various parts of the world. It is easy to see how important football is when you think of the amount involved, think of how much players are paid and how much is spent on merchandise and administration of games, we are told the recently concluded Qatar 2022 set back the host country about $300 billions or a lot more, depending on the kind of accounting method you are using.

That is more than any other country has ever spent on hosting the tournament, that is of course an understatement, in realty that is more than the cost of all the 21 world cups from 1930 till before Qatar 2022 combined.

Money aside, the importance of the world cup can also be gauged by the level of participation and passion of pride and prejudice the competition unleashed. So intense was the event that a new term is now available to describe a Post World Cup feeling experienced by fans, it is a sort of anti-climax sensation similar to what people feel when they return to work after a long vacation full or excitement, thrilling moments and happy environments enjoyed by young people during holidays.

The term is “Post World Cup depression”.

Yes, football is important and impactful but think about it, nothing would have happened if matches were not played, life would seamlessly continue if the world cup did not hold.

This is all theory though; the World Cup was real and many of us were caught by the frenzy.

On a personal note, I was close to what sport management scholars such as Sascha Schmidt and Benno Torgler described as “disloyal football fans”. I changed my allegiance from team to team up to four times during the competition.

Unlike most of their disloyal fans though, it was not the absence or presence of a star that turned me to an à la carte fan. My change of allegiance was dictated firstly by the absence of Nigeria in the competition and secondly by the annoying tendency of the teams I support to lose.

By the time we, or shall we say they, got to the final, I resorted to rooting for France, yes feel free to laugh as we all know how that ended.

I rooted for France for this following five main reasons: Lyrics of the French National Anthem, Melody of the French National Anthem, Diversity of the French team, Style of the French game and because I don’t like

Argentina but they won anyway. C’est la vie…

The victory of Argentina was the last major competitive event that happened in Qatar, the first competitive event was before the first game, it was a victory of policy and management victory by Qatar: National pride provoked a desire to host the world cup and through the committed and visionary leadership of few that deployed their management skills and contacts, Qatar was not only able to win the bid to host the World Cup but they hosted a competition that is arguably the best the world has ever seen.

Fortune helps those who dare, the leaders of Qatar dared for and in the name of their people by putting in place exemplary parks and stadiums, rail networks and hotels, shopping facilities and other exciting tourist attractions, fortune conspired to help them by making sure the tournament was everything analysts, fans and organizers love to see in a World Cup: a thrilling drama of goals, skills, style, twists and tears, no team was a push over.

The world can learn a lot from Qatar about how to spend money and how to make a statement.

We all can learn about leadership and purpose, partnership and vision from Qatari leaders. Argentina goes away with the coveted trophy, the rest of us with memories and dreams, the Qataris now have their world class infrastructure, the name of the country is on the world map and notwithstanding their controversial human rights record that Rotimi Olarewaju, my colleague at CIAPS continue to defend, many will go there for holidays and retreats.

The secret of the success we saw on display in Qatar on and off the pitch of play are not hidden they are essentially about leadership with purpose, planning and partnership.

In Qatar they do not have the kind of popular democracy most of us in the rest of the world have or profess to have, Qataris don’t choose their leaders, the Emir of Qatar does that for them but they have leaders who love their country enough to allow those who can do it make their country look great.

Those of us with the privilege and responsibility of electing public leaders should act with care and wisdom when choosing.

A good place to start from will be for we citizens not to confuse political parties with football teams and not to confuse candidates with football stars.

Join me if you can @anthonykila to continue these conversations.

-Kila is Centre Director at CIAPS Lagos. www.ciaps.org.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 21Dec-2022, unless otherwise stated.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 12.89% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.69 3.75 8.61% ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 0.02% Anchoria Equity Fund 142.86 144.45 2.59% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.22 1.22 6.79% info@anchoriaam.com ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 21.60 22.25 111.23% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 500.99 516.09 121.54% ARM Ethical Fund 42.67 43.95 119.12% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.10 1.10 103.22% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.07 1.07 110.55% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.37% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 94.71 94.71 -7.88% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,109.38 1,109.38 4.12% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) N/A N/A N/A CAPITALTRUST INVESTMENTS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED halalfif@capitaltrustnigeria.com Web: www.capitaltrustnigeria.com; Tel: 08061458806 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Capitaltrust Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.04 1.04 8.29% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 14.53% Paramount Equity Fund 18.01 18.34 8.54% Women's Investment Fund 145.71 147.44 2.73% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 11.41% Cordros Milestone Fund 136.22 137.20 9.26% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 112.98 112.98 5.32% CORONATION ASSETS MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.23% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.06 1.06 8.83% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.04 1.04 3.49% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 104.83 104.83 3.00% FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Bond Fund 1462.74 1462.74 11.68% FBN Balanced Fund 196.82 198.12 12.30% FBN Halal Fund 122.41 122.41 12.54% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 13.25% FBN Dollar Fund 119.99 119.99 6.66% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 158.23 160.51 5.41% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.16% Legacy Debt Fund 3.57 3.57 -10.83% Legacy Equity Fund 1.95 1.99 12.17% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.26 1.26 4.44% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn

Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

4,125.95 3,703.85 100.00

4,154.48 3,703.85 100.00

6.10% 6.98% 14.58%

FSDH Dollar Fund 1.13 1.13 0.00% GUARANTY TRUST FUND MANAGERS LIMITED enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) N/A N/A N/A Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.70 1.73 19.57% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,180.24 1,180.24 9.30% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: www.meristemwealth.com/funds/; Tel: +2348028496012 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Meristem Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 102.67 102.67 9.20% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 12.75% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.56 1.60 -0.39% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.42 11.59 2.81% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 8.68% PACAM Equity Fund 1.43 1.45 0.43% PACAM EuroBond Fund 116.58 119.98 2.61% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund N/A N/A N/A SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.10 1.10 11.04% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,605.79 3,634.22 6.36% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 244.76 244.76 3.90% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.39 1.41 11.11% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 332.02 332.02 6.03% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 255.77 258.88 9.51% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 12.63% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 11,820.44 11,955.47 8.22% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.36 1.36 5.44% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 120.79 120.79 3.32% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 114.69 114.69 7.81% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 0.93 0.96 5.37% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.33 1.35 1.77% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.15 1.17 11.40% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.10 1.10 7.20% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.95 1.95 6.31% United Capital Eurobond Fund 125.18 125.18 5.75% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.10% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 13.75 13.87 4.21% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 15.57 15.71 6.45% Zenith Income Fund 23.57 23.57 7.37% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.32% VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD funds@vetiva.com Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund 4.12 4.22 2.74% Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund 5.57 5.67 -4.62% Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund 18.14 18.34 2.60% Vetiva Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 11.63% Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund 23.89 24.09 19.46% Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund 142.07 144.07 -9.88%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

121.79 52.78

7.35% 3.72%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

15.29 129.27 100.39 N/A N/A

15.39 131.54 102.12 N/A N/A

9.27% 1.31% 0.40% N/A N/A

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

N/A

N/A

N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.59

0.00%

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

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28 T H I S D AY FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022 TR

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Friday December 23, 2022 Vol 27. No 10118

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opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

The legal ambush against the governor of the central bank indicates the Buhari administration’s propensity for abuse of process, writes BOLAJI ADEBIYI

AN OPEN LETTER TO PETER OBI ‘The race is yours to win,’ writes JOSEF OMOROTIONMWAN

See page 29

ELECTION VIOLENCE AND FRAGILITY OF NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY

WEALTH DICKSON OMINABO argues that violence constitutes a threat to the 2023 elections

See page 29 EDITORIAL

THE CHALLENGE OF CYBERCRIMES

30

1

EMEFIELE AND HIS FRIENDS It had all the trappings of fake news as it made the rounds in the Social Media space in the early hours of Monday. The story was that the Department of State Services, one of the nation’s ubiquitous secret police establishments, had lost a surreptitious legal battle to have Godwin (PHÀHOH JRYHUQRU RI WKH &HQWUDO %DQN RI Nigeria, kept behind bars for long days.

7KH GLVEHOLHI ZDV DPSOLÀHG E\ WKH reference to an unnamed source as the basis of the story that a whole governor of the nation’s central bank had been ÀQJHUHG DV RQH WKH KHDY\ZHLJKWV EHKLQG the terrorists that had made the lives of 1LJHULDQV D OLYLQJ KHOO %XW DV WKH VWRU\ EHJDQ WR ÀQG LWV ZD\ LQWR WKH RQOLQH versions of the mainstream media it began to make sense, donning the toga of real news that had been hidden for days. %\ WKH WLPH WKH IXOO GHWDLOV HPHUJHG LQ the afternoon, it became clearer that the secret police were up to one of their usual antics of meddlesomeness in politics and had bungled a legal ambush to have the nation’s chief banker incarcerated. The '66 KDG ÀOHG D FULPLQDO VXLW EHKLQG (PHÀHOH·V EDFN RQ 'HFHPEHU and sought the court’s leave to have him arrested and detained for alleged WHUURULVP ÀQDQFLQJ DQG HFRQRPLF FULPHV of national security dimension.

John Tsoho, the chief judge of the )HGHUDO +LJK &RXUW GHFLGHG WR DVVLJQ WKH case to himself and upon listening to the lawyers of the DSS two days later refused the application for the incarceration of (PHÀHOH RQ WKH JURXQG WKDW LW ZDV QRW RQO\ ÀVK\ EXW ZDV DOVR SURFHGXUDOO\ ÁDZHG +H VDLG WKH VHFUHW SROLFH SOD\HG hanky-panky by not disclosing the status of the accused in order to cover up their attempt to bypass established protocol IRU WKH SURVHFXWLRQ RI VXFK D KLJK R΀FLDO of government whose incarceration could be of substantial consequence for the nation’s economy.

“It, therefore, seems that the applicant >'66@ LQWHQGV WR XVH WKH &RXUW DV D cover for an irregular procedure, which is unacceptable. In the light of the foregoing reasons, I decline to grant this application ex parte,” Justice Tsoho said, adding, “If the applicant believes that the HYLGHQFH DYDLODEOH WR LW VR IDU LV VX΀FLHQW then it can as well arrest and detain the applicant, even without the order of this court.” %XW JLYLQJ WKH '66 VRPH EUHDWKLQJ space, he stated, “If however, the applicant desires to still pursue this application, then it should place the Respondent on Notice, considering the VHQVLWLYH SXEOLF R΀FH WKDW KH RFFXSLHV This application as presently constituted LV UHIXVHG µ &XULRXVO\ WKH VHFUHW SROLFH

have not taken up this challenge to bring forth their evidence to confront the central banker in the open court. Maybe they are still gathering more evidence. ,W LV FXULRXV WKDW LW WRRN FOHDU GD\V for a sensitive case with the potential for monumental consequences for the national economy to come to public knowledge. As the judge correctly noted the entire process was unusual given the DSS and its sister intelligence agencies’ proclivity for drama before and after FULPLQDO VXLWV DUH ÀOHG 7VRKR·V VXVSLFLRQ of mischief in dismissing the ex parte application has since struck a common chord with many social commentators, particularly legal and political minds who think that the state security service may have acted based on politics rather than security concerns.

This is unfortunate because this kind of PLVFRQGXFW HURGHV SXEOLF FRQÀGHQFH LQ the ability of state institutions to discharge their assignments professionally and H΀FLHQWO\ +DSSHQLQJ DW D WLPH RI VHULRXV security challenges in the country, except the DSS steps up with clinical evidence RI (PHÀHOH·V DOOHJHG ZURQJGRLQJ PRUH Nigerians that it is mandated to protect might retain great doubts about its capacity to discharge its responsibilities responsibly. The consequence of this might be a worsening resort to self-help.

Already, not a few Nigerians, particularly the less favored politicians, think that the central bank governor is being harassed for the bank’s recent steps to expand the frontiers of its cashless policy. They apprehend cash-for-votes politicians as the masquerades behind WKH SHUFHLYHG SORW WR SXVK (PHÀHOH out and install a malleable replacement that would do their bidding. Would any reasonable person blame them for harboring this perception?

The nation’s security services and law enforcement agencies are notorious for raising dust without concrete substance

and have been severally found to act in aid of political rather than national VHFXULW\ REMHFWLYHV ,Q WKH '66 raided the houses of some justices of the 6XSUHPH &RXUW DQG KLJK FRXUW MXGJHV The operations were carried out at midnight and the agency played them up the next day in the media. The judicial R΀FHUV ZHUH DFFXVHG RI VXQGU\ FRUUXSW practices. The service even claimed that a cache of foreign currencies was found in some of the jurists’ houses during the UDLG %XW DIWHU \HDUV RI WULDO WKH VHUYLFH could not sustain a single conviction in court.

Three years after that incident, it was the turn of Walter Onnoghen, the FKLHI MXVWLFH RI WKH 6XSUHPH &RXUW Thought to have sympathies for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, the administration could not risk having him in the saddle to preside over petitions that might arise from the presidential race in WKH R΀QJ +H ZDV KDXOHG EHIRUH WKH &RGH RI &RQGXFW 7ULEXQDO DQ HVVHQWLDOO\ administrative panel that by the 1999 &RQVWLWXWLRQ DV DOWHUHG FRXOG QRW UHPRYH KLP IURP R΀FH &RPSOHWHO\ DJDLQVW WKH UXQ RI SOD\ WKH &-1 ZDV VXVSHQGHG IURP R΀FH RQ WKH VWUHQJWK RI DQ H[ SDUWH RUGHU of a quasi-judicial entity of the executive.

He eventually had to resign to pave the way for a preferred Ibrahim Mohammad.

The rest of this story is well-known.

However, there are those who think (PHÀHOH LV EREEOLQJ LQ KLV RZQ KRW SRW RI VRXS 2EWDLQLQJ D VHFRQG WHUP RI ÀYH years, a rare feat in recent history, he is thought to have pandered too much WR WKH %XKDUL DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ·V ZKLPV reportedly advantaging its lackeys with PXFK RI KLV EDQN·V GHYHORSPHQW ÀQDQFH KDQGRXWV )HHOLQJ VX΀FLHQWO\ SURWHFWHG he even surreptitiously attempted to enter the presidential race on the platform of the ruling All Progressives &RQJUHVV XQWLO KH ZDV RXWPDQHXYHUHG LQ the delicate and extremely conspiratorial power game.

Perhaps, he should not have veered into politics as it appears that those who edged him out of the presidential run now think that he is having his pound RI ÁHVK ZLWK KLV EDQN·V UHGHVLJQ RI VRPH currencies and restriction of over-thecounter withdrawals, a policy that is sure WR XQGHUPLQH WKHLU ÀVFDO VWUDWHJ\ WR ZLQ WKH LPSHQGLQJ HOHFWRUDO FRQWHVW This, however, cannot justify the seeming intervention of an intelligence and security service in essentially political contestation.

Adebiyi, the managing editor of THISDAY Newspapers, writes from bolaji.adebiyi@ thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY

3 29

FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022

WEALTH DICKSON OMINABO argues that violence constitutes a threat to the 2023 elections ‘The race is yours to win,’ writes JOSEF OMOROTIONMWAN

AN OPEN LETTER TO PETER OBI $'/$, 6WHYHQVRQ ZDV 6DPELVD IRUHVW ² D YDVW DUHD ² IRU \RXU HVVHQWLDOO\ ULJKW ZKHQ KH VDLG ´(YHQ SXUSRVH ,W LPPHGLDWHO\ RFFXUV WR \RX WKDW more important than winning the election WKH 6DPELVD IRUHVW KDV EHHQ WKH WKHDWUH RI LV JRYHUQLQJ WKH QDWLRQ 7KDW LV WKH WHVW RI ZDU IRU VRPH \HDUV QRZ DQG WKH HQWLUH D SROLWLFDO SDUW\ ² WKH DFLG ÀQDO WHVW :KHQ DUHD LV IXOO RI ODQGPLQHV <RX FDOO LQ WKH WKH WXPXOW DQG WKH VKRXWLQJV GLH ZKHQ WKH H[SHUWV DQG WKH\ DGYLVH WKDW \RX QHHG EDQGV DUH JRQH DQG WKH OLJKWV DUH GLPPHG VRPH WZR \HDUV WR GHPLQH WKH IRUHVW DQG WKHUH LV WKH VWDUN UHDOLW\ RI UHVSRQVLELOLW\µ PDNH LW VDIH IRU DJULFXOWXUH ,W EHFRPHV :H KDYH IROORZHG \RXU FDPSDLJQV ZLWK FOHDU WR \RX WKDW WKH IUXLW RI DJULFXOWXUH LV NHHQ LQWHUHVW DQG LW KDV EHFRPH LQFXPEHQW QRW ORZ KDQJLQJ DIWHU DOO RQ XV WR LQIRUP \RX IURP WLPH WR WLPH KRZ There are hurdles at the National \RX DUH GRLQJ )URP WKHUH ZH VKDOO DWWHPSW $VVHPEO\ HQG 4XLWH KRQHVWO\ QR PDWWHU WR FKDUW D ZD\ IRUZDUG DQG SRVVLEO\ SRLQW KRZ KDUG \RX ZRUN ZH GR QRW VHH WKH /DERXU 3DUW\ EHLQJ DEOH WR SURGXFH D out some perceived challenges ahead.

FRPIRUWDEOH PDMRULW\ DW ERWK &KDPEHUV RI WKH 1DWLRQDO $VVHPEO\ $GPLWWHGO\ \RX KDYH KDG WKH XQSOHDVDQW H[SHULHQFH RI ZRUNLQJ ZLWK RSSRVLWLRQ OHJLVODWRUV ZKHQ \RX ZHUH Governor in Anambra. We still remember KRZ \RX ZHUH LPSHDFKHG DIWHU VL[ VKRUW PRQWKV LQ R΀FH We also remember the Edo State JXEHUQDWRULDO FRQWHVW RI ZKLFK VSLOOHG LQWR EHFDXVH RI WKH SURWUDFWHG FRXUW SURFHVV WKDW IROORZHG 2XU FDQGLGDWH IRU WKDW HOHFWLRQ ZDV &RPUDGH $GDPV $OL\X Oshiomhole and during the electioneering FDPSDLJQ WKH RQO\ VRQJ WKDW SURFHHGHG <RX DUH GRLQJ ZHOO DQG \RX PXVW RXW RI 2VKLRPKROH·V PRXWK ZKHUHYHU ZH FRQWLQXH XQGHWHUUHG <RX KDYH FUHGLWDEO\ ZHQW ZDV ´7KH (QG WR *RGIDWKHULVPµ LQ HDUQHG \RXUVHOI WKH WLWOH RI ´0U 6WDWLVWLFVµ DSSDUHQW UHIHUHQFH WR WKH ODWH &KLHI 7RQ\ 7UXH RQ WKH ZD\ WR 1DWLRQDO GHYHORSPHQW $QHQLK 7R 2VKLRPKROH *RGIDWKHULVP statistics remain the best meal on the menu. was dead and buried.

7R WKDW H[WHQW ´1D VWDWLVWLFV ZH JR FKRSµ ,Q WKH HXSKRULD RI RXU QHZ FRQTXHVW ZH <RX DUH VKRZLQJ E\ KDSS\ LOOXVWUDWLRQ WKDW FRPSLOHG D OLVW RI RXU FRPPLVVLRQHUVKLS WKH VROXWLRQV \RX SURͿHU KDYH ZRUNHG QRPLQHHV IRU RQZDUG WUDQVPLVVLRQ WR WKH HOVHZKHUH DQG WKH\ ZLOO ZRUN LQ 1LJHULD +RXVH RI $VVHPEO\ $IWHU RQH PRQWK WKH ÀUVW OLVW GLHG LQ RXU :H VDOXWH \RX You have maintained, perhaps with KDQGV $V WKH\ VD\ LQ WKH FROORTXLDO QR PRQRWRQRXV UHJXODULW\ WKDW RQH RI WKH one was bold enough to remove the cloth ORZ KDQJLQJ IUXLWV ZLOO EH DQ LPPHGLDWH KXQJ LQ WKH VXQ E\ D ZLWFK 2VKLRPKROH UHGXFWLRQ RI WKH VR FDOOHG IXHO VXEVLG\ E\ FRXOG QRW SUHVHQW WKH OLVW RI FRPPLVVLRQHUV SHUFHQW 7KH LPPHGLDWH VDYLQJ RI DERXW WR D 3'3 GRPLQDWHG $VVHPEO\ 3XW SRLQW 1 WULOOLRQ IURP WKLV VLQJOH VRXUFH ZKLOH EODQN WKH\ ZHUH $QHQLK·V ER\V \RX NHHS ORRNLQJ IRU D SHUPDQHQW UHPHG\ ,QFLGHQWDOO\ WKH FORFN QHYHU VWRSSHG WR WKH WRWDO VXEVLG\ LVVXH LV QR PHDQ ,W ZDV VWLOO WLFNLQJ RͿ DQG WKH VWDWH DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ ZDV VXͿHULQJ )DU LQWR achievement.

7KLV ZLOO EH SURSHUO\ VXSSOHPHQWHG E\ the second month, Oshiomhole decided WKH WRXJK ÀJKW \RX DUH SODQQLQJ DJDLQVW that it was time to swallow his pride. On WKH WZLQ HYLO RI RLO WKHIW $V LW ZHUH WKLV RQH IDWHIXO ZHW HYHQLQJ KH GURYH GRZQ ZRXOG SURYLGH HQRXJK ZKLWH \DP RQ RXU WR WKH 8URPL 5HVLGHQFH RI &KLHI $QHQLK WDEOHV ZKLOH ZH ZDLW IRU WKH UHG \DP WR 2QO\ *RG NQRZV KRZ PDQ\ KRXUV KH VSHQW DW WKH JDWH EHIRUH KH ZDV OHW LQWR WKH mature. Keep it up.

Your insistence on agriculture as one compound.

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T H I S D AY

FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022

EDITORIAL

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

THE CHALLENGE OF CYBERCRIMES The regulators could do more to tame the menace

I

be Nigerians. Committed mostly by the young, often f there is any lesson from the Covid-19 pandemic called “Yahoo” boys, a precursor of the infamous ‘419’ across the world, it is in how Information and email scammers, the fraudsters are increasingly taking Communications Technology (ICT) systems are advantage of the rise in online transactions, electronic now as basic to our lives as water and electricity. shopping, e-commerce, and the electronic messaging During the lockdown that lasted several systems to engage in all manner of crimes. The Central months in many countries, it was technology Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has consistently reported that that enabled people and businesses to be connected. about 70 per cent of attempted or successful fraud/ Today, many individuals, corporate organisations and forgery cases in the Nigerian banking system were government agencies depend on ICT and computer perpetrated via the electronic channels. This is a networks to perform simple as well as complex tasks disincentive for foreign investment.

- from social networking and research to business and In 2015, the Cybercrimes Act was passed into law commerce. But cyberspace is vulnerable to the antics of to address the challenges. The law criminalises a criminals, especially in Nigeria where internet scams YDULHW\ RI RͿHQFHV ² IURP are reported to have ATM card skimming and increased by more than identity theft to possession 50 per cent in the past two An effective response to cybercrimes requires a robust security of child pornography. It years. imposes, for instance, seven Cybercrimes, as most infrastructure including the use of encryption, data protection years imprisonment for people are already aware, legislation, information security standards and other tools RͿHQGHUV RI DOO NLQGV DQG refer to criminal acts such additional seven years for as identity theft and bank online crimes that result frauds facilitated using in physical harm, and life the internet. Sadly, to our T H I S D AY imprisonment for those that lead to death. But like collective shame, Nigeria is often cited as a breeding EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU almost every law in the country, there is the problem ground for most of these nefarious practices because DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA of enforcement. The “yahoo boys” still daily throng of the activities of some of our citizens. In recent years, MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO cybercafé premises to “transact” their business with the DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU many criminal elements have been using these modern CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI owners looking away. Yet the law criminalises internet telecommunication networks to commit all manner of EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN café owners who knowingly allow their premises to be crimes that give us a bad image globally. Last month in MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI used to commit crimes.

WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV D 1LJHULDQ VRFLDO PHGLD LQÁXHQFHU THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE In response to the apparent failure of the law Ramon Abbas, aka ‘Hushpuppi’ was sentenced in Los to address the growing challenge, the minister is Angeles to more than 11 years in prison. Abbas, 40, was canvassing the need to improve the capacity of relevant also ordered to pay $1.7m in restitution to two fraud T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D ICT and cyberspace stakeholders for the training and victims, according to a statement from the United EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA VXSSRUW RI F\EHU VHFXULW\ R΀FLDOV DQG WKH VKDULQJ RI States Department of Justice. Abbas, according to the GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, cyber security best practice from across the globe.

ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI American prosecutor, laundered money from various These are in addition to building the capacity of local DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, online crimes including business email compromise, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE law enforcement. a crime in which criminals hack into email accounts, DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI $V ZH KDYH UHLWHUDWHG RQ WKLV SDJH DQ HͿHFWLYH pretend to be someone they’re not, and fool victims SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH response to cybercrimes requires a robust security into wiring money to them.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI infrastructure including the use of encryption, data Indeed, there is an upsurge of cybercrime in Nigeria. CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO protection legislation, information security standards The country is ranked third in global internet crime TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com and other tools. while 7.5 per cent of the world’s hackers are said to

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 CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS AMID ECONOMIC DISTRESS Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Messiah, who was part human and part divine. He was born more than two thousand years ago of lowly parentage. His father being a carpenter; and the mother, the virgin Mary. His birth was called the immaculate conception. And Christ, whose teachings revolutionized the world, is reputed to be the founder of Christianity.

Christianity is one of the religions in the world. But we have other religions such as Taoism, Hinduism, Bhudism, Confucianism, Shintoism, African Traditional Religion, Islam, and others. These religions each have their teachings. And, they have their festivals, which their adherents celebrate.

But it is said that Christmas is the most widely celebrated religious festival in our today’s world. Truly, it is not only in the Christendom that Christmas is celebrated. Christmas is celebrated by Christians and non-Christians in many countries of the world, starting from such far country as Australia to China, and from Ghana to America. The fact that non-Christians participate in the celebration of the Christian festival called Christmas makes Christmas a unique and revered religious festival.

But Jesus Christ, whose birthday we celebrate on every December 25, deserves the great honour that is accorded to Him in each year.

Not only was he great a teacher, but he was also a miracle-worker. It

is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible that He stilled tempesWXRXV ZDWHUV ZDONHG RQ ZDWHU IHG SHRSOH ZLWK ÀYH ORDYHV RI EUHDG DQG WZR ÀVK KHDOHG WKH VLFN DQG UDLVHG SHRSOH IURP WKH GHDG -HVXV &KULVW D JUHDW UHOLJLRXV ÀJXUH ZKR ZDONHG WKH HDUWK PRUH than 2000 years ago, was able to perform those miracles and extra-ordinary deeds because he was part human and part divine. Christ’s immaculate conception and nativity story underline His divinity or divine nature.

His earthly parents, Joseph, a carpenter and Virgin Mary had no coitus before Jesus Christ was conceived in Mary’s womb. In fact, Joseph was contemplating putting her away when an angel of the Lord appeared to him and advised him not to take that course of action.

Jesus Christ’s birth was foretold long before His birth. He is one of the triune God, that is, God the father, God the son, and God the holy spirit. Jesus Christ was the son of God, who took human form and incarnated on earth to become a ransom for our sins. So it is said that whosoever that believes in Him, confesses his or her sins, and exercises faith in Him shall inherit the kingdom of God. While on earth, Jesus Christ’s teachings riled the earthly rulers and irked them to no end. His revolutionary teachings sought to overturn the existent laws on earth, then. His religious iconoclasm was RQH RI WKH UHDVRQV KH ZDV LPSDOHG RQ WKH FURVV DQG FUXFLÀHG %XW KH

rose from the dead on the third day of His death and ascended into heaven.

Though he died more than 2000 years ago, His teachings, especially the ones that centre on love, have found resonance among millions of people that profess the Christian faith. It should be noted that the doctrinal base of Jesus Christ’s teachings and sermons is love.

But love or charity is a very scarce commodity on earth now. A majority of people are unfeeling; and they are not their brothers keepers.

Here, now, in Nigeria, people do not set store by the virtue of love, anymore. For example, it is not love that motivates or impels Nigerians to become insurgents, bandits, and terrorists, who embark on the execution of homicidal deeds to achieve their ethnic and theocratic goals. And it is not love that actuates kidnappers, who abduct wellheeled Nigerians for ransom.

More so, our political leaders, who loot our public treasuries, thereby impoverishing us do not abide by Christ’s teaching on love. ,W LV LURQLF WKDW VRPH ORRWHUV RI RXU ÀQDQFLDO WLOOV DQG ZUHFNHUV RI 1Lgeria are ardent Christians, who bear such Christian names as Joseph, Michael, Stephen, Peter, John, and others.

Chiedu Uche Okoye, Uruowulu-Obosi Anambra State

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022

27

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 2 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

10.25%

INDEX LEVEL

613.31%

1/4 TO DATE

-0.85%

N416.86/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

9.56%

1-DAY

0.16%

YEAR TO DATE

7.64%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10.52%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.44%

Stakeholders Blame Aviation Fuel Scarcity on Poor Logistics, Delays in Shipment of Petroleum Products

Chinedu Eze Industry stakeholders have attributed the current scarcity of aviation fuel to poor logistics and late arrival of ships bringing the petroleum products to Nigeria.

Such delays in the shipment of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, have disrupted flight operations in Nigeria, and have brought pains and disappointments to air travelers in Nigeria.

THISDAY learnt that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) had ordered for the products but many of the ships bringing the products were yet to berth at the seashores of Nigeria. For the few that have berthed, it will take another four days for the product to start arriving at the airports due to poor logistics.

Ex-Managing Director of Arik Air and currently the CEO of Cleanserve

Energy Limited, an oil marketing company that supplies aviation fuel to airlines, Chris Ndulue, told THISDAY that NNPC had ordered petroleum products with priority given to petrol but many of the ships were yet to berth, noting that one ship ought to have berthed last week but there was no indication that it had arrived Nigeria; otherwise, there could have been some relief.

He said the delays were caused by poor logistics, adding that his company has not had the product for some time.

According to Ndulue, “We expected that one of the cargos brought in by NNPC, which has preference for PMS (petrol), would bring some relief to Nigerians, but we are yet to experience any relief.

Some of the ships should be berthing by now. The first one was supposed to come last week, but I think it is being delayed because of poor

logistics. When the ship berths it takes four days for the product to be distributed and arrive at the airports. At some point last week I thought it has come, but I think as time goes on there will be a relief.”

Ndulue also remarked that the upsurge in passenger traffic at the airports would diminish after December 24 and pick up again from January 2, 2023.

“By Saturday, December 24, the season will be over. Flights will reduce from December 25, and there will be skeletal services,” he said.

The former Managing Director of Arik Air wondered how a country that has many refineries and has risen to become an oil producing nation, could be importing petroleum products and regretted that this did not start today, having lasted for many years. He added that every new government that has come on board followed the same pattern

of importing petroleum products.

“We cannot be talking about importing and shipping petroleum products, but this has been happening from year to year. I think it is high time we put an end to this. It is not something we should even be talking about,” he further said.

Spokesman for Air Peace, Stanley Olise also told THISDAY that the scarcity of the petroleum products, especially aviation fuel, have disrupted flights, a situation, he said, had remained an industry-wide challenge that has affected all the airlines. He said the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) issued statement, warning travellers to brace up because there could be disruptions in the flights, occasioned by scarcity of aviation fuel.

“The scarcity of aviation fuel is affecting us. AON issued a statement, alerting travellers and warning them of possible flight

delays and disruptions. It is biting hard on us. This is industry wide problem. Everybody is affected,” Olise said.

Part of the statement issued by AON read, “The scarcity will no doubt force airlines to reschedule flights leading to late operations and, or, cancellations. This unintended development is a pain on airline operators and a stain on the industry, especially at this time of mass movement of people for the Christmas and New Year festivities. The scarcity will no doubt force airlines to reschedule flights leading to late operations and or cancellations.

“This unintended development is a pain on airline operators and a stain on the industry, especially at this time of mass movement of people for the Christmas and New Year festivities,” the statement further.”

AON also addressed the

passengers and said, “We will do our utmost best to manage the situation and ensure safe flight operations, we plead for the understanding of the traveling public in this circumstance.”

AON also called on the concerned authorities, including product importers and marketers to do their best to resolve the ugly situation so as to ease the stress it brings on the travelling public.

“As Airline Operators, we remain committed to doing all that is necessary to ensure seamless services and safe air travels in our dear country,” the statement further said.

THISDAY observed on Tuesday and Wednesday that besides delays caused by harmattan haze, major flight delays were caused by aviation fuel scarcity.

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

Pantami: Quality Software Will Give Nigeria’s Digital Economy Competitive Advantage Emma Okonji The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami has said effective software quality assurance in the Nigerian digital economy will greatly impact the economy’s accelerated growth.

Pantami said this while presenting the lead paper at the first-ever Software Testing Conference in Nigeria with the theme: ‘Impact of

Software Quality Assurance in the Nigerian Digital Economy’, organised recently by Nigeria Software Testing Qualification Board (NGSTQB), at Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to Pantami, the importance of software in global development cannot be overemphasised, hence software powers the hardware, and most of the innovations in all sectors and spheres of life.

“If you look at the world’s advancement in the internet economy, transportation, financial services, power, cyber security and many life endeavours, software is the secret to that success. I can categorically say that the world would not have achieved much if there was no invention of software.

“The article by Jeff Lawson in the Harvard Business Review, argued that in the digital economy,

your software is your competitive advantage. This same argument applies to any country that wants to succeed in the digital economy era. We have seen the implication of this during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ICT industry, which is powered by software, benefited the most, as the industry’s growth skyrocketed,” Pantami said.

The minister who was represented by the Digital

Architect Manager at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Falilat Jimoh, said one of the greatest challenges the software industry is facing today is the issue of quality.

While making reference to a recent report by Synopsis Inc in the US, which discovered that many organisations allow software quality to lag behind other objectives,

Pantami said: “There is a need to take full advantage of the opportunities the software industry is going to play in the digital economy growth while ensuring that the challenges that could hinder software quality, do not thwart the progress we have collectively achieved in the digital economy sector.”

The story continues online on www.thisdaylive.com

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 2 2 BONDS DESCRIPTION Price ^14.20 14MAR-2024 13.53 23MAR-2025 ^12.50 22JAN-2026 ^16.2884 17MAR-2027 ^13.98 23FEB-2028

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OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS MATURITY FDHP CP III 17-MAR-23 VHPL CP III 1-APR-23 MREP CP VI 11-APR-23

Change Updated Time (%) December 0.00 16, 12.44 12.84 2022 December 17.39 18.32 0.00 16, 2022 December 14.02 14.68 0.00 16, 2022

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CONTRACT TENOR Contract (MONTH) NGUS DEC 28 1 2022 NGUS JAN 25 2 2023 NGUS FEB 22 3 2023 NGUS MAR 29 4 2023 NGUS APR 26 5 2023

Current Rate Updated Time ($/₦) December 454.73 16, 2022 December 456.93 16, 2022 December 459.12 16, 2022 December 461.32 16, 2022 December 463.51 16, 2022

28

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

United Nigeria Airlines Introduces Installment Payment for Tickets Chinedu Eze United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited has introduced an innovative payment system that will boost the capacity of its passengers to fly the airline at a minimal cost.

The new payment system, known as Pay Small Small (PSS), will allow passengers to plan for their trips through installment payments for tickets.

According to the airline, the payment system is being offered to the traveling public in partnership with Kalabash, a payment solutions company.

A statement by the airline said the PSS service “will be available for all United Nigeria Airlines passengers and will give them access to great travel deals,

allowing them to lock down the best prices by paying as little as 25 percent of the total cost as down payment and splitting the balance into convenient installments from 24hrs to 6 months, starting from 18th November 2022.”

It noted that the “PSS service is very straightforward, with no credit checks or scrutiny necessary.”

It further stated, “PSS is a flexible travel payment plan that is designed with experienced and intending travelers in mind.”

Speaking at the unveiling of the PSS system recently in Lagos, the Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, said the airline would do its best to offer its clients opportunities that will make traveling seamless

for them.

According to him, “We are continually looking for opportunities and collaborations that will foster innovation, happiness, and convenience for our loyal customer base.”

Also commenting, the Chief Executive Officer of Kalabash, Ladi Ojuri, said the PSS system would ease the burden of a oneoff payment for travel on United Nigeria Airlines.

“Technology, in our opinion, has the power to drastically alter daily life in Africa. We are thrilled to have partnered with United Nigeria Airlines to meet its travelers’ demands for a payment solution to make travel convenient and affordable given the current economic climate of the country,” he said.

A I R WATCH

National Carrier: Why Nigeria Cannot Do It Alone

S anwo-O l u, B o s s M u s t a p h a , Nnolim to Confer NIGAV Awards The organisers of the annual Nigeria Aviation Awards (NIGAV) has said the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnaji Nnolim, have been penned down to confer the Nigeria Aviation Awards (NIGAV) on deserving awardees.

Chairman NIGAV, Mr. Fortune Idu, who disclosed this to newsmen said over 1400 voters have nominated awardees in different categories for the 12th edition of the event slated to hold on the of 4th February 2023.

According to him, the event, which is to celebrate and appreciate those who have made year 2022 a memorable aviation year has the theme: ‘the coming of a new era’.

He stated that the theme would

help the industry to reflect on the achievement of the past year, present a scorecard of the industry for 2022 and prepare the players ahead of an exciting year 2023.

He said this year’s award selection process and nominations was conducted through an online survey-based mechanism and that meant people will need to vote on earlier nominated positions, adding that over 1400 votes were registered and selection was public.

He stated that in the past 12 years since the inception of the awards that NIGAV has conferred over 100 prestigious awards to deserving individuals and organisations while remaining a very strong advocate and promoter of industry development.

He explained that the awards have improved airport managers zeal to perform, airlines interest in the customers they serve as they

were all trying to be at the top of their game, stating that this year’s award comes with a twist as the industry and general public at large will respond.

“We can boldly say that we have through this process improved airport managers’ zeal to perform and have also through our advocacy encouraged higher level management autonomy of airports around the country to help improve quality of airport services.

“We visited no fewer than five airports to ascertain their level of preparedness for passengers, their interactions, their facilities and how efficient they are. Now, even airport managers call us to come and see what they are doing. ” Idu said.

He further said the award was meant to motivate recipients to do more and create positive competition in the area of service delivery.

Institute of Mechanical Engineers R e c o g n i s e s E AT E C H C E O Managing Director/CEO of Engineering Automation Technology (EATECH) Limited, Dr. Emmanuel Okon has been conferred with an honorary fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Mechanical Engineers (NIMechE) for his unwavering commitment and contribution to engineering profession in the country.

Presenting the award in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, the National Chairman of NIMechE, Mrs. Olufunilade Akingbohun, extolled Okon’s corporate leadership and foresight in pioneering an indigenous firm that is making great exploits and generating jobs for youths in the country.

She said the award would serve as a motivation to do more for the society and to remain a selfless example for others to emulate. He commended the EATECH boss for his vision, commitment and hard

work in realizing his set targets as a local player in the industry.

Okon who dedicated the award to staff and management of EATECH, lamented the huge gap between engineers that are produced from Nigerian academic institutions and what was required for practical or field jobs tasking all stakeholders in the industry to come together to find ways to close the gap.

He promised to partner with NIMechE to boost human capital capacity in the engineering field, especially in the oil and gas sector. Okon also lauded the organization for their zealous commitments to unlocking the full potential of Nigerian youths for use in the engineering industry, the improvement of capacity of local engineers and bridging the noticeable manpower gaps in the sector.

“One of the reasons why I am accepting this conferment is because I saw the commitment of NiMechE in training young engineering graduates hence providing job security to the youths. There is a major gap between the engineers that are produced from schools and engineers that are required for field jobs and identifying that gap has been a yearning. Hence, when I learnt of your commitment, I was motivated. I am also inspired by the major projects the NiMechE as an institution has put in place and I want to appeal to the Board to follow through to the end and if possible, extend to the oil and gas industry so that major gaps can be closed out. The engineering and construction department will work hand in hand with the Institution to provide the required trainings once that has been put in place,” he said.

Teksight Edge Wins Entertainment, Technology PR Awards Emma Okonji Teksight Edge Limited, an integrated PR and Digital Communications Agency, has emerged winner of two coveted awards, Best in Entertainment PR and Best in Technology PR at the seventh edition of the Lagos State PR Industry Gala and Award (LaPRIGA).

The glamorous event, held D’Podium, Ikeja, lived up to its billing as the biggest gathering of leading communication professionals in consultancies, government, corporate and not-for-profit organisations, captains of industry,

media personalities, academia and C-Suite executives in Africa.

In the citation for the award of Best in Entertainment PR, the LaPRIGA award committee noted that Teksight Limited utilised research to select Tiwa Savage as a brand ambassador for Tecno Camon 19 and engaged her to drive conversations around the brand and model. For the Best In Technology PR award, Teksight Limited used technology to drive higher engagement and awareness for the Lagos Economic Summit, Ehingbeti 2022, through a customised website that enabled

registration, a Lagos virtual tour and interaction with participants.

Founding MD of Teksight Edge Limited, Charles Edosomwan, expressed appreciation to the staff for consistently going beyond the call of duty in delivering quality service to the firm’s clientele. He also thanked the firm’s numerous clients for the opportunity to serve.

According to Mr Edosomwan, “Our mantra is creating experiences that inspire emotion and deliver results on every level. We are motivated to achieve results for all our clients, be it a start-up or a multinational corporation.”

Chinedu Eze Many Nigerians have called on the federal government to establish a national carrier without foreign technical partner, insisting that Nigeria has knowledgeable and highly skilled aviators to efficiently run a national carrier.

The call became more strident recently among aviation industry stakeholders, as government is in the process of establishing a national carrier with technical partner.

But THISDAY gathered from informed industry operatives that there are two key factors that would hamper Nigeria from successfully establishing a national carrier without technical partner that would manage the critical aspects of the airline. One of the two reasons is corruption and the other is lack of patriotism. They argued that it does not matter the percentage government might own in the airline, once government has any stake, it would be ruined by corruption because “only few Nigerians can sacrifice for the country and we are very corrupt citizens,” one of the stakeholders who spoke to THISDAY said.

The Executive Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu, told THISDAY that “Nigeria cannot do it alone, establishing a national carrier without foreign technical partners, just as no Nigeria private airline has been able to succeed in the last twenty years.”

According to Ojikutu, “Nigeria Airways went down because of too much involvement of the those in the administration of successive governments. Eventually we had a government carrier and not a national carrier. My advice again: get partnership from any airline from Canada or Australia or anyone from Europe or USA that is not on our BASA (Bilateral Air Service Agreement) Routes. The foreign partner must have nothing more than 40 per cent; credible Nigerian corporate organisations and investors should have nothing more than 25 per cent; the Nigeria public 25 per cent, FG and the 36 States 10 per cent. I gave this to the Minister and he approved it to be sent to the technical advisor.”

Ojikutu further said: “In conclusion we need the technical partners. Nigeria Airways failed when the British culture that established it was collapsed by the military government.

Aero Contractor lost the bearing two years after CHC Helicopters signed out. Between the 80s and now, we have had more than 40 private airline operators, how many survived?

How many West Africa regional airlines that were the Nigeria Airways contemporaries have survived the interference of their governments? Besides Ethiopian, Kenyan, South Africa Airways, and possibly Egypt Air, how many too have survived within the continent? We have a lot to do nationally on policy for National Carrier and flag Carriers if the National Carrier would not fly by next year.”

So it has been established that Nigeria cannot do it alone. Studies have also shown that most partnerships that African airlines have had with European carriers have failed. The defunct Nigeria Airways had had romance with British Airways and KLM of Netherlands

and the partnership at a time collapsed. In September 2021, Kenya Airways and KLM-Air France ended their joint venture agreement.

Kenya Airways was not better off during the partnership, as it was at the cusp of collapsing at various times.

Maybe it was in exasperation of Kenya Airways poor performance that prompted the Kenyan new president to decide to sell 49 per cent shares owned by government in the airline to Delta Air Lines. East African Business News reported on December 19 that Kenya’s President William Ruto met top executives of Delta Air Lines in his American trip where he launched the government bid to sell its entire 48.9 per cent stake in Kenya Airways.

The President held a meeting with executives from Delta Air Lines Inc, the largest US carrier by market value, last Thursday, the paper reported.

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko told THISDAY that Nigeria needs technical partner for its national carrier because “there are gaps in our own capacity.”

The travel expert also observed that partnerships between African airlines and European airlines have failed over the years because Europeans come with superiority complex and prejudice that the Africans are not efficient and adequately skilled.

“Why Europeans have failed trying to manage African airlines is because they come with superiority complex. European airlines have failed in all their endeavour in Africa, partnering with African carriers. There have been two successful partnerships in West Africa.

One is African World Airlines (AWA), which is operated by Chinese carrier, Hainan Airlines and Asky, which has Ethiopian Airlines as core investor and technical partner.

“Emirates partnership with TAAG Angola failed and Etihad partnership with Seychelles national carrier, Air Seychelles also failed,” Uko said.

A former Nigeria Airways Limited senior official told THISDAY that for a technical partner to succeed, it must take charge of critical positions in the airline management and those positions are the anchor of the airline.

“If you want a national carrier to succeed in Nigeria, the top management position must be given to the technical partner. This may not sound well because our ego suggests that the managing director of such company that has government stake and is national carrier, must be manned by a Nigerian.

Maybe not at inception; maybe later, but the technical partner has the obligation to succeed so it must take the position of an overseer. Another position is finance. The technical partner cannot leave the finance of the airline to anyone you can doubt his dedication and selflessness. Then the head of maintenance, that is a key area the technical partner should take full control of,” he said.

The industry stakeholders also observed that Nigeria must not have a national carrier, but if it decides to have one, it must have a technical partner for it to succeed.

29

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

PenCom: Making Workers’ Home Ownership Dream a Reality Recent developments in the pension sector point to the fact that the National Pension Commission is determined to make mortgage financing for home ownership through Workers’ Retirement Savings Account a reality, writes Ebere Nwoji

W

hen the former Director General National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs. Chinelo AnohuAmazu, at the sideline of the 2015 edition of the “World Pension Summit Africa Special,” hinted journalists that the commission was working out modalities to ensure that Nigerian workers who contribute into the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) use part of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance for payment of equity in mortgage for acquisition of homes, Nigerians hardly believed this is possible. But seven years after, it has become a reality.

A reality because PenCom, three months ago, precisely on September 23, 2022 released guidelines on assessment of RSA balance for acquisition of homes

by RSA holders .The commission penultimate week published names of mortgage institutions approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the home mortgage financing for contributing workers.

This points to the fact that federal government through PenCom is really serious about making Nigerian workers solve their home ownership problem through mortgage financing of the housing deals, using their pension contributions.

PENSION REFORM ACT 2014

Use of RSA balance for equity payment for home financing was one of the highpoints of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014.

The 2014 Act, made a provision, which allows contributors to utilise part of their RSA balances towards payment of equity in a mortgage institutions for the acquisition of a primary home.

Although the development is for those RSA holders who have contributed into the scheme for minimum of five years (60months), analysts said it would go a long way to address housing deficit problem in Nigeria especially among workers.

Apparently, Nigeria has a big housing deficit problem. Placing the country side by side other countries, Nigeria is said to be one of the least in home ownership in the world.

HOUSING PROBLEM IN NIGERIA

According to the Chief Executive officer, Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr. Oguche Agudah, whereas percentage of home ownership in Nigeria is 25, Kenya has 75 percent home ownership, South Africa 56 percent, Tunisia 77 per cent, Romania 96 percent, Ghana 48 percent.

He said it was against this backdrop that PenCom insisted on implementing the home ownership mortgage financing guideline so that every worker in Nigeria would own his own home.

Recent checks by THISDAY during the recent hike on transport fares especially in Lagos occassioned by rise in fuel price, showed that paid workers are the worst hit by the hike as some of them confided in THISDAY that on daily basis, they travel all the way from Badagry to Victoria Island where they are working.

Asked why they choose to subject themselves to such suffering, they said it was because of high cost of house rent and scarcity of affordable houses in their area of work.

Most of them living in those far and less developed parts of Lagos are not living in their own houses but still in rented apartments that are affordable.

Currently, they are lamenting that high cost of transport as a result of hike in fuel price has made nonesense of the entire thing because after high transport fare every week, it has become obvious that it is no longer economical living in those far places. This is because of inability of such workers to own their own houses, which is what government through PenCom and the mortgage-financing act are trying to address.

Section 89(2) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 provides that “Notwithstanding the provision of sub-section (1) (c) of this section, a Pension Fund Administrator may, subject to guidelines issued by the Commission, apply a percentage of the pension assets in the retirement savings account towards payment of equity contribution for payment of residential mortgage by the holder of Retirement Savings Account”.

PENCOM’S INTERVENTION AND GUIDELINES

In order to give expression to this provision, PenCom on 23rd September 2022, approved Guidelines on Accessing Retirement Savings Account (RSA) balance for payment of equity contribution for residential mortgage by RSA holders. The highlights of the guidelines are as follows: On eligibility for the financing, the PenCom guidelines covers pension contributors in active employment, either

as a salaried employee or as a self-employed person.

It also said interested RSA holders (applicants) must meet the following conditions: “Have an offer letter for the property duly signed by the property owner and verified by the Mortgage Lender: the RSA of the applicant shall have both the employer and employee’s mandatory contributions for a cumulative minimum period of 60 months (five years); a Contributor under the Micro Pension Plan (MPP) is also eligible, provided he/she has made contributions for at least 60 months (five years) prior to the date of his/her application; RSA Holders that have less than three years to retire are eligible.

Married couples, who are RSA holders, are eligible to make a joint application, subject to individual satisfying the eligibility requirements; RSA holders, if registered before 1st July 2019, must have their records updated through the RSA data recapture exercise; and application for equity contribution for residential mortgage shall be in person and not by proxy.”

On maximum total mandatory RSA balance as at the date of application, the commission put it at 25 per cent irrespective of the value of equity contribution required by the mortgage lender.

“Where 25 per cent of a contributor’s RSA balance is not sufficient for payment as equity contribution, it said RSA holders might utilise the contingency portion of their voluntary contributions (if any).”

In addition to the guidelines, PenCom recently released names of 34 mortgage institutions approved by the CBN to finance the pension mortgage housing scheme.

APPROVED MORTGAGE INSTITUTIONS

PenCom said out of the 34 banks, 19 were from Lagos, seven from Abuja and the remaining eight from other states of the federation.

The mortgage lenders from Lagos, according to the commission are Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc; Brent Mortgage Bank ltd, AG Mortgage Bank Plc; Centage Savings & Loans; City Code Savings & Loans; First Trust Mortgage Bank; Global Trust Mortgage; Haggai Mortgage; Homes-Base Mortgage; Imperial Homes; Jubilee-Life Mortgage Bank; Lagos Building & Investment; Prudential Mortgage Bank and Refuge Homes Savings & Loans.

Others from Lagos include Resort Savings & Loans; Safetrust Mortgage Bank; STB Building Society; Union Homes, Mayfresh Mortgage Bank and Resort Savings & Loans Those from Abuja are Aso Savings & Loans; FHA Homes Ltd; First Generation Homes; Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank; MDSL Mortgage Bank LTD; Nigeria Police Mortgage Bank and Platinum Mortgage Bank The remaining are from other states which include Akwa Savings & Loans Ltd and Mutual

Alliance both from Akwa Ibom; Coop Savings & Loans from Oyo State; Delta Trust Mortgage Bank; Gateway Mortgage Bank, Ogun State; Jigawa Savings & Loans, Jigawa state; Kebbi Stare Homes, Kebbi State and Living trust formally Omoluabi, Osun State The mortgage firms were divided into two: national with minimum capital requirement of N5bn and state with N2.5bn minimum capital.

In all, there are 13 categorised under national while the remaining 21 are under state.

THE GUIDELINES

Speaking at the 2022 Media seminar organised by the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) for pension journalists in Lagos with the theme, “Pension: An Opportunity to Own Your Own Home, An X-Ray of the New RSA Plan On Home Ownership,” the Head of Investment Department PenCom, Ibrahim Kangiwa, gave highlights of the Guidelines.

In his presentation entitled, “Highlights Of Guidelines On Accessing RSA Balance Towards Payment Of Equity Contribution For Residential Mortgage By RSA Holders,” he listed eligibility for mortgage lenders.

He said Mortgage lender must be Licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “to provide residential mortgage; meet the minimum capital requirement as prescribed by the CBN from time to time; have good financial standing at all times and satisfy the minimum requirements of the CBN; have valid Pension Clearance Certificate issued by the Commission in line with the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 and comply with the provisions of Sections 2 and 4 (1) and (5) of PRA, 2014.”

According to Kangiwa, the roles of the Mortgage lenders include to provide application mortgage form for the applicant; open an account for the applicant; verify the genuineness of the property offer; due diligence to ensure that the property has a valuation report.

Other roles are; “verify if the 25 percent of the applicant’s RSA balance will be sufficient as equity contribution; where 25 percent of the RSA balance(s) is not sufficient, the Mortgage Lender shall request for the payment of supplementary equity contribution from the applicant(s) and issue a mortgage offer letter to the applicant.”

He said the objective was to provide access to equity finance for RSA holders in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

He said, “Improve the standard of living of RSA holders under the CPS by facilitating their ownership of residential homes during their working life. Improve enrolment in the CPS by providing incentives to employees who are yet to open RSAs. Provide a sustainable source of long-term finance to the mortgage sector and spur development in the housing sector.”

On modalities to ensure the successful

implementation of the initiative, Kangiwa said that all hands must be on deck for a successful implementation of the guidelines and that, “stakeholders must work together to ensure effective implementation of the guidelines. Employers should ensure that contributions are deducted and remitted on time as required by law Parties should ensure due diligence checks to preserve the integrity of the process.”

CONTRIBUTORS’ VIEW

From the contributing workers’ view, Mr Ahmed AdekunLe, a teacher in Lagos said it was a good development because it would help workers own their homes, which ordinarily they might not be able to achieve.

He said some workers have in the past tried to achieve this through cooperative societies but that the success has been questionable.

He said government should maintain its word by ensuring that only a certain percentage of the worker’s savings would be taken and not all his savings because of some unforeseen circumstance that might arise in future.

He said his reason for saying this is to prevent sinking all the savings of a particular worker in home financing and when he retires, he retires hopelessly.

He said that government should realise that home or shelter is not all a worker needed, especially at old age therefore something must be left for the worker for his retirement age .

Another contributor under Lagos State Teaching Commission said this is a good development, which if implemented as stated would help many workers own their own houses.

She however noted that what would scare people from attempting to enjoy this is unnecessary bottlenecks in the application processes and final approval of the housing finances.

She said government should as much as possible make the processes a little easy while following its due process to avoid scaring the workers away.

PenCom had said that the period of loan application would last between 11 to 14 days but that other circumstances may lengthen the processing and final approval period.

Before the implementation of the mortgage financing guidelines PenCom had told THISDAY that the main rationale for the implementation of the guidelines stemmed from what was obviously a critical aspiration of most workers.

It said since the CPS was designed to be responsive to the needs of contributors, the PRA now allows contributors with sufficient RSA balances to own their homes through mortgages, while still in active service.

The commission emphasised that the guidelines was clear that access to the funds was to secure mortgages through appropriate institutions and after necessary due diligence.

This, according to the commission, is to ensure that the funds were utilised as intended.

30

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

L-R: Registrar and Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS),Josiah Akerewusi; 2nd Vice President,Fiona Aihime; President and Chairman of Council,Oluwole Adeosun; former President of Nigeria;,Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; 1sr President, CIS,Oluropo Dada; Past President, CIS, Oluwaseyi Abe,and Past President, Adedapo Adekoje during courtesy visit of CIS’ Principal Officers to Obasanjo in Abeokuta… recently

Experts: Talent Development Key to Economic Sustainability Emma Okonji Technology and sustainability experts have stressed the need for talent development among Nigerian youths in order to sustain the economic policies of the federal and state governments, in today’s digital era.

Head, Governance and Sustainability at Honeywell Group, Yewande Giwa,

and Head, Startups, Lagos Innovates, Ireayo Oladunjoye, made the call as guest speakers to Radio Traffic 96.1 FM, aired in Lagos recently.

They both discussed the impact of Honeywell Group’s partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), and the conversation centered on the role of the partnership in equipping young Nigerians with tech

skills for employability and global competence.

Speaking on the role of young talents in advancing the frontiers of technology in Nigeria and the impact of public-private partnerships on Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, Giwa said: “We applaud the advancements that young entrepreneurs and IT enthusiasts in Nigeria are making. We also recognise

their challenges and have chosen to support young people who are interested in leveraging technology through our partnership with LSETF.” On Honeywell Group’s partnership with LSETF, Giwa also said: “Honeywell Group has always invested in companies and initiatives that create lasting impact in the communities in which

Tek Experts Win IT Support Company of the Year Award Nosa Alekhuogie Global provider of specialised technical support services, Tek Experts has emerged as Nigeria’s best IT support company of 2022 at this year’s edition of the Nigerian Business Leadership Awards organised by BusinessDay. Tek Experts was nominated and clinched the coveted awards for

the success of its suite of managed IT and tech staffing solutions, which has contributed immensely to deepening capacity building in digital skills and the overall growth of the IT industry in Nigeria.

Started in 2019 to celebrate influential non-listed companies in the real sector of the Nigerian economy, the Nigeria Business

Leadership Award has become a coveted platform that draws attention to remarkable accomplishments by operators across several industries. The award, therefore, underscores Tek Experts’ contributions to the Nigerian economy through innovative solutions that have shaped the IT industry.

The Country Manager of Tek

Experts, Olugbolahan Olusanya, who received the award in the company of its Head of Executive Business Development, Adewale Adeyemi, and its Sales Manager, Abolaji Abubakar, expressed delight at the recognition and promised to sustain the momentum through quality, excellent IT support services delivery.

DAAYTA Holds Final Pitch April 2023, Calls for Application Emma Okonji ARM in partnership with TechnoVision (TVC) has announced that the 2023 edition of the Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award (DAAYTA) finalists pitch event will be held virtually on April 14th, 2023.

The notice officially opens up the call for applications for DAAYTA 2023 as ARM seeks the brightest and most innovative start-up business ideas in Nigeria to participate in this edition.

The Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award (DAAYTA) programme is a youth awards

initiative founded in 2015 by ARM in honour of its founding CEO, Deji Alli. The goal of the award is to provide support to young entrepreneurs who have smart and innovative ideas that make a significant positive impact on the lives of the people and communities around them.

The initiative is in line with

the firm’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the aim of building a generation of change leaders, working together to build a better future.

DAAYTA 2023 focuses on identifying start-ups with a minimum viable product (MVP) and at least one customer.

IPv6 Forum inducts Uwaje into 2022 Hall of Fame Nosa Alekhuogie The Chairman, Mobile Software Nigeria, Chris Uwaje, has been inducted into the 2022 New Internet IPv6 Hall of Fame.

Records show that he was the first to pioneer and craft the national IT Policy that established NITDA, And the first to enthrone the National IT Merit Awards (NITMA) for the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) amongs others.

The IPv6 Hall of Fame recognition was conveyed in

a letter dated December 12 from IPv6 Forum and signed by the Founder/President, Latif Ladid.

Uwaje, according to the letter, was commended for taking leadership in the evangelism and promotion of IPv6 with his world class knowledge and reputation and “is therefore recognised as an IPv6 Evangelist.”

The New Internet IPv6 Hall of Fame was kicked-off in 2018 in Nanjing at the GNTC Conference organised by the China IPv6 Council

coordinated by the BII Group with the first IPv6 Hall of Famers: Dr. Vint Cerf, VP and Internet Evangelist at Google and Honorary Chair of the IPv6 Forum since its creation; Dr. Wu Hequan, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dr. Jun Murai, Father of the Internet in Japan and Founder of the IPv6 Promotion Council.

The forum explained that the 2022 IPv6 Hall of Famers were of balanced mix of IPv6 Experts, IPv6 Evangelists, IPv6 Large-scale Deployers, IPv6

Trainers and IPv6 Ready Logo Program experts.

Ladid said: “The IPv6 Forum is very blessed and proud to have attracted and won some of the finest and top IPv6 pioneers, experts and genuine volunteers around the world, quoting Vint Cerf, to upgrade the Internet from a “Research” Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) to a “Production” Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) to sustain the growth of the Internet to include everyone and connect any sensible device.”

we operate. This partnership with LSETF isn’t just an avenue to give back to society, but we see it as an opportunity to invest in the lives of young people in a way that leaves a lasting impact.”

Describing the objectives of the talent development programme, Oladunjoye said: ‘‘The Lagos Innovates Programme is aimed at

bridging the gap between tech talents and their dreams, whether it is to create jobs or get employed. We are focused on capacity building and flooding the Lagos tech ecosystem with talents that can compete with global standards. Through our partnership with Honeywell Group Limited (HGL), we are able to reach more people and help them live better lives.

Oyo State Judiciary Deploys Cinfores Technology for e-Filing of Documents Emma Okonji The Oyo State judiciary has automated its court filing process through the adoption of the Cinfores Courts Management Information System (CoMiS), a Nigerian based Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution.

The technology solution that addresses e-filing of documents was adopted last week at the State High Court premises, with a presentation on modalities for operation displayed to judges, magistrates, and representatives of lawyers.

CoMiS seeks to seamlessly manage all court operations in the state to make justice dispensation in the twenty-first century digital economy, quick, effective, and less cumbersome.

Speaking during the presentation of the cutting-edge technology, the Chief Marketing Officer of Cinfores CoMiS, a consultancy firm that partnered with the judiciary to set up the e -filing system, Ayodele Afeniforo, told the gathering that the e-filing would make the work of lawyers very easy and efficient.

“We have been able to use the Court Information Management System to create a platform where people can log in to carry out their filing activities. It makes the court

easily accessible to everyone as people can sit in their homes and access the court registry to do their business; log in with ease, file procedure and even process affidavits.

“It is easier to use and there is a guideline on the portal to put users through the process. This is an innovation that will help in quickening justice delivery; it aids efficiency and productivity and generates more income for the people involved,” Afeniforo said.

The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Ladipo Abimbola, while speaking at the occasion, said it was time that legal practitioners embrace the ongoing digitalisation of the court .

The court digitalisation, Abimbola explained, was in line with global best practices, adding that it will help make their work faster, easier and ensure efficient justice delivery.

Abimbola who was excited with the robust software application, said: “E-filing is one of the aspects of digitalising the magistrate court and fast tracking the processes as it means that lawyers will no longer need to appear physically at the court registry to file processes. All they need to do is go online from the comfort of their office or home for any judicial issue to deal with.

31

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Buhari Approves Reappointment of Omar, Ndagi as BOI Directors Oluchi Chibuzor President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reappointment of Mallam Shekarau Dauda Omar as Executive

Director, Small and Medium Enterprises ( SME ) for a second tenor of four years .

Mallam Omar, whose first tenor expires on March 5,2023, will now serve for

another four years.

According to a statement from the bank, Mallam Omar, who is currently Executive Director, SME, has repositioned the directorate through

remarkable expansion of the portfolio and marked improvement of the risk assets quality.

President Buhari also approved the appointment of Ms Mabel Ndagi as

Executive Director, effective March 19, 2023 . Ms Ndagi will be replacing, Mrs Toyin Adeniji, an Executive Director, who retires on March 18,2023 after serving her second and final term

in office.

The statement said, “Ms Ndagi, currently the General Manager, Government and External Communications of the bank, has served diligently for over 16 years.”

Rand Merchant Bank Quotes N2.36bn CP on FMDQ Exchange Kayode Tokede With a Commercial Paper (CP) market value of N3.25 trillion as of November 30, 2022, FMDQ Securities

Exchange Limited (FMDQ Exchange) yesterday announced the admission of the quotation of the Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited N0.55 billion Series 3 and N1.81 billion Series 4

CPs under its N80.00 billion CP Programme on its platform.

Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited (Rand Merchant Bank) is a corporate and investment banking firm, which provides innovative advisory services

on infrastructure projects, mergers and acquisitions, as well as the funding of various transactions across multiple sectors.

The proceeds from the quotation of the quoted CPs,

which are co-sponsored by Standard Chartered Capital & Advisory Nigeria Limited – Lead Sponsor; FCMB Capital Markets Limited, FSDH Capital Limited, Rand Merchant Bank, and Stanbic

IBTC Capital Limited (CoSponsors) – all Registration Member (Quotations) of the Exchange, will be utilised by the Issuer to support its short-term working capital and funding requirements.

CEO Reaffirms Commitment to Empowering More Smallholder Farmers in Africa During a recent visit to Heifer International’s operations in Africa, Heifer’s new President and CEO, Surita Sandosham, reaffirmed the commitment of the organization to elevate 10 million smallholder farming households globally out of poverty and into economic self-reliance by 2030, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sandosham visited Africa as the first stop on global tour of the nonprofit development organization’s operations, which will also include visits to regional teams in Asia and the Americas. She met the Africa team members at the regional

headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, which gave her an opportunity to share her vision and her excitement for the work Heifer Africa is doing in the region.

While visiting the country, she met with some of Heifer’s young agritech innovation partners and other key stakeholders in Nigeria, reaffirming Heifer’s commitment to work with youth and innovate to transform Africa’s food systems, as well as working alongside smallholder farmers, producers, cooperatives and others to ensure sustainable agricultural interventions.

While addressing stakeholders, Sandosham said, “Heifer believes that

smallholder farmers hold the key to transforming Africa’s food insecurity. With food importation across Africa averaging over USD 43 billion annually, we believe that access to finance, access to innovation, access to infrastructure and access to training, can increase food production and strengthen local food systems, reducing vulnerability to climate shocks and long-term dependency on imports”.

As part of her trip to Africa, Sandosham also visited Heifer’s country operations in Rwanda.

She met with the Rwandan minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources ((MINAGRI),

Dr. Geraldine Mukeshimana, development partners, and other key stakeholders to discuss the progress of Heifer Rwanda partner projects and explore other potential collaborations in the country.

“It has been a pleasure visiting Heifer’s country operation in Rwanda, meeting with the regional team and other key stakeholder partners in our mission to end hunger and poverty in Africa,” said Sandosham. “For the last 48 years, Heifer has been in Africa working with both government and development partners to enable smallholder farmers and farming communities to build

successful businesses, drive self-reliance and improve their living income. It was inspiring to see that the passion to make this a reality is palpable across the Heifer Africa region and our partners. Through the Heifer programs currently running in Africa, it is clear that we remain resolute in our mission to uplift smallholder farmers and their communities out of poverty.”

Speaking on the CEO’s visit to the region, Heifer International Senior Vice President for Africa Programs Adesuwa Ifedi said, “Having the CEO visit the region and meet our partners and key

stakeholders, was critical to restating our position that for Africa’s food systems to thrive, the combination of interventions and partnerships at all levels is needed. Our strategic goal as a region over the next 8 years is to assist more than 6 million farmers to reach a sustainable living income by 2030, through strategic private and public sector partnerships to reach transformational scale. We remain unwavering in our mission and work to build resilience in agriculture because it remains a critical sector for Africa’s food security, workforce and economy to flourish”.

T H I S D AY ˾ DAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022

32

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

DataPro Assigns BBB+ Rating to LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc Gilbert Ekwugbe

DataPro, the Technology-Driven Credit Rating Agency, has in its latest report assigned LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc long-term rating of “BBB+” with a Stable Outlook for the year 2021/2022.

The BBB+ indicates slight risk.

It shows fair financial strength, operating performance and business profile when compared to the standard established by DataPro. “This Company, in our opinion, has the ability to meet its ongoing obligations, but its financial strength is vulnerable to adverse changes in economic conditions,” DataPro said in its report.

The DataPro Rating Committee approved the rating after as-

sessment of the company’s Financial Performance, Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Liquidity, Profitability, Corporate Governance and Risk Management as well as Risk Factors of its current healthy profile in the medium to long-term period.

It noted that LivingTrust Mortgage Bank recorded significant growths in all its Key Financial Indicators in the year 2021, adding: “This was due to its ability to draw funding for its operation through the combination of Deposit Mobilization and on-lending Facilities.

“Consequently, the Bank was able to grow its Total Assets, Loans and Advances and Equity by 81%, 93% and 16% respectively. These growths

influenced increase in Gross Earnings and Profit Before Tax during the year under review.”

The rating agency added that the rating of LivingTrust Mortgage Bank is supported by the Bank’s Liquidity Position, Good Profitability and Asset Quality.

“LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc had a short-term rating of “A2” which indicates Fair Credit Quality and Adequate Capacity for timely payment of financial commitments,” DataPro further states. It noted that the rating carries a maximum shelf life of 12 calendar months, in line with international best practice, adding: “The Rating is therefore not an offer to trade in securities nor a substitute for the user’s judgement. It is meant for reference purposes.”

Norrenberger Launches Dollar Fund to Assist Investors in Hedging Against Currency Risk Norrenberger, an integrated financial services group has launched the Norrenberger Dollar Fund, designed to help investors hedge their savings from the eroding effects of inflation and devaluation.

The Norrenberger Dollar Fund, approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an open-ended mutual fund designed to provide investors with capital appreciation and diversification.

The Fund invests in highly liquid investments that provide liquidity to investors.

The Fund will invest in Eurobonds issued by governments and corporates and Dollar denominated Money

Market Instruments and cash.

Also, the Fund has a minimum subscription amount of $500 and an additional subscription amount of $100 which means that investors can add to their investments at any time.

The Fund will open for subscription on 19 December 2022. The Group Managing Director, Mr Tony Edeh made this known today during the official launch of the Norrenberger Dollar Fund in Abuja.

He said: “We have a very clear mission: To create financial asset classes targeting the need of every single household in Nigeria. By 2025, we hope to have delivered at least one

financial solution to every household.

“The launch of the Norrenberger Dollar Fund comes at the right time to help investors diversify their portfolio while also helping those with US Dollar obligations hedge against currency risk”, he noted.

Commenting on the launch of the product, Business Head, Asset Management, Mrs. Abigail Utomi added that the objective of the Fund is to provide investors with the opportunity to invest in dollardenominated instruments that help to mitigate the eroding effects on their investments due to the constant devaluation of the local currency, Naira.

Healthcap Restates Commitment to Cleaner, Healthier Africa Through Investment Health Capital Africa, formerly known as Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company, has unveiled its new brand name during a closed event with industry stakeholders across finance, healthcare and the media as it restated its focus on strategic investments that create a cleaner and healthier world.

Speaking during the event, the Founding partner of

Health Capital Africa, Dr Ola Brown said: “Our rebrand to Healthcap has been a long time coming as we first focused on building the business and growing our investment portfolio over the years. Given our very impressive track record and our ambitious plans for the years ahead, we believe that we can now come out of stealth mode in pursuit of our goal to impact the lives of two billion Africans by investing in

assets that create a healthier continent.”

Health Capital Africa, trading as Healthcap, invests in two asset classes: infrastructure and venture capital. The company’s infrastructure investing arm focuses on public-private partnerships in healthcare, clean energy and social infrastructure projects such as clean water whilst its venture capital arm invests in pre-Series A startups in fintech and healthtech.

Hollandia Unveils Campaign for the Festive Season The festive season is well and truly in full swing and of course that means lots of delicious food and perhaps a little more beverage than we normally consume. It is time to enjoy all the season has to offer, but sometimes this can get a little hectic and healthy drinking may be the last thing on your mind.

So, to make sure you get your healthy drinking on this season, Hollandia is collaborating with two renowned food influencers, Zeelicious Foods and Kiki Foodies, to showcase exciting ways consumers can enjoy their favourite dairy brand with four unique holiday recipes to prepare and consume with family, as well as friends.

In addition to this, Hollandia has also unveiled a new consumer campaign tagged #MyDairyPoweredHollandia-

Christmas where consumers would be asked what Hollandia means to them and their loved ones during the festive season. Both campaigns will be amplified via the @HollandiaYoghurt and @ HollandiaEvaporatedMilk platforms.

Calcium and Vitamin D are important nutrients for any age. Eating or drinking dairy products help to improve bone health, especially in children and adolescents when bone mass is being built. They also promote bone health and prevent the start of osteoporosis in adults.

That’s why it is important that for us to ensure we consume healthy dairy drinks like Hollandia, which include Hollandia Yoghurt and Hollandia Evaporated

Milk. Both come with unique qualities that are associated with them. Each of these sub brands have exciting variants to appeal to everyone, no matter their goals and needs.

Category Head, Hollandia, Mrs. Gloria Nwabuike, stated that the collaboration with influencers is to showcase how consumers can incorporate healthier spins of their favourite holiday recipes into meals with Hollandia. She noted that the #MyDairyPoweredHollandiaChristmas is about encouraging consumers to embrace dairy nourishment with Hollandia for the season.

“We are delighted to unveil these engagements for the festive season to nudge consumers to prioritize dairy consumption, stay healthy through the season and have a great start to the new year,” she said.

L-R; Managing Director/CEO, ConsumerHalla, Tunde Olufowora; Director of Media, Lanre Alabi; and the Company’s Lawyer, Benjamin Udeh at the launch of ConsumerHalla 2 press conference in Lagos…. yesterday ǎǐljƿƼǔ ƼƿDŽǂǐlj

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2022 Money Supply (M3)

49,356,443.6

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

50,601.36

Money Supply (M2)

49,305,842.3

-- Quasi Money

27,869,678.3

-- Narrow Money (M1)

21,436,164

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,680,236.81

---- Demand Deposits

18,755,927.2

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

5,074,909.92

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

27,869,678.3

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

61,195,142.4

---- Credit to Government (Net)

21,001,401.5

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

40,193,740.9

--Other Assets Net

6,785,979.22

Reserve Money (Base Money

14,040,351.9

--Currency in Circulation

3,210,664.98

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,829,686.9 390,557.8

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

July 2022

Inter-Bank Call Rate

13.00

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

2.76

Savings Deposit Rate

1.42

1 Month Deposit Rate

3.64

3 Months Deposit Rate

4.96

6 Months Deposit Rate

5.87

12 Months Deposit Rate

5.76

Prime Lending rate

12.10

Maximum Lending Rate

27.61

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 24 OCTOBER, 2022

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $92.17 a barrel on Monday, compared with $92.09 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), 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).

33

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NEWS

Analysts: Foreign Investors’ Drought May Have Spared NGX of Global Systemic Risk KayodeTokede Analysts have expressed that foreign investors’ exit from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has spared the stock market from global systemic risk.

Amidst volatility in stock markets across advanced countries caused by risk assets sell-offs by investors, the Nigerian stock market is recording its best performance in two years with a 15.88per cent Year-till-Date (YtD)

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

“The relative absence of foreign investors has taken off a measurable global risk off the market,” says Uwa Osadiaye, Senior Vice President, FBN Quest. “It is good for now, but it limits possible upside in their absence.”

Research Analyst at Atlas Securities Limited, Olaide Baanu notes it has had a significant impact on the local bourse, arguing that the market has been resilient in the face of aggressive monetary rate hikes that have led to investors

return as of yesterday.

A cursory look at the NGX Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report for November 2022 shows foreign inflows surpassed outflows on a Year-till-Date (YtD) basis. Net foreign inflows amounted to N10.22billion.

Meanwhile, domestic investors’ transactions totalled N1.82trillion YtD, occupying 83.33per cent of total transactions in the equities market showing positive domestic investor sentiment.

DEALS

F O R

S E C U R I T I E S

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seeking yield in dollar funds and fixed income instruments.

“But the absence of foreign investors has made the price of major stocks to be low compared to what we had 2-3 years ago.

Their absence will still limit pricing of listed stocks despite impressive earnings reports and also impact the FX liquidity in the system,” Baanu added.

In July, the Financial Times reported that emerging markets were being hit by record streak of

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

withdrawals by foreign investors.

Cross-border outflows hit $38billion between March and July, data from the Institute of International Finance showed, as the United States Federal reserve continued to raise rates and implement its quantitative tightening regime.

Sri Lanka, a frontier market, defaulted on its sovereign debts, while Bangladesh and Pakistan approached the International Monetary Fund for help. Ghana

A S O F

has also since applied for a bailout and recently announced a pause on all its Eurobond payments, constituting a default.

Despite yields on local treasury bonds issued by the Federal Government nearing 12 per cent, the stock market has performed relatively well with the Nigerian Exchange Limited’s (NGX) flagship All-Share Index (ASI) returning 15.88 per cent YtD, according to data from the Exchange.

2 2 / 1 2 / 0 2 2 DEALS

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 22 ˾ T H I S D AY

൮൯

NEWS

PROMOTING FINANCIAL INCLUSION…

L-R: Board members of Accion Microfinance Bank, Mr. Christian Ruehmar; Mr. Mark Adogah; Prof. Olayinka David-West; Mr. John Fischer; Mrs. Ibukunoluwa Oyedeji; Mr. Prateek Shrivastava; Prince Olumide Obayomi, and Managing Director/CEO at the annual financial inclusion seminar in Lagos…recently

Police Nab Suspected Lagos/Ibadan Road Kidnappers Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

Suspected killers of an hotelier, Olugbenga Owolabi and a final year student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Rachael Opadele, were yesterday paraded by the Oyo State Police Command.

This is just as the command paraded suspected kidnappers terrorising Lagos/Ibadan expressway.

Owolabi, a United States (US)-based hotelier was abducted alongside Opadede, a

staff member of the hotel after suspected kidnappers invaded Abaa, a community close to LAUTECH on July 28, 2022.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Adewale Osifeso, while parading the suspects of the Ogbomoso incident at the police headquarters, Eleyele, Ibadan, said the suspects Namaru Abubakar, Saliu Abubakar, and Usman Abubakar, abducted one Alhaji Waheed Hammed, a cattle dealer in Ogbomoso town, while returning from his cattle ranch located at Adafila

village, before their arrest.

He said the suspects, who were reportedly armed with AK-47 Riffles, cutlasses and some other dangerous weapons attacked their victim

and later whisked him away into a thick forest where they contacted his relative and demanded N100 million ransom before he would be released.

Osifeso added that the victim during debriefing narrated his ordeal in the hands of his abductors and explained that while the kidnappers were negotiating his ransom, they

claimed responsibility for the death of Owolabi and that he (the victim) would suffer a similar fate should his ransom payment process get thwarted by involving the Police.

Many Politicians ‘ll Retire after 2023 Election, Says Wike Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Governor Nyesom Wike said 2023 general election would be used to retire many politicians, and urged that they should make themselves relevant in the state, especially in the ongoing political campaigns.

The Rivers State governor advised some Rivers politicians

who he said now resides in Abuja to know that the 2023 election will confirm who truly has political influence on Rivers electorate.

Governor Wike made the assertion yesterday at the inauguration of the Rumuokwurusi- Elimgbu Flyover (10th flyover) in Rumuokwurusi Town, Obio-Akpor Local

Government Area of the state.

The governor said the state government was not opposed to any political party or group holding political rallies, but that any party or group planning to use government owned schools should be ready to pay the non-refundable security fee.

He urged those politicians to stop telling lies and be bold

to let their people know what they have capacity to do and cannot do.

“Let me also use the opportunity to advise those of them who said that they are our brothers in Abuja. This 2023 election will confirm to us in Rivers State who are those that have influence on voters.

driving a commercial bus with late number AKD 489 XZ , died before help could come.

The multiple auto crash involved a Mack truck, a Volkswagen bus with registration number AKD 489XZ, a highlander Jeep with registration number AGL 366FP and a Toyota

RAV4 with registration number AAA 353FH. Although there were different accounts as to how the tragedy struck, eyewitness account alleged that the driver of the commercial bus was driving against traffic when he collided with the truck that was coming

from the opposite direction.

But another account alleged that the truck, which was heading inward Mile Two, had a brake failure and in attempt to use the median as wedge, reportedly rammed into the commercial bus, trapping the driver on the spot.

Akintoye Resigns as Yoruba Nation Leader Driver Killed, Others Injured as Container Falls on Vehicles in Lagos Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

The leader of the apex body of Yoruba self-determination struggle, Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide (IOOW), Prof.

Banji Akintoye, has resigned his position and handed over to his former Deputy, Wale Adeniran.

Akintoye, a Professor of History and senator during the second republic, in a letter to Adeniran dated December 5th, a copy of made available yestderday by the General Secretary of the group, Dr. Tunde Amusat, said he was handling over the mantle of leadership to Adeniran because of old age and weakened body system.

He apologised that he was resigning from the management of the organisation when it was in crisis, praying that Adeniran brings everyone together and resolve all contending issues.

It was learnt that the Worldwide Congress of the group at its meeting held on December 17, accepted Akintoye’s resignation and affirmed Adeniran as the new Leader of the group.

It was also gathered that the proposed amendment in the constitution affirming Adeniran’s position as chairman would be tabled at the next worldwide congress before the end of this year for ratification by registered members.

Chiemelie Ezeobi A driver was killed and several others injured after a truck laden with two 20-feet containers fell on three vehicles at Cele busstop end of Oshodi/Apapa expressway, Lagos yesterday.

The deceased, who was

Kwara APC Campaign Council DG Berates Defectors HammedShittuinIlorin The Campaign Council of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)in Kwara state yesterday berated all former major stakeholders in the party who dumped the party to become gubernatorial candidates of various political parties in the state ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The council, however, said that

the affected leaders are self-centred and lack the love progress of the state.

The Director General of the APC Campaign Council, Alhaji Yaya Abdulfatah Seriki said this yesterday during a media parley on the re-election of Gov AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in 2023 elections.

Major stakeholders in the APC

during the 2019 political struggle, who dumped the party over irreconcilable political crisis are among others now gubernatorial candidates in other political parties in the state.

They include: Alhaji Yakub Gobir of Young Progressives Party,(YPP); Hakeem Lawal of Social Democratic Party (SDP); Professor Shuaib Oba

AbdulRaheem of New Nigeria Peoples Party(NNPP) and Shuaib Yama Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to him, “I was the first governorship aspirant to come out in 2019 elections, we were about 12 and all out to end the monarchical political rule in Kwara state. I was at the forefront in the party then even till now.”

Yuletide: FRSC Deploys 1,084 Personnel in Ondo Group Accuses Totalenergies, NNPC of Breaching been deployed accordingly to Fidelis David in Akure The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC),Ondo State Command has deployed no fewer than 1,084 personnel to ensure free flow of traffic before, during and after the yuletide period in the state.

The State Sector Commander of FRSC, Mr. Ezekiel SonAllah, made the disclosure while speaking with journalists in Akure yesterday.

SonAllah, who explained that the command also deployed 14 patrol vehicles with the four ambulances, said that the deployment was to record zero crash throughout the festive season and beyond.

According to him, all the gridlock prone areas have been identified and personnel have

ensure that there is no crash.

His words: “We have deployed 528 regular marshals, 556 special marshal across the state because we don’t want to record any crash. We have reviewed our performance of last year, so we have taken concrete measure by deployed our team to prone areas such as Ogbese in Akure North Local Government and Ore in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state.

“Because in 2021, travellers experiences traffic jam at Ogbese, so this time around we have already set up first respondent there. While we have help hand at Ore to ensure free traffic flow.

And we have collaborate with other sister agencies because no one can do it alone,” he said.

Local Content Law, Escalation of Production Cost

Peter Uzoho The Community Development Committees (CDC) of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas has condemned alleged moves by Totalenergies Upstream Nigeria Limited, operators of the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 130 in cahoots

with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to undermine the country’s local content laws.

CDC in a statement issued yesterday by its Corporate Affairs Manager, Kingsley Arthur, expressed concerns that Totalenergies was conniving with NNPC to escalate the cost

of hiring a rig for OML 130 by as much as $107,500 daily, to satisfy their alleged local and foreign interests.

The group claimed that such alleged corruption was the reason Totalenergies Upstream Nigeria Limited would produce a barrel of oil in Nigeria at $40 and produce the same barrel

for $20 in Angola where it also operates.

The statement came in the wake of revelations that the leadership of the NNPC and Totalenergies were about aborting the contract earlier awarded to a local contractor, Palmeron in favour of a foreign entity.

SEC Warns Investors’ against Blacklisted Italian Companies KayodeTokede The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday warned the investing public to desist from dealing with four blacklisted Italian e-commerce companies.

The four blacklisted Italian e-commerce companies are: The Tetris Group Limited, Broker Capitals Limited, MTinvesting and NBIMarkets.

SEC, in a statement, said its attention has been drawn to a report that the Italian securities regulator,

Commissione Nazionale per le Soecieta’ e la Borsa – CONSOB, has blacklisted the four e-commerce companies and blocked their websites for fraudulent e-trading and unauthorized offering of financial services.

According to SEC, “the report

noted that online financial services providers leverage on the complexity of their operations and limited understanding of most prospective investors to conceal details of their activities, thus, plunging most investors into taking uninformed decisions.

This

Weekend

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022

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UTH

& R E ASO

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE

NEWS Yuletide: Foundation Donates Food, Clothes to Indigent Nigerians See page 37

METRO In the Spirit of Christmas, Imansuangbon Felicitates with IDPs Orphanages in Edo See page 38

POLSCOPE Colourless Christmas Blues See page 39

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

07010510430

BASKING IN THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS, THE TRANSCORP WAY

36

Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͰͰ ˾ T H I S D AY

COVER

L-R : Islam ElMaddah, Hotel Manager Transcorp Hilton Abuja; Sunil Kumar, Administrative Officer Indian High Commission; Bulent Tarlan, General Manager Transcorp Hilton Manager; Mohammad Abdullah, Cultural Attache Indian High Commission; Dupe Olusola, MD/CEO Transcorp Hotels Plc, Ashish Upadhyay, Administrative Officer Indian High Commission at the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony held in Abuja… recently

Basking in the Joy of Christmas, the Transcorp Way In many parts of the world, the Christmas season fosters love and happiness. It also presents an opportunity to unwind and enjoy time with loved ones. Essentially, the Christmas season evokes excitement whether for children or adults and this is often characterised by abundance of food, snacks, drinks and, of course, exchange of gifts. For Yuletide 2022, Transcorp Hilton, Nigeria’s topnotch fine luxury hospitality, what better way to share in the joy of the season than by lightning up its environment and providing the perfect location. Chiemelie Ezeobi writes that for the hundreds of families and individuals who have paid a visit to the hotel’s Christmas village, the ambience of the season resonated

Regaling guests at the light up ceremony

D

riving into Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Nigeria’s topnotch fine luxury hospitality, the spirit of Christmas was evident.

Just at the left hand side of the entrance was the Christmas village with millions of glittering lights and fine decor in Christmas colours luring one to bask in the ambience of the season.

The Christmas Village, which many may call the grotto, had the reindeers, Christmas trees and even Santa as some of the centre of attraction but beyond this, it presented the perfect location for people to let off steam and bask in the season.

However, before it was made open for use, the hotel lit up its environment as part of activities to commence the annual Christmas ceremony for the yuletide celebration.

The event with all the excitement it brings, ushered in the joy of the season, which comes with giving and kindness, described as the most wonderful time of the year.

The General Manager of Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Bulent Tarlan, on December

Christmas Tree

1, 2022 invited friends, colleagues, and associates to a “Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony”, to usher all to the beautiful times of the season. It was a cheery moment of laughter, hearty conversations, memories, and reflections.

The beautiful Christmas trees were adorned with colorful bulbs to reflect the aesthetics that the birth of the child Jesus signifies.

For Christians and enthusiasts of December, these are days of sharing charitable moments with family and friends.

The one-hour ceremony was graced with beautiful songs from live bands, and some invitees stole some moments with rhythmic dance steps.

The ceremony came to an end with a vote of thanks from the General Manager, who wished everyone the joy that comes with the season.

Tarlan noted, “I feel so privileged to be here, Transcorp Abuja is not only the largest hotel in Nigeria but a legend and the largest hotel in Africa.

We look forward to a whole new

Christmas experience. This Christmas is going to be very special for me.”

William Leonard Spencer Churchill, a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom said, “Christmas is a season not only for rejoicing but of reflection” And so in the heat of the wines and appetizers, invitees reflect on the journey so far and expectations of the future.

In the same vein, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc, Dupe Olusola expressed gratitude to the guests while urging them to enjoy the moment.

Olusola said, “We welcome you to the hotel Transcorp Hilton Abuja, to enjoy the beautiful lights. On the first of December, we always have our tree lighting.

“We have things planned for family, couples, and children, we have special offerings for Christmas day, and boxing day and our staff are excited to welcome you to our hotel as we are looking forward to having you.

Speaking further on the activities of the season she disclosed “so many activities packed for the season, we want you to give your wives and loved ones a break, couple time without disturbances from the children, and lots more.

“We just revamp our and we are going to open it this December as it will be ready for the festive season.

“We have a theme night, African night, Chinese, Italian, Mexican. It also comes with the theme even these well. What we want you to do is leave everything behind, feel secure, from all your troubles and enjoy as we come into the season.

She further expressed gratitude stating, “we do not take what we have for granted, we are compassionate about what we do to ensure that every guest that comes in here enjoys the superb treat. We are always striving to outdo our outdo So we are already thinking about what we will do next year.

“The challenges in the market we just keep riding on, but we are optimistic that this time next year things will be better not only for us but for all Nigerians.”

37

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

NEWS

Yuletide: Foundation Donates Food, Clothes to Indigent Nigerians Stories by Mary Nnah Non-Governmental A Organisation, Caring Hearts Heritage Initiative (CHHI) has donated food items and clothing to over 200 indigent Nigerians in the Obanikoro area of Lagos State.

The project tagged “Food Items/Clothes Programme for the Needy” is part of the regular activities provided by the NGO in the course of fulfilling its set objectives.

Executive Director of the group, Henrietta Otoabasi-Akpan emphasised the importance of education, food, healthcare, clothing and shelter in the lives of people.

‘The NGO is young but we want to impact lives, especially in the area of education. Today according to UNESCO standards 20 million Nigerian children are out of school. We want to reduce the number with our efforts.

Otoabaai-Akpan said that the NGO’s core area is children’s education than the immediate family. That is why we started the event with a needs assessment of the children to identify those who are out of school.

She added that the major focus of the group is to assist indigent children like orphans financially disadvantaged in achieving their

Foundation Donates Food, Clothes to the Indigent Nigerians

educational goals.

In situations where the children are used as a source of financial assistance to their respective families through street trading, we provide the needed counseling and empowerment for their mothers.

“Our major concern is to assist every child to live healthy, access education and work towards achieving their full potential by providing a support system to

children, especially those who possess the necessary academic ability but lack the required financial means.

“We also organise vocational training and workshops for the less privileged and public at large. Our goal is to raise children who will contribute positively to the development of the nation,” she added.

The Internal Director of the group, Olorunfemi Bankole urged

the government to ensure that every child is brought back to school by giving indigent children scholarships.

“The children are in the slump.

They need education, a better life, we just have to put smiles on their face”, he added.

Bankole advised parents not to keep their children at home but to take them to government school adding that it was important they go to school.

Peak Unstoppable Humans of Bravo Foam CEO Emerges Business Person of the Year 2022 Change Comes to Spectacular End The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Bravo Foam, Owelle Mbosi Jude Onyedum has been named the Business Person Of The Year 2022 by Ten 10 Magazine in the 2022 Excellence Award in Lagos.

Bravo Products Limited which was founded in 1991 but has grown to become one of Nigeria’s foremost manufacturers and distributors of mattresses, pillows, foam, cushions, sheets, blocks and other sleeping essentials.

Onyedum who is a seasoned business administrator and accomplished entrepreneur with almost four decades of cognate experience in the business, is also the Chairman/ CEO of Bravo Products Limited, Evergreen International Services Limited, and Evergreen General Merchandise limited.

The much celebrated Bravo Foam is 100 per cent made in Nigeria, meticulously assembled and designed to meet all Bravo customer’s sleeping needs have its outlets scattered across the country.

Onyedum

Owelle Mbosi is known in Ihiala Local Government Area for his humanitarian work. He is a goal-getter, a shrewd businessman and a role model to many.

The CEO of the popular Bravo Foam without any iota of doubt, truly deserves the Business Person Of The Year 2022 following the hard work and commitment he has put in, for over three decades.

The Peak Unstoppable Humans of Change campaign organised

by Peak Milk, Nigeria’s leading dairy brand came to an end recently.

The campaign started with a call for members of the public to nominate individuals who are driving positive changes in their communities across different categories of social work including; education, health, finance, hospitality and the environment.

After weeks of intense and suspense-filled competition, over 500,000 entries were received across the country and reviewed by renowned judges; Michael Sunbola, who feeds the poor and helpless through Lagos Food Bank, Samira Sanusi, whose life challenge is the sole motivation behind her foundation for sickle cell patients, and Tunde Onakoya, who touches the lives of children through chess via “Chess in Slums Africa”.

Anchored by the award-winning Comedian, TV Host and Compere, Hero Daniels, the competition ended on an emotional note, with the top 10 finalists battling for the

grand prize of N2,000,000, one year supply of Peak milk and mentorship sessions by industry experts. The entries were reviewed based on set criteria, including; level of passion, consistency, impact, reach and personal stories as it relates to their social work. At the end of the day, Aderonke Kujoore, Founder TechSavvy Nigeria and the Children Leadership Initiative won the competition. Aderonke has created over 5000 programmes across the country which has led to the training of more than 40,000 children in Information Technology in 2022.

Chylian Ify Azuh, who established a community of female survivors of trafficking, Female Returned Migrant Network (FREMNET), providing them with mental health and economic support, clinched the second spot while Abimbola Ajala, who runs an NGO - Lend A Hand for Africa, centred around improving the quality of lives of low-income families clinched the third spot, each winning a whooping sum of N1,500,000, one year supply of Peak milk and mentorship sessions by industry experts.

Lodre Mainmarket Unveils Afrocentric E-Commerce Platform Precious Ugwuzor Lodre Mainmarket, an e-commerce solution geared towards facilitating bulk trade between African manufacturers and wholesalers, has been unveiled at a launch held on the 16th of December 2022 at Zone Tech Park, Lagos.

The seamless e-commerce platform was set up to tackle the supply and demand gaps experienced in the manufacturing industry in Africa and the commerce ecosystem globally. Apart from enabling the trade of ‘ Made in Africa’ goods by connecting the manufacturer or wholesaler to bulk buyers within and outside Africa, Lodre also functions as a B2B and B2C e-commerce business.

Lodre Mainmarket boasts of seven key categories

which include Consumer Electronics, Fashion, Vehicle Parts and Accessories, Sports and Entertainment, Home and Garden, Beauty and Personal Care and Food and

Groceries. These categories and sub-categories are in place to guarantee that merchants and buyers needs are covered on the platform.

On what makes Lodre

L-R: Dr Oluwakemi Olasoji, Chief Operating Officer; Engr Ugonna Agujobi, Chief of Staff; Ikenna Victor, Chief Executive Officer; Sandra Okafor, Director; Ifedayo O. Ganiyu, Legal Counsel and Priscilla Ujomu, Chief Financial Officer, all of Lodre MainMarket during the launch in Lagos recently

Mainmarket unique, Founder and CEO, Ikenna Victor Nwudu said “We connect bulk manufacturers and retailers on a platform that not only provides custom-designed storefronts for merchants, but also ensure satisfying closure of sales and purchases and a simple, efficient user experience for everyone.”

Speaking at the unveiling, Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Oluwakemi Olasoji stated that “Africa, particularly Nigeria has witnessed an increase in the number of online shoppers and with the right e-commerce platform that Lodre provides, we can position our entrepreneurs to produce enough for Africa and beyond.”

To know more about Lodre Mainmarket, kindly visit lodremainmarket.com. You can also connect with us on social media @Lodremainmarket.

TOSIN ADELANA FOUNDATION EMPOWERS FINANCIALLY CHALLENGED ENTREPRENEURS Aspartofadministering support and sustenance to alleviate the needs of those who are disadvantaged, Tosin Adelana Foundation has been reaching out and supporting potential entrepreneurs who are financially challenged and assisting the Tosin Adelana ones who are medically challenged across different states in Nigeria.

Tosin Adelana Foundation was Founded in the year 2020 after the Covid-19 lockdown by Tosin Adelana, a businessman and entrepreneur who had a strong desire to empower the less privileged in society.

Adelana who spoke on the economic hardship of entrepreneurs explained the reason for establishing the foundation. “I was born in Nigeria, schooled in Nigeria, and worked in Nigeria before relocating to the US. Starting up a foundation in Nigeria was a result of wanting to give back to the society that birthed me.

Knowing fully well about the challenges that business owners go through in the country ranging from funds, government policies, and so on. The little assistance from the foundation if well utilized can be of immense benefit to business owners.”

Adelana described entrepreneurs as hardworking people who never give up despite the tough economic issues adding, “As part of plugging into the digital space we decided to also carry people along via social media aside giving 41 entrepreneurs N10,000 each on my birthday this month to support their business and encourage them to continue in business no matter circumstances.”

He also noted that the Foundation is a nongovernmental Organisation (NGO) that supports small business owners who are financially challenged to start up or maintain their stability and assists those that have financial challenges medically.

He revealed further that come 2023, the Foundation will embark on more projects while it is also open to collaborations to help more entrepreneurs.

DOAM FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES ITS 12TH ANNUAL CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT Uzoma Mba The Daniel Ogechi Akujobi Memorial (DOAM) Foundation’s Annual Charity Golf Tournament will be marking its 12th edition on January 28, 2023 and, preparations are ongoing towards sustaining the high standards for which the tournament is known.

The Foundation, for more than 15 years, has been on a journey to touch lives, through addressing some of the challenges faced by the less privileged. Children and youths in underserved and neglected communities across the country have been the main targets and beneficiaries. In response to the Foundation’s call for support, corporate and kind individual partners joined hands to enable its intervention programs in the areas of free healthcare, accident/emergency intervention, and educational scholarship .These programs continue to positively impact a number of underserved communities.

In addition to its scholarship support scheme, the Foundation, during the year 2022, organized a vacation counseling program to help school-aged children succeed in academics and family life, mentorship programs, including an inter-school debate, awareness program on sexual abuse and the dangers of illicit drug usage, and free medical outreaches for indigenes at Mushin, Lagos State, Inyishi, and Amaimo communities in Imo State. Other activities carried out during the same period were donations of food, relief, and welfare materials to orphaned and abandoned children, de-worming and vitamin supplements for children within several public primary schools, and other healthy living programs. Over 90,000 lives have been touched and still counting.

These achievements would not have been possible without the love and support shown to the Foundation by corporate organizations and kind individuals during the yearly Charity Golf Tournament. The Golf Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, in Lagos, has also been very supportive and continues to ally with the Foundation in deploying Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) events.

The DOAMF Board of Trustees Chairman, Professor Obinna Chukwu, stated: “We are very glad that the event has proven to be a trusted platform through which a lot of these organizations and individuals want to intervene positively in the society’’.

He further stated that “The 2023 DOAMF Charity Golf Tournament will provide another platform to showcase the activities and programs implemented in the past year, as well as highlighting the Foundation’s sustainable and judicious use of funds it generates. It also provides another opportunity for more corporate entities and kind individuals to partner with this cause and to enhance the positive impact on the disadvantaged communities and lives in our society.”

The Qualifier for the 12thEdition of the Tournament will hold on January 7, 2023, while the main event will hold on Saturday, January 28, 2023, at the Golf Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Lagos.

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T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

METRO

…Your city life in print

In the Spirit of Christmas, Imansuangbon Felicitates with IDPs, Orphanages in Edo Mr Kenneth Imansuangbon, popularly called “Rice Man’ because of his annual distribution to rice to the less privileged of the society, got resounding and colourful reception at the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Edo State and other orphanage homes when he paid them a visit to rejoice with them in this Christmas season. Adibe Emenyonu, who monitored the event, reports on the excitement that greeted the various visits

Some of the donated items on display at the camp

A

resounding and colourful reception given to Mr. Kenneth Imansuangbon (aka Rice man), a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp situated at Uhogua in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Imansuangbon clad in an emblazoned gown with the picture of the presidential candidate of the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was there to felicitate with inmates of the place in his usual annual rice sharing programme during the Christmas season.

He had stormed the facility accompanied by friends and political associates in a convoy of cars and an articulated trucks loaded to the brim with bags of rice and other food items like beans, indomie as well as toiletries, clothing’s, shoes and soft drinks.

As he emerged the very happy and highly elated multitude broke into a sing song praising and praying for him for his good deeds towards them in the past years and praying that he achieves his life ambition.

Welcoming him, the Commandant of the facility, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho, recalled Imansuangbon’s good deeds to the inhabitants of the facility over the years and prayed that he succeeds in all his life endeavours.

Responding, the donor, thanked the Commandant and praised him for the good job he has been doing by taking care of the inmates who are majorly victims of the Boko Haram onslaught in the North East part of the country, some of whom he (Folorunsho) have trained to become professionals in different careers

even as some are students of acclaimed A list tertiary institutions across the country.

Not on that, Imansuangbon also supported the facility with cash donation which included his wife’s, Kate Imansuangbon annual vote for the educational upliftment of the kids in the facility.

The IDPs are not the the only beneficiaries of Imansuangbon largess, he also extended his hands of fellowship to people of his locality Ewohimi, Esan South East Local Government Area of the state.

Speaking to journalists, Imansuangbon who was doing the distribution himself in conjunction with some of his aides, said his target is to reach out to at least 50,000 persons.

Imansuangbon who stormed orphanages and other villages in the state also noted, “We are reaching out to tens of thousands of persons in this year distribution of rice across the local communities in Edo.” At every point of distribution, jubilant crowd who came to get their bag of rice the shout of “rice man” rent the air.

One of the lucky beneficiaries, Imafidon Ighomaye, said, “we are happy with Imansuagbon for coming to share rice every year.

Meanwhile, the PDP chieftain used the occasion to drive the campaign of his party presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar by asking Edo populace to cast their votes for the party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his vice Ifeanyi Okowa.

Imansuangbon (centre) distributing bags of rice in the streets of Edo He urged the people to come out in large numbers to vote for a “unifier”, with a view to voting out the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for inflicting pains and sufferings on the Nigerian people since the party came to power in 2015.

Besides, Imansuangbon said: “We will soon embark on door-to-door campaign in villages across the state. Our target is to get 80 percent of the votes in Edo.” In Uhunwonde, Orhionmwon and Ikpoba Okha local government areas of the state, the

former governorship aspirant told the surging crowd that when Atiku becomes president by the grace of God hunger and poverty will be defeated.

The PDP chieftain told them that Atiku has promised to provide $10bn for youth and women empowerment, revive the refinery, ensure adequate power supply and security of the country.

He also educated the people on the need to collect their PVCs, adding that the task to sack the APC must be achieved.

Nepal Energies Rewards Outstanding Staff, Clients as it Re-brands It was a night of glitz, glam, excitement and fabulousness as the atmosphere was lit up with thrilling performances from Frank Edwards who serenaded the guests with some gospel vibes before an electrifying display

by Mayorkun popularly called the Mayor of Lagos during the unveiling of Nepal Energies Limited.

Nepal Oil and Gas Services Limited recently completed its much-anticipated re-branding process from Nepal Oil and Gas to Nepal Energies in line with its ongoing transition from a focus on fossil fuels to a renewable energy major at the end of the year.

Therefore the event witnessed the unveiling of Nepal Energies Limited to the delight of key stakeholders and the general public.

The hybrid event, which had in attendance industry giants and energy enthusiasts who showed up en masse to support the Nepal Energies brand, also witnessed

Nepal Management Staff with the Group Managing Director, Mrs. Ngozi Ekeoma the presentation of long service and meritorious awards to some members of the organisation for their commitment over the years, while some clients received awards of recognition for their immense contribution to the success of Nepal Energies.

The company’s new vision statement is “To accelerate Africa’s transition to reliable and

sustainable energy.” while the new mission statement is “To increase Africa’s access to cleaner, affordable and reliable energy that drives economic growth”.

The Group Managing Director, Ngozi Ekeoma, opined that the shifting global dependence on non-fossil fuels, climate uncertainty, international commitment to reducing the

global carbon footprint and the quest to remain frontrunners in the pursuit of affordable and cleaner energy in Africa, are some of the guiding reasons for the transition, signaling the start of a new phase in the brand’s already stellar career.

She noted that the organisation has traversed the entire downstream and midstream

value chain; from pipeline and storage construction to production and shipping, haulage and maintenance, and facility management.

She highlighted the many internal struggles of the organisation to solve its operational challenges and remain afloat. Earning its first marginal field award in 2020, Nepal has also stamped its mark as an upstream player.

Continuing, she said, “We have remained committed to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria through various CSR activities such as the School for All Initiative (SAI) and Dream Alive Initiative (DAI) to address educational challenges, and our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Our Access to Clean Water Initiative, and Health Outreaches to address health issues. Our Operation Clothe the Widows and SOS Outreaches underline our Women and Children empowerment

strategies, while Clean Up Fridays, an in-house initiative where our staff set out to clean the environment of our host communities, covers our contribution to the environment and climate action, concluded.”

While performing the unveiling ceremony, the GMD also noted that the transition was a step in the right direction for the organisation, adding that the focus at Nepal Energies will be on developing, delivering and maintaining renewable energy sources for our customers with efficiency, effectiveness, and in the most cost-effective way possible.

Nepal Energies is dedicated to providing the African population with access to clean energy through our many products and services. With various renewable energy sources, we are committed to not only ensuring the availability of clean energy in Africa but also providing them with the ability to access it, she noted.

39

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͱͱ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

POLSCOPE

áÓÞÒ ÎÎã ÎÓàáÜÓ ÏÎÎã˛ÙÎÓàáÜÓ̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט ͸΀͸ͽ ͻ͸; ΁ͻͽ;

2023 Elections and Colourless Christmas Blues the Pitfalls Ahead Canticles….

Tinubu

Gov Sanwo-Olu

Buhari

H

ow are the Christmas atmospherics in your neighbourhood?

Christmas what? There are no Christmas atmospherics anywhere.

Everywhere is dry, colourless and staid. It is as if Christmas is not in forty-eight hours. Or did Mr Rauf Aregbesola, the Internal Affairs minister, announce the postponement of Christmas?

What do you mean everywhere is dry?

Can’t you see the volume of people on the streets? Can’t you see the surge in traffic snarl in places like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano? Have you seen how the markets have been jammed and overflowing with shoppers from all over the country?

Hmmm, never be deceived. I can tell you many of those shoppers are those who had stashed away money all the while and are eager to spend them soullessly buying up just anything to make them exchange the huge financial war chest they had been hiding all the while. So, don’t think all the people you see in the market are genuine shoppers. Many of them are criminals seeking ways to avoid the EFCC grab.

The other groups you see in the market are also trying to pre-empt the hardship that will come with the cash withdrawal limit policy just introduced by CBN. You know the policy is starting in just a few weeks from now.

They want to stockpile certain items and materials that the cash withdrawal limit will not allow them to undertake.

So, you think all the people in the market are crooks and apprentice criminals?

Far from it. I never said so. Quote me correctly please.

But you said it is a colourless Christmas Blues.

Yes, it is!

But how can you say that when Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State is about to launch the Lagos Blue line of train ride for Lagosians? Is that not remarkable and colourful enough?

Don’t make a joke of this serious matter? You are talking about a train ride which won’t start running until probably the end of the first quarter of next year. I am talking of how people are suffering. I am talking of how traffic snarls are literally killing people in Lagos. I am talking of the number and frequency of robbery and violent attacks on motorists on Lagos traffic? I am talking of the complete absence of security men or any form of Government presence to save the people from the army of hoodlums who daily harass, rob and inflict heavy injuries on Lagosians.

Or have you not been hearing of the attacks on motorists along Orile-Mile Two route or around the second rainbow on Mile Two-Oshodi highway every day? And nobody comes to their rescue?And you are here talking about a certain Blue Line train! Who cares whether it is a blue, green or red line train? Only the living can take a train ride.

Those attacks are caused by the traffic.

The traffic is caused by the construction going on around those areas.

There is no construction going on around the Orile-Mile Two route. It is just poor management of traffic. But even if it was caused by construction, is it not the reason, government should place security personnel around those traffic points to ensure that the bad boys, the hoodlums, don’t take advantage of the traffic to molest, attack and rob innocent motorists?

But if there is a swirl of people on the roads causing huge traffic, does it not suggest the economy is booming?

Are you in this country? Why are you talking like a drunken politician suffering a brain seizure?

How can you be talking about a booming economy when people are gasping for breath?

Do you know how difficult it is to get petrol in town? Do you know how petrol scarcity has caused huge pain to the people? Do you know that people are buying petrol at N300 per litre?

And government is not saying anything? What kind of Christmas gift is President Muhammadu Buhari giving Nigerians? This is his last Christmas in office and here we are gnashing our teeth and wringing our hands in utter helplessness. The ordinary regular folks do not have money to spend. Yet, life is even made tougher with scarcity of everything good, huge inflation and general atmosphere of hardship and insecurity. What a life!

Are you implying it is President Buhari that is causing the fuel scarcity?

Who else? Is it my grandfather? The President turned 80 a few days ago and instead of causing Nigerians to smile, he is literally tightening the noose around our necks. First, there is fuel scarcity, then hyper-inflation, then a senseless Naira redesign policy followed by stringent cash withdrawal limits such that even people with genuine money will also be in a tight corner. Look, everything is just upside down and Nigerians are not smiling at all. What kind of birthday gift or Christmas gift is all that? Is that how to be a good father of the nation?

Look, you can complain from here till Jericho, nothing will change. You must remember that a coin always has two sides.

One man’s meat is another man’s poison.

Many people are hailing this cash withdrawal limit, but to show that this government is a listening one, the CBN has adjusted the cash withdrawal limit to N500,000 for individuals and N5,000,000 for corporate organisations, per week. Do you know the huge crookery people are planning concerning this election?

Do you know some wicked and desperate politicians are planning to literally buy up the presidency, if left unchecked?

(Mimicking)…. But to show that this government is a listening one… Listening government indeed! Why have they not listened to the hue and cry over fuel scarcity or about the hyperinflation choking the people? Look, the government cannot and should not for the sake of the few crooks in town design policies that will hurt the majority of Nigerians.

Don’t worry, whatever hardship Nigerians are facing is being addressed by the political campaigns. Or have you not seen the distribution of bags of rice, groundnut oil, cash and such other Christmas gifts?

Look, all shall be well. Every rough road to 2023 shall be smoothened. Just believe! A better life is possible. A new dawn cometh!

So let me wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Let me say S(h)ame to you!

Prof Mahmud Yakubu

W

e just have some 64 days ahead of the Presidential Election of next year. More than over a year ago, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had released the elaborate timetable and has continued to follow up with all the arrangements and plans for a successful poll.

But it appears that the more the electoral umpire pushes ahead with the plans for the election, the more the drawbacks and threats tend to pull the commission and thus the nation backwards.

The threats and disquiet around and about the election have been much.

In the main, the threats have come more from the South-east and the North-west.

In the South-east as well as the North-west, it is basically concerns about security.

While the South-east (led by Imo State) has recorded dozens of attacks on INEC facilities, burning down the buildings, vehicles and all the INEC properties therein (including Permanent Voters’ Cards –PVCs); in the North-west, it is essentially cases of seized territories which are largely under the control of bandits and terrorists.

In the South-east, there have been several attacks on INEC facilities and even personnel.

An INEC staff, Durocha Osita Joel, who was earlier declared missing, was later found dead In Awka north Local Government area of Anambra State. In Ebonyi, Enugu and even Abia States, the ferocious attacks on INEC facilities have been frequent and intensive.

Many of the attacks, usually blamed on unknown gunmen, are believed to be orchestrated by separatist agitators from the stock of the Eastern Security Network and Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB). They have opposed the holding of the election in the region. Although there are claims of fortifying the INEC facilities nationwide, the attacks on the facilities have not only continued unabated, not many of the attacks have either been foiled or the perpetrators arrested and prosecuted. However, an ESN Leader fingered for many of the attacks on government facilities, especially INEC, was last Wednesday, arrested by security operatives in Imo State. He should give more information into the character and cause of the ESN orgy of violence in recent times.

Reports say in the last four years, over fifty facilities of the INEC have been violently attacked across the nation.

Despite the claim of the military and the federal government, indications are getting even clearer that the insecurity in parts of the North, particularly North-west shows that some local governments are yet inaccessible by ordinary Nigerians. That means that the conduct of the election in such places is not certain except and unless the Nigerian military forces are able to clear the bandits off such zones and give assurance of safety and security to the INEC staff and officials who will conduct the polls in such “danger zones”. Perhaps worst affected is Zamfara State, Kaduna and Katsina States—in that order. The military forces have however continued to intensify their efforts to free those territories from the grip and control of the bandits.

Early in the week, human rights activist and lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) had indeed

raised the alarm that if things remain as they are, the election will not hold in over 40 Local Government Areas in the country.

He noted that the violence in the south east and the banditry in the North-west are major threats to the peaceful conduct of the election next year.

Indeed, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu had cried out on what appears to be the frustration the commission is facing in the plan to conduct a peaceful and credible election next year.

About a week ago, another threat emerged.

This time, it is the mopping up of PVCs in the northern part of the country. Desperate politicians have been going round deceiving rural folks especially women that they should surrender their PVCs for a price of N2000. They have also gone further to “harvest” Voters Identification Number (VIN) with the aim of causing such women not to participate in the election, but use their PVCs to perpetuate electoral fraud.

Lamenting the development, the Director, Publicity and Advocacy of the Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF), Dr Hakeem Baba Ahmed, regretted that “thousand, or possibly millions of northern voters, particularly women, are being made to surrender their PVCs for a pittance, in most instances, not more than N2000. In some instances, they are told their cards will be returned to them after they have been processed for additional payments as poverty relief”, stressing that “No cards are returned”!

This development calls for greater presence of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in public enlightenment and voters’ education.

Desperate politicians are taking advantage of the poverty in the land nurtured by illiteracy to deceive rural folks to give up their PVCs for a measly meal of poisoned porridge. But no system worth its salt is expected to allow this electoral malfeasance to go unchecked and expect to have a credible and peaceful election next year. The time to rein in such electoral crooks is now.

Perhaps the other challenge facing the polls next year is the plot of some state governors in not allowing opposition parties to freely campaign in their states. While some state governors withhold the permit to use public places for campaign by rival political parties, others place stringent conditions. Gov Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, for instance, has said political parties (including his own PDP) cannot use public schools without first depositing five million naira that will be used to clean the compounds after using such venues for political rallies. He had earlier banned political parties from using buildings in residential areas as party secretariat. In some cases, the billboards and posters of rival political contesters are destroyed and damaged… all signaling the fear that elections are not likely going to be free and fair.

It is perhaps good enough that these ill signs are manifesting months ahead of the election, which should mean that the security agencies and the INEC must remain not only vigilant and committed, but also devise ways and means to remain a head ahead of those plotting to either scuttle the conduct of the election or to adversely affect the conduct of free and credible election next year. After all, it is said that to be forewarned is to be forearmed

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

CEREMONIAL SUNSET/NAVY BALL 2022...

L-R: Chief of NAVAL Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo with Chief of Defence Staff/Special Guest of Honour, General Leo Irabor, during the ceremonial Sunset/NAVY Ball 2022, held at ENOCK REUBEN the NAVAL Unit Asokoro, in Abuja...yesterday

NCAA Prepares for ICAO Audit as Authority Pushes for Review of Civil Aviation Act Chinedu Eze As the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) prepares for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit, the agency has embarked on the move to review of the Civil Aviation Act to ensure it aligns with international standards and recommended practices.

The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) audit, conducted by ICAO, is an activity during which ICAO assesses the effective implementation of the critical elements of a safety oversight system and conducts a systematic and objective review of a State's safety oversight system to verify the status of its compliance with the provisions of ICAO Convention.

In line with the civil aviation regulations as enshrined in ICAO mandate, NCAA is reviewing the Act to ensure that it dovetails with ICAO regulation, which is a critical guldeine to civil aivtaion in the world.

NCAA said the new Civil Aviation Act 2022 would ensure efficiency of the aviation sector as it has inculcated all new standards, annexes and international best practices laid down by (ICAO).

This was disclosed by the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu and the Legal Adviser to the agency, Emmanuel Chukwuma during a virtual meeting with aviation correspondents in Lagos.

Chukwuma said apart from ensuring compliance with some new ICAO standards and Annexes, one of the reasons Nigeria reviewed its Act was to strengthen the regulations with a view to providing robust framework for sector’s development and for the Civil Aviation act (CAA) to focus more on its core functions of ensuring air safety in Nigeria.

He added that by reviewing the Act, the nation has also prepared for the audit findings by ICAO and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America, among others.

Nuhu stated that the new Act would ensure the sector contributes more to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than it currently does.

“Apart from other critical things which the sector needs to prepare for, the more we contribute to the GDP, the more attention will be given to us,” he added.

Nuhu further disclosed that the schedule operators would now have five years validity of Air Operators Certificate (AOC) while the non-schedule carriers will have three years.

“We are working on the review of the current validity. Within the first or early part of the first quarter of next year, it will come into effect and it will explain who is entitled.

As soon as it is internally done, we will release the new review,” he assured.

The current Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (NCAR) 9.1.1.8(a), stipulates that ‘An AOC, or any portion of the AOC, issued by the Authority is effective and valid for twenty four (24) months’.

In the new Act, Section 9(1) stipulates that the Authority shall have power to: (a) investigate whether any person, body or entity has committed an offence under the Act: (b) enter into any premises, property, aircraft, aerodrome or conveyance without warrant for the purpose of conducting search or inspection in furtherance of its functions under the Act: (c) prosecute offenders under the Act: (d) trace, seize, detain or retain the custody, for the purpose of investigation and prosecution, of any property which the Authority reasonably believes to have been involved in or used in the commission of any offence under the Act and (d) seal up premises upon reasonable suspicion of such premises being involved in or used in the commission of any offence under the Act Section 11(3) stated that the Director General may be removed from office by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate Section 23(10) says under the

Soku Oilfield Dispute: Obey Supreme Court Order, Bayelsa Govt Urges RMAFC Insists it's injustice to pay accruals to Rivers State Olusegun Samuel The Bayelsa State government has again called on the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to comply with an order of the Supreme Court over the disputed Soku oil and gas fields, whose ownership is in contention between Bayelsa and Rivers State.

Governor Douye Diri, made the call yesterday, during a courtesy call on him by a factfinding team from the federal agency in Government House, Yenagoa.

Represented by his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, the governor said the apex court have given an order for proper demarcation of the boundary between the two states as decisive step to resolve the impasse.

He lamented that while the National Boundaries Commission was yet to implement the order, the RMAFC decided to be paying accruals from the disputed Soku

oil wells to Rivers State following a later judgement by a lower court on the same issue.

The Bayelsa helmsman posited that for the sake of equity and justice, the accruals should be saved in an escrow account pending the final resolution of the matter.

He also recalled that the state government had since secured a judgement against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which was yet to be implemented by the Commission.

Diri, who charged the RMAFC to strictly apply the right indices for revenue allocation and distribution, said the Commission needed to be more circumspect in taking decisions in respect of revenue disputes between states in the country.

According to him, the present revenue distribution formula do not meet the development needs of Nigeria as a republic with 36 federating units and called on the Commission to display integrity

and competence in ensuring that the right thing was done.

His words: "For us in Bayelsa, the indices being applied and used for revenue distribution are not correct, but skewed against us. Your duty as revenue allocation commission is quite a big responsibility to ensure the application of the right indices.

"An issue I want to speak about briefly here is the RMAFC's hasty decisions on revenue disputes between states. We have an issue with the Rivers State Government over the disputed Soku oil wells. While the matter is yet to be resolved, we expect the accruals to be paid into an escrow account.

"There is subsisting Supreme Court judgement on the matter.

The Supreme Court said go and demarcate the boundary. While that has not been done, the Rivers State Government is relying on a lower court judgement on same issue to get all the revenues from the assets.

"In another instance, the Bayelsa State Government got a favourable judgement against the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), for which we expected the RMAFC to also give us our money but it had not complied."

Speaking earlier, the Leader of the RMAFC delegation, Mr. Andrew Agbaga, said the 12-member team was part of the Indices and Distribution Committee of the Commission, which is currently visiting all the states in the country.

Agbaga, who is the Federal Commissioner representing Delta State at the Commission, disclosed that their assignment in the state was to verify whether what is approved and distributed

by RMAFC is what actually gets to the states and local government areas.

He said another justification for the visit was to see if the indices being used for revenue disbursement were in conformity with approved principles.

5 per cent of airfare, contract, charter and cargo sales charge, Section 23(10) says that an air operator which fails to remit to the Authority, within the time specified in the regulations the

5 per cent charge, commits an offence and its directors are each liable on conviction to a fine of N5,000,000 or imprisonment for a period of two years or both, among others.

AfDB Unveils African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has formally introduced its new initiative, the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation (APTF), that would join hands with the African Union to boost the continent's capacity to produce drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics all along the value chain, to help build its pharmaceutical sector.

A statement yesterday explained that the APTF was the focus of a forum hosted by the AfDB under the theme: “Technology Access for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation.”

The event was part of the second International Conference on Public Health in Africa in Kigali, Rwanda.

According to the AfDB, the continent imports more than 70 per cent of the medicines it needs at the cost of $14 billion annually. It noted that changing the game to enable African countries develop their capacity to manufacture pharmaceutical products has public health, strategic and economic rationales.

“This new initiative comes as a solution, since most [African] countries still face challenges in receiving [medicines] on time," Rwandan Minister of State for Health, Dr. Yvan Butera said.

The Foundation, hosted by the Government of Rwanda in Kigali, was expected to commence operations in early 2023.

In his opening remarks, the Vice-President for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation at the AfDB Group, Mr. Solomon Quaynor, said Covid-19 had exposed the gaps in Africa’s health care system.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of global health systems and the gaps in the production of critical drugs on the continent.

“The APTF is a ground-

breaking institution that will significantly enhance Africa’s access to technologies that underpin the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.”

Presenting the APTF at the event, Prof. Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Special Adviser on pharmaceuticals and health infrastructure to Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the AfDBk Group, stressed that the Foundation was designed to help African countries bridge the technology gaps in sustainable domestic manufacturing.

Sampath said: "Pharmaceutical companies in Africa have three specific impediments to technology access: access to technology and related know-how for production, mobilisation of domestic resources for technological upgrading, and the lack of possibilities for horizontal and vertical product diversification. “Many technological risks need to be indemnified to build Africa’s pharmaceutical sector, including shifting away from a productby-product approach which puts African companies at risk.”

The co-chair of the International Negotiating Body of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, Dr. Precious Matsoso, reflected on how important technology issues are for future pandemic preparation. She said establishing the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation “would provide the much-needed support to address technology barriers for equitable access.”

Describing the establishment of the Foundation as “timely,” given the experience of Covid-19, Dr. Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Initiative, stressed that the initiative “will help in saving lives on the continent”.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

TRADITIONAL TITLES FOR SYLVA AND DARE...

L-R: Minister of Youths and Sports Mr Sunday Dare, Emir of Daura His Royal Highness Alh. (Dr) Umar Farouk Umar and Minister of State Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva after receiving staff of office as Sarki Wasanni Kasar and Sarki Kudun Hausa respectively in Daura, Katsina State...yesterday

FG: Atiku’s Open Borders Plan’ll Worsen Insecurity in Nigeria Your argument belies logic, PDP replies Chuks Okocha and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The federal government has said former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar‘s statement that he would reopen all Nigerian borders if elected president would aggravate insecurity in the country.

But the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has dismissed the argument as lacking logic, because the federal government currently operates open border policy except it was agreeing to the fact that the idea

was responsible for the current insecurity in the country.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, launched the broadside on Atiku yesterday at 'PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)’ in Abuja.

He said the declaration made in Katsina on Tuesday by Atiku would allow influx of arms and ammunition into the country, adding that the “unfortunate comment” portended job losses for millions of rice farmers, when imported rice floods the country.

Family, Friends, Mentees Donate Sporting Facility to Awosika Dike Onwuamaeze The Ibukun Awosika Sports Centre at the Methodist Girls’ High School (MGHS), Yaba was yesterday unveiled as a gift to the former Chairman of First Bank Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, by family, friends and mentees to honor her as she celebrated her 60th birthday.

Awosika, a renowned African entrepreneur, international leader, businesswoman, Chairman and Founder of the Chair Centre Group and author is an alumna of the MGHS. This birthday gift, which also came as a surprise to the celebrant was inaugurated and unveiled yesterday.

The ‘Ibukun Awosika Sports Centre was a purposely built by her mentees and family for her alma mater, MGHS, in order to integrate sports into the lives of young girls and foster qualities such as optimism, leadership, resilience, dedication, commitment, teamwork, practice, respect among others.

As part of the gift, a 12-month mentoring programme for 30 girls at the MGHS was also announced and it would kick off in 2023.

An Executive Coach and Leadership Expert, Mr. Fela Durotoye, who delivered the keynote address during the event, said: “We are grateful for the depth of Awosika’s wisdom. I am delighted that we are flagging off the commissioning of this beautiful sports centre with a relay race, which symbolises how Awosika has prepared the next generation for a greater run. I am also proud of the women she has mentored.

“Awosika has been fruitful and has empowered the next

generation. We can’t but express our gratitude for the gift of Awosika to our generation.”

Also, the Managing Director of What’s On Media, Ms. Chichi Nwoko, said: “It’s a privilege to be celebrating Mrs. Awosika today.

To honour her as she marks her 60th birthday, we – her family, friends and mentees decided to join resources as a group and we have successfully used the resources to build a sports centre at the Methodist Girls High School, Yaba, in her name.

“Just like Awosika who was also an athlete as a student at MGHS, we believe that this initiative will enable young girls to build confidence and the spirit of sportsmanship to lead the future generation. We are truly delighted to honour her life and her positive contributions to the communities around her through the gift of impact.”

Awosika, in appreciation of the special gift said: “I am beyond enthralled that my friends, family and mentees who know how much my alma mater means to me went all out to give in my name, this is the ultimate honour.

I also appreciate my sisters for always being there for me.

“All I ever wanted was to live a fulfilling life and make it easier for the next generation to walk through the path that I walked and do greater things than I have done. I am grateful for passing through this school which taught me a lot of things and for the relationships I built here.

“I am in awe of this gift and I am making a commitment to ensure that I make available whatever is required to keep this facility running for the future generation.”

He added the statement that emanated during the campaign trail also implied to the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians working in the various rice mills that had sprung up under the Buhari administration will be laid off.

“By that statement, Alhaji Atiku has simply informed Nigerians that he will reverse all the efforts made by the PMB administration to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of many staples, especially, rice. By that statement, the former vice-president has informed the country's millions of rice farmers that they will soon lose their jobs when imported rice floods the country.

“By that statement, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, has

told the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians working in the various rice mills that have sprung up under this administration that their jobs are over.

“By that statement, Alhaji Atiku will shut down most, if not all, of our new fertilizer blending companies, with thousands of jobs going down the drain. And by his declaration, the former Vice President has told Nigerians that he will worsen security in the country by allowing arms and ammunition to flow unhindered into the country,” Mohammed said.

But responding, spokesperson of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, said, "Can we then take it that since the borders are currently

opened that all the allegations that he made are reflected in the Nigerian situation today? Is that what he’s saying? Because the borders are open as you and I are talking.

"But I also know that in spite of the opening of the borders that the cost of local rice is different from the cost of the imported rice.

Imported rice sells for between 40,000 and 50,000 (Naira) or above, while locally milled rice sells between 30,000 and 40,000. So, that same differential pooh-poohs the argument and contemplation of Alhaji Lai Mohammed.”

On the claim that Atiku’s plan would increase insecurity in the country, Ologbondiyan said, "Alhaji Lai Mohammed is an old man.

I know his proclivities, I know why he tries to come out always to come and engage with Atiku.

He’s doing all that in order to be seen to be working for the failed ambition of his friend, Bola Tinubu.

"Atiku Abubakar is never going to be drawn into that arena, because Atiku is speaking to Nigerians; he’s addressing the challenges of Nigeria and realistically, Nigerians are agreeing with him that he’s responding to their needs, to their desires.

"So, we are not going to allow any form of distraction from liar Mohammed. You had eight years to speak to Nigerians on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari. He failed woefully in delivering on that.”

Security: IGP Accedes to Enugu Gov’s Requests for More Personnel, Equipment Inaugurates 76 police mobile force squadron built by state government The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba has granted requests made by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State aimed at assisting the state in tackling existing and emerging security challenges.

Ugwuanyi had in his address during the inauguration of the 76 Police Mobile Force Squadron, Ekwegbe in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area constructed by his administration, requested the IGP who performed the function to passionately consider the deployment of the Special Forces of the Nigeria Police Force to Enugu State to help in tackling security challenges in the state.

The governor had also requested for the deployment of more units to No. 76 Police Mobile Force, to

enhance its manpower base and make it more formidable.

Ugwuanyi equally appealed to the IGP to release back to base, operatives of No. 3 Police Mobile Force who were on special duty in other parts of the country, stressing that, “this will further strengthen its manpower base and improve its crime fighting capability.”

According to a statement yesterday, the governor went further to request for provision of additional Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), bulletproof vests, helmets and other protective equipment to help Police operatives in the state to frontally confront and contain unrepentant criminal elements.

He urged the Police Chief to consider the need for the

establishment and equipping of a drone section, adding that it will aid the Police in combating crimes, especially those perpetrated in areas with difficult policing terrains.

Ugwuanyi who maintained that his administration was conscious of its primary purpose of ensuring the security and welfare of the people as enshrined in section 14 sub-section 2(b) of Nigeria’s constitution (as amended), pointed out that it has continued to support and encourage the security agencies in the state, particularly the Police force, in their onerous task of providing security.

The governor explained that the newly constructed 76 Mobile Police Force Squadron was one of the several interventions his administration has made in order

to improve the security of life and property of all residents as well as visitors in the state.

He revealed that his administration had in the past, executed and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force, Enugu State Command, the construction of main access roads, internal roads and car parking lot at No. 3 Police Mobile Force Squadron, Agbani Road, Enugu; installation of All-in-One 80 watts solar-powered lightings in all Divisional Police Stations in Enugu State; construction and furnishing of new Divisional Police Station at Orba and Emene; and provision of logistics support including operational vehicles and communication equipment.

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Report: 93% of Deportees, Returnees Still Want to Go on Desperate Journeys Oluchi Chibuzor A comparative study titled, 'Irregular Migration, Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery: Challenges of Reintegration of Returnees and Deportees,' has found out that despite all the stringent and hostile immigration laws of developed countries, 93 per cent of Nigeria's returnees and deportees still want to go on desperate journeys.

This according to them was the findings of a study where 536 participants across the

geopolitical zones of the country were interviewed.

The study revealed that they were often traumatised as most of them were abandoned by family members with no means of livelihood to cope with life after returning back to the country.

However, to cope with the rising challenges and psychological effects they faced, the study proposed that governments should consider building residential homes for the returnees and deportees at capital cities across the country.

Speaking about the research

funded by Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) grant, in Lagos, yesterday, the Principal Investigator, Department of Sociology, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. John Oyefara, explained that the research aimed to discover the major drivers of human trafficking and proffers solutions to curb the rising menace across the country.

He said the exact statistics regarding the numbers of irregular migrants out of Nigeria to the global North especially, and to parts of Asia and Africa was unavailable

because of its “clandestine nature.”

He also said the consensus however, was that there was a continued upward trajectory since the turn of the century.

According to him, “No thanks to the increasingly stringent/hostile immigration laws of developed countries especially and the activities of traffickers and brokers who deceitfully lure unsuspecting but desperate young people with promises of Eldorado in foreign lands.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

CASSAVA ROUNDTABLE SUMMIT...

L-R: Command Operations Officer One, Edo State Police Command, CSP Victor Igbinadolor; Group Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Nosak Group, Mrs Judith Aikhoje; Group Chief Strategy Officer, Nosak Group, Mr Deji Rahman; Area Commander, Metro, Benin City, Edo State Police Command, ACP Angela Akaro (representing the Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu Dankwara); Group Managing Director, Nosak Group, Mr Thomas Oloriegbe, Development Cassava Champion - Development Finance Dept, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Atim Ejike; Group Executive Director, Treasury and Assets Management, Nosak Group, Mrs Iyobo Innih; Managing Director, Nosak Distilleries Limited, Mr Osaro Omogiade and Prof. Lateef Sanni (Dept. Food Science and Technology, Fed. University of Technology, Abeokuta) during the 3rd Cassava Roundtable Summit to articulate and explore the opportunities in the Cassava to Ethanol value chain organised by Premier Plantations Limited a subsidiary of Nosak Group in Benin city... recently

PDP to Buhari: Don’t Waste Your Time Campaigning for Tinubu Says Nigerians won’t elect narcotics-related offender president Atiku'll implement host community fund provision, Okowa pledges Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Sylvester Idowu in Warri The Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation, yesterday, advised President Muhammadu Buhari, not to waste his precious time campaigning for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, because Nigerians have roundly rejected him for his narcotics connection.

This is as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has promised that the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, would ensure that the Petroleum Industry Act was enforced, including provision on host communities' fund, if elected.

Atiku/Okowa campaign further claimed that Nigerians had

registered their rejection of Tinubu as they had shown that they would never trust or elect a narcotics-related lawbreaker; an individual accused of treasury-looting and many other reprehensible acts as president.

In a statement by one of spokespersons of the campaign, Kola Ologbondiyan, stated: “Is it not preposterous and a huge spat on the faces of Nigerians that an individual, who is beleaguered by allegations of corruption, perjury, identity theft, inconsistencies in name and ancestry, as well as alleged narcotics offence for which he forfeited a whopping sum of $460,000 to the United States of America, could present himself for election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

"It is imperative to state that Nigerians will never entrust the destiny of our nation to any

DHQ: Precision Bombing Killed 103 Bandits in Zamfara Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Defence Headquarters (DHQ), yesterday, said precision bombing killed 103 armed bandits in Zamfara State and several terrorists in the North-east in the past three weeks.

Defending the offensives on parts of Zamfara, where he claimed the bombardment of terrorist elements was precise, it said an investigation into possible collateral damage during the bombing campaign in Zamfara had commenced, adding that the probe will "ascertain the level of collateral damage."

The position came amid concerns over allegation that dozens of civilians were casualties of last Sunday’s military air strikes on the terrorists operating in Mutumji community in Maru Local Government the Area of Zamfara State.

The military also said troops arrested 40 terrorists while 30 kidnap victims were rescued within the period under review.

Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Director of Defence Information (DDI), Maj Gen Jimmy Akpor, said the, "military does not

attack soft target. It is not part of military training to attack those it has obligation to protect and defend."

Akpor, who was also responding to a question on reports claiming that soldiers in military uniforms attacked and killed scores of innocent civilians in Eha-Amufu, a community in Isi Uzo Local Government Area of Enugu State, early in December, said the report was not true.

The alleged killer soldiers reportedly invaded the community shooting and maiming the residents and left in the wake, 16 people including women and children killed, several injured, while hundreds of survivors fled the community.

Akpor assured that the military would fish out the perpetrators and used the occasion to assure them that adequate security measures would be taken across the country during the Yuletide and New Year celebrations.

“We are not going on break or holidays”, he said.

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individual, who is completely tarnished; whose persona is globally tainted with issues of criminal allegations, who cannot explain the source of his wealth in the face of accusations that it is proceed of corruption.

"Of course, there is no way Nigerians will trust or elect an individual, who is so depraved that he can present the photograph of another person, former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke, as his to gain followership in a documentary used as part of his campaign materials to canvass for votes."

According to the spokesperson of the campaign, "such proclivity to falsehood is evident in the attempt

by Tinubu, who cannot point to any resounding legacy project he articulated and executed in his brawling years as governor of Lagos State, to shamelessly claim credit for the achievements of his predecessors and successors in office."

He said it was strange that anybody could expect Nigerians to elect a failed governor, whose only achievement is entrenching governance by brawl, personal enrichment and puffery.

"Nigerians across the country have since established their preference for

the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, over and above the deflated Tinubu as the next President of our great country.

"This is because Atiku has proven himself as a leader with the required integrity, sound reputation and desired capacity, competence, presence of mind, political will and stamina to lead our nation at this critical time," he said.

He said Nigerians wanted Atiku on the saddle in their yearning for the return of the good days; the period of Atiku Abubakar as Vice President and Chairman of the Economic Council, when the nation witnessed unprecedented economic growth to become one of the fastest growing economies of the world, where citizens were secure, prosperous and happy.

In view of this, Ologbondiyan President said, Buhari should, therefore, not waste his time to campaign for Asiwaju Tinubu, who has lost grip of the presidential contest and is only seen in the public as a butt of jokes for his endless gaffes, display of vacuity and incapacity to lead.

"The overflowing mammoth crowd that received Atiku and his entourage in President Buhari’s

home state of Katsina as well as in Imo, Kwara, Gombe, Osun, Akwa Ibom and other states of the federation is a clear pointer to the fact that Nigerians, irrespective of political, ethnic or religious affiliations, have pitched their tents with the PDP presidential candidate.

"What Nigerians expect from President Buhari at this time is to provide the enabling environment that will guarantee peaceful, free, fair, transparent and credible 2023 general election as well as a smooth transfer of power in line with the expressed will of the people on May 29, 2023," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Okowa, said so much fund was needed for the development of oil-producing communities in the Niger Delta, and assured them that, when elected, the Atiku-Okowa administration would change the poor conditions in the oil-bearing area through full implementation of the Act. Okowa, who made the promise at the PDP governorship campaign flag-off in Warri South and Uvwie Local Government Areas said, Deltans were privileged to have one of their own selected to become vice-president in the next dispensation.

He therefore, urged all Deltans to rise and collectively support PDP, saying, "we must work hard to ensure victory for the party."

According to him, the AtikuOkowa ticket would take care of some of the teething problems facing the nation and “we have resolved to ensure that our people are taken care of, particularly, the oil bearing communities. There is a provision in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), that is the Host Communities Fund and we will ensure its full implementation for the benefit of the oil-bearing communities".

On how the party intended to tackle insecurity, Okowa said Atiku would engage relevant stakeholders to ensure constitutional amendment to legalise state police.

"We have observed that the federal police was grossly inadequate to secure Nigerians and therefore, we are advocating the establishment of state police to enable every state have its own police to handle peculiar security challenges.

"Aside the state police, we will recruit more hands into federal police, procure more weapons and provide adequate logistics and intelligence gathering devices for effective policing," he said.

NHRC Urges House of Reps to Pass Electoral Offences Bill Michael Olugbode in Abuja The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has called on the House of Representatives to pass the Electoral Offenses Commission bill like its counterpart in the Senate, to enable the country to deal with cases of electoral violence, which has characterised some of the elections in the past.

Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, made the call in Abuja yesterday while noting that if the bill was passed by the House of Representatives and subsequently signed into law by the President, it would empower INEC to concentrate on organising credible polls while the responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders would rest on the proposed National Electoral Offences

Commission.

Ojukwu recalled that the Senate passed the Electoral Offences bill since 14th of July 2021 and forwarded it to the House of Representatives and therefore, wondered why the bill has remained pending, despite the inherent value it would add to the electoral process from the 2023 general election onwards.

He observed that although Section 145 of the Electoral Act 2022 empowered INEC to prosecute electoral offenders in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, it did not have the capacity to investigate, arrest and prosecute electoral offenders.

He maintained that the said incapacity on the part of INEC has constituted a serious impediment in prosecuting electoral offences and other forms of misconduct before,

during and after elections in the country.

The NHRC boss therefore joined his voice to the call for the implementation of the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reforms recommendations particularly, as it relates to establishment of National Electoral Offences Commission to deal with all forms of electoral offences so as to rekindle people’s confidence in the electoral process.

He added that the Commission had carried out an electoral accountability project wherein it made far-reaching recommendations to the federal government after painstakingly looking into the past orders and judgments that had arisen from the election petition cases, so as to ensure the protection of the electoral rights of citizens The Commission had

recommended to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to prosecute certain persons, who the Election Petition Tribunal or the Court of Appeal had indicted for misconducts during the 2007-2011 general election and consequently ordered their prosecution.

Ojukwu expressed optimism that the current MOVE project, Mobilising Voters for Election, was among other things targeted at the achieving the following: 1) ensuring improved citizens participation in the elections 2) ensure that political parties and candidates present a clear human rights direction in their manifestos and 3) ensure that the law enforcement agents observe global best practices in carrying out their duties, including protecting the voters and their votes during the elections etc.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

4TH CONVOCATION CEREMONY OF MOUNTAIN TOP UNIVERSITY...

L-R: Overall best graduating student, Victoria Amaechi; Chancellor, Dr. Daniel Olukoya; Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and a first class graduate of Geophysics, Oluwatofunmi Adeboye at the fourth Convocation Ceremony of Mountain Top University, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway…yesterday

N'Assembly Postpones N20.51trn 2023 Budget Passage over Errors in Fiscal Document Sunday Aborisade and Udora Orizu in Abuja The final consideration and passage of the N20.51 trillion 2023 appropriation bill suffered a setback in both Senate and House of Representatives yesterday.

The leadership of both chambers blamed the obstruction on alleged inherent problems created by the executive arm of government.

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said there were irreconcilable figures detected by the appropriations committees of both chambers in the fiscal document.

Lawan, however, said the problematic areas were sorted out on Wednesday with relevant government functionaries from the executive arm of government.

He said as a result of the long cleaning process the draft budget proposal underwent, Committees on Appropriations from both chambers could not meet up with submission of the report for consideration and passage yesterday.

Both chambers, he added, agreed to have special sessions next Wednesday for consideration and passage of the proposed budget and other important bills, like the 2022 Finance bill, the N819.5billion 2022 supplementary budget, among others.

Lawan said, "Today was

scheduled for us to receive and consider the report of our Committee on Appropriation for the 2023 Appropriation Bill.

"However, due to some challenges, we are not able to receive the report of the committee, and the main reason is that the Appropriation Bill came to the National Assembly with some problems and when our Committees on Appropriation in the Senate and the House of Representatives started to reconcile the figures of what we have done and what was presented, the problems became very obvious and they were not easy to deal with, and, therefore, our committees had to start a process of cleaning up the bill first.

"That process, of course, also engaged the executive arm because the problems came from there.

It was concluded only yesterday (Wednesday), and our committee secretariats are not able to finish processing the budget for us to take today nor tomorrow, nor Saturday nor Sunday because these are periods that are for festivities, Christmas period.

Monday, Tuesday are public holidays.

"Consequently, we can only receive the report and consider it on Wednesday, the 28th December, 2022. That is the earliest, that’s next week.

"So far, this ninth National

Assembly has done so much to pass the previous appropriation bills since 2019 before the end of the year to date and I’m sure that this would remain one of the cherished legacies of the ninth National Assembly.

"So, by the Grace of God, on the 28th of this month, the Senate and, indeed, the House of Representatives will all come back to receive and consider the budget report from our committees.

"Secondly, our Committee on Finance is this morning holding a public hearing on the Finance Bill 2022, and, of course, the Finance Bill is the basis on which the Appropriation Bill 2023 is built.

"We had arranged yesterday

that the Finance Committee will present a report of the Finance Bill Hearing at 2pm today (Thursday) "That, of course, would not be possible. This is the reason: we also received two communications yesterday (Wednesday) Supplementary Budget 2022 and, of course, Ways and Means.

"So our committees on Appropriation, Finance, Water Resources, Agriculture and Works and Housing will be processing the bills for today.”

Speaking further, the senate president said, "In that respect, the Senate will adjourn immediately so that our committees start the action they are supposed to take and, therefore, those reports will

also be available to us on 28th December when we will be here.

"And, by the Grace of God, Wednesday, the 28th December, 2022, will be a very heavily loaded day for us, but I’m sure we will be able to deal with all the issues that Wednesday and our colleagues who would wish to travel back to continue the festivities with their families can still make it the following day.

"I want to thank all of you, my distinguished colleagues, for your support, cooperation, commitment, dedication on all these things that we have been doing as a legislature.

"Let me advise the executive.

The bills that have come to

us, the Ways and Means, the Supplementary Appropriation, whoever is invited to come and explain, to give information or any details for the National Assembly to understand must do so, because it’s not our work alone.

"We want to do our work thoroughly, we want to understand whatever we are going to deal with and to base our decisions on information, and time is of essence.

"Just like we are going to sacrifice part of our festive period to be back here, nobody should tell us that they are in their places because it is Christmas. They should be available with every necessary information."

Court Affirms Abacha as Kano Guber Candidate, Sacks Wali Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano The Federal High Court, Kano, presided over by Justice A M Liman, has declared Alhaji Muhammad Sani Abacha as the duly elected Gubernatorial Candidate of PDP in Kano State, after sacking Sadiq Aminu Wali.

The Court upheld that the only lawful primary election was the one monitored by INEC. Delivering the judgment virtually yesterday, Justice Liman nullified the primary

election that produced Sadiq Aminu Wali as Kano PDP governorship candidate and ordered INEC to expunge his name for Muhammad Sani Abacha.

The judgment that was earlier scheduled for 12.00pm yesterday was later shifted to 4.00pm and delivered around 5:30pm.

The court granted all the prayers of the plaintiff in the suit.

The plaintiff in the suit was Mohammed Sani Abacha while INEC was the first defendant,

Sadik Aminu Wali was the second defendant, PDP was the third, while Wada Sagagi was the fourth defendant.

Reacting to the court judgment, the party chairman in Kano State, Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi, said "This judgment is a victory for democracy. It is a primary election conducted by my leadership. The court has made it clear that Abacha is the authentic candidate."

Sagagi, who spoke to reporters at the party office in Lugar Road,

appealed to all the aggrieved members that lost in the court to come together and join the party to victory in 2023.

He urged the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, to resign for the victory of the party, which was in the interest of the party members.

He said Ayu was the brain behind the crisis within the ranks and file members of the party in the country, adding that the party would start a gubernatorial campaign in the state next week.

Nigeria is Breeding Poverty, Says Peter Obi House to Buhari: Direct CDS to Flush Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party ((LP), Mr Peter Obi, has observed that Nigeria as a nation was breeding poverty, hunger and unemployment.

Obi, who spoke yesterday, during his presidential campaign in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said the country has suffered so much set back because of failed leadership.

He said his plans was to unite the country, revive education and move Nigeria from a consumption country to a production economy.

According to Obi, Nigeria needed a leadership that would assure and work out security of its citizens.

He mocked the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government for promising

Nigeria change from the previous government achievements, saying government, if elected in 2023, would also ensure the stability of the health sector.

"In Nigeria, today, our country is breeding poverty. A country that is breeding unemployment, breeding sickness, a country that is breeding out of school children, a country that youth unemployment is highest in the world, that is what they called a change. We now live in a very insecured country. Our job is to secured and save Nigeria.

"Our second job, is to make sure that we have a country, where there is rule of law, where education is number one priority, infrastructure development and development in health sector. We will move the Nigeria from consumption to a production country," Obi assured.

Out Terrorists in Kaduna, Ebonyi Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency direct the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor, to initiate a coordinated joint security operations and provide area surveillance and support to flush out terrorists in Kaduna and Ebonyi States and destroy their camps.

In fresh attacks on communities in Kaduna State, on Sunday, where seven abducted Chinese nationals were rescued by special forces from the militants' cell,

although the terrorists killed some 37 people.

The bandits attacked Malagum and Sokwong communities of Kagoro Chiefdom in the Kaura Local Government Area of the state, where they also burnt down more than 100 houses.

However, moving a motion of urgent national importance at the plenary, yesterday, Hon. Gideon Ghoni decried the terror attacks and urged humanitarian ministry to provide relief materials to the victims.

He also noted that the terror attacks had been going on without proactive measures initiated to

avert the trend.

While noting that the House passed several resolutions on similar motions and communicated them to all security agencies but unfortunately no positive actions yielded from it, he warned that if no stringent measures were taken to safeguard the life of people, it might constitute threat to national security.

In similar vein, the lawmakers, while adopting a motion sponsored by Hon. Makwe Livinus, condemned the gruesome killings of Mr Ejike Egwu, Chukwuemeka Benjamin Ajah and numerous others, whose lives

were cut short by bandits and armed men terrorising Amaeze community of Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The lawmakers urged the Chief of Army Staff, Inspector General of Police and Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to set up a joint patrol team to comb the farmland and forests to rout out bandits, terrorists and unauthorised armed men killing farmers in Amaeze Community in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Adopting the motions, the House observed a minute silence to those killed in the terror attacks.

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

TINUBU AT A BUSINESS LUNCHEON WITH SOME YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS...

R-L: Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu, All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate, Asíwájú Bola Tinubu, Idris Olorunnibe and Oando Chief Executive Officer, Wale Tinubu at a Business Luncheon by Tinubu with some young entrepreneurs at The Wings, Victoria Island, Lagos...yesterday

Dingyadi: Attacks on INEC Facilities Can’t Stop 2023 Elections Says FG to clear arrears of police officers’ new salary package Olawale Ajimotokan and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has insisted that the calculated attacks by some criminal elements on the facilities of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in some parts of the country would not truncate next year’s election.

He gave the assurance, yesterday, at the 15th edition of the 'PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)' in Abuja.

The minister assured that in

spite of the violence foisted by the criminals, the election billed for February 2023, would go on nationwide as scheduled.

“Yes, I have said before and I want to repeat it now.

This election is going to be conducted in all parts of the country and we want to assure Nigerians that it’s going to be hitch free. It’s going to be fair and it’s going to be credible.

What you see out there by these criminals will not stop us from conducting the elections," Dingyadi said.

The minister also stated that the federal government has

directed that fuel be distributed to all Police commands across the country for their operational uses.

He noted that although providing enough fuel for police vehicles, would not be easy, government was determined to ensure its success as it would be the first time any administration would be doing it, adding that, it was the intention of government to continue with the gesture, which has been applauded by many police officers.

“The problem of fueling of police operational vehicles is

gradually easing off as the ministry secured approval from Mr President and the National Assembly for supply of fuel to police commands nationwide.

This gesture aimed at improving operational efficiency of the police was carried out in three tranches at a total cost of N4.5 billion under the 2021 quarter of 2022, while efforts are on to secure approval for its continuation,” he said.

He added that police stations and barracks in several parts of the country such as Kebbi, Edo, Borno, Yobo, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Abia, Bayelsa,

Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, Ogun, Lagos and the FCT were also rehabilitated at the total cost of N5 billion.

Meanwhile the minister has disclosed that the federal government was making arrangements for the payment of the arrears of police officers’ new salary package.

The clarification followed reports of grumbling in the Police Force by some officers over the non-payment of their arrears.

He said he took up the matter with Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab

Ahmed, on Wednesday and received assurances that the money would be paid.

“The arrears we are talking about is for the new salary package, not the entire salary itself. So, the main salary has been ongoing and what we did is to increase and introduce these allowances into the arrears that are outstanding and it is the arrears of this new package that is just six months. By the time we started, it has been active and on and what we are now trying to do is to get the officers concerned,” Dingyadi said.

EMEFIELE CHRONICLES GAINS OF CASHLESS POLICY, ASSUAGES LAWMAKERS’ CONCERNS Section 8 of its Act to brief the House on monetary policies, stressing that there is a reason for the provision.

Gbajabiamila stated that 94 per cent of the banking population the apex bank said was not affected by the withdrawal limit policy was dependent on the six per cent adversely affected.

While frowning on the two months’ notice given by the regulator, he opined that even when the policy takes effect, the apex bank should allow the continuous use of the old notes at the same time until it was completely phased out.

Gbajabiamila said, "It took the prompting of the House, not once, not twice, but three times to have the CBN come for this briefing that we are not even asking for. It is an obligatory briefing under the CBN Act Section 8. The reason why the House needed to be briefed under the contemplation of the law was because this House represents the people out there. So by briefing the House, we can now go back, assuming we agree with your policy, to our constituents and let them know what is going on and why it is going on.

"We could have worked with you if we agreed with you.

So, the question remains, how come the CBN did not brief the House and moving forward, that should never happen again.

That is number one.

“All your policies may be of good intentions, but they say the road to hell is sometimes paved with good intentions.

We are aware of the Bank of England, we are aware of the

US. Just recently the Bank of England changed their notes to the King Charles notes, and the bank made a publication that it would not come into effect until 2024. In other words, they gave a year’s notice in a cashless society.

"You said only six per cent of the banking populace are affected adversely by this policy, 94 per cent are not because they withdraw below that limit weekly. Now that is in percentage terms. Can you tell us in numerical terms what that percentage means?

“In other words, how many people are in the banking sector, how many citizens are captured? I think I heard you say earlier that they were 60 or 70 million Nigerian or thereabout. So six per cent of that figure comes to how many people?"

House Urges CBN, Commercial Banks to Remit School Fees of Foreign-based Nigerian Students Meanwhile, the House of Representatives mandated the CBN and commercial banks to put in place measures to prevent deportation of Nigerian students abroad by ensuring the seamless processing of their school fees.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Akande Sadipe at plenary.

Moving the motion, Sadipe said the House was aware that some Nigerian international students across the world were

having hard times processing payments provided by the beneficiaries.

According to her, top Nigerian banks have failed to process the payment transfers either for settling school fees, accommodation and other required expenses.

She also said the banks had refused to refund the affected students to enable them search for alternative means of payments.

Sadipe lamented that several students were on the verge of being deported to Nigeria if urgent steps were not taken to remedy the situation, adding that the CBN and commercial banks involved have kept mute.

Again, CSOs Protest in Abuja, Caution DSS on Charges against Emefiele The coalition of civil society organisations continued to press the DSS to retract what it described as the unverified charges against Emefiele.

The civil society organisations under the auspices of Coalition of Civil Society Group and Youth Coalition (CCSGYG), which stormed Abuja yesterday, in a massive protest, maintained that Emefiele was not in any way a sponsor of terrorism.

The coalition led by its president, Bassey Etuk Williams, and secretary, Abubakar Ibrahim, made their position known during a rally held in Abuja, where they insisted the apex bank's governor was not a terrorist as alleged.

They also said unscrupulous

and disgruntled politicians were behind the move to heap charges on Emefiele, because they were being exposed as regards their evil deeds via the recent implementation of CBN policies.

The coalition expressed its displeasure over the desperation of politicians manipulating a noble organisation such as the DSS to sell a fake and unfounded charges against Emefiele who they said had successfully fought money laundering, financing of terrorism and other financial crimes through his policies and innovations.

William said it was a shame to mention that Emefiele was sponsoring terrorism even when those making the allegations had no evidence to prove it.

In a statement read at the protest ground, William said, "Our attention was once again drawn to the recent motion ex parte brought before a Federal High Court in Abuja by men of DSS where-in they sought relief to arrest and detain the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, based on trumped up charges of financing terrorism, economic crime, and crime of national security.

"This motion was surprisingly done without concrete evidence to prove the frivolous allegations against the workaholic CBN governor that the country can’t forget easily based on his several positive impactful economic and monetary policies approved by President Muhammadu Buhari for implementation.

"We are surprised to note the division that exist among top government officials of

this regime. While the CBN governor was in faraway US on the entourage of President Buhari, another arm is seeking his arrest back home on trumped up charges without the consent of the president.

"The questions that beg for answer is, who gave such directive, is Mr. President aware of this allegation before moving in to effect arrest via a court order? On whose interest is the DSS really working?

“The civil society movement has great respect for the DG DSS who we know as a fine gentleman but we feel that the trumped up charges are a product of unfounded petition generated by unscrupulous politicians whose fraudulent activities have been caught short by the wonderful and brilliant policies of central bank governor.

"We wonder why they left their main mandate and allowed the troubled political class to influence their professional ethics.

"The coalition is surprised on the high level of plot to frame the CBN governor at this time.

There has been coordinated attempt to rubbish him, as we all note that this started via one Hon. Kazaure, when he went about screaming missing N89 trillion stamp duty money traceable to same man, even though Presidency has come out to disown the said committee the political class didn't rest as they moved again using the men of DSS. "We are shocked that this can happen even while he was away with President Buhari.

The question is, why then did

they allow someone allegedly financing terrorism be on the delegation of Mr. President.

"The CBN governor has served diligently for seven years and the DSS within this period didn’t discover this until the recently introduced monetary policy, a policy that majorly affects most of our political class.”

The coalition pointed out, "This is an affront on the government of President Buhari and we implore the presidency to get to the root of the move aimed to further ridicule and bring to disrepute office of the president."

The coalition warned that it would not sit back and allow any security agency to detain Emefiele against the policy approved by Buhari to block loopholes created by corrupt Nigerians and take the advantage to perpetrate their evil at the detriment of the masses.

It said, "This flip flop in government activities must stop now. We, as a group, hereby reiterate our unalloyed support for President Muhammadu Buhari and CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, while urging the CBN governor to further the implementation of his policies aimed at further combating inflation.

"While we warn the detractors and naysayers to allow him deliver on his mandate, the era of cash stuffing at home has gone and won’t come back again.

"We won’t be deterred to take further actions if this blackmail to remove him from office did not stop now."

FRIDAY DECEMBER 23, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

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RED STAR EXPRESS CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY ...

L-R: Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Red Star Express Plc, Charles Ejekan; Divisional Head, Capital Markets, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Jude Chiemeka; Managing Director/CEO, Red Star Express Plc, Auwalu Babura; Company Secretary, Red Star Express Plc, Frances Akpomuka, and Chief Innovation Officer, Red Star Express Plc, Tonye Prengafi, during a Closing Gong Ceremony in commemoration of the company’s 30th Anniversary celebration in Lagos… recently DAN UKANA

FG: Rehabilitation of Police Stations, Barracks Cost N5bn Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Minister of Police Affairs, Dr. Muhammad Dingyadi, said yesterday that the federal government has commenced rehabilitation of police stations and

barracks in several parts of the country as well as the installation of intelligence equipment at the Force Headquarters and Zone 1 and Zone 2 Police Headquarters at the cost of N5 billion.

He said the Ministry of Police

Soil Science Institute Trains Extension Agents, Farmers Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto The Nigeria Institute of Soil Science (NISS) has been tasked to monitor the step down training on its Updated NISSAGRO Mobile App nationwide, by the trained extension agents and farmers.

Managing Director of KNARDA, Dr. Junaidu Yakubu, stated this at a one-day train-thetrainers workshop for extension agents and farmers, including a cross section of NISS staff.

The workshop was organised, in collaboration with ADPs, in the North-west geopolitical zone on the use of NISS AGRO Mobile App, Version 2.0, which was

held in Kano.

Yakubu, who was represented

by Director Extension of KNARDA, Mr. Gambo Isa, commended the efforts of NISS in upgrading its App, Version 1.0 to 2.0, also tasked the participants to learn the App fully so that they will disseminate the information and train others on the new App. The App that was developed

by NISS is an online and offline agricultural one-stop shop, designed to collect and analyse data, proffer solution and give advice to farmers, extension workers, agro dealers and other stakeholders towards improving agricultural productivity.

Onuesoke: Onochie Eminently Qualified to Head NDDC Sylvester Idowu inWarri

A few days after the Senate confirmation of the nomination of Ms Lauretta Onochie as Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC), a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke, has said she was eminently qualified for the position.

Onuesoke, who spoke on the back drop of those opposed to her

appointment during an encounter with newsmen in Asaba, Delta State, said Onochie, being an indigene of Delta, an oil producing state, was extremely qualified to be Chairman of the Board.

He recalled that, when she was nominated as INEC Commissioner, the people rejected her probably, because she was a card carrying member of APC and media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari and as such could be partisan, adding that, “in this case of NDDC appointment, she deserved it because she is fully qualified.”

Winners Emerge in Road Music Challenge by CFAO Temitope Taiye Fashoro with her sonorous voice recently emerged winner of the Road Music Challenge

by CFAO Yamaha. The Incredible Kids came second while the third place was occupied by Kusagba Oluwadamilola with her catchy lyrics and creaativity.

The first place winner went home with N1 million and a 3.5kva Yamaha generator.The second place winner got N500,000 and a Crux Rev Motorcycle, while the contestant who came third won N250,000.

Commenting on the competition,

the Managing Director of CFAO Yamaha Motor Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Sylvia Omlenyi, said: “We are absolutely delighted that through the CFAO Yamaha team and the Road Music Challenge, the world is able to experience the creativity of the Nigerian youth, we are really glad to be celebrating alongside these vibrant youths and helping them climb a step higher to fulfilling their dreams’ CFAO Yamaha will also like to thank all the contestants for their hard work and encourage them to keep letting their creativity shine.”

Affairs was working in concert with the Ministry of Finance to effect the payment of six months arrears of salary owed personnel of the Nigeria Police.

He made the disclosure during the “PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)” anchored by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture at the National Press Centre, Abuja.

The minister stated that Nigeria Police Force had

upgraded facilities in some training institutions, constructed and provided hospitals/health centres and equipped FCT Police Command. Others include rehabilitation of the Police Detective College at Enugu and the establishment of Nigeria Police Cyber Crime Control centre.

He said government embarked on the rehabilitation of police stations and barracks in several

parts of the country notably Kebbi, Edo, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Abia, Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, Ogun, Lagos and FCT at the total cost of N5 Billion “The intelligence-led policing paradigm has resulted in the deployment of operational, intelligence, and ICT-based apparatus to stem the tide of crimes and criminalities in Nigeria. “Some of these include the maximisation of

the Force Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Response Team (FIB-IRT) and the Special Tactical Squad (FIB-STS).

The ‘NPF Rescue Me’, an application for emergency response; NPF Crime and Incident Database Centre, the Interpol Cybercrime Reporting platform at incb.npf.gov. ng is available 24/7 for the reportage of cybercrime-related complaints”, he said.

Adeleke’s Forensic Examiner Confirms Over Voting in Osun Guber Election Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo A stastician and forensic examiner, Samuel Oduntan has ,again, told the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal that there was over-voting in the governorship election that brought in Governor Ademola Adeleke in some of the polling units he examined.

This is just as another witness, Reverend Samuel Bunmi Jenyo,

who claimed to be a Personal Assistant to Governor Adeleke said, the number of days between the date Adeleke obtained his Diploma Certificate in Penn Foster High School on 16th July, 2021 and Graduation from Atlanta Metropolitan College on 9th of August 2021 where he obtained his first degree was only 24 days.

The witnesses testified before the Justice Tertsea Kume-led

tribunal at the resumed hearing of the petition filed by Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the declaration of Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the state.

Oduntan, while giving evidence in defence of Adeleke’s declaration said he was paid by Adeleke to extract information through physical inspection of BVAS machines used for the

election and compared it with the form EC8 series where he discovered that over-voting occurred in some polling units, particularly six units in Ede South.

The witness told the panel that in Ward 4 unit 7, of Ede South, the accreditation figure he mentioned in his witness statement was 313, while the accreditation on the BVAS report was 383, which showed over-voting.

Okowa Harps on Improved Primary Healthcare for Deltans Delta State Governor, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa, has said that the strengthening of primary health care is the strategy of his administration to achieve universal health coverage, noting that it is a veritable tool to reduce the burden of diseases and tackle health challenges in Delta communities.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate disclosed this at the presentation

and inauguration of health care equipment for distribution to various primary health care centre in the state donated by the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC).

While acknowledging the role of DESOPADEC in actualizing the vision of government in various sectors, Okowa who was represented by the Secretary to

the State Government, Ogbueshi Patrick Ukah, noted that the equipment would enhance health care delivery at the primary level across the state.

He enjoined Local Government Health Authority officials to optimally utilize the equipments to the benefit of individuals, households and communities to reduce maternal and child mortality in the state.

Earlier in his speech, the Managing Director/CEO of DESOPADEC, Bashorun Askia Ogieh, stated that the hard and soft health care equipment, including furnishings, consumables and supplies cover all essential needs for the effective and efficient delivery of primary health services in the 268 Primary Health Care facilities across the state for the benefit of all Deltans.

2023: Igbo Group Endorses Peter Obi for President A leading Igbo cultural and socio-political association, Igboekulie, has endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and his running mate, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, for the 2023 general election.

The group in a statement signed by its President, Benjamin Onuora, and Secretary Ben Obidegwu, said Obi has

the capacity to pilot the affairs of Nigeria in 2023 for the sake of progress and equity.

According to Igboekulie, an opportunity to have a man like Obi to provide needed credible and strategic leadership comes to a nation once in a life time.

The group said Obi is a man that ticks all the presidential boxes in Nigeria today, noting that he is well educated,

disciplined, frugal, humble, exposed, and understands banking and finance, as well as abhors ostentatious lifestyle; has experience, empathy as well as promotes charity across Nigeria.

The group said never in the political history of Nigeria has a candidate joined a moribund political party and within a few months turned it into a national movement for the emancipation

of Nigerians-both within and abroad-from oppression, hunger, illiteracy, and hopelessness.

According to the statement: “While his main opponents are busy accusing each other of corruption in and out of public service, Obi’s only fault is that he did not steal Anambra State funds, but saved N75 billion for the succeeding administration.

Illegal Abortions: Report Vindicates Nigerian Army Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja A new report released yesterday by the Centre for International And Strategic Studies (CISS) has exonerated the Nigerian Army from the allegations of illicit abortion leveled against it

by Reuters.

The news medium had claimed

in its publication that the Nigerian Army had since 2013, “conducted a secret, systematic and illegal abortion programme in the country’s north-east, ending at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls who have been victims of insurgency.”

The report conducted in collaboration with the Coalition

Of Civil Society Organisations On Rights And Security (CCSOHRS) described Reuters’ report as propaganda and slander against the Nigerian military.

It pointed out that the report

by Reuters was a concerted effort designed to discredit the Nigerian Military.

It said it was time therefore, for

the Nigerian government and the Nigerian military, to follow up on the activities of NGOs in Nigeria especially in the north-east zone.

The report read: “The report “Nightmare in Nigeria: A Conflict Waged on the Lives of Women and Children” by Reuters, against the Nigerian military is false and stands dismissed.

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NEWSEXTRA

Osinbajo Wants Diversification of Funding of Public Universities

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has called for the diversification of funding of public universities in the country.

Speaking yesterday, while playing host to a delegation from the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye at the State House, Abuja, Osinbajo stressed that, “funding in the university system (public universities) has to be diversified.”

“The system has to find a way to sustain itself. We really have to look carefully at how universities can make money independently.

Whether it is an endowment or some other way, adopting a business model,” he added.

He emphasised that as budgetary allocations alone

cannot sustain the running of public universities, the future of the university system depends on the adoption of independent but creative sources of funding, including the establishment of an endowment fund.

According to him: “All of the great universities around the world have endowment funds. Raising money through independent sources for funding university education is a serious thing”.

The vice president urged the management of OOU to adopt other approaches to funding its activities, noting that “depending on government alone or the TETFund for development of infrastructure is not sustainable.

“I encourage you to create an endowment fund, in addition to the other approaches that you will

adopt. Olabisi Onabanjo University can become a model for others but it has to have independent sources of raising funds.

“There should be serious-minded people running the endowment office. This is the future and way forward for the university system in Nigeria. If you do it well, the university will really excel.”

Osinbajo recalled how he and two other academics from the University of Lagos’ Law Faculty were involved in teaching Law in the earlier years of the university.

He narrated how, for three years every Tuesday, he and the two other lecturers would travel with the then Dean of Law at the University of Lagos to Ago-Iwoye (where the institution is located), to take lessons and return to Lagos the next day.

BEDC Engages Forensic Experts to Authenticate Metres Supplied by FG Adibe EmenyonuinBeninCity The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Dr. Henry Ajagbawa, yesterday, said that the company has engaged the services of forensic auditors to audit the number of meters supplied by the federal government to the company.

Ajagbawa alleged that the said supplied meters by the government under the National Mass Metering Programme could not be accounted for at the moment.

He stated this in Benin City, capital of Edo State while marking his 100 days

in office as the CEO of the company.

“So, let us start from metering. Phase Zero has gone and we are expecting the Phase One to happen.

“In the Phase Zero that happened, Benin Electricity Distribution Company unfortunately is involved in all kinds of unquestionable situations where we cannot account for the meters that were delivered.

“We have gotten our forensic auditors to investigate and revert to us the true status so that we can account for the meters that were obtained from government.

“As I speak, I don’t have a clear idea as to how the meters were used. There are a lot of arguments

and secrecy surrounding the installations of those meters.

“The entirety of the meters supplied over Phase Zero has not been accounted for.

“So, our forensic auditors are looking into it in the next few weeks, they will come back to us with a clear position that we direct our next action,” he said.

Ajagbawa added that in order to institute sanity in its operations, the company has dismissed 10 of its staff for engaging in illegality, adding that two staffers are currently on the run as the police has declared them wanted for illegal tampering of meters.

Emeka Offor Foundation Donates Houses, Other Items to Widows in Anambra David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF), has distributed houses to widows in Ekwusigo Local Government Area under its Widows Empowerment Programme and Touch-A-Life Housing Scheme Phase II. The foundation also distributed

2,000 bags of rice (50kg) and 2,300 rappers in addition to some of the widows.

The founder of the SEOF and Chairman of Chrome Oil, Mr. Emeka Offor, said that a total of 11 houses was built for 11 selected widows in the area, and that additional 39 houses would be built to bring the number to 50 before June 2023.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as OGUNDUYILE YEMISI JOY now wish to be known and addressed as CALEB YEMISI JOY. All former documents remain valid. the general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as EHIGIATOR BEATRICE OSARIEMEN now wish to be known and addressed as OCHIE BEATRICE OSARIEMEN. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ANNABEL OLUCHI EKEG now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ANNABEL OLUCHI FELIX. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as THOMPSON CHUKWUMA ONYIDO now wish to be known and addressed as PRINCE THOMPSON ONYIDO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as IBIFAKA HACHIKARO BEN-KALIO now wish to be known and addressed as IBIFAKA HACHIKARO AKINBINU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS IKECHUKWU MERCY EBERE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS IYEKE MERCY EBERE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS RASIDAT OLUMAYOWA OYENIYI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. RASIDAT OLUMAYOWA OYENIYI-ADESOYE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I formally known and addressed as MRS ROLI ORITSEGBUBEMI MEGGISON-OLUPITAN, now wish to be known and addressed as MISS ROLI ORITSEGBUBEMI MEGGISON. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as ASHIDOON FAUSTINA AONDOAKAA now wish to be known and addressed as ASHIDOON FAUSTINA LIM. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

This is to inform the general public that I FAITH NWAKAEGO, is the same person as UGBOMAH FAITH NWAKAEGO. All former documents remain valid. The general public should take note.

Offor said: “We are giving out 11 houses to widows today. Contractors have already been paid upfront to make sure that nothing stopped the completion of the housing scheme.

“My concern is to address the sufferings of widows, who are fondly called Jesus’ wives within this community. The foundation will also increase the monthly stipends we pay to widows from January, 2023.

FG Declares Dec. 26, 27, Jan. 2nd Public Holidays MichaelOlugbodeinAbuja The federal government has declared December 26 and 27, 2022, and January 2, 2023, as public holidays to mark Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day celebrations respectively.

The Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, while making the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, felicitates with Christians and all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on this year’s Christmas and New Year celebrations.

Aregbesola enjoined Christians to emulate Jesus Christ in deeds and follow his teachings, especially on faith, hope and love. He said: “We must imbibe the life of Jesus Christ in His practice and teachings on humility, service, compassion, patience, peace and righteousness that His birth signified.

This will be the best way to portray Christ and celebrate his birth.”

The minister emphasised that peace and security are two critical conditions for economic development and prosperity, urging Christians and Nigerians to make the best use of this festive period to pray for the total eradication of any vestige of insecurity in our dear nation.

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

11 Reasons to Explore Islam (1) By: Ismail Al-Faruqi/IslamiCity

W

ithin Islam, it is both legitimate and right to ask the question: “Why Islam?” Every tenet in Islam is subject to analysis and contention. No other religion is willing to subject its basic fundamentals of faith to such questioning. For example, Saint Thomas Aquinas, the most rational of Christian theologians, stopped the use of reason when it came to the basic fundamentals of Christian faith. He then tried to justify faith. So, to ask “why Christianity?” is an illegitimate question.

However, Allah invites the question as to “why Islam?”.

1. Rational System Islam is also a rational system which not only allows questions but raises knowledge to a new level of dignity and respect. No other religion has exalted knowledge and its pursuit, as has Islam. In fact, for the first time in human history, a religious book invited people to question the creation of the universe and stated that in it (the universe) were signs for people of knowledge. Everything in Islam is subject to rational pursuit.

Islam has only forbidden the questioning of one thing, and this is something which reason cannot handle. However, this does not imply an anti-intellectual attitude. The only thing which Islam has said is not within the capacity of the human mind to question is the essence (dhat) of God. This will always escape a person, as He, Allah, is transcendent. However, His will, His purpose, His works, His intentions and His effects can be known.

Even the rites of Islam can be examined rationally. For example, logical and rational explanations can be made for the time of Prayer, the number of rakats or units in Prayer and even why we must bend our toes when we do.

Of course, the Muslim will always be aware that the answer he has obtained by rational inquiry is not exhaustive. It cannot be definitely accepted as explaining all the facts. It could be erroneous or incomplete. However, Islam encourages its followers to ask, “why Islam?”.

Islam is an intellectual and historical religion.

There are no secrets and no mysteries which cannot be understood by an ordinary person.

2. Easily Understandable Islam does not present stumbling blocks to the mind. It does not make claims which overwhelm the mind. Islam does not present to a person that which the human intellect cannot grasp. Anyone can understand Islam as it is a universal religion. However, for example, Hinduism legitimizes idolatry for the less educated, as it says, not all people can understand the higher religion of the Brahmans.

3. Universal Message Islam does not force a person to choose between various religions as it has included the essential teachings of all religions in its universal message. The Islamic concept is that, to every people, Allah sends a Messenger and that in their present religion or ideology they must have retained some kernel of truth from the original teachings of that religion which was, of course, the teachings of the primordial religion (deen al-fitra) or, in other words, Islam.

Islam views inter-religious dialogue as an internal discussion, not as a discussion with outsiders because, from its perspective, all mankind are members of a universal religious brotherhood. So, the differences Islam has with other religions are regarded as internal differences. Of course, Islam criticizes some Jews and Christians who have wrongly interpreted their faith; however, this criticism is based on the fact that they have strayed from the original teachings of their religion.

Islam, therefore, was the first religion in the world to call for the critical examination of religious texts. The Muslim says, in effect, to other religions: “Let us together examine the Holy Books of our religions and compare the contents with the original teachings of our respective religions and examine how far we have adhered to or gone astray from these original teachings.” Muslims, therefore, never attack other religions.

However, for the Hindu, if he has not been born in India, he is unclean; for the Jews, the sacred law only applied to them and for the Christian, there is no salvation outside the Church. Islam, however, accepts the personal

morality and values of Jesus, the concept of liberating a human being from materialism found in Hinduism, as well as the practical ethics for harmony in human society as found in Confucianism.

4. Religious Tolerance Islam is tolerant of other religions and regards them as religiously legitimate or de jure. In accepting other religions as legitimate, Islam, therefore, accepts their adherents. No other religion has given equal treatment to other religions as has Islam for over 1400 years. As we well know, Judaism and Roman Catholicism were illegal in the time of Queen Elizabeth I. In Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella, it was illegal to have any religion other than Catholicism, and Muslims and Jews had to choose baptism, exile or death. In the Middle East, some Christian sects, which were brutally eliminated by their fellow Christians in Europe, have survived after fourteen centuries of Muslim rule. Secular regimes do not respect religion.

They look down upon religion; either they believe any religion will do or they believe no religion is acceptable. The tolerance of other religions in Islam comes from respect because Islam says in every person there is an embryonic fitra or purity planted in all human beings at birth and in every religion, there is a basic kind of the original deen al-fitra.

5. The Human Being’s Innocence Islam declares a person to be born with a clean slate. The human being was not born evil but rather he was created good and equipped by nature to fulfill his duties. From the Islamic point of view, the drama of a person’s life is something that takes place after birth and not before. Islam does not record a human being as a degradation of the divine as it regards a human being as having instincts which are pure and good.

6. The Human Being: An Integral Whole Islam does not divide the soul and life of a person into two compartments, i.e. religious or ethical and verbal or material. Islam regards the human being as an integral whole. All of his actions and instincts are part and parcel of his being together with his hopes, fears, certitude, faith, and conviction. Islam wants all these to cohere and, therefore, we could say that Islam is mental health par excellence.

Islam considers a person’s work or even sex in this world as an act of worship.

7. Life Filled With Purpose and Meaning Islam takes the world of life and existence seriously, declaring it to be full of meaning and purpose. Life is not a sport, nor is it purposeless.

From the Islamic perspective, everything has meaning because the concept of God’s purpose in creation gives meaning to human life. The Muslim is never bored with life; there is no existential anxiety in Islam. The Muslim can see the working of the good purposes of the divine Creator in everything. The Muslim lives in a world where life is full of meaning and purpose and this means the Muslim never loses his mental balance. In fact, mental illness is very rare in the Muslim community.

8. World-Affirmative Islam is world-affirmative. For the Muslim the world is good. It is a blessing, it has been created good, to be enjoyed. Islam does not view the world as a demon, it is not valued as being satanic or evil. It is not a degraded kingdom.

The world is the only kingdom; the hereafter is not a kingdom but merely a place of Judgment for a human person’s actions during his life.

For Muslims, the world is a beautiful place; pearls, clothes, and horses are to be enjoyed.

What is wrong, is its misuse under moral law.

The world is good, and Muslims are obliged to cultivate it and make it into a garden. The process of organizing people as a community is a religious duty.

No ‘ism’, ideology or religion matches Islam in its world-affirmative stance. All Muslims should be wealthy and affluent. It is Satan who promises poverty, not God. In fact, the Qur’an criticizes those who were lazy and who failed to migrate, who could not pull themselves up by their bootstraps; they deserved what they got. To be a Muslim is to live in and to be loyal to this world but not above and beyond our loyalty to Allah.

To Be Continued

47

FRIDAY, DE ͺͻ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

FRIDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Nigeria Drop as Morocco Hit Top Spot in FIFA Rankings

Femi Solaja with agency report With Nigeria not involved in any activity including the just concluded FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar, the Super Eagles dropped further in the latest FIFA ranking released yesterday.

Nigeria dropped from 32 in October to 35th position but Morocco, one of the Africa's five representatives at the global show piece in Qatar,

are now the top team in the continent. The Atlas Lions upstaged Senegal who have been on top of Africa's rankings for over three years.

Morocco who had a fairytale run at Qatar 2022 moved to 11th position from 22nd ranked in October.

But Nigeria, aside missing out of the FIFA tournament in Qatar, the last international friendly Eagles played against Portugal did not help her ranking. They

Table Tennis: Asoju Oba Cup Re-named Molade OkoyaThomas Championships Akanbi eyes third men’s singles title The annual Asoju Oba Table Tennis Cup has been rechristened Molade Okoya-Thomas Table Tennis Championship from the 54th edition of the longest sports tournament in the country which serves off on Tuesday December 27 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

Also, men's singles defending champion Rilwan Akanbi is targeting his third title this year having won the 2016 and 2021 edition of the competition.

Speaking at the press conference to unveil plans for this year’s championships, Deji Okoya-Thomas said the decision to rename the tournament after the initiator was based on family decision.

“The family decided to name the tournament after the initiator of the tournament because the former name was a title given to him while he was alive and since his demise, the title has been given to someone else, so it is pertinent that the family use his name for the tournament which has remained the longest sports competition in Nigeria,” he said.

He added: “The staging of the tournament every year is in fulfilment of the wish of the initiator, and we thank God that we have been able to follow his wish by God’s grace and we pray that God will give us the enablement to continue this noble legacy as this is the seventh year running since he was called

to glory.

Highlighting the gains of the tournament, Okoya-Thomas said: “We cannot but acknowledge the impact the tournament has had on the fortune of the sport in the country. Some of its products have become global stars. an obvious example is Olajide Omotayo who has become an integral part of the national team and 2019 African Games champion.

“Of recent is the exploits of teenage sensation Matthew Kuti who was impressive in his maiden outing at the African Youth Championship in Tunisia while his performance at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Youth Contender in Cairo, Egypt where he claimed the U-11 and U-13 titles are confirmation of the impact the tournament has had on the players.”

On the category of events for this year, he said: “Only the senior category will be at stake given the available time. We have women’s and men’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Para-table tennis will also be competing for the eighth time this year. the administrator’s singles event will also be competed for, so also is the coaches’ singles.”

For the Director, Sports Development, Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC) Kolawole Moses, the state would continue to support the tournament as it has continued to help unearth talents for the state and the country at large.

3SC Handed N100m for Winning Dozy Mmobuosi Super Cup Olawale Ajimotokanin Abuja Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan have been handed a cheque of N100 million for winning the recently concluded Dozy Mmobuosi Super Cup. The cheque was received by the club’s chairman, Babatunde Olaniyan at a ceremony in Abuja witnessed by the Chairman of the Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, the COO of the IMC, Davidson Owumi and representatives of the sponsors led

by Dr Segun Sanni.

Olaniyan thanked the organisers of the Super Cup and IMC for organising the competition.

He said the club will make judicious use of the money.

In his remarks, Elegbeleye said Nigerian football will take back its pride of place in international football only when the league is run properly as it obtained in the 1970s and 80s.

He said Nigeria is capable of reaching the World Cup semi-final

like Morocco if the domestic league is properly run and players are well motivated and the right things are put in place.

He said the IMC is working to make the domestic league buoyant and lucrative where clubs can have more money and players pay handsomely for their efforts. He added that it should be the duty of the league body to pay referee indemnities and not the clubs to promote fair officiating.

"We want a league where the least paid player in the league will be earning nothing less than 1 Million.

We want to bring commercial value to our league and we intend to start the league very soon. We want a league where the first, second and the third-placed teams will get prize money at the end of the season. The clubs will be mobilised with financial support to run their activities and the referees paid as at when due.

We have made arrangements not to owe any referee. The club will not be in charge of referee indemnities because we have sourced for their (referees) money for the season," Elegbeleye said.

African Top FIVE 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Morocco Senegal Tunisia Cameroon Nigeria

lost 4-0 to Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in their final build up match to the tournament.

Morocco made history in Qatar as first African team to play in the semi Final of the World Cup and only lost to France and Croatia in the tournament.o Morocco is ahead of Senegal (19th), Tunisia (30th), Cameroon (33rd) and Nigeria (35th).

Qatar 2022 quarter-finalists, Brazil are still at the top. Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who lifted the trophy in Qatar on Sunday, move up one place, same as

runners-up France, who are now third, with Belgium dropping to fourth.

Last weekend’s final was decided on penalties and if any of the two teams had won the match in 90 minutes, according to FIFA regulations, the top spot would have changed according to FIFA new rule on rankings.

Croatia moved from 12th to seventh after finishing third, with fourth-placed Morocco now

11th as the highest-positioned African nation.

England (fifth), Netherlands (sixth), Italy (eighth), Portugal (ninth) and Spain round off the top 10 sides.

Japan's Samurai Blue are the best-ranked among Asian teams at 20th, in front of Iran (24th), South Korea (25th), Australia (27th), Saudi Arabia (49th) and Qatar (60th).

The next ranking will come up February 2023.

After Hectic Cup Parade, Messi Opts for ‘Quiet’ Christmas Celebration

Lionel Messi and his wife arrived back at their home in Funes, near Rosario, after Argentina's World Cup win to be greeted by hundreds of jubilant fans outside The Captain of Argentina to the last World Cup glory, Lionel Messi, 'may avoid any more public appearances' over Christmas as the country celebrate their World Cup win, with the star holed up in his Rosario home.

The victorious players returned home at the start of the week following Sunday's dramatic win over France and were greeted by jubilant crowds in Buenos Aires.

Indeed, such was the boisterous nature of the celebrations,

an open-top bus parade had to be abandoned after fans jumped onto it from bridges.

Messi and Angel di Maria both returned to their homes near Rosario by helicopter with the Paris Saint-Germain star then mobbed by fans as he arrived back at his home by car.

The Mayor of the city had offered a central location as a venue for the celebration event for Messi, Di Maria and Angel Correa, who is also from Rosario.

Clarin said, however, that growing rumours it would

happen were quickly scotched.

Messi is expected to spend Christmas with family and friends at his house in Funes, about 15km west of Rosario, before returning to PSG duty.

The French league leaders return to action against Strasbourg on December 28 but it remains unclear whether Messi will be back in time.

Reports suggested he spent some of his time on Wednesday at home with Gabriel Heinze, the former Argentina and Manchester United defender who is now the

manager of Newell's Old Boys.

Video footage showed Messi's car being swamped by adoring fans as he returned home with wife Antonella Roccuzzo following the abandoned victory parade in the capital Buenos Aires.

Upon his arrival, Messi was greeted by hundreds of cheering fans chanting 'Dale Campeon' translating to 'Let's go champion'.

The jubilant fans had been pushed to two sides by security to clear space for his wife to drive the car through the middle and inside a building.

Ekpenyong Wins 2022 Rainoil Tennis Tournament The one-week Rainoil Tennis Open ended with glamour on Sunday at the Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos, with sixteen-year-old David Ekpenyong emerging as the winner of the men’s single by beating his opponent, Uche Oparaoji, 7-6(4), 6-1, and winning the grand prize of N1.5 million. Ekpenyong and Oparaoji had earlier won the men’s double, beating Biron Albert and Madueke Nonso 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

In a similar trend, seventeenyear-old Marylove Edwards won the women’s single by defeating her opponent, Anu Ayegbusi, 6-0, 2-0 rtd, as Ayegbusi bowed out of the game during the second round.

The women's double was also won

by Edward and Ayegbusi, who defeated Toyin Asogba and Blessing Omotayo 6-0, 6-2. The tournament, which was co-sponsored by Stanbic IBTC Bank, had a total of 144 top players selected from different parts of Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Tennis Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Mr. Akeem Mustafa, commended Rainoil Limited for the success-

ful outcome of the event and the support of the game of tennis by Rainoil. According to Mustafa, Rainoil Limited has over the years

L-R Group Managing Director Rainoil Limited, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, Group Executive Director Rainoil Limited, Mrs. Godrey Ogbechie, Winner of 2022 Rainoil Tennis Open, David Ekpenyong, Managing Director Stanbic IBTC, Mr. Wole

demonstrated unusual passion and support for tennis and has consistently increased the winnings of the tournament, thereby building interest in the game. He urged the management of Rainoil not to relent in their support of the game.

Congratulating the winners, the Group Managing Director of Rainoil Limited, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie OON, said the investment of Rainoil in lawn tennis is born out of his passion for the game and the desire to provide platforms for young ones to love the game and make a decent living from it. Ogbechie said tennis is a game that is capable of lifting the young ones out of poverty and bringing them into prosperity.

He said top tennis players in the world have won over $100 million in prize money alone, and Nigerians can rise to that level in the game if they are well developed.

Friday December 23, 2022

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& REASO

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Price: N250

MISSILE Oba of Benin to Discos “You have association of Discos in Nigeria, get them to have a conference. Have a retreat and find out what to do to improve the power distribution problems because it is enormous. We spend a lot of money in the Palace because of lack of electricity. We can’t explain what is happening in the whole country. May be devil is in the work. Improve on your services to the people” –Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, tasking the Discos to find solutions to the power crisis in the country.

OKEYIKECHUKWU EDIFYING ELUCIDATIONS

okey.ikechukwu@thisdaylive.com

This Particular Christmas Y

ou can almost touch the fear and uncertainty in the air. This particular Christmas heralds much that is, as yet, unclear. No one is sure that the new year will make it any clearer.

Being the last Christmas before the coming general elections, in 2023, it is also most unlike the previous ones we have all had since the commencement of this democratic venture in May 1999. There were still enough passable roads in Nigeria during the first Christmas Nigerians celebrated after the inauguration of democracy in 1999.

At that time, most people could travel without assured substantial damage to their vehicles. There were no bandits and kidnapers to worry about along the way. There was even passable electricity supply to be anticipated at the final destinations of those who travelled out of their regular stations. Some even had fledgling intimations of better days ahead, in the new year. Not this time around, with almost everyone huddled up and hobbled by so many concerns and uncertainties.

The roads have never been this bad. They have also never been this unsafe, so dreaded and with kidnappers are on the prowl. Back in 1999, Bandits had not taken over farmlands and whole local governments. There were no unknown gunmen, no alternate governments and no ungoverned spaces. Today, every geopolitical region is well represented in the new roll call of mischief makers and aspirants to the undoing of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We say nothing of the value of the national currency, the state of the economy, the crisis in education, the damaged future of our youths, the monetization of politics and much more.

But let us defer all that for now, to the concluding part of this piece, and focus on the spiritual significance of the season before us. This is the time to remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas and strive to live up to the Message of Salvation that Jesus Christ brought to us some 2000 years ago.

This means going into the true meaning, and purpose, of Christmas. It also means going back to this question, which was raised on this page on December 22, last year, namely: “Is it true that Christ came to this world to cleanse us of our spiritual defilement, so we could go to heaven? The other questions that were raised as we followed a hypothetical John and his uncle in a dialogue revolved around how Christmas would help cleanse us of spiritual defilement. Here we go!

John: Uncle, I would like you to explain, once again, what you meant when you told me that the message of Christ was intended to save us from further spiritual defilement.

Uncle: Once we act against the laws of God, we deviate from what is good for us as human souls who want to go to heaven.

In fact, we can then be likened to a lamp whose light is dimmed because a veil has been cast over it.

John: Oh, I see!

Uncle: The human being can be described as defiled, or contaminated, spiritually when something that detracts from its original nature is associated with it.

John: It is written in the 11th verse of the 15thchapter of the book of Matthew: “It is not what goeth into the mouth that defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the man…” My question now is: How could it possibly be true that it is only what comes out of a man that can cause defilement?” The entire thing contradicts common sense and I do not know what to make of it.

Uncle: If a human being is just the physical body we see every day walking the streets, then whatever harmful, or unclean, substance we put into the body has defiled the complete human being. But someone who falls sick from drinking contaminated water has only suffered ‘physical’ defilement.

John: Hmmm, this is all sounding a bit peculiar; I must say.

Uncle: We cannot say that someone is sick because his clothes are unclean. We also cannot say that a driver is sick because his car, which is an instrument designed to carry him from one place to another, is not functioning properly.

John: I think I can see all that quite clearly.

Uncle: Only spiritual defilement can be described as true defilement of the real human being. So, to defile the body is not quite the same thing as to defile the man.

Now, going back to the Mission of Christ, the priests, Sadducees and the Pharisees he met in Israel focused more on physical cleanliness and ignored the things that could lead us astray.

John: And what are those things, if I may ask?

Uncle: They include disobedience to the commandments of the Almighty. That is why He urged the children of Israel to focus on what really mattered and be saved from spiritual death.

John: I still don’t quite get it.

Uncle: It is what we think, what we say

and what we do that could bring us good or bad karma. They are like seeds we sow into creation, with each seed producing its kind and returning it to the sower.

John: Sorry, Uncle, could you explain the sowing and reaping part again. I want to know what this has to do with all we are trying to say about what defiles a man, please.

Uncle: If you annoy someone and he gives you a slap, you have sown and reaped something unpleasant.

John: Yes. Uncle: If you drink a glass of poison, it will kill the cells of your body and the body will stop working, leading to physical death, right?

John: Yes. Uncle: But since the body is only a covering for your spirit here on earth, the way a shirt is a covering for your physical body, the death of the body is not the end of the real you, the soul.

John: Even from your earlier analogy, the destruction of a shirt does not mean that the person wearing it is destroyed.

Uncle: Precisely! The thoughts, words and actions of a human being that can create bad karma for him are things that “proceed out of him.” Sin undermines the spirit, hangs on it like an external, inferior or inappropriate attachment that is not original to its true nature. This is the defilement I mean that Christ came to save us from.

John: But how do I ensure that I do not reap what someone else has sown? There are no policemen in these things; and I don’t really understand how it works.

Uncle: Let me explain it with an example.

If you make a hole in the ground and put one grain of corn, one bean seed and one grain of rice into this single hole and water them, they will all sprout and grow according to their kinds, will they not?

John: Of course, they will!

Uncle: Think of the three different seeds sown into in the same hole. It is in the same way that various seeds take only what they need from the same soil that good and bad

volitions develop and bring their fruits to the originators.

John: You are saying that spiritual defilement cannot occur unless a man’s heart sends out evil thoughts, words and actions that then draws bad currents to him?

Uncle: That is an absolute miracle of a summary by you, John! If you go to a restaurant and request for a plate of food and it is given to you, surely, we can say that you asked for the food you got, right?

John: Of course!

Uncle: If what you ordered leads to you having a sour taste in your mouth, we can say that it was you who asked for what brought the sour taste into your mouth?

John: Well yes, we can say that.

Uncle: Just as nothing in a hotel kitchen will come to your table and enter your mouth, except you ask for it, so will no radiation in Creation approach you without you first giving cause for it.

John: You are saying, sir, that it is just our actions and decisions, rather than our circumstances, which determine our spiritual welfare?

Uncle: That is correct. That is also why the celebration of Christmas should really be a festival of thanksgiving to the Almighty for sending One who could show us the way to the right type of thoughts, words and actions.

John: But, Uncle, have you considered that poverty could drive people into doing all sorts of things? Surely hunger can make a man to steal or become an outright criminal!

Can we not excuse such a person?

Uncle: It is not hunger that leads a man to steal, but an act of his will, a decision. It is not just the world around us that makes us to commit murder, but our rejection of the commandments of the Almighty and our decision to operate as renegades in Creation.

It is not desperation that pushes people to deeds of madness, but the condition of the core of their spiritual being.

John: That sounds rather harsh, sir! Surely some excuse can be found for many wrong things that people do.

Uncle: That excuse is usually invented by people who are dishonest with themselves.

Following the teachings of Christ is a strong help in that regard and an antidote to spiritual defilement. That is what we should celebrate this Christmas season: commitment to that antidote to spiritual defilement and eternal damnation that Christ brought.

John: I am most grateful for the explanations and your time, Uncle.

Uncle: You are most welcome, John.

And, to come back to “this particular Christmas”, we have much to think and worry about, going forward. The year 2023 is peeping over the wall – menacingly perhaps.

Is it a year to look forward to with joy, or with trepidation? Is it a Christmas that has created a common bond of terror holding the citizenry together in a loud silence? Perhaps it is!

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