Wednesday 3rd May 2017

CBN Sanctions 14 Banks for Crowding out SMEs in FX Market Pumps $196m as foreign investors key in to forex window Obinna Chima with agency report Following persistent complaints that some Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have deliberately frustrated efforts by many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to access FX

from the window created for small businesses in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has barred all but eight banks from participating in the weekly SME wholesale spot

and forwards interventions effective yesterday.

Sources at the CBN disclosed that the banking system regulator took the decision to bar the erring

banks based on field reports, which revealed that only eight banks had sold FX to the SME segment since the inception of the window.

According to a source, the

BANKS NOT BARRED BY CBN

CBN frowned at the action of the banks that declined to sell FX to SMEs to enable them import eligible finished and Continued on page 10

Anyaoku Backs Akinyemi, Says FG Should Stop Leaks on NIA ... Page 11

Access Bank Plc Diamond Bank Plc Fidelity Bank Plc Heritage Bank Jaiz Bank Sterling Bank Plc Unity Bank Plc Zenith Bank Plc

Wednesday 3 May, 2017 Vol 22. No 8049. Price: N250

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PINE Probe: Senate C’ttee Indicts Babachir, Demands His Prosecution...

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Buhari Resumes, Meets AGF, NNPC GMD, May Attend Council Meeting Today Accuses N’Assembly of not passing laws to strengthen anti-graft war Osinbajo panel to submit report today Crude oil production put at 2mbpd Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja After weeks of absence due to ill-health, President Muhammadu Buhari resumed work yesterday and met separately with the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami and the

Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Buhari's resumption at his office was bound to stem speculation and growing Continued on page 9

…Aisha Buhari Breaks Silence, Says Her Husband’s Health is Not That Bad

ACF frowns at speculations on president’s health Tobi Soniyi in Lagos, John Shiklam in Kaduna and Laleye Dipo in Minna The wife of the president, Aisha Buhari yesterday broke her silence on her husband’s health, saying that it is not as bad as it has been perceived.

Buhari, who returned from the United Kingdom on March

10 after an extended medical vacation, has made only a few public appearances lately, fuelling speculation about his health.

Mrs. Buhari, however, through her Twitter handle, thanked Nigerians for their concern, adding that her Continued on page 9

Fire Guts Akiolu's Palace as Staff Lead Monarch to Safety... Page 48

PROMOTING NIGERIA TO THE WORLD L-R: Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, with Federal Councilor and Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research of Switzerland, Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, during a bilateral meeting on investment in Switzerland… yesterday

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FG Pays IOCs $400m as Part Settlement of Cash Call Debt To continue monthly repayments of $70m First batch of NNPC’s power plants ready in 2019, says Baru Chineme Okafor in Houston, Texas The federal government has begun redeeming its pledge to settle outstanding joint venture cash call debts it owes international oil companies (IOCs), with $400 million released to them last week, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has disclosed.

Kachikwu told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of the 2017 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas that the $400 million payment was part of the $1.2 billion cash call debt owed the IOCs in 2016.

This, he clarified, was different from the discounted $5.1 billion cash call arrears it negotiated in December 2016 with the IOCs. Nigeria produces more than half of its oil under joint operating agreements (JOAs) with five IOCs comprising ExxonMobil, Shell, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Chevron and Total.

The minister also revealed that a monthly repayment plan of $70 million has also been worked out with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to offset the $1.2 billion debt in one year.

The negotiated $5.1 billion debt, he emphasised, would be repaid from incremental oil production by the IOCs. The minister explained that

on the basis of the payment, the IOCs were beginning to regain confidence in Nigeria’s oil industry, adding that the country’s oil production could increase by 700,000 barrels per day (bd) by 2018 from the development. “At the time that we did the joint venture review that we came up with, we had two components to it. The first was the $6.8 billion of arrears covering about six years which were owed the oil companies. “In our negotiations, we were able to trim that down to about $5.1 billion, so we knocked off $1.7 billion out of it and then spread the $5.1 billion over the next five years to be paid from incremental production, not from existing production. “In other words, they will have to go find new oil and from that new oil, recover their money because we didn’t want to imperil the 2.2 million that everybody is already used to,� said Kachikwu.

He added: “The second tranche of the money which was not in the $6.8 billion or the $5.1 billion, depending on where you land, was a figure of about $1.2 billion which represented only 2016 arrears, and the oil companies insisted that it needed to be repaid completely because they couldn’t begin to add that to the $5.1 billion. “We eventually agreed to

pay in several tranches. $400 million out of that for the first tranche and then the remaining $700 million paid in monthly installments for a period of one year; that will roughly be about $60 or $70 million every month after the first $400 million.�

According to the minister, the payment of the first $400 million would jumpstart the whole process of crystallising the agreement that had been reached on JV funding and which was paid a couple of days ago. “That was a major milestone and we have made provisions through the central bank for the payment of the balance on a monthly basis,� Kachikwu explained.

He said this would incentivise the IOCs to invest in existing and new projects in the country. “But more important and significant even more than the payment of the outstanding debt, was the restructuring of the JV cash calls. “Previously, what happened was that all income went back to the Federation Account and from then you budgeted and sent back to them some money. “Invariably, even when there was a budget, we never met that, we ate both the cost and revenue. “What this has done now is to skew that to the other direction such that from production after royalties, you take away the cost

of production on a budgeted basis and then the balance goes back to the Federation Account.

So, hopefully, going forward, we shouldn’t have that problem again. “What we cannot cover in terms of the budget, the oil companies will go out to raise loans from third parties to enable them continue with their exploration and production programmes,�

Kachkwu explained.

Listing some of the immediate impacts of the restructuring, he said: “What this would do will be that it addresses arrears, current cash call requirements and then investment funding requirements. “That’s the beauty of what is happening and the net effect over the last two months is that we have seen the Zabazaba signing and Bonga coming back. “We have today, cumulative number of projects that are coming back which should between now and next year, give us additional 700,000 barrels over and above the 2.2 million barrels per day. “That is why I can say with confidence that we are in a position to move up to 3 million barrels per day very quickly.�

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) also announced yesterday that the first batch of the three new gas fired power plants it plans to

build in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano with its joint venture partners will be completed by 2019 to boost power generation in the country.

The corporation also stated that within the same period, it would increase the crude oil production of its exploration and production (E&P) arm, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), before moving it further to 700,000bpd.

NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru said this yesterday at the 2017 edition of the OTC in Houston.

Baru, who was represented by NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gas and Power, Saidu Mohammed at the conference, added that the three plants combined will generate up to 3,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

According to him, NNPC currently has interest in two power plants in Okpai, Delta State and Afam, Rivers State, which were built under its joint venture (JV) partnership with NAOC and Shell, respectively.

The two plants collectively generate up to 1,000MW. Mohammed said the corporation would be providing up to 4,000MW of electricity to Nigeria’s grid when the three plants are completed. “They will all come at different times but the first batch will

come in 2019,� Mohammed said, before explaining that the plants would be built by Incorporated Joint Venture (IJV) companies involving the NNPC, international power firms and Nigerian investors, and taking the business format of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

Equally, the NNPC recently said it was already in the process of extending its gas pipelines to connect the cities that would host the power plants, starting from Ajaokuta to Abuja to Kaduna and then to Kano. The line is often referred to as the AKK gas pipeline. “We are focusing on the transformation that is going on in the NNPC in terms of reforms,� the GMD said.

On NPDC, Baru added: “We are not doing it alone, that’s why we are coming here to showcase to those who have the capacity and competencies to come to Nigeria to invest and increase our reserves and also enhance the only E&P company that we have, NPDC.� “We have a target of raising the production of NPDC within the next two years. We are talking about nothing less than 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day. “Essentially we want to raise the entire NPDC production to about 700,000 with other partners, then increase Nigeria’s production to up to 3 million barrels per day.�

Ministry of Justice,� he said.

Malami also disclosed that the presidential committee probing the allegations of corruption against the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, and Director-General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Ayo Oke over the discovery of N13.3 billion in an apartment in Ikoyi, would submit its report to Buhari today.

The committee is chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

Malami and National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno (rtd.) are also members of the committee.

Malami who declined to make comments on the committee’s findings, said doing so would be pre-emptive, adding that the vice-president who is the chairman of the panel would brief the president on its findings after submitting the report today. “Well, you know the presidential committee that is investigating the NIA and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is supposed to make its submission by tomorrow. “So it is pre-emptive now to discuss anything considering the fact that the committee is under the chairmanship of the vice-president who is supposed to brief the president in that respect and the schedule for the committee’s assignment has not elapsed,� Malami said.

Lawal and Oke were suspended by Buhari on April 19, after which the president constituted a three-man committee chaired by the vice-president to probe them.

While Lawal was accused of violations of due process in the award of contracts on the humanitarian crisis in the North-east, Oke was suspended over his claim that the money discovered in the Lagos flat belonged to the agency.

The committee was tasked on investigating “how and by whose or which authority the funds were made available to NIA, and to establish whether or not there has been a breach of the law or security procedure in obtaining custody and use of the funds�.

Lawal is being investigated over the management of the Presidential Initiative on the North-east (PINE) in his capacity as SGF. He was alleged to have awarded a N220 million treecutting contract to his company, Rholavision Engineering Limited, in contravention of public sector rules barring government officials from awarding contracts to companies in which they have an interest.

During his briefing, Dr. Baru said he met with the president to update him on operations of the NNPC and its subsidiaries, and on the relative stability in the nation’s oil and gas sector

in recent weeks.

He said the president expressed delight over the reported stability in the oil and gas sector. “I briefed Mr. President on the state of the NNPC and its subsidiaries and also on the situation of fuel supply, crude oil production, gas production and by extension, ability to supply gas to the power sector,� he said. “We had an extensive briefing as you can see; I passed here over two hours ago. I spent quite some time with him to discuss these national issues. “He was happy with the state of the corporation and told us to continue with the efforts that we are doing and if we need any executive attention we should not hesitate to come back to him,� Baru said.

Baru disclosed that following the peace and stability being enjoyed in the Niger Delta, oil production peaked at two million barrels per day (mbpd) on May 2.

He also said NNPC has no plan to increase the prices of petroleum products.

BUHARI RESUMES, MEETS AGF, NNPC GMD, MAY ATTEND COUNCIL MEETING TODAY concerns about his health, which presidency sources informed THISDAY have been grossly exaggerated.

A source yesterday reiterated the statement by one of the president’s spokesmen Garba Shehu that Buhari had been advised by his doctors to rest more and take things slowly after his medical vacation in the United Kingdom, adding, however, that now he has resumed work, he would likely chair the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) today.

Since his return from the UK, Buhari has not attended any public function and was unable to attend two cabinet meetings last month and the Jumat service last Friday at the Presidential Villa.

The president was also absent at the May Day rally organised by the labour unions for the second time since assuming office in 2015, a development that caused commotion at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

Briefing State House correspondents after his closed-door meeting with the president, Malami said Buhari expressed concern over the perceived failure of the National Assembly to pass some bills meant to aid the fight against corruption, describing it as a major setback for the anti-graft war.

Malami, who disclosed that

the assets recovered by the antigraft agencies are scattered all over the country, added that the non-passage of the bills was worrisome to the president because it has resulted in a stalemate in stock taking and management of the proceeds of the anti-corruption war.

He made reference to Proceeds of Crime Bill which he said contains the legal backing for the establishment of an Asset Management Agency as one of such bills whose non-passage constitutes a threat to the progress of the anti-corruption war.

According to him, assets recovered by anti-corruption agencies are scattered across the country without any legal framework to aid their gathering and management.

He also explained that he had visited the president to brief him on developments in his ministry as well as the submission of the report of the Electoral Reform Committee to his office. “It was a routine briefing to the president as it relates to general issues – the issues that have to do with anti-corruption. “Mr. President is worried that the anti-corruption bills that are pending before the National Assembly, there has not been any expeditious determination on the passage of the bills and indeed the Asset Management Agency was also part of the discussion.

“Mr. President is worried that the assets that have been gathered over time by the agencies of government that are responsible for the fight against corruption are scattered all over the place. “And embedded in the Proceeds of Crime Bill is the Asset Management Agency which is the agency put in place by the presidency for the purpose of managing the associated assets that are recovered. “So, Mr. President is indeed worried and the discussions bordered on how best we can handle it. There are also limited issues that relate to the parastatals under the Ministry of Justice that were discussed. “As you are aware, this afternoon, the Electoral Reform Committee that had been put in place submitted its report to my office. “I equally briefed Mr. President on that and in addition to the report, there are bills that have been presented for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council as they relate to amendment to the electoral process. “The whole essence of the meeting was to seek the view of Mr. President and the direction as to what to do next as it relates to the Electoral Reform Committee report that has been submitted and to consider routine processes under the

‌AISHA BUHARI BREAKS SILENCE, SAYS HER HUSBAND’S HEALTH IS NOT THAT BAD husband has continued to carry out his responsibilities and met with the AGF and NNPC GMD yesterday.

She said: “I thank all Nigerians for their concern, love and prayers over my husband’s health status. “I wish to inform everyone that his health is not as bad as it’s being perceived. Meanwhile he continues to carry out his responsibilities during this period. “As it may come to your notice, he is meeting with

Minister of Justice and GMD of NNPC this evening.�

However, despite the attempt to assure Nigerians on concerns over the president’s health, the issue was believed to have topped the agenda of a meeting held by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-military Heads of State, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Abulsalami Abubakar in Niger State on Monday.

The leaders, who met at Minna hilltop mansion of Babangida, were said to have

considered all constitutional options available to the country.

According to a source privy to the closed-door meeting, the trio agreed to “continue to closely watch the situation� and “will speak out� at the appropriate time.

Obasanjo had secretly entered Minna on Monday evening and was received by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello who drove the former president to Babangida’s residence.

A source said Abubakar was already waiting by the time

Obasanjo arrived.

All the domestic and security staff in Babangida’s residence were reportedly asked to leave as they went into the meeting.

The state governor was said to have waited in one of the sitting rooms for the period the meeting lasted.

After the meeting, the governor was reported to have driven Obasanjo back to the airport.

Meanwhile, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has frowned at what it termed

the “careless statements� being made by some people about the president’s health.

The forum, in a statement yesterday in Kaduna, expressed dismay that instead of praying for the president, some individuals were carelessly making unnecessary comments on Buhari’s health.

The forum, in the statement signed by its spokesman, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim Biu, said: “What Nigerians need to do Continued on page 10

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˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017

NEWS

Tiwa Savage Named Rotary Celebrity Ambassador for Polio Eradication Nigerian singer/songwriter Tiwa Savage is the newest face to join Rotary’s ‘This Close’ public awareness campaign for polio eradication. A paralyzing and life altering disease, polio is on the verge of becoming the second human disease ever to be eliminated worldwide after smallpox.

Savage, who has been described by CNN as Nigeria’s biggest pop star, will help Rotary achieve its goal of a polio-free world by raising awareness about the vaccine-preventable disease.

A statement yesterday said Savage administered a vaccine to children in Lagos in late April.

Nigeria regularly conducts mass immunization campaigns to vaccinate every child under the age of five in the country.

The singer’s participation

in this programme comes at a critical juncture. Last year, Nigeria experienced a polio outbreak that paralysed four children after passing nearly two years without a case of the disease.

Her involvement in the campaign will raise important awareness that will help ensure the outbreak is stopped.

“This is a cause that hits close to home for me, not only as a mother of a small child, but as a proud Nigerian, whose country has been battling this disease for many years,” said Savage.

Savage’s musical career began when she was 16 years of age as a backup singer for George Michael. Before going out on her own, she worked with many other well-known musicians, such as Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli, Mary

Savage J Blige and many more.

Tiwa Savage is also a successful songwriter. She was signed to Sony/ATV Music before establishing her own label 323 Entertainment, which teamed up with Marvin Records in 2012.

Last year, Savage signed with

Roc Nation as a management client.

Already a superstar in her home country, her social media platforms have amassed a staggering 2.9 million followers on Instagram, 1.8 million on Facebook, and 1.7 million on Twitter.

Savage announced her new partnership with Rotary last week in New York City at a World Immunization Week event.

As part of the ‘This Close’ campaign, Savage will be featured in ads raising her thumb and forefinger in the ‘this close’ gesture with the tagline “we’re this close to ending polio”.

Since the initiative launched in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 per cent, from about 350,000 cases a year to less than 37 cases

in 2016.

The Nigerian music star joins other public figures and celebrities participating in Rotary’s public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; actress Kristen Bell; Supermodel Isabeli Fontana; Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; action movie star Jackie Chan; boxing great Manny Pacquiao; pop star Psy; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; conservationist Jane Goodall; premier violinist Itzhak Perlman; Grammy Award winners A.R. Rahman; Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley; and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan.

Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in

the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary’s roles within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, raising awareness and mobilising volunteers.

To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.6 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year.

To date, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against polio.

TY Bello Reveals She was Sexually Abused as a Child TY Bello, singer and photographer, has revealed that she was sexually molested as a child and that it had a negative effect on her during her formative years.

The Greenland singer shared this with Kemi Adetiba on the ‘King Women’ series on Accelerate TV. “I was sexually abused as a child and because of this, I felt like there was something

ugly about me that made me encounter this. This was not the abuser’s fault, this was me. I used to see other girls as flowers and I saw myself as dirty cement, hard and ugly. I never felt beautiful, everything was wrong with me, I was hairy and it was a problem,” she said.

“I always attributed everything that was about me to be the reason someone took

advantage of me. I thought there was something wrong with me because if the others girls were like me perhaps they would be dirty like me but they were flowers.

“When a friend told me about salvation, she told me old things would be passed away and all things will become new. It was as if God could wash away that stench and I would become

a girl because I didn’t feel like a girl.”

The presidential photographer to former President Goodluck Jonathan said she was relieved when she found out that she was not the only one that was sexually abused as a child.

“I was shocked when I grew up and found that one out every three or four girls in my secondary school had suffered

the same thing and I could tell them the same thing… that old thing can pass away.

“It was a relief to find that I was not the only one and a shock that nobody talks about it. That’s why salvation worked, I had a daddy and I was going to be a flower.”

The singer also spoke about how she handled the dissolution of KUSH, an all-female gospel band she

belonged to for many years.

“When KUSH ended, I guess it was time for it to end because we were together for eight years and the fact we were different and wanted different things tore us apart.

“Breaking up was very painful and we couldn’t explain what happened to everyone so we had to sit back and watch the public dissect your life,” she said.

currency was overvalued, have stayed on the sidelines: Nigerian stocks declined 33 per cent in dollar terms in the past year, the worst performance globally, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Onadele, a former chief trader at Citigroup Inc.’s Nigerian unit who criticized the central bank last October for leaning on dealers not to let the currency fall, said this time around CBN governor Godwin Emefiele was relaxed about the weaker rate.

“The governor isn’t calling up, worrying about the rate,” Onadele said. “The central bank is ready to sell into this window, via the commercial banks. Any foreign portfolio investor that wants to leave Nigeria will get its money.

“If a foreign portfolio investor wants $100 million tomorrow, its bank should present the trade to the central bank. As long as the investor’s satisfied paying the rate, it will be done.”

The implication is that bond and stock investors would have to disregard the other exchange rates that now exist in Nigeria, with the central bank charging businesses different prices for foreign exchange depending on their needs.

“Foreign portfolio investors should ignore the multiple exchange rates,” he said. “This new window is the relevant one that applies to them. The way the central bank has matched sources of inflows and applications appears unorthodox, but it has ensured a smooth take off.”

Meanwhile, the

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) improved by 51.1 index points in April 2017, indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector after three months of contraction.

This was revealed in the PMI report for April 2017 that was released by the CBN yesterday.

The PMI is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector.

The central bank’s increased dollar sales to banks in late February to try and curb FX shortages have impacted positively on the manufacturing sector.

The latest PMI report showed that 10 of the 16 sub-sectors reported growth in April in the following order: appliances & components; food, beverage & tobacco products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; chemical & pharmaceutical products; cement; nonmetallic mineral products; printing & related support activities; furniture & related products; electrical equipment and plastics & rubber products.

Paper products; primary metal; computer & electronic products; fabricated metal products; petroleum & coal products and transportation equipment sub-sectors, however, reported a decline in the reviewed period.

Also, the report showed that the production level index for the manufacturing sector expanded for the second consecutive month in April.

The index at 58.5 points indicated an increase in

production at a faster rate, compared to the 50.8 points in the previous month.

Similarly, 13 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded an increase in production levels during the review month in the following order: chemical & pharmaceutical products; electrical equipment; transportation equipment; food, beverage & tobacco products; appliances & components; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; cement; nonmetallic mineral products; printing & related support activities; furniture & related products; plastics & rubber products; computer & electronic products and fabricated metal products.

But the petroleum and coal products sub-sectors remained unchanged, while the primary metal and paper products sub-sectors recorded declines in production in April 2017.

However, the employment level index in April 2017 stood at 46.6 points, indicating a slowing decline in employment level after twenty-six consecutive months of decline.

Of the 16 sub-sectors, twelve recorded declines in employment in the following order: computer & electronic products; electrical equipment; cement; fabricated metal products; petroleum & coal products; nonmetallic mineral products; printing & related support activities; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; chemical & pharmaceutical products; plastics & rubber products; food, beverage & tobacco products and paper products.

Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, had also warned that “some people” in the corridors of power were feasting on Buhari’s health.

Akande added that the uncertainty over his health was taking a toll on the country and expressed fear that the country may be thrown into anarchy.

CBN SANCTIONS 14 BANKS FOR CROWDING OUT SMES IN FX MARKET semi-finished items despite the availability of FX from the CBN wholesale intervention window.

Confirming the sanction, CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor said the CBN’s management decided to bar banks that were yet to utilise any portion of the funds allocated by the CBN under the SME window, since its inception last month.

The affected banks will be barred from participating in the weekly wholesale spot and forwards interventions, he said.

He listed the banks not barred to include Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Heritage Bank, Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Unity Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, warning that the CBN would not sit back and allow any form of instability in the interbank FX market through the actions of institutions or individuals.

He, however, disclosed that the action will be lifted immediately any of the affected banks show evidence of significant utilisation of the funds allocated to them under the SME window.

As an incentive, Okorafor said banks that had utilised their SME funds were allocated all of the $100 million sold at yesterday’s wholesale auction.

He urged all stakeholders to play by the rules for the benefit of the country and the economy.

The CBN also sustained its intervention by injecting $196.2 million into the various segments of the FX market yesterday.

According to Okorafor, the

central bank offered $100 million to authorised dealers during the wholesale auction.

A breakdown of the other interventions showed that the CBN made available $52 million to the SME segment, while invisibles such as personal and basic travel allowances, medicals and tuition got $44.2 million.

Okorafor also announced interventions in the retail auction window, which he said would be computed when the CBN receives requests made by customers to the CBN through their respective banks.

He also disclosed that the central bank would continue its weekly sale of $20,000 to dealers in the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment this week.

The spokesman expressed confidence that the interventions will continue to guarantee stability in the market and ensure availability to individuals and business concerns.

But as the CBN slammed the hammer on 14 lenders, Bloomberg reported yesterday that foreign investors had begun to key in to the new FX window opened by the CBN last week to ease a severe shortage of dollars.

The naira’s depreciation in the window to almost the same level as the parallel rate means that the new market is already “nearing equilibrium,” Bloomberg quoted the chief executive of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Mr. Bola ‘Koko’ Onadele as stating.

The central bank is ready to supply dollars to bond and stock investors, even for trades of as much as $100 million, he said.

“There’s already been interest from portfolio investors because they can see that the new window will have buyers and sellers determining the rate,” Onadele said in an emailed response to questions.

“The banks are talking to portfolio investors. Volumes will build up.”

The Investors’ and Exporters’ FX window, which started on April 24, is the central bank’s latest attempt to lure back investors who fled in the past two years, exacerbating a crisis that caused Nigeria’s economy to shrink in 2016 for the first time in a quarter of a century.

The idea is that by creating a market for some types of investment transactions, policy makers can satisfy calls to float the currency without risking an inflationary spiral that may come from a formal devaluation.

The naira opened on Monday at 380.31 per dollar in the window. That’s about 17 per cent weaker than the interbank rate of N315 and close to the rate of N391 on the parallel market, which many Nigerian businesses were forced to utilise as hardcurrency supplies through official channels dried up.

Eligible transactions in the window include those for loan repayments, interest payments, capital repatriation and remittances.

While Nigeria devalued the naira on the interbank market last June, it stopped short of allowing a free float and intervened to prop up the exchange rate.

Investors, concerned that the

…AISHA BUHARI BREAKS SILENCE, SAYS HER HUSBAND’S HEALTH IS NOT THAT BAD now is to pray for his good health and not to speculate or draw conclusions which will do no one any good.”

The forum advised Nigerians to pray for the improvement of

Buhari’s health so that he can serve the nation with vigor.

The four-paragraph statement also expressed concern about the sour relationship between the

National Assembly and the executive and called on the National Assembly to “think of Nigeria above all other considerations”.

Some prominent Nigerians,

including human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, on Monday had asked the president to proceed on medical vacation in order to cater to his health.

The former National

WENESDAY MAY 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

11

NEWS

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

PINE Probe: Senate C’ttee Indicts Babachir, Demands His Prosecution

Recommends further investigation into payment of N500m into Rholavision account Alleges SGF was signatory to company’s accounts, 13 others Senate reverses self, commences screening of president’s nominees Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate adhoc Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crises in the North-east has indicted the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal for breach of the Public Procurement Act and for abuse of his official position in the administration of the Presidential Initiative on the North-east (PINE).

The Senator Shehu Sani-led committee also recommended that Lawal be investigated to determine why companies that were awarded contracts by PINE paid over N500 million into the accounts of Rholavision Engineering Ltd, in which Lawal has an interest.

He was also recommended for prosecution.

The committee, in its final report laid before the Senate yesterday, said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that Lawal, despite his claim that he had resigned from Rholavision, was still the signatory to the accounts of Rholavision and 13 other accounts, some of them with different names.

The report, which was obtained

by THISDAY, was yet to be considered for adoption by the Senate.

The committee also established that PINE has paid less attention to the critical needs of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North-east, but preferred to use the bulk of available resources on

issues that served the pecuniary interest of officials and associates.

It therefore recommended that all resources found to have been misapplied or stolen, should be retrieved and anyone found culpable should be prosecuted by the relevant agencies.

The committee, in its interim report laid in December 2016, had indicted Lawal, but had expressed its intention to reopen the probe following a letter by President Muhammadu Buhari that Lawal and Rholavision were not given fair hearing.

Buhari’s position prompted the committee to reopen the investigation to enable Lawal appear before it on March 14.

Lawal had however failed to honour the invitation, initially writing to the committee that he had gone to court to challenge his summons, then made a U-turn and requested for another date to appear.

A new date was scheduled for April 27, but Lawal who had by this time been suspended by the president over the allegations, again failed to appear before the committee. Neither did he send any communication to the committee, whose members waited for him for two hours.

Lawal is currently being investigated by a presidential panel headed by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

The final report yesterday echoed

most of the recommendations of the interim report and read in full: “That since there is evidence of malnutrition, hunger and starvation among the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the federal government and states in the North-east should as a matter of urgency see that food items, shelter and other essentials are adequately and promptly provided to the IDPs in order to address the prevailing malnutrition observed among them.

“That the issue of many out-ofschool children in the IDP camps as a result of poor education facilities necessitates that concerted efforts should be made by both the federal and state governments of the North-east to provide a conducive learning atmosphere for the children of the IDPs. “That the complete absence of personnel of the Federal Ministry of Health in the IDP camps leaves much to be desired, hence the ministry should be compelled to immediately deploy its personnel to all the IDP camps to support

the efforts of the international humanitarian crisis managers and the Nigerian Air Force medical team in providing the necessary medical assistance so as to avert a possible outbreak of communicable diseases like cholera, measles, and diarrhea, etc.

“That the Senate do condemns the failure of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) that are critical to the emergency management to appear before the committee despite several invitations.

“That since it was established that PINE was paying less attention to the critical needs of the IDPs in the form of housing, the bulk of the resources were used for issues that were not addressing the immediate needs of the IDPs, but it rather wasted resources on issues that merely addressed the pecuniary needs/interests of the officials and associates therefore, the

committee recommends that there is the need for concerted efforts to reorient the intervention effort to address the immediate needs such as health, education, rebuilding of homes, infrastructure and a secure environment.

“That since one of the issues hindering the management of emergency situation in the IDP camps is the lack of synergy and proper coordination among all humanitarian crisis managers in the camps, the committee recommends that the newly constituted Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI) should ensure that there is proper synergy and coordination and government should ensure that PCNI be manned by people of high integrity; and inclusive enough to accommodate the leaders of the various communities that are involved.

“That since all the contracts awarded by PINE were awarded under the principle of emergency situations, PINE should forward

a detailed report of all contracts awarded by it to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), in accordance with Section 43(iv) of the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

“That since it was observed that there was no bill of quantities on most of the contracts awarded

by PINE under the emergency situation, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) should undertake a revaluation of all such contracts to recover any proceeds from over-inflated contracts.

“That the relevant agencies should ensure that contracts partially executed but fully paid for must be completed by the concerned contractors, or they should be asked to refund the equivalent money of outstanding jobs to the government treasury.

“That all resources that have been misapplied or stolen by public officials should be retrieved and anybody found culpable of contravening any of the provisions

Cont’d on page 51

AMCON Injects N1.5bn into Ailing Arik Air Obinna Chima The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has injected a total of N1.5 billion into Arik Air since it took over the distressed airline in February 2017.

The Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, who disclosed this during an interactive session on activities at Arik, two months after the new management team was appointed

by AMCON, commended the corporation for its support.

“AMCON indeed has been very supportive with funds and that is why we are still here today. I would say that in the first couple of weeks that we took over, AMCON injected approximately N1.5 billion. Basically, that has sustained us comfortably,” he explained, while responding to questions by journalists.

Ilegbodu added: “A lot of people think that in three or four months, you can turn around an airline. But it doesn’t work so in this business. Everything is well guided because you have to make sure all the parts of the business are in order. Everything is done systematically and AMCON has supported us very well. We have been able to source spare parts and as I speak, we have spare parts arriving on daily basis.

“So, we have managed to stabilise operations and the unpaid staff have been paid salaries and we are up to date on that. A lot of the

expatriates also, we have paid them up to date. As of today, we operate a fleet of about eight aircrafts, but by mid-May, we would have 14 airplanes in service and we are going to maintain that number for a while.

“We don’t want to grow the operations so rapidly because it has its own setback. Our passenger number has gone up considerably and on Friday, alone we lifted over 3,000 passengers. But decision has to be made on how to proceed in the future.”

According to him, a lot of the aircraft his team met on ground were “cannibalised.” This, he said, meant that what the previous management was doing was that they used spare parts from those airplanes on ground that were not functional to keep the few flying operational, which he alleged degraded the status of all the planes on ground, saying it wasn’t in line with best practice.

Ilegbodu further explained that in the last two months when his team took over operation at Arik, they have tried to regain control and slowed things down deliberately because the industry is one where safety is very critical.

“When we took over in February, we looked at what was on ground at Arik. What we met was quite interesting and disturbing also.

For an airline that had about 30 aircraft on its book, they were

Cont’d on page 50

THIS IS YOUR COPY, YOUR EXCELLENCY

L-R: Chairman, Editorial Board, THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, presenting a copy of his book: A ‘ gainst the Run of Play’ to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, during a celebration to mark the former president’s 80th birthday organised by his political children in Lagos...weekend Mubo Peters

Anyaoku Backs Akinyemi, Says FG Should Stop Leaks on NIAwithin the country.

Akinyemi, a former Minister of to ring in my ears. It is one of the Obinna Chima

Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, has aligned himself with the position of Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, warning that the activities of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) should never be made a public affair.

Anyaoku, said this in a statement he released yesterday.

He explained that apart from his intervention that led to the signing of the Abuja Accord by all the presidential candidates in the run-up to the 2015 national election, he hardly issue public statements on developments

“But because of its gravity, I feel compelled to publicly express my full support for the statement by Akinyemi on the need to stop leaking secrets on NIA which I have just read in our media while on a visit to London.

“It is common practice by responsible governments throughout the world for only the head of government and his/her very few appropriate ministers to be involved in the operations of the nation’s external secret service.

While not sparing every effort to check corruption, to expand the scope of such involvement would be doing huge damage to the security of the state,” he said.

Foreign Affairs, had recently warned that the report of the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo panel investigating the discovery of N13.3 billion in an apartment in Ikoyi by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should remain classified in order not to compromise national security.

Akinyemi had said when news broke that some millions of dollars had been found hidden in a flat in Ikoyi, he was quite indifferent, as it had become a “recurring decimal.”

“I was not even bothered when nobody initially stepped forward to claim it. But when Ayo Oke stepped forward to claim it on the part of the NIA, alarm bells started

sacred traditions of the external intelligence trade to admit nothing and to deny nothing,” he said.

Akinyemi, who was also the deputy chairman of the 2014 National Conference had noted that a saving grace emerged when the president set up the Osinbajo panel to untangle the web over the millions of dollars.

“But the president inadvertently made a mistake. He did not appoint anyone with a history of external intelligence experience unto the panel. External intelligence operations do not belong in the same security genre as domestic security forces such as the DSS, EFCC and the police.”

12

WENESDAY MAY 3, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Intelligence Report Declares Biafra Agitators, IMN, Boko Haram Threats to National Security A report emanating from the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari has declared secessionist agitation groups like the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) as a threat to the nation’s security.

Other groups declared as enemies of the state are Boko Haram terrorists, Niger Delta militants, Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN or the Shiite group), Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS recruitment cells, armed herdsmen, cattle rustling and gun running syndicates.

Classified documents sighted by THISDAY titled: ‘2016 Annual Threat Assessment’, showed that a multi-agency and multidisciplinary organisation called the Intelligence Fusion Centre (IFC) has been created to analyse information from different sources and agencies with respect to threat to the country.

IFC will then integrate all information gathered by different security agencies into a single intelligence product.

The IFC, intelligence sources said, would make it easier for security agencies to share information.

In determining which organisation constitutes a threat to the country, the IFC considers both intent and capability.

“For it is the combination of these two factors that most sharply characterises the significance of these threats to the security of Nigeria,” the 2016 Annual Threat Assessment states.

“The above classification, perhaps explains the decision to clamp down on both the IMN and IPOB. International human rights organisations such as the Amnesty International reported that excessive forces were used

by Nigerian security agencies in dealing with both IMN and IPOB. Until last week, the leaders of both groups were kept in jail.

However, IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, was granted bail under stringent conditions which those in authorities believed would not be able to meet.

Kanu however pulled a surprise and fulfilled all the bail conditions. He was consequently released.

But leader of IMN, Sheikh Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, was not as lucky. He had been in jail for almost a year and a half.

An order of a Federal High Court directing government to free him and his wife was not complied with. The decision to disobey the court order might have been informed by intelligence classifying the group he leads as a threat to the nation.

Meanwhile, the Londonbased Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has written to President Muhammadu Buhari asking him to release

Zakzaky on medical grounds.

A copy of the letter obtained

by THISDAY reads: “Concerns are mounting for the Sheikh’s deteriorating health following injuries sustained from gunshot wounds during the military assault against the IMN in December 2015.

“During that attack in Zaria in which over 1,000 people were killed, Sheikh Zakzaky lost the use of an arm and one of his eyes.

“Since then, together with his wife, he has been in the custody of Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency Department of Security Service (DSS), detained without charge. Reports from family members now indicate that he is in real danger of losing

sight in his other eye.

“Despite repeated pleas Sheikh Zakzaky has not been allowed access to suitable medical treatment. The most immediate requirement is for him to be seen by a specialist opthalmologist in a well-equipped facility where treatment can be urgently administered if deemed to be necessary.

“You will no doubt be mindful of the fact that prompt and effective intervention can help secure the best medical outcomes for patients. This is why you yourself have travelled to London to seek medical treatment twice since last June.

“Having availed yourself of the opportunity to access specialist treatment, it would

surely be wrong of you to prevent other Nigerian citizens from doing the same whether that it is inside or outside the country.

“Sheikh Zakzaky is a double victim. Firstly, he is being held illegally by the DSS in flagrant violation of a recent High Court order demanding his release.

At the same time, the detaining authorities are preventing him from receiving urgent medical attention which is only aggravating his condition.

“In the interests of justice, compassion and fairness. we urge you to immediately allow Sheikh Zakzaky to access urgent medical care and release him unconditionally in line with the law and due process.”

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

13

14

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

COMMENT

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

AS NNAMDI KANU REGAINS FREEDOM… Sonnie Ekwowusi argues that the release of the IPOB leader offers ample room for negotiation

A

fter nearly two years of incarceration, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Mr. Nnamdi Kanu regained his freedom last week. All things being equal, Kanu will likely continue to enjoy his freedom while he faces trial. Ostensibly bowing to the rule of law and the ceaseless mounting agitations for the release of Kanu, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja had last Tuesday granted Nnamdi Kanu bail. But unfortunately the bail turned out to be a Greek bail because of the suffocating conditions attached to it.

Justice Nyako had ruled that the court was minded to grant Kanu bail because of his deteriorating health conditions because “it is only the living that can stand trial”. Thereafter, Justice Nyako said something which contradicted her earlier statement that she was minded to grant Kanu bail. She gave Kanu 10 excruciating bail conditions to fulfil before his bail could be perfected. The 10 conditions were: one, Mr. Kanu must not hold rallies; two, Mr. Kanu must not grant interviews; three, he must not be in a crowd of more than 10 persons; four, he must provide three sureties in the sum of N100 million each; five, one of Kanu’s sureties must be a senior highly-placed person of Igbo extraction such as a Senator; six, the second surety must be a highly respected Jewish leader since Mr. Kanu said his religion is Judaism; seven, the third surety to be provided by Mr. Kanu must be a highly respected person who owns landed property and is resident in Abuja; eight, Mr. Kanu must deposit his Nigerian passport with the court; nine, he must also deposit his British passport with the court and ten, he must provide the court with reports on the progress of his health and treatment on a monthly basis.

If Justice Nyako had been minded to exercise her discretion judiciously and judicially to grant Kanu bail on health ground, why did she simultaneously make the perfection of the bail almost impossible by attaching some excruciating conditions to it? The right to bail directly flows from the constitutional right to liberty guaranteed under section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Although bail conditions are at the discretion of the court having regard to the circumstances of the case and the possibility/impossibility of the accused jumping bail, the courts have held that such bail conditions must never be excruciating or excessive. As the court held in OBEKPA V STATE, until the guilt of the accused is established by the prosecution, the court should be careful not to take steps that would appear simply punitive and that includes granting the accused bail on very onerous grounds. In his book with the title: Rights of Suspects and Accused Persons Under Nigerian Criminal Law, Chief Frank Agbedo dedicated some pages to the liberalising bail process in Nigeria. According to Chief Agbedo, “conditions for bail ought to be very liberal, with more credence being given to the integrity, patriotism and availability of the surety, rather than his status

THE UPHOLDING OF KANU’S RIGHT TO HIS PERSONAL LIBERTY WHILE HE FACES TRIAL IS BOUND TO CALM DOWN NERVES

and proof of means. These conditions in most cases, because of their cumbersome nature, translate to giving bail with one hand, and withholding it with the other hand by the same court that granted it”. In his book: Practical Approach to Criminal Litigation in Nigeria, James Atta Agaba Esq. writes that ordinarily there is no special qualification to be possessed before someone can act as a surety. All what a person needs to qualify as a surety are: he must be a person of a known address; a person of good character and a person acceptable to court.

Anyway, whatever might have transpired before, during and after Kanu was granted bail, the undeniable fact is that he has finally regained his freedom. To be sure, the upholding of Kanu’s right to his personal liberty while he faces trial is bound to calm down nerves. It will assuage the pain and anger of many. More importantly, it is an invitation to the inauguration of a new era of peace and concord.

It is hoped that other detained IPOB members will soon regain their freedom. If that happens, it might pave way for a rapprochement between the government and IPOB that might lead to the healing of old wounds. There is no harm in dialogue. Therefore, the Buhari government should explore the option of entering into dialogue with IPOB and other separatist movements in Nigeria. Mowing down defenceless IPOB members is no option at all. You cannot open fire on defenceless civilians simply because you hate the word Biafra. That is completely unacceptable. We cannot relish in wasting human lives. In any case, what is sauce for the goose is equally sauce for the gander. If the government has entered into dialogue with the Niger Delta militants and had in the past tried to do the same with Boko Haram, why can’t the government equally extend the same gesture to IPOB? Until IPOB is treated the same way other separatist groups are treated the public will continue to read political meanings into the swooping and killing of members of IPOB. Dialoguing with some separatist groups while killing and prosecuting IPOB members evinces a double standard.

Finally we must be careful not to remain at the level of pitching camp and declaring war against every Jannes or Jambres that rears up his head. That is a pretty waste of energy. For me, the real issue as stake goes beyond Nnamdi Kanu, IPOB or MASSOB. The real issue is how to remedy the commutative injustice being suffered by the Igbos. If 47 years after the Nigerian Civil War the Igbos are still embittered that many parts of Igbo land are still looking like conquered war zones, as exemplified in the extant Olisa Agbakoba’s ground-breaking suit against the government, it means that we are just holding the form of federalism but denying the power of it. Until we accept the power of federalism and allow the power to shape the scheme of things we would continue to move round and round in concentric circle.

LIFE IS THEATRE Lagos is a place where the stage mirrors life, writes Uche Nwokedi

L

ife is theatre, and theatre is older than civilisation. The first drama to be performed anywhere must have been in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve suddenly realised that they were naked. The prologue to that scene would be the devil in the guise of a serpent seducing Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Was it a conspiracy? Was Eve part of the plot or was she just naïve?

The conflict would have been provided by the Adam accusing Eve of deceiving him, and blaming God for putting Eve with him.

An honest mea culpa could have absolved him but he welched. Such a wimp! “It is the woman you gave me”, could easily be the punch line in a scene in a play. But that self-serving deflection by Adam to a straight forward question was the turning point in the drama that ended with the fall of man from grace. The epilogue would be the exit of Adam and Eve from Eden in loin cloths made of fig leaves, leading in part to the troubles we now have in Nigeria. A stretch of imagination? Maybe. Can you imagine the scurrying around that must have been done

by Adam and Eve when they heard God’s voice and their eventual admission of guilt?

Life is theatre.

Lagos is non-stop drama. One day in the life of Lagos is a composite of snapshots from different walks of life. From the young man, who cuts into your lane at the roundabout, without indicating, obviously proving that he “bought” his driver’s license, to the young lady who comfortably rides pillion on an “okada” and is sending text messages as the “okada” rider weaves and bops his way through the narrow spaces he can find in between cars in rush hour traffic. Dangerous living? Not really! A piece of cake if you have no thought of your own future. Wow, look!

There are some street hawkers here who can rival Usain Bolt for initial acceleration, if there is likely to be a sale at the end of the chase. Oh! What about that well- spoken lady clad in an Armani style skirt suit, who steps out of a shiny new Kia Picanto and squares up against both the “danfo” bus driver and his conductor with the bulging biceps, for scrapping against her side mirror?

Lagos living is about attitude and stepping up. Shakespeare himself would have happily proclaimed Lagosians as “players that strut and fret their hours upon the stage”. What about that gentleman in a bespoke Brioni suit, who pretends to be reading a newspaper whilst his driver and rented police orderly

drive him up a one-way street against traffic?

All in the course of a day! Lagos has so much soul and rhythm that even when it winds down at the end of the day, it does not sleep.

It purrs! You can feel that it is merely catching its breath to start the next day’s race before the break of dawn.

Lagos City is life at a furious pace. It is the throng of area boys gathered around the socialite in resplendent white as he steps out of his black shiny SUV, some with one fist raised in acknowledgement and in salutatory deference, and the others with stretched out hands and upward facing palms waiting to spoon in their own share of the same ubiquitous $43 million, wherever it might be found. It is Igbosere Street with the row of shops that service the law courts. It is the “bread and akara” that nurtured young people in the days before the advent of Mr. Biggs and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Lagos is simply St. Gregory’s College, the oasis of learning and culture in Obalende and one of the most consistent performers in the evergreen and enduring Principals’ Cup. Lagos is 50 years of existence and counting.

It is real time theatre at its best. It is also the $43 million dollars, orphaned and abandoned in a luxury apartment in upmarket Ikoyi,

which on a calm and sober reflection translates into many water borehole schemes for many indigent communities in Nigeria, or perhaps many free exercise books for primary education in rural Nigeria, or maybe even meningitis and river blindness treatment for thousands of people.

Lagos City is a place where the stage mirrors life, and life personifies the woven fabric of the struggles that live in it, a way to re-connect and recreate on several levels.

It is the large swatches of darkness in the night punctuated only by the din and racket of a massive collection of privately owned and managed power grids called generators.

In the plot of the drama that unravels from sunrise to sundown, and in the twist of the interlocking teardrops, the yin and the yang, the line is blurred and reality becomes the drama of the jaded and the cynical. On a lighter note, Lagos is that musical called Kakadu, a “celebration of the infinite possibilities” in life, rich and enthralling, a journey back from Lagos to Eko City, a roller coaster of music, dance and emotions. A powerful narrative of love, friendship and the loss of innocence. Life indeed is theatre and we should give thanks to God for such a gift!

Nwokedi,SAN, wrote from Lagos

15

T H I S D AY Ëž ÍąËœ 2017

EDITORIAL INEC AND REGISTER OF VOTERS The electoral body is on track

W

ith some of its recent activities, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is increasingly trying to raise the conďŹ dence level in the electoral process.

About a month ago, the electoral body announced the date for the 2019 general elections, two clear years ahead and a time long enough for all stakeholders to put their house in order. Last week, after wide consultations, INEC announced the commencement of the continuous voter registration (CVR) across the 774 local government councils in the country. “We want to assure Nigerians that the current exercise is just the beginning,� said INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu. “We are considering deploying personnel to cover 8,809 wards and 120,000 polling units.�

To the extent that the essence of democracy is to afford the people the opportunity to choose their leaders and subsequently participate in the way they are governed, we believe THE REGISTRATION that INEC is on the OF VOTERS AND THE right course. However, COLLECTION OF THE the road ahead is still PVCS ARE CENTRAL TO nonetheless long and THE SUCCESS OF OUR thorny. While millions ELECTORAL DEMOCRACY of citizens are now in a position to perform this important duty of electing leaders, many others could not do so in the past because of one problem or the other. As we therefore seek to deepen our democracy and advance the common good, it is important that all persons of voting age are included in the voter register in order for them to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed franchise as well as have a say on how they are governed.

The present exercise by INEC offers those who have just turned 18 years of age or those who did not register previously to do so. In addition, those who have changed abodes can rectify their registration just as those who

could not collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs) before the last general elections and therefore could not vote now have an opportunity to do so. “The commission wishes to reiterate its commitment to consolidating our democracy by ensuring that citizens are given the opportunity to register as voters on a continuous basis as enshrined in the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) well before elections,� said INEC in statement.

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ndeed, the registration of voters and the collection of the PVCs are central to the success of our electoral democracy. We are acutely aware of the challenge associated with the production and distribution of PVCs during the last general elections. It, indeed, raised the political temperatures to abnormal levels. Barely less than two weeks to the presidential elections earlier slated for February 14, 2015, the electoral body could only distribute less than 45 million PVCs to eligible voters out of the 68 million registered voters. Equally numbing was that substantial numbers of the outstanding were still being printed and thus prompted many to ask at the time: If millions of PVCs were still being printed less than two weeks to the election, when would they be distributed across the nation? And when would they be collected by the voters?

The challenge was underlined by the difďŹ culties voters encountered in their bid to collect the PVCs already distributed. Across the entire nation, the cards collection centres were either inadequate or there were no ofďŹ cials to man them, leading to inexcusable delays and stress.

Many could not ďŹ nd their names in the register and for some of those who did, their cards were not available.

Viewed against this background, we commend INEC for not only trying to improve on the operational template inherited from his predecessor, but also to ďŹ netune the process with a view to eliminating past lapses in the forthcoming general elections. And as Yakubu has promised, we expect the exercise to be extended to the wards to ensure that anyone eligible to register is registered.

We appeal to all Nigerians to cooperate with the commission to ensure the success of the exercise.

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

Letters to the Editor

LAGOS’PROGRESSION AT 50

E

vents marking the golden jubilee anniversary of Lagos State have commenced and it will last till May 27. It recently began with a special Musical Play, “Wakaa�, at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

No doubt, the anniversary, dubbed by the Co-chair of the Lagos @ 50 Planning Committee, Mr. Habeeb Fasinro as “a celebration of Lagosians, by Lagosians, for Lagosians� is a milestone event that ushers in a golden and unique opportunity to document and capture for posterity, in print and on audio-visual, different aspects of the history and progress of the state as well as the contributions of its icons and builders.

For Lagos, the need for celebration is pertinent. Of all the 12 states created in 1967 by General Yakubu Gowon, only Lagos State has remained indivisible. Aside this, from inception till date, Lagos has continued to show the way forward in its commitment to a Nigeria where no one is denied opportunities for self actualisation on mundane considerations. In fact, the poetic tag of Eko gb’ole, ogb’ole (Lagos harbours all manners of people) is a metaphor that quite defines the status of Lagos as a melting pot in Nigeria.

Lagos’ cosmopolitan nature makes it a basket of paradox. The burgeoning mega city is home to all sorts of people. It is in Lagos that you get to meet some of the hardest working people on the face of the earth. But it is also here that you get to meet people who live on the fast lane and flaunt wealth without any visible source of livelihood. The former constitutes bulk of icons, administrators, business mogul, literary giants, legal luminaries, social and civil actors currently on display boards across the state.

The question might be asked, why the grand celebration? The state government has decided to make Lagos Golden Jubilee anniversary a grand one because the ‘Centre of Excellence’ does not do things in half measures. Apart from this, all indicators point to the fact that the metropolis has good reasons to celebrate. Lagos is already a megacity of about 21 million people with a strong internal brand. If Lagos was a state in the United States, its GDP would be higher than the one of 14 other states, including New Mexico, Delaware, North Dakota. The GDP of Lagos State alone is already bigger than the GDP of Kenya, and bigger than the combined GDPs of 25 other African countries.

Inside the federated states of Nigeria, Lagos contributes 25% to the national GDP (or 32% to non-oil national GDP) while being the smallest of the 36 states. Lagos is 65% of Nigerian tourism, 50% of national port revenue, over 70% of international air traffic, and 50% of national energy consumption. In the upcoming year, Lagos is poised to become the third megacity in the world just after Tokyo and Mumbai. That’s a solid foundation to build on.

Fortunately, the state has a development plan and steadily but surely building a foundation for the progress of the state with varied futuristic public policies targeting development of state’s public infrastructure and utilities and at the same time focusing on putting an end to anything that could blight the development plan of the state.

In terms of branding, Lagos once had a reputation of being a dirty and disorganised city. That was prior to 1999 when heaps of refuse, bloated death bodies, abandoned broken down vehicles and decayed infrastructure among other negative narratives were common features

in the state. Without doubt, succeeding administrations since 1999 have positively transformed the profile of Lagos State. Today, nobody is talking about heaps of refuse again.

One aspect of life that was also as interesting as it was dangerous in the state in the recent past was the menace of the ‘Area Boys’ (street urchins). At a point, these boys became a law unto themselves and military administrations from the era of Gbolahan Mudashiru to that of Mohammed Buba Marwa battled endlessly to rid Lagos of their menace. Oshodi, Charity, Mile 12, Ebute Ero and the likes used to be notorious flash points of nefarious activities of ‘Area Boys’. As of 1996, the number of ‘Area Boys’ operating on Lagos Island alone was around 1,000.

From 1999 till date, conducive policy environment that deals with youth unemployment and phasing out of notorious flash points were used to tackle the worrisome trend. Today, the ‘Area Boys’ menace has been systematically dealt with in the state.

The good thing is that, from all indications, Lagos has a very bright future. The present administration in the state is unrelentingly committed to the Lagos State Development Plan, paying great attention to all the four pillars of development as they affect the economy, security and the environment. Cheerfully, Lagos is now an oil-producing state, but in reality the government is not distracted by this. The focus of the current government is to ensure that in the next two to three years, the state’s IGR will account for 100% of its revenue, so that it will hardly depend on the allocations from Abuja.

Rasak Musbau, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Lagos

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

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T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Group Politics Editor Tobi Soniyi Email tobi.soniyi@thisdaylive.com 08033146139 SMS ONLY

THE NEWSMAKER

Many Battles of NDDC Boss Following alleged refusal to pay his debts and failure to honour a loan obligation, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Corporation, Nsima Ekere had his bank accounts frozen, following an order of a federal court. Segun James takes a look at the many battles Ekere has had to face since he was a deputy governor of Akwa Ibom state

I

n Nigerian politics, there are two ways in dealing with aching problems in the polity: one is to blame imaginary enemies for whatever is happening even though the truth is obvious and glaring; the other is to pretend and assume that the problem would go away with time.

Whichever of these solutions Mr. Nsima Ekere, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) and former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom state may have applied, it seems not to be working for him.

Recently, a Federal High Court in Uyo ordered that all monies in his bank accounts be frozen. His plot of land located at Plot A, 921 Lagos Street, Ewet Housing Estate, Akwa-Ibom was also seized.

The court’s decision came at a most embarrassing time for Ekere who, since being announced the NDDC boss has assumed more respectability after years in the (political) cold.

He was said to have obtained a twenty-seven million naira loan from now defunct Oceanic Banks and refused to pay the debt, a common practice among Nigerian political class.

As a result of his failure to pay the debts, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the receiver company of Oceanic Bank dragged Ekere to court and got an injunction freezing all his bank accounts, until the plaintiff (AMCON) recovers its money from the defendant.

In the ruling delivered on Thursday, March 20, 2017 in case number: FHC/UY/CS/36/2017, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Uyo ordered as follows: “That an order is thus granted to freeze all monies and/or whatsoever assets due to the defendants from all bank accounts maintained by him with all commercial banks in Nigeria to wit: Access Bank Nigeria Plc, Citi Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Eco Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monumental Bank, And First Bank Of Nigeria.

“Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Heritage Bank Plc, Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Stanbic Ibtc Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Unity Bank Of Nigeria, United Bank Of Nigeria, Wema Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, situate up to the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720.93 (Twenty-seven million, Twenty-two thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Naira, Ninety-three Kobo) only being a debt owed by the defendant as at 20th February 2017 in respect of the credit facility granted to the defendant by the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc. (now Eco Bank Plc.).

“The defendant, his agents, privies or any other person natural or artificial, however so-called, under the control of the defendant, is restrained from transferring or otherwise dealing with any monies standing to the credit of the defendant with any of the aforementioned banks wherever situated up to the amount of the plaintiff/applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720,93.

The court also ordered the commissioner of police to provide mobile police security to the plaintiff to assist the enforcement of taking over of Ekere’s plot of land located at Ewet Housing Estate in Uyo. All these are coming on the heels of a bombshell released by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against

Ekere....has his accounts frozen

Corruption (PACAC) Prof. Itse Sagay, saying the NNDC was extremely corrupt and lacked transparency.

According to him, the recklessness with

Ekere was not new to controversy. As deputy governor to Godswill Akpabio, in 2012, he resigned from office through a twoparagraph letter to the governor saying he resigned for personal reasons. However, it was generally believed that the resignation was tendered to stave off an impeachment notice from the House of Assembly.

Ekere, who until then was been considered as one of the leading candidates to succeed Akpabio in the 2015 election, was caught up in the intrigues surrounding the 2015 race

which public officers spend public funds is insensitive to the point of insanity.

Sagay who spoke in March, 2017 at the opening of a two-day national dialogue on corruption organised by PACAC in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President accused NDDC of buying 70 cars, including eight Super Lexus Jeeps at N78 million each and 10 Landcruisers SUVs each costing N63 million.

He said: “The cars were bought with money from funds meant for infrastructure, water, housing, hospital and schools, without conscience and without a thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta.

“These huge sums were plundered from their allocations and yet the Managing Director was ironically complaining as reported by the newspapers of Feb. 6, 2017 that the NDDC lacks funds to executive projects. The managing director also said that NDDC was in debt up to the tune of N1.2 trillion. What an irony.”

Ekere was not new to controversy. As deputy governor to Godswill Akpabio, in 2012, he resigned from office through a two-paragraph letter to the governor saying he resigned for personal reasons. However, it was generally believed that the resignation was tendered to stave off an impeachment notice from the House of Assembly. Ekere, who until then was been considered as one of the leading candidates to succeed Akpabio in the 2015 election, was caught up in the intrigues surrounding the 2015 race.

In the resignation letter, dated October 31, 2012, Ekere said: “Pursuant to Section 306 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), I kindly notify you of my resignation from the office of Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State forthwith on personal grounds.

“I want to thank you immensely for the

opportunity to serve Akwa Ibom State and wish you and the good people of Akwa Ibom State well in the remaining years of your administration.” The resignation letter personally signed by him was received by the governor.

Speaking on the reason why he had to let go Ekere as his deputy, Akpabio has this to say. “My choice of deputy was Nsima Ekere.

I brought him on board, that is the one you could say there was a disagreement and then, the disagreement was not because of the fact that he was not a good guy, the problem was that of political exigency.

“The reason was that a mega party was coming in Nigeria, and the emergence of the mega party meant that some of my colleagues like the one in Rivers state were a key player and it was time to recruit people very close to me as part and parcel of the mega party.

And he may have resisted, but because of their very close relationship, he could also be used as a medium to create insecurity in my state.

“So the reason is that it was for the political survival of my administration that Nsima Ekere resigned. That’s why I’m very happy that God has given him opportunity as Managing Director of NDDC. I applaud him and I wish him the best and a successful tenure in that establishment.

“A deputy governor is like a wife, it’s a marriage between a man and a woman and so the man has to be comfortable with his wife for the marriage to continue. You can have social friends and there is social cohesion, but politically you may not be cohesive because people have different ideologies, so sometimes, there could be disagreement between friends politically, but socially they agree. So that almost ended up in impeachment. You can’t blame him. It must be the political barometer because you can see that politics is dynamic, just like you see insecurity is dynamic.”

That President Muhammadu Buhari was going to appoint a person from Akwa Ibom as the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was not surprising. Following the Act that established the commission, it is not only the turn of the state to produce the chief executive of the commission which rotates among the oil producing states according to oil production quota, but that the state still has about two more years to run on its four years tenure, before another state takes over The surprise however is the submission of the name of former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Nsima Ekere to the Senate for confirmation by the President.

Ekere replaced Mrs. Ibim Semenitari who had acted as the Managing Director of the commission since Mr. Bassey Dan Abia was removed by the president. With only 17 months and two days in office, Mr. Ekere had the shortest tenure as deputy governor in Akwa Ibom’s history.

Today, Ekere’s credibility is on the line in his battle to extricate himself from the belief that he is one of those who used political influence while in office to take loans from bank without any intent of paying back.

This is triggering a nasty debate over whether such people who have been found wanting should be allowed to continue holding public position, but whatever the situation, Ekere has a lot of explaining to do.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017

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PERSPECTIVE

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

PenCom and the Exercise of Presidential Powers PresidentMuhammaduBuhari’sdismissalof theChineloAnohu-Amazu-ledexecutivemanagement team of the National Pension Commission is a slap in the face and undermines rule of law, writes Malachy Omale

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he recent appearance by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, on a news televison programme where he spoke on the controversial removal from office of the DirectorGeneral, DG, of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, and other members of the management team, clearly showed why this administration has constantly come under heavy criticism and embarrassments on issues of rule of law and lopsided appointments.

Anohu-Amazu’s removal generated heated condemnation over numerous and clear contraventions of the Pension Reform Act, PRA, 2014.

Section 20(1) provides for a five-year renewable tenure. Section 21 (1)(a)-(j) lists the conditions upon whih any member of the PenCom management board will cease to be a member, such as resignation, death, bankruptcy, conviction on charges of felon, expiration of tenure, etc. Section 21(1)(J), however, states that a person shall seize to be a member of the PenCom board if “The president is satisfied that it is not in the interest of the commission or public for the person to continue in office and notifies the member in writing to that effect”.

Emphasis here is “not in the interest of the commission or public” and “notifies the member in writing”.

This law also makes provisions for quality leadership for PenCom and the pension industry by subjecting the president’s choices for the positions of director general and commissioners to Senate’s confirmation in Section 19(3). The essence of Section 20(1) is to ensure that, being a statutory body, the management board enjoys security of tenure and stable leadership, irrespective of changes in political leadership in the country. It is recalled that the former DG, M.K Ahmed, from Gombe State, enjoyed two tenures running through Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, and Jonathan administrations.

In Anohu-Amazu’s circumstance, the media reported that her letter of removal partly reads: “While conveying Mr. President’s appreciation to you for your services to the nation during your tenure, may I wish you God’s guidance and best luck in your future endeavours”. At least, she was not accused of incompetence, dereliction or corruption, thus confirming the generally held view that she performed wonderfully well. She raised the pension funds from N2.9 trillion, which she met it after close to ten years of the reform, to more than N6.5 trillion in about three years.

Industry stakeholders also accredit her with driving a further reform of the sector in 2014 as well as bringing transparency, strict regulation, and innovative leadership. She also received the Trade Union Congress’ (TUC) Excellent, Visionary, and Emphatic Leader Award in 2016. TUC is a major contributor and stakeholder in the industry. So, do all these make her removal in PENCOM’S or nation’s interest? No! Again, does termination of her tenure in the media by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) make her removal effective in the eyes of the law and bureaucratic traditions without a disengagement letter? The announcement came on April 13, 2017, while her letter of disengagement and directive on whom to hand over to was dated April 20, and delivered in the evening of Friday, April 21.

Curiously, operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) were deployed to PENCOM head office, allegedly because

Anohu-Amazu....did her best as PENCOM DG

she refused to hand over “with immediate effect” and to forestall tampering with official documents. But, Obono-Obla, a lawyer, effusively maintained that “letter or no letter, she should have handed over”. Obla also said: “She is claiming that because she has done so well she has to stay in office till thy kingdom come. Is she the first public officer in Nigeria who has done so much?”

Meanwhile, there is something sinister about basing her removal letter on Section 171 of the Constitution, rather than PRA 2014 establishing PENCOM. This, coupled with Obono-Obla’s utterances, portray a grand design by a cabal in the Presidency to short-circuit the Senate’s confirmation of the new PENCOM leadership and impose Aliyu Dikko in contravention of PRA 2014

At least, he conceded that she performed.

Allegation of sit-tight is to give a dog a bad name. Her handover letter to Aisha Dahir-Umar dated Monday, April 23, as reported by the media, indicated she got her formal letter of disengagement at 5.45pm on the 21st of April 2017. The reports also showed she held an exit meeting with the Heads of Departments on Tuesday 18th April 2017, where she requested that they handover notes ahead of formal handover directives from the OSGF. Tuesday, April 18 was the first workday after her removal was announced on Thursday preceding Easter break.

Meanwhile, there is something sinister about basing her removal letter on Section 171 of the Constitution, rather than PRA 2014 establishing PENCOM. This, coupled with Obono-Obla’s utterances, portray a grand design by a cabal in the Presidency to short-circuit the Senate’s confirmation of the new PENCOM leadership and impose Aliyu Dikko in contravention of PRA 2014.

While Section 21(2) of PRA 2014 provides that “In the event of a vacancy, the president shall appoint a replacement from the geo-political zone of the immediate past member that vacated office to complete the remaining tenure”, the Presidency appointed Aliyu Dikko from Kaduna State, North West, to replace Anohu-Amazu, who is from Anambra, South East.

Section 19 (5)(a) of PRA 2014 provides that “The Chairman and members of the Board shall not own controlling shares in any Pension Fund Administrator or Pension Fund Custodian Pension Fund Custodian prior to and during their tenure of office as Chairman or members of the Board.”

Going by the position of Obono-Obla, Section 171 and Section 130 of the 1999 Constitution could be interpreted to mean that the president has the powers to do whatever he likes irrespective of any Act of the National Assembly. That obviously can not be the intention of the drafters of the law. There are differences between between statutory bodies like PENCOM, EFCC, etc. and bodies like extra ministerial departments such as the Ecological Fund Agency.

The fact that Obono-Obla claimed that Mrs. Anohu-Amazu had formerly spent eight years as DG, but had the pension law amended for her to remain in office as DG shows he is either ignorance of the affairs of the industry or plating politics with the issue.

However, the fact is that Anohu-Amazu was a member of the Fola Adeola-led Presidential Committee on Pension Reform set up by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. She was part of the team that wrote the Pension Reform Act 2004 and was drafted as the pioneer Commission Secretary and Legal Adviser to help see through the new system. She was appointed Acting DG in 2012 and a substantive DG in 2014, succeeding M.K Ahmad.

Obla was probably trying to stoke the fallacy that the years of experience to qualify for the position of DG of PENCOM was reduced by the National Assembly from 20 years in the 2004 Act to 15 years in the 2014 Act just to enable her to emerge as DG. It is ridiculous to think that the Pension Act was just tipexed for Anohu-Amazu in one room and that the brilliant amendments to the Act in 2014 did not pass through 109 Senators and 360 Members of the House of Representatives.

Besides, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the engine room of Nigeria’s economy and manages assets worth multiple trillions. Yet, the CBN Act 2007 only stipulates that “The Governor and Deputy-Governors shall be persons of recognised financial experience…”. Also, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Act, Corporate Affairs Commission Act, and other related regulators do not demand such ridiculous years of experience. In fact, even the Constitution, which pegs age qualification to be President of Nigeria at 40 years, does not require 20 years work experience if we take our 6-3-3-4 education system and youth service into account.

But assuming, but not conceding that the ridiculous years of experience was amended solely for Anohu-Amazu, the question is: amending the law to make her a DG or breaking it to make Dikko a DG, which is legitimate? Besides, her high achievements as DG have rubbished the 20 years experience.

Unfortunately, it is the Presidency that has tried to derail the industry. Apart from FG’s N285 billion unremitted statutory obligation to the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, it has illegally removed PENCOM leadership, forgetting that the N6.5 trillion actually belongs to over 7.4 million Nigerians who subscribed to the CPS. The worry is that if unambiguous provisions of PRA 2014 could be so brazenly trampled upon to remove and impose leadership on PENCOM, who says the provisions governing/protecting the N6.5 trillion cannot be discarded?

The FG is arresting progress, causing trepidations, and dampening confidence in an industry that has enjoyed enormous local and international confidence and helped the economy in recession.

Omale wrote in from Benin City

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FEATURES

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

Fighting the Enemy Ending insurgency in the North-east has not been the exclusive responsibility of the Nigerian Army as local hunters and vigilante groups continue to contribute their quota in defeating Boko Haram, writes Daji Sani

Hunters at the oath taking and fortiďŹ cation festival in Mayo-Belwa LGA of Adamawa State...recently

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he advent of Boko Haram has put every security apparatus on their toes following the wanton killings, kidnappings, stealing and the massive destruction of lives and property of innocent citizens in the North-east.

The development became a thing of concern to stakeholders and the government particularly when the Boko Haram insurgents began capturing some Nigerian towns and villages, and were advancing to capture more Nigerian territory.

However security experts say the war between the military and the insurgents is not only physical but also has a spiritual dimension. They further explained that the victory claimed on the Boko Haram side was because the insurgents were using charms and voodoo powers to defeat the military.

This development necessitated the drafting of local hunters and vigilante groups into the fight, because they were believed to possess voodoo powers and could be a march to the insurgents in the aspect of spirituality.

Also, the drafting of local hunters and vigilante groups to join the fight against the insurgents became necessary because they have full knowledge of the terrain where the insurgents have their enclaves and also increased the number of security personnel fighting terrorism.

Fortunately, through the joint forces of the military and local hunters, they were able

to recapture those towns and villages that were under the control of the insurgents.

In 2014, at least 75 Boko Haram militants were killed by local hunters in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Maiha town, is about 25 kilometres from Mubi town that was captured about two weeks ago, and about 200km from Yola the state capital, that was recovered from the insurgents, thanks, in part, to the hunters’ efforts. Sources said the local hunters ambushed the insurgents and killed them in their dozens.

The drafting of local hunters and vigilante groups to join the ďŹ ght against the insurgents became necessary because they have full knowledge of the terrain where the insurgents have their enclaves

“The hunters mobilised and gave the insurgents hot chase during which many Boko Haram sect members were killed,�

Bello Ya’u, a resident of Maiha, said. “We commend them for the gallant fight,� he added. Corroborating, Baba Dauda, a local hunter told an online newspaper, that the hunters made up their minds to fight because the insurgents had been maiming too many people. “We had to wake up and fight the bastards that keep plaguing our societies killing innocent souls. People should brace up and start fighting them, we killed many of them. We are not afraid of being killed,� he said.

Recently, in January, hunters and vigilantes also killed seven Boko Haram insurgents in Sabongari village in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State in response to a recent attack in the area. The Boko Haram terrorists had earlier attacked Madagali town, killing 11 people. In response, local vigilantes mobilised themselves and began a search for the insurgents and managed to track them down to Sabongari village where they engaged them in a gun battle.

One eyewitness said that the vigilantes also seized a machine gun in the village belonging to the insurgents. He added that the Boko Haram insurgents thronged the village but were repelled by the hunters and vigilantes in a shootout which ultimately led to them fleeing after seven of them had been killed.

The effective results achieved by the hunters has motivated both the state and local

governments to allocate to them monthly stipends to enable them discharge their duties effectively.

In recent times, sequel to present time security challenges, the military has increased the number of candidates conscripted into the force, a move which security experts say is a welcome development, adding that adequate security to the nation was not negotiable. Meanwhile, experts revealed that the conscription of the local hunters and vigilante groups into active security apparatus has greatly improved security presence in every nook and cranny of the North-east.

Security experts also commended the Department of State Services (DSS) for proper screening processes and machineries put in place to checkmate the excesses of the hunters and vigilantes. According to them, the government and the DSS have full dossier of every member of the hunter and vigilante groups and duty rosters for each of them, so that some individuals will not take advantage of the situation and cause mayhem to the people.

Recently, thousands of hunters from Adamawa, Gombe, Borno, Yobe and Taraba States converged for the annual Talala (oath taking) Festival and fortification of themselves in Mayo-Belwa Local Government Area of Adamawa.

THISDAY gathered that the annual festival brings hunters together to renew their oath to serve humanity, and also renew voodoo skills and powers, particularly assisting security

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FEATURES agencies in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east.

The hunters boasted that they were prepared to end the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents with the support of military and government, adding that they believed that this year’s fortification exercise and festival was better than the previous years and has prepared them well to face the security challenges.

Chairman of Adamawa Hunters Association/Acting Chairman for North-east, Malam Mohammed Tola, said the oath taking and fortification was necessary because it will expose fake hunters and those who had soaked their hands into some nefarious activities that are against the tenets of the group.

He said another reason was to renew the hunters' spiritual powers, commitment and determination to continue to fight against the existence of insurgency and anybody or thing that will cause security threats to Nigerian communities.

Tola further explained that, by the virtue of the nature of their jobs, an annual check is compulsory because it will inculcate discipline, boldness and self-confidence in them, adding that without a strong belief and boldness the charms will not be effective.

He also explained that it takes confidence and a strong belief to get effective results in their profession.

He said the annual festival was an avenue to train the young ones coming newly into the profession and to share new knowledge on security intelligence, the current security situation and the way forward.

Speaking in Hausa Language, Tola said: “The oath taking and fortification exercise is very significant in our profession because many things happen in the cause of exercising our duties and some colleagues may be contaminated or even desecrate some charms in the cause of mingling with others in the society. There are some things that you must adhere to strictly or else the charms become ineffective" While urging the hunters to remain steadfast in their commitment to serve their communities and father land, Tola lauded the government and Adamawa Traditional Council for their support to the hunters, adding that such support had gone a long way in facilitating the activities of the hunters in supporting the fight against insurgents in the North-east.

The Administrative Secretary of the association, Malam Salihu Buba, said the ceremony was to also fortify genuine members and expose fake ones. He also added that it was meant to keep proper records and to initiate new intended individuals who want to be members of the group.

Buba was of the opinion that those areas still experiencing insurgency attacks should cooperate with the security agencies by exposing boys who are covered because they are the relatives of some prominent individuals in the affected areas.

He said the security situation in Madagali is still dicey and needed more security presence in the area. He also called on interested youths to join the profession to protect lives and property.

The state Women Leader, Aisha Bakari, pledged the commitment of female hunters to continue to contribute their quota like their male counterparts. She promised that women in the group are determined to serve

The hunters boasted that they were prepared to end the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents with the support of military and government, adding that they believed that this year’s fortiďŹ cation exercise and festival was better than the previous years and has prepared them well to face the security challenges

A hunter performing one of the ritual ceremonies at the festival

Chairman of Adamawa Hunters AssociationActing Chairman for North-east, Malam Mohammed Tola (right), being presented with a certiďŹ cate

Guns belonging to hunters brought for sanctiďŹ cation

their country.

Some highlights at the occasion include:

the drinking of concoction by the hunters for protection and the conduct of rituals on

the hunters’ dane guns to function properly against the enemy.

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IMAGES

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

L-R: Executive Director,Corporate Services & Commercial, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr Jonathan Tobin; President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Deacon Titus Soetan; acting Managing Director,Bank of Industry,Mr. Waheed Olagunju and Executive Director,Micro Enterprise/ Financial Inclusion Directorate (BoI), Mrs Toyin Adeniji during the ICAN 2017 annual dinner and awards presentation in Lagos,.recentlyExchange in Lagos....recently

L-R: Alumni Relations Director,LBS, Mrs Olubunmi Afolabi; Prof Chris Ogbechie of LBS; Mr. Yinka Adegboye of BOI representing the Guest Speaker & MD of BOI; and Executie Director, Arco Group/Alumni Planning Committee Chairman, John Nejoh at Lagos Business School Classes of 2007 Alumni Reunion in Lagos...recently

Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode (m) being supported by the National President of Nigerian Air Force OďŹƒcers Wives Association NAFOWA, Hajiya Hafsat Abubakar (r), to present empowerment tools to one of the graduands, Mrs. Hajara Yusuf, during the graduation/closing ceremony of NAFOWA Skills Acquisition and Vocational Training program for the youths and women, at the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base, Ikeja, Lagos...recently

L-R: Commissioner for Health, Ogun State, Dr. Tunde Ipaye; Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs Olufunso Amosun; and Marketing Manager, Mortein, Mrs. Bamigbaiye-Elatuyi Omotola, at the sensitization exercise Co-Sponsored

by Reckitt Benckiser in Commemoration of the 2017 World Malaria Day in Ogun State... recently

L-R; Synod Secretary, Venerable Segun Ladeinde; Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Anglicn Communion, Most Reverend Adebola Ademowo and Assistant Synod Secretary, Venerable Tunde Oduwole at the pre-synod press conference for the second session of the 3rd Synod of the Diocese of Lagos at the Archbishop’s Palace, Marina, Lagos... recently abiodun ajala

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mrs. Boladele DapoThomas; Founder, Women in Successful Careers, (WISCAR), Mrs. Amina Oyagbola and Mentor, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, at the women in successful careers (WISCAR) Interactive forum, in Lagos....recently kola olasupo

L-R: Governors Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos); Simon Lalong (Plateau) and Abdul’Aziz Abubakar Yari (Zamfara) during the National Economic Council Meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.....recently

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

A S

A T

A P R I L 1 9 ,

NIBOR 166.7500% 18.5671%

3-MONTH 6-MONTH

21.6018% 23.0226%

NITTY 1-MONTH 3-MONTH

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157

2 0 1 7

16.2494% 19.6985%

6-MONTH 9-MONTH

20.3309% 21.7643%

EXCHANGE RATE N306.05//1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes W’Bank Predicts $55p/barrel in Oil 2017

The World Bank has predicted higher prices for industrial commodities, principally energy and metals, in 2017 and next year.

However, the Bank in its April Commodity Markets Outlook released recently, held steady its crude oil price forecast for this year at $55 per barrel, but increased it to an average of $60 per barrel in 2018. It anticipated that rising oil prices, supported by production cutbacks by Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC states, would allow markets to gradually rebalance. But, theWorld Bank pointed out that its oil price forecasts are subject to downside risks should the rebound in the U.S. shale oil industry be greater than expected. Prices for energy commodities, which also include natural gas and coal, were projected to jump 26 percent this year and 8 percent in 2018. “In line with oil price forecasts, natural gas is anticipated to gain 15 percent this year, led by a jump in U.S. prices. Coal is seen climbing six per cent in 2017, due to earlier supply restrictions in China, which consumes half the world’s coal output. Prices for non-energy commodities, which include agriculture, fertilisers, and metals and minerals, are forecast to increase in 2017, the ďŹ rst rise in ďŹ ve years. Metals prices are projected to jump 16 per cent this year due to strong demand, especially from China, and supply constraints, including mine disruptions in Chile, Indonesia and Peru,â€? the Bank added.

Fidelity Bank Rewards Promo Winners

RENDING ACCOUNT TO SHAREHOLDERS

L-R: Group Executive Director, Corporate Services NIPCO Plc, Alhaji Abdulkadir Aminu; Managing Director, NIPCO, Sanjay Teotia; Group Managing Director, Venkataraman Venkatapathy; Chairman, Bestman Anekwe and Company Secretary, Barrister Paul Obi at the company’s 13th annual general meeting in Abuja ‌ recently

10 Banks Facilitate N26tn Investment in Currency, Fixed Income Securities Goddy Egene Access Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Limited and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc led the top 10 banks that facilitated investment in fixed securities and currency worth about N37trillion on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange in the first three months of 2017, according to data released by FMDQ. The date indicated that the top 10 banks accounted for N25.8 trillion or 70.8 per cent of the transactions.

Access Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Limited and UBA led the banks, topping the League Table for the third month running, ranking first, second and third positions respectively in the value traded

ECONOMY for the OTC market. The three banks accounted for about N11 trillion or 30.4 per cent of the transactions during the review period.

The FMDQ OTC has facilitated transactions of securities and currency valued over N340.9 trillion since it commenced operations in 2013.

FMDQ OTC was licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2013 as an OTC securities exchange and self-regulatory organisation to run the fixed income trading platform and organise the market to international standards.

The coming of FMDQ OTC has significantly boosted the

fixed income market.

On the average the platform has enabled a yearly average transaction of N114 trillion, which is a significant improvement compared to the N39.693 trillion recorded a year before the platform commenced operations.

An analysis of the yearly transaction data obtained from FMDQ OTC showed that N103.57 trillion was recorded in 2014, which rose to N137.43 trillion in 2015. However, it dropped to N99.98 trillion last year, apparently due to the challenges in the foreign exchange market in 2016.

A further analysis of the transactions indicates that Treasury Bills accounted for the highest value of N113.29 trillion, followed by repurchased

agreements/buy buy-backs, which recorded N83.86 trillion.

Foreign exchange accounted for N72.81 trillion, while federal government bonds recorded N25.92 trillion. Foreign exchange derivatives accounted for N23.02 trillion just as unsecured placements/takings recorded N17 trillion among others.

With a mission “to empower financial markets to be innovative and credible in support of the Nigerian economy,� a vision “to be number one in Africa in the fixed income and currency market by 2019, FMDQ OTC is seen as a revolution in the financial sector.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FMDQ Continued on page 24

CPS: Lagos Remits N78.592 Billion into Workers’ RSAs Ebere Nwoji The Lagos State Government said it has remitted a total of N78.592 billion monthly contributions of its workers into their Retirement Savings Account (RSAs).

It said the above amount was remitted to its employees’ RSA account with 10 Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) as at March, 2017.

The state governor, Akinwumi Ambode, made this known at the presentation of Retirement Benefit Bond Certificates to the 38th batch of retirees from the Lagos state public service

INSURANCE recently.

Represented by the Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, Ambode said that his administration was committed to meeting pension funding obligations.

Benson, on behalf of the governor, stated that a total number of 311 retirees who received bond certificates at the event, will have their accounts credited with accrued pension rights of N1.6 billion, made

up of gratuity and pension benefits under the Defined Benefit scheme for employees, who transited into the Defined Contributory Scheme.

Furthermore, he said that the state has also been consistent in setting aside funds for the payment of accrued rights as provided for in the Pension Reform Law such that it has paid accrued pension rights of about N61 billion since the commencement of the Retirement Benefit Bond Certificate Presentations in 2010.

He said: “Indeed, on this occasion of the 38th presentation of Retirement Benefit Bond

Certificates to retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme created by Section 3 of the Lagos State Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) law of 2007, it is important to state that the vehicle for demonstrating this commitment, has been the Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) which was established as a corporate entity to regulate, supervise and ensure the effective administration of pension matters in the Lagos State Public Service. “Let me assure you that the state government, through Continued on page 24

Fidelity Bank Plc has presented cash and consolation prizes to winners for the month of April in the ongoing ‘Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo’. At the seventh monthly prize presentation ceremony held at the bank’s head oďŹƒce in Lagos, winner of N3 million for Lagos zone, Mr Izuchukwu Egwuonwu, received a credit alert on his phone immediately after the dummy cheque was presented to him at the event, while consolation prize winners, Faith Onifade, Agbaike Osajie, among others, also of Lagos zone, were presented with generator set and refrigerator respectively.

In his appreciation for the kind gesture shown to him and family, Egbuonwu prayed God to continue sustaining the bank. “God will continue to sustain you as a bank for the good work you have started towards impacting people’s life. God will visit you people as you have visited me and my family.�

Representing the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, Executive Director, Shared Services, Mrs Chinyere Ugochukwu, said the ceremony was organised for the bank to make good of its promise to its customers.

She described the promo as a unique one for the bank “This is a truly unique promo for us in Fidelity. This is one of the promos that had brought us great joy in that it has hit the heart of the matter at our teeming customers and Nigerians at large at this special time,� Ugochukwu said.

Terragon Group Wins Business

The Terragon Group has announced that it has successfully taken on digital marketing duties for some of the Unilever big brands in Ghana - Lifebuoy, Sunlight and Pepsodent. This appointment, according to a statement from the ďŹ rm, came against the backdrop of the Group’s ability to serve brands in key markets across Africa and its impressive performance of achieving and surpassing results for brands it has managed for the Unilever Nigeria business over the past three years. The activities for the three brands will cover the entire spectrum of digital marketing – strategy, media, social, creative as well as other digital transformation initiatives focused on delivering measurable marketing results.

According to Head of Business and Strategic Partnerships,Terragon Digital, Anu Sanya, the appointment was a proof of the consistent delivery of value to clients by the ďŹ rm. “For over 3 years, we have leveraged on digital to drive results for Close Up, Pepsodent, Rexona, Sunlight, Vaseline and Pears. Unilever is family to us and we are excited to inject the much-needed spark into the Ghanaian market just as we have been doing in Nigeria. “We are also fortunate to have in Unilever a client partner that believes in what we can accomplish with them in the digital landscape.

I am resigning from the Board of Stanbic IBTC Holdings to focus on my role as member of the board of the parent group. I am very confident that those behind are more than capable to steer the ship in the right direction Outgoing Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings,

Atedo Peterside

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BUSINESSWORLD 10 BANKS FACILITATE N26TN INVESTMENT IN CURRENCY, FIXED INCOME SECURITIES OTC, Mr. Bola Onadele.

Koko had always assured that stakeholders should expect better deal from the platform in the years ahead.

According to him, having succeeded in turning around the market, the next move is to bring more innovations that will benefit all stakeholders and make the platform more attractive to issuers and investors.

The FMDQ OTC recently set up the Debt Capital Market Development (DCMD) Project to ensure the effective implementation of the recommendations drawn its debt capital market (DCM) workshop in 2015. “The DCMD Project, having received the unrivalled support of the apex regulator, SEC, was officially launched during the Commission’s third Quarter Capital Market Committee Meeting, on November 24, 2016. Its focus on identifying and implementing quick-win strategies that would transform the Nigerian DCM into a worldclass, properly functioning DCM by 2020 drawing strongly from SEC’s 10-year Nigerian Capital Market Master Plan (NCMMP).

CPS: LAGOS REMITS N78.592 BILLION INTO WORKERS’ RSAS LASPEC,will continue to ensure that public service retirees not only get what is due to them statutorily, but also continue to receive, through other agencies and programmes additional support and assistance that will add value to their lives in retirement. Our retirees can take joy in the fact that they are not, and will not be left behind in the scheme of things by the Lagos State Government under Governor Ambode.�

He urged the retirees, who have all served in various capacities and sectors to make the right choices that will enable the attainment of financial comfort during retirement.

Also speaking at the event, LASPEC Director-General, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga added that the state government, has paid N27.41 billion accrued pension rights into the RSAs of 6,267 retirees.

NEWS

Volume of Cheque Transactions Falls by 23% in Three Years Obinna Chima

trillion.

The central bank, the NIBSS and other stakeholders in the electronic payment system have been sensitising Nigerians on the need to adopt digital payment systems for their transactions.

The Deputy Director in the Governor’s Office, CBN, Mr. Babatunde Ajiboye recently described the cashless policy as a journey, saying that the policy was introduced in a bid to transform the payment system.

Ajiboye emphasised that

handling cash is expensive and constitute quite a significant percentage of the cost that banks carry. “And of course, that cost is passed on to customers in order for them to make profit.

Of course, we need efficiency within our payment system. Of course, there is a high security and safety risk, which we can’t elaborate too much on that. “We know the level of insecurity we face in Nigeria today.

And most of the insecurity that

we face can be tied directly to cash. One of the social crimes that we face is kidnapping, for instance. Once we bring in transparency into our payment system, it will also bring down the social evil that we face,�

Ajiboye emphasised.

According to him, only about 10 per cent of Nigerian bank customers do cash transactions above N150, 000 daily. He stressed that the aim of the cashless policy is certainly not to eliminate cash completely,

but to reduce the amount of cash in the system.

On his part, the Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Access Bank, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna said the CBN and banks had put in a lot of resources towards making the cashless policy a success. “For states where this has been entrenched over the last couple of years, we have seen the significant benefits and advantages it has brought to economic participants in those markets.

The volume of cheque transactions dropped by 23 per cent between 2014 and 2016, according to the recently released “Cheque Transaction Statistics 2016� report by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc’s (NIBSS) Enterprise Intelligence Unit.

The report showed that total cheque transactions, which stood at 15.28 million in 2014, reduced to 13.47 in 2015; and subsequently to 11.72 million in 2016.

It also showed that the value of cheque Transactions also fell by “six per cent as compared to 2015, and 20 per cent as compared to 2014.�

In all, “the total value of cheque transactions in 2016 stood at N5.83 trillion over the last two years, the volume of cheque transactions has declined by 13 per cent, two per cent and three per cent respectively across Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt. Only Ghana recorded an increase of two per cent,� the report stated.

It also showed that in 2016, 40 per cent (1.1 million) of individual cheques were issued by people aged between 55-64 years. Similarly, in 2016, the ratio of individual to corporate cheques was 1:3, L-R: Executive Director, Business Development and Investment, Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Kayode Akande; a senior Sta of the while total corporate cheques company, Mr. Anifowose Segun Johnson and Managing Director/CEO of the company, Mr. Wilson Ideva, during the presentation of in 2016 stood at 8.96 million prizes to the winners of the ‘Reward4DHustle’, Campaign organised by Premium Pension Limited ‌recently transactions valued at N3.65

LUCKY WINNER

CBN Harps on Patronising Locally Made Goods Ugo Aliogo The acting Director, Corporate Communication, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Isaac Okorafor has said no nation can develop by depending heavily on the consumption of foreign goods, just jus he stressed the need for Nigerians to reduce their appetite for imported goods.

Okorafor disclosed in Lagos at the 2017 Biennial Convention of the Nigeria Guild Editors (NGE) with theme: “A Nation in Recession: Whither the Nigeria Media,� held recently.

He explained: “We are in recession because of the nation’s collective failure to diversify the economy. That has put us in a very serious position.

We depend on the foreign

sources for our income and at the same time depend on foreign sources on the items we spend our incomes on. We depend on the price of oil for much of what we spend and what we spend. “We also spend on things that we import. No economy can grow in that manner and no nation has ever developed along that path. As soon as the price of oil began to decline we ran into an economic crisis that gave birth to a recession.

We recall that in September 2015, the CBN monetary policy communiquÊ indicated that the country might slip into recession in 2016, if nothing was done.�

The CBN official reiterated that activities of currency speculators and dirty monies

were partly responsible for the wide gap that was seen between the official and parallel market rates before the intervention by the apex bank.

This, according to him, was revealed in a survey by the CBN. He said the intelligence report was corroborated by the activities of people burying monies in grave and their apartments.

The CBN spokesman further stated that when they discovered that much of the demand in the black market were not genuine, they decided develop initiatives that has since led to the appreciation of the naira.

He, however said both monetary and fiscal authorities are working to ensure that the fortune of the economy improves, stating that the

impact of the economy crisis was too much on the nation because of structural issues.

Okorafor further restated factors that led to the elimination of 41 items from the forex market. In her remarks, the President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, (NGE) Mrs. Funke Egbemode, called on editors to remain steadfast in their professional pursuit, adding that the nation depends on the media because of the power they wield in the areas of nation building, nurturing little businesses and enterprises to become large corporation and giving a voice to the voiceless.

She stated stated that the outgoing Executives had opened talks with the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru for partnership

and training opportunities.

Egbemode added: “As professionals whose job impacts every facet of our national life, editors are more than qualified to have Managing Nigeria Intelligently (MNI) at the end of their names. Two of our former president, late Chris Okolie and Baba Halilu Dantiye have blazed the trail in the regards, and it is our desire that editors have slots at the NIPSS. “The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has shown interest in working with the NGE. We have had meetings with the leadership of the institution and talks are at advanced stage to have a study centre for members and also editors as Examiners of NOUN.�

FirstBank Chair Tasks Entrepreneurs on Long-term Business Focus Group Business Editor

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Ugo Aliogo The Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, has called entrepreneurs to think creatively and build businesses for the long-term, while working to produce the right products for the Nigerian market.

She stated that there was need for government to set-up infrastructure in areas where the economy has comparative advantage, such as the fashion industry, adding government can build a fashion village which would house a large cluster of fashion designers. Awosika disclosed this recently in Lagos

at the First Bank of Nigeria 2017 Small Medium Scale Enterprise (SME) symposium organised in partnership with the Lagos Business School (LBS). She said the bank has always been a critical component of nation building.

She added that as a financial service institution, the focus for FirstBank considers the landscape and realises that the country is in time where there is need to invest in growing the next generation of entrepreneurs who would build businesses that are aimed in shaping the future of the nation, while also focusing on building strong customer base.

She explained that the nation

is blessed with young entrepreneurs who are willing to try things out, venturing into new areas of businesses which people have not considered, adding that entrepreneurs should focus on the right pricing, and consider the dimension of the market. “Your quality and branding is important. You must be committed to deliver the value that will make your customers to stay with you. Business is need driven, therefore business decisions should not be emotional driven. We also need to create a component of critical thinking into our education system. We need to build our educational

system into a thorough fare beyond the pipeline that leads everybody look for work in a thorough sense,� she noted.

Awosika added: “We must create an environment that supports the different pipelines. I hope they leave and rethink their entire business in a way they can build for the long-term with an understanding that they need to create jobs for a country with such large body count especially in world where technology is clearly eliminating jobs. There must be re-training of mindsets to create new kinds of jobs and re-training of people with skills to fit into the next generation

of jobs that will be created in a fast changing world. “This is a good sign for Nigeria because it means that you got a whole crop of people who are afraid to try new things.

If we have an individual creating solution that comes global, that is great for our country, therefore we need as many people as we can have the desire to create businesses been thought beyond the passion because the discipline, the knowledge and the empowerment that creates the process that helps you to build a business from an idea to a successful solution is where we need to invest.�

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Don Blames Corruption in Nigeria, Others on Poor Governance Amidst growing economic impasse in Africa, Prof. Chibuike Uche of African Studies Centre, Leiden University (ASCL), The Netherlands, has said that poor governance in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) was spreading fast and responsible for the high rate of corruption in many countries.

Uche, who revealed this during his acceptance speech at the launch of Stephen Ellis Chair for the Governance of Finance and Integrity in Africa at Leiden University, The Netherlands, said the crisis of governance in many African countries was porous and thus, responsible for the backwardness of the continent in economic achievements.

He pointed out that the World Bank, in its latest publication, disclosed that of the 49 SSA states, 30 had seen a worsening in government effectiveness based on poor economic Governance between 2000 and 2012. During the same time period, 35 out of the 49 had seen a decline in the control of corruption.

Uche said: “The World Bank assumes the existence of the good guy who will fix the problem, but corruption is the default position even among principals in many African countries.�

According to him, Stephen Ellis looked deeper than establishing institutions in his quest to understand governance problems in Africa and highlighted the important role of culture in the development of governance structures in Africa.

He said that criticising culture became more difficult after the 1945 UN formation to the 1965 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Did this help legitimise poor governance in Africa? Stephen Ellis also explored the link between religion and politics. Does the link religion-politics explain why Africa lacks entrenched protocols of power in political and spiritual fields?

Uche, however, stated that he wants to do further research into these daring questions, as

well as into the role of culture and religion in governance. He disclosed that in 1989, after experimenting with markets, World Bank raised the issue of governance as a constraint to Africa’s development “Underlying the litany of Africa’s development and management problems is a crisis of governance. By governance is meant the exercise of political power to manage a nation’s affairs.

Because countervailing power has been lacking, state officials in many countries have served their own interests without fear of being called to account,� he said.

Uche added: “A root cause of weak economic performance in the past has been the failure of public institutions. Private sector initiative and market mechanisms are important, but they must go hand-inhand with good governance-a public service that is efficient, a judicial system that is reliable, and an administration that is accountable to its public.�

NIOB Partners Lafarge to Check Building Collapse, Unethical Practices Ugo Aliogo As part of efforts to address the challenges of building collapse, quackery and other unethical practices facing the building industry, the Nigeria Institute of Builders (NIOB) has entered a partnership agreement with Lafarge Africa Plc. Speaking at the building community dialogue series with theme; ‘Transforming the Nigeria Building and Construction Industry’ organised by Lafarge in Lagos recently, the Lagos State NIOB President, Adenike Said, noted that there is a missing link in the interaction between the professionals and the other stakeholders.

According to her, Lafarge has many innovations which is not known to everybody, saying that with this partnership, the

ideas of the company would be brought to the knowledge and awareness of the end users in order to stem the issues of building collapse.

She lamented that the public has undermined the place of professionals in building and prefers carrying the construction through personal efforts or using quacks, noting that in the end they don’t get value for their money.

Said: “With this collaboration, we believe we can build a formidable team to have a better construction industry and people will get value for their money. Presently, we have quacks all over the place and a company such as Lafarge cannot be dealing with these quacks directly, but if they deal with professionals, they would be able to address and tell them

the way to go.�

In his remarks, the Marketing Director, Lafarge Africa Plc, Vipul Agrawal, said the focus of the company is to contribute to the growth of the building sector in Nigeria. He explained that the company is committed to assisting individuals build good houses as they might encounter difficulties in accessing finance, technical advice, the right artisans to build, saying Lafarge would leverage its knowledge and commitment to work with individuals in those areas. “We need to apply the right information and materials when building. We are bringing this into reality and Nigerians can work with us to achieve their building dreams. Builders need to use the right materials which are up to standards.

Germany, OGUNCCIMA to Train Youths in Industrial Electronics The Federal Republic of Germany is collaborating with Ogun State Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA) to train about 20 apprentices in Industrial Electronics (I.E) of the ongoing German Dual Vocational Training partnership With Nigeria (G-DVTPW-N).

The two bodies, in a similar symbiotic effort that deployed dual vocational training experts from Germany, trained and graduated 17 apprentices in a year-long office administration and project management profession programme earlier in April, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Underscoring the importance and the timing of the one year training, scheduled to commence in July, in Ogun State, Deputy President, OGUNCCIMA, Wasiu Olaleye expressed the training is needed in the state now more

than any other course because it is good for manufacturing and producing companies with sophisticated and modern equipment.

Olaleye, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Fanol RDC Products Limited, hinged his claim on effective contributions made to his organisation by Jelili Adeosun, one of the trained apprentices in I.E of the G-DVTPW-N, at Industrial Skills Training Center (ISTC), in Lagos. According, Adeosun having mastered the cores of the programme, would be of the trainers during the proposed training. Speaking in the same vein, Coordinator, G-DVTPW-N, Kehinde Awoyele, said the partnership programme was primarily designed to make Nigerian youths efficiently employable and keep poverty at bay by waking the sense of

entrepreneurship among them and afterwards boost economic growth through efficiency of trained employees. Olaleye said they were integrating relevant ministries, and private sector into the programme. “Appropriate indentified companies must be mobilised and we are getting to the grass root through the private sector, we have made a building ready at Government Technical College, Idi Aba for the training,� he said. Talking about the curriculum being used for the system, DVT short expert, Ludwig Grunter, who hinted that DVT programme, is normally run for a period of three and half years in Germany, explained that, “we have reviewed the curriculum to fit into Nigerian system and at the same time to accommodate new system and new technology.

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

Strategies for Reviving a Brand

Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă? Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ÞÒËÞ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă‘Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙÎËã˛ Ă’Ă? ĂžĂœĂ&#x;ÞÒ ĂžĂ™Ă™Ëœ Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă?ÚÓÞĂ? ÒÙå ĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ ĂŒĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă‘Ă‘Ă–Ă? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? ÞËĂ?Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ“ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă–Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă? ÞÓ×Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă‹ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ăž ÞÙ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?âÓĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? ÚÒËĂ?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁË? Ă‹ Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹ĂšĂ“ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ëœ Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă’ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ÖÙå Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂšĂ™Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ ÖÓÞÞÖĂ? Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă™ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁËœ ĂšĂ™Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂšĂ™ĂĄĂ?ĂœËœ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă&#x;ÖÞã Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×ÚĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă?Ù×ÚĂ?ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂžĂ?âÞÓÖĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ĂŒĂ‹ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ Ă’Ă“Ăž ĂŒĂŁ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă™Ă? Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă Ă?Ëž ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? Ùà Ă?Ăœ ͎ͯͲ ĂžĂ?âÞÓÖĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ăž ĂŽĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ–ĂŁ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă—Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă‘Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂ™ĂœĂžĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒÓĂ? Ă?Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? ĂĄĂ‹Ă?Ëœ Ùà Ă?Ăœ Ͱ͎͎˜͎͎͎ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă”Ă™ĂŒĂ?Ë› Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ÖÙåÖã ĂŽĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă Ă‹Ă—Ăš ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?Ă‘Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—ĂŁË? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‘ĂŁ Ęś Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂšĂ&#x;ĂŒĂ–Ă“Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĚŽ Ă™Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄË› Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă? Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă™Ă? Ă‹Ăž Ă–Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂŽĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă’ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă‘Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂ™Ă™Ăœ Ă’Ă‹ĂŒĂ“ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă“Ă˜Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÒÙå ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă‹ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă? ĂĄĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ăœ Ă‹ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽË›

Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? Ă Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ëœ ĂĄĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ? ÞÒËÞ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă–Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ?Ă‹ĂŽËœ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ Ă“Ă Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ë› ÑÙÙÎ Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ? Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă Ă‹Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă?ĂĄ Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă¤Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ăž Ă’Ă‹Ă?Ë› Ă? Ă‹Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍ´Ëœ Ă˜Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă• ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă™Ă? ÍŻÍłË›ĂŒĂ˜Ëœ Ă‹ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă—Ăš Ă™Ă? ͳ˛͜ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă Ă“Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœËŞĂ? ÚÙĂ?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă?Ă?ĂĄ ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ?Ă˜Ëœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă•Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă“ĂžËœ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă‹Ăž Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ĂžË› Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă? âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ÞÓà Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂœËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ ÞåÙ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž ÞËĂ?Ă•Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ ËŤĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ åÓÞÒ Ă?âÓĂ?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă“ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? ÚÙĂ?Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœËŹË› Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă– ËÞÞĂ?Ă?Ăž ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ăž ÞÒËÞ Ă˜Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă?ĂŽ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă?ĂšĂ“ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹ Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă? Ă?âÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ ÑÙÙÎ Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă“Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă? Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ù× Ă?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ęś Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?Þ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ě™ ĂžĂ?Ă–ĚšËœ ÞÒËÞ Ă‹Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù× Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ăž Ă™ĂĄĂ˜Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă–Ëš Ă?Ă–Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ Ă–Ă“Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ë› ĂžĂ?Ă– Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂ™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ ÑÙÙÎ Ă”Ă™ĂŒ Ă™Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽË› ĂžĂ? Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă? Ă“Ă? ÞÙ ËŤĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă–Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă‹ĂšĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă’ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜Ă? ĂŒĂŁ ĂŽĂ?Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă‹ĂŽĂ Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă?Ăž ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• Ă?Ùà Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ëœ Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ËÞÓĂ?Ă?ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă?ĂœËŹË› Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă?ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă Ă? Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ă?ËŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă‹ĂŁ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁË› Ă&#x;ĂžËœ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă—Ă‹Ă‘Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÞÒĂ? ÙÖÎ Ă“ĂžĂ?Ă–Ëš ĂžĂ?Ă–Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă—ĂŁ Ă Ă“Ă?ĂĄËœ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă‹ĂŁ Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ?Ă?Ë Ă? Ă“Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă”Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?×Ùà Ă? ÞÒĂ? ËŤĂŒĂ&#x;ĂžĂ?ËŹ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽË›

Ă˜ Ă Ă“Ă?ĂĄ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă‹ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂœĂ?Ă Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÓÞÙ ÒÓÖÓÚ˪Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă?Ë?

Ëž Ă?Ě‹Ă?Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă“ĂžĂ&#x;Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă?Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒÓĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă–Ă–Ă™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁËœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?ÞÙ×Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë› Ëž Ă?Ě‹ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂŁË› ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ?

framework and plan by redefining your ĂšĂ&#x;ĂœĂšĂ™Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă Ă‹Ă–Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽË›

Ëž Ă?Ě‹Ă?×ÚÖÙã Ă?ÙÚÖĂ?Ë› Ă?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă? Ă™Ăœ ĂŒĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă• ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă™ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă?Ăž ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă‘Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă’Ăž ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂ™Ă‹ĂœĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‘Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;Þ˛ Ëž Ă?Ě‹Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă‹Ă?Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ‹ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă‹ ĂŽĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ë› Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; ĂŽĂ™ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă? Ă™Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? ÎÙÙ×Ă?ĂŽË› Ëž Ă?Ě‹ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă™Ă–Ă Ă?Ă? Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă‹ Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ě‹Ă–Ă“Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂŁË› Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă&#x;Ăš åÓÞÒ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ÖÙÑÙĂ?Ëœ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ÙÖÙĂ&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă–Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă˜Ă™ Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ë› Ëž Ă?Ě‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂž åÓÞÒ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ë? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?ÓâĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? ÞÙ ĂœĂ‹Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂŁ ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÙÚĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?âÚĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă?ĂžĂ?Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?âÒËĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă– Ă™ĂšĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă• Ă?âÞĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ë? ĂŒĂ™ĂœĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă“Ă–ĂŁËœ Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂŒĂ‹Ă˜Ă• Ă–Ă™Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› Ëž Ă?Ě‹ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ• âĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÑÙËÖĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă•Ă?ĂŁ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ĂšĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ™Ă–Ă?Ë› Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ?Ă? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă Ă? ĚŽ Ă˜Ă“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜Ă• Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă–Ëœ ĂĄĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’ ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÞÙ Ă‘Ă?Ăž ÞÙ ĂĄĂ’Ă?ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ÑÙÞÞĂ?Ă˜ ÞÙ ÞÙÎËã Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?ÞÓÖÖ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÔÙĂ&#x;ĂœĂ˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ě‹ĂžĂ&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂœĂ™Ă‹ĂŽĂ—Ă‹ĂšË› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŽĂ™ Ă“Ăž ÞÙÙ˛ ÙÖÖÙå ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂšĂ? Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă Ă?Ëœ Ă™Ăœ Ă?×ÚÖÙã Ă‹ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–ĂžĂ‹Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ Ă’Ă?Ă–Ăš ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ë› Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă Ă“Ă Ă?ĂŽË› ÓÞÒ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă“ĂšĂ–Ă“Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă‹Ă?Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŽĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă—Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞËÕĂ? ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă?âÞ Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă–Ë› Holler!

ĂĄĂ?Ă˜Ăž ÞÙ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ëœ ÙÙÎ Ęś ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă“Ăœ Ùà Ă?Ăœ ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ă?Ă˜ĂŽË› ĂŁ Ă™ĂŒĂ”Ă?Ă?ÞÓà Ă? ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?ÙÙÎ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă™ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ëœ ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă‹ ÞåÓĂ?Ăž Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ÙÙÎ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— ÙÞÒĂ?Ăœ Ă”Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë› Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂŽĂ“ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă—Ă?Ă?Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹ Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ă Ă?Ë›

ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă˜Ă™Ăœ ÞËĂ?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă™ĂœĂ—Ë› Ă‹Ă˜Ă• ÚÖĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă? ÖÙÙÕ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ ÞÒÓĂ? Ă™ĂŒĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă˜Ă?âÞ ÞÓ×Ă?Ë› Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă&#x;Ă?ĂŽ Ă—Ă?Ë› ĂĄĂ™ ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽĂ“Ă–ĂŁ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ™Ëœ ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÒÙĂ?Ă? ÞÒËÞ ĂŒĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁĂŽĂ‹ĂŁ Ă?ÙÙβ Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă? ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÒĂ? ËŤĂ?ĂžĂ?ĂĄ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?ËŹË› ÞËĂ?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž ËŤ Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂŁ ĂžĂ?ĂĄĂ?ËŹ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËŤ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ËŹË› Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞåÙ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă&#x;ÞÒĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?ÞËÚÖĂ? Ă“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂĄ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽĂŁ ÞÙ Ă?Ă‹Ăž ÚËĂ?Ă•Ă?Ë› ËŤ ĂŒĂ? Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ËŹËœ Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă“Ă—Ă? ÞÙ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă˜Ă™ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂŽĂ™Ă?Ă? Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă¤Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă“ĂœĂ?Ă? Ă˜Ă™ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă‘Ă?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă™Ă&#x; Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ëœ Ă™Ă“Ă–Ëœ Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă?Ă“Ă—Ă—Ă?Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ëœ ËŤ Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂŁ ĂžĂ?ĂĄĂ?ËŹËœ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?ÙÙÕĂ?ĂŽËœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x; Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂžĂ?Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă?ËÞ˛ Ă’Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă“Ă— ÞÙ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă˜Ă™ Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ÙÖÙĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?Ă?Ë›

Ă‹Ă— Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ’ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă‹ ÒÙÖÖĂ?ĂœË ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂĄĂ? ÞËĂ?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËÚÚÖËĂ&#x;ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă?Þ˪Ă? ĂšĂ‹ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă— Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? ÒÙ×Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?ĂœĂ? ÞÙ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă–Ă–Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžË› Ă? Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă—Ë› Holler!

ĚŽ Marie-Therese Phido is Sales & Market Strategist and Business Coach Email: mphido@elevato.com.ng tweeter handle @osat2012 TeL: 08090158156 (text only)

T H I S D AY Ëž Ëœ ÍąËœ Í°ÍŽÍŻÍľ

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FBN Holdings Needs to Check Rising Impairments The board and management of FBN Holdings need to work harder to check rising impairment charges so that the bank can regain investors’ confidence and reclaim its leadership position writes, Goddy Egene FBN Holdings Plc recorded the highest gross earnings for the 2016 financial year, showing its leadership position in the banking industry in that area. The financial institution, through its commercial banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, is regarded as the dominant player in the retail banking space. That leadership was confirmed through the level of gross earnings FBN Holdings Plc recorded for the year ended December 31, 2016. The bank posted gross earnings of N535.5 billion. Zenith Bank Plc followed with N507.9 billion, while Guaranty Trust Bank Plc recorded N414.6 billion.

However, the huge gross earnings could not translate into profit due to high impairment provision for loan loss. Although all the banks recorded higher impairment charges, some of them still managed to end the year with significant bottom-lines and returns to shareholders.

But FBN Holdings posted a profit after tax of N17.1 billion, which is regarded as too low considering the level of gross earnings. Hence, market operators believe FBN Holdings needs to work on reducing its impairment charges in the years ahead so as to be able to return to the top in terms of profitability, dividend payment and other performance indicators.

Financial Performance FBN Holdings posted gross earnings of N581.8billion in 2016, up 15.7 per cent from N505.7 billion in 2015. Net-interest income grew by 14.8 per cent from N265.2 billion to N304.4 billion, while non-interest income grew faster by 68.9 per cent from N97.9 billion to N165.5 billion.

Similarly, operating income rose by 29.4 per cent from N363 billion to N469.9 billion.

However, impairment charges surged by 90 per cent to N226 billion in 2016, from N118.8 billion in 2015.

Consequently, FBN Holdings posted a profit before tax of N22.9 billion, up 6.3 per cent from N21.6 billion recorded in 2015, while PAT stood at N17.1 billion, indicating a growth of 10.3 per cent from N15.5 billion in 2015.

Commenting on the results, the Managing Director, FBN Holdings, UK Eke said: “2016 has been a year characterised by significant uncertainty in the operating environment. Despite this, FBN Holdings has delivered a solid performance while focusing on addressing the pre-existing issues in the loan book which resulted in the current loan loss. This performance has been achieved through ongoing initiatives in driving efficiency across the various businesses, transforming the risk management and control environment, containing cost, as well as enhancing revenue generation from the banking and non-banking subsidiaries. We expect an improved economic environment through 2017 and are confident that the foundations we have put in place will drive improved financial performance and consequently enhance shareholder returns.�

Speaking in the same vein, the Managing Director/CEO of First Bank and subsidiaries, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said: “The commercial banking group has delivered a robust performance with a 15.6 per cent growth in gross earnings to N535.5 billion in a challenging operating environment while addressing the quality of the asset portfolio and overhauling the group risk management governance and architecture. During the year, we strengthened leadership in key business areas ensuring we have the appropriate skillset in place to drive us forward. We remain resolute in our commitment to transform the bank’s risk management approach towards sustainable improvement in asset quality, enhancing the revenue generation capacity of our business and optimising costs. In all, we will ensure profitable growth of the group leveraging technology to drive innovation as we position for improved performance.�

While blended cost of borrowings increased to 6.6 per cent from 5.3 per cent in the prior year, blended cost of bank and customer deposits declined to 1.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent from 6.6 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. Average yield on assets declined marginally from 12.1 per cent to 11.7 per cent by 2016 year end. As a result, net interest margin increased to 8.8% from 8.1% in the prior year.

Also, non-interest income increased by 68.9 per cent to N165.5 billion, from N97.9billion in 2015, contributing 35.2 per cent to net revenue, compared with 26.9 per cent in 2015. “The increase in non-interest income can be attributed to the foreign exchange translation gain as well as an increase in fees and commission income. Foreign exchange income for the year increased to N89.1 billion ( N22.2 billion in 2015), representing 53.8 per cent of non-interest income (22.7 per cent). The revaluation gain arose from exchange rate movements on the Group’s long foreign currency balance sheet position as at reporting date,� the bank said.

The bank’s operating expenses declined by 0.8

per cent to N220.9 billion, from N222.7 billion despite the high inflationary environment. “This demonstrates the success of our cost optimisation initiatives which resulted in increased operational efficiency of our business and in a decline in: regulatory costs, advert and corporate promotions, directors remuneration, legal and professional fees , net insurance claims, amongst other several cost line declines,� it said.

Another improvement recorded by FBN Holdings was in the area of cost-to-income ratio, which improved to 47 per cent, from 61.3 per cent in 2015, following strong operating income growth and a sustained decline in operating expenses. “Current improvement has been achieved largely through entrenched discipline in budget and procurement, optimising manning levels across functions and other conscious cost containment measures of the Group. We remain resolute in our commitment to further enhance our efficiency level,� it said.

Similarly, total assets increased by 13.7 per cent to N4.7 trillion, from N4.2 trillion in December 2015. Total customer deposits rose

FBN HOLDINGS 2016 FINANCIAL SUMMARY

600 50

DEC.2016 N582Bn DEC. 2015 N502.7Bn

00 50 00

DEC.2016 N304Bn

50

DEC. 2015 N265Bn

300

DEC.2016 N226Bn

250

DEC.2016 N221Bn

200

DEC. 2015 N224Bn

DEC. 2015 N118Bn

150 00 50

DEC.2016 N17Bn DEC. 2015 N15.5Bn

20 15 10

The Positives A further analysis of the results showed some positive performance. For instance, cost of funds improved to 2.8 per cent as against 3.7 per cent in 2015, indicating better efficiency in pricing.

05 0

REVENUE

NET INTEREST INCOME

IMPAIRMENT CHARGES

OPERATING EXPENSES

PROFIT AFTER TAX

by 4.5 per cent from N3.0 trillion to N3.1 trillion in 2016, total loans and advances to customers (net) increased by 14.7 per cent to N2.1 trillion, from N1.8 trillion), driven by the translation effect of the Naira devaluation. As a result, FCY loans now constitute 51.1 per cent of the loan portfolio compared with 44.7 per cent in 2015.

Shareholders’ funds closed at N582.6 billion, up 0.7 per cent from N578.8 billion, benefitting from revaluation gains of N26.7 billion, taking foreign currency translation reserves to N34.8 billion ( N8.0 billion in 2015) as well as statutory credit reserve of N21.2 billion, closing at N23.6 billion.

Capital adequacy ratio for First Bank (Nigeria) closed at 17.8 per cent, which is above the current regulatory minimum of 15 per cent, while tier 1 ratio was 13.97 per cent (2015 13.3 per cent in 2015).

The Negatives The major negative performance recorded by FBN Holdings is the high impairment charge on credit losses, which amounted to N226, up from N118.8 billion. The company explained that the impairment charge was largely driven by the translation effect of the foreign currency portfolio due to the Naira devaluation as well as one-off exceptional credit charge from legacy exposures in subsidiaries. “Credit losses are predominately driven by the oil and gas sector exposures and to a lesser extent real estate/residential mortgages, general commerce and the general sectors. As a result, Cost of risk increased to 10.4 per cent, compared with 5.7 per cent, while non-performance loans (NPL) ratio closed at 24.4 per cent, as against 18.1 per cent in 2015.

According to FBN Holdings, they have remained focused on remediation and recovery activities towards declassifying non-performing accounts and driving asset quality improvements. “In line with this, we have made significant progress on remediation and recovery of NPLs in the last nine months. One of the three major accounts contributing to the NPL has been fully restructured and will be reclassified as a performing loan in 2017 in line with IFRS guideline, while asset realisation is at advanced stage on the second material NPL. Resolution on Atlantic Energy has taken longer than expected but despite the delays, we are confident in achieving a positive outcome in the near future,� the bank said.

Also, FBN Holdings gross margin fell from 2.9 per cent in 2015 to compared with 3.1 per cent in 2015, a major indicator that should be worked on the current financial year.

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Regional Cooperation in Oil Marketing Chijioke Nwaozuzu, in this article highlights the numerous benefits of regional cooperation among ECOWAS nations in oil marketing and distribution Prospects for economic growth are driven by energy consumption, which is dependent on availability, accessibility and affordability of the energy sources/ resources. Statistics have shown that SubSaharan Africa countries are projected to grow in number at an average rate of 1.2%, leading to a population of about 500 million in 2035. This population growth will require enormous energy supply to meet up with the energy demand of the increasing population and the projected GDP growth rate of about 4.4% per annum.

Interestingly, sub-Saharan African countries, and the West African subregion is endowed with vast energy resources, both renewable and nonrenewable. Unfortunately, the nonrenewable energy resources, especially oil and gas is not evenly distributed among member states in the region.

Furthermore, the geography of petroleum supply options does not only correspond to political boundaries, as the cheapest energy source may lie across national borders. More so, national markets for petroleum products in some member countries are often too small to justify the investments needed in particular energy supply options. Consequently, cross-border petroleum and products supply networks provide diversification of petroleum supply options. This, in itself, is a key component of energy supply security.

In recognition of this, several regional energy markets have been growing, with significant benefits such as inter-linking of national petroleum and products supply, market expansion which is aided by mobilisation of both private and public investments, and greater access to products.

Furthermore, for countries with comparative advantage, interconnecting into a regional market create avenues for export opportunities, while for the importing nations there is availability of cheaper energy supply options.

Unfortunately, most of the petro-rich West-African countries’ economies are focused on exports of crude oil.

Regrettably, some of these countries domestic petroleum products market is under-satisfied, and hence, they depend more on import of finished petroleum products, e.g. Nigeria. These portend grave consequences for such economies in terms of balance of trade, especially, when the price of the resource becomes unfavorable.

Additionally, this challenge is further exacerbated by the poor efficiency rate at which the existing refineries in the region operate. Ultimately, to meet their demand, member states resort to importation or smuggling by their oil traders.

Consequently, it is imperative for ECOWAS member states to invest in refining capacity in order to grow and sustain regional products consumption, and hence promote trade amongst member states. This will ultimately reduce import cost, export charges and the attendant subsidy issues. Since inception of the 15-member organisation in 1975, the body has recognised promoting economic and regional integration as a tool for rapid and sustainable development of the region’s economy, as has been enshrined in its trade treaties.

ECOWAS TREATY ON TRADE Consistent with the objectives for the creation of the ECOWAS, one of the aspects of provisions for trade amongst member states is the article 28 of the ECOWAS trade treaty, which detailed specifications on energy trade related issues.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu

Article 28: ECOWAS Energy Trade Treaty 1. Member States shall co-ordinate and harmonise their policies and programmes in the field of energy.

2. To this end, they shall: a) ensure the effective development of the energy resources of the region; b) establish appropriate co-operation mechanisms with a view to ensuring a regular supply of hydrocarbons; c) promote the development of new and renewable energy particularly solar energy in the framework of the policy of diversification of sources of energy; d) harmonise their national energy development plans by ensuring particularly, the inter-connection of electricity distribution networks; e) articulate a common energy policy, particularly, in the field of research, exploitation, production and distribution; f) establish an adequate mechanism for the collective solution of the energy development problems within the Community, particularly those relating to energy transmission, the shortage of skilled technicians and financial resources for the implementation of energy projects of Member States.

Benefits of Cooperation in Petroleum Marketing and Distribution 1. Regional cooperation provides an opportunity to enhance sustainable growth through development and sharing of resources as a region. This will maximise development of these resources confined to national boundaries in an optimal manner.

2. Such cooperation in petroleum products marketing and distribution will help to strengthen both national and regional energy security, reduce the costs of energy supplies, and minimise negative impacts from energy price volatility.

3. ECOWAS cooperation in crude oil, gas and products marketing will enable member states to pursue benefits from developing new energy market opportunities, receiving transit revenues as well as achieve least-cost development solutions resulting from rational sharing

of resources.

4. Oil and gas reserves are concentrated in some member countries within the ECOWAS community. These resources have for decades been monetised through their trade with external markets. For example, the Nigerian LNG project is export oriented and the LNG shipped to countries outside the region. The West African Gas Pipeline Project (WAGP), is a step in the right direction in the bid to create a cooperative platform for marketing and distribution of gas in the sub-region. However, there is need to expand the reach of the project beyond its current status. This of course requires huge financial commitment from the member states.

5. In the longer term, member countries looking forward to evolving medium-to long-term interrelationships especially, States with sufficient petroleum reserves for export can secure access to markets for export and revenues; and transit nations could earn ample revenues from transit fees.

6. Part of the benefits of cooperation would include: improved security of supply, better economic efficiency, enhanced environmental quality and a wider deployment of petroleum resources.

Challenges to cooperation in petroleum Supplies within ECOWAS States Achievement of regional cooperation in petroleum supply, marketing and distribution would involve a wide range of actions including establishing cross-border infrastructure and promoting regional forums for sharing knowledge and experience widely available within the region. Such challenges would include: 1. Abuse of inter-state road transit for goods (member countries having differing standards, weights, etc): This loophole may be exploited by unscrupulous traders to smuggle goods into ECOWAS region and evade duties and taxes. This trend will, until it is curtailed, detract

from the industrialization plight of the region and an attendant loss of job opportunities.

2. Inadequate Supply, Storage and Distribution infrastructure: The inadequacy of crude oil and petroleum products storage and transportation infrastructure in the region portends a great challenge to achievement of the benefits of regional cooperation in petroleum marketing and distribution. At present, there are no adequate storage facilities, pipeline networks and rail ways to facilitate crude oil and products movement within the region. Even the West African gas pipeline project, had series of issues based on the absence of enabling infrastructure.

This ultimately will impede the essence of cooperation in marketing of petroleum within the region.

3. Issue of Arbitrage – arbitrage opportunities in the creation and distribution of petroleum among member states may undermine the efficiency of the cooperation.

4. Smuggling and potentials for government-to-government anti- cooperative behavior can also undermine the potential benefits of integration and cooperation.

5. Requirement for huge capital investment in petroleum supply and distribution infrastructure development will involve public- private partnership (PPP).

However, the enabling environment that will encourage such investment is yet to be establishment. Given that much of such financing will be sourced from oversees financial institutions, there will be a need for a stable and appreciating business environment, devoid of high levels of corruption and government interference, as well as strong institutional frameworks.

6. The issue of incessant vandalism of oil and gas infrastructure, especially as is the case in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, is a disincentive for private sectors to invest in supply and distribution infrastructure. Therefore, member states have to advance adequate measures for securing such assets from vandalism.

7. Harmonisation of policies within member states. It is important to acknowledge that the ECOWAS member states are at different levels of development, and extends to their institutions and structures. To accommodate this variation without compromising investment, there is need for harmonisation of policies regarding trade in petroleum and gas marketing and distribution within the region.

To conclude, the achievement of the long-term vision for petroleum marketing and distribution in the region must be pursued through economically and financially sound investment measures for regional cooperation, taking into account the interests of all States in the region. To enable the identification and implementation of such projects, capacity building and knowledge sharing measures must be pursued assiduously in order to guarantee sustainability of such investments. A synergised, sound and appropriate policy environment would be a necessary compliment to achieving progress in these regard.

-Contributed by Prof Chijioke Nwaozuzu, a former British Chevening Scholar and Deputy-Director at Emerald Energy Institute for Energy & Petroleum Economics, Policy, & Strategic Studies, University of Port Harcourt. Email: cnwaozuzu@gmail. com. Tel: 070 6874 3617 (SMS Only)

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Law to Make Multinationals Accountable to Environmental Hazards Underway Ëž Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? ĂžĂœĂ?Ă? ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă Ă?

James Emejo in Abuja The National Assembly is currently working to effect drastic changes on existing legislations to make multinational oil firms, guilty of absolute disregard for environmental safety in their operations to be more accountable.

This is as the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has unveiled a project on “Greening the Cities (GTC)� in line with its mandate to enable the provision of renewable energy for agriculture and the adoption of

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA).

The GTC Initiative, launched in partnership with the GreenEarth Consults and other stakeholders as part of the 2017 World Earth Day campaign, was conceived as part of NIRSAL’s corporate social responsibility in trying to raise awareness as well as address problems associated with climate change.

The unveiling of the greening project came on a day the Chairman, House Committee on Environment and Habitat, Hon. Chidoka Obinna said the National Assembly is currently working to effect drastic changes to existing legislations to make

multinational oil firms, which are guilty of absolute disregard for environmental safety in their operations to be more accountable.

Speaking at the launch of the project in Abuja, he said efforts are ongoing towards tightening noose around the operations of oil companies as well as rejig redundant precolonial laws on multinational oil activities to reflect present realities particularly in the areas of payment of fines.

Gas flaring and oil spillage are regarded as highest environmental pollutants in oil producing regions in the

country while desertification and desert encroachment are serious environmental issues in northern parts of the country.

However, about 192 countries across the globe are participating in this year’s campaign.

Essentially, NIRSAL and its partners under the GTC project will collaborate with selected Primary schools across the country to effectively transfer knowledge and skills that will promote Environmental and Climate Literacy across the country.

The Managing Director of NIRSAL, Mr. Aliyu Abdulhameed said the initiative will involve

NIRSAL support for school children between the ages of 4-14 years in all state capitals in the country to learn sustainable tree planting skills within the context of climate change and agriculture.

Specifically, he said about 1000 trees will be planted in the first phase 1 of the pilot across six state capitals in each of the geo-political zones of the country.

Also, an incentive-based system will be worked out to reward outstanding Child Tree Custodians to be funded

by NIRSAL. It is expected that the measuring and communication of the

mitigating impacts of these activities will also be a key outcome.

Furthermore, these children would be trained and equipped to be child custodians of these trees in major selected “Green Streets� in each state capital.

He said: “At NIRSAL, we recognise that environmental and climate literacy will be vital in ensuring that our farmers, partners and stakeholders adopt the Climate Smart Approaches to agriculture in ensuring food security, economic empowerment, mitigating against climate change, gender and social inclusion among others.�

FMDQ OTC Exchange Promises New Products Offerings Goddy Egene The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Mr. Bola Onadele.Koko has said the exchange will focus on, amongst others, the diversification of products offerings to include consolidation of OTC FX futures, the introduction of new derivative products such as fixed income, interest rate and currency derivatives this year. He stated this at the fifth annual general meeting (AGM) of the company held in Lagos last Friday.

Speaking on the financial performance of the OTC exchange in 2016, he said in 2016, the challenges in the Nigeria financial markets, particularly, the foreign exchange market, resulted in a 1.71 per cent decrease in FMDQ’s total revenue to N2.04 billion, from N2.07 billion in 2015.

He, however, noted that FMDQ was able to diversify

its revenue sources resulting in an increase in the contribution of non-transaction fees to total revenue from 20.56 per cent in 2015 to 32.3 per cent in 2016, in line with its strategic objectives.

He said the further diversification of its products offerings going forward would go a long in boosting its performance.

The Chairman of FMDQ, Dr. Sarah Alade said the exchange was in a strong position despite the fact that 2016 was a tough year for all Nigerian businesses, FMDQ included. “Furthermore, FMDQ was able to sustain its growth by continuing to explore new opportunities to expand and enhance its activities, markets and reach. This expansion was clearly noticeable in the listings and quotations business which saw a total of 27 debt securities, amounting to N233.98 billion, R-L: General Manager Legal, INTELS Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mike Epelle; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring listed and quoted on the OTC Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote; Head Administration of INTELS Nigeria Limited, Mr. Chibuisi Onyebueke, and Director, Planning, Research exchange, and in the number of and Statistics of NCDMB, Mr. Patrick Obah, when Wabote visited INTELS and other companies at the Onne Free Zone ‌recently FMDQ’s members which grew from 75, as at December 31, 2015, to 157, as at December 31, 2016,â€? she said.

A VISIT TO ONNE FREE ZONE

Chevron Reports Q1 Net Income of $2.7 Billion Ejiofor Alike

Sona Agro Allied Foods to Boost Capacity with New Plants Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; Determined to meet the growing demands for its range of products in Nigeria, the management of Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited has concluded plans to boost capacity through an additional two biscuit plants.

This, it said, would assist the company in boosting its current capacity where it produces about 100 tons per day. Similarly, the biscuits manufacturing giant has launched SONA BITES Biscuit, a new addition to its rich products portfolio with a view to nourishing its teeming consumers with a premium brand of biscuits.

SONA BITES biscuit is Cashew and Butter based rich recipe product to meet the taste demand of Nigerian population.

Both Cashew and Butter are locally sourced ingredients as Sona Group continue to strive to use locally available raw materials to be used 100% in its manufacturing activity to drive the local economy very strongly.

According to the managing director,Mr.Subramaniam Murugesan, who made the disclosure during the new product launch midweek in Lagos said “with the installation of two additional plants, the company would now have a production capacity of 200 tonnes per day.While expressing optimism in the Nigerian market,Murugesan said the company remains resolute to providing innovative products in the years ahead.

Chevron Corporation reported earnings of $2.7 billion for first quarter 2017, compared with a loss of $725 million in the 2016 first quarter.

The company’s net income for fourth quarter 2016 had dropped to $415 million, compared with a loss of $588 million in the 2015 fourth quarter as a result of the effects of what the company called civil unrest in Nigeria, coupled with normal field declines and the impact of asset sales.

Included in the first quarter of 2017 was a gain of approximately $600 million from the sale of an upstream asset.

Foreign currency effects decreased earnings in first quarter 2017 by $241 million, compared with a decrease of $319 million a year earlier.

Sales and other operating revenues in first quarter 2017 were $32 billion, compared

to $23 billion in the year-ago period The company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John Watson said first quarter earnings and cash flow improved significantly from a year ago. “We benefitted from increasing crude oil prices and ongoing efficiencies being implemented across the company. We continue to make good progress on reducing our spend,� Watson said. “Our operating expenses were reduced by about 14 percent from first quarter 2016 and our capital spending declined over 30 percent from a year ago. We started up several new projects and have all three trains at Gorgon online. We also progressed our asset sales programme.

The combination of these actions contributed to a cash positive first quarter. Overall net oil-equivalent production in the first quarter increased 3 percent compared to the 2016

full year and we are on track to meet the 4-9 percent growth goal for 2017 before the effect of asset sales,� Watson added.

Worldwide net oil-equivalent production was 2.68 million barrels per day in first quarter 2017, compared with 2.67 million barrels per day in the 2016 first quarter. Production increases from major capital projects and base business were largely offset by production entitlement effects in several locations, normal field declines and the impact of asset sales.

US upstream operations earned $80 million in first quarter 2017, compared with a loss of $850 million from a year earlier.

The increase was primarily due to higher crude oil realisations and lower depreciation and operating expenses. The company’s average sales price per barrel of crude oil and natural gas liquids was $45 in first

quarter 2017, up from $26 a year ago. The average sales price of natural gas was $2.39 per thousand cubic feet, compared with $1.32 in last year ’s first quarter.

Net oil-equivalent production of 672,000 barrels per day in first quarter 2017 was down 29,000 barrels per day, or four per cent, from a year earlier. Production increases from base business in the Gulf of Mexico, shale and tight properties in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and the Jack/St. Malo major capital project were more than offset by the impact of asset sales of 68,000 barrels per day, and normal field declines.

The net liquids component of oil-equivalent production increased three per cent in first quarter 2017 to 504,000 barrels per day, while net natural gas production decreased 21 per cent to 1.01 billion cubic feet per day.

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EDUCATION World Book Day: Promoting Reading Culture through Effective Govt Policy, Stakeholders Effort As the world recently, marked ‘World Book Day’, experts opined that there has to be a collective will from all stakeholders, including the government to formulate necessary policies that would encourage the book industry and make books available to end users, so as to promote an effective reading culture in Nigeria. Funmi Ogundare reports The importance of books to the progress of humanity cannot be overemphasised, just as the world recently commemorated the World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book) organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a yearly event celebrated on April 23rd, to promote reading, publishing and copyright.

In the United Kingdom, the day is set aside to pay a world-wide tribute to books, and authors, as a way of encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those, who have furthered the social and cultural progress of the society.

Aside this, the day is also an opportunity to highlight the power of books to promote vision of knowledge to societies that are inclusive, equitable, open and participatory for everybody.

Some Nigerians had taken advantage of the day to share everything from their favourite books to book memories, authors they love, books they are currently reading, their reading concerns and pictures of their bookshelves.

Some private schools had also had taken time off their busy classroom schedules to explain the essence of World Book Day to their students and showed them video clips on how to read better and be a good author.

In ChristHill College, Lagos, for instance, the school, at the weekend, invited guest speakers to speak to the students on the ideals of reading and how being a good reader can enhance ones’ academics.

However, the need to promote effective reading habits among the youths is very imperative, as the culture is gradually dying due to the advent of social media.

The adage, ‘If you want to hide something from a black man, put it in a book is often true because only few still read, as over the years, astute observers of this trend have complained about the dying culture of reading in the country.

This situation is worrisome among young people who spend more time on social media than reading books and newspapers. stakeholders contend that this development could lead to very poor learning outcomes.

Some others argued that the current economic recession has not helped the matter at all and has made it extremely difficult for many individuals and business organisations to meet their essential needs for survival, as well as has forced many to close shop.

According to the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Book Fair Trust (NBFT), Mr. Abiodun Omotubi, “ there is no doubt the fact that the reading culture is dwindling in Nigeria in spite of the efforts of many organisations like NBFT.�

He described the Social Media as a viable means of getting information and enlightenment, while expressing concern that Nigerians and the youths in particular, are not using it to enhance their reading culture and enlightenment. “The social media is the order of the day now all over the world, Nigeria inclusive. But are Nigerians using the social media networks to enhance their reading culture and enlightenment?

The answer is capital No. In Nigeria, the social media networks have turned to avenue through which they abuse one another, look for wife or husband, engage in political campaigns, promote their image or status, the list is endless.�

He affirmed that in spite of the current economic challenges and misuse of social media networks, Nigerian Book Fair Trust has not failed in encouraging Nigerians to imbibe the habit of reading, saying, “opening of libraries without books and other learning materials is

Stimulating student’s interest in reading

like wasting of time and resources. In order to ensure availability of books, especially up-to-date titles in our libraries, the Trust in all its events, especially at the annual Nigeria international book fair, not only ensure availability of books, it also facilitates special discount to librarians on books they purchase at the book fair.�

Omotubi said this move, has encouraged librarians in Nigeria to embrace the events of the Trust and that it has, on many occasions supported some associations in the book industry by donating books to schools and libraries in order to promote reading culture.

The executive secretary emphasised on the challenges hampering the growth of books and knowledge industry saying, “ there are lot of challenges that are hampering the efforts of the Trust and other organisations. Some of the identifiable challenges are; high cost of bringing printing materials to Nigeria, lack of infrastructures that can encourage mass local production of books, piracy, substandard books production, government neglect of the book industry, unfavourable government policies and absence of government agency or unit that will facilitate the effective functionality of book chain, as well as promote local book production like we have in Nollywood.�

The Chairman of NBFT, Mr. Rilwanu Abdulsalami said the Trust is trying to reach out to the government to see how it could develop the book industry in the country, adding that one of the problems it is having is as a result of change of government and policy. “We want to lobby government and the Senate so that they can recognise us, such that by the time we make presentations, it will bring about the needed change.�

He expressed concern about the reading culture among students saying that they only read to pass examinations. “There has to be a collective will among parents, schools, and the library, inspite of the socio- economic challenges. Parents must encourage their children to read and do their assignments,� Abdulsalami said, adding, “this is why the Nigerian Book Fair Trust is crusading for the promotion of reading culture through easy and affordable access to books and other learning and teaching materials in Nigeria.�

The National President Nigerian Publishers Association(NPA), Mr. Gbadega Adedapo said the Nigerian book industry has been striving to promote reading culture and reward activities that promote educational standards, despite the challenges it faces.

He noted that the dwindling economy and resources which have led to financial hardship is

no doubt affecting the book publishing industry coupled with the impact of the foreign exchange challenges and concomitant increase in the price of raw materials. “The consequential economic hardship has led Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) and its members to be more proactive in their activities in terms of planning their production ahead.

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention.

We have been harnessing local production opportunities rather than running printing projects abroad to meet up with customers’ demands,� he said, adding that despite all these, the association promotes reading culture by ensuring that its products get to the door step of the users.

Adedapo said his association is doing more on public sensitisation programs to promote reading culture, adding, “we currently have radio programmes proudly sponsored by the association. Recently we had a press conference to celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day and so many others. The Association is building relationship with the government for more favourable policies to support book availability for the users. We are closely working with education stakeholders and parastatals to ensure compliance to educational standard as stipulated by the Ministry of Education and other affiliated bodies.�

The national president added that the association actively participates in book fairs at various levels both local and international, in order to exhibit several products and ease accessibility to good books, as well as update users on newly published books. “NPA in its mandate to promote and protect book publishing, have several lined up trainings for our members to update them on current trends and build their capacity to run all their business processes smoothly and end up producing quality contents. The Association and its members regularly donate books and welfare materials to individuals, libraries, schools, corporate organisations not leaving out the less privileged as part of their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR). “One of the current proposal of the association is to donate books to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). We have also not stopped supporting book reading programmes on media platforms. We have as one of our member projects to implement a project to get books accessible to the blind,�Adedapo stressed.

He emphasised on the factors that have been hampering the growth of book and knowledge industry saying that the challenges has greatly reduced the purchasing power of users as a result of delay in payment of workers’ salary, increase rate of unemployment and dramatic

increase in price of goods and services. “The production strength of publishers has dropped as a result of unavailability of raw materials and the high level of increase in price of raw materials and machineries. In recent times, the growth of book and knowledge have been impeded by paradigm shift in users attitude of spending more time on less important and productive activities especially the youths.

He expressed concern about the increase in book piracy activities in recent times saying, “it is very alarming. Books and its producers (publishers and authors) have suffered much from the activities of the book pirates as the effort of authors in writing books as well as that of publishers financial effort to getting the books published and distributed to the end users are being frustrated by the perpetrators. This had led to mistrust among the major players, from the publisher to the author who sees the book everywhere and expects royalty even when not all the books originated from the main publisher, but a larger fraction printed by book pirates.

The mistrust also reflects from publishers to the book distributors such as booksellers.�

He stressed the need for a review of government policies on foreign exchange to ensure ease of procurement of raw materials and machineries. “The industry has experienced inconsistent curriculum review within a short period. This resulted to content imbalance which becomes unpleasant to book users. The publishers have also experienced huge loss and discouragement adapting to the short interval curriculum review.

Several external factors such as poor basic infrastructure, which include but not limited to poor transportation, erratic power supply, poor nutrition, inadequate conducive learning environment such as dilapidated school building, unavailability of community libraries and non-effective and inadequately stocked libraries are not excluded. The combination of all the afore-mentioned external factors, create a very harsh atmosphere for book and knowledge development, “the national president stressed.

Emphasising on how reading on mobile device can make e-books popular, he said , “E-books and reading on mobile devices are at the introductory stage and the adoption by publishers is gradually improving. It is perceived that embracing e-books might increase piracy and undermine intellectual property protection.

Secure management of e-books is perhaps one of the main concern of publishing firms, and is consequently thought to be delaying adoption.�

The Head, National Institute of Cultural Orientation (NICO), Mr. Ohi Ojo also observed that part of the cause for the dwindling reading culture is the rapid rise in electronic media used in getting information, noting that it is more convenient and cheaper.

He said the high cost of living has also negatively affected the purchasing power of the public, adding that this makes people to spend less on books and rely more on electronic media especially social media for information and socialisation.

He stressed the need for transnational organisations and other stakeholders to help provide books at subsidised rates so that more people can have access to it to improve reading culture and literacy in the society.

A teacher at Anthony Village Secondary School, Lagos, Miss Moyo Lasisi expressed concern that most youths are compelled to read only when they have exam or interview, adding that students whose normal habit should include reading hardly do so, hence the reason for the high rate of failure in examinations.

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Foundation Rewards Teachers’ Exellence Akintunde Wahab Meadow Hall Foundation, a subsidiary of Meadow Hall Group, has rewarded three teachers in Lagos State, for their commitment towards advancing the educational outcome of the Nigerian child and enhancing the quality of teaching.

The award, in two categories; the Inspirational School Leader of the Year and the Inspirational Teacher of the Year, saw Mrs. Oluremi Tanimola, Ms. Odueke Abiodun and Mr. Tolulope Odunsanya being rewarded with a cash prize of N2,000,000, N1,000, 000 and N500,000, respectively.

Speaking at the Inspirational Educator Awards 2017 (INSEA), Head of Meadow Hall Foundation,Mrs. Kemi Adewoye said the programme was part of its 15th year anniversary celebration, adding

that the merit- based award is aimed at elevating the teaching profession, motivating school teachers and educational leaders to continue to strive for excellence in the profession.

She expressed delight about the awardees saying that despite their challenges, they are working hard to improve children’s access to quality education.

According to her, “one of the inspirational educators, Mrs. Oluremi Tanimola has been teaching for over 26 years, and she is technological savvy and most importantly has sustained her passion for education. Abiodun Odueke has also taken her passion to the total development of the Nigerian child beyond the four walls of her classroom to her community where she teaches secondary school drop-outs from her school and neighbouring schools about

values/character education, and connects them to mentors and vocational trainers who help them acquire skills.�

She noted that Mr. Tolulope Odunsanya, was shaped by a mentor and is now inspiring other teachers to be passionate and innovative like him. “There are inspirational stories all over Nigeria. This platform is to bring out their stories and inspire teachers to do more. The Inspirational Educator Awards for 2017 was opened to only educators in Lagos State. However, the award will be open to all teachers in Nigeria as from 2018. The need to advocate for the teaching profession and to inspire teachers to do more led to this award,� she said.

The Vice Chairman of the Meadow Hall Foundation Board, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo who presented the cheques to the winners at the well

attended awards night held at Harbour Point, Lagos, admonished them to continue to strive for excellence in their teaching profession and to join the foundation’s ambassadorial team to advocate for quality education at all levels.

One of the winners, Mrs. Oluremi Tanimola who responded on behalf of other awardees, described herself as a team player, self-motivated and always learning something new. “These coupled with my ICT knowledge made the difference.

The desires to learn and do things differently are secrets of my outstanding performance.�

She advised all teachers to always learn from their fellow teachers, be self-motivated, and ensure continuous improvement/personal development.

The three winners were thrilled and full of appreciation to Meadow Hall, their

students, fellow teachers, school management and Lagos state government for providing an opportunity to share their inspirational stories. They specially thanked Meadow Hall Foundation for their commitment, transparency and flawless process in selecting the winners of the Inspirational Educator Awards and keeping to their brand promise.

According to Mr. Tolulope Odunsanya, “a lot of people think rewards of teachers are in heaven only, but Meadow Hall Foundation has rewarded us while on earth.�

In recognition of her immense contribution to quality education, the foundation also presented the ‘Education Champion Award’ to the Deputy Governor of Lagos, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Deputy Governor’s Office, Mrs. Ye-

tunde Odejayi. She thanked the foundation for the award and promised to continue to do more in enhancing quality and accessible education for all Lagosians.

Meadow Hall Group also celebrated members of staff who are committed to the organisation through their exemplary service and loyalty since its inception in 2002.

Engr. Ibikunle Ogunbayo, Chairman Advisory Board of Meadow Hall Group presented the long service awards to the following deserving members of staff; Mr. Taju Popoola, Mrs. Victoria Ikpe, Mrs. Akpan, Mrs. Delphine Nnakwe and Ms. Rita Ekpenyong.

Popoola, who spoke on behalf of other recipients, said Meadow Hall Group gives staff the opportunity for continuous learning in a harmonious working environment.

EDUMARK Pledges Committment to Developing Quality Manpower Peace Obi The Managing Director, EDUMARK Consult, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde has said that given the critical role education plays in the development of every society, the need for quality manpower in the sector remains essential for qualitative education delivery.

Attributing the development witnessed in most advanced countries to their huge investment in education, she hinted that no country can become greater than its teachers.

Briefing Journalists, recently during on the 9th edition of the Total School Support Seminars and Exhibition (TOSSE), in Lagos, Ogunde said some of the developed countries have also synchronised their academia with the industry, thereby bringing about the needed interaction between town and gown.

She said the 2017 edition has been designed to accommodate the whole tripod in education; educators, parents and students, adding that it is aimed at providing training for Nigerian teachers, educators and other stakeholders in education from around the world. “This year, we are bringing in educators, parents and students. We have concentrated on the educators for a while, but increasingly, there is an obvious gap in parent education which we believe that some of the sessions in TOSSE will help to solve,� the managing director said.

She said her organisation is committed to the development of human resources in the education sector, as it is the major reason for the continuous investment in TOSSE. According to her, “It is our own way of contributing to training the trainers. It is clear that when teachers are well equipped with up to-date

knowledge on methods, models, metrics and modern tools of their art, their delivery in the classroom will improve, their relationship with students will improve and we will record more positive learning outcomes. Then teachers will share relevant knowledge and functional education that goes beyond rote learning. “This year, we are running 18 free seminars. A teacher is as good as his last training which in education space is called Continuous Professional Development(CPD). They are to cover a wide range of education, social and emotional topics for educators. The topics are chosen based on the current pulse of the sector. They are carefully selected to provide solutions to pressing or imminent challenges so that even if a school or an educator cannot afford the cost of workshops and seminars elsewhere, by simply brining all the members of staff to TOSSE once a year, the teacher can be up-to-date on improved and revolutionised ways of delivering quality education.�

Ogunde noted that, every year, special sessions are held to show teachers what is new in the world of education, saying, “this year, we are extending the ‘What’s New’ segment to one full hour. During this period, educators can learn about new strides, methods and technologies that have worked elsewhere which can adapted to our own unique system.

The representative of school owners at the conference, Mrs. Toyin Idowu described TOSSE as one event that offers great value to participants. “There is no limit to what can be learnt; even if it is not from the seminars, you get to see how things are done,� she said.

.L-R: The Group Head, Client Services, Edumark Consult, Mrs. Fisayo Balogun, Principal Consultant, Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, Executive Director, Gloryville School, Ebute Metta; Mrs. Toyin Idowu and Group Head, Retail Sales, WAPIC Insurance PLC, Mr. Joshua Oniyilo, during EDUMARK 9th Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition(TOSSE) press conference, held in Lagos‌recently sunday adigun

Varsity Don Canvases Inclusion of Aquaculture in School Curriculum

Appropriate More Funds to Education Sector, SAN President Urges National Assembly

Funmi Ogundare

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

A Professor of Aquaculture and Fish Nutrition, Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Science, Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Morenike Adewolu has called on the government to ensure that that Aquaculture is included in the primary and secondary schools curriculum saying the move, aside just educating the children, will also have a positive effect on the parents, illiterates and community at large.

Adewolu who made this call, recently, at the 62nd inaugural lecture series of the institution, titled, ‘Feed the Fish: Feed the Nation’, also stressed the need for government to support research in production of fish feeds from locally available feed ingredients to replace expensive imported fish meal and fish oil.

She expressed concern that the country, like many other developing countries, is faced with the problem of

under-feeding which becomes intense; and malnutrition, as the cost of living increases.

To end this problem, the don said Aquaculture has a role to play by providing fish which are usually rich n protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and mineral to people.

According to her, “ there is need for ore realistic and rigorous approach to the growth of Aquaculture in the country. This can only be achieved by paying attention to fish-feed industry in Nigeria which currently is in infancy.

Its growth will give rise to the development of aquaculture.�

Adewolu listed some limitations to aquaculture to include environmental degradation, reduced water quality, diseases, increase in fish feed price due to high price of fish meal and lack of governance and regulation in fish production, lack of access to financial and social assistance, noting that if these are not addressed it will hinder its successful expansion.

The National President, Science Association of Nigeria (SAN) , Professor Moji Bakare- Odunola has appealed to members of the National Assembly to appropriate more funds to education sector so as to boost the development of science and research in the nation’s universities.

Odunola who made this appeal, recently, on the sideline of the postponement of the annual national conference of the association, scheduled to take place at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun state, said, “no amount of funds committed to education development is a wasteful expenses in view of its positive results that it will bring to the teeming populace.�

She stressed the need for the members of the National Assembly to increase the funds being allocated to education in view of its importance to the socio economic development

of the country, adding that the move would also make scientists and researchers embark on necessary changes that will accelerate the technological development of the country.

According to her, “the importance of education in the socio well being of the society is a great goal that all levels of government should attain to achieve so as to reduce poverty among the teaming populace. No nation can move ahead when the education is neglected because it remains a pivotal platform to advance the course of people in the society.�

Professor Bakare- Odunola said the association has been working round the clock in the country to educate the students willing to offer science subjects in secondary schools, adding that the enlightenment has changed the negative mind set of students to pursuing science-related courses in the tertiary institutions, especially the technological based.

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Lagos Unveils Digital Library Peace Obi The Lagos State Government has unveiled its Digital Library, aimed at providing unlimited access to educational and instructional materials for students, teachers, researchers and all seekers of knowledge as part of its efforts to becoming the model of excellence in the provision of education in Africa, Speaking at the ceremony, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the digital library, tagged ‘Educate Lagos’, is one of the initiatives of the government geared towards achieving its goal of becoming the next financial and technology hub in Africa.

Describing the project as the first of its kind in the state and the largest learning platforms in Africa, Ambode said, “through this platform we are providing access to learning materials for everyone particularly for students and researchers.

The digital library provides a repository of content including 2,000 study aids on core subjects from primary to secondary school curriculum, over 1,600 tutorials, instructional videos, selected e-books for primary to SS3 approved texts, brief history

of Lagos State, online forum, podcasts, exam-mate, among others. “It also include quality research papers from Lagos State tertiary institutions covering a wide variety of topics digitised for the platform: vocational training videos; entrepreneurship content; creatively presented history, lessons and online courses on coding. I therefore use this opportunity to encourage our students, teachers, researchers and everyone that is interested in knowledge acquisition to make use of this platform which can be accessed from any part of the world,�

Ambode said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh said the Lagos Digital Library is in tandem with the Governor’s vision to increase Lagosians access to knowledge, run an inclusive education system and Lagos that works for all.

According to him, the dream of a Lagos that works for all cannot be realised without education. “So what we are doing with Educate Lagos is a portal that allows everybody, regardless of whoever you are, you have no excuse to fail in Lagos. Like I said earlier, this is an extension of the free education policy that was done by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the 50s. So, what

we tried to do is to democratise education and make it available to everybody.�

Emphasising on the state government’s effort to ensure sustainability of the project as well as free and seamless access to the portal, Bank-Olemoh disclosed that the state government is partnering with some private sectors to achieve to that. “We are working on two major initiatives; we are partnering with some telecoms companies to ensure there is free access to this portal. So, even if you don’t have data on your device, you can still access this portal.�

He said the portal will be a very active and that content would be added on weekly basis, which would include some unique African contents that will teach users history of Lagos. “We know that the future of Lagos is going to be technology-driven; we have a lot of young people in our population.

What we are trying to do is to ensure that we give Lagosians no reason to fail.

You have no reason to fail! If for example you go to your class and you feel you did not understand what was taught, all you need to do is to go to educatelagos.com.

We have videos on different subjects. And if your teacher didn’t teach well, you can just watch the videos and you learn.

Apply ‘Usefulness’ to Your Teaching Do you dare to be a brand name or are you just a generic? First things first, let’s check out how it works with medications: If you check their packaging, medications sometimes have more than one name. One of these names would be the generic name of the medication while the other name would be its brand name. For example, Ibuprofen is the generic name whilst Hedex or Nurofen are two brand names for ibuprofen; Sildenafil is a generic name for Viagra (its brand name).

Paracetamol which is extremely popular is the generic name for Panadol, Calpol, Tylenol, Emzor Paracetamol or Dawa Ya Magi etc. Paracetamol has been around for over one hundred years. It is sold in its generic name as well as by brand names. Paracetamol is sold in many countries by a range of manufacturers that each use different brand names.

The generic or scientific name of a medication refers to the active ingredient in the medication. This is the official medical name for this medication given by an expert committee. Generic medications are usually cheaper even though they contain the same active ingredients and have the same clinical effects as their brand versions. Generic names do not start with capital letters.

A manufacturer, the pharmaceutical company or the distributor of the drug selects and names a drug its brand name.

The brand name therefore acts as the trade name of the medication. An easy to pronounce, quick to remember and aesthetic - for recognition name is usually coined as a brand name. The brand version of a medication is just as clinically effective because it contains the active ingredient of the medication.

In some people’s experiences, some generic drugs work differently from their brands and vice versa. This may be so if you bear in mind that even though generic and brand drugs have the same active ingredients, they may differ in some add ons like: Colouring Agents, Emulsifiers, Fillers, Preservatives and Binders.

Omoru writes from the UK

L-R:The Special Adviser to the Lagos state Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh; Secretary to the government/representative of the Governor, Mr.Tunji Bello; co-founders, Kotivu, Mr. Ogho Emore; and Mr. Oma Egboh, during the launch of ‘Educate Lagos’‌ recently etopukutt

VC Canvasses More Private Varsities, Secondary Schools in Nigeria Kuni Tyessi in Abuja With the less than 155 public and private universities and several secondary schools in the face of over 170 million Nigerians, the Vice Chancellor of Nile Turkish University, Prof. Dr. Husseyin Sert has said that with such statistics, more secondary and tertiary institutions are needed to serve the needs of the ever teeming and growing population.

Prof. Sert who made this known, while briefing Journalists, in Abuja, compared secondary and tertiary education in Nigeria to that of Turkey, the university’s medical laboratory is well-equipped based on global standards and best practices and more importantly, has scaled its National Universities Commission (NUC) standard, adding that based on quality, it has continued to keep the number of its

students population very low.

He described university education as a social responsibility saying that Nigeria needs more private universities and more secondary schools, while calling on the public and private sector to fully support it. “Turkey has a population of about 70 million and has at least 300 universities which are mostly private. In Turkey, we didn’t have a single private university in the 90s, but now we have almost 300 universities in Turkey and the population is 70 million. 300 universities for 70 million population and most of them are private universities. Nigeria needs more universities because the federal government cannot support everything,� he said The VC thanked the Nigerian education authorities for their cooperation in the past years, noting that despite the on-going

recession, his institution school is determined to continue unabated due to promises it had made, and to its credit, it has not and does not hope to sack any of its staff which are mostly Nigerians. “We make money in Nigeria and we reinvest in Nigeria. We do not take a single kobo out of Nigeria. It’s very important. We make money from the parents and from the students and we reinvest. Despite the fact that we have schools in six states and the economic recession is also affecting us, we are determined to continue.�

He called on the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to look again into it’s enabling Act and see the need to support private institutions especially in present day realities of high cost of fuel, epileptic power supply, as well as other infrastructural amenities.

Gombe Police Command Inaugurates Secondary School As part of its strategic crime prevention measures, the Gombe State Police Command says it will soon start a secondary school in Nafada Local Government Area of Gombe State.

According to the State Police Commissioner, Mr. Austin Iwar, the effort is in collaboration with the Gombe state government which supported and donated a completed school in Nafada for the commencement of academic activities.

The Commissioner made this known, recently, when he hosted the Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) of Police in charge of Criminal Intelligence and Investigation, Force Headquarters, Abuja, Hyacinth Medugu Dagala who was in the state as part of his tour of the six states in the North-East.

The Police Commissioner affirmed that it will be the first police secondary school in the North-East adding that the force education officer has already

conducted an initial assessment of the school facilities and has also commenced the process for legal transfer of the school.

Iwar expressed appreciation on the effort of the federal government and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) in providing adequate logistics to the police, however appealed to the DIG to assist the command in addressing some of its major challenges, which included inadequate manpower.

HallmarkVC Counsels Parents on Students’ Supervision The Vice-Chancellor of Hallmark University, Professor Segun Odunola has stressed the need for parents to stop imposing a course of study on their children, noting that this will inadvertently affect their performance in higher institutions and their inability to reach their full potential in life.

He said parental supervision and guidance cannot be underestimated, but there should be a limit to this.

Odunola who was speaking at the maiden matriculation of the university, held, recently, said parents should exercise caution in imposing their personal decisions on their children, adding that when career choices are made for the students, the passion to drive the courses will be non-existent. He bemoaned a situation whereby students perform woefully in their academic pursuits as a result of parental influence, saying, “when decisions are taken for children, optimum performance is not feasible.�

The VC advised the students to make appropriate choices that will enhance their academic learning in the institution, adding that they should devote their time and channel their energies to laudable pursuits.

Odunola emphasised on the role of government in education, saying that they should be more active in providing infrastructure to accelerate development in the education sector.

He said the cost of private education funding will reduce drastically if government provides adequate infrastructure to effectively support the private institutions. “The provision of infrastructure is key to the optimal use of resources,� he said The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the institution, Professor Adebayo Akinde enjoined the students to be focused in their academic pursuits and shun all vices that may derail them from the path of excellence.

He said the vision of the founder is to create a world class university with innovation as its bedrock, while advising the students to be dynamic, pro-active and innovative in their approach to learning.

A total number of 26 students took the oath of matriculation at the maiden matriculation ceremony of the university.16 of them were from the faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, 10 were from the faculty of Management and Social Sciences.

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Varsity Don Advises Maths Teachers on Adoption of Instructional Strategies

By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A Professor of Mathematics at the University of Ilorin, Medinat Folorunso Salman , weekend advised Mathematics teachers across the country to adopt the use of effective instructional strategies that would enhance and encourage the students to meaningfully acquire the knowledge of the subjects and problem solving skills.

Professor Salman who made the advice while delivering her 168th inaugural lecture of the university entitled, ‘Language and Problem Solving: The Mathematics Education Link’, held at the main auditorium of the institution, said such advice would assist the students of Mathematics to adequately participate in science and technology programmes at the institutions of higher learning. “The adoption of the use of instructional strategies by the teachers of Mathematics also became imperative that, without Mathematics, there is no science, without science, there is no modern technology and without modern technology, there is no modern society.�

She added that Mathematics is one of the core subjects at primary and secondary school levels of education due to its importance and usefulness in everyday activities. “From the results of the researches I have carried out, I have deduced the fact that, the mode of instruction especially at both primary and secondary levels of education remains overwhelmingly teacher-centered, with greater emphasis on the use of the lecture mode of instruction and the use of textbooks rather than engaging students in critical thinking across subject areas and in applying the knowledge acquired to solving real life problems. “The role of teachers at all levels of education is emphasised in the National Policy on Education that no nation or educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers.This declaration underscores the need for teachers effectiveness in the teaching and learning process because it is the teacher’s competence, ability, resourcefulness and ingenuity through effective utilisation of appropriate

language, methodology and available instructional materials that could bring out the best from the learners in terms of academic achievement. “Also, consistent engagement of students in critical thinking, reasoning and brainstorming would lead them to better and more detailed understanding of Mathematics as well as increase their abilities to demonstrate complex problem solving, reasoning and communication skills,� Salman stressed.

The don who called on the government to allow the teaching of Mathematics at all levels to be handled by professional Mathematics teachers said that, “the ministries of Education should organise regular training workshops and seminars for Mathematics teachers at primary and secondary school levels.�

She noted that, such development would afford them the opportunity to update their knowledge and also give them awareness on innovative methods of teaching Mathematics.

She advised them to develop the ability to relate the content knowledge of Mathematics to real life situation by engaging

students in practical activities relevant to the content they are teaching the students.

In another development, a Professor of Guidance and Counselling at the University, Lasiele Yahaya has called on members of the National Assembly to initiate a bill on the institutionalisation of guidance and counselling in the country’s schools.

He said when it is done it would serve as a key to unlock various life opportunities for students across the country.

Yahaya said this while delivering the 166th inaugural lecture of the university titled ‘School Counselling: Key to Unlocking Golden Opportunities in Life’ at the main auditorium of the university. “If counselling is given the deserved attention in schools, most of the cases of deviant behavior, which are rampant in the Nigerian institutions, would be brought under control. “Apart from this, students would focus more on their studies such that ultimately they would benefit maximally from numerous opportunities that life presents.�

RUNNING THE CLASSROOM

CHIOMA ERUOTOR

Special Needs Education

ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă“ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ‹Ă?ÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ ÞÒËÞ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ë›

ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁËœ ÞÒÓĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă™Ă–Ă Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă˜Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?×ËÞÓĂ?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă—Ă™Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă?Ëœ ËÎËÚÞĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;ÓÚ×Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă?Ă?ĂžĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ë› Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă’Ă?Ă–Ăš Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă? åÓÞÒ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă? Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ă?Ăœ Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă– Ă™Ă? ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?Ě‹Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă?ÒÙÙÖ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ ÞÒËÞ Ă—Ă‹ĂŁ Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂŒĂ? Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ–Ă? Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă?Ă˜ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă‹ ÞãÚÓĂ?Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă–Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă™Ă— Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă™Ă—Ă—Ă™Ă˜ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă–Ă&#x;ĂŽĂ? Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ù×̋ Ă—Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă—Ă™ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ?Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă“Ă™ĂœĂ‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂœĂ? Ě™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĚšËœ ÚÒãĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ě™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? ĂœĂ“ĂžĂžĂ–Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂœĂ?ĂŒĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă‹Ă–Ă?ĂŁËœ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹Ăœ ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂœĂ™ĂšĂ’ĂŁËœ ĂšĂ“Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ‹ ĚšËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚ×Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë› ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? Ă•Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă?Ă–ĂŁ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă“Ăž Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă‹Ă– Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž Ă‹ĂšĂšĂœĂ™Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?Ă? ÞÙ ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁËœ Ă‹ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ ËÎËÚÞĂ?ĂŽ ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ëœ Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? ĂœĂ™Ă™Ă—Ë› Ă’Ă? ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ— ËŤĂ?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ËŹ Ă“Ă? Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂœĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? åÓÞÒ ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ě‹ Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ë› Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽĂ–Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă–ĂŁË› Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă? Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ åÓÞÒ Ă™Ăœ åÓÞÒÙĂ&#x;Ăž Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ëž ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă?Ó×ÚÖã ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă?ĂŽ Ă‹ ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂšĂœĂ?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂ–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ’ĂŁË› Ă™Ăœ Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂŒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ăœ ĂšĂœĂ?ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă? ÞÒĂ?Ă“Ăœ Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ‹Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;ÚÞĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă?âË×ÚÖĂ?Ëœ ĂŒĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă‹Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?ÚÖËĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŽĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă“Ă Ă“Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă™ĂœĂŽĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ ĂĄĂ‹ĂœË›

Ă˜ Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ? ×ÙÎÓĂ?ĂŁ ĂžĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă—Ă?ÞÒÙÎĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă™ ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? ×ËâÓ×Ă&#x;Ă— Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂ?Ăœ Ă™Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă Ă“ĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă’Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ĂœĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ Ă“Ă?Ă? ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ’Ă?Ăœ ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹ ÚÖËĂ?Ă?Ë› Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ ĂœĂ?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă?ÞÓÑ×ËĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă‹ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ?

Eruotor writes from Lagos

74 Schools Participate in Milo Basketball Contest

L-R: President, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Africa Zone 3, Col. Sam Ahmedu, MD/CEO, Nestle Nigeria Plc; Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, Director of Co-curricular Services and representative of the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Omobola BabsAkinyeye; Category Manager, Beverages, Nestle Nigeria Plc; Mr. Olufemi Akintola, and President, Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF); Mallam Ibrahim Muhammad, during the 19th edition of the Milo Basketball Championship press conference, in Lagos‌recently

Firm Empowers Youths for Global Competitiveness Digital Bananas Technology (DBT) and Career Insights, a UK digital training firm has expressed its readiness to empower Nigerian youths with the right expertise and experience in digital transformation, CRM, digital marketing, cyber security, big data analysis, project management and business analysis, to enable them compete globally .

The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Mrs. Keji Giwa said in the last five years, his organisation has perfected its innovative and pioneering eWork experience platform to provide international work experience and on the job training in these areas, designed

to create financially rewarding and career fulfilling opportunities at home and abroad.

According to him, “As long as our youths can compete on a global scale, their future is secure and safe. With over 4,000 success stories in the UK alone and now helping our candidates in Nigeria secure life changing digital jobs abroad, we are setting our youths up for global success as we are now living not only in the digital age, but a global economy.�

Giwa said the organisation has also opened its DigiHub Centre, in Ikoyi, allowing aspiring youths with a minimum bachelor degree to easily work in and collaborate with the UK, US and

Canadian team using cloud based project collaborative tools. “Today they are beginning to see the fruits of their work as candidates are now securing high paying jobs abroad directly from Nigeria. One of the most recent success stories is a young lady based in Nigeria who just secured a Digital Business Analyst role with HSBC in the United Kingdom.�

Digital Bananas Technology (DBT) and Career Insights, in 2016 launched its innovative eWork experience platform, inviting all aspiring Nigerians to gain international work experience with opportunities to work abroad for multinationals in the UK.

A total of 74 schools across the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, Abuja, have qualified for the conference stage of the 19th Milo Basketball Championship which dunks off in four geographical zones; Central Conference, Confluence Conference, Equatorial, as well as Western Conference.

The schools, represented by 37 male and 37 female teams emerged state champions at the state preliminaries of the competition and are now ready to compete at the conference stage. A total of 10, 000 secondary schools pan-Nigeria participated in the state preliminaries of the 2017 Milo championship competition.

The conference matches will run back-to-back until May 25, at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Abuja National Stadium, the Confluence Stadium, Lokoja, the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu and the Akure Township Stadium.

Speaking on this year’s tournament, the Managing Director of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, said his organisation’s commitment to the project stems from the brand’s desire to give the Nigerian teens a platform to showcase their basketball talents while acquiring useful skills that will help shape their future.

According to him, “the Milo brand is passionate about tomorrow’s champions and has adopted the game of

basketball to help youth learn valuable life lessons such as how to work together, how to be disciplined and how to be respectful. The demands of professional basketball also pushes them to do better in each game and above all, it is a healthy and fun way to stay physically and mentally active in order to also excel in the classroom,� Alarcon said.

The Secretary General, Nigeria School Sport Federation, Mrs. Bisi Joseph said her organisation have developed a data base of students and had their biometrics taken to as to discourage cheating in school competition and know the know the students who had participated in previous years. “For each of the editions, we are constantly improving, we have opened a portal for registration so that the students can register. By zso doing, we would be able to determine our winners, know who have participated before and for how long, � she said.

The Milo Basketball championship has been at the forefront of Nigerian Sports development for 19 years, producing numerous basketball talents, some of whom now play both in the national teams as well as leagues across the world.

Some of the notable talents include Nkechi Akwashili, Chioma Udiaja, Upe Atusu, Nkem Akaraiwe and Patience Nene Upe who all played for the female national team, D’Tigress.

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

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T H I S D AY Ëž , MAY 3, 2017

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BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Lagos Plans to Increase IGR to N50bn in 2018 Ugo Aliogo The Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Lagos State, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade, has said that the state government plans to increase its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N30 billion in 2017 to N50 billion next year. Ashade, who disclosed this at a media briefing in Lagos, said in preparing for the 2017 budget, the Lagos State Government (LSG) took cognizance of recent developments around the world.

He explained that the administration tried to maintain a conservative approach in estimating the state’s federal allocation due to the fall in oil price, which he said was about $41.98 per barrel when

it finalised the budget.

The Commissioner further noted that the state expects an increase in federal allocation through 13 per cent derivation to oil producing states, in but added that the budget was largely based on IGR. He said: “There was aggressive growth in IGR through taxes and non-taxes revenue to N30 billion by the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), full deployment of oracle business solution to eliminate revenue leakages, sustainable fiscal balance with appropriate level of public sector borrowing and acceptable aggregate debt. “We shall foster a robust environment for increased private sector investments through Public-Private Part-

nership (PPP) initiatives and other strategies for increased foreign direct investment (FDI) as initiated by the office of the Overseas Affairs and Investment (Lagos Global). “The underlining principles of 2017 budget includes continuous payment of outstanding liabilities, completion of all on-going projects, planned and systematic maintenance of existing/new infrastructure facilities, sustenance of the goals of job creation and others. The IGR performed at 82 percent for quarter of 2017. We are currently finalising the audit of the Q1 performance and further breakdown will be made available after the process is concluded.�

Peterside: I’m Leaving Stanbic IBTC in Capable Hands The outgoing Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Atedo Peterside, has expressed confidence in the ability of the board, management and staff to maintain the organisation on a steady path of growth as he takes a final bow from the institution that has become synonymous with his name.

According to a statement, Peterside stated this at a send-off dinner in his honour in Lagos recently. The event was attended by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah; Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II; President, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chief Executive, Standard Bank Group, Sim Tshabalala; Deputy Chairman, Standard Bank Group, Jacko Maree; and Chief Executive, Africa Regions, Standard Bank Group, Sola David-Borha, with the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Yinka Sanni, playing host.

Peterside stated: “I am resigning from the Board of Stanbic IBTC Holdings to focus on my role as member of the board of the parent group. I am very confident that those behind are more than capable to steer the ship in the right direction. I am comfortable in the part that I have played and I believe that the organisation will continue to make progress.�

In a letter to the Board of Directors announcing his resignation effective March 31, 2017, Peterside had noted that the organisation had put in place a succession plan, which ensures that the business is well-placed to continue the pursuit of its goals and growth strategies without hitches. “We have a strong tradition of careful succession planning at both Stanbic IBTC and the Standard Bank Group,� he stated, adding, “Yinka Sanni, who has been the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, recently took over as Chief Executive of Stanbic

IBTC holdings as a good show of our succession planning.�

Peterside was eulogised for his integrity, professionalism and strong leadership skills that helped in transforming Stanbic IBTC from just an investment bank to a leading end-to-end financial solutions company with tentacles in stockbroking, pension and asset management, trusteeship, and insurance, among others.

On his part, Dangote said: “I think that Atedo has done well for himself. I have served on many committees with him and have known him to be fearless, especially when he is convinced that he is standing by the truth. He is a man of integrity. I am sure that his successor on the board will do well because of the solid foundations that he has laid�.

The Emir of Kano traced his relationship with Peterside back to their studentship at Kings College, a shared experience that groomed them for leadership.

FBN Merchant Bank Records 28% Rise in ProďŹ t FBN Merchant Bank Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc recently held its second annual general meeting, where it declared a profit before tax (PBT) of N4.92 billion in the financial year ending December 31, 2016. This was 28% above the prior years’ PBT of N3.83 billion.FBN Merchant Bank said it recorded strong top-line growth driven by the diversified nature of its businesses, with key drivers of revenue being the fixed income, corporate and investment banking businesses.

The Chairman of FBN Merchant Bank, Mallam

Bello Maccido, explained in a statement that despite the challenging macroeconomic climate in 2016, FBN Merchant Bank remained resilient and focused on delivering strong results.The MD/CEO of FBN Merchant Bank, Mr. Kayode Akinkugbe, expressed his appreciation to all staff for their hard work, passion, and commitment to fostering a culture with a winning mindset. He also thanked the shareholders and esteemed Board of Directors for their continued support and guidance.

Akinkugbe further said: “The

consistent growth in profitability of the bank since the commencement of our merchant banking business in 2015 is a validation of our commitment to adding value to our customers, as we remain firmly on the path to building the leading merchant bank in Africa.

We will continue to grow our market share in key strategic segments, while harnessing opportunities in select industries to improve our earnings. We are fully committed to breaking new grounds with innovative solutions, products and services that will deliver positive returns.�

ICD, SunTrust Bank Sign Agreement on Noninterest Banking The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private arm of Islamic Development Bank Group (IDBG), and Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited (SBN) have signed an agreement to establish a new non-interest banking window in the Nigerian commercial bank.

According to a statement, the two institutions are determined to collaborate and facilitate information and expertise exchange in order to develop

effective cooperation and establish a window that incorporates non-interest banking products and services in Nigeria.

The CEO of SBN, Mr. Muhammad Jibrin said: “We realised the many benefits of our close collaboration.

By establishing the new window, we will diversify our banking offer and will attract investors not only from Nigeria but also from the Islamic Development Bank Group member countries, and we

consider ICD as our strategic partner in those countries.�

The ICD is a multilateral organisation and a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group.

The mandate of ICD is to support economic development and promote the development of the private sector in its member countries through providing financing facilities and/or investments, which are in accordance with the principles of Sharia.

Akinwunmi Ambode

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

DECEMBER 2016 Broad Money (M2)

23,840,392.42

-- Narrow Money (M1)

11,520,166.67

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,820,415.90

---- Demand Deposits

9,699,750.76

-- Quasi Money

12,320,225.75

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,353,504.03

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

14,486,888.39

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,970,297.97

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,595,579.89

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

7,436,917.79

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

-2,841,337.90

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

22,374,718.08

--Other Assets Net

-12,483,409.58

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,837,322.41

--Currency in Circulation

2,179,174.28

--Banks Reserves

3,318,344.71 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MANAGED FUNDS Month

December 2016

Inter-Bank Call Rate

10.39

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.96

Savings Deposit Rate

4.18

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.53

3 Months Deposit Rate

8.80

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.23

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.76

Prime Lending rate

17.09

Maximum Lending Rate

28.55 Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, MON, 1 MAY 2017 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $49.26 a barrel on Monday, compared with $49.32 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 3, 2017

39

T H I S D AY Ëž , MAY 3, 2017

40

MARKET NEWS

Dangote Sugar to Invest N106 Billion on Expansion in Six Years Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) Plc plans to invest N106 billion in the expansion of operations in the next six years and as it targets to produce 1.5 million tonnes of refined sugar from locally grown sugarcane during that period.

The acting Managing Director of DSR, Abdullahi Sule stated this yesterday at the company’s

fact behind the figures, adding the company is projecting to produce 130 million liters of ethanol potential across all its sites. “We are going to spend about N106 billion to expand its operation during the preview period of which 20 per cent of the fund will come from equity. The board of directors will decide the direction of the 20 per cent,� he said.

He, however, promised that

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

the company will continue to pay dividend which it has remained consistent since inception. “We are confident that this ambitious goal is achievable and will leave no stone unturned in seeing that it becomes a reality,� he added.

He noted that during the year under review, the company continued its journey towards the actualisation of its backward integration project (BIP) targets, which

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

STO C K

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Daily Summary as of 22/02/2016 Printed 22/02/2016 14:36:10.010

Daily Summary (Bonds) No Debt Trading Activity Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES DiversiďŹ ed Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. DiversiďŹ ed Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. TIGER BRANDED CONSUMER GOODS PLC Food Products Totals Food Products--DiversiďŹ ed CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--DiversiďŹ ed Totals Household Durables VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC. Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC

6 6 12

30.00 34.00

19 19 31

according to him has been challenging. “To date about N101 billion has been committed towards the actualisation of these projection equipment purchase, land studies and survey, sensitisation campaign for the local communities, rehabilitation and expansion of Savannah Sugar company. As such we further realigned the BIP strategy during the year under review and our focus

12,629 11,640 24,269

374,530.15 421,345.20 795,875.35

1.25

1,078,511 1,078,511 1,102,780

1,358,964.30 1,358,964.30 2,154,839.65

5 68 13 86 86

0.77 1.13 20.47

33,500 6,740,423 65,995 6,839,918 6,839,918

25,070.00 7,635,453.96 1,344,425.15 9,004,949.11 9,004,949.11

13 13

41.50

31,970 31,970

1,409,214.78 1,409,214.78

5 5 18

5.20

28,901 28,901 60,871

154,716.48 154,716.48 1,563,931.26

6 24 7 98 135

2.85 118.85 20.00 99.00

190,900 53,000 15,200 429,541 688,641

528,079.00 6,201,924.95 293,757.00 42,728,789.84 49,752,550.79

9 9

168.50

166,476 166,476

28,285,937.95 28,285,937.95

54 38 6 12 1 29 140

5.61 19.00 1.37 6.86 6.65 1.27

2,120,306 314,421 40,000 119,863 433 3,285,739,119 3,288,334,142

11,610,520.13 5,953,792.96 55,716.00 842,442.48 2,736.56 4,074,348,894.07 4,092,814,102.20

11 54 65

17.86 700.00

18,825 98,360 117,185

329,518.50 68,567,962.00 68,897,480.50

11 11

4.46

99,050 99,050

420,455.00 420,455.00

13 21 34 394

21.90 28.00

36,887 133,117 170,004 3,289,575,498

820,034.75 3,737,067.92 4,557,102.67 4,244,727,629.11

82 51 21 25 200 41 16 147 11 15 67 676

4.10 1.49 15.60 1.21 16.70 1.07 1.76 2.95 5.30 0.63 0.98

3,962,506 2,163,396 278,470 790,900 4,847,312 1,969,858 1,204,932 8,586,418 39,752 501,617 5,920,564 30,265,725

16,210,255.82 3,314,106.88 4,136,459.40 958,864.34 80,963,793.44 2,115,552.11 2,087,767.85 25,302,954.71 205,645.40 316,018.71 5,813,502.17 141,424,920.83

14 8 2 3 7 10 1 1 46

0.80 0.90 0.50 0.50 2.06 0.76 0.50 0.50

200,107 276,500 5,004,000 1,000,000 351,540 327,285 37,708,135 10 44,867,577

160,838.67 251,350.00 2,502,000.00 500,000.00 720,728.80 245,325.31 18,854,067.50 5.00 23,234,315.28

1 1

1.08

4,760 4,760

4,950.40 4,950.40

31 7 105 7 20 170 893

2.46 4.00 0.85 14.15 1.31

1,149,464 27,041 31,257,120 38,035 708,255 33,179,915 108,317,977

2,830,722.84 104,002.06 26,613,309.20 537,985.34 931,556.31 31,017,575.75 195,681,762.26

27

2.69

614,065

1,572,223.05

is now on the full expansion of Savannah Sugar Company Limited, the Greenfield project in Nasarawa State and the Lau/Tau project in Taraba State,� he said. Sule noted that the company remained committed to delivering superior returns to its shareholders, and the board recommended a total payout of N7.2 billion for the shareholders. This, he said translates to a dividend of 60 kobo per share for every

share of 50 kobo held in the company. “Achievement of our BIP plan and growing our market share remains our focus.

Efforts are geared towards achievements of these through effective resource optimisation and cost management, drive for greater efficiency especially in supply chain, human capacity building and route to market redefinition.

Among others,� he said.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals OIL AND GAS Totals SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC Food Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals ASeM Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals PREMIUM Board Totals Equity Activity Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

32 4 6 69 69

25.33 0.94 0.69

551,998 16,020 597,000 1,779,083 1,779,083

13,903,164.18 15,299.40 412,110.00 15,902,796.63 15,902,796.63

1 1 1

1.69

500 500 500

805.00 805.00 805.00

16 9 4 6 10 31 76

24.00 9.30 35.78 8.62 3.36 80.50

110,727 40,229 26,700 142,300 299,900 14,373,223 14,993,079

2,707,053.97 362,501.29 992,680.00 1,227,076.00 966,480.00 1,157,057,077.16 1,163,312,868.42

6 6

1.51

134,500 134,500

204,240.00 204,240.00

5 5 87

50.00

24,529 24,529 15,152,108

1,165,135.50 1,165,135.50 1,164,682,243.92

2 2

0.50

24,262 24,262

12,131.00 12,131.00

90 90

3.47

3,827,573 3,827,573

13,288,632.05 13,288,632.05

21 7 8 21 7 64

18.34 1.84 342.00 150.00 145.00

81,125 100,300 20,300 16,295 13,699 231,719

1,505,034.50 182,832.00 6,595,470.00 2,396,080.60 1,959,692.96 12,639,110.06

33 33 189

318.00

389,934 389,934 4,473,488

124,037,602.56 124,037,602.56 149,977,475.67

1 1

0.50

941 941

470.50 470.50

5 5

3.80

32,870 32,870

127,756.40 127,756.40

13 13

0.89

624,500 624,500

538,430.00 538,430.00

1 22 23

2.29 4.00

4,588 251,094 255,682

10,001.84 1,001,583.80 1,011,585.64

1 1 43 1,811

1.68

10,000 10,000 923,993 3,428,226,216

16,000.00 16,000.00 1,694,242.54 5,785,390,675.15

2 2 2 2

1.21

270,464 270,464 270,464 270,464

327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44 327,261.44

306 306

11.45

13,929,679 13,929,679

159,605,439.23 159,605,439.23

278 278 584

3.74

10,438,552 10,438,552 24,368,231

39,515,087.18 39,515,087.18 199,120,526.41

35 35 35 619 2,432

139.83

38,770 38,770 38,770 24,407,001 3,452,903,681

5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 5,304,666.00 204,425,192.41 5,990,143,129.00

2 2 2 2 2 10 10 10

2,330.00 2.33 6.02 11.09 18.07

3,000 20 20 20 15 3,075 3,075 3,075

6,986,000.00 46.70 120.20 221.80 270.65 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35 6,986,659.35

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA BANKING ETF VETIVA CONSUMER GOODS ETF VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF VETIVA INDUSTRIAL ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals ETF Board Totals ETP Activity Totals

41

˾ WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2017

MARKET NEWS

NIPCO Shareholders Approve 300k Dividend, Hail Board, Mgt Goddy Egene NIPCO Plc has paid a dividend of 300 kobo per share to the shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2016 following improved performance recorded for the year. The company posted a turnover of N170.50 billion in 2016, up from N124.7 billion in 2015, while profit after tax rose from N1.42 billion to N1.60 billion in 2016.

Shareholders of NIPCO Plc approved the dividend and lauded the board and

management for the 2016 results at the 13th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Abuja recently. Speaking at the AGM, Chairman of NIPCO Plc, Chief Bestman Anekwe said the results demonstrated the aggressive sustenance of the push the company had made in the downstream sector of the nation’s oil industry.

He described the year 2016 as one of the most difficult years ever witnessed in the socioeconomic development of the nation, saying that the proactive

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

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

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

nature of the company made it to stand shoulder high among its peers to be able to sustain its growth pattern during the year.

According to Anekwe, the company’s giant stride of acquiring ExxonMobil’s 60 per cent equity in Mobil Nigeria Plc has further strengthened its position in the industry and widened its retail footprints.

He commended the unflinching support and partnership of the shareholders over the years to enable it attain this enviable heights in the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

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

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

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 28Apr-2017, unless otherwise stated

industry amidst a very tough operating environment.

In his remarks, Group Managing Director(GMD), NIPCO Plc, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy attributed the improved performance of the company in the 2016 financial year to increased sales drive, effective management of resources and adjustment of business model to the changing market variables.

He said although the year was tough on the economy, NIPCO made spirited efforts to reduce the impact on its

customers without having any negative effect on shareholders’ return on investment.

“We prepared ceaselessly for the expected harsh operating environment by focusing on effective management of resources with a special focus on cost containment without jeopardizing quality in our entire operations,” he said.

According to him, the company places a lot of premium on its workforce as the most precious and valued asset adding that they were

able to key into management directives on the growth pattern of the organisation.

The GMD recently said that as an efficient oil marketing company, NIPCO acquisition of majority shares in Mobil would bring economy of scale to the firm, benefit Nigerians and grow the economy.

“We would be adding new businesses and works towards increasing the production of its lubes which has remained a cherished brand in the lubricant market,” he had said.

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

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

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

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 135.77 136.47 6.97% Nigeria International Debt Fund 221.88 222.86 3.14% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.71 0.72 1.98% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 16.89% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 12.58 12.96 1.86% ARM Discovery Fund 295.66 304.57 2.95% ARM Ethical Fund 22.55 23.23 0.94% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.84% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund 109.52 110.29 4.13% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.21% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 0.00% Paramount Equity Fund 9.71 9.96 3.74% Women's Investment Fund 88.48 90.75 4.59% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.01% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,063.42 1,064.54 5.30% FBN Heritage Fund 114.95 115.73 3.02% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.34% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $107.77 $108.58 4.75% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $107.43 $108.25 5.14% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 117.66 119.14 4.40% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.00 1.01 6.91% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.70 2.70 4.89% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund 2,268.30 2,295.64 2.69% Coral Income Fund 2,225.94 2,225.94 5.78% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.51% INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.11% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.77 1.79 5.27% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.75%

LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.02 1.04 3.02% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,017.86 1,017.86 3.47% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.02 10.09 3.62% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.35% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.10 1.12 11.20% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.56 10.62 1.58% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 15.69% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 114.46 115.44 12.44% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.29 1.29 3.62% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 1,877.11 1,886.71 2.48% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 157.22 157.22 2.12% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.78 0.79 1.95% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 195.75 195.75 4.74% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 131.15 132.94 1.05% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.05% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,466.94 7,553.69 -1.54% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.16 1.18 8.88% United Capital Bond Fund 1.28 1.28 15.74% United Capital Equity Fund 0.66 0.67 0.80% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.11 1.11 11.71% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 10.45 10.64 8.33% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.56 11.67 5.84% Zenith Income Fund 17.66 17.66 6.87%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 126.01

1.01% 1.65%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

7.99 74.10

8.09 75.48

-8.95% -2.22%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

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

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

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

2.75 6.11 11.98 17.23 129.35

2.79 6.19 12.08 17.43 131.35

0.00% -13.01% -0.16% 7.98% -0.40%

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

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House Calls for Review of National Minimum Wage James Emejo in Abuja The House of Representatives yesterday passed a motion calling for an immediate review of the national minimum wage to reflect current economic realities.

It also mandated the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity to interface with relevant stakeholders with a view to ameliorating the plight of Nigerian workers and report back in four weeks.

Nevertheless, the House congratulated, as well as appreciated all Nigerian workers for their resilience and commitment in the face of severe economic challenges.

The House position followed a motion which was moved by Hon. Ezenwa Onyebuchi on the need to appreciate the efforts and resilience of the labour force in commemoration of the May Day celebration.

The lawmakers, who went into extensive debate over the issue had expressed concern that though there exists a correlation between a productive workforce and economic growth as well as the overall well-being of any nation, the average Nigerian worker is often denied the sweat of his or her labour.

Specifically, the House

noted that the resolve of the average Nigerian worker was being tested with the inability of government at all levels as well as then private sector to address issues of workers welfare, unemployment, casualisation, delayed salaries, payouts and pensions among others.

The lawmakers specifically expressed worry that the current economic recession had been hard on workers given the massive depreciation in their purchasing power, job losses, unpaid salaries and benefits.

Hon. Karimi Sunday (PDP, Kogi) had also observed that workers were largely dispirited during last Monday’s Workers’ Day celebrations at the Eagle Square in Abuja largely because they were being owed huge arrears of salaries by their employers.

For instance, he said the Kogi State government currently owes workers up to 15 months of salaries arrears and 16 months of pensions, adding that the development could affect the productivity of the workforce and economy in general.

He also frowned at a situation whereby the bailout and several other interventions to the states were not useda to pay workers’ entitlements.

Hon. Betty Apiafi (PDP,

Rivers) said most of the states were not even paying the current minimum wage which is inadequate amid the high cost of fuel and other commodities.

She called for a welllegislated workforce to move the country forward.

Hon. Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) lamented that despite helping to grow the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thereby making it Africa’s largest economy, work conditions of the average Nigerian worker remained poor.

Nevertheless, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara in his tribute to workers at plenary reiterated the resolve of the House in ensuring that a new minimum wage was approved.

He described the current pay package as a “Take home package that doesn’t take workers home. “ Stressing that there could be no progress without the labour workforce, he said the Competition and Consumer Protection and Corporate Manslaughter Bills currently before the National Assembly will improve the working condition of workers when passed into law.

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Dasuki’s Support for Buhari in 2011 Re-echoes in Adeniyi’s Book The enormous support given to President Muhammadu Buhari in the build-up to the 2011 general election by the embattled former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) has again re-echoed in the book “Against the Run of Play” authored by Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, the Chairman of THISDAY Editorial Board.

In the book, the author stated that “one of those who worked tirelessly to make the 2011 alliance between Senator Bola Tinubu and Buhari work was Dasuki, who would later become the NSA to Jonathan.”

The author noted that Nasir El-Rufai, the current Governor of Kaduna State, expressed the belief that following the collapse of the merger talks, both Tinubu and Nuhu Ribadu worked for Jonathan.

He further said: “Tinubu of course gave the votes from Lagos and a few other South-west states, except Osun State, to Jonathan, while the calculation of Ribadu was to reduce Buhari’s votes in the north even though he failed on that score.”

Meanwhile, in an encounter with a blogger and the Publisher of the Economic Confidential, Mr. Yushau Shuaib in 2015, Dasuki said he had supported Buhari’s presidential aspiration in 2003,

2007 and 2011.

In a widely-syndicated piece by the blogger, titled: “Sambo Dasuki: An Encounter with the Spymaster,” Dasuki said he knelt down in 2011 for the former National Chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Bisi Akande, to make Buhari a joint candidate of the ACN and the defunct Congress of Progressive Change (CPC).

He said Nigerians could verify from respected northerners, such as Adamu Adamu, Bashir Kurfi, Wada Maida, Sule Hamman and Kabir Yusuf, among others.

The journalist added: “The major shocker for me in his narratives was his campaign for Buhari to emerge the joint candidate of ACN and CPC in 2011. He disclosed how he (Dasuki) pleaded with Tinubu in the presence of Bisi Akande to accept Buhari as the joint presidential candidate for ACN and CPC. “Dasuki stated that he knelt down, begging Akande who was then the National Chairman of ACN that ‘Buhari is a man to be trusted.’

“In their belief that Yoruba and South-westerners are never religious fanatics especially regarding politics, Dasuki and his group suggested that Tinubu should be a running mate to Buhari.

“When other elements opposed

that proposition, Tinubu’s team therefore recommended a BuhariOsinbajo ticket. Unfortunately, the ticket failed to stick as Pastor Tunde Bakare was eventually pushed forward by other forces.”

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was later to be Buhari’s running mate in 2015 and the nation’s current vice president.

Dasuki also spoke against the backdrop of insinuations that his detention might have to do with a retaliation of a similar maltreatment against Buhari in 1985 which he denied.

In the extracts of the encounter between the two, Dasuki said: “I always respect and dignify my

seniors and those in positions of authority, whether in service or after. Though as a young officer, I was reluctant to be among those that arrested him. And I was not.

“I only met him afterward at Bonny Camp with Lawal Rafindadi.

There is no way I could have maltreated him as being alleged in some quarters. I am glad most of the actors are still alive.”

On the December 1983 coup d’etat, Dasuki admitted that he and two young military officers (who are still alive) ‘travelled to Jos to brief Buhari, who was then the GOC of 3rd Armoured Division on the furtherance of the planning of the 1983 coup which made

Buhari the major beneficiary of the ouster of the elected President Shehu Shagari.’

The journalist added: “He even told me how Buhari expressed his bitterness about insinuations on his stewardship in one of the public institutions. Dasuki assured the then GOC not to worry about such reckless and mischievous insinuations.

“I asked why he participated in the ouster of Buhari just less than two years afterward. He simply answered that Buhari should know whom he should blame.”

Asked why he participated in the ouster of Buhari just less than two years afterwards, Dasuki simply

answered that “Buhari should know whom he should blame.”

On the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which was presumably won by the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, Dasuki said he was one of those who confronted the late Head of State, Sani Abacha.

The journalist said: “Dasuki told me the story of how he and some others confronted Abacha over June 12 election which was won by Abiola. This led to their premature retirement.

“The persecution that followed forced him into exile where he teamed up with opposition elements struggling for the return of democracy in Nigeria.”

Kachikwu: No More Statesponsored Trips to OTC From 2018 Says Nigeria will begin Africa’s version of OTC next year Chineme Okafor in Houston, Texas The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said the federal government will no longer sponsor delegates to the annual Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, United States starting from 2018.

Kachikwu, also said the country has perfected plans to begin an African version of the OTC in 2018, adding that existing top rate annual oil and gas conferences hosted in the country like the Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) conference and exhibition, would be collapsed into the new larger and improved conference.

The minister made this disclosure yesterday at a meeting with investors and stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector at the ongoing OTC in Houston, Texas, United States.

The OTC is an annual showpiece for experts in the oil and gas sector who come together to brainstorm, network, and showcase new technological advancements in offshore oil and gas exploration.

Kachikwu, however, said Nigeria would take the centre stage in hosting a version for the African oil market. He noted that the first of this could hold in Abuja.

He also stated that statesponsorship to OTC in Houston would now be strictly for technical experts in any of the government agencies in the oil sector.

According to him, the country in 2016 sponsored 250 delegates to the OTC, while just about

50 were sponsored to the 2017 edition. For 2018, he added that he would work hard to ensure that not more than 20 delegates are sponsored.

“There will no longer be sponsorship to the OTC except for very technical experts. Everyone willing to come to the conference in future should fund his way.

“We will however work to build an OTC that the world would buoyantly come to the same way we buoyantly come to yours,” Kachikwu told the audience at the meeting.

The African version of OTC, he explained has also gotten the backing of some African oil ministers who has urged Nigeria to step up the plan.

Industry experts who spoke to THISDAY on the development on the sidelines of the meeting, stated that the new measure was a good one for the government which is looking to cut its operational costs.

They noted that the OTC has become annual jamboree and source of claiming estacode by most officials in the ministry parastatals, including those with no relevance to deliberations at the conference.

Similarly, they stated that the OTC has been seized by politicians mostly from the National Assembly who collect estacode, lounge away in Houston’s luxury hotels, go on shopping sprees, but hardly attend sessions at the conference.

THISDAY also observed that delegation from Nigeria is usually one of the largest at the OTC every year.

WELCOME TO MY OFFICE

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun (left), and Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Benedict Ayade, during the governor’s courtesy visit to the minister in Abuja....yesterday.

Fire Guts Akiolu’s Palace as Staff Lead Monarch to Safety Social media goes agog, Nigerians blame incident on slight on Ooni of Ife Chiemelie Ezeobi The massive structure housing the Iga Iduganran Palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akinolu, was yesterday gutted by fire that lasted for several hours.

As the fire raged, the first step of the staff on duty was to lead monarch out of the palace to safety, just as moves were made to contain the inferno to prevent it from spreading to other parts.

Immediately information filtered out, officials of the Lagos State Fire Service drawn from the Sari Iganmu and Ilupeju stations were deployed to battle the flames.

Although the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, reports however alleged that it started from the monarch’s bedroom before it spread to other parts of the palace.

However, a contrary reports said it was a section that was gutted by fire after an explosion occurred in one of

the air conditioner in one of the apartments inside the palace.

The explosion emitted balls of fire which destroyed the furniture and other items in the room before it spread to other parts of the palace.

As the fire raged, balls of fire spread from the windows to the roof, thereby alerting the residents of the area who were initially ignorant of the incident.

As expected, pandemonium erupted as people ran helter skelter, forcing the police and the palace security to shut the gates of the palace to prevent curious passersby from gaining access.

Additional policemen were deployed and stationed at the palace to maintain law and order and to prevent opportunists from capitalising on the chaotic situation.

The fire incident came barely two weeks after Akiolu had allegedly publicly snubbed the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi at a public function,

which raised the ire of Nigerians and other traditional rulers.

Already, Nigerians are linking the fire incident with the alleged threats by the Ife Royal House that they would invoke the gods to revenge the perceived snub on their monarch.

Although the Ooni had immediately countered the statement from his royal house, preaching peace and forgiveness, Nigerians while reacting to the incident on social media could not help but draw conclusions to the incident.

Some of the commentators on social media were of the opinion that the fire must have been the gods of the land avenging the slight on the Ooni of Ife. For instance, one Odih Daniel said: “He has not seen anything yet. No one fights with the gods and sleeps in peace. He should apologise and seek forgiveness, and he will find his peace again.”

Georgina Patrick said: “The gods are angry and the ancestors

too. Oba Akiolu please apologise.”

Harry Iyere said: “They (Ife Chiefs) told him that they will invoke their ancestors and gave him time to tender apologies but he refused.

“Oba Rilwan, just know that this is what happens when Ogun, Orunmila, Sango, Obatala (all Yoruba gods and deities) decide to come together, rub minds and collaborate on your matter.

“Oga please swallow your pride and run to Ile Ife and do the needful before something else happens.”

However, others like Bridgette Shane begged to differ, stating: “In your minds, the gods did it to give him warning. There is only one God. I pray no one got hurt.

To me, something else caused the fire, not gods.”

Nwosu Uchechukwu said: “The incident just met with unfair utterance and some people take it as real and said the gods are at work.”

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Implement 2014 Conference Report to Avert Crisis, Delegates Tell Buhari To make report a campaign issue S’West leaders: Our people may spurn 2019 polls Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Forum of Delegates of the 2014 National Conference has again urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government to immediately set a machinery in motion to implement the report of the 2014 National Conference as a means of resolving the problems plaguing the country.

The conference delegates said they would apply several strategies to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of the conference, including getting the citizens to demand from political parties and their candidates their positions on the implementation of the report.

The demand by the conference delegates came just as the Southwest bloc led by the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, said the Yorubas might insist on a new federal constitution as a basis for the conduct of the next general election in 2019.

Addressing the gathering at a meeting hosted by the founder of Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, in Abuja, the chairman of the Forum and an elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, said the meeting was a private initiative of the former conference delegates to try and devise means of encouraging the implementation of the recommendations of the conference.

He said the conference report was divided into three categories, including policy matters, issues relating to legislative enactment and matters requiring constitutional amendments.

According Yakassai, the aspect of the conference recommendations that requires urgent attention is that dealing with constitutional amendment, adding that the National Assembly should use the opportunity of the ongoing constitutional amendment to utilise the report of the 2014 conference.

The keynote speaker at the meeting, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and one of the delegates

of the 2014 National Conference, Chief Mike Ozekhome, said the present All Progressives Congress (APC) administration must not take Nigeria’s unity and indivisibility for granted by refusing to embrace ideas and suggestions that would bring about an acceptable federal structure for the country.

“The simple answer is that we need to go back to the pre-January 1966 true fiscal federalism. The over 600 recommendations of the distinguished Nigerian patriots, men, women and the youth, from all works and strata of life of 2014 National Conference, must be immediately retrieved from the archives where there are gathering dust and spider cobwebs by this government, put on the front burner, and utilised meticulously for the purpose of re-engineering, retooling and reformatting this Nigerian contraption that is still not working,” he said.

Ozekhome described the present constitution of 1999, as a creation of the military Decree No 24 of 1999, adding that it is not a peoples’ constitution; does not enjoy the Nigerian peoples’ mandate, and so lacks legitimacy.

A leading member of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin said the Yorubas have never departed from its believe on fiscal federalism. as the best solution to the several problems facing the conference.

Odumakin who said he was speaking the minds of other leaders from the South-west, said there are serious indications for the zone that the people want “the 2019 elections conducted on the basis of a new and truly federal constitution.”

He observed that many of the issues threatening the country corporate existence today would have become a thing of the past if the government had implemented the report of the conference.

“We therefore call on the executive arm of the government to initiate the process for the National Assembly to pick the 2014 conference report submitted to the immediate past legislative session

for immediate implementation,” he said.

Odumakin said many of the problems plaguing the country today would have been resolved if the report of the National Conference was implemented.

He urged the National Assembly to immediately take the lead in setting in motion the process for the implementation of the report by including it in the ongoing Constitution amendment. He said the South-west can only participate in the 2019 general election if there is a new and truly federal constitution.

Speaking on the purpose of the summit, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Mr. John Dara, that the conference delegates felt it is timely to engage members of the executive and the legislature in fruitful dialogue to ensure that the conference report is utilised for constitutional amendment.

He noted that despite heated debates and arguments none of the delegates boycotted deliberations at the conference from beginning to the end.

Dara however regretted that the position reached at the conference considered to be the most representative have not been implemented thereby allowing the country to continued to be bedeviled by avoidable crisis.

For instance, Dara said the conference recommended what would have saved Nigeria from the clashes between herdsmen and farmers.

He said the conference recommended the gradual phasing out of cattle routes and grazing reserves and the need for ranching.

Apart from making adequate recommendations to fast track the economy through resuscitation of the agriculture and promotion of trade and investment, the conference also recommended the decentralization of political powers and even the economy in order to enhance productivity and efficiency.

Lamido Remanded in Kiyawa Prison, Police Teargas Supporters Ibrahim Shuaibu in Dutse Police fired teargas yesterday to disperse supporters of the former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, who was arraigned on four-count charge before the Chief Magistrate Court in Dutse, the state capital.

The supporters thronged the court as early as 8a.m. yesterday in solidarity with Lamido who was arraigned by the Zone 1 Police Command.

The former governor was arraigned on a four-count charge of allegedly inciting disturbance contrary to section 114 of the Penal

Code.

Other charges against Lamido were disturbance of public peace; defamation of character and criminal intimidation, all punishable under the Penal Code.

Counsel to Lamido, Felix Osimerha, argued that his client has been a notable public figure considering that the alleged charges are not capital offence, and are bailable.

He also argued that today, the former governor would be attending another case in Abuja for alleged corruption charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The prosecuting counsel, Ikenna Ignatius, argued that “allowing the defendant on bail is likely to jeopardise the peace of the state considering his large supporters that are evidently noticed before this court.”

In his ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Muntari Liman, said he needed time to decide on the application for bail and another on the police First Investigation Report (FIR) brought as evidence in the case.

He ordered that the former governor be remanded in Kiyawa Prison which is almost 30 kilometres away from Dutse till May 4.

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Police Disrupt Protest over Herdsmen Attacks in Southern Kaduna Clash with BBOG co-convener, as group accuses El-Rufai of persecution State government lifts curfew in LGs Paul Obi in Abuja and John Shiklam inKaduna The Nigerian Police yesterday disrupted a rally organised by the Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) against the incessant cases of herdsmen attacks on the area.

The attacks which have led to the brutal murder of hundreds of persons and destruction of properties worth billions of naira have continued unabated despite assurance by government at all levels to quell them.

The rally and solidarity walk which took place at the Fountain Unity, beside Transcorp Hilton in Abuja was abruptly disrupted by a team of policemen led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Arungwa Nwazue.

On the arrival of the detachment of the team of policemen from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command, Nwazue directly confronted journalists covering the rally, and attempted to smash recorders and cameras.

Nwazue asked: “Did the police authorities tell you they are aware of what they are doing here? This is a public place. I warned you to leave, if you don’t leave, whatever happens to you, you are on your own.

“Don’t say go ahead, put this thing in the purse. Which gathering is this?

Which press conference, and called by who? Who is Southern Kaduna?

“Is this process known to us?

You will not do your work here.

Is what you people doing known to the police? Do you think you can come and stay here? Put it on purse right away, remove the camera.”

During the altercation with the journalists, Nwazue ordered his men to use maximum force on Southern Kaduna indigenes and

journalists covering the rally.

The police also clashed with the Co-convener of Bring Back our Girls (BBOG) campaign, Aisha Yesufu, who came to show solidarity with SOKAPU members.

Speaking about Nwazue’s role in the disruption of the rally, she said: “He just came in here with his men and his guns, he is not different from Shekau (probably referring to the Islamic sect leader), because that is exactly what Shekau does-to intimidate and kill people.

We shall not be intimidated. If they refuse to obey the law, we will obey the law.”

The police boss further reached out to his men and threatened: “In the presence of policemen, these people are doing this, I will deal with you.”

Meanwhile, SOKAPU President, Solomon Musa, explained that the present situation in the area remains “a dark and gloomy tragedy that has been hanging over our state, especially in Southern Kaduna.

“We wish to restate that Southern Kaduna has been under the clutches of wicked, mindless, heartless and murderous armed terrorists.”

Musa stated that “he has also raised defences/explanations for each attack carried out on the Southern Kaduna people and justifies same as reprisal.”

While calling for the resignation of the state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, since “he cannot uphold his first and most important responsibility of protecting the lives and property of citizens, especially in Southern Kaduna,” the group called for “the immediate arrest and prosecution of members of the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) who have openly confessed to participating in ‘reprisal’ killings” Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government has completely lifted the curfew in Jema’a and Kaura

Local Government Areas in the southern part of the state.

The state government had imposed curfew in the area following persistent attacks on communities and killings allegedly by herdsmen.

Samuel Aruwan, the spokesman

is ongoing. More revelations keep coming up daily,” he said.

Also responding to a question about talks between the federal government and some private investors on two of the airlines that had been taken over by AMCON, he said investors should be sought to help reposition the company.

He said the airline would not be in a hurry to resume international flights for now until it sorts out a lot of its debt issues.

According to the Arik Air boss, the airline still owes a group called Europe Controls about €1 million, and other international creditors that must be sorted out before it resumes international flights.

Ilegbodu however pointed out that the KPMG audit would actually give a true position of where Arik is and would enable the government to decide on what to do going forward.

However, an aviation industry expert yesterday decried over AMCON’s continuing efforts to de-market the airline and give its former management a bad name in order to justify its takeover of the airline.

He also described the amount injected into the airline as paltry

The statement said the security situation security in the area had improved following the launch of a military operation code named “Harbin Kunama II” by the Nigerian army about two weeks ago.

Yesterday’s meeting, according

to Aruwan, “received and reviewed reports from the security agencies which pointed to improvements in the security situation.

“Therefore the council upheld the security recommendation that the curfew be removed with immediate effect.

Senate to Ascertain Status of Nigeria-UK Prisoner Transfer Agreement Damilola Oyedele inAbuja The Senate yesterday directed its Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Foreign Affairs to investigate the current status of the prisoner repatriation agreement between Nigeria and the United Kingdom to shed more light on the issue of transfer of sentenced persons.

It also directed the committees to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General of the Federation to give an update on the status of ratification of all treaties from 1999-2017.

The resolution was sequel to a motion sponsored by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who noted that even though the agreement is yet to be ratified by the National Assembly, the Government of UK has commenced the return of several prisoners to Nigeria, and has initiated the application for the transfer of more prisoners to Nigeria.

The agreement was signed in January 2014 with former Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, signing on behalf of Nigeria.

Ekwermadu expressed worry that the agreement provides for transfer of sentenced persons with or without consent, negating similar agreements within the Commonwealth, that such transfer must be consented to by

AMCON INJECTS N1.5BN INTO AILING ARIK AIR only about 10 of them that were functional. So, one would say that AMCON’s intervention was very timely. If you look at some of the things that are on ground, you can easily deduce that the company would have folded up in a couple of months.

“Then, they were no spare parts in the stores to support the operations and you could see slow attrition in terms of aircraft fleets. They were huge bills left unpaid when we came on board which we have tried to address.

This business is mainly driven by credit and a lot of people offer credit based on trust.

“So, once you start to bridge that trust, then you lose those credit facilities. Arik had reached that stage where a lot of creditors were refusing to do business on credit.

Then, a lot of flights were being delayed and customer confidence dropped significantly.

“Also, by the time we started looking at the financial records, in addition to what AMCON was being owed, we noticed that they were also exposed to third party creditors. Based on that, KPMG was called in to carry out a thorough audit of its books and that process

of Governor Nasir El-Rufai, in a statement yesterday, said the decision to lift the 12 hour curfew in the affected areas was taken at the weekly security meeting of the State Security Council which held yesterday at the Government House, Kaduna.

relative to its size and needs.

He said Ilegbodu was being insincere when he said Arik has no spare parts, stressing that its former management left behind spare parts valued at $150 million.

“The AMCON imposed management has been economical with the truth about so many things. Spare parts left behind by the management that the corporation removed was valued at $150 million.

“Besides, what will the paltry injection of N1.5 billion do for an airline that has been valued at $3.2 billion by Lloyd’s of London?

That is like a drop in the ocean and will not make any difference.

“Also, prior to Arik’s takeover, it was flying on average 8,000 passengers a day, but that has dropped to 2,400 passengers a day all because of AMCON’s interference, so how is the airline faring better today?” he asked.

The aviation expert, who preferred not to be named, also defended the old management of the airline, saying Arik’s indebtedness had been grossly exaggerated, stressing Arik owes AMCON N175 billion.

the convicted offender.

“Further aware that the United Kingdom Government has referred to this agreement as compulsory, whereas the content of the agreement made no mention nor indicated that the agreement was compulsory,” he said.

“The issue of consent of the prisoner is akin to the fundamental human rights as provided by the constitution, therefore where a prisoner’s right to consent is taken away, as is the nature of this agreement, the agreement is said to have violated the basic tenets of fundamental human rights,” he said.

Ekweremadu expressed worry that the British National Offender Management Service may be under a misinformed impression that all

the internal procedures have been completed, warranting the entry into force of the agreement.

Contributing, Senator Ben Murray Bruce (Bayelsa East) said while there are no British prisoners in Nigerian jails, the British Government has an incentive to implement the agreement with over 5,000 Nigerians in its jails.

He added that the committee should also ascertain the jail term determination for prisoners transferred to Nigeria in the repatriation agreement with Thailand.

“Some persons were brought in from Thailand to Nigeria; if a man was convicted and sentenced to a 10 year jail term in Thailand, and he has served five years on his return to Nigeria, does he serve the remaining jail term, or he starts all

over?” Bruce said.

The relevant committees are expected to report back in one month, for further legislative action.

In another development, the Senate also resolved to conduct a public hearing into the poor living conditions in Queens College Lagos which led to the recent death of three students.

It also directed the Minister of Education to urgently ensure infrastructure upgrade in the school, and also provide safe sewage treatment as well as expand the current boarding facilities to decongest the dormitories.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa North) and five co-sponsors, who lamented the sorry state of the oldest all girls unity school in Nigeria.

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Nnamani C’ttee Pushes for Establishment of Electoral Offences Commission Alex Enumah in Abuja As part of its recommendation on improving the nation’s electoral process the Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee yesterday came up with a draft bill on establishment of Political Parties and Electoral Offences Commission.

The draft bill is part of the fruits of painstaking effort by 25-member committee, headed by former Senate President, Ken Nnamani.

Other draft bills attached with the recommendation submitted by the committee to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), include that of an amendment of relevant provisions of the constitution, amendment of the Electoral Act and establishment of constituency delimitation centre.

Receiving the report yesterday in his office in Abuja, the minister commended the committee for a job well done and stated that the recommendations will guide the federal government in preparing various proposals for the further amendment of the constitution to improve electoral system in Nigeria.

According to him, some of the recommendations of the committee centered on how to strengthen the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the participation of independent candidates in elections and management of political parties.

Malami further disclosed that the recommendation also dealt

with the irritating issue of electoral offenses, management of electoral dispute resolution and specific legal provisions impacting on the electoral process as well as issues affecting the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).

Other recommendations dealt with use of technology in election, diaspora voting, and special access for persons with disabilities.

Malami said one of the major goals of the Buhari administration is to change the unethical way in which electoral officers have managed elections in the past.

He disclosed that the federal government has taken steps to remove all those who collected money to frustrate 2015 general election, adding that “so far 200 NIEC officials have been suspended while some are under investigation and prosecution.”

He promised that the committee’s report and draft amendment bills would be submitted to the president immediately for consideration and onward transmission to the National Assembly.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Nnamani said, the attached drafts bills were meant to hastened the amendment of relevant provisions of the constitution.

The draft bills would enhance the Electoral Act, establishment of political parties, Electoral Offences Commission and establishment of constituency delimitation centre.

According to Nnamani, some

of the recommendations of the committee centred on carpet crossing and litigations involving elected officials.

On the issue of carpet crossing, the former Senate President decried a situation where a person is elected on the platform of one party and then move to join another party after swearing in on flimsy excuses.

On the issue of litigation, the committee was of the opinion that anyone having court cases surrounding his election should not be sworn in until all such cases have been resolved by the court in his favour.

Recall that the minister had on October 4, 2016 inaugurated the committee with the mandate to review recent judicial decisions on election petitions as they relate to conflicting judgments and absence of consequential orders.

Others are review of the laws impacting elections in Nigeria, including relevant provision of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2012(as amended).

The minister further directed the committee to look into possible amendments to the Constitution and Electoral Act and come out with a more robust and generally acceptable electoral system.

“The committee is also advised to take a holistic look of the recommendation of Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Committee,” he said.

Malami said he was directed by President Muhammadu Buhari to

PINE PROBE: SENATE C’TTEE INDICTS BABACHIR, DEMANDS HIS PROSECUTION of the Public Procurement Act and the Federal Government Financial Rules and Regulations pertaining to the award of these contracts should be duly prosecuted by the relevant authorities.

“That the bank transactions of Rholavision Engineering Limited and the confirmation by the Central Bank of Nigeria that the Bank Verification Number of Mr. Babachir David Lawal is still the signatory to Rholavision Engineering Limited accounts and 13 other accounts, some with different names; the committee is of the opinion that Mr. Babachir David Lawal has contravened the provision of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, the Public Procurement Act, and breached the Oaths of Office as Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and should be prosecuted by the relevant authorities.

“That the committee also recommends further investigation by the relevant agencies of government on why contract benefitting companies paid over Five hundred million (N500,000,000.00) naira into Rholavision Engineering Limited accounts, a company in which Mr. Babachir David Lawal has interest.”

Senate Reverses Self Also, the Senate yesterday reversed its position on the suspension of consideration of all executive requests, stating that it would screen the two ministerial nominees of the president to fill the slots for Kogi and Gombe States at plenary today.

Senate President Bukola Saraki made the announcement at plenary

yesterday, adding that the screening of Prof. Steven Ikani Ocheni (Kogi) and Mr. Suleiman Zanna Hassan (Gombe) would commence at 10am.

The Senate also directed its relevant committees to begin the process for the confirmation of 27 nominees for Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and three nominees for non-career ambassadors.

It mandated the Committees on INEC and Foreign Affairs to submit their reports on the confirmation exercises in the next two weeks.

The presidency, in a letter to the Senate President, had requested for the screening and subsequent confirmation of the RECs, eight of whom are eligible for reappointment.

The president in another letter also nominated Ocheni to replace Mr. James Ocholi who died in a car accident last year, while Hassan was nominated to replace Mrs. Amina Mohammed, who resigned from the cabinet in January this year to take up her appointment as Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations.

The Senate suspended the screening of the nominees last month on the grounds that the president had refused to remove the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, whom it had refused to confirm twice as substantive head of the commission.

However, during plenary yesterday, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan moved a motion for the commencement of the confirmation process, which was

adopted.

A lawmaker who preferred not to be named, however, clarified that the Senate had suspended the process for the confirmation of the RECs for two week to send a clear signal to the president on the disobedience of Senate’s resolutions, including that of allowing Magu to continue to act after his nomination had been lawfully rejected.

The two-week suspension by the Senate did not imply that the process was put on hold indefinitely, he added.

Another senator also noted that the consideration and screening exercise does not automatically mean that the nominees would be confirmed by the Senate.

“We have the ambassadorial nominees, the heads of extraministerial bodies, such as the Chairman of NERC (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission), board members of the central bank and Niger Delta Development Commission, which Section 171 of the constitution was specific about.

“Magu’s confirmation falls into that of extra-ministerial bodies, so the matter is not going down like that, it is far from over,” the lawmaker said.

Before plenary ended, Saraki yesterday also announced the appointment of Senator Suleiman Nazif (Bauchi North) as the Chairman of the Committee on INEC to replace Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) who is currently on a six-month suspension from the Senate.

Nazif, before his appointment yesterday, was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, Productivity and Employment.

set up the committee in his desire to deepen the country’s democracy and entrench the culture of an enduring electoral system.

“It is important to evaluate our democratic journey thus far with a view to fashioning out a more enduring system that will serve present and future generations,” he said.

He said recent judicial decisions have shown that there is urgent need to scale up confidence in the electoral system in Nigeria.

Malami said the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Mahmoud, had decried the widespread distortion of binding judicial precedent with conflicting judgments He decried a situation where electoral officials were killed or kidnapped and where politicians

make the environment for elections a war theatre.

Malami advised the committee to consult far and wide, and in particular with National Assembly and judiciary in order to make recommendations that would stand the test of time.

He expressed the hope that the committee would turn in a report which depth and quality would resound for years to come and would facilitate the re-engineering of the electoral practice.

The Chairman of the committee, a former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, said he was confident that Buhari would enhance democratic structure s in Nigeria.

“The issue of inconclusive election in the country affect national election which leads to loss of lives and the best way to handle it is to

stop inconclusive election.

“The best way to stop it in advance is to support the government in implementing what will make Nigeria have a non-violence election,’’ Mr. Nnamani said.

The members of the committee are Oluwole Uzzi, O. O. Babalola, Mr. Duruaku Chima, Mrs Musa Maryam, H.A Tahir, Ike Udunni, S.O Ibrahim, and Esther Uzoma, Others are Muiz Banire, Eze Philip, Bashir Ibrahim, Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Utum Eteng, Ejike Eze, Mamman Lawal, A.C Ude and E. Ifendu, The remaining are Francis Bullen, Anike Nwoga, Cecilia Adams, Clement Nwankwo, C. Jude, Mohammed Tukur and Juliet Ibekaku.

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WEDNESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

AFCON 2019 QUALIFIER

Rohr Expresses Concern over Musa’s Frame of Mind Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja Super Eagles Franco-German Coach, Gernot Rohr, has expressed concerns that the Super Eagles Assistant Captain, Ahmed Musa, is not psychologically ready for the forthcoming 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier against South Africa in Uyo next month.

The coach, according to decent sources at the Glass House in Abuja, echoed this sentiment while exchanging perspectives with officials of the Technical Department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ahead of the Group E match against South African on June 10.

The tactician’s major worry is that the winger has been unsettled by private issues outside the football field, wondering that such could potentially distract him and affect the fortunes of the team.

Rohr wants all his players to give100 per cent to the national cause against the Bafana Bafana next month and is bothered if Musa will rise to the moment in view of the prevailing situation.

The Leicester forward has been trending in the social media after coming under scrutiny since the middle of last month when he was alleged to have divorced his

wife and mother of his two children, Jamila, and revealed plans to marry a second wife.

Before that drama bludgeoned, reports claimed he was invited and detained by the Police, who raided his home in the UK, after neighbours complained of domestic violence and abuse.

NFF issued a rebuttal in support of Musa, while the player even threatened to institute litigation against the source of the reports.

But it emerged last night that Rohr is not too pleased with the saga and the fact Musa sought and got permission from him to leave the Eagles camp in London, when Nigeria played Senegal in a friendly on March 23, for the introduction to his new bride, Juliet in Lagos on March 25.

The coach wants the distractions around the player promptly resolved before the team opens camping in France after all major leagues across Europe would have ended their seasons later this month.

Meanwhile, Ola Aina, a young defender on the books of Premier League giants Chelsea, is reported to have applied to FIFA to switch his international allegiance from England to Nigeria.

The 20-year-old, who was born in England and has represented the Three Lons

at U-16 and U-20 levels, is eligible to play for the Super Eagles but he must get FIFA approval first.

“The documentation

beach soccer in the world as Ali Nazem and Amir Akbari scored their spot kicks to set up a quarter-final clash with Switzerland on May 4 while Bartholomew Ibenegbu was the only Nigerian who converted his penalty with Victor Tale and Ogodo missing theirs.

Nigeria finished third in Group B behind Italy and Iran.

To their credit, the Sand Eagles gave an excellent account of themselves, with Victor Tale, Emmanuel Ohwoferia, Godspower Igudia, and Bartholomew Ibenegbu getting on the scorers-sheet.

Nigeria’s Head Coach, Audu Adamu, opted to stick with

“How fast FIFA and the FA in England work on this will determine how soon his application will come through.”

Aina trained with Gernot Rohr’s team when they were in London during the international window in March.

RONALDO 3 ATLETICO 0…

Cristiano Ronaldo (centre) scored a hat trick last night to put Real Madrid in complete command of their semi final clash with Atletico Madrid. The 3-0 defeat of Atletico in the first leg of the semis at the Santiago Bernabeu makes Real’s quest for a 12 th European Cup a mission possible. The second leg holds next week. The other semi final first leg clash takes place this evening between Monaco and Juventus.

Sand Eagles Crash out of Beach Soccer World Cup Super Sand Eagles bowed out of the ongoing FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 early hours of yesterday after losing 2-1 on penalties to Iran.

Regulation and extra time scores deadlocked at 4-4 before the gallant Sand Eagles capitulated in the shoot out.

In what was an intriguing back-and-forth battle between two sides looking to make the last eight, Iran’s Mohammad Ahmadzadeh and Mohammad Mokhtari scored two of their four goals.

Iran showed why they are Asian champions and also ranked number five in

has been done and will be submitted to FIFA for approval this week,” an official of the Nigerian Federation told scorenigeria.com.ng.

same five players who started in the previous game against Mexico in which they needed a last gasp Abu Azeez to win 5-4.

Three times Iran took the lead against Nigeria, and three times the Sand Eagles came back before moving in front themselves towards the end of the third period.

The Asian side drew on all their experience to level the match and then win the shoot out to reach the last eight for the third time running.

Penalties were also needed yesterday to decide the other important match as Switzerland defeated Senegal from the spot to advance to the last eight.

Full Doping Control at 5th Okpekpe Road Race Organisers of the Fifth Okpekpe International 10km Road Race have promised that there will be full doping control during the race scheduled to hold in a fortnight at Okpekpe, Edo State.

Spokesman for the race, Dare Esan, revealed yesterday that provisions have been made for a full doping control for the event which the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has classified as the only international competition/ road race in Nigeria in 2017.

“All tests shall be conducted in accordance with the IAAF anti-doping regulations.

There will be mandatory and requested tests. The mandatory tests are those that the organisers must conduct

at its expense and includes the minimum four that must be done as a bronze label event (that is: two men and two women) as a mixed gender race and of course those that must be conducted in the event a world record or area record is broken,” said Esan who assured all stakeholders of the organisers’ preparedness to ensure a clean competition come Saturday May 13.

“The testing kits needed for effective anti-doping in accordance with IAAF antidoping rules have arrived. We have a doping station built in Okpekpe for the race. This is where the sample collection session will be conducted by doping control officers who have been trained and authorised by the Nigeria anti-doping agency with

delegated responsibility for the on-site management of sample collection session.

“We also have Dr Akin Amao, one of Nigeria’s foremost sports medicine practitioners as the chief anti-doping officer for the race.

“We are ready for the race and those who qualified to be called elite athletes based on the times they have returned in the last 24 months are the ones open to testing. Those running for fun or charity are excluded. We have also advised athletes with illnesses or conditions that require the use of medication listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List to apply for Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) with the relevant agency before coming for the race,” said Esan.

FG Congratulates World Heavyweight Ladies Chess Cup Tournament Debuts in Ibadan Champion Anthony Joshua Femi Solaja

The Federal Government has congratulated British professional boxer of Nigerian descent Anthony Oluwafemi Joshua who recently defeated Ukranian Wladimir Klitschko to become the unified world heavyweight champion.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Nigeria is proud to be associated with the new unified world champion, whose Nigerian heritage he has publicly acknowledged. ‘’My heart is in Nigeria,

My heart is in Britain. I am a Nigerian man by blood, yes,’’ the Minister quoted Joshua as saying in a recent interview, during which the boxer also listed the secret of his success as pounded yam, eba and egusi - all Nigerian cuisine.

He hailed Joshua for his humility, despite his success in boxing, and his undying spirit, coming off the canvas after he was knocked down by Klitschko in the sixth round to win by a Technical Knock Out in the 11th round of their

pulsating fight.

Mohammed said the government will soon invite the new World Heavyweight Champion to Nigeria, especially as he has said he is looking forward to giving something back to the country.

Joshua, a member of British Empire, represented Britain at the 2012 Olympics in London, winning a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division. He also represented England at the 2011 World Championships, winning a silver medal.

The maiden edition of all female chess tournament got underway yesterday in Ibadan with 27 players on parade at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium complex in Ibadan.

The event, according to the Tournament Director, Babatunde Ogunsiku, is part of efforts at improving level of the game among female players in the country.

“Rating level of our female players on FIDE chart is relatively low when compared with their male counterparts.

This explains why an event like this is a step in right direction as a way of encouraging them

to be the best among their peers in both continental and world level,” he remarked last night in a telephone interview.

The event is organised by chess enthusiasts under the aegis of ‘Just Chess Venture’.

All notable female players from all the states of the federation are participatingat the tournament among whom are Toritsemuwa Ofowino, Akintoye Deborah, Doris Adebayo, Peace Sampson, Olufunmilayo Oyegunle, Labake Coker, Amarachi Agiri among others.

The event will climax on Sunday with attractive prizes to all the deserved winners. A special celebration is in place for

the President of Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), Mr. Lekan Adeyemi, who will attain the Golden Age same day.

On Saturday, FIDE Master, Adegboyega Adebayo, will engage 20 of the participating players in a simultaneous chess exhibition display.

The event is a combination of Swiss and knockout pairing.

The first five rounds would be used to select top eight players that will go into the knockout phase stating from quarter finals.

While the remaining players will continue with the Swiss pairings and complete the mandatory eight rounds for the four remains prizes.

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Wednesday May 3, 2017

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Wabba to FG �Even with two bailouts by the Federal Government and Paris Club loan refunds to states, as at this May Day, about 12 state governments still owe their civil servants several months of unpaid wages, pensions and gratuity� – President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba drawing federal government’s attention to the suerings of the Nigerian workers who are still being owed salaries and emoluments for several months.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

kayode.komolafe@thisdaylive.com

0805 500 1974

Dividends of Democracy as a Misnomer

H

ere comes, again, May, the month in which political publicists are wont to stage a festival of what they call “dividends of democracy.� In 1999 President Olusegun Obasanjo declared May 29 the “Democracy Day� to mark his inauguration as an elected President at the take-of this dispensation. Since then the month has become a period of stock- taking for those observing the anniversaries of their coming to power. By the way, there was hardly anything symbolic about May 29 other than the fact that General Abdulsalami Abubakar wanted his transition programme to terminate by all means within a year of his coming to power.

Consequently, May 29 is being erroneously given a greater historical weight than October 1, which is the actual day to celebrate freedom.

This is a subject that should interest those who seek to promote national orientation.

The teaching of the lessons of the National Day should be a component of national orientation.

It is a pity that the significance of October 1 as a day to reflect on freedom for which the nationalists fought gallantly is being down graded in favour of May 29. Generations are being nurtured with this gross distortion. In another dimension, this conceptual confusion about the real import of May 29 is further reflected in the catalogue of “dividends of democracy� often put on display at this period.

Federal and state governments advertise the roads, bridges, boreholes, classrooms, healthcare centres built in the period under review. Some advertise newly constructed offices and governors’ lodges as part of the achievements. Even some others now advertise payment of salaries. Yet the development history of Nigeria has shown, warts and all, that some of the undeniable landmark projects were not built by “democratic governments.�

The military regimes also constructed major highways, bridges, airports, seaports, refineries, power plants, dams, housing estates, water projects, etc. Yet no one would dare classify these projects as “dividends of democracy.�

Doubtless, many of the projects and programmes that the reputation managers of governments flaunt at this season are not the real dividends of democracy. Celebrated mathematician, Professor Chike Obi, once advocated “benevolent dictatorship by a committee� to accelerate the process of Nigeria’s development. Implicit in Obi’s spectacular proposition in his lifetime was the fact that it did not really require liberal democracy to build good roads, bridges, schools and hospitals. The theory still remains valid.

The real dividend of democracy is freedom.

For the people, the most enduring democratic gain is liberty. Democracy can bear real dividends only when it is deepened and the institutions fostering it are actually working. The dividends can also take the form of democratic values.

A proper audit of this dispensation would hardly return a verdict of bounteous harvest of the real dividends of democracy in terms of strong institutions and blossoming of the flowers of democratic values. For instance, the political parties are yet to congeal into organic institutions of democracy. In most

President Muhammadu Buhari

Senate President Bukola Saraki

Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen

cases, they remain inchoate organisations. Their growth is pitiably stunted. Politicians are not attracted to parties because of programmes or ideologies. The parties are treated virtually as electoral vehicles to board to power.

Similar verdicts could be returned on departments and agencies of the three arms of government. Arms of governments cannot bring forth dividends of democracy when they are not strengthened to be instruments of freedom, equity and social justice. True dividends of democracy are impaired when the institutions are corrupt and are rendered to be instruments to promote personal, greedy and selfish ends. The arms of government can only engender dividends of democracy when they work for the values of common good.

For a judicious assessment of the real democratic dividends issuing from the system, a political economy approach could be useful. It could be helpful in getting round the mounting socio-economic challenges in the land if a political economy approach is considered for development. A big picture of development is necessary to produce real dividends of democracy at this historical conjuncture.

The government has put together a plan to

confront socio-economic problems. Similarly, there should be conscious political efforts to ensure the real dividends of democracy in terms of human freedom. A political plan to deepen democracy is also important.

Democracy will not bear dividends when voices of dissent are muzzled and government cannot be held accountable. Transparency in governance, freedom of expression, freedom of choice, respect for the rights of the minorities, and the legitimacy of opposition are among significant dividends of democracy. The May 29 cataloguing of dividends of democracy becomes hollow when the orders of the court

to set free those in custody are routinely ignored by executive authorities. The celebration of dividends of democracy would be more meaningful when the democratic culture blooms – when the opposition take responsible actions within the law and the government duly respects the legitimacy of the opposition.

As governments at all levels showcase again roads, bridges, classrooms and hospital beds as dividends of democracy this season, let there be a greater awareness about an unyielding defence of human freedom as the genuine dividend of democracy.

The real dividend of democracy is freedom.

Democracy can bear real dividends only when it is deepened and the institutions fostering it are actually working

For Increase in Social Spending Opeyemi Ojo I write in response to Kayode Komolafe’s column in the THISDAY edition of April 26, 2017.

For some time now, I have held the opinion that our social crusaders have not helped matters in our national development. I have also viewed it as a crisis of knowledge. May be they do not know. We have witnessed a lot of organized criticism where there is money. Attacks are mostly aimed at what government is doing wrong, with little suggestion of what government should be doing right. There is hardly a pool of voices showing the way forward- what should be done. Most of the time we have the loudest of voices are thriving on criticism. Just a few folks are showing the way forward in patriotism, a few showing the path of service delivery, nobody is showing the burden of a sound value system. We usually have people’s position skewed towards one interest or the other.

R I G H T O F R E P LY So it was refreshing for me to read Komolafe’s article re-echoing UNDP’s Selim Jahan that “every human being counts and every human life is equally valuable�. I feel strongly that this is the basis in which a government can be said to be serving the people- a government should be a representative of the Supreme God. For me we are here today, not because of President Goodluck Jonathan or President Ibrahim Babangida; but because we as a people have not learnt to take a “propeople path to development�.

Now I would like to make an appeal that there should be a greater focus on “how to increase social spending�.

Maybe the honest liberal among us will be encouraged to get to the next level of radical probing of our problems and we will begin to see solutions flowing. r.S 0KP TFOU JO UIJT QJFDF GSPN "CVKB

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