Tuesday 4th October 2016

Dangote: I’m Not Interested in Buying NLNG, Other National Assets

Says naira under attack, N500/$ not true reflection of currency’s value rights in the event of assets sale Chika Amanze-Nwachuku, Obinna Chima and Ejiofor Alike Following the outcry that has

trailed the advocacy for the sale of the country’s national assets as a quick measure to fund the 2016 budget and

boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves, the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji

Aliko Dangote, has dismissed insinuations that his advocacy for the sale of the assets was self-serving, saying he was

IOCs to exercise preemptive

not interested in any of the assets.

Dangote, who spoke in an exclusive interview with

THISDAY, stressed that if the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Continued on page 6

Chike-Obi Suggests Special Fund to Boost Capital Market Liquidity… Page 12 Tuesday 4 October, 2016 Vol 21. No 7831. Price: N250

www.thisdaylive.com TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Sheriff, Makarfi to Meet Jonathan, Governors on Peace Deal Fresh convention on the cards Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja In furtherance of the new peace efforts embarked upon by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee (NCC) and the faction led by Senator Ali Modu Sheriff have resolved to meet with former President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors elected on its platform to intimate them of the reconciliation plans.

The meeting with the former president and governors is scheduled to take place between Continued on page 9

FINALLY, BUHARI GETS HIS BIOGRAPHY

L-R: Wife of the president, Mrs. Aisha Buhari; President Muhammadu Buhari; former military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon; and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, at the launch of the president’s biography titled, “Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria” written by Professor John Paden, in Abuja… yesterday

Tinubu: How We Plotted PDP’s Ouster Says Buhari on assignment to correct decades of past wrongs Proceeds from president’s biography donated to IDPs

Tobi Soniyi in Abuja andErnest Chinwo in Port Harcourt The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday in Abuja gave a historical account of how the ruling party came to being and brought to a

sudden end the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Reviewing the book, “Muhammadu Buhari: The Challenges of Leadership in Nigeria” written by Professor John Paden, during its launch in Abuja, Tinubu provided a rare insight into the challenges

faced by political parties that came together to form an alliance that produced the APC, which eventually ended the reign of PDP. According to him, to defeat PDP, which had boasted it would rule Nigeria for 60 years, a political alliance had to be formed.

He said: “In forming the ‘new’ party, we had three challenges. The first was learning the right lessons from the aborted attempt at political cooperation in 2011.

Fortunately, both the ACN and CPC regretted our inability to conclude a pact in 2011.

“We agreed that there

would be no recrimination over what did not happen before. We agreed there would be an intensified effort to forge the united effort that eluded us in 2011.

“In 2011, both parties wanted cooperation, but became stuck on whether that should take the form of an

alliance or outright merger.

This difference gave rise to another one, regarding how the vice-presidential candidate, who would run with the presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, would be selected.

Continued on page 9

2

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

3

4

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

5

6

TUESDAY, OCTOber 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

PAGE SIX DANGOTE: I’M NOT INTERESTED IN BUYING NLNG, OTHER NATIONAL ASSETS (NLNG) Company or any other national asset was offered to him, even on credit, he would not be interested in acquiring them.

Dangote, who is Africa’s richest man, said his advocacy for the government to sell down some of its interest in some of the national assets was to help boost the economy as well as to stabilise the naira exchange rate, which has been under attack in the past few days.

According to him, he offered his proposal as a way out of Nigeria’s present economic recession because he is “a true Nigerian who really wants the issues about the economy to be sorted out”.

He added: “You know the issue, once your reserves are low, the banks, entrepreneurs, including external forces, would definitely attack your currency. They would speculate on your currency.

“We all know that the exchange rate of almost N500 to the dollar is not a true reflection of the value of the currency – the naira cannot be almost N500 to the dollar!

“But you see, if this thing is not handled properly, it can get out of hand. It can get to N600 to the dollar, or even N700 to the dollar.

“But the issue is, why did I suggest that we should sell some of the assets?

I know the touchy one is the NLNG. I want to make it categorically clear that even if the government is selling NLNG on credit, I am not interested in buying.

“I don’t have any interest in NLNG and I will not buy it. It is not a business that I want to invest in. It is a mature business; that is what people don’t understand.

“You see, we should have invested heavily in all these Brass LNG, Olokola LNG, etc, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo started work on the projects, but we missed the opportunity.

“Today, you have massive LNG projects that have been done by Qatar, Australia and the United States is also exporting. But right now, all the gas that we have is even in the ground.

Even Mozambique has a massive amount of gas and also Tanzania, and they are nearer to the markets than we are.

“So, if somebody is even going to invest in LNG, he would go to those areas and invest there and not here in Nigeria, because the investment here daunting. So my own suggestion is that even if we must sell, it doesn’t have to be 100 per cent of our interest in NLNG.” Dangote maintained that even if NLNG was bringing in $1.5 billion into the federal government’s coffers, once the government reduces its stake in the company and it is run more professionally, Nigeria would generate more funds from it.

“People are just saying it is better to go and borrow, but I don’t know where they are coming from. You see, with borrowing, if I have issues with my business today, the bankers who would lend me the money would want to see me doing something first to see how the business can survive.

There would be conditionalities.

“But if you are not shedding weight, how do you expect somebody to help you with funding? You have to start first by trying to shed weight and showing the person (lender) who wants to help you with the assets you want to sell,” he explained.

Dangote maintained that Nigeria requires about $15 billion to jumpstart its economy, saying that if the amount were added to Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves of about $25 billion, this would help attract foreign investors.

“I can assure you that if our forex reserves get to $40 billion, you will be shocked at how people will reject even buying dollars. So, is it worth

it for us to keep assets that we are not using? Even the oil assets that I am suggesting for sale, they are not the producing assets. We have a lot of non-producing assets.

“The producing assets only form about 73 per cent of Nigeria’s portfolio. We can also unlock shut-in oil production because today we are losing about 700,000 barrels, be it through negotiations or whatever with the militants. These 700,000 barrels can easily give us about $1 billion a month. So, I am not saying that you should touch the producing assets.

“I am talking about the sale of the marginal fields and all those non-producing and capped oil wells that we have not even touched in the last 50 years. They have not been touched at all. They are there, just dormant.

"These assets form about 14.7 per cent of Nigeria’s portfolio. Some of those assets were bought by Shell and others. These are assets that you are not earning anything from.

“But the moment that you put these assets into use, the money that you will start getting from them, we will be talking about an additional $4 billion to $8 billion, and you can go and borrow money against that,” he added.

Sale Will Ease Borrowing Furthermore, Dangote argued that it is easier to borrow when you have substantive collateral, than going to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or World Bank.

This, he reiterated, is because the “medicine” the World Bank and IMF would prescribe to Nigeria, “we might not be comfortable taking those types of drugs”.

“Today, anything you say in Nigeria is turned into politics. If you look at it, based on the plan, we had a production target of four million barrels per day by 2015, which we have never achieved. So, both in oil and also in gas, we have never been able to achieve the gas master plan, which we have had for years.

“Some are saying don’t divest, but you see, five or three years ago, I would not have been talking about divestment from NLNG. But as we speak today, it is a mature business.

Right now, the business has already plateaued and is sliding. Even the earnings, gas prices are coming down.

“Countries like Qatar and others are nearer to the market. Australia has massive gas. Everybody that signed LNG purchase contracts have renegotiated them with gas producers.

“Even those that have 20-year contracts have renegotiated. So, talking about sale of the assets, I am just wondering why we should hold on to these assets?

“Besides, every single thing that we touch in Nigeria is affected by the exchange rate. Even the persons selling garri or yam are watching the exchange rate. So, they would look at their produce and when they hear over the radio that the dollar is N500, they would change their prices without any justification.

“So we are not advising government to just sell its assets.

For example, we have the joint ventures where government owns an average of 57 per cent stake in the oil blocs and what we are saying is that government should go below 49 per cent. When they go below 49 per cent, they would be able to raise $5 billion to $8 billion.

“And if they go below 49 per cent, they can go and borrow money because with that they can borrow money cheaper. Today, to go and borrow money abroad, for the likes of Shell, it would not exceed two and a half per cent. But today, Nigeria

cannot borrow money at a single-digit interest rate,” he said.

He recalled that when the international oil companies (IOCs) sold their Nigerian assets, they did so when oil prices were high. He said: “People always forget why the Shell and ConocoPhillips sold at the time they sold, they sold at the time when they saw that the price was at the highest, because they track prices.

“Honestly speaking, that was when our government should have known that portfolio-wise than the best time for them to get the best value from the assets.

“So today when you still need that liquidity, you should still consider it as an option.”

Oil Firms Still Interested When he was reminded that Nigeria needs to boost it foreign reserves immediately and the sale of the assets could take much longer, possibly two years or more, to be concluded, Dangote disagreed, stating: “No, let me tell you something, some of these assets that we are talking about, the oil companies would pay immediately.”

He also held the view that low oil price environment and militancy in the Niger Delta would not deter investors from acquiring the assets if they are offered for sale.

“They would pay, people are still investing. It is only here that people are not investing. For example, we (Dangote Group) still went ahead and bought our own oil block. We just closed the deal in July.

“So it depends on how you manage the situation. The benefit to those buying is that they now have majority stake, so that they would be able to fund the operation, rather than waiting for cash calls.

“Right now they own minority stake and if they own minority stake, they are not going to jump at going in there,” he said.

But when he was informed that minority stake in the oil assets does not preclude investors from still funding their share of the assets, Dangote said: “Let’s say you have to spend $1 billion, which does not mean you are going to put up the entire cash. Instead of making cash call payments for $1 billion, they may now do cash calls based on $250 million.

“With the $250 million, the portion of government may be about $100 million. And the investors would have more capacity to borrow because they would run the business professionally.

“Just to elaborate: you know government has always had problems with cash calls and it has been going on for between 10 and 15 years.

There are two ways to go about it. Government had said it would go into Incorporated Joint Ventures (IJVs), that means the parties form a company, and as a company, together you can raise money.

“If they are going to do that, NNPC cannot hold its interest at 55 or 60 per cent, it has to drop below 50 per cent, just because of what is required to make the IJV bankable when you get to the international market.

“So that dilution would have to happen. The model the NNPC has also accepted is such that if you turn it into an IJV, it can actually go to the market and borrow money and then the whole cash call thing goes away.

“The obligation to government would actually be close to zero because you will still pay your tax and royalty.

So, since you are going to transit to IJVs and you know that is your sustainable funding approach, why don't you go and start implementing that from today.

“Now, you are right by asking if the IOCs would buy. The IOCs who have been there for a long time

are probably the first ones that you would try to talk to.

“An investor that comes and sees a Shell that already owns 30 per cent gets more comfortable to buy 15 or 29 per cent and when they know that the structure does not have the encumbrance of cash calls.

“The only reasons why investors run away from coming to buy assets here are just two: Does the NNPC pay its share of cash calls? And secondly, the whole NNPC approval process gets delayed. These two issues deter them."

Nigeria Could Leverage on Its Assets Continuing, he stressed that what the economy requires at the moment is liquidity, adding that for policy makers to be able to achieve that, “we have to fire on all cylinders.”

He explained: “If we can get the loan, fine. But we have to get something, whether it is through loans, debts or even the sale of assets.

There are lots of friendly countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia and others that have the capacity to give us money.

But they would hasten to give us money when they see that we are doing something.

“When you have assets, you can raise money on your own without doing anything. You see, it is easier for me to go and tell somebody that my flour or sugar business is on sale and that I am negotiating their sale, and that the person should give me money so that I can bridge a funding gap.

“What his means is that government may not have to sell the assets out of desperation. But at the same time, you must know that when you need money, that is when people are not willing to lend you money.

“How long do you think it will take us to go to the IMF and World Bank to borrow, or even to raise money through a Eurobond issue? It would take long and there would be all kinds of conditions.

“So what I am saying is that we can now leverage on these assets to say we are negotiating with some people and that we would sell some of our stakes in NLNG and the non-producing assets.

“On this basis, you can go to a bank and strike a deal that either through our future oil sales, we would pay back, or when we sell the assets. That would be used to attract investors.

Moreover, the money we are talking about, none of the local banks have the capacity to lend you that kind of money.”

Naira Value is Unrealistic Dangote also posited that the present value of the naira exchange rate was unrealistic, saying: “Other currencies are not fluctuating the way the naira is. You know, yesterday (last Thursday) on the interbank, it went to N503 to the dollar, before it came to N496, and before its closing value.

“The biggest challenge we have in Nigeria is that it is not like other countries that are producing nations.

Let me even give you an example: You know today, we are bringing thousands of people into our (refinery) site and we want to buy televisions, fridges, and other electronics. But because of the situation with the exchange rate, LG now changes its prices almost every hour.

“This means that we are actually sliding to the era in Brazil when if you stood on a queue at a shopping mall to pay, the person behind you will pay higher.

“Today, as a Nigerian, once you collect your salary, what are you going to do with it? Immediately, you will go and buy rice, garri, and

other commodities, because the price will never go down.”

IOCs to Exercise Preemptive Rights Meanwhile, Dangote’s position that the IOCs will be interested in acquiring Nigeria’s oil and gas assets if they are put on the block was given fillip yesterday, when it emerged that the oil multinationals will seek to exercise the right of first refusal should the government decide to sell some of the assets, THISDAY has learnt.

Officials of Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), who spoke to THISDAY, confirmed that the IOCs would insist on exercising their preemptive rights to buy some of the joint venture assets and NNPC’s stake in NLNG in order to protect their current investments and also increase their earnings from them.

Should the federal government go ahead to sell down its interest in the oil and gas assets, this would not be the first time it has done so.

The last time the federal government sold NNPC’s stake to a JV partner was in 1993, when the JV partners signed the sixth participation agreement that reduced NNPC’s stake in the NNPC/Shell/ Elf/Agip JV from 60 per cent in the third equity participation agreement to 55 per cent.

While Shell and Agip respectively retained their 30 per cent and five per cent equity stake, Elf, now Total, took up NNPC’s five per cent, thus increasing its stake to 10 per cent.

The officials, who spoke to THISDAY off the record on the advocacy for the sale of some of the oil and gas assets, said that the right of first refusal is already provided in the joint operating agreements (JOAs) and shareholders’ agreement of the some of the assets jointly held with NNPC. “Before the international partners agreed to invest in some assets, their international lawyers scrutinised the documents to find possible areas of exposure and how to block such exposure especially in a country like Nigeria that is a high-risk environment.

“Nigeria is a high-risk environment and the only thing that will keep an investment going in the country is high reward. High risk, high reward is the language of business.

“So the right of first refusal is embedded in some of those agreements to protect the existing shareholders,” an official of one of the IOCs told THISDAY. One of the officials also wondered if the federal government would agree to dispose of some of its best performing assets, stressing that nobody sells “the family’s crown jewels”.

“Nobody sells his family’s crown jewel when he has challenges. Why did Shell not sell Bonga? Why did Shell not sell Forcados or EA or Bonny Terminal? Shell and other IOCs sold only the assets that were giving them trouble and left those ones, because as long as Shell’s terminals remain open, other operating companies will continue to use them and Shell will continue to make money,” said one of the officials.

He maintained that the IOCs would exercise their preemptive rights should the federal government decide to sell the assets, in accordance with the relevant JOAs and shareholders’ agreement.

THISDAY confirmed that the JOA between Shell, NNPC, Total and Agip provides that each partner shall give other partners “prior right” to acquire its interest in the JVs before offering the interest to a third party.

Article 19.4 of the JOA states:

“Subject to Clause 19.1 and 19.2, if any party has received an offer from a third party, which it desires to accept, for the assignment or transfer of its participating interest, it shall give the other parties prior right and option in writing to purchase such participating interest as provided for in sub-clauses 19.4.1 to 19.4.2.”

Clause 19.2 of the JOA also states: “Either party may, at any time upon notice to the other parties, transfer all or its participating interest to an affiliate of such party, subject to any necessary government approval.”

If the partner is the operator, for instance, Shell, it can only transfer operatorship to its affiliate or affiliated company and Article 1.1.2 (i) of the JOA defines Shell’s affiliates as: Shell in the Netherlands; Shell Transport and Trading Company Plc in the United Kingdom, or any other company that is being controlled directly or indirectly by any of these two companies.

An official of one of the IOCs also told THISDAY that the partners would insist on acquiring the assets to reduce their exposure to NNPC, owing to its piling cash call arrears and nonremittance of NLNG dividends to the federal government.

“NNPC has a 55 per cent stake in the Shell JV but cannot provide 55 per cent of the cash calls. This exposes the IOCs to financial risks of sourcing for funds to meet the JV obligations. If NNPC sells part of its stake to the IOCs, the risk faced by the IOCs will reduce,” he said.

On NLNG, he added: “Nobody sells his best performing assets. But if the government decides to offload 10 per cent out of NNPC’s 49 per cent in Nigeria LNG, the other partners will snap it up, in accordance with the shareholders’ agreement and they will have less trouble from the NNPC when its stake is reduced.

“Anytime these partners see a story of unremitted NLNG dividends, it impacts negatively on them. It is a brand reputation problem for the shareholders of NLNG whenever NNPC fails to remit NLNG dividends to the federal government.”

To increase its participation in the oil and gas business, the federal government in April 1973 acquired 35 per cent in the assets held by oil companies operating in the country.

By 1974, the second participation agreement, which increased government’s stake to 55 per cent, was signed.

In 1979, the third equity participation agreement was signed, increasing government’s equity in the joint ventures to 60 per cent.

Also, owing to the federal government’s strong opposition to Apartheid and Britain’s support of the oppressive regime in South Africa, British Petroleum’s (BP) shareholding was nationalised, and the federal government took over 80 per cent of the equity, leaving Shell with 20 per cent of the joint venture.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN FLOURMILLS 1.00 21.04 CADBURY 0.78 16.53 SKYEBANK 0.03 0.66 CHAMPBREW 0.10 2.60 LAWUNION 0.02 0.57 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN BETAGLASS 3.39 31.51 CAVERTON 0.10 0.95 CONOIL 3.50 39.00 OANDO 0.29 5.59 LIVESTOCK 0.04 0.87 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦825.00 Volume: 249.767 million shares Value: N1.959 billion Deals: 3,170 As at yesterday 30/09/16

% 4.9 4.9 4.7 4.0 3.6 % 9.7 9.5 8.2 4.9 4.4

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

7

8

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

cont’d on 43

9

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

PAGE NINE

Kannywood Actress Rahma Sadua Banned After On-screen Hug A leading Nigerian actress has been banned from the Hausa-language film industry because of her “immoral” behaviour, the main industry body has said.

Rahma Sadau caused offence by “hugging and cuddling” pop star Classiq in a video, it added.

The industry, commonly known as Kannywood, has been under fire

from conservative Muslim clerics who accuse it of corrupting people's values.

They regard it as taboo for men and women to hold hands or kiss in public.

Ms. Sadau, who is said to be on a holiday in India, has not yet commented on the ban imposed

by Motion Pictures Practitioners

Association of Nigeria (Moppan).

Its chairman, Muhammadu Kabiru Maikaba, told the BBC Hausa service that the ban was “total”.

“This is not the first time that she has been doing these wayward things. We have been warning her, but she still went ahead to dent our image,” he said.

The Kannywood star appeared in the video with Classiq, in a song entitled I Love You. In the video, the Nigerian pop star is seen hugging her.

In a statement, Moppan said

it hoped Ms. Sadau’s expulsion would serve as a deterrent for other actors.

Its code of conduct requires actors to avoid doing anything which violates Islamic and Hausa

culture, reported the BBC. Many people in northern Nigeria felt she had gone too far with Classiq in the music video, he added.

Classiq cannot be banned because he is not a member of Moppan.

SHERIFF, MAKARFI TO MEET JONATHAN, GOVERNORS ON PEACE DEAL Wednesday and Thursday and will be followed by consultative

engagements with other key organs of the party including the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the party’s National Caucus.

THISDAY gathered that the meeting, which is at the instance of Senators Makarfi and Sheriff, is meant to brief the party’s key stakeholders on their new understanding, to solicit their support and input on the best way to achieve a lasting peace in the party.

Discussions on a fresh convention to elect a national leadership for the party will also be on the cards at the meeting.

It was learnt that the two party leaders agreed to meet with exPresident Jonathan, in recognition of his position as the leader of the party.

While confirming the latest progress in peace negotiations, the Secretary of the PDP Caretaker Committee, Senator Ben Obi, said issues relating to the formation of a joint peace and reconciliation

committee would form part of the discussions at the meeting.

Obi, who spoke to THISDAY yesterday, said the caretaker committee believes strongly that the ongoing peace moves would lead to a lasting settlement of the dispute in the party.

“The measures that we did not take after our defeat at the elections last year, over one year ago, is what we are going through now. Some of the people did not even understand the vision of the founding fathers of the party, that was the problem.

“How was the party formed?

What is the aim and goal of the party? These are the issues that the drivers of the party must understand.

“So we have reached a stage now whereby I think that we are beginning to have some understanding. Only recently, we were able to reach a point where Senators Makarfi and Sheriff met and decided that they must jointly issue a statement.

“Now the next stage is to move on in that stead. This week, we will be briefing stakeholders of the

party and we will be coming up with members that will constitute a joint reconciliation committee.

“Don’t forget that you have various peace committees led by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson and Prof. Jerry Gana, all set up by the party to help search for peace and to reconcile the aggrieved parties.

“So by the time we explain the progress being made and how the two leaders agreed to issue a joint statement and other issues, I am sure that we will have a clearer picture of what to do next to further the peace efforts,” he said.

The two principal actors in the PDP dispute – Makarfi and Sheriff – came close to laying to rest their disagreement when they issued a joint statement in Abuja two weeks ago, saying that they had reached an agreement to set in motion a joint reconciliatory process.

They said they had agreed to sheathe their swords and would pursue the cause of lasting peace in the party.

Rahma Sadua and singer, Classiq

life on assignments that always intersected with vital moments in the nation’s history. He was a man on assignment, when, in the military, he served bravely in a civil war to keep Nigeria united.

“He was on national assignment when he became military head of state in a well-intentioned effort to straighten things out, and set Nigeria on a better path.

“When he ventured into politics and competed for the presidency, culminating in his 2015 election victory, he was still on assignment, showing that there was no other way for this nation to go but the way of democracy, no matter how difficult the path may be.

“Now, as sitting president, he is on an assignment, against time, to undo the wrongs of nearly two decades of bad governance.”

While lauding the author for the historical bent of the book, Tinubu stated that Buhari has “always been in the public eye, doing things in his different, disciplined and Spartan way”, adding that the president’s credential as a transformative leader, who has evolved into a committed democrat, was secured in the book.

“The Nigeria project, which occupies the centre stage in the book, has been Buhari’s life,” he added.

He also stated: “The search for that astute political leadership is what produced the Buhari presidency. That same search is what must propel this presidency forward.”

He noted that the forward written

by General Theophilus Danjuma captured the very essence of the book.

“No one is more qualified to evaluate President Buhari, from the past to the present, other than General Danjuma. As a senior officer to Buhari, they both enjoy a professional and personal friendship, unparalleled in our history.

“His words confirm that Buhari was a man prepared for leadership

ahead of a time like this,” he declared.

Tinubu also noted that the author, in the book, succinctly explained the transition from the Buhari in uniform to one in civilian garb. He said Prof.

Paden observed that in terms of style of leadership, Buhari as a young military head of state was in a hurry.

“However, now that he is older and given his experience, he is ‘slow but steady’ in his approach to governance.

“The author juxtaposes Buhari’s military career and his political career adeptly, weaving them together in a tapestry that evokes the image of a man, who, from day one, had been destined for leadership,” Tinubu stated.

He recalled that Buhari made three electoral promises: security, corruption and employment.

“On security, success has been recorded in decimating Boko Haram.

On corruption and the rule of law, Buhari continues to plough new ground.

“Chapter 19 of the book entitled ‘Corruption and Law’ is a good examination on his fight against corruption. Unemployment has been a stubborn problem, made even more difficult by the oil price-driven recession, but this administration has shown its commitment towards achieving the structural reform that will bring durable solutions to this and other economic challenges,” he said.

He described the book as an important one. “It is a logicallypresented account of the emergence of the current political dispensation with President Buhari as its central protagonist.

“The author tries to achieve many things within a relatively small space.

He succeeded in the main. He let the reader get a view into the family roots, life and experience of President Buhari.

“He also told the story of his professional career as a military general. The story of his political career

TINUBU: HOW WE PLOTTED PDP’S OUSTER “Despite the good-faith demonstrated in our attempt to resolve these issues, time ran out on finding a solution. In retrospect, we all were perhaps a bit too inflexible and did not realise the extent to which cooperation and flexibility were needed to establish the reform we all wanted.

“The result: Each party went its own way in 2011. However, the talks of 2011 would foreshadow the discussions beginning in 2013, which led to the successful merger forming the APC. “Talks mainly between the CPC, led by Buhari, and the ACN, led by myself, later joined by the ANPP and the progressive wing of APGA, would go more smoothly and would reach the desired finish-line this time.

“There would be a merger and there would be a presidential candidate agreeable to all. A winning combination had been joined.

“It would give the PDP, which had boasted of 60 continuous years in power, more than it could handle.

“After the successful merger and the birth of APC, it was time to pick a flag bearer. At the Lagos convention, President Buhari emerged as the new party’s choice in a transparently, honest process.

“His speech to the convention was greeted with ovation, even by those who had opposed him.

“Then there was the sticky issue of selecting a running mate. After careful study and discussion, it was agreed that we should field a religiously-balanced ticket given the sensitivities of the moment.

“Based on this conclusion, the name of Yemi Osinbajo, renowned law professor and former Lagos State Attorney-general during my tenure as governor, was proposed as an excellent running mate.

“Osinbajo was also a pastor in the largest church in the entire country, and this would answer those who wrongfully tried to paint Buhari as intolerant.”

He further recounted: “Many of us invested ourselves, our hearts, bodies, minds and souls in this project for national salvation. Many did not want it to happen and fought to undermine the good we sought to accomplish.

“Many others straddled the sidelines, neither completely in nor completely out, but waiting to see how the prevailing winds might blow before making their moves.

“Muhammadu Buhari never wavered for one moment on this journey. Proving to be a focused leader, he acted with single-minded determination that showed no fear or doubt in the rightfulness of the cause we pursued.

“I know this for an unassailable fact because I was there with him, every step of the way, to fight against, what the realists told us, were insurmountable odds.

“Yet, our determination for reform beat their smart calculations. The desire for a better country was more powerful than their incumbent might.”

Tinubu explained that the APC was a party born out of the quest for democratic good governance. “In essence, the party is the embodiment of a democratic promise made between its members as well as a democratic vow made to the public.

The APC genesis is truly a historic and an engaging one.”

Tinubu also described Buhari as a patriot on a national assignment to right the wrongs of nearly two decades of bad governance in Nigeria.

He noted that the authorised biography was an attempt at a broad characterisation of the different stages of Buhari’s life and professional career.

Tinubu said: “Essentially, the book explores how his professional career, his personal life and prior experiences in government shaped and prepared him for the momentous assignment he now has.

“From the book’s pages, we see a man who has lived his

and the journey to the presidency was told in a straightforward manner.

“Finally, he attempted a quick evaluation of the president’s first year in office. The author covers a vast amount of territory with an economy of words, yet he manages to give a feel for Muhammadu Buhari, the man. Therein lies the success of the book,” he said.

Also reviewing the book, a former United States' Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, admitted that the U.S. had not shown enough interest in Nigeria. This, he said, was a mistake.

Accordingly, he called on the U.S. authorities to give Nigeria the attention it deserves as the giant of Africa.

Another reviewer, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who was Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative at the United Nations, urged Buhari to show leadership and carry all Nigerians along.

He advised him to practise politics of inclusion, warning that development without unity would be tough.

Gambari noted that Buhari was confronted with the challenge of bringing immediate change to thousands of his supporters who voted for him during the election.

Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Ogbonaya Onu, who also reviewed the book, said that despite the fact that the judiciary let him down three times, when the courts rejected his petitions to upturn elections in which his opponents were declared winner, he did not lose faith in the judiciary.

The chairman of the event and former military head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, said Buhari deserved every commendation and criticism.

He said Buhari was a fighter and a man of destiny working to get things right with the economy, despite the huge challenges being faced by the country.

In his brief remarks, former

President Olusegun Obasanjo said the book confirmed what he knew about Buhari and what he was also told about him as an upright man.

At the book presentation were the presidents of Niger, Chad, Benin Republic and a representative of the Camerounian president.

Nigeria’s vice-president and his wife, Dolapo, the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his wife, Toyin, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Muhammadu Uwais and Alfa Belgore, and chieftains of the APC were present at the book lauch.

A cross section of state governors and traditional rulers also attended.

The author of the book Paden said that the biography was an attempt by him to introduce Buhari to the international community.

He also observed that political leadership was critical in keeping Nigeria moving and developing.

Prof. Paden also donated the proceeds of his book to internally displaced persons in the Northeast. The professor of International Studies said: “Let me say that the proceeds of the launch of this book will all go to some select charities including humanitarian aid to the internally displaced people in the North-east.”

The organisers of the event also announced that no one would be allowed to make huge donations or purchase copies in millions of naira.

One of the organisers, Alhaji Ismaila Funtua, announced that the cover price of the book was pegged at N1,500 for the soft cover, N2500 for the hard cover and N10,000 for the leather cover.

As such, two wealthy presenters of the biography, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Tunde Folawiyo, stated that they were purchasing two copies for each of the nation’s tertiary institutions.

10

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

Emefiele: CBN Prioritising Price Stability to Attract Investors, Boost Growth

Obinna Chima with agency report The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has said the bank will pursue price stability as an anchor for economic growth as well as attract foreign investors as the country battles recession and rising inflation.

Emefiele said in an interview with The Banker Magazine that: “The CBN does not reckon that curbing inflation, attracting foreign investors and supporting growth are mutually exclusive objectives. Rather, the monetary policy committee’s decision reflects the (central bank’s) prioritisation of its core mandate of pursuing price stability as an anchor and enabler for economic growth.

“As we have consistently said, the bank would continue to ensure that its decisions do not only consider price and financial system stability, but also issues of employment and growth.”

He reiterated that the reintroduction of a flexible exchange rate system has helped increase transparency in the FX market, cleared an estimated $4 billion backlog in FX demand, reduce arbitrage and speculative opportunities, and create a more predictable structure for businesses to prioritise their FX demand, we believe that this policy has been beneficial to the economy.

“This policy has led to a gradual but steady inflow of new FX into the market. All of these have largely met the bank’s expectations in the short term. We believe that these benefits will become magnified as the policy’s sustenance improves the credibility of the CBN and

investors trust us more to return more forcefully as active participants in Nigeria’s FX market.

“Obviously, the reintroduction of the flexible exchange rate system immediately led to a depreciation of the naira in the interbank market, and helped close the significant spread with the parallel market.

Also, this policy encouraged movement of FX demand from the parallel to the interbank market,” which also brought the two rates closer.

“Finally, new foreign portfolio inflows into the interbank market and our recent policy of allowing commercial banks to transfer some share of diaspora remittances to bureaux de change have also helped moderate rates in both markets,” Emefiele noted.

For now, however, a lack of hard currency is continuing to squeeze economic growth.

Businesses, particularly those that must import goods, are bearing the brunt of this, as are Nigeria’s banks. In August, the CBN barred nine lenders for their failure to shift dollar-denominated funds from the state-owned gas group NNPC and the state-owned oil group NLNG to the treasury single account (TSA), a recently introduced single repository for all government funds.

“One of the most sacred obligations of a commercial bank is to produce customers’ deposits ‘on demand’. That is why these deposits are classified as ‘demand deposits’. Some of our banks failed to meet this obligation with respect to deposits of United States dollars by the NNPC and the NLNG. We had given them quite some time to transfer these balances into the federal government’s TSA,”

Emefiele added.

Some banks’ failure to comply with this directive led the central bank to expel them from the interbank FX market. International press reports have indicated that some of these lenders blamed their breach of this directive on the lack of dollar liquidity in the market.

Nevertheless, the CBN’s actions sit within the wider government’s attempts to impose greater transparency on the movement and allocation of public funds.

“When we became uncomfortable with their plans and seriousness to comply with the TSA, we thought we had to take strong action to ensure these monies were returned. The good news is that this action jolted them and some of the banks have transferred all their balances, while the remainder now have stronger and more credible plans to return these funds,” the CBN governor explained.

Despite the challenges in the

economy, Emefiele remained upbeat about the prospects for Nigeria’s economy. As part of a wider package of reforms, President Muhammadu Buhari has tripled capital expenditure plans under the 2016 budget, though this is contingent on securing external financing.

“The Nigerian economy is adjusting to the aftermaths of the oil price shocks that led to a slowdown in output growth in 2015, and eventual contraction in output in the first half of 2016.

Energy shortages, high electricity tariffs, FX supply shocks and depressed consumer demand have also exacerbated the adverse nature of this adjustment.”

“However, we are very optimistic that a strong rebound in the economy will occur soon.

This optimism stems from our expectations that the reforms pursued by the new administration are in the right direction and are

beginning to lay a foundation for renewed growth,” he stated.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to ensure strict compliance with all extant regulations, particularly those relating to forex transactions, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and Anti-money Laundering/ Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), the CBN said it had resolved to enhance the minimum qualification for the position of Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) of commercial banks.

According to the CBN, going forward, banks are required to appoint not only a CCO who must not be below the rank of a General Manager, regardless of the category of the institution, but also an Executive Compliance Officers (ECOs) who must not be below the level of an Executive Director.

In a circular posted on its website at the weekend, the

central bank stated that while the CCO is expected to report to the ECO, the ECO on the other hand would be reporting directly to the board of directors of the bank.

“The CBN will hold the ECO responsible and accountable for any breach of any extant regulation in the bank. For avoidance of doubt, the CBN shall suspend/dismiss any ECO and CCO found wanting in the discharge of his/her responsibility,” the apex bank warned.

According to the circular, the DMBs are required to forward the names of their ECOs and CCOs together with their curriculum vitae to the CBN for approval on or before October 10, 2016.

The ECOs are however allowed to combine the responsibility with other functions while CCOs will focus only on compliance matters in the bank, the CBN added.

Again, Power Outage Paralyses Activities at MMIA Another power outage last night paralysed activities at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.

Hundreds of passengers on international destination were still checking in when the power went off and disrupted activities. While blackout lasted, angry passengers started calling for candles.

As at the time of filing this report by 10p,m, the airport was still in

darkness.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) officials were not on hand to explain what happened but earlier statement from the agency said in the bid to permanently end the incessant power outage, FAAN was installing more generators so that the airport could run for days without depending on public power supply.

Troops Intercept Bauchi Kidnappers, Boko Haram Terrorists Soldiers from the 33 Brigade Nigerian Army deployed at Forward Operation Base (FOB) Ningi, yesterday encountered suspected kidnappers at Dutsen Makurd, Ningi Local Government Area.

A statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the suspected kidnappers, upon sighting the troops, opened fire, leading to a severe exchange of gunfire between both camps.

Usman added that at the end of the gun battle, five kidnappers were killed.

He said the patrol team recovered three Dane guns and

other dangerous weapons from the suspects.

In another development, a suspected Boko Haram terrorist, Adamu Nuhu, was arrested at Kwaya Kusar Local Government Area, northern Borno State following a tip off by well meaning Nigerians. He is currently being interrogated.

Similarly, at about 5.43p.m. yesterday three women suspected to be spouses of wanted Boko Haram terrorists and logistics suppliers were arrested at Miringa market by vigilante members in the town.

They however, handed them to the military and they also being investigated.

NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE

President Muhammadu Buhari (left) in a handshake with photojournalist, Mr. Sunmi Smart-Cole, at the presentation of ‘Buhari: A New Beginning,’ a pictorial coffee-table book, on the life and times of the president by his personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja....Sunday State House.

Following Nigeria’s Woes, S&P Downgrades MTN to Junk International ratings agency, S&P, has downgraded MTN to junk following increased risk to it on the back of trouble in Nigeria.

MTN has not commented, save to alert the market yesterday.

The ratings agency according to Independent Online, said in a statement released last Friday that the downgrade reflects increased country risk in Nigeria, MTN’s largest market.

It follows its downgrade of Nigeria in the middle of last month further into junk.

“In our view, Nigeria’s economy has weakened due to a marked contraction in oil production, a restrictive foreign exchange regime, and delayed stimulus. MTN has material exposure to Nigeria and South

Africa.”

Nigeria, MTN’s largest market, accounts for 37 per cent of revenue, while South Africa accounts for a quarter.

S&P said it considered MTN’s exposure to potential legal and regulatory risks and its ability to maintain sufficient liquidity in a sovereign default scenario.

MTN has recently battled in Nigeria and has been accused of illegally repatriating $14 billion out of the country, and bribing officials to reach a settlement on its record $1.6 billion fine.

The fine was levied by the National Communications Commission (NCC) because MTN failed to cut off unregistered subscribers and initially had been substantially higher.

S&P said while MTN’s debt ratio is expected to worsen, it expects improvement as reinstatement of regulatory revenues in Nigeria, increased data revenues, and improved device sales in South Africa.

It continues to view MTN’s debt as positive as it is modest and assumes it will reduce shareholder returns and capital expenditures (capex), given its NCC fine obligation and limited ability to source hard currency in Nigeria (because of foreign exchange controls).

“Still, we expect positive, albeit very low, discretionary cash flow.”

The rating agency also noted that its assessment of MTN’s business risk profile is supported by the group’s leading market positions

in 15 of the 22 countries where it operates; geographic diversity; licences for third-generation and long-term evolution technology; more than 230 million subscribers,and growing markets that provide potential for continued, albeit unpredictable, revenues and operating profit growth.

“We could consider an upgrade if risk arising from country exposure abated. For example, this could occur if we upgraded Nigeria or South Africa and the resulting blended sovereign rating rose to ‘BB’, or if we believed MTN’s ability to withstand a sovereign stress had improved materially,” it said.

However, S&P warned that MTN could be lowered if risk increased materially.

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

11

12

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Chike-Obi Suggests Special Fund to Boost Capital Market Liquidity Calls for massive savings through infrastructure Goddy Egene The Executive Vice Chairman, Alpha Africa Advisory Limited, Mr. Mustapha Chike-Obi, has suggested the establishment of a special fund that will create liquidity and boost activities in the Nigerian capital market.

Chike-Obi, who is the former Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), made this suggestion while speaking recently at the investiture of the 9th President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Oluwaseyi Abe in Lagos.

He said liquidity and foreign exchange risks are major problems in the market, noting that now that the fx was being addressed, creation of liquidity for the market must also be taken care of.

He said: “It is either a liquidity problem or a valuation problem.

I think it is a liquidity problem.

We have no liquidity, the foreigners are pulling out and domestically we do not have the capacity now. Nobody is going to invest money when they cannot eat, when they cannot pay their children school fees. So even if you think that particular shares are cheap and

you cannot pay your children school fees, you will sell the shares and pay your children school fees. So we must create liquidity in some form or the other. And my suggestion remains that the government must create a fund, that based on certain parameters, can invest in the stock market. So that when there is lack of liquidity the government supplies the liquidity, when there is excess liquidity, the government takes it money out. I think that will help and create high volumes and I think that will make valuations more accurate because like I said, I know people who are selling their shares now to pay school fees. Even when they believe the shares are cheap.”

He explained that the stock market trades about $10 million worth of securities daily but has the capacity to do more the issue of liquidity is addressed. He therefore call for the establishment of the special fund without further delay.

Chike-Obi, who spoke on: “Growth, the only Nigeria’s Imperative,” canvassed for massive investment in infrastructure either through savings or borrowing at a very low rate.

According to him, it is imperative for Nigeria to emulate

the likes of Indonesia and India to achieve the required fixed capital formation levels in order to attain a significant reduction in poverty levels. He said at least an investment of 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in infrastructure annually would create a sustainable

economic growth as it is done in Indonesia and India.

“Government should focus on galvanising public and private sector investments to the tune of N30 trillion per annum over the next five years in order to increase productivity and employment. The

N30 trillion annual investments over five years can be achieved through targeted policy adjustments,” he said.

Explaining further, Chike-Obi said the government can contribute 25 per cent (N4.5 trillion through fiscal deficit revision and N2.8

trillion from expansionary monetary policy). He added that on the other hand, private sector will contribute 75 per cent( up to N1 trillion as a result of private sector enablement and N21.8 trillion foreign direct investment in infrastructure delivery).

NNPC: Nigeria Needs to Produce 15bn scf/d of Gas to Industrialise Economy by 2020 Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said Nigeria will need to produce up to 15 billions standard cubic feet per day (sbcf) of gas to ensure that her national goal of turning her economy into a fully industrialised one by 2020 is realised.

The NNPC said yesterday in Abuja that for this to happen and also become sustainable, the country would have to increase its oil and gas reserves. It said the current reserves of the country would only take it for 35 years.

NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said this when the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) hosted him

to dinner at the weekend.

Astatement from the corporation’s Group General Manager, Public Affairs, Mallam Garuba Deen Muhammad, disclosed that the NNPC also expressed its readiness to partner with stakeholders in the country’s oil and gas Industry to grow the nation’s oil reserves which he stated was fast depleting in order to increase productivity in the sector.

Baru equally tasked NAPE and other stakeholders in the sector to focus on increasing the reserves to match Nigeria’s aspirations to increase its oil production to four million barrels per day (mbpd) by 2020 required.

“Our national gas demand forecast to year 2020 (domestic plus export) indicates a rapid growth to

15bscfd meaning current reserves level can only sustain that production for 35 years if we do not increase the 2bscfd gas reserves base which require 3tcf to replace production yearly,” Baru said in the statement.

He added that the 2016 national average oil production of 1.9mbpd was low partly due to oil infrastructure vandalism, and stressed the need for stakeholders to share data and use common available resources to reduce cost of operations in the area of rig-sharing, vessel sharing and synergy in projects development.

According to him, this has become even expedient in this current period of low oil prices and security challenges in the country’s oil fields across the Niger

Delta region.

He said less than three per cent of all wells drilled in the Niger Delta Basin both onshore and swamp are deeper than 15,000 feet, adding that a greater number of these wells have not gone beyond 10,000 feet as a high pressure regimes seems to be a limiting factor.

On frontier exploration, Baru said the NNPC has made progress in its exploration efforts in Chad Basin, Benue trough and the other frontier basins so as to shore up the reserve base of the country.

He added: “Some of our earlier drilled non-commercial holes could be turned around if we deploy requisite technologies. We need to change our perspective of risk as technology is advancing.”

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

13

14

T H I S D AY •TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016

COMMENT

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

SALE OF NATIONAL ASSETS Boniface Chizea argues the country is better off selling some of the assets

I

t was announced following the Federal Executive Council meeting held on September 28, 2016, that while it is true that the government is working on fiscal stimulus to facilitate the country’s exit from the recession, a position has not been taken on whether or not to sell national assets as one of the complement of policies to be pursued. It is also a matter for the records that the National Economic Council had earlier endorsed the sale of national assets as means to rapidly replenishing the reserves which is now depleted as the struggle to shore up the exchange rate continued. The Senate has also by popular sentiments voted not to support the sale of national assets as a strategy to enable the country get out of the ongoing recession even if the Senate President had early registered his personal support.

The organised labour particularly within the oil sector reached beyond its purview as it pledged its resolve to shut down the country should the government attempt any asset sale. We are of the view that the mandate of the organised labour is to protect and safeguard the welfare of its membership first of all by securing stability of employment and when there is retrenchment, that there is a fair deal and that their retired members are protected through guaranteed investment vehicle to ensure sustenance of regular payments. But when it threatens to bring down the roof if assets are sold, in my humble opinion, it has exceeded its mandate. It should not encroach on the territory of the executive that has the mandate to pilot the affairs of the nation.

Some prominent individuals including Aliko Dangote, the former Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Charles Soludo, and successor, Emir of Kano have also made their voices heard in this respect even as it is true that no assets have been identified so far except for the mention of refineries to make up the list of assets to be sold. But I take a considered view not clouded by sentiments that this country is better off selling some national assets which have proven over the years as veritable drain on the resources of this country and have largely contributed to the lack of adequate progress which the country should have made.

It is not farfetched to seek to identify why negative sentiments surround the intention to sell some national assets.

Citizens look at the record which the country has had with the sale of assets and are discouraged by the incidence of conflict of interests which pervaded and undermined the realisation of the goals and objectives which informed the sale of the national assets and believe that it’s their patriotic duty to refuse to support the sale of national assets as its being proposed this time around. There are of course those who are futuristic in their thinking and are genuinely concerned with the issue of inter-generational equity who have asked the question regarding what then would happen if down the road we now have another recession: what then would be available to sell?

Some are also concerned that these assets would be sold and the

WHILE WE AWAIT THE ARTICULATION OF THE STIMULUS PACKAGE, MY TAKE IS THAT NOTHING IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS OFF LIMIT, INCLUDING THE OFFLOADING OF NATIONAL ASSETS LIKE REFINERIES WHICH HAVE PROVEN TO BE VERITABLE DRAIN PIPE

proceeds deployed for current consumption or even misapplied.

No doubt these are genuine concerns but we must endeavour to unshackle ourselves from the past otherwise we would never have the courage to take decisions that might lead us to the Promised Land.

What is most important is that we must adopt a mindset that enables us to live in the present circumstances of Nigeria.

The country has been certified to be in a recession which in effect means that there are massive job losses with the citizenry being strangulated for loss of purchasing power. To compound matters there is also unprecedented hike in the prices of goods and services across board, meaning that the country is really experiencing stagflation which compounds the misery index in the land. Our prayer is that matters do not deteriorate so that the country does not transit into depression.

And the government cannot just sit on its hands and watch things deteriorate; a development which would spell doom for all concerned and therefore there is the need for urgent action.

The country is challenged to find some low hanging fruits it could pluck in this respect. The low hanging fruits which should be attained from rapid and focused implementation of Budget 2016 is begging because of the inability of the government to source needed resources by way of borrowing as programmed in the fiscal plan and therefore even at this point in time in the fiscal year. In the fourth quarter we are still discussing approval to borrow and where to borrow from and even if we succeeded we might still not be able to borrow the required amount needed to make the desired impact.

And this is the perspective which compels us to believe that all options are on the table including the sale of national assets.

While we await the articulation of the stimulus package, my take on the matter is that nothing in the circumstances should be considered as being off limit, including the offloading of particularly national assets like the refineries which have proven to be veritable drain pipe on resources.

It is a fact that we had incidences of conflict of interest when we privatised some of our assets in the past and even as we discuss; the sale of the power holding companies and the Nigerian telecommunications company are still embroiled in some controversies and it remains a fact that the objectives that informed the sale in the first place have not been realised. But we must not allow ourselves to be held captive to that experience when we are faced with the sort of challenge confronting the country now. We have a president who is generally scored high regarding his integrity and whose body language is bound to put fear into would- be- miscreants. The issue regarding the future should also be put in perspective. If we do not have today there will most certainly be no tomorrow. Therefore let’s do all it takes to secure today and no doubt the future will be assured.

Dr. Chizea is a management consultant

DEEPENING THE RULE OF LAW

T

The Rivers State Government is committed to furthering the course of justice, writes Simeon Simeon Nwakaudu

he legal profession in Rivers State is witnessing a historic rejuvenation premised on the desire of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike to deepen the fundamentals of the rule of law and enhance the administration of justice.

This is necessary because the profession suffered untold assault for over two years under the immediate past administration in the state. The courts were closed and lawyers humiliated to the level of doing menial jobs to eke out a living. Therefore, Governor Wike has taken deliberate steps to rejig the legal profession and stabilise the judiciary. He has through good governance instituted a seamless succession scheme in the state judiciary and also granted it independence and financial autonomy.

The courts are now open for all those who seek justice.

It was to this end that the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike on February 29, 2016, facilitated the commencement of the construction of the ultra-modern Port Harcourt Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Law Centre to replace the old one located at the State High Court complex. The ground- breaking ceremony for the new NBA Law Centre was performed by the immediate past NBA President, Mr Augustine Alegeh (SAN).

Governor Wike initiated the new Port Harcourt NBA Law Centre to create space for the construction of more courtrooms at the State High Complex and to promote high level research amongst practicing lawyers in the state in a comfortable environment laced with state-of-the-art recreational facilities. This centre is also to equip lawyers with the necessary skills to promote human rights and rule of law which ultimately will further the course

of good governance for the growth of Rivers State.

This facility which is the first of its kind in Nigeria in terms of sophistication, aesthetics and professional features, has been constructed from start to finish within seven months of the Wike administration. It is worthy of mention that Governor Wike played a key role in the funding of the old law centre where his name is inscribed as number 36 on the roll call of donors.

It is a three-storey structure with a 1200 sitting capacity auditorium and multi-purpose hall that runs through the first and second floors. No other law centre in the country has such sitting capacity.

Other key features of the imposing edifice include: Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, Human Rights General office, Senior Lawyers Lounge, Junior Lawyers Lounge, offices, cafeteria, kitchen, changing rooms for male and female lawyers and ICT/server room.

The new law centre also has an adjoining outdoor park where lawyers and their friends can enjoy recreational activities under a serene atmosphere. This facility has an elevator and a security section equipped with modern gadgets to prevent crime. The rule of law is the premise upon which any civilised society can rapidly develop.

Governor Wike is raising the bar and creating new standards for other states to follow. The ultra-modern Port Harcourt NBA Law Centre will ensure sustainability in the promotion of the rule of law in Rivers State.

This landmark facility is on stream for legal practitioners to enjoy a new lease of life in their practice. The deliberate restructuring of the judicial process in Rivers State by the Wike administration is paying dividends in the form of social cohesion,

stability, peace and development.

Key figures of the immediate past administration in the state which ridiculed the Rivers State judiciary by shutting the gates of the courts have since rushed to the open courts to seek judicial refuge. One of such persons is the former governor, Rotimi Amaechi who unsuccessfully challenged before a Rivers State High Court, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that indicted him.

In the last 17 months, the Wike administration has invested over N1billion in the development of critical facilities in the state judiciary in the form of new courts, rehabilitated courts and other projects aimed at creating access to justice for the people.

Close observers insist that the most important achievement of Governor Wike in his judicial reforms is the financial autonomy that he extended to the judiciary. This action has strengthened the independence of the judiciary and made it more responsive to the needs of the people.

Wike in the course of this year changed the story of the magistrates in Rivers State. The state government released 57 brand new vehicles to the magistrates for ease of movement and as a welfare package to stimulate their commitment to the dispensation of justice. This has never happened in the history of the state. He has also commenced the process of building a befitting quarters for High Court Judges in the state. This housing scheme is a compassionate framework to encourage the judges to remain courageous as they serve the state.

Needless to mention the Federal High Court complex in Port Harcourt being constructed by the Rivers State Government. This new facility will increase access to justice with six new modern courtrooms nearing completion as well as several

offices.

The state government will in the coming weeks commence the total rehabilitation of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, having received the necessary approval to do so. Governor Wike understands the importance of a functional and independent judicial system, hence his determination to transform the deplorable situation he inherited. Governor Wike told Nigerian lawyers during the 56th NBA Annual General Conference: “Having restored stability to the judiciary we proceeded to tackle the systemic problems affecting speedy and effective administration of justice, including the welfare of judicial officers. As I speak, we have since ensured financial autonomy for the state’s judiciary. With this change, the state’s chief judge and the president of the Customary Court of Appeal no longer depend on irregular executive patronage to fund their development programmes.

We have also been active in improving judicial infrastructure. Our execution records show that we have spent over one billion naira to fund various judicial projects, including the rehabilitation and furnishing of existing courts and judges’ quarters as well as the construction of new court halls in the state’s High Court complex”.

Governor Wike is known for setting the pace in terms of good governance and deepening the rule of law. This is another first that will have multiplier effects on the nation’s justice system. Once the lawyers are sound the entire system benefits. That is what the ultra-modern Port Harcourt NBA Law Centre will do for Rivers State and by extension, Nigeria.

Nwakaudu is Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, on Electronic Media

15

T H I S D AY •TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016

EDITORIAL 900 DAYS WITHOUT THE CHIBOK GIRLS Government must show greater resolve to rescue the girls Last Friday marked exactly 900 days that 276 girls were abducted by Boko Haram insurgents from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. Although 57 of the girls escaped from their abductors on that day, the remaining 219, except the one recently found on the outskirts of Sambisa forest with a baby, are still in the captivity of the terrorists. From the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan who lost his job partly because of the manner he handled the matter to that of his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari, options remain unclear about the efforts by the federal government to rescue the girls.

Yet, without the return of the girls, the promise of the constitution that the welfare of Nigerians shall be the primary purpose of government will continue to ring hollow - because the implication would be that our government has failed not only those girls in distress but also their parents and by extension, all Nigerians. That then explains why giving up on rescuing the girls cannot be an option for THE AUTHORITIES MUST any self-respecting DEPLOY ALL NECESSARY society. The federal RESOURCES, EQUIPMENT, government must therefore step up its INTELLIGENCE AND MEN game by prioritising INTO THE FOREST AND the rescue effort.

BEYOND - WHATEVER IT In the course TAKES - TO GET THE GIRLS of his trip for the OUT United Nations General Assembly last month, President Buhari sought the mediation of the international community in the efforts to free the Chibok girls from the captivity of Boko Haram. The government, the president told UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, was willing to accept the UN as a mediator. “The challenge is in getting credible and bonafide leadership of Boko Haram to discuss with,” said President Buhari. “The split in the insurgent group is

Letters to the Editor

W

T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEPH USHIGIALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, EMMANUEL EFENI, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR OLUFEMI ABOROWA DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS PETER IWEGBU, FIDELIS ELEMA, MBAYILAN ANDOAKA, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS HENRY NWACHOKOR, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI GENERAL MANAGER PATRICK EIMIUHI GROUP HEAD FEMI TOLUFASHE ART DIRECTOR OCHI OGBUAKU II DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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

AKPEHE AND JOS ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION PLC

e are writing this with the hope that the management of Jos Electricity Distribution Plc, in charge of electricity supply in Makurdi, Benue State, will act quickly before things get out of hand.

Before the privatisation of power in the country, the officials of the defunct PHCN were known for stealing component parts of transformers, and accusing the people of being responsible and making it necessary for each house that was benefitting from such a transformer to pay a certain amount of money for replacement of the stolen parts or remain in darkness.

After collecting money from the people, they would quietly return those parts and fixed them back, making fool of many as people were always desperate to enjoy power supply.

We were happy when PHCN was to be privatised because we believed that the company was duping us.

There was either epileptic power supply or no power supply at all.

It saddened our hearts that this attitude of stealing parts from electricity transformers by the officials of the defunct PHCN and making a case against the people with the aim of getting money from them illegally is being still being

not helping matters. Government had reached out, ready to negotiate, but it became difficult to identify credible leaders. We will welcome intermediaries such as UN outfits, to step in.”

Being the first time the president would raise hope about the prospect of securing the release of the abducted girls, it was a welcome development for which we urge a quick follow-up. There are experts in such field of negotiations that can help and given the promises of recent years, there is no reason why such support would not be placed at the disposal of Nigeria on the issue of Chibok girls. But that will happen only if the government is ready and willing to walk its talk.

Unfortunately, we have not seen much evidence of that on this tragic matter.

As we have argued on this page on several occasions, we cannot afford to give up on the abducted girls because they represent a blur on our collective humanity. Therefore, the authorities must deploy all necessary resources, equipment, intelligence and men into the forest and beyond - whatever it takes – to get the girls out. Security men must redouble their efforts, as each day that passes is one day too many. Nigerians desperately need the assurance that our government has the capacity to defend our territory and that the life of every single citizen in distress matters.

Nothing would symbolise that more than the return of the Chibok girls.

It is indeed for that reason that we have always supported the men and women in the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) coalition who continue to pile pressure on government and its agencies to ensure the rescue of the girls.

We salute their tenacity and sacrifice. And in a vibrant country such as ours, the media must keep the Chibok girls on the front burner of public discourse. They have been away for such a long time. Even when hopes seem to be waning for the parents, some of whom have died in anguish, the authorities should do everything necessary to bring the Chibok girls back home.

exhibited by some officials of the new owners of electricity distribution companies in the country. Jos Electricity Distribution Plc is a case in point.

As we write, many residents at Akpehe community within Makurdi are living in total darkness and the officials of JED Plc are to blame. The officials of JED Plc, who have the keys to one of the fenced transformers at Akpehe, woke up a few days ago and announced that something has been stolen from the transformer and accused people within the area of being responsible. The officials expected the people to contribute money and give to them in order to purchase the equipment to replace the vandalised one. The question is: who stole the equipment, if not the same persons who have the keys to the transformer? There was no sign of break-in into the fenced transformer and these officials are the people in possession of the keys. So who did it? Did they give the keys to someone else and why?

Enough of this monkey game JED Plc! If the ongoing hardship in the country is the reason behind this stealing habit, then, the people of Akpehe are not responsible for the hardship and they should not be punished for it.

Awunah Pius Terwase, Onaji Blessing, Achiaga Richard, and others, Makurdi, Benue State

ATTENTION: GOVERNOR NASIR EL -RUFAI

“I

f you want to make

enemies, make changes”. The truth of this statement depicts the dicey situation Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has found himself.

His effort to rid the state of ghost workers is causing him sleepless nights while the workers have been plunged into untold hardship.

Every effort made by him was thwarted by saboteurs and enemies from within. At first the problems were omissions and overpayments.

But now, it has degenerated to deduction and gross underpayments to those who were screened and acknowledged as workers, not ghost.

The issue is not only embarrassing to the government but is making paupers out of the workers. Those who were stacked in the quagmire found alternative either as part timer workers in places or doing petty jobs

elsewhere.

The governor had to publicly apologise to the teeming unpaid workers for the pitiable condition they were plunged either because of greed, sabotage and official negligence.

But apologies alone may not serve. Some 12 months of recklessness with the lives of individuals and families in a government with the mantra of change can probably be very costly in the long run.

We are not doubting the noble intentions of the government and the governor. That is why we have invested so much trust and confidence in him.

Please, my governor, save us from the trouble of defending you always. Count on us to make Kaduna State great again.

Pay these workers, especially those under the Emirate Councils.

They have suffered enough.

Jamilu Bello Dogarawa, Zaria

16

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor Olawale Olaleye Email wale.olaleye@thisdaylive.com 08116759819 SMS ONLY

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

Tasks Before the Courts The courts across the country are due to resume for the 2016/2017 legal year after about eight weeks of annual vacation. Davidson Iriekpen, in this report, highlights areas, where the ministers in the temple of justice are expected to focus their attention

A

fter about eight weeks of vacation, courts all over the country, both at the federal and state levels have started to resume for the 2016/2017 legal year, beginning from last week. Like every other resumption, the judges who used the opportunity offered them by the vacation to cool off, are coming back to face daunting challenges. Apart from the numerous applications and motions awaiting their attention, the judges are also retuning to work at a time the image of the entire judiciary is abysmally low.

No doubt, the courts are the only places the weak, oppressed and the cheated run to for succour and justice. But, the question on how many of those, who had run to them for justice came out successful, is left to mere assumption.

Therefore, as the 2016/2017 legal year begins, there are a number of cases that need to be resolved urgently, and the resolution of these cases rest squarely with how fast the courts can expeditiously determine them.

Over the years, many a Nigerian have lost confidence in the courts not only because of their slow pace of justice delivery but the illogical, incoherent and sometimes the incongruous decisions and judgments the judges deliver.

First, as the new legal year begins, many Nigerians would want to see a situation, where judicial authorities led by the National Judicial Council, tackle the incessant conflicting and contradictory orders and judgments especially by courts of concurrent jurisdiction. Not only have these orders and judgments caused Nigeria huge embarrassment, they have caused more danger to her jurisprudence, especially to the upcoming lawyers.

In recent times, Nigerians have been thoroughly embarrassed with the way and manner Federal High Court handled the crises in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the tax allegation against the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. In the cases involving the PDP, the courts in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja were notoriously fighting for supremacy and churning out conflicting orders to the parties. Even when the court in Port Harcourt had settled the case, the ones in Abuja refused to abide with the

Like every other resumption, the judges who used the opportunity offered them by the vacation to cool off, are coming back to face daunting challenges. Apart from the numerous applications and motions awaiting their attention, the judges are also retuning to work at a time the image of the entire judiciary is abysmally low

President of Court of Appeal, Justice Zanab Bulkachuwa_ Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Wilson Onnoghen and Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed at a function

decision.

The same applied for the case against Ikpeazu, where the court in Abuja and Owerri were involved in an unnecessary tussle. At the centre of both the PDP and the Ikpeazu cases was Justice Okon Abang, who has become a household name for notorious orders.

Interestingly, last week, the National Judicial Council (NJC) sacked three judges, who have denigrated the bench. Nigerians are therefore calling on the council to properly set in motion, a process to weed out other judges, who have caused the judiciary huge embarrassment for sanity and confidence to return to the all-important third arm of government.

As the courts resume for the new legal year, many analysts would wish to see a situation where judges will expeditiously determine cases before them. Currently, it is believed that it takes between 10 to 15 years for a case to go from the High Court to the Supreme Court. Apart from political cases that are often treated with utmost dispatch from the High Court to the Supreme Court, other cases such as criminal, commercial and other civil matters take up to a minimum of 10 years to get to the apex court and be concluded.

Checks revealed that while it takes about four to six years to conclude a case at the High Courts whether at the state or federal level, it takes almost the same number of years for the same case to go through the Court of Appeal upon appeal. At the Supreme Court, it could take far up to eight to 10 years.

To quicken justice delivery and reduce the pressure on the justices of the Court of Appeal in the country, a lot of lawyers have called for the subdivision of courtrooms at the Federal High Court particularly in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, where there are more cases into political, criminal, business/commercial, probate and land etc as it is done at the Lagos State High Court. This would enable each of these subdivided courtrooms to know the cases to hear and handle with dispatch.

In Lagos, particularly, analysts have also called for an increase in the number of courtrooms

at the Court of Appeal in Lagos from the two that are currently sitting to four or five to cope with the volume of appeals emanating from the federal and state High Courts.

Therefore, as another legal year begins, many analysts would want the judges to disabuse the minds of Nigerians that they are responsible for the slow and frustrating judicial proceedings in the country. They advised the judges to always stand up to counsel, especially those for the defendants, who usually employ tricks to frustrate trial.

For instance, a cursory look at some recent case list of the Federal High Court in Lagos shows cases that were filed over six and seven years ago, but are still at the preliminary stages. This, according to analysts, is one of the challenges facing the judiciary in Nigeria today. While some believe that most of these cases are stalled by frivolous applications mostly by the defendants in the suit, others put the blame on the judges for not standing up against counsel, who are in the habit of doing this.

Sometimes, if it is not application to challenge the jurisdiction of the court, it is for stay of proceedings or other interlocutory applications.

In some cases, it could even be an outright petition or complaint for the case to be transferred from a particular judge or court. All these are aimed at delaying or frustrating justice delivery and give the Nigerians judicial system a bad image and reputation. This is why as the courts resume for a new legal year many analysts would want to see a situation, where judges would demonstrate to Nigerians that indeed it is possible to get quick justice in the country.

Also, among the many challenges the courts have as they resume for the 2016/2017 legal year, is the allegations of corruption. The third arm of government is seen as an indispensable tool in any meaningful anti-graft war. Hence, it is taken for granted that in a society buffeted by corruption, a courageous, independent, unbiased and financially autonomous judiciary is a most needed bulwark against the continued reign of the monster of corruption and graft in the country.

Many have argued that sadly, Nigeria has not been particularly fortunate in its drive to evolve functional democratic culture since 1999, which could deliver a just society, principally because of the greed of its political class, and the attendant impunity accentuated by an ineffective judiciary. This has set a lot of analysts wondering if a corruption institution can actually purge the country of the malaise.

A recent independent survey on crime and corruption recently revealed that the judiciary in the country is being irretrievably destroyed by corruption. The survey shocked many Nigerians when it named the judiciary as one of the institutions, where there is massive corruption. According to it, “Nigerian courts of law receive the biggest and highest bribes from citizens among all institutions in which corruption is rampant.�

Although it particularly stressed that bribery in the third arm of government was less frequent than in many other agencies and organisations, most of the respondents to the survey admitted that they had paid the biggest bribes to the courts in huge transactions.

It also disclosed that among public officials, police personnel were most frequently alleged to request for bribes, making criminal justice administration difficult.

Another advice to the judges as they resume for the new legal year, is to protect their judgments from leakage. All over the world, court judgments are supposed to be highly confidential and secretive until delivered.

When judgments are to be delivered, people are supposed to be on tenterhooks, waiting with bated breath for what would be the final word from the judge.

Unfortunately, this is not the case in Nigeria today. These days, before some judgments are delivered, either the petitioners, applicants or respondents would have started rejoicing and boasting based on the assurances he or she had received from the court. Another area where many observers want the courts to focus is on CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

17

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

ONTHEWATCH

APC on Familiar Path The palpable cracks in the ranks of the All Progressives Congress are certain to undo the ruling party if its leadership fails to see the inherent danger and urgently address it, writes Shola Oyeyipo

I

For those observant of the intricacies and the politicking that led to the emergence of the immediate past president of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, something similar to what happened also played out in the build-up to the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari played. The former governor of Lagos, Senator Bola Tinubu, who recently dropped the title of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) played significant roles in the electoral successes of the two presidents by contributing the South-west votes to their victories.

Soon after Jonathan’s election, those around him, particularly the duo of Chief Edwin Clark and Alhaji Asari-Dokubo, took over what would easily pass as ‘South-south’ presidency. They were quick to castigate not just Tinubu, but also former President Olusegun Obasanjo and even Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos.

While South-west personalities, who contributed in no small ways to the Jonathan success were already subject of repudiation, the likes of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Jigawa State governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido; the current Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, former Kano State governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Rivers State governor and Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and other perceived enemies of the administration were eventually forced out of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Amaechi and Lamido’s sins were that they were reportedly named by Obasanjo as potential president and vice-president respectively, to Jonathan, who was considered as underperforming, not meeting the aspiration of the largely expectant voting public and at the same time, undoing the party structure in practically all the state as never experienced before.

At the long run, former political enemies like former Osun State governor, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola and the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola; former Ekiti State governor, Chief Segun Oni and Mr. Kayode Fayemi and in fact, Obasanjo and Tinubu, all agreed to sheath their swords and collaborate to work against their common enemy –Jonathan – and the resultant effect was the first of its kind historic defeat of a sitting president by an opposition party .

In another development that is gradually gathering momentum and having striking similarities to the Jonathan episode, the handlers of the Buhari political machinery, apparently concerned about 2019 and fearing Tinubu’s political relevance, are hell bent on cutting him to size by reducing his political relevance. And not only Tinubu, even Kwankwaso too is biting the bitter pie.

Though there are rumours of unsavoury attitude towards Tinubu and some forces within the APC, who are relying heavily on the powers of the presidency to whittle down his political relevance in the country, particularly in the South-west, recent developments have shown that all is not well with the APC chieftains.

The first indication was that his ministerial nominees were not favoured. Two, the way and manner Tinubu lambasted the junior Minister of Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachukwu over his comment that he was not a magician during the protracted fuel scarcity did not show that he has the ears of policy makers.

And his recent castigation of the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun over the undemocratic roles he allegedly played in the emergence of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu as the APC candidate in Ondo State, are all pointers to an undercurrent in the party.

Another development that will interest curious minds and insightful political analysts

R-L National Chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, President Muhammadu Buhari and a national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu at a meeting...shall they work together in colective interest

is that Tinubu’s vituperative attack on Oyegun quickly got a positive nod from Atiku, who said: “It was wrong for the APC to have set

The first indication was that his ministerial nominees were not favoured. Two, the way and manner Tinubu lambasted the junior Minister of Petroleum, Mr. Ibe Kachukwu over his comment that he was not a magician during the protracted fuel scarcity did not show that he has the ears of policy makers…And his recent castigation of the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun over the undemocratic roles he allegedly played in the emergence of Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu as the APC candidate in Ondo State, are all pointers to an undercurrent in the party

aside a resolution it had reached at resolving the crisis in our party in Ondo State. It is a recipe for acrimony and division”.

The former vice-president was of the opinion that acting as though a problem doesn’t exist is not a way to make it go away. He, therefore, urged the APC leadership to do soul-searching and address why this problem arose and escalated.

He argued that the party leadership should always be guided by respect for rules, fairness, equity, neutrality and democratic consensus and counseled the APC on the need to promote the rule of law and due process in the conduct of its affairs, stressing that they are important to the unity and stability of the party.

“It is imperative for the national leadership of the party to live by the rules of internal democracy and respect for democratic consensus.

You cannot break your own rules without creating problems,” Atiku stated.

Another very instructive development was that one of the very prominent Yoruba leaders, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, who never hid his disdain for the Tinubu political tactics, came out with what could easily pass as a defense for the embattled APC leader when he opined that “People are expecting me to mock Tinubu and say God has dealt with him over the manner he treated me and other Yoruba leaders but I won’t do that because what is after six is more than seven. Attack on Tinubu is not directly at him but an attack on Yorubaland. I am not shortsighted. They want to break us up and cause division so that they can take over.

“He (Tinubu) has made his mistakes and I hope he has learnt from it. When he went into the alliance, I warned him that they are a conglomeration of incompatibles but they chose to ignore it. But I strongly believe that the gang-up against him is a ploy to divide the Yorubaland, so that these Northerners can take over. I can see that and nobody can convince me about that. Tinubu may have his fault but he has not been treated well by his party,” he said.

People should not be surprised that the position taken by Chief Adebanjo, who said although he and Tinubu had their differences,

now is not the right time to mock him, would be widespread among Yoruba people. This is more so, that the APC stalwart is already mending fence with his old foes, at a time that many of them are already prophesying readiness to work with him in the interest of the Yoruba nation.

One can therefore deduce from the ongoing trend that the forces undermining Tinubu in the APC would eventually have the likes of Atiku, Kwankwaso, some prominent Yoruba leaders and some of his other allies in and outside the party to contend with. And this, by every measure will not be a profitable venture for the ruling party that is yet to worm its way into the hearts of the generality of Nigerians, particularly in the face of the lingering economic hardship the people are experiencing.

So, the ruling party and those that are machinating within its ranks must not forget some of the factors that brought about Jonathan’s waterloo at the last election. The BBC, among other factors, listed the broken alliance in the PDP, after the party lost some key figures, prompting even Obasanjo, who spearheaded his emergence to come out against Mr. Jonathan.

While at the same time, the opposition managed to unite under the APC banner and the last six weeks of desperate and dirty campaigning, in which the APC responded in kind, was not enough to turn the tide.

Another issue is that while Nigeria’s economy was growing, the wealth is not being spread around as many fail to feel the benefits with nearly half the population living below the poverty line. These trends are yet to go and may combine to undo the APC at the long run if the dirty politicking is not done away with.

Inasmuch as well-meaning Nigerians believe in the policy thrust of the APC government as one capable of reversing the negative indicators for which Nigeria has become notorious, genuine advisers in the party must begin to urge the forces to design better methods to share power and manage the affairs of the party so as to enable it steer the ship of the country long enough to put reasonable changes on the ground before it is scattered by power mongers. And this is in the interest of Nigerians, who saw hope in the party.

TASKS BEFORE THE COURTS the allegation that judges inadvertently shield politicians and other government officials charged with corruption from prosecution.

Many analysts have argued that since corruption has been identified as one of the greatest problems confronting the country, the judiciary needs to play a critical role to eradicate it. They believe

that the general lack of courage in the Nigerian judiciary to deal with corruption frontally was responsible for the upsurge in the malaise.

Incidentally, the courts are resuming at a time a new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) would be appointed for the country, in the person of Justice Walter Onnoghen. As the only man from the

Southern part of the country to attain the position in over 30 years, many Nigerians are anxiously looking forward to seeing him transform the judiciary into stronger, independent, assertive and politically neutral judiciary, knowing full well that success or failure of the democratic system depends significantly on a vibrant judiciary

and its capacity to protect all interests without fear or favour.

At a time the country is seriously yearning for foreign investments, many Nigerians want the judiciary to sit up and assist the government by fast-tracking justice delivery and embarking on confidence-building.

18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Rising Hope for Agricultural Revival Agriculture, once the economic base of the country, is receiving government and private sectors' attention that will possibly usher in the greatest agricultural revival in Nigeria, Peace Obi reports

W

ith the fall in oil prices and the subsequent decline in the country's foreign exchange earnings now partly leading to the present day economic quagmire the country has found itself, the need to diversify the nation's economy has become too obvious to be ignored.

The country having been 'securely' wrapped with the sweet crude's arms, was gorgeously lined with foreign exchange, Nigeria lost the consciousness of developing other sectors along with its oil and gas sector. Thus, shielded from the realities of life, the country did not realise that it has neither overcome hunger nor attained an enviable height of development that is capable of sustaining the country in its rainy days. And given the steady inflow of the petrodollars, importation of food replaced agricultural development as the country became heavily dependent on other countries for most of its agricultural products to meet the food demand of her citizenry.

With the stormy wind of change hitting hard on the economies of the world and particularly the harsh effect on the prices of crude oil which now has left Nigeria with a leaner purse, there seems to be a unanimous call for a sustainable diversified economy. As Nigeria begins to wake up to these realities of life, especially the disappointment from the mono-economy, agriculture is seen as a better alternative with great potential for food sufficiency, employment and sources of raw materials for industries, among others.

Unified Call for Diversification of the Economy With what seemed like a unified call for a back to basics approach towards revitalising Nigeria's economy, Centre for Values in Leadership, a non-governmental organisation committed to training and mobilising quality leadership among Nigerian youths, recently organised an international conference on agriculture in Lagos. The conference which attracted key stakeholders in the sector as well as government functionaries deliberated on the way forward for Nigeria to effectively diversify her economy and bring about a rebound to the ailing economy. With the Chevron Hall of Museum Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, filled to the brim with different players in the sector as well as intending agriculturists, different speakers shared pertinent information, knowledge and experiences. Also, with a panel lined with experienced agriculturists and other stakeholders, each one spoke passionately and assuredly on the good future agriculture holds both for individual and national survival.

The convener of the conference, Prof. Pat Utomi in his opening remarks noted that the conference is part of CVL's contributory efforts towards providing leadership on the need to reform and restructure the nation's economy into a track of sustainable progress.

Observing favourable oil prices to be the bane of underdevelopment of agricultural base of the nation's economy, Utomi, noted that the perpetual lip service being paid to this idea in the past 30 years has been his biggest personal frustration. According to him, the call for the diversification of nation's economic base gets intensified whenever the oil prices slump. "Each time oil prices slumped, the decibel on diversification rose. But no sooner does a price recovery show up in oil market than we see that we were a nation of change survivors waiting to return to the old ways."

Agriculture, the Redemptive Balm for an Ailing Economy Determined to drive a lasting and a sustainable progress in agriculture, Utomi said that the international conference was designed to encourage the flow of new energies to the sector and set a tone for a converging of both

A cross section of participants at the international conference on agriculture in Lagos...recently

national strategy and corporate strategy in kick-starting the boost to value chain based on factor endowment in agriculture.

According to him, after years of refrain on diversifying the nation's economy, the fall in the price of oil has brought agriculture to the forefront, though with a daunting challenge of having the citizens's consciousness and interest redirected into agriculture. "All eyes seem now on agriculture which is considered as the redemptive balm for the nation's ailing economy. However, the daunting challenge now is the need to reborn the idea in the socialisation of the citizens,” Utomi said.

To understand the urgent need to move for the revival of the agricultural sector is when one recalls the fact that this sector was once the major source of foreign exchange for the country. The staggering food importation bill on Nigeria, leading to foreign exchange drain burden while our youths roam the streets in search of white collar jobs, children dying of hunger and malnutrition, yet the country is blessed with all it takes to be sufficient in food production

Taking the audience on a tour of thought, Utomi said, "To understand the urgent need to move for the revival of the agricultural sector is when one recalls the fact that this sector was once the major source of foreign exchange for the country. The staggering food importation bill on Nigeria, leading to foreign exchange drain burden while our youths roam the streets in search of white collar jobs, children dying of hunger and malnutrition, yet the country is blessed with all it takes to be sufficient in food production."

Stating that the conference was strategically planned and organised to achieve certain set goals, Utomi hinted that it was designed to achieve such objectives as reducing waste in the agriculture value chain to the barest minimum, optimise efficiencies of cluster model, enhance distribution logistics for both local consumption and export, improve accesses to know-how, know-why and market information for farmers and manufacturers as well as to boost small holder farmer productivity through extension service provision and deployment of outgrower programme, among others.

Amidst Petrodollars Revenues, Hunger Abounds The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Agriculture, Prof. Danbala Danju in his presentation, noted that while Nigeria was lost in the euphoria of oil discovery, other viable sectors of the economy capable of leading to both individual and national economic growth were neglected. According to him, the unparalleled relationship between the country's population growth and the capacity to feed her citizenry is a symptom of an unhealthy economic indicator. Adding that while some other continents that were formerly faced with the challenge of hunger have long overcome it by harnessing their internal resources, he however noted that Nigeria is still battling with hunger and malnutrition among its children. "My take is that long before the collapse of crude oil prices, we have had problems, which is the country's population growth and the capacity to feed ourselves.

It is argued that while Europe, some part of Northern America, Southern part of Asia have overcome hunger, the sub-Saharan Africans are yet to achieve that. If you go to rural areas, creeks and some other low income areas, you will see the sad fact of hunger."

According to Danju, oil had covered this naked fact for years as it enabled the country to embark on food importation which he said led

to Naira being overvalued. And that now that the chips are down, a recourse to agriculture can only yield the expected dividends if only people can embrace the idea and also seek assistance from the various programmes the Bank of Agriculture has put in place to help farmers in the country.

Bank of Agriculture for Nigerian Farmers Stating that the present administration is focusing on agriculture to address so many things, Danju said that the Bank of Agriculture has been strategically established to attend to the various needs for agricultural development, both for big and small farmers in the country.

"We are planning big for farmers, especially small farmers who for a long time have not been supported that much. That is why we are looking at the recapitalisation of the bank so that we can support the farmers across the length and breadth of the country.

"We are going to support farmers from the input stage like when they want to buy fertiliser, seed, agrochemicals as well as insecticide. So, this is very important to farmers. Not only at that level but when they harvest, they want to market either domestically or externally in terms of export,” Danju said.

Speaking further, he disclosed that, "we have 124 branches across the federation even in some rural areas. Our target is to have our presence in all the 774 local governments and we are working with some consultants so that we can reach the hooks and crannies, particularly farmers in rural areas to enjoy our services. "We offer micro-credit. We have direct link with farmers, group of farmers and cooperatives. We are particularly emphasising the issue of cooperative where farmers come together as a group and register with us.

We are also working with other international specialist agriculture development banks to bring technology as well as the human and financial resources we need to scale up our assistance,” Danju disclosed.

Need to Upgrade Agricultural Practices Programmed to provide participants with valuable information that will be beneficial to different players in the sector as well as to intending investor, the Director General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, Dr. Gloria Elemo, in her presentation looked at industrialisation and agriculture. According to her, to drive the national economy with agriculture, there is need to upgrade the agricultural practices from the traditional to

19

• T H I S D AY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

FEATURES the modern. "More importantly, we need to commercialise and privatise agricultural sector to run agriculture as a business."

According to Elemo, the most important issue in commercialisation of agricultural sub-sector is the value addition through processing that will convert the agro-commodities to shelf stable products, to reduce post-harvest losses that have resulted in low ranking of Nigeria in terms of food wastage.

And restating the institute's preparedness to give farmers and other investors in agribusiness all the necessary support to enable them explore the huge opportunities agriculture offers as well as succeed in their ventures, Elemo said, "We do weekly training, we transfer nothing less than 25 of our technology on a weekly basis to potential entrepreneurs, young graduates, school leavers, to women and to even people who are about to retire and people who are even on their jobs.

"Like this technology I am talking about has taken years in the laboratory to develop and after developing this technology, we now have to domesticate it so that lay man can easily adapt to that technology and be in the market with the same specifications.

"So, we train everybody that is interested in going into agro processing. We teach them entrepreneurship skills, how to set up those businesses and how to even get loans from specialised banks like Bank of Industry and Bank of Agriculture where we have MoUs to work together. So that anybody who is trained on our technology can access those loans because we are sure of the quality of the training, we are sure of the equipment and machinery we are recommending to them, she said. Elemo who noted that the institute is not unmindful of the global demand on education to offer life skills to beneficiaries told THISDAY that FIIRO is partnering with a number of higher institutions in the country where it provides technical services to the schools.

"Currently, we are working very closely with the universities because part of the curriculum in the university now is entrepreneurship training but they don't have the practical base at the background. So, several universities have approached us and we are working with them in making sure that all the undergraduates as part of their requirements for graduation have taken entrepreneurship training .

Enumerating on a number of trainings FIIRO offers, Elemo said that in its bakery training, participants are taught how to use of 10 to 20 per cent cassava inclusion, production of high quality cassava flour, production of fufu in a dry form, which can be exported. Adding that participants also learn to produce kunu that can be packaged and exported, which can stay on the shelf for over one year, fish smoking, tomatoes processing, instant pounded yam flour which is more popular, among others.

Make Agriculture a GNS Course To further drive the consciousness of Nigerian citizens towards agro-economy, especially among the youths, the former Vice Chancellor of University of Lagos, Professor Ibidapo Obe, advised governments to see agriculture as the next area to shore up the economy.

The university don who was the chairman of the conference told THISDAY that the integration of agriculture into the nation's tertiary education's curriculum should be a major transformation the sector should experience.

"That is our next area to look at to shore up our economy and it is so important. It has become a major area of our transformation within the education sector. One of the things we must do is to ensure that higher institutions integrate agriculture in their curriculum," Obe said.

Suggesting some of the practical ways to implement the integration, Obe hinted that schools should consider introducing agriculture as a course in general studies. "In fact, it is so important that we should even be looking at a General African Study. It is no point having this knowledge and then you can't translate it to something.

"It must be incorporated into the general studies in a more practical way. Rather than spending our time teaching them English, teaching them Computer Science, these are skills they can pick up on their own,” he opined. Speaking further, Obe noted that there is a need for the government and the educational institutions in the country to revive agriculture and position it as a sector with

L-R: DG/CEO Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Dr. Gloria Elemo, Managing Partner, Ijewere and Co., Mr. Emmanuel Ijwere, former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Ibidapo Obe, at the inter- Minister of Agriculture and Rural Developmen, Chief national conference on agriculture in Lagos Audu Ogbeh

A cross section of participants

huge potential for entrepreneurship, food sufficiency and economic recovery.

"What has happened in the past is that the returns on agriculture are so poor that we don't want to do it. To encourage youths to embrace agriculture, we need to revisit the issue of commodity boards; a board that will guarantee the sale of those products from agriculture.” Stating that funding should not be an impediment in the implementation process of agriculture as a GNS course, Obe hinted that what the institutions need most is the land. According to him, if properly implemented, other things will fall into shape.

"If it is done properly, once the land is there, and then the demarcation, all the other things can be done.

"We are talking of just semi-big gardens. We

Agriculture occupies a crucial place in the economy and in the overall development of any country. It plays a major role in terms of food security, employment, in terms of the general harmony of the economy in growing what the people eat.

But you don't have all these benefits in oil, this is because the oil we export in Nigeria is exported with its value chain

are not talking about big agricultural farm.

To ensure that every student has a farm as we did in primary and secondary schools.

I remember in my secondary school, one of the things that excited me most was for us to plant maize."

Global Conspiracy against Oil? With what sounds like a note of finality, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Great Works Concept, Mr. Victor Okoro, said that agriculture is the way forward for Nigeria.

To him, the fall in oil prices is advantageous for Nigeria and her citizens - a 'golden opportunity' to take the economy on a solid path of sustainable development and growth.

Insisting that agriculture is one sector that has the capacity to feed the nation, provide employment, earn foreign exchange, serve as sources of raw materials for industries, among others, Okoro said the country would fare better if policy makers can show enough commitment to the development of sector.

Deliberating on some of the gains of turning to agriculture as a an alternative to oil, Okoro who is described as a successful farmer said, "Agriculture is the way forward. It is the only sector that is all encompassing. It can employ the father, the mother, the children. In fact, everybody can be involved because when you own a family farm, it can conveniently employ every member of the family in addition to hired labour.

"I have friends who we have over the years helped to set up a farm, today, their children who have finished their university education are there managing the farm, and they make good money compared to what they would have made if they had gone to do white collar jobs,” he said.

Being actively involved in training and sensitisation of the populace on agriculture and the amount of unharnessed wealth in the sector, Okoro urged Nigerian youths to embrace agriculture. According to him, there appears to be a global conspiracy against oil and the shift in focus globally is evident in a number of innovations that tend to reduce the 'supremacy' of oil as number one source

of energy. Stressing that while solar poweredenergy tools and machinery are becoming more popular by the day, scientists are coming out with more discoveries that will further turn the world's attention away from oil.

"Agriculture occupies a crucial place in the economy and in the overall development of any country. It plays a major role in terms of food security, employment, in terms of the general harmony of the economy in growing what the people eat. But you don't have all these benefits in oil, this is because the oil we export in Nigeria is exported with its value chain.” Noting that agricultural sub-sector just like any other business is faced with varying risks, the Managing Director/CEO, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, Mr. Bashir Binji, said that the corporation was established by the government to assist farmers and ensure they are indemnified when they suffer losses.

Bashir who hinted that before the establishment of NAIC, insurance firms had no products for the farmers, said that with different insurance policies and covers now available to farmers, they can now carry on with their businesses with a good level of peace of mind. According to him, the corporation has a wide range of insurance policies that handles various risks factors in agribusiness such as production risks, market risks, financial risks, infrastructure risks, among others.

Encouraging farmers to take advantage of the various products the corporation has carefully designed to meet the needs of farmers in the country, he said they are primarily meant to secure farmers' investment as well as enable them secure credit facility among many other benefits.

With the different contributions from diplomats like the Acting Deputy High Commissioner and Director, UK Trade and investment, Nigeria, Mr. Ahmed Bashir, the Managing Director, Indorama, Nigeria, the chairman of the panel at the conference, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere, urged participants to make maximum use of the opportunity, knowledge and exposure the international conference has brought.

20

IMAGES

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

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

L-R: The British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), Head, Leaf, Mr Thomas Omofoye; the senator representing Ogun West, Senator Gbolahan Dada; Area Head, Corporate Affairs, BATN West Africa, Mrs Seyi Ashade; and BATN Director of Operations, Mr Charles Kyalo, at the BATN 2016 Farmersí Awards ceremony in Iseyin, Oyo State...recently

L-R: Member, Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Prof. Sadiq Raddah; Convener, Corruption, Not in My Country Project, Akin Fadeyi; and the Executive Secretary, Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, at a dinner to round off the Behavioural Insights to Public Policy Design Course in Harvard Kennedy School,

L-R: Treasurer, Intitute of Chartered Srcretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), Chief Francis Meshioye; Vice-President, Mr. Samuel Kolawole; President, Dr. Nat. Ofo; and Registrar/Secretary to the Council, Mrs. Nkechi Onyenso, during the institute’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos...recently YOMI AKINYELE

L-R: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Lekki Gardens Estate Limited, Mr. Richard Nyong; the Elegushi of Ikate Land, Oba Saheed Ademola Elegushi, Kusenla lll; a member of the Elegushi royal family, Mr. Benson Evboren; and the Company Secretary, Lekki Gardens Estate Limited, Mr Steve Agbiboa, during a courtesy visit by the management of Lekki Gardens to the oba at the Elegushi Palace in Lagos...recently

L-R: Members, Board of Electronic Pay Plus, Kelvin Orogun; Olayinka Olafimihan; Chairman of the Board, Ade Adedeji; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; CEO of the company, Adebayo Adeokun; member, Chukwuka Emuwa; and member, Anthony Anonyai, during a visit of the board members to the vice-president in Abuja...recently

L-R: A member representing Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency, Lagos State at National Assembly, Hon. Oghene Egah; Director, Licensing and Authorisation, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Mrs. Funmilola Akiode; Director, Media and Information Security, NCC, Mr. Haru Alhassan; and the National Coordinator of the office for Nigerian Content Development in ICT, Mr. Inye Kemabonta, during a stakeholders’ forum on the Development of Local Content in the Telecoms sub sectors in Lagos...recently KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Liability Products Officer, Union Bank Plc, Abraham Balogun; a customer, Okpala Rita; Head Retail Products, Union Bank Plc, Sheahan Arasaratnam; a customer, Ikechukwu Christian; Team Lead, Savings & Investment, Union Bank Plc, Famous Imiemohon; Head Alternate Channels, Union Bank Plc., Folorunsho Orimoloye, at the official launch of Union Future in Aspamda, Ojo, Lagos...recently

21

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

R A T E S 14.8750 19.7872

A S

3-MONTH 6-MONTH

A T

20.5590 21.4160

Group Business Editor ChikaAmanze-Nwachuku Email: chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157, 08057161321

S E P T E M B E R 3 0 ,

NITTY 1-MONTH 2-MONTH 3-MONTH

17.9259 18.0333 18.1358

6-MONTH 9-MONTH 12-MONTH

2 0 1 6

18.8515 20.5689 21.9351

EXCHANGE RATE N311.62/1UD DOLLAR AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes Mitsubishi Delays Jet Delivery

CUSTOMERS ARE KING

L-R: Executive Director, Abuja and North Bank, Heritage Bank Plc, Ola Olabinjo; Executive Director, South Bank, Adaeze Udensi; Managing Director, Niuma Boutique, Margret Albert; General Manager , Heritage Bank Plc, Wunmi Adeniyi, and Group Head, Customer Experience and Analytics, Heritage Bank Plc, Kikanwa Akpenyi, at the bank’s business fair (Customer Service Week) in Lagos…recently

Nigeria’s Projected Increase in Oil Output to Offset OPEC’s Proposed Cuts Ejiofor Alike Nigeria’s projected increase in oil production will potentially offset the production cuts proposed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce the level of inventory in the oil market for the recovery of oil prices, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.

OPEC had last Wednesday in Algiers, Algeria, agreed to a landmark deal to effectively cut production to 32.5 million barrels per day from around 33.24 million, the first time since 2008 that the cartel would be reaching such decision.

Under the agreement, each member country will cut production to a level that would be determined in the next meeting of the cartel in November 2016.

ENERGY But OPEC member countries reached a consensus that Iran, Nigeria and Libya would be exempted in the agreement.

While Iran just had its economic sanctions lifted earlier in the year, Libya and Nigeria have had some of their oil facilities damaged due to internal unrest in recent months.

THISDAY, however, gathered from a top official of NNPC that if Nigeria ramps up her production lost to militancy, the increased output will offset the volumes that OPEC has proposed to cut, thus wiping the gains of the OPEC deal.

“Nigeria has lost 700,000 barrels per day lost to militancy, according t official figures and is seeking to bring back this volume to the market. OPEC also wants to reduce the inven-

tory in the market by about 800,000 barrels per day. So, if OPEC removes 800,000 bpd from the market and allows Nigeria to bring back her lost production, excess inventory will remain in the market,” he explained.

“OPEC has agreed that Nigeria will not be bound by any decision to cut production given the level of production outages the country has suffered in the hands of the Avengers and other militant groups in the Niger Delta. But if OPEC reduces crude in the market and at the same time allows Nigeria and other members to bring more crude to the market, the production cuts deal will have no impact on the oil price because the excess inventory in the market will remain “It is a good decision for members to reduce the level

of inventory in the oil market.

If the law of market forces of demand and supply applies, then when the inventory is reduced, the price will go up and Nigeria will benefit significantly because the slump in prices has hurt government’s revenues significantly,” he explained.

“We should not forget that before the attacks around February, our production was above 2 million barrels per day. So, if OPEC allows us to reach our February level before we are given a new production quota, then we are going to add not less than 700,000 bpd to the market and the efforts of OPEC to reduce crude in the market will be in vain,” he said.

“Again, we should not forget the non-OPEC members that Continued on page 22

Buhari: Niger Delta Militants Caused 16 System Collapses in Five Months Chineme Okafor in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has said that between March and July 2016, a space of five months, the activities of militants in the Niger Delta region resulted to Nigeria’s transmission system experiencing up to 16 system collapses.

Buhari stated that the incidences were in contrast to two collapses he said were recorded between June and December 2015, a space of six months.

He said the government was unhappy with the development and making efforts to find a

ENERGY lasting solution to the grievances of the militants.

Speaking during his Independence Day address in Abuja, the president also disclosed that work on the over 3000 megawatts (MW) Mambilla hydro power project will take off this year, with contract negotiations between Nigeria and China on the project nearing completion.

He also explained that government was moving things around for the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to complete critical projects

that could give power supply to rural Nigerians, farmers, cottage industries and small scale businesses.

“There were only two system collapses between June and December 2015, but due to vandalism by Niger Delta militants the over-all system suffered 16 system collapses between March and July 2016 alone.

“As I have said earlier, we are engaging with responsible leadership in the region to find lasting solutions to genuine grievances of the area but we will not allow a tiny minority

of thugs to cripple the country’s economy,” said Buhari.

He said with regards to Nigeria’s policy shift on her energy mix and start of Mambilla: “In the meantime, government is going ahead with projects utilising alternate technologies such as hydro, wind, and solar to contribute to our energy mix.

“In this respect, the Mambilla hydro project, after many years of delay is taking off this year.

Contract negotiations are nearing completion with Chinese firms for technical and financial Continued on page 22

Japan’s All Nippon Airways Co has been told by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp, a unit of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, that there is a risk of a possible delay in the first delivery of its regional jet from around the middle of 2018.

If the delivery of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) is extended, this would mark a fifth delay and may raise concerns about Mitsubishi’s sales activities.

All Nippon, a unit of ANA Holdings Inc, received a notice of a risk of delay in delivery due to technical reasons, a company spokeswoman said on Saturday. All Nippon is set to be the first company to receive the MRJ. She added that Mitsubishi did not provide its projection on how long the delivery may be pushed back.

A spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd said it has not decided to delay the delivery and did not confirm whether it has sent such a notice.

Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported earlier on Saturday that the first delivery is likely to be delayed to 2019 or afterwards, reflecting a revision in design.

The first test model of the 100-seat MRJ, which made its maiden test flight last November, arrived in late September in Moses Lake in the U.S. state of Washington for further test flights. The MRJ’s development went into full gear in 2008 and was originally scheduled for delivery in 2013.

Mitsubishi Aircraft last December announced the fourth delay in delivery by about a year from April to June 2017..

Volkswagen to Pay $1.21bn Claims

Volkswagen AG confirmed at the weekend that it will make $1.21 billion in payments to 652 US brand dealers as part of its $16.5 billion diesel emissions settlement to date.

VW’s dealers will receive an average of $1.85 million each on average over 18 months under the settlement that was first announced in principle in August.

Separately, the U.S. Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and lawyers for owners of 475,000 polluting diesel cars filed legal papers late Friday asking a federal judge to grant final approval to buy-back offers and diesel remediation efforts at an Oct. 18 court hearing.

A filing by lawyers for company dealers says Volkswagen won’t sell any U.S. diesel vehicles for the 2016 and 2017 model years. The company, which has been barred from selling all diesel vehicles in the United States since late 2015, said earlier this month it is uncertain whether it will ever sell diesel vehicles in the United States again.

As part of the settlement with VW brand dealers, the company will continue making some incentive payments to dealers, buy back diesel vehicles that dealers can’t sell and suspend capital improvements for two years that it wanted dealers to make. A federal judge must still approve the settlement.

Petronas Denies Sale of LNG Stake

Malaysian state oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd, or Petronas, said it “categorically denied” a Reuters report that it was considering selling its majority stake in a $27 billion Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

Petronas is weighing several options for the project that was approved earlier this week by Canada, but had yet to take a final decision, Reuters reported on Friday citing three people familiar with the matter. Other options are also being considered, including putting the project on ice.

“Petronas reiterates that, together with the project partners, it will study the conditions that come with the approval and conduct a total review of the project prior to making a decision on the next steps forward,” the company said in a statement on Saturday.

Reuters had reported tha Petroliam Nasional Bhd is considering selling its majority stake in a $27 billion Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, three people familiar with the matter said this week.

“We are fairly close to that tipping point where you really can’t borrow anymore, otherwise you can’t sustain the borrowing” Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

22

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD NIGERIA’S PROJECTED INCREASE IN OIL OUTPUT TO OFFSET OPEC’S PROPOSED CUTS

control over 60 per cent of the market. Let us just hope they will not sabotage the efforts of OPEC by increasing production to reduce the impact of OPEC’s cuts in the market.

If they decide to take more oil to the market, the efforts of OPEC will be in vain,” he added.

Spokesman of NNPC, Mr. Muhammad Garuba Deen could not be reached to speak on the matter as he did not respond to text messages.

The agreement had immediately led to the largest gains in crude prices since April on Wednesday, but the prices dropped the following day as investors asked whether the cartel’s members would stand by an agreement.

There were also concerns that OPEC may not have significant influence on oil market as it accounts for only 30 per cent of the global market.

The scope of the reduction— between 200,000 barrels a day to 800,000 barrels a day—was also considered inadequate to reduce the inventory in the market and force the price to rebound.

BUHARI: NIGER DELTA MILITANTS CAUSED 16 SYSTEM COLLAPSES IN FIVE MONTHS

commitments.”

“The project is to be jointly financed by Nigeria and the Chinese-Export-Import Bank.

In addition, fourteen solar power projects have had their power purchase agreements concluded. Hence the plan to produce one thousand two hundred megawatts of solar electricity for the country would be realised on schedule,” he added.

On the REA, the president stated: “And in line with the objective of government to complete all abandoned projects across the country, the Rural Electrification Agency’s projects needing completion are provided for in the 2016 budget. Bringing electricity to rural areas will help farmers, small scale and cottage industries to integrate with the national economy.”

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) Eromosele Abiodun (Maritime) Ejiofor Alike (Energy) James Emejo (Nation’s Capital) Obinna Chima (Money Mkt) Reporters

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Cap Mkt)

NEWS

‘Energy Efficiency Models Can Save Nigeria 57.5% of Energy’ Chineme Okafor in Abuja The European Union, German government and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have said Nigeria could save an average of 57.5 per cent of energy generated and used in-country through passive and active energy conservative measures.

They said through a model – the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG), which was launched in June by the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the country could passively and actively save up to 40 and 75 per cents of energy. They made these remarks recently in Abuja when the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) formally signed on to the BEEG. The partnership as stated, will train architects for two weeks on adopting energy efficiency in their building designs.

Through the partnership with the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), which is managed by the EU and German government, and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme (REEEP) of the USAID, the NIA plans to intensify the capacities of its members to build energy efficiency buildings, and in turn enable the Nigeria save this much of energy.

Both USAID and NESP said by switching to simple energy efficiency appliances at homes and homes in the country, the country could achieve between 30 and 40 energy savings, while the addition of renewable energy solutions could scale it up to 75 per cent.

They explained that the

partnership with the NIA was initiated to scale up the professional skills of architects and builders in Nigeria, adding that they will from it adapt energy conservation methods in their projects.

Accordingly, the pioneer beneficiaries of the partnership will also escalate the knowledge on building efficiency to other members of the NIA. The Head of Capacity Development for NESP, Felix Nitz stated at the launch of partnership that integrating

An energy expert, Mr. Dan Kunle has said that Nigeria’s three refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri are more of liabilities than assets, thus questioning the government’s continued insistence on holding on to them.

Kunle, who spoke on the background of recent debates generated from suggestions by Aliko Dangote and some others that the federal government should consider selling its stakes in some national assets to raise money to reflate the country’s economy, said that the three refineries have remained unprofitable and drainpipes on the country’s finances.

He explained that a continued politicisation of the sale of the refineries was not in the interest of the country, adding that their values would continue to decline for as long as they are left operating below par. He told THISDAY recently in Abuja that: “The more you politicise the privatisation of the three or four refineries, the more those refineries are technically going obsolete and into decadence that no credible investor will come near them anymore.”“In fact, they become worthless because they have become

unlike most European countries have the unique opportunity to ensure that her buildings are mostly complaint with energy efficiency.

Abrantes explained that while Europe has already been built up, Nigeria which still has some gaps in its building infrastructure, could achieve an enviable energy efficiency model for its buildings. She said the country does not need to make the mistakes of Europe which is spending so much money converting her buildings

to energy efficient structures.

Also, the President of NIA, Tonye Braide said in his remarks that the institute was pleased to enter into the partnership, and would be taking further steps to develop models that will enable buildings in Nigeria adapt to improved energy efficiency.

Braide also disclosed that the NIA would be exploring new partnerships to develop clean energy usage in rural homes in the country.

SUCCOUR TO THE NEEDY

R-L: President of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), Dr. Charmaine Emelife-Ukabam, assisted by Dr. Ngozi Achebe, presenting a N150, 000 cheque to the management team of the Nigerian Red Cross Motherless Babies Home, led by the chairman, Mike Nwokolo (Centre), the Secretary, Hon. Tony Udegbu and the Matron Mrs Theresa Ogbonna, recently in Enugu, during the presentation of food items and a water tank to the Home…recently

‘Nigeria’s Refineries More of Liabilities than Assets’ Chineme Okafor in Abuja

energy efficient design features in buildings from conception, could control a building’s energy consumption and also contribute to achieving a more sustainable energy structure for Nigeria.

Nitz explained that it was important for new building projects in Nigeria to be more energy efficient, especially with Nigeria’s challenges with adequate energy.

Similarly, EU’s programme officer for energy, Marta Abrantes stated that Nigeria

technically insolvent. When you have assets that have become technically insolvent, it means, if you want to buy it you are buying liability because all the equipment you are supposed to produce with are obsolete.

“They have decayed, corrosion has taken place. That means you are going to invest money in building a new refinery. So, why will an investor come and take such a technically liable refinery,” Kunle added. He said beyond the technical insolvency, the refineries are also socially insolvent, insisting that any investor who takes them up will have loads of labour and social issues to deal with.

“The labour problem you are going to have in the refineries, unless government insulates you away from all these labour issues, and take away all the staff and pay them. These social problems include the community you are going to interface with, because you need their social license to operate there,” he added.

Speaking then on the debate about the suggestions made by Dangote, he said: “All these noise that people are making, if you get down to the details, you will see that there is no refinery selling. They are all technically insolvent.

Petrol Price Stable As kerosene Scarcity Hits Marketers Ejiofor Alike Despite the alarm of looming scarcity of petrol raised by some major and independent markets, the price of petrol at the various depots in Lagos has remained relatively stable, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed. This is coming as the price of Kerosene has risen to over N180 per litre due to the scarcity of foreign exchange to fund importation with only one depot having stock at the weekend.

THISDAY learnt that before the ex-depot price rose to N188.50 in Eterna Oil depot, it was selling for N165 per litre.

Marketers had in recent weeks raised the alarm that the N145 per litre pump price would not be sustained due to the high cost of accessing foreign exchange.

The new pump price, which took effect from May 2016, was based on exchange rate of N280 to a dollar.

In the circular with reference number A.4/9/017/C.2/ IV/690 dated May 11, 2016, which authorised the increase in pump price from N86.50 per litre to N145 per litre, the PPPRA had also directed the marketers to sell at indicative

price band of between N123.28 and N133.28 at the depots.

But with the rising cost of dollar, the some marketers argued that the price of petrol should also increase to reflect the prevailing exchange rate, which is over N400.

According to the circular released by the PPPRA, the lower limit of ex-depot price is N123.28 per litre, while the upper limit is N133.28 However, THISDAY’s market survey revealed that despite the alarm raised that the country was heading for another fuel crisis, all the marketers were selling petrol below the upper limit of the indicative price band approved by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).

For instance, while MRS, Rahamanniya and Techno Oil were at the weekend selling at ex-depot price of N130.50, which is below the upper limited approved by the PPPRA, others were also selling at a range of N131 and N132, which is still below the approved limit.

AA Rano was selling at N131 per litre; Aiteo, N131; Capital Oil and Gas N131; Heyden Petroleum, N131;

Folawiyo, N132; Integrated Oil, N132 and NIPCO Plc, N132.

However, the price of kerosene has increased in recent days as only depot had stock at the weekend, where one litre was sold for N188.50 above the N165 per litre it was sold previously.

With the high cost of kerosene at the depots, the pump price at the retail outlets will be above N200 per litre.

Speaking at Abeokuta in Ogun State when he paid a courtesy call on the state governor,Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru had revealed that all NNPC Retail and Mega Stations were selling kerosene at N150 per litre and urged the private marketers to sell at the same retail price.

“I am calling on other marketers to emulate NNPC by selling kerosene at maximum of N150 per litre which also provides sufficient margin for them to do so. We are committed to promoting the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as an alternative choice for home cooking, which is also available at our NNPC Retail stations,” Baru said.

23

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

ENERGY

Worst Days of Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry The third quarter of 2016, which ushered in Nigeria’s 56th independence anniversary, marked the worst days in the country’s oil and gas industry as militancy in the Niger Delta crippled production, impacted oil revenue, forcing the federal government to mull the sale of hydrocarbon assets to fund the 2016 budget. Ejiofor Alike reports The beginning of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had brought hope in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which was crippled with crude oil theft, massive corruption, difficulty in doing business due to long contracting cycle, and uncertainty in the operating environment as a result of non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

But with his good knowledge of the industry, the early steps taken by Buhari were strong indications that he was determined to enthrone a regime of transparency, due process and clarity of terms to create investor-friendly operating environment. The appointment of Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and later Minister of State for Petroleum was one of the early signals that the sector was heading for a turn around.

Even before Kachikwu was appointed, Buhari’s famous ‘body language’ was said to have stabilised the oil and gas industry, keeping vandals and oil thieves at bay and significantly increasing oil and gas production, which evidently raised power generation to an all-time high of 5,074 megawatts on February 2, 2016.

The country’s oil and gas production rose to close to 2.3 million barrels per day, which was credited to Buhari’s body language as no deliberate efforts were made by this administration to sustain or consolidate on the gains of the Amnesty Programme , which curbed kidnapping of expatriate oil workers and destructive attacks on oil and gas installations since 2009.

However, the first militant attack on EscravosLagos Pipeline carried out by the dreaded Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), followed by the bombing of the Forcados subsea pipeline, which was also claimed by this main militant group, ended the good days and exposed the impotency of the president’s body language in addressing the myriads of problems afflicting the oil and gas sector. The first pipeline attack under this current administration occurred when the militants blew up a section of the pipeline in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.

This was followed by the bombing of the Forcados subsea pipeline by the Avengers.

With the February 14, 2016 spill on the subsea pipeline, which forced Shell to declare force majeure on February 21, the attacks by the Avengers and other militant groups impacted heavily on Chevron’s onshore facilities in western Niger Delta, Shell’s Bonny Light exports, ExxonMobil’s Qua Iboe, and Agip’s Brass River exports.

The spate of attacks wiped off production of over 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil and over 2,000 megawatts of electricity from the grid due to lack of gas to fire the turbines in the gas-fired power stations across the country.

In the eastern Niger Delta, the Aiteo Eastern E & P Company Ltd-operated Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) and the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) are the worst affected by the attacks.

The two lines are the major pipelines used by Shell and other upstream companies operating in the eastern Niger Delta to evacuate their crude to the Bonny Export terminal in Rivers State.

The Avengers also claimed to have attacked the pipeline that evacuates ExxonMobil’s Qua Iboe, which is Nigeria’s largest grade of crude oil but the company refuted the claim, describing the damage on the pipeline as “system anomaly.”

However, the damage was so severe that the repair works have not been completed after several months and the exports of the grade has remained under force majeure.

In the western Niger Delta, the exports of Shell’s Forcados has also remained under force majeure as repair works on the damaged subsea Forcados pipeline have not been completed.

The attacks also crippled Chevron’s onshore operation in the western Niger Delta, and this affected loadings of Escravos crude significantly as the number of shipments reduced.

Buhari Dwindling oil revenues With the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, crude production slumped from the pre-militancy peak of over 2.2 million barrels per day to an all-time low of 1.468 million barrels per day, according to the September 2016 Oil Market Report (OMR) released by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Nigeria, Africa’s top producer of crude oil, had earlier in March 2016 lost her influential position to Angola when the country’s production dropped to 1.677 million barrels per day, compared to Angola’s 1.782 million bpd.

The latest OPEC’s OMR showed that Nigeria’s oil output fell to 1.468 million bpd in August from 1.52 million bpd in July.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Kachikwu had revealed that Nigeria requires production of additional 1 million barrels per day to meet her 2.3 million barrels per day target for 2016.

The destructive attacks by the militants curbed 70 per cent of production from the traditional onshore and shallow water terrains.

The country’s dwindling crude oil production has impacted heavily on the 2016 budget worth N6.06 trillion, which is predicated on daily production of 2.2 million barrels per day at a price of $38 per barrel.

The oil price had fallen from the June 2014 peak of $115 per barrel to hit the bottom at $27 per barrel in January 2016.

It later hit the 2016 peak of about $51 per barrel in June 2016 and currently hovers around $44-$48. But with the abysmal slump in oil production from the 2.2 million barrels per day budget estimate to around 1.6 million barrels per day, including condensates, the capacity of the federal government to fund 2016 budget has weakened drastically.

Proposed sale of oil and gas assets A major development in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector in the third quarter 2016 that elicited strong reactions from individuals and interest groups is the proposed sale of oil and gas assets to revive the economy, which plunged into recession during the period under review.

The last time the country sold a stake in a joint venture was during the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida in 1993 when government sold a stake to Elf, now Total.

Kachikwu, who hitherto, was opposed to the sale of assets in the joint ventures, may have carved in to this idea due to the precarious state of government’s finances.

“We are looking at this very feverishly

Kachikwu because the other alternative is to go mass borrowing. But there’s a limit to your borrowing cap and we are fairly close to that tipping point where you really can’t borrow anymore otherwise you can’t sustain the borrowing. The other thing to look at is your assets and rights that can be turned into cash,” Kachikwu was quoted as saying. So, the unprecedented drop in oil earnings due to the low oil prices and militancy have forced Buhari’s economic advisers to mull a plan “to generate immediate large injection of funds into the economy through asset sales, advance payment for license rounds, infrastructure concessioning,” to help deal with the slump in crude revenue, according to the Minister of Budget, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.

Udoma’s spokesman, Mr. James Akpandem, said the Ministry of Petroleum was working out assets that could be sold.

Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote had recommended the sale of country’s stakes in oil and gas assets, as well as offshore borrowing to raise the $15 billion needed to revive the economy.

A former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II and President of Senate, Bukola Saraki also supported the asset sale, which has been heavily criticised by the organised labour and other groups. President Buhari had said he expected the country to raise $5 billion from the Eurobond market and multilateral lenders to fund the 2016 budget.

Disruption of refineries’ operations Despite the initial efforts by this administration to revive the refineries, the wave of militancy in the Niger Delta frustrated the efforts.

Before this present administration came on board, Kaduna and Warri Refineries had not been receiving crude oil feedstock through pipelines since 2010 because of vandalism until April 2016 when the repairs of the Escravos-Warri Pipeline were completed and the refineries started receiving crude through the pipeline.

However, less than two months after the pipeline was repaired, the Niger Delta Avengers bombed the lines and cut off crude supply to the refineries.

Despite the huge success recorded in the area of enthroning transparency, the three refineries recorded very poor performance in the past one year. NNPC’s monthly report had exposed the poor state of the refineries, with performance averaging 10 per cent initially, which was different from the picture of robust

performance earlier painted by the management of Nigeria’s three refineries.

Kachikwu had earlier given the three refineries an ultimatum of 90 days, which ended in December 31, 2015 to increase capacity utilisation to 60 per cent or risk shut down for possible maintenance.

Unpaid JV cash calls The third quarter 2016 ended without the NNPC finding solutions for the payment of the $7 billion it owed joint venture partners in cash calls. The corporation’s lack of capacity to meet its obligations to the JV partners had led to the accumulation of unpaid cash calls to the tune of $7 billion. When this new administration came on board, the arrears was $6 billion and NNPC had promised to find solutions to the funding challenges in 2016.

Stability in fuel supply Nigerians had experienced acute fuel shortages, which marred the 2015 Yuletide and 2016 New Year celebrations, despite what seemed like the best efforts of this new administration to curb fuel shortages. During the period of crisis, the private oil marketing companies, which accounted for over 50 per cent of fuel importation, had shunned imports due to unpaid subsidy claims, forcing the NNPC to face the impossible task of bridging the supply gap created by the marketers.

The development had led to perennial crisis until May 2016 when the federal government increased petrol pump price from N86.50 per litre to N145, thus eliminating subsidy element in the pricing template. Though the issue of subsidy has been resolved, the marketers are currently being confronted with a new challenge of lack of access to foreign exchange to fund importation, but the third quarter 2016 witnessed system stability in fuel supply.

PIB challenge The non-passage of the PIB eight years after it was first submitted to the National Assembly has continued to create uncertainty in Nigeria’s operating environment.

Without the clarity of terms, the IOCs have continued to say that they are unable to invest because the operating environment is unpredictable.

The new administration had withdrawn the previous version of the bill, with a new plan to split the reform bill into three parts to ease the passage.

24

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

ENERGY

Shell’s Global Campaign on Cleaner Energy Excites Youth Entrepreneurs Ejiofor Alike Youth entrepreneurs who gathered recently in Santa Marta community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from the various parts of the world to celebrate the global launch of Shell’s “#makethefuture” programme were excited by the initiative, which is poised to be the game-changer in the global quest for cleaner and cheaper energy.

Shell has used its LiveWIRE programme and Shell EcoMarathon to identify and promote youth entrepreneurs whose innovations create clean energy solutions that reduce carbon footprint and promote healthy environment.

The company recently launched its “#makethefuture” programme where it unveiled six new technologies developed by different youth entrepreneurs around the world to provide more sustainable and cleaner energy than the conventional energy sources. The programme, which puts bright energy ideas into action to bring benefits to local communities around the world, is an international campaign that also highlights the need for greater global collaboration to create more

energy to meet the world’s growing population.

The six new energy solutions include: Pavegen, which converts kinetic energy generated by footsteps into electricity; and Capture Mobility, which converts human and vehicular traffic into electricity.

Pavegen solution has been deployed in Nigeria where Shell built Africa’s first human and solar- powered football pitch at the Federal College of Education, Akoka, Lagos.

The rest include GravityLight, which generates electricity from falling object; Insolar, which provides communities easy access to solar energy; MotionECO, which turns waste cooking oil into energy and Bio-bean, which converts waste coffee into energy.

Speaking to THISDAY, the Commercial Director for GravityLight, Caroline Angus stated- that the technology was powered by lifting weight, which turns Kinetic Energy into electrical energy.

She further disclosed that the founders of the technology – Jim Reeves and Martin Riddiford, were given the tasks of creating reliable alternative to kerosene when they developed the concept of GravityLight.

She further stated that Kenya

was chosen for the deployment of the technology at this initial stage because over 80 per cent of the population or 34 million people lack access to electricity, coupled with the ease of doing business in the country.

“In Kenya, over 80 per cent of the population do not have access to electricity and that is 34 million people. One of the key factors is where there are needs and demand; where are people still using kerosene.

Kenya stood out as one of the countries. Another reason is we were thinking where we could relatively do business and set up operation,” she explained.

Also speaking, the Head of Communications, Daniel Crockett told THISDAY that

the technology simply refines coffee oil into biodiesel and biochemical for flavours and fragrances.

“What we really want to do is expanding to other countries.

We have a lot of interest from western Europe and to North America and we do have to bring the technology into other countries further afield,” Crockett said..

“We also love to work with other organic wastes. At the moment, we started with coffee but there are a lot of other different things being wasted that could be turned into valuable resources,” he added.

There are also tremendous opportunities to create local

solutions in places like Africa,” he said.

On the role of Shell in promoting the youth entrepreneurs, Crockett stated that “it is fantastic for Shell to get the different entrepreneurs together and put them in one place and also to work with those artists to spread the message to the young people.”

While the founder of MotionECO, Shutong Liu told THISDAY that he developed in the technology in a bid to solve social problem created in China by the harmful effects of waste cooking oil, the founder of Pavegen, Laurence Kemball-Cook said he challenged himself to develop the technology after being sacked

from one of the largest energy companies in Europe for failing to develop an innovative street lighting.

Pakistan-born Sanwal Muneer said it was his experiment with wind turbines at the Shell Eco-Marathon in 2012 that inspired him to develop Capture Mobility that converts human traffic into energy.

According to him, most of the types of renewable energy had restrictions as they were dependent on geographical conditions and not scalable.

Founder of Insolar, Henrique Drumond said he was inspired to provide the much-needed solar installations in Santa Marta community in Rio where the event took place.

Dwindling Oil Revenue Forces PTDF to Speed-up In-country Scholarships Stories by Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has said that it is stepping up its capacity to hold most of its training programmes, particularly its overseas scholarship scheme in-country because of Nigeria’s current poor receipts from oil and gas sales.

The agency said that it has stepped up the domestication of its education and training programmes in-country, and that a greater percentage of beneficiaries of its scholarships will now undergo their studies at top Nigerian universities and centres of excellence it upgraded to its accepted standard.

The Fund said that although it has over the years implemented a gradual domestication policy with the award of local scholarships to deserving students in Nigerian universities it has upgraded, it is now going to accelerate the process with effective utilisation of some of the institutions it developed from scratch. It also disclosed that it has initiated strategic partnerships and collaborations with local and foreign universities, training and research institutions, as well as curriculum development service providers in this regard, adding that one of institutions being proposed for this phase of the domestication drive is the National Institute for Petroleum Policy and Strategy (NIPPS) under construction in Kaduna.

It said in a statement in Abuja that the federal government approved the development of NIPPS as part of the Fund’s infrastructure and human capital development programmes.

The statement, which was signed by its head of media, Kalu Otisi, noted that NIPPS will come with a state-of-the-art training facilities and learning L-R: Founder & CEO of The Olakunle Soriyan Company; Mr. Olakunle Soriyan, Convener & Visionary of Excellence In Life; Dr. Femi Paul, environment for the develop- and CEO & Founder, ImagePro Consulting Limited Mrs. Evelyn Femi-Paul, at the EIL Campus, on the theme, The Culture Of Excellence, ment of research, technology, held at University of Lagos … recently skills and relevant manpower for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

“With a technology development and management wings, the institute is specifically designed to undertake industry related trainings for execu- The Petroleum Technology samples abroad for analysis. tive and senior management Development Fund (PTDF) Now we hope to spend for personnel in the oil and gas has said it will set up two the two labs about a billion Ejiofor Alike private equity investment for industry, provide training for laboratories worth N500million naira, half a billion naira for Nigerian gas infrastructure fresh graduates in oil and gas each in Nigeria for analysis of each of the labs. They will be The Nigerian Gas Association development. related disciplines to improve samples by researchers in the first class labs to be utilised (NGA) and Seven Energy “It is important for Nigeria’s their employability in the country’s oil and gas industry. for research in the oil and gas have pledged to cooperate future that Seven Energy is petroleum industry, and host It’s acting Executive Secre- industry.” and boost Nigerian gas successful because we have a-one-stop analytical labora- tary, Mallam Ahmed Aminu According to him, the labs development. proven a good avenue to bring tory for effective research and said that when the laboratories will save Nigeria billions of Speaking in Lagos when in international capital”, Corey development activities,” said are fully operational, they naira spent on foreign labs the executive members of added. The Seven Energy’s the statement. would save the country’s when samples were taken NGA visited his company’s Chief Operating Officer called It added that it will also petroleum industry billions of out of Nigeria for analysis. head office, the Chief Operat- on NGA to also direct its advooffer oil and gas related post naira it expends in analysing He added: “Foreign exchange ing Officer (COO) of Seven cacy towards the development graduate degree programmes, its samples abroad. is scarce. Though it is difficult Energy, Jeff Corey noted that of new gas basins like the welding and fabrication training Also, the Fund has approved to exactly say how much will his company and the associa- Anambra basin, which has programmes, as well as research for the search of shale gas in be saved, it runs into billions tion have shared objectives. some gas discoveries that in renewable energy sources. the Anambra Basin, saying that of naira. But by having labo“We have a lot of shared have never been developed.

According to it, the Robert it could be in existence in the ratories in-country all these is objectives. Even though we “There is little encourageGordon University Aberdeen, southern part of the country. reduced.” He further stated that have some oil operations, our ment in policies and regulahas in this regards expressed its Shale gas is at the heart of the labs will be available for focus is domestic gas and our tions to encourage people to willing ness to partner with the the current low price of oil others to use, and that PTDF gas operations are integrated develop Anambra basin. The Fund, and recently visited it to in the international market as will be spending N150million from production, processing, basin will open a whole new determine how it can effectively supplies from North America annually to fund its six profes- transport to sales”, Corey said. area to have gas supply for engage with it. led to oil glut and subsequent sorial chairs in six Nigerian Corey stated that gas power and industrial use”, It quoted its Acting Executive crash in price from $115 per universities, as part of measures infrastructure, which is one he said.

Secretary, Ahmed Aminu to barrel in 2014. Aminu told to encourage researches into of the areas Seven Energy Also speaking, the President have said during the visit of members of the National Board petroleum industry problems. focused on, is highly needed of NGA, Mr. Bolaji Osunsanya the team from Robert Gordon of Trustees of its Endowment He noted that the major in Nigeria, adding that success lauded Seven Energy for its University that it will now train Fund for Professorial Chairs in requirement for the endowment can be accomplished in this accomplishments in the gas more Nigerians at home without Universities at a recent meeting fund is the execution of trust area with external funding sector especially for “showing compromising on standards. in Abuja that the analytical deeds between PTDF and the along with government a new business model for the The renewed domestication laboratories will also save universities. gas sector”. funding. drive, Aminu said was tied to Nigeria the time spent on “Following government’s Osunsanya said that NGA While acknowledging that the government’s initiative oil sample analysis abroad. directive on Treasury Single attracting infrastructure funds was a broad-based association to look inwards and build He explained: “First of all Account, the total sum of N1, to Nigeria is not always easy, that pushes sector critical in-country capacity in-line the essence of establishing the 002,287,861.91 was transferred he pointed out that Seven issues to stakeholders in with the spirit and intent of labs are to reduce significantly to the PTDF account with the Energy has been successful a non-partisan way that is Nigerian Content. or stop the sending of our Central Bank of Nigeria. in raising capital, including devoid of self-interest.

PROMOTING EXCELLENCE

...to Build Two Oil Sample Nigerian Gas Association, Analysis Labs Seven Energy Partner to Boost Gas Development

25

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

INDUSTRY

Haske: Agriculture is the Surest Way to Transform Nigeria’s Economy President of Haske and Williams, Abdullahi Bashir Haske, explains how Nigeria can entrench sustainable economic growth, taking advantage of the agricultural sector. He spoke to Crusoe Osagie. Excerpts: We can achieve self-sufficiency in three years.

All what is needed is the effective collaboration between the federal government and the private sectors.

Does agribusiness have the capacity to transform the Nigerian economy?

Yes, but it is currently untapped. For instance, people eat rice on a daily basis, when you do the mathematics of food importation such as rice, fish and others, you will see that the money we use to import those items is huge. I think if we get it right and more especially with the present administration’s effort to diversify the economy away from crude oil and also with the present Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development who is a very serious minded person regarding agriculture development. He is very serious and they are really driving the agricultural sector. I am sure that in another two years, agriculture in the country will be something where we will see the positive impacts on the economy. If we rely on only agriculture without oil, we can survive in Nigeria.

Scarcity of forex and impacts on the sector The only area I will say the scarcity of foreign exchange is affecting me is in two ways. One is in equipment purchase for the rice mill and other aspects of the project and the other area is in the area of paying expatriates to make sure that we are doing the right thing.

We are currently using FGM Expert Farmers from France. They are our consultants and we pay them in Euros and we have to source the payment at the black market, this is why we are pleading with the government to look at agriculture critically in terms of foreign exchange. I do not know about now, but I think agriculture has a special Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rate for whatever currency you need to carry out agricultural operations. I do not know what the policies are now because they are not too clear to us, we are pleading to the CBN Governor to clarify us on what the terms are to access agric funds and what benefits are therein for local agricultural farmers. We need serious support because it is not a one man venture, we need government’s support to drive agriculture. With government support, the sky is our limit. The other area where I will want to plead with the government is the fund raising aspect, because these kind of project nowadays are quite challenging because some people have been using agriculture to fund their various businesses and unfortunately, I do not think that when these people access this agriculture fund, enough due diligence is not being carried upon on these companies to really see those that are serious and ready to do this business. The federal government needs to look at this area critically. A lot of people have accessed agric money but did not use it for agric. They are not doing any agric projects, but collect the money and use it for other things.

Despite Nigeria’s rich natural resources, we still depend on food importation. Where did we get it wrong?

We got it wrong because our people forgot there is dignity in labour. Why I say this is that everybody wants easy and quick money.

We in the northern part of Nigeria with our vast arable lands have a very huge role to play in developing the sector. Our State governors also have key roles to play such as providing infrastructure and creating a secure environment for business to thrive, it is not only about our people, but the government’s role cannot be overemphasised. Agric is a business where you must get government support. Nigeria’s population is almost 200 million, the demand for agriculture commodity is increasing and I am afraid, because if we do not do agriculture on a large scale, we will not meet the growing demand. Why I still emphasise on government support is that, today, we have less than 20 large scale rice mills in Nigeria and before we can meet the

How can we change the mindset of subsistent farmers to commercial farming?

Most people embarking on large scale agriculture in Nigeria right now, there is a foreigner’s touch into it, so we cannot overstate that need to try have our own people in terms of building their knowledge to play an active role in commercial agriculture and without a doubt, manpower development, trainings, skill acquisition are critical ingredients for us to move from subsistent agriculture to commercial agriculture. If you take the average Nigerian farmer beyond 50 hectares, he gets confused, we cannot overemphasise the need to have people with the right skills to achieve this feat.

Haske target of satisfying the Nigerian rice market, we need nothing less than 225 rice mills on a large scale and again, when you look at the long aspect that you need to farm before you mill and process, you need a very huge land and it has to be on a large scale and Nigerians are not ready to follow through because we only think of now and no future plans, but with this current administration, they are trying to see how they can make it happen, but again, they can’t be talking without any serious support to the private sector.

What should Nigerians expect from the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between your company and FGM expert?

Currently, my partner just came back from France, where he had series of meeting with our technical partner, FGM expert farmers, he also had a lot of side visits. The knowledge we got from there, we are trying to transfer it to our local farmers, in fact we are talking about starting an agriculture manpower development programme which we are about to discuss with the government and if they buy the idea, we will go ahead and implement. The proposal we have for the government is fantastic and it is going to help them in two areas. Firstly, it is going to give our farmers the expert knowledge about how to boost their farming activities and even people that are not farming will be interested in farming because it will not be like farming as usual. There is no equipment that will not be introduced to the farmers and this makes life easier. We are ready to transfer the knowledge of our young and upcoming generation to make sure that they have the knowledge. It is not only working with oil companies or the government the youths must look for, but with efforts in agriculture they can also earn livelihood.

Advise to federal government on how to

change the face of agriculture in Nigeria First of all, there are three things. Firstly, is the knowledge, educating them by setting up workshops, because the farmers are not up to date about current trend in agriculture practices. We are still in the olden days style of agriculture. The government needs to transfer knowledge to bring Nigeria farmers up to speed. When these farmers are educated, we will employ them. For instance with our project a percentage of the land area to be developed for the project will be allocated to smallholder farmers in the community, we will provide them with the infrastructure, inputs and other support services and at the end of the day, we will do the mathematics and after all said and done, it is a win-win situation for both parties. The government needs to broaden its view on other rice producing locations in the state, support people who are willing to do agribusiness to come and invest. We need more rice mills in the country even with the current ban on rice importation which had increased the price of bag rice. To bring down the price of rice is to make sure we put so much effort in local production. Kebbi is not the only place where we can produce rice, we can also produce rice in Adamawa, Gombe, Taraba and other parts of the country.

Another militating factor is those people who have lands that are not put to use, we are appealing to them to release those lands so that we can use it to boost local production of rice. We are ready, are serious, we have the technical know-how and with the current government’s effort to diversify the economy now, we are very serious to change the face of agriculture in this country.

How long will Nigeria wait to attain selfsufficiency in food production?

The government has to be in touch with the private sector, the entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the industry to monitor and see the progress we are making so that they can support us wherever we need support.

Overview of Haske and Williams Haske and Williams is a young, community based agribusiness company which is found by me and my partner, Oladipo Williams. We started with strategizing, because we have already had it in mind and especially with what is happening in Nigeria regarding the economy, we saw it coming that diversifying into agriculture will be the only option for Nigeria, but unfortunately, agriculture is not doing very well in Nigeria because people do not take it seriously because they probably think it is hard work. Naturally for me, I always find the most difficult things interesting and this is why I ventured into it. We tried, we put all our efforts and today, we are succeeding. We started with Demsa integrated rice production project where we have completed 90 per cent of the project planning, design and approval activitiess. We are planning to raise funds now, but we have also done all the contributions necessary to start up the project and hopefully, by next year, we intend to start rolling out Haske and Williams par boiled rice and white rice. On the cassava aspect, we have conceptualized an integrated cassava starch production project to be developed in Kwara State. We have visited the project sites and made sure we are on ground. Our aim is not only rice and cassava, but because of our size and limited capacity for now, hopefully, we are looking at doing more projects in no distant time.

Other details Yes, we have actively pushed for an effective engagement with the communities. Community engagement is one of those areas that is key for this business. We must be very active in that area. It is important that the community understand the message we are trying to pass across, because if they do not get that message, then ultimately, the project is dead on arrival, they want to see the impact of the project. We are also trying to bring about some kind of a paradigm shift and a new initiative in interactions between business and community, it is called the shared success model. We believe that it is important that as we grow, the communities grow as well and the only way to achieve this is to fully integrate them into this project not as farm hands or labourers, but as plot owners that they ultimately manage on their own.

So that aspect of community engagement, awareness, and integration is very critical for us, because if we are not careful, we might a reoccurrence of the Niger Delta situation in the agriculture space. This is something we are very passionate about which is the community, we are looking at ways to make sure they benefit from whatever we do. This must be done in areas of discussions. They must know what you want to do and when they know, they key into it.

26

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

27

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

A Laymans Guide Out of the Recession Chibuzo N. Ziggy Azike recommends how Nigeria can get out of her present economic quagmire and degraded Naira This is a guide or road map of a man, who did not study even O’level Economics, but whose knowledge of such “esoteric” science was learnt on the streets of the world; so calling me streetwise could be quite descriptive; let’s go at how I think Nigeria can get out of the present economic quagmire and degraded Naira.

First; let’s rescue the Naira; a) My solution to rescuing the Naira is so elementary that it could be termed simplistic; Change the Currency No, not all the denominations but the 500 and 1000. We read the gory tales of how one of our former Military Chiefs would order his military accountant/pay master to exchange more than 800 million for dollars and other currencies every month end; we have heard about the soakaways and water tanks filled with Naira; we have heard about how the security details of one high ranking politician carted away more than 300 Million cash in one fell swoop; all our money that is stolen at the Local Governments Level, embezzled at the State Government parastatals and all the MDA’s; All the pillaging and purloining, diverting and misappropriating at various Government houses; State Houses, Legislative Houses, Business Houses and Kickbacks and Kickfronts all of them are stocked and warehoused in cash in private safes; underground bunkers, store rooms etc. They are mostly not in the banks.

At every opportunity the owners invade the black market to exchange the Naira for Dollars, Pounds and other foreign currencies. These “owners” are prepared to buy the foreign currency at any price. Any price; because they have excess naira.

These are the ones whose demand for forex devastates our naira. Traders; real; business people and manufacturers who need forex to sustain

their productivity are wary of replacement value and are fearful of the capacity of their customers and off takers to afford the new prices which the high cost of forex will impose; they are not going to buy forex at any price because their businesses and customers will not be able to afford the increases; so they close shop, retrench, or change their line of business.

They are victims; they keep hoping their banks will help them secure forex at bank rates. So, if the government announces tomorrow that the currency will be changed in two months; we will experience a complete battery of the Naira; it could exchange for as much as 2000 to the $1 as most of these crookedly acquired Naira is outside the banking system and the owners of the Naira might not be able to return the money into the banking system because of the restriction on how much cash can be deposited in one transaction and the requirement of the Law that any deposit above a particular amount must be recorded and reported to the authorities. If you have 5 Billion cash; even if you employ your whole village; you will leave a trail, so to the black market to chase dollars all the “illegal” Naira will go.

The government must change our 500 and 1000 currency before the end of 1st quarter 2017, if we want to attract all the huge money into the banking system.

This will help the economy as all the banks will be aflush with cash and the liquidity crunch will vamoose; the banks will become liquid and awash with cash. They will immediately survive the TSA cash crunch and the banking economy will begin to look brighter with less pressure on the staff to go get deposits, because the only way those with all these moneys can exchange it for the new currency is to get it into the banking system.

Revive the Capital Market I must confess that this idea unlike the first is not originally mine, I will give credit to our former President General Obasanjo; who while in support of the sale of some National Assets, prescribed that it be done through the Stock Exchange.

If you want a riot which no police force; JTF or any force can stop attempt to sell our stake in NLNG to any corporate or cabal or person or institution of whatever colour; But if like Obasanjo suggested, the government brings 5% of its stake in NLNG into the Stock Market through an Initial Public Offering with clear instruction that no entity can buy more than a particular allotment; we would have used one stone to kill so many birds as our Capital Market will get some badly needed oxygen; the government will get needed liquidity to fund the budget or whatever and the people of Nigeria will also have a personal stake in the goose that lays the golden eggs. The revival of the Capital Market will add fillinp to economic activity. In addition; NCC can “persuade” the big telcos, viz: MTN; Glo; Airtel and Etisalat to sell maybe 10% of their shares in the capital market.

Unban Anything That is Not Narcotics or Globally Prohibited The irony of the Nigerian experience is the hypocrisy which all our governments practice when they prohibit or ban goods which all the authors of the ban use; take imported fabrics and furniture for example. The only people who benefit from these bans and prohibitions are smugglers and corrupt customs Officials; the Government loses revenue and income. It is not true that Nigerians prefer foreign goods to Nigerian goods; what I know to be true

is that Nigerians prefer quality goods; that is why Nigeria is the only place where you have even grades of inferior or fake goods; yes there are grades of “Tokunboh” products and even grades of “fairly used” products; in the fairly used category the highest grade is called “follow come” while the new products are simply called “tear rubber”, I love this country. Nigerians prefer Nigerian made cables and wires because they are the best quality; when cars used to use tubes, Nigerian made tubes were the best.

Finally; the government must get rid of senior government officials whose conducts are inimical to getting the Nation out of recession; a Minister who is hostile to investors by failing to do what needs to be done to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria or clearly undermining due process like refusing to table before the Federal Executive Council a transaction that has passed all the regulatory approvals by Ministries of Justice, Finance, ICRC and even the mother ministries management; Thus if a jaundiced minister fails to pass a project or transaction that is viable to the FEC such a minister is an economic saboteur. A government that wants to get out of recession must insure that its ease of doing business regime meets international best practices from the airport to the boardrooms.

A scandalous story in the newspapers about a ministers obstruction of a 68 Billion cash investment to turn the National Theatre and fallow grounds around into a mini Disney World will not help us get out of recession.

Nigeria go survive.

Chibuzo N. Ziggy Azike, Ksc. Member of the Honourable Body of Benchers 4th Floor Suites, Church House 29, Marina, Lagos ziggyschambers@yahoo.com, 08055790147

28

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, COCTOBER 4, 2016

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT FG Plans Equitable Development of Roads in Six Geopolitical Zones Initsplantoensureequitabledevelopmentofroadinfrastructureacrossthecountry,theFederalGovernment has evolved a three-year strategy to ensure that year-on-year, major federal road projects are implemented fairly in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country, reports Bennett Oghifo

T

he Federal Government said it has worked out a three-year system to develop the nation’s road infrastructure without any section of the country feeling shortchanged.

Equitable development...

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who announced the plan at the National Council on Works meeting in Katsina, recently, said the plan, which would be implemented between 2017 and 2019 was already being shared with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning for inclusion in the 2017 budget and future national planning data.

Fashola added that while government could not build all roads in one year, a faithful implementation of the plan would ensure equitable delivery of better roads across the country.

He declared, “Therefore, while it is true that we cannot build all roads in one year or even in three years, we are convinced that a faithful implementation of our plan, and the rational basis of our choices will deliver a better road experience, improved journey times and aid economic recovery in the short to medium term.”

How it will work...

In his keynote address at the council meeting with the theme, ‘Prioritization and Optimization of Allocated Infrastructure Funds’, Fashola, who said the plan was meant to connect states within each zone and across the country, however, pointed out that because the government’s resources were limited; it had to make choices which, according to him, border on priority and economic expediency.

The Minister said government would be guided in its choices by such factors as inputs from the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-Operatives, who, according to him, have provided data of critical roads in each of the six zones that are necessary to help evacuate farm produce

Airways bus stop on Wharf Road, Apapa, Lagos

to markets. Also, roads leading to and from fuel depots will be high on the priority of choices because of the need to develop mining business and evacuate mining products and petroleum cargo to fuel the nation’s energy need, the Minister said, adding that government has also given priority to roads leading to and from the nation’s major sea and airports because of the need to support the business of traders and importers.

The Minister said government was also giving priority to roads that carry very heavy traffic in order to reach more people with its limited resources because of the need to move large numbers of commuters.

FG, states to collaborate...

Another aspect of roads management the government evolved was that the heads of

the Federal Ministry of Works in the 36 states and the FCT were mandated to identify and reduce potholes, restore kilometre signposts, lane markings, highway signs and clear vegetation on highways in their domain.

The heads of Federal Ministry of Works in all the states and Abuja, known as Federal Controllers, have also been mandated to recover the full width of the Federal right-of-way of 45.72 metres on both sides of the highway from the centre line. Fashola also announced that the Federal Government has set in motion moves to form partnership and build synergy with state governments in order to deliver safe and motorable roads across the country.

However, he said the success of the moves would depend on a number of factors, some of which were in the control of the states and some of which were in the control of the Federal

Government.

He said on the federal part, it has challenged and would empower the Controllers to be more effective and responsive to the states and communities they are posted to and to hold them to account for the quality of federal roads within their states adding that all federal controllers have agreed to take on the responsibility.

According to him, “The Controllers have been briefed to recognise their roles as ambassadors of the Federal Government in their states of posting and have also been mandated to develop closer working relationships with the state governments, the governors, the commissioners responsible for road works and infrastructure, the local government representatives because federal roads traverse local governments, and also the traditional rulers and community leaders through whose domains federal roads traverse.”

Architects Plan Light Industrial Park, to Hold First West African Festival The Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) is set to walk their talk and make a bold statement with a planned establishment of a light industrial park in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

This is the first initiative by any professional body in the country to take decisive steps to practice what they preach. The resolve by the NIA to establish the park was disclosed by the institute’s President, Tonye Oliver Braide, recently in Lagos, at a press conference to unveil their forthcoming West Africa Architecture Festival.

The maiden West African Architecture Festival would hold from October 24 to 28 at Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt and has the theme, ‘Harnessing the Great African Potential in Global Value Chain’.

Already, the institute is in talks with the Rivers State Government to acquire a piece of land, measuring 100 hectares on which the light the industrial park would be built, said Braide, who had with him other members of NIA, including the Chairman of Rivers Chapter, Dike Emmanuel, who is the chairman, local organising committee; the General Secretary of the institute, Abimbola Ajayi; and its Chairman, Student Affairs, David Majekodunmi.

According to Braide, the idea of building a light industrial park for the manufacturing and production of basic components of housing construction and fitting emanated from the fact that there was need to look inwards as the economy shrinks.

“With the economic depression that we have, a time has come for us to start to reorganise ourselves in the comity of nations. We want to bring some of the resources that we have to

L-R: Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) Rivers Chapter, Dike Emmanuel; President of Nigerian Institute of Architects, Tonye Oliver Braide; General Secretary, Abimbola Ajayi; and Chairman, Student Affairs Nigerian Institute of Architects, David Majekodunmi, during a press briefing on West Africa Architecture Festival in Lagos... recently

be able to domesticate some of our industries’ products, particularly architectural products,” he said. A lot of products used in finishing of houses, he said are sourced outside the country, adding that this was putting a squeeze on the nation’s foreign reserves.

He said the squeeze would worsen with the federal government’s plan to increase the nation’s housing stock within a short time, but that products from their proposed industrial park would save the nation’s foreign exchange.

“We are saying that if we have to house our people and develop, then we must be able to manufacture or, at least, domesticate the process.

This will give us revenue, put our youths to work, it will part of the template that we will

have to use to come out of the recession. So, Architects have decided to take the bull by the horn, in our own little way,” he said.

Architects, Braide said are involved in the building of beautiful houses and that they have decided that the architectural components of these houses should be domesticated; “we should be able to manufacture everything in a house, up to a hundred per cent local content. Architects want to develop a critical mass to see how we can contribute to national development with this festival.”

The Festival...

The maiden West African Architecture Festival is broken into various components, according

to Braide. “There will be presentation from international and local experts in the building industry.” Confirmed speakers include, Demas Nwoko, a Nigerian artist, designer and architect; Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese of Catholic Church; Remment Lucas “Rem” Koolhaas, a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, among others.

The sub-themes are; ‘Best Practices in Developing Green Architecture in the West African sub-region’; History and Culture as Drivers for Future Growth; and ‘The Growth Dynamics of the West African sub region’.

Braide said there would be an exhibition of the works of various architects and cultural artifacts, as well as buildings of good repute across West Africa. Guests and participants will be entertained by cultural troupes and display throughout the seven days of the festival, according to the chairman of the Local Organising Committee Dike Emmanuel, who said Port Harcourt is safe. “The Rivers State Government has given its backing to this project; let no one deceive you that Rivers State is not safe, because it is safe.”

He said people go about their business day and night without being disturbed but that the government will put everything in place to secure life and property during the festival.

Student architects have a place in the event, said the Chairman, Students Affairs, David Majekodunmi, who explained that there is an on-going competition among them that would produce winners at the festival.

29

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT

Eko Atlantic Set to Become West Africa’s Financial Hub Fadekemi Ajakaiye Eko Atlantic City, a new city being built from reclaimed land adjacent to Victoria Island, Lagos, will become West Africa’s new financial hub, its developer, South Energyx Nigeria Limited (SENL), a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group has said.

According to officials of SENL, the new city is designed to accommodate the headquarters of the sub-region’s leading banks, financial institutions and international corporate companies.

A part of the new smart city, they said has been reserved for the development of a business district. This Business District will be approximately 650,000 square meters and will feature the Eko Boulevard, a two kilometer long, 60 metre wide central boulevard similar in size and look to New York’s Fifth Avenue and Paris’ Champs-Élysées.

During a visit to the city by a business delegation from the United Kingdom, Mr. Pierre Edde, Development Director, South Energyx Nigeria Limited, said the Business District

is designed to play host to a multitude of headquarters for companies within Nigeria.

Pierre Edde further went on to say, “The Eko Atlantic City Business District is a strategic and prestigious location for offices, with a state-of-the-art 24/7 infrastructure network, including 21st century communications, smooth transport system and uninterrupted electricity, making it a compelling place to work.”

Upon completion of the city, Eko Atlantic will be home to 500,000 residents with an expected commuter volume to exceed 300,000 people.

One of the delegates, Akin Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of AKD Solutions Ltd, described Eko Atlantic City as an amazing project, and commended the developers for their passion and commitment to Nigeria’s economic development. Another delegate, Eisen Chok, Director, Synergict Connect Ltd expressed delight at the progress made so far on the project.

Head of Sales and Marketing, Chris Joe Energy, Fatai Amoo said he was highly impressed with the vision behind the

Eko Atlantic project.

“This project is indeed revolutionary and the innovative approach used to

construct such city is a true testimony to future human habitat development not only in Lagos Nigeria but across

the globe.”

He also commended South Energyx Nigeria Limited’s unique waste disposal man-

agement strategy, saying that this is how waste management should be handled in futurist cities and developments.

R-L: Head of Trade Mission, United Kingdom to Nigeria, Mr. Carl Woolf; Development Director, South Energyx Nigeria Limited, Pierre Edde; CEO, AKD Solutions Limited UK, Mr. Akin Thomas and the Director, Synargict Connect Limited, Mr. Eisen Chak, during an investments Trade Mission

by United Kingdom team of investors to Eko Atlantic City Projects in Lagos... recently KOLA OLASUPO

Shoprite Ready at Asaba Mall The anchor shop measuring 3000 square metres taken by Shoprite at the much awaited Asaba Mall, Delta State, has been completed and is ready for occupation any time soon.

In addition, various aspects of the project have also advanced to the finishing stages in respect of the aluminum doors, glass partitioning, bulk head, POP ceiling and other parts of the exquisite mall.

A statement released by the Centre Manager, Mr. Aimhanesi Oribih, indicated that the air-conditioning system has been fully installed and ready for use: “Generally, I would say that the extent of work at Asaba Mall has progressed to 90 percent completion rate since my last report at the Tenants’ Forum in Lagos about a month ago.”

The situational report therefore underscores the preparedness of the owners and promoters of the project to hand over the fully completed Mall before or by the scheduled November ending deadline.

The project is being undertaken by Resilient Africa Property Limited in conjunction with Delta State Government and Bayol Development Company Limited. It is located strategically at the very popular Interbau Roundabout where Summit and Okpanam Roads intersect, just by the flyover in Asaba, Delta State Capital. The development which comprises 39 shops of various sizes, covers a gross built up area of approximately 9,500 square metres of which approximately 7,500 square metres is the lettable space.

The Mall which is the third in the country under the brand, preceded by Delta Mall in Warri and Owerri Mall, covers a land area of

50,000 square metres.

Asaba Mall which is slated for delivery in December this year, is proposed for initial lease term of 2 years rental which can be conveniently paid quarterly to ease cash flow for the retailers. It is generally targeted at retailers who operate locally, nationally and international and trade on a wide range of goods and services such as boutiques, entertainment, furniture, household goods, fashion, IT and electronics among others.

Upon completion and commissioning, the Mall will be handed over to Broll Nigeria for day to day management.

The exquisite Mall is estimated to cost $45 Million and the project which commenced earlier on 1st June, 2015 with the ground breaking ceremony and scheduled for 18 months’ duration. Some other cities in the country have been slated for the location of Malls namely Port Harcourt, Benin, Uyo and Abeokuta.

Formwork Nigeria limited is the main contractor and the professional team comprises a list of reputable companies which include WSP for mechanical and electrical engineering, Pro-M for air conditioning and mechanical services and Profica as project manager. Messrs NWS Nigeria Limited are the project quantity surveyors and LYT Nigeria Limited the Architects. Broll Property Services and Bullnet Brokers are the joint leasing agents.

Asaba Mall is conceived and planned to be finished in all facets from the floor to the roof to international standard for which the bespoke commercial brand is well known for globally. Similarly, the range of facilities is exclusive and state of the art.

R-L: Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Gbolahon Lawal, presenting Achievement Award to Managing director/CEO, Haven Homes, Mr. Tayo Sonuga, at City People Awards in Lagos... recently

Nigerite Educates Carpenters on Installation of Products, Safety Nigerite Limited, at one of its year-round Carpenters’ Seminar held in Lagos, recently, taught artisans the proper use of its products as well as cautioned them to be safety conscious in carrying out their duties.

The seminar, which takes place in various locations weekly, holds across the country but particularly in the SouthWest and North-central states, comprising Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi and Kwara.

Speaking during the event held at Orile-Iganmu, Lagos, Brand Executive, Nigerite Limited, Mr. Oluwatuyi Thomas said that the firm was taking time out to educate the carpenters about the best practices applicable to the installation of its products for ultimate customer satisfaction.

Thomas affirmed that it

was one thing for Nigerite to produce quality products and it was another for such products to be installed properly by those responsible for such installations, adding that the seminar was organized to educate carpenters across the country so that they could get acquainted with the way they handle and install Nigerite’s products.

“It is a good thing for a product to have a very good quality and it is another thing for it not to be installed properly, so that is why we engage them (carpenters) in the proper installation of our products.” he added.

On safety consciousness while working, Thomas stressed that it was necessary to educate the carpenters because they always work on the roof, explaining that the training was an eye-

opener for them to be careful while at work.

According to him, in life, you must put safety first, even in Nigerite Limited, all our staff are safety conscious, noting that the company exposed the staff to so many training programmes on safety.

“Since we are partners in progress, we want them (carpenters) too to be safety conscious and that is why we are training them in whatever they are doing especially when they are on the roof, so that they won’t get themselves injured. Nigerite as a socially responsible company takes steps to ensure that our stakeholders and partners also inculcate the best safety culture.” Thomas added.

While expressing gratitude to Nigerite, Head of the Professional Carpenters and

Furniture Markers Association (PCFA), Surulere 2, Deacon Sunday Okwuise, said that the seminar was a veritable avenue to educate and enlighten his members so that they could improve on their job.

Okwuise pointed out that most of the carpenters were still using the same knowledge they acquired on the job 10 or 20 years ago, but added that with the seminar coming at regular intervals, they were beginning to learn the new trends and technology which has helped them to do their job efficiently.

The highlights of the event were the introduction of Nigerite’s new products to the carpenters and how they could properly install them.

The products are KalsiCeil, SoloXtra, KalsiCeil battens amongst others.

30

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

31

32

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

33

34

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

35

36

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

37

38

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

39

40

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

50 Ethiopians Killed in Stampede

50 Ethiopians have been killed after Police in Oromiya region fired teargas and warning shots on Sunday to disperse anti-government

protesters at a religious festival.

The government did not give a precise death toll resulting from chaotic scenes during the annual

Clinton: My Worries Are Not the Same as Black Grandmothers Hillary Clinton told a majorityblack church in North Carolina on Sunday that she knows her grandchildren are growing up in a different world than many black youth in the U.S. who are concerned about police shootings and gun violence in their communities.

The Democratic presidential nominee’s remarks at the Little Rock AME Zion Church in Charlotte were a frank acknowledgment of the impact of what she has called

“implicit bias” in policing can have on black communities.

Clinton cited the death of 43-year-old Keith Scott, a black man who was shot by police in front of a Charlotte apartment complex on Sept. 20. She also lamented the death of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher, who was shot days before during a Tulsa traffic stop. Both shootings led to community protests. The Tulsa police officer has pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge.

festival where some people chanted slogans against the government and waved a rebel group’s flag.

But it said “lives were lost” and that several were injured.

Sporadic protests have erupted in Oromiya in the last two years, initially sparked by a land row but increasingly turning more broadly against the government. Since late 2015, scores of protesters have been killed in clashes with police.

These developments highlight tensions in the country where the government has delivered stellar economic growth rates but faced criticism from opponents and rights group that it has trampled on political freedoms.

Thousands of people had gathered for the annual Irreecha festival of thanksgiving in the town of Bishoftu, about 40 km (25

miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa. Crowds chanted “we need freedom” and “we need justice”, preventing community elders, deemed close to the government, from delivering their speeches at the festival.

Some protesters waved the red, green and yellow flag of the Oromo Liberation Front, a rebel group branded a “terrorist” organisation by the government, witnesses said.

When police fired teargas and guns into the air, crowds fled and created a stampede, some of them plunging into a deep ditch, witnesses said.

The witnesses said they saw people dragging out a dozen or more victims, showing no obvious sign of life. Half a dozen people, also motionless, were also seen being taken by pick-up truck to a hospital, one witness said.

“As a result of the chaos, lives were lost and several of the injured were taken to hospital,” the government communications office said in a statement, without giving figures. “Those responsible will face justice.” Merera Gudina, chairman of the opposition Oromo Federalist Congress, told Reuters at least 50 people were killed, saying his group had been talking to families of the victims.

He said the government tried to use the event to show Oromiya was calm. “But residents still protested,” he said. The government blames rebel groups and dissidents abroad for stirring up the protests and provoking violence. It dismisses charges that it clamps down on free speech or its opponents. Protesters had chanted slogans against Oromo

People’s Democratic Organisation, one of the four regional parties that make up the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled the country for quarter of a century.

In a 2015 parliamentary election, opposition parties failed to win a single seat - down from just one in the previous parliament. Opponents accused the government of rigging the vote, a charge government officials dismissed.

Protests in Oromiya province initially flared in 2014 over a development plan for the capital that would have expanded its boundaries, a move seen as threatening farmland. Scores have been killed since late in 2015 and this year as protests gathered pace, although the government shelved the boundary plan earlier this year.

41

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

Kenya: Database Shows Police Killings on the Increase Police killings of Kenyans are on the rise, a Kenyan newspaper said on Sunday, as it published the country’s first comprehensive database detailing hundreds of such alleged killings in the past two years. The Daily Nation, one of Kenya’s top selling newspapers, said it hoped the database covering 262 killings since the beginning of 2015 would help policymakers tackle police impunity.

Kenya’s struggle to track such killings has many parallels with the United States, the paper’s data editor Dorothy Otieno said.

In both countries, the lack of official information about police killings prompted the national media to begin compiling their own statistics, she said.

In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced last week it would begin tracking police use of deadly force, U.S. media reported. But Kenyan authorities do not track police killings. “The police are one of the major institutions in any country.

They have the power of life and death. So the media has to play a watchdog role if the

Colombia’s Santos, FARC Scramble to Revive Peace after Shock Vote Colombia’s government and Marxist FARC guerrillas are scrambling to revive a plan to end their 52-year war after voters rejected the hard-negotiated deal as too lenient on the rebels in a shock result that plunged the nation into uncertainty.

Putting on a brave face after a major political defeat, President Juan Manuel Santos offered hope to those who backed his fouryear peace negotiation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Cuba. Latin America’s longest conflict has killed 220,000 people.

“I will not give up, I will keep seeking peace until the last minute of my term,” he said moments after losing Sunday’s plebiscite to those who want a re-negotiation of the deal or an obliteration of the FARC on the battlefield.

Santos plans to meet all political parties on Monday and send lead government peace negotiator Humberto de la Calle back to Havana to speak to the FARC leadership.

Rodrigo Londono, the top FARC commander better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, also offered reassurance the rebels remain committed to becoming a peaceful political party.

“The FARC reiterates its disposition to use only words as a weapon to build toward the future,” Timochenko said after the result. “Count on us, peace will triumph.” Santos, 65, who was not obliged by law to hold a plebiscite, had said there was no Plan B for the failure of the peace vote, but now appears ready to consider options.

Colombians, even those who backed the “No” vote, expressed shock at the outcome and uncertainty about the future.

“We never thought this could happen,” said sociologist and “No” voter Mabel Castano, 37.

“Now I just hope the government, the opposition and the FARC come up with something intelligent that includes us all.”

The peace accord reached last month and signed a week ago offered the possibility that rebel fighters would hand in their weapons to the United Nations, confess their crimes and form a political party rooted in their Marxist ideology.

The FARC, which began as a peasant revolt in 1964, would have been able to compete in the 2018 presidential and legislative elections and have 10 unelected congressional seats guaranteed through 2026. That enraged “No” supporters, including powerful former president Alvaro Uribe, who argued the rebels should serve jail terms and never be permitted to enter politics.

Uribe, a onetime ally who has become Santos’ fiercest critic, may now hold the key to any potential re-negotiation. While the FARC has refused to serve traditional jail terms, it may see no future in returning to the battlefields and so consider some sort of new deal.

“In the end, the people have spoken: the Colombian government and the FARC have no choice but to renegotiate,” said Peter Schechter, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. The FARC already softened its stance in the original negotiation, publicly admitting for the first time it trafficked drugs, recruited minors and committed human rights violations, including massacres.

But voters worried the rebels would fail to turn over assets from drugs and illegal mining, potentially giving them a formidable war chest that could outstrip the coffers of traditional parties. Regions still riven by the conflict, including poor areas along the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, voted resoundingly in favour of the deal, but formerly violent interior areas pacified during the Uribe presidency largely backed the “no” camp.

“How sad. It seems Colombia has forgotten about the cruelty of war, our deaths, our injured, our mutilated, our victims and the suffering we’ve all lived through with this war,” said Adriana Rivera, 43, a philosophy professor standing tearfully at the hotel of the “yes” campaign. The vote may delay Santos’ plans to move on to other matters including much-needed tax reform and other macroeconomic measures to offset a drop in oil income.

It will also dent his hopes for a boom in foreign investment in mining, oil and agriculture in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.

government isn’t tracking this [police killings],” Otieno said.

The database showed 121 Kenyans were killed by police in the first eight months of 2016, compared to 114 in the same period last year. Cases included a 4-year-old girl shot near a demonstration, a 14-year-old girl whom two officers said attacked them and scores of young men in the slums described as criminals by police.

In most cases, police admitted the killings but said they were justified, Otieno said. In other cases, witnesses said police were involved. Kenyan police say killings are mostly

justified and deny impunity is a problem. “There’s no policy in the government to kill anyone,” police spokesman Charles Owino said.

“Remember, there’s circumstances in law when officers are justified to use their firearms against people. And in order to protect life of the police officer, life of the citizen and even property and many other underlying circumstances.” In June, hundreds of Kenyans demonstrated after human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and their driver were shot dead after suing the police over a shooting.

Kenyan officials did not

respond to questions about the number of cases submitted to or investigated by the country’s police oversight body, set up in 2012. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority’s website only mentions three cases where officers were charged for shooting civilians.

Mutuma Ruteere, the director of the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies in Kenya, said it was very rare for police to face punishment. “There’s a large number of people who get killed [by the police] but who die, who get buried anonymously. Nothing is

done. Over time that becomes a cancer, a virus, within the police,” he said.

Stephen Mwangi, a former resident of Mathare, one of the capital’s biggest slums, said he has lost many friends and a brother-in-law to police bullets. Now he’s studying law to try to hold the police to account, he said. But individual families could not do it alone.

“If you’ve lost a son, you try and do advocacy by your own self. Maybe you can pull along two or three relatives. But then people have not come together to say: why the continuous and systematic killing of young men?”

42

TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016 T H I S D AY

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

43

NEWS

Nigeria Improves in Governance Index, Ranked 36th in Africa Obinna Chima Nigeria ranked 36th out of 54 countries in overall governance with a score of 46.5 out of 100 in the 2016 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), launched by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

Nigeria’s score improved by +2.5 points over the last 10 years, the IIAG stated.

The rating released yesterday, showed that Nigeria was one of 10 countries that improved across all four sub-categories of the Sustainable Economic Opportunity category.

Nonetheless, it revealed that Nigeria recorded the second most deteriorated score in the National Security sub-category, having declined by -28.6 points over the course of the decade.

The 2016 IIAG launched yesterday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation also revealed that improvement in overall governance in Africa over the past 10 years had been held back by widespread deterioration in the category of safety and rule of law.

The survey, a comprehensive analysis of African governance undertaken to date, brought together a decade of data to assess each of Africa’s 54 countries against 95 indicators drawn from

34 independent sources.

“This year, for the first time, the IIAG includes Public Attitude Survey data from Afrobarometer.

This captures Africans’ own perceptions of governance, which provide fresh perspective on the results registered by other data such expert assessment and official data.

“Over the last decade, overall governance has improved by one score point at the continental average level, with 37 countries – home to 70 per cent of African citizens – registering progress. This overall positive trend has been led mainly by improvement in Human Development and Participation and Human Rights. Sustainable Economic Opportunity also registered an improvement, but at a slower pace,” it added.

However, the report stated that the positive trends was in contrast to a pronounced and concerning drop in Safety and Rule of Law, for which 33 out of the 54 African countries – home to almost two-thirds of the continent’s population – have experienced a decline since 2006, 15 of them quite substantially.

“This worrying trend has worsened recently, with almost half of the countries on the continent recording their worst score ever in this category within the last

We’II Resist Fayose’s Membership, Ekiti APC Tells Aregbesola Olakiitan Victor inAdo-Ekiti The visit of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State to Ekiti State has drawn the ire of the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, with the party saying such a visit was a slight on the party and contempt for the party’s leadership in the state.

Aregbesola was in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend on the invitation of Governor Ayodele Fayose for the 20th anniversary of Ekiti State.

At a public forum broadcast live on the state media, Aregbesola described Fayose as “omoluabi” and a hardworking governor who had turned around the fortunes of his state in terms of infrastructure.

Scolding the visit in a statement by the Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, the party stressed that Aregbesola’s visit signposted the contempt in which the party and its leaders were held by the Osun governor after Fayose had caused severe pains in the lives of APC members, some of whom had been languishing in jail for about two years for the offences they did not commit.

“Aregbesola’s visit to Fayose praising him as ‘omoluabi’ and for the achievements by APCled government is not only embarrassing but also awful in the face of sustained attacks on APC members, some of whom are still languishing in jail for about two years over trumped-up charges

by Fayose.

“It is shocking that Aregbesola as a governor and one of the leading lights in APC in the South-west and indeed the nation would be visiting Ekiti State without putting the leaders into confidence, more so on a visit to a man who once wished the President dead and had done unbelievable things both in Nigeria and abroad to bring Buhari’s government down.

“Worse still, Aregbesola was praising the man who will stop at nothing to bring APC-led federal government down after several years of failed attempts by the progressives to win the presidency of Nigeria.”

Olatunbosun also frowned at alleged misappropriation of APC’s authority with the Osun governor promising realignments of forces with Fayose “sooner than later,” saying such “unbridled” trading off of APC in Ekiti State to Fayose would never stand in the face of the governor’s molestation of APC members over the years.

Warning that the state leaders would resist any attempt to draft the governor into any realignment with APC in the state and foist him on the party, Olatunbosun noted that Fayose had done enough damage to the integrity of Ekiti people, saying that now was the time for the real “omoluabi” in Ekiti to join forces to rebuild the ruins into which Fayose’s administration had plunged the state.

three years. This is driven by large deteriorations in the sub-categories of Personal Safety and National Security.

“Notably, Accountability is now the lowest scoring sub-category of the whole Index. Without exception, all countries that have deteriorated at the Overall Governance level have also deteriorated in Safety and Rule of Law,” it added.

The improvement in the Participation and Human Rights

category, found in 37 countries across the continent, was driven by progress in Gender and in Participation, the report stated.

However, a marginal deterioration appears in the Rights sub-category with some worrying trends in indicators relating to the civil society space.

Human Development was the best performing category over the last decade, with 43 countries home to 87 per cent of African

citizens – registering progress. All dimensions – Education, Health and Welfare – improved, although progress in the sub-category Welfare was affected by decline in Social Exclusion and Poverty Reduction Priorities indicators.

Commenting on the findings, the Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mo Ibrahim said: “The improvement in overall governance in Africa over the last decade reflects a positive trend in a majority of

countries and for over two-thirds of the continent’s citizens.

“No success, no progress can be sustained without constant commitment and effort. As our Index reveals, the decline in safety and rule of law is the biggest issue facing the continent today. Sound governance and wise leadership are fundamental to tackling this challenge, sustaining recent progress and ensuring that Africa’s future is bright.”

Edo Election: Ize-Iyamu Contested against INEC, Fayose Insists Accuses UBEC of withholding N4bn fund Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti The Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, yesterday added his voice to the conduct of the Edo governorship poll, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, contested against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He said the party did not solely contest against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Godwin Obaseki.

Fayose added the APC victory in the election was “victory only made possible by the use of federal government agencies to subvert the will of the people.”

Obaseki, who was backed by the incumbent Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, won the September 28 governorship election.

Speaking on the outcome of the election through his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Lere Olayinka, Fayose said it was unfortunate that those whose change was made possible because the then PDP government allowed the people the freedom to make a choice have now eroded the independence of INEC. “The stage for the manipulation of the election was set by the use of security agencies to postpone the election, even when there was no single security threat and what was witnessed in Edo State last Wednesday was the execution of the rigging plans perfected after the postponement.”

He added: “Like I have said before, we are already seeing signs of what is to come in 2019 and Nigerians should know by now that it will only take their insistence

for their votes to count as long as these APC elements remain in power.”

Meanwhile, Fayose has said the state cannot access over N4 billion from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in Abuja because of the diversion of N850 million by the previous administration in 2012.

He said the diversion led to the suspension of the state from UBEC activities, leading to the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) lacking resources to execute its projects.

He stated this during a meeting with members and leaders of the state chapter of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) in Ado-Ekiti. In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Idowu Adelusi, yesterday, the governor also said a parents’ summit would soon be held in the state to further sensitise parents on their roles in the provision of quality education for their children.

He described parents and teachers as the two most critical

stakeholders in the sector.

The governor added that all critical stakeholders in the education sector must be alive to their responsibilities for the gains recorded in the sector by the state to be maintained.

In his speech, Ekiti State Chairman of NAPPS, Alhaji Saka Adeleye, commended the governor for turning around the sector which led to the state coming first in the recent examinations conducted by the National Examinations Council (NECO).

44

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

EU Advises Nigeria to Devalue Naira A European Union (EU) official, Fillippo Amato, has advised the federal government to devalue the naira as part of measures to tackle the economic recession.

Amato, Counsellor, Head of Trade and Economics Section of EU, made this known in an interview with journalists yesterday. The EU official, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said recession could not be addressed with traditional development tools.

He added the recession was a recent development which was due to a number of factors, including the fall in oil prices and resurgence of militancy in the Niger Delta.

“To come out of recession, the country has to take brave decisions, regardless of how unpopular they may be such as fully and effectively devaluing the naira.

“Devaluing the naira is a measure, which will finally reassure investors and attract new capitals to the country.

“At the same time, it will further reduce imports, thereby removing artificial forex restrictions, and removing any potential waste of scarce resources such as the fuel subsidy.

“Improving security (in the North-east and Niger-Delta) and ease of doing business are also key factors on which the government must urgently work to re-launch the economy,’’

he said.

Amato said that EU had been at the forefront of aid for trade support activities in Nigeria and ECOWAS. He said the most important programme the EU was implementing in Nigeria with its partners – GIZ, DFID/ Adam Smith International and UNIDO – was the Nigeria competitiveness Support Programme.

“The programme aims at improving the quality of Nigeria products to comply with international standards.

“The programme is providing capacity building to several Ministries, Departments and Agencies such as Ministry of Agriculture, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Consumer Protection Council, Nigerian Customs Services and NADFAC. “We support the trade institutions in the formulation and implementation of a sound trade policy (support to the Federal Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, and Nigerian Customs Service).

“This is to improve the business environment, with pilot projects in Kano and Kaduna to improve the procedures for obtaining land titles, and business licences,’’ he said.

He said Nigeria also needed to take advantage of the devaluation of its currency by diversifying its sources of foreign exchange

INTERPOL Begins Capacity Building on Cybercrime Investigation for Nigeria Police, Others Says syndicates responsible for compromising over 60 million businesses arrested Dele Ogbodo in Abuja The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), in collaboration with Trend Micro, yesterday began a one week capacity building programme on cybercrime investigation for the police officers involved in investigation (practitioner investigators) from Nigeria and several other countries from across Africa.

Speaking at the opening ceremony in Abuja, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, who was represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, on Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department, Mr. Hycent Dagala, said criminals in the cyberspace deploy information and communication technology (ICT) know-how to unleash mayhem and financial injuries on innocent citizens across the continent.

He admitted that law enforcement in the continent is only just beginning to grapple with this menace, adding, that on his part, he has set up and deployed a dedicated high-tech and cybercrime unit within the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in the country.

Idris said: “Currently, efforts are being vigorously pursued to equip the unit with the tools and techniques to boost its capacities in crime enquiries, identity fraud, online tracking of suspects, electronic crime scene investigation of computer networks and mobile devices.”

He said in the nearest future, experienced practitioner investigators will be deployed to state police commands, where cybercrime is prevalent, adding that this will pioneer the diffusion of this policing capacity.

While answering questions at the sideline, the Head of Training, INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation, Mr. Wei XIan Tee, said INTERPOL in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and INTERPOL Central National Bureau in Abuja were able to burst over 60 million businesses already being compromised by syndicates.

On what to expect from the capacity workshop, he said: “We have different categories of training for crime investigation, analysis and how to profile criminals in the cyberspace and from email investigation to deep web investigations.”

He however, said winning the war on cybercrime requires greater collaboration among countries, stakeholders and individuals, adding: “Every country across the globe is facing the same cybercrime challenges, which is taking its toll and having huge negative impact on the citizens.”

Tee admitted that traditional crimes like extortion is moving into space across all the regions, adding that countries especially within the continent together through building relationship and framework to fight cybercrime.

revenue and this mainly through boosting its non-oil exports.

Amato said EU would increase its support for the country under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) if ratified.

“EPA aims at boosting industrialisation and sustainable development of West Africa, both through improved (predictable, transparent and long-term) trade relations and through a development cooperation component.

“In addition, on September 14, the EU has launched a European External Investment

Plan which will further support private sector investments in the African continent, including Nigeria.

“The plan will support investments in the continent by providing targeted guarantees and ameliorating the investment climate and the overall policy environment in partner countries.

“The plan will be implemented through the new European Fund for Sustainable Development, with EU funds totalling 3.35 billion Euros until 2020.

“The EU Funds are expected to mobilise up to 44 billion Euros

additional investments,’’ the official said.

He, however, advised Nigeria to take into consideration all the opportunities the EPA would offer to Nigeria and communicate them to all interested stakeholders.

“The role of the government is also to reassure all stakeholders that there is no reason to be worried in the course of implementation of the EPA. “The government will use all instruments offered by the EPA to ensure it will achieve its objective to

promote industrialisation and development of Nigeria and West Africa.

“The EU will do its part to ensure these objectives are achieved,” he said.

According to him, in a globalised world no country or regional community can ignore the destiny of its neighbours.

“The EU, in particular, due to its historic ties and geographic proximity to West Africa, has a strong interest in promoting and supporting West Africa’s development, well-being, prosperity and stability.’’

GOOD TO SEE YOU

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (left), and former President, Dr. Goodluck Johnathan, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja....weekend.

Budget Reforms: Stakeholders List Public Hearing, Expenditure Tracking, Others as Solutions Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja Subjecting the budget process in the National Assembly to public hearings to provide for an allencompassing multi-stakeholder involvement has been identified as one of the key solutions to reforming the country’s public finance and ensuring equitable nationwide development.

Also, up scaling transparency and accountability through workable budget tracking measures, which involve citizens at all levels, has been listed as a major step in making the annual budget work in the public interest.

These recommendations were part of a 12-point communiqué raised from the OrderPaper. ng Colloquium on budgetary reforms held on September 26, 2016 in Abuja and attended by campaigners from the National Assembly, the executive, civil society, media, development partners, and other critical stakeholders.

The communiqué which was jointly signed by Oke Epia, Publisher of OrderPaper.ng; Anthony Ubani, Moderator of the Technical Panel; and Chido Onumah, head of the team of rapporteurs for the colloquium, harped on timeliness of budget presentation, stressing that “the executive and legislature should adopt a more participatory

budgeting process by widely consulting with the citizens and other stakeholders through public hearings.”

Other resolutions reached at the meeting included: “That a formal forum for pre-budget consultations and liaison between the legislature and the executive should be created in order to reduce the instances of disagreements and bickering between the two arms upon presentation of the Appropriation bill, passage and subsequent implementation.

“That the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) should be adopted as a benchmark for determining what projects to be included in the budget which should be equitably spread across the country; and that provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Act should be strictly adhered to in the preparation and implementation of the budget whilst a holistic look at the Act should be considered to take care of observed deficiencies.’’

The stakeholders also resolved that there should be effective tracking of projects and evaluation of budget expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability whilst the role of anti-corruption agencies in the budgetary process clearly defined and enhanced.

“Multi-stakeholder consultations including the private sector, development partners and the

media should be undertaken for the budgetary process;” and that “the media and civil society should improve their watchdog roles in monitoring the budgetary process”, the communiqué added.

The stakeholders at the colloquium which was chaired

by Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal and had presentations from Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and representative of the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, also recommended reform of the procedures of budgeting in the National Assembly to ensure better accountability, transparency and openness; and making a budget law to cover the processes and procedures of the budgetary exercise with strengthening legislative oversight being a key focus.

The communique added: “The National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) should be established without further delay; and “continual engagement of relevant stakeholders and to report on gains made with respect to the implementation of resolutions.’’

The colloquium which also had Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu; Eze Onyekpere, fiscal governance expert and Lead Director at Centre for Social Justice (CENSOJ); and Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special

Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate) to the President in participation, also commended OrderPaper.ng for “convening the conversation at such auspicious time in the country’s history and urged all stakeholders to continue to support the initiative.”

Members of the technical panel at the colloquium, which had “Budget as a tool for Accelerated Economic Development in Nigeria” as theme, were Sen. John Enoh, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance; Sen. Shehu Sani, Chairman, Senate Committee on Domestic & Foreign Debts. And Hon. Kingsley Chinda, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts.

Others include, Hon. Lawal Garba, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Constituency Outreach; Sen. Chris Anyanwu, member of the 6th and 7th Senate; Dapo Olorunyomi, Publisher, Premium Times; Victor Muruako, Acting Chairman Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC); and Imoni Amarere, Managing Director, News Services, Daar Communications.

The communique, which had earlier been read out and adopted by a unanimous voice vote by all participants at the colloquium, was the highpoint of the event billed to be an annual exercise, according to its organisers.

TUESDAY OCTOMBER 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

45

NEWSEXTRA

2016 Ranking: UNILORIN is the First University of Choice

Nasarawa leads state varsities, Convenant is first choice among private institutions

The University of Ilorin in Kwara State has emerged the 2016 university of first choice among student-applicants as the foremost citadel of learning in the country, followed by 16 others drawn from the federal, state and private universities, Economic Confidential has reported.

In a new report obtained and carefully computed and analysed by the economic intelligence magazine from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on preferred first university of choice in 2016, the University of Ilorin has the highest student-applicants of 103,238 students, with male student-applicants of 51,082 and female student-applicants of 52,156.

Using the JAMB’s report of most preferred universities in the country, the Economic Confidential gathered that applicants seeking for admission into universities considered academic stability, popularity, affordability, available facilities and quality of lecturers as part of their check-list before making choices in their applications.

Of the 40 federal universities in the country, UNILORIN is number one followed by the University of Benin with student-applicants of 81,363 made up of 39,729 of male applicants and female applicants of 41,571. Ahmadu Bello University is third in the ranking while the fourth and the fifth are University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Bayero University, Kano respectively.

As the third in ranking among the universities, Ahmadu Bello University has student-applicants of 75,383 out of which male

students are 48,136, while female student-applicants stand at 27,247. University of Nigeria, Nsukka which is number four, boasts of student-applicants of 65,954 with females numbering 36,429 and males with 29,525, and completing the circle of the progressive universities is Bayero University Kano, at number five, with applicants of 64,220 just as males are 43,452 and females numbering 20,768.

Meanwhile, among the federal universities in the country, namely: Federal University of Otuoke, Federal University of Gashua and National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) are ranked as 38th, 39th and 40th positions and having student-applicants of 2315; 1438 and 148 respectively.

Ofthe39stateuniversities,Nasarawa State University, Keffi is number one with 35,555 applicants; followed by Imo State University with 32,237 applicants; Kaduna State University with 29,142 applicants;DeltaStateUniversityAbraka with 28,623 applicants;and Adekunle AjasinUniversity,Akungba-Akokowith 28,515 applicants.

Surprisingly the state with least patronage to its universities is Ondo where Ondo State University of Medical Science, Laje Road, and Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okare ranked 38th and 39th and have student-applicants of 683 and 251 respectively.

As for private universities in the country numbering 55, seven are outstanding. The number one position is grabbed by Covenant University, Canaan Land, Ota

followed by Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo and Igbinedion University, Okada, Benin- City.

Others are; Bowen University, Iwo Al-Qalam University, Katsina and Baze University, Federal Capital Terittory, Abuja.

Covenant University has 2, 586 student applicants, followed

by Afe Babalola University with 1,304, Babcock University with 1,248 and Igbinedion University with

The police in Benue State have confirmed an attack by unknown armed men in the early hours of Sunday on Igumale Police Station in Ado Local Government Area where two officers on duty were killed while another sustained bullet wounds and in critical condition.

The men also succeeded in breaking into the armoury of the station and carted away all available arms in the vault.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moses Yamu, said the force is investigating the crime as the state Commissioner of Police, Makama, had given a marching orders for the arrest of those behind the heinous crime.

The attack came a few days after some herdsmen killed one Ejimbi Amali in Ola’olaje Ogege in Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state.

According to a senior Ado local government staff who spoke on condition of anonymity, the armed men stormed the police station which was the only one in the area on Sunday at about 12:35a.m.

He said: “I personally got a call from one of the elders in

opposed to lower applicants of females in the North-west and North-east. Investigations by this Economic Intelligence magazine indicate that both religious and cultural undertones are largely responsible in some parts of the country, notably in the North-west and North-east on female applicants due to early marriage than the rest of the geopolitical zones in the country.

R-L: President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia; Chairman of UBA Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu; and Managing Director, Yinka Folawiyo Group, Mr. Tunde Folawiyo, at the presentation of ‘Buhari: A New Beginning,’ a pictorial coffee-table book, on the life and times of President Muhammadu Buhati by his personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja....Sunday

Mark condemns insecurity in state Ogbe village which is just a stone throw from the station, at about 12:35a.m, that there was heavy bombardment of the village as if a war had broken out.

“After receiving that call the gunshots continued for about 10 minutes and nobody was courageous enough to come out of his home because everyone had already gone to bed.

“At that point we all started calling security agencies in the area including the Divisional Police Officer to find out what the problem was because it was as if the entire Igumale was under siege.

“It was 15 minutes after that the sporadic shooting stopped that most persons had the courage to come out, only for us to discover that the Igumale Police Station had been attacked and there was blood everywhere, one of the Police men on duty was shot dead and three others badly wounded and in critical condition.

“According to the account of those who lived near the station, they said they heard the sound of two motorbikes conveying some persons to the station and suddenly there was sustained heavy bombardment of the station after which the men mounted their bikes and

with four applicants, and Wellspring University, Irhihi, Ogbaneki, BeninCity with four applicants. Others are; Rhema University, Obeama, Rivers State with student applicants of three and Hallmark University, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State with just two applicants.

From the statistics shown so far, it was gathered that female applicants in these universities are higher in the South-south, South-east, South-west and North-central respectively as

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY

Police Confirm Killing of Officers in Benue George Okoh in Makurdi

418. Others are, Bowen University with 329 student-applicants, AlQalam University with 308 and Baze University, Abuja with 277 student-applicants.

Out of the 55 private universities in the country, these ones occupy the lower rung in the ladder: Hezekiah University, Umudi, Imo State with six student-applicants, Evangel University, Akaeze, Ebonyi State with five applicants, Chrisland University, Owode, Ogun State

zoomed off through Adiga village heading towards Okpoga.

“On discovering the gory sight, we immediately called in the local government ambulance and conveyed them to Saint Daniel Hospital, Otukpo, unfortunately before getting to the hospital, one of the officers died on the way.

“We gathered that the other remaining two who were also in critical condition because their bodies were riddled with bullets were moved from Otukpo to the Federal Medical Centre in Makurdi by the police authorities for proper attention but one of them also died before noon.

“As I speak with you our people are in shock and in fear.

Meanwhile, the immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark, has condemned in strong terms the menace just as he tasked security operatives to rise up to the challenge.

Angered by the development, Mark urged the citizens to cooperate with the security operatives “to fish out the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”

He lamented that insecurity was taking a toll on the concerted efforts to attract development, saying that all hands must be on deck to end the menace.

PDP Supporters Protests Outcome of Edo Guber Poll Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Just as they did last Friday, supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, early yesterday morning took to the streets of Benin City, the Edo State capital, protesting against and condemning the result of the recently held election which they said did not reflect the wishes of Edo voters.

The protest was a continuation of the one occasioned by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaration of Godwin Obaseki oftheAllProgressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the September 28 state governorship election.

But a splinter body within the party, under the aegis of PDP Restoration Group, has declared that the election was free and fair, noting that INEC had one of its finest outing in the election as it was not declared inconclusive like that of Kogi, Rivers and Bayelsa States.

According to THISDAY investigation, the protest started at the Ize-Iyamu Campaign office on AkpakpavaRoadandmovedtoseveral parts of the Benin-City metropolis such as First East Circular road, Second East Circular road, Dawson road and New Benin before returning to the Ize-Iyamu Campaign office, where they regrouped once again.

The protesters carried placards

with inscriptions such as ‘INEC is biased, not independent’, ‘Return our stolen mandate’, ‘Police conspired with INEC to rig the election’, ‘Return our stolen mandate to Ize-Iyamu’ among others.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, a member of the Conference of Civil Society Organisations in the state, Rev. Olu Martins, said it was historical and ironical that nine to 10 years ago, he was among the protesters, who occupied the streets of Benin-City to protest against the injustice done to Governor Adams Oshiomhole in the 2007 state governorship election, adding that he was back in the streets this time around to protest against an “electoral heist perpetrated by the same Oshiomhole.

“We will not stop until what rightfully belongs to the people is returned to them. The challenge is not what happened on September 28, it is the process.

“For the first time in Nigeria’s political process, international observers and journalists were barred from collation centres on the evening of an election and asked to come back the following day.

“By the time they came back the following day, the results were ready. That’s magical. They have subverted the will of the people, so we cannot stop protesting. It

simply means that some people could sit at the INEC office and write results.

Meanwhile, addressing journalists in Benin City, the spokesman for the Restoration Group, Uyi Igbinegie, noted that the September 28 election was free of the usual violence which gave it the general acceptance that it was free and fair.

Besides, he said PDP could not have won the election because during the buildup to the party primaries, and after the party lost the general elections last year and President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in, there were many revelations of how so much money was stolen by members of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s team.

However, the leadership of All Progressives Congress (APC) said it is set to sanction some of its members who worked as internal collaborators against the emergence of the governor-elect, Godwin Obaseki, during last Wednesday’s governorship election in the state.

Already, the party said it had embarked on debriefing of its party agents and collation of useful materials that would assist the yet Tobe named investigative panel.

The state Chairman of APC, Anselm Ojezua, disclosed this yesterday at an interactive session with newsmen in Benin City, the state capital.

46

TUESDAY, october 4, 2016 • T H I S D AY

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

Chukwu: Rangers Will Not Disappoint in CAF Champions League

Duro Ikhazuagbe Technical Adviser of newly crowned champions of the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) Rangers International of Enugu, Christian Chukwu, waxed lyrically on Sunday evening moments after the Enugu team ended 32-year trophy drought.

Rangers defeated El Kanemi 4-0 in their last NPFL Match-day 38 game to finish on 63 point to clinch the title and a ticket to represent the country in the CAF Champions League while Rivers United and Wikki Tourists of Bauchi are in the second and third positions respectively.

Chukwu who was in-charge when Rangers won their last league title in 1984, told THISDAY after this long wait to end the jinx, that the Pride of the Eastern region cannot afford to disappoint in the continent as Nigeria’s flag-bearer in the CAF Champions league.

The former Green Eagles captain and coach believes that Rangers have the quality to do well in the continent.

“I believe in this team. Rangers is going into the CAF Champions

League as a worthy team from Nigeria. With additional support from the government and other well-meaning supporters of the club, the sky is the limit,”observed Chukwu fondly hailed as Chairman.

The ex international however advised the Enugu State government to take the advantage of this resurgence in the value of the Rangers FC brand to divest its ownership by allowing 40 to 60 per cent of the share go to investors.

“I believe that with the new form of Rangers it is good enough to attract investors. In this recession, the government is faced with so many challenges. Now is the time to allow investors come in with their money to help accelerate the growth of the club,” reasoned Chukwu.

He pointed in the direction of major clubs around the continent and beyond that have become global brands quoted on the stock exchange. Chulwu wants Rangers to set the pace for other clubs owned by state governments.

“If we succeed with Rangers. I believe that other states are going to take cue and do same with their clubs. By so doing, it will bring a major turn-around for the Nigerian

CAF League Ticket: Gov Wike Congratulates Rivers Utd Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has congratulated Rivers United Football Club of Port Harcourt for securing a CAF Champions League ticket after they emerged second in the just-concluded Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Governor Wike said that management and players were worthy ambassadors of Rivers State all through the 2015/2016 NPFL season, displaying great football artistry and professionalism.

He particularly lauded the players for reciprocating the sponsorship of the state

government, by being committed all through the just concluded season.

The governor assured the management and players of Rivers United of the continued support of the State Government as they fly the flag of Nigeria in the forthcoming CAF Champions League.

The Governor upon assumption of office, merged the defunct Sharks and Dolphin Football Clubs to form a stronger team Rivers United.

The new Rivers United has been well-funded by Governor Wike , leading to their superlative performance in the NPFL.

Independence Day Golf: IBB Club Stuns Achimota 27-10 Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja IBB International Golf and Country Club led by Okey Igweh, whitewashed the visiting Achimota Club 1924 of Ghana 27-10 to regain the Independence Match play trophy held in Abuja.

Achimota stood no chance after they were subdued in the singles matches 181/2-5 1/2. The visitors, led by their Vice Captain, Mark Cofie Jnr, had earlier lost the opening doubles 81/2-41/2.

The Ghanaian were attending the match play that was organised to mark the 56th Independence Day Anniversary of Nigeria.

They came with a high powered delegation of 24 players that also included the Lady Captain, Peace Akwei and the Competition Secretary George Y. Amoah. The Ghanaian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador William Azumah Kanyirige also spent three evenings with the contingent.

Cofie commended IBB Club for a very well hosted tournament that

enabled the visitors make new friends and renew old acquaintances. ‘’The tournament was well organised. The golf was not really the main thing as we had a lot of interaction socially.

The camaraderie that prevailed in the three days is extraordinary,” Cofie said.

He said there was no sign of the waning in Ghana and Nigeria ties, adding Achimota focused on the quality of representation as opposed to the quantity.

Cofie and Akwei, who were playing the IBB course for the first time, expressed amusement at the beauty and serenity of the golf course.

Akwei in particular considered the course to be among the best golf courses she has played in the world.

“It is a different course to Achimota. I have been to Abuja two times before but it was my first time of playing the IBB course. It is a fantastic course . I have had the priviledge of playing in Dubai.

premier league and club football in the country.”

The former Nigeria and Kenya coach also pleaded with Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to immortalise the present team that ended the 32-year jinx as well as create a Hall of Fame for ex-Rangers. “ The boys need motivation. If I am the governor of the state, I will give the players and officials land in the state for them to own property.

This will serve as motivation to others. But unfortunately I am just a coach. “ Also, ex- Rangers who set the pace, making the team the Pride of the old Eastern Region should be immortalised too with the establishment of a Hall of Fame.

Generation unborn will see and appreciate the efforts of these worthy footballers. That is how great sportsmen and women are immortalised all over the world,” concludes Chairman Chukwu who stood all through that final day game with ElKanemi at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in the old Eastern State capital last Sunday.

Chisom Egbuchulam of Rangers against Umar Zango of El-Kanemi last Sunday in Enugu

A F T E R M AT H O F 3 2 Y E A R S LO N G WA I T

Coach Amapakabo Set to Dump Rangers The History-making coach Imama Amapakabo has announced his contract with Rangers ended Sunday after he led the club to win the Nigeria league after 32 years.

The 43-year-old former goalkeeper according to africanfootball.com said: “The book Rangers is closed. We will see if we will open another book

again.

“On the pitch on Sunday, I closed the book and I tried to see which is the next book to read.

“We have been able to read this particular book, it is closed now. We will open another book.”

He has now been linked with South African club Chippa United, deposed champions Enyimba, Kano Pillars and Sunshine Stars.

Imama himself said, ”I have been linked with many clubs, but I will just sit back and let God lead me. God leads and I follow.”

He further admitted that personally it was a tough and rough road to victory for him.

“When I started out, nobody believed in me but they did not stop from giving me a chance,”

recalled the coach, who has assisted the likes of Solomon Ogbeide, John Obuh and Kadiri Ikhana.

“I am a young man, I am not from this clime (Eastern Nigeria), I did not play for Rangers…they were factors and they were tough to deal with.

“I was an unknown quantity, but here we’re today.”

Shell Cup MVP’s Relish Feyenoord Experience Femi Solaja The two Most Valuable Players of the current edition of the annual Shell Cup football among secondary schools in the country, Joseph Eze and Kelvin Amadi, have described their outing at the one-week training programme at the Feyenoord FC academy in Holland as a life changing moment in their respective careers.

The duo arrived Nigeria at the weekend and in an interview with Thisday yesterday described their outing as a wonderful one and looking forward to a better football experience alongside academic pursuance.

Eze, who is a student of Foster Academy in Abuja, said that that it was great to be part of the training programme, which would help improve their game and expressed hope that he would one day become famous like his Idol, Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid.

“The Feyenoord trip no doubt as changed my world. I have learnt more on how to operate within the team and it also gave me a unique opportunity to make more friends in other continent and socialise with them while enjoying the life in the beautiful game called football.

L-R: Most Valuable Player in the 2016 NNPC/Shell Cup, Joseph Ejeh, coach with Feyenoord Academy, Rotterdam, Jan Gösgens; and the second MVP in the tournament, Kevin Amadi after a training session with the Feyenoord academy team, Rotterdam as part of their training tour of The Netherlands “I cannot quantify the experience in monetary value and I have to say is thank you to Shell?NNPC Joint venture for this unique platform given to me at no cost,” he remarked.

On his own part, Amadi, who is a student of Excel School in Port Harcourt, Rivers State noted that they learnt more about how football should be played and was happy to watch a live game, which ended in favor of their host Feyenoord. “The atmosphere inside the stadium is awesome. I just can’t describe it because experience is a better

way of knowledge. The crowd experience is something I can never forget. I was the first time in my life that I will be in such a huge crowd that is well organised with recourse violent or stampede.

“I will start this crusade from my school and thereafter take it beyond the school confine on why the youths of today must eschew violent and let us all be organised as a steady way to success rather than disruption,” he remarked.

The young star commended the sponsor and promised to be a better footballer than Lionel Messi of Barcelona. “ I don’t

think Messi was privileged to have this opportunity given to me by Shell/NNPC Joint venture and if I make good use of it as a platform, I think I could be a greater football in life,” he noted.

Tolu Derin Adefuwa, who led the players to Holland commended them for conducting themselves well during the trip and said the experience would be invaluable as they players continue to progress in their career.

She said the Shell Cup, which is in its 18th year, has given opportunity to young footballers in school and urged Amadi and Eze to exhibit the skills they learnt in Holland.

In his remark, Shells’s General Manager, External Relation Nigeria and Gabon, Igho Weli expressed the companies commitment to the development of young talents.

He also urged the players not to drop out of school, noting that ‘sports and educational are not mutually exclusive’ but can go hand in hand.

“This is the beginning of greater things in their life because I will not say the experience is its a life time experience. Where do they go from here? The answer is very simple, the duo will enjoy scholarship scheme from us because beyond football, education is very important we have to encourage them to be a role model in life,” he remarked.

T H I S D AY TUESDAY OCTOBER 4, 2016

47

TR

Tuesday October 4, 2016

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE MOMAN to FG

“We wish to draw the attention of stakeholders and regulators to safety regulations especially in the gross tonnage of tankers and the ability of the road to absorb the weight of loaded tankers. We also wish to appeal to the government to reduce the import duty on these haulage trucks to enable transporters meet the new replenishment policy which forbids the engagement of old or used trucks.” – The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) lamenting the deplorable condition of Nigerian roads which have become traps leading to the loss of lives and property.

CHIDIAMUTA GUEST COLUMNIST

Lee Kuan Yew Resurrects

I

n times of collective national disillusionment such as now, the urge to comb the global landscape for models of outstanding leadership comes logically. The appeal and relevance of inspirational statesmanship knows no boundaries. It can and does uplift moods and can come from far away places. In the work of such great leaders, the problems we see as intractable and the solutions we only dream about become things that others achieved with relative ease. If care is not taken, this generation of the Nigerian elite and intellectuals may die citing success stories of national success and development in other lands.

Not even his demise will diminish the stature of Singapore’s sagely founding leader and guiding intelligence, the late Lee Kuan Yew. Commentaries, biographies and books of interviews on his wisdom and insight continue to be published decades after he left office and years after his death. This concentration of intellectual attention and journalistic curiosity derive mostly from his unusual statesmanship and sterling leadership qualities. Even in death, Kuan Yew has a lot to tell us about the issues that continue to define our contemporary world.

His name has become synonymous with the transformation of his tiny city state nation from the worst Third World calamities to a first world enclave of development and a global example of phenomenal economic growth, prosperity and exemplary political stability all within a generation. A leader who inherited a city-state with a per capita income of less than $400 ended up bequeathing a super modern nation with a per capita of $50,000 plus within his life time. For this alone, the late Kuan Yew deserves veneration if not adulation by all those around the world who believe in the power of positive and pragmatic leadership.

While in office, Kuan Yew was both elected leader and national ‘teacher’, combining the onerous tasks of state with a certain moral responsibility to play guide and guardian. He taught his multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic people the value of discipline in attaining economic prosperity and social justice.

So thoroughgoing was his achievement as ‘national teacher’ that a people previously known for spitting in public and indiscriminately pasting chewing gum remnants in public places came to accept a legislation that criminalised even these apparently mundane cultural bad habits. Even after leaving office, he continued to serve as guardian of his people while spreading his influence and ideas all over the world, serving as he travelled around, as a mobile inspiration for leaders from both the developed and developing worlds alike.

In a recently revised and very significant book of edited interviews, Lee Kuan Yew: On China, the United States, and the World, Allison and Blackwell bring together, albeit in a coherent and most readable form, the views and perspectives of this world leader on the key strategic issues of our time, namely, the rise of China, relations between China and

Lee Kuan Yew

the US, the changing role of the US in the world, the place of India, Islamic fundamentalism and global security, the future of democracy as well, the future of globalisation and the plight and future of the world economy.

Most importantly, the book provides a rare insight into the thought processes of this great leader and the key philosophical pillars of his seminal leadership qualities.

It also offers unique perspectives on both Singaporean national politics and world affairs from the perspective of one of the most erudite and remarkable statesmen of the developing world in the 20th century.

In a characteristically seminal and thought-provoking foreword, American diplomacy and intellectual oracle, Henry Kissinger, highlights the unique insights offered by the book. He also comments on the career of a man he had come to admire and greatly respect. Kissinger adequately positions Kuan Yew within the pantheon of great leaders and, most importantly, in the context of a fast diminishing breed of world leaders- the philosopher king as a type. For Kissinger, Kuan Yew’s unique contribution lies in the fact that he believed in the power of the human intellect and mind to fashion a prosperous state in which governance would produce a contented citizenry. “His vision was of a state that would not simply survive, but prevail by excelling. Superior intelligence, discipline, and ingenuity would substitute for resources…”

With a very acute sense of history and a keen eye on contemporary developments, Kuan Yew offers unusual depth of insight into the major issues of utmost strategic importance in the contemporary world.

He insists, for instance, that China’s current rise to economic and diplomatic

pre-eminence is a resurgence of a past sense of glory, but one stripped of its previous cultural arrogance and courtly grandeur. The new China has realised the mistake of the old China and is using the opening of the country under Deng Xiaoping to aspire to global pre-eminence without openly confronting the United States.

China’s new striving for world leadership takes its immediate East Asian neighbourhood as its staging theatre and places economic might above military prowess, knowing full well that it cannot afford an arms race with the United States for instance. The bedrock of its economic strategy is its 1.3 billion population, a demographic might that is now enhanced by its increasing wealth and purchasing power. To deny any East Asian nation access to the Chinese market is to literally strangulate that nation economically. This is the strategic springboard of Chinese economic policy.

However, Kuan Yew recognises that China will have to contend with democratising social and political pressures from within because of the hegemony of the Communist Party and its inherent authoritarianism. And yet he concedes that this authoritarian heritage is one which the Chinese cannot easily shed without inviting anarchy. Therefore the democratisation process in China will necessarily be incremental and long drawn.

A certain sense of order is inherent in China’s authoritarian political heritage.

That heritage has become a necessary tool in containing the libertarian pressures that come with phenomenal economic prosperity. The inherent order of this totalitarian veneer is needed to sustain China’s economic progress. But it can only last for a while. “China is not going to become a liberal democracy; if it did, it would collapse.”

On US-China relations, Kuan Yew cautions against American politicians turning China baiting and bashing into a domestic agenda. Such an approach fails to understand the peculiar historical and cultural factors that have combined to produce the current Chinese resurgence.

This aspect of Kuan Yew’s thought becomes instructive in this era of isolationist rhetoric by politicians like Donald Trump who insist on China bashing as a way of attracting attention and votes.

Kuan Yew laments the relative slow march of India and blames it on India’s colonial history, excessive bureaucracy and constitutional constraints. A combination of bureaucracy and corruption as well

We seem to be failing both as a nominal democracy and as a candidate for sustainable economic development and modernisation because our leadership selection process has been remarkably and consistently anti-merit

as the cultural limitations of the caste system have hindered India’s real growth relative to the more monolithic command structure of the Chinese system.

On the contemporary threat of Islaminspired radicalism to world order and peace, Kuan Yew makes a crucial distinction between Islam as a religion and Islamism as the use of Islamic doctrine to promote fundamentalist extremism.

He insists that modern day Islamists are fuelling fundamentalism with oil dollars in order to destabilise the Middle East and perhaps the rest of the world. The central delusion of Islamism as exemplified by the emergence of ISIS is the possibility that the Islamists can manage to create and sustain a Caliphate that would confront and defeat the West. His panacea is the promotion of moderate Islam and its use to neutralise the radical elements.

In this regard, Kuan Yew would seem to have prophetically envisaged such recent developments as the election of a moderate Muslim politician as the Mayor of the City of London. Nigerian authorities intent on putting an end to scourges like Boko Haram and the Shiite menace in northern Nigeria ought to listen to Kuan Yew’s extant counsel.

Throughout the selected interviews that form the content of this book, Kuan Yew comes across as insistent and consistent on his core political beliefs. He shuns ideological predictability but instead opts for pragmatism. He adopted what worked best for his society and insisted that in order to produce a prosperous society, leadership must be disciplined, knowledgeable and focused. He insists that it is the elite that must lead a society, not ignorant mediocrities. For him, the desirable objective of society must be social justice and fairness, not welfare and entitlement.

Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Kuan Yew is the body of ideas he left behind on leadership and statecraft. His ultimate triumph is that he put his ideas into practice and his practice led to the emergence of one of the most spectacular success stories of the world in the 20th century. Singapore has succeeded both as a democracy and an economically prosperous state.

For Nigeria, the challenge of the Kuan Yew model is first the role of enlightened and knowledgeable leadership in driving rapid national development. Take a look at Singapore’s current cabinet from the prime minister to all the ministers, it reads like a Harvard or Oxford faculty list. It takes intelligent people to lead a nation towards enlightened modernity.

Nigeria has not been quite lucky to have the rare combination of intellect and pragmatism at the helm. We seem to be failing both as a nominal democracy and as a candidate for sustainable economic development and modernisation because our leadership selection process has been remarkably and consistently anti-merit.

In this state, we seem headed in either of two directions: a pitiable standstill or a humiliating regression.

• Dr. Amuta is Chairman of Wilson & Weizmann Associates Ltd., Lagos

Printed and Published in Lagos by THISDAY Newspapers Limited. Lagos: 35 Creek Road, Apapa, Lagos. Abuja: Plot 1, Sector Centre B, Jabi Business District, Solomon Lar Way, Jabi North East, Abuja .

All Correspondence to POBox 54749, Ikoyi, Lagos. EMAIL: editor@thisdaylive.com, info@thisdaylive.com. TELEPHONE Lagos: 0802 2924721-2, 08022924485. Abuja: Tel: 08155555292, 08155555929 24/7 ADVERTISING HOT LINES: 0811 181 3086, 0811 181 3087, 0811 181 3088, 0811 181 3089, 0811 181 3090. ENQUIRIES & BOOKING: adsbooking@thisdaylive.com