Thursday 10th May 2017 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

FG, Agip to Sign Unbelievable $15bn Refinery, Power Project Deal for N’Delta Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

Ihe federal government and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), a subsidiary of Italy’s ENI, have struck a deal to construct an unbelievable $15 billion refinery in the Niger Delta. The deal will also include Agip’s investment in a power project. In this regard, officials of

Agip held a meeting with acting President Yemi Osinbajo in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday with a view to opening discussions on the proposed investment. The meeting agreed on the need to prepare a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a 150,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery by Agip in the Zabazaba field, located in Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245. However, the $15 billion announced by the government for the refinery and power

project, raised eyebrows among industry observers who wondered why a mid-sized refinery and thermal power plant would gulp that kind of money. In comparison, they said the 650,000bpd refinery complex, including fertilizer

and petrochemical units, being built by the Dangote Group at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos, is costing $9 billion. The meeting, which had in attendance the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, also discussed Agip’s assistance to Nigeria in

Court Clears Oronsaye of Corruption Charges… Page 12

the repairs of the Port Harcourt refinery. Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Kachikwu said the deal is aimed at discouraging oil companies operating in Nigeria from continuous fuel importation and encouraging them to refine oil locally. Continued on page 10

Wednesday 10 May, 2017 Vol 22. No 8056. Price: N250

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TODAY'S WEATHER

ABUJA 16°C-33°C

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How Passage of Budget, Cabinet Reshuffle Delayed Buhari’s Trip Olawale Olaleye His desire to reshuffle the cabinet and sign the 2017 budget into law were some of the major reasons President Muhammadu Buhari might have delayed his trip to the United Kingdom for a medical follow-up on an undisclosed ailment,

THISDAY has learnt. A presidency source told THISDAY yesterday that the president knew his trip to the UK to cater to his health was long overdue, but was determined to resolve these two critical matters on his table before leaving. Continued on page 10

…N’Assembly Increases 2017 Budget by N143bn, To Pass Spending Bill Thursday Mild drama in Senate over Osinbajo’s coordinating status Acting president: Buhari handed over to me

Damilola Oyedele and James Emejo in Abuja The National Assembly has increased the size of the 2017 budget proposed by the executive by N143 billion, from N7.298 trillion to N7.441 trillion.

This is as the Senate and House of Representatives laid the harmonised report of the 2017 Appropriation Bill at their respective plenary sessions yesterday. Continued on page 10

DAMIEN HIRST IN NIGERIAN HOT SOUP NLNG: Amendment of Act Will Portray COPYCAT… Original of the Ife terracotta sculpture (Circa 12th-14th century) on the left and the copy (right) displayed by multimillionaire artist, Damien Hirst, at his Venice show, “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” at Palazzo Grassi, without Nigeria as Promise Breaker… Page 11 British attribution to Ife or Nigeria, where the original was sculpted at least nine centuries ago (See story on page 9)

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

STARTERS

Nigerians Express Outrage as British Artist, Damien Hirst Copies Ife Sculpture Without Giving Credit British artist, entrepreneur and art

collector, Damien Hirst, has incurred the wrath of Nigerians for copying the bust of a well-known Ife terracotta head sculpted by artists from Ile-Ife in present day Osun State between the 12th and 14th century, without giving attribution to the original work. Hirst’s work titled, “Golden Heads (Female)”, was displayed at his Venice show “Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable” at Palazzo Grassi is an exact replica of Ife sculpture, with no reference to Ife or Nigeria. Victor Ehikhamenor, one of the artists representing Nigeria in Venice Biennial and presenting the Biography of the Forgotten, a large-scale work fusing abstract shapes with traditional sculpture, informed by an investment in classical Benin art and the effect of colonialism on cultural heritage, made this known on his Instagram page yesterday. Ehikhamenor captioned the post: “The British are back for more from

1897 to 2017. The Oni of Ife must hear this. ‘Golden heads (Female)’ by Damien Hirst currently part of his Venice show ‘Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable’ at Palazzo Grassi. “For the thousands of viewers seeing this for the first time, they won’t think Ife, they won’t think Nigeria. Their young ones will grow up to know this work as Damien Hirst’s. “As time passes it will pass for a Damien Hirst, regardless of his small print caption. The narrative will shift and the young Ife or Nigerian contemporary artist will someday be told by a long nose critic, ‘Your work reminds me of Damien Hirst’s Golden Head.’ We need more biographers for our forgotten.” Ehikhamenor also posted a photo of the Hirst’s postcard of Golden heads, saying: “This postcard of ‘Golden heads (Female)’ by Damien Hirst with no reference to Ife and great artists that originally made these timeless classic will travel far and wide. Once again the hunter has glorified his

tale in the absence of the lion.” According to online news site Pulse. ng, Hirst’s Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable exhibition, a result of extensive work carried out by the artist in the last decade, has done nothing but invoke anger among Nigerians, who upon seeing Ehikhaemenor’s post on the internet didn’t take the news too well and have vented their anger as seen in their various comments on Instagram. Some Nigerians went on to blame the government for this kind of calamity. Others played their part by spreading the news far and wide across the country and also tagging media houses. Others considered it disheartening and unfair, adding that what Hirst has done would not have been condoned if a Nigerian had copied another artist’s work and tried to display and eventually sell it off as an original. As a mark of protest, THISDAY has published the original Ife terracotta sculpture side-by-side the copy made by Hirst for the world to see.

Swiss Govt Opens Up on Why It Helped in Negotiating Chibok Girls’ Release

Two-Minute Briefing NEWS IMF Seeks Strong, Sound Policy Measures to Restart Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa’s Growth IMF has advised Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa to implement strong and urgent policy actions to bolster growth in the region. Page 11

EDITORIAL The Release Of 82 ChibOk

GiRls Following the release of a new set of 82 abducted Chibok schoolgirls last weekend, Atiku spoke for many Nigerians when he said the development indicated what we could achieve as a nation when the people… Page 15

POLITICS The Chiboks Girls’ Narrative

For the first time, the federal government admitted swapping detained Boko Haram suspects for the release of 82 Chibok Secondary School Girls. Page 18

NEWSEXTRA Court Clears Oronsaye of

Corruption Charges A High Court of the Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja, yesterday discharged and acquitted the former Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Chief Steven Oronsaye, of all the seven-count charge filed against him by the federal government. Page 48

BUSINESS Inflation Rate Predicted to

Reduce Further in April The he year-on-year inflation rate has been predicted to drop further in April. Page 23

CRIME & PUNISHMENT Five Officers Missing as

VISITING OUR GIRLS…

L-R: Chief Medical Director, Department of State Services (DSS) Medical Centre, Dr. Ann Okorafor; Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume; Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima; Minister of Women Affairs, Jummai Alhassan; and Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garba, when Shettima led Chibok stakeholders and elders to the DSS Medical Centre in Abuja to meet with the 82 freed Chibok schoolgirls… yesterday The spokesperson of the Swiss Foreign

Ministry Noemie Charton has confirmed his country took part in the negotiations that secured the release of 82 girls kidnapped at the weekend by the terror group Boko Haram He said the country took part “at the request of Nigeria” and due to “humanitarian concerns”. Last Friday, a Boko Haram faction released the girls, who had been held captive for three years, in exchange for prisoners. Those freed were part of a group of more than 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from the Chibok village, in the restive Borno State, in April 2014. Nigeria thanked Switzerland, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as local and international NGOs for helping secure the release of the girls. “Switzerland’s commitment is motivated by humanitarian concerns. “Switzerland’s engagement in this

operation was guided by the principles of strict neutrality and non-interference.” Charton added that Switzerland also called for the release of the rest of the Chibok girls still held captive by the group. At least 21 Chibok girls were released last October in another deal brokered by Switzerland and the Red Cross. It is believed 114 girls are still in Boko Haram custody. “The process of negotiation with groups like Boko Haram is very complex and stressful and requires a varied number of actors working together and playing different, but key roles to realise the desired outcome,” security analyst and counter-terrorism expert David Otto told IBTimes UK. “The Swiss representative played an active role in organising negotiations from within Nigeria and outside Nigeria along with local key actors like Zannah Mustapha and (human rights activist and lawyer) Aisiha

Wakil who wield trust due to their pre-existing relationships with one or more factions,” he continued. Details of the negotiations that resulted in the release of the girls have not been disclosed and little is known about the identity of the prisoners. However, Otto – who said his company TGS Consulting was involved in negotiations – said the prisoners are “influential Boko Haram commanders”. “Their roles have never been officially established except that Boko Haram required their release in exchange,” he said. Ryan Cummings, director of political and security risk management consultancy, Signal Risk, told IBTimes UK: “It is difficult to speculate the impact that the release of the detained commanders would have on the operational capacity of the sect, given that we do not know the identities of the operatives released as a result of the hostage exchange.”

Smugglers Attack Customs in Ogun, Torch Patrol Van A few days after vehicle dealers attacked officers of the Nigeria NCS in Kaduna, burning down… Page 51

INTERNATIONAL Moon Jae-in: South Korean Liberal Claims Presidency Win Liberal candidate Moon Jae-in has claimed victory in South Korea’s presidential election. Page 46

SPORTS Musa on the Verge of Walking

away from Leicester City Ahmed Musa, is believed to be considering dumping English Premiership champions Leicester City barely one year after signing a club record transfer to the Foxes. Page 55

WEDNESDAY, may 10, 2017 • T H I S D AY

PAGE TEN …N’ASSEMBLY INCREASES 2017 BUDGET BY N143BN, TO PASS SPENDING BILL THURSDAY The lawmakers increased statutory transfers to N434.4 billion from N419.02 billion, while the amount proposed for debt service was increased to N1.841 trillion from N1.66 trillion. The sinking fund for maturing bonds was retained at N177.4 billion, while non-debt recurrent expenditure was increased to N2.99 trillion from N2.98 trillion, as contained in the budget proposal. The National Assembly also appropriated N2.174 trillion for Development Fund for capital expenditure, which is exclusive of capital expenditure in statutory transfers. The executive had proposed N2.24 trillion for capital expenditure, inclusive of capital in statutory transfers. President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki said the budget would be passed on Thursday. He added that the electronic copies of the budget bill would be sent to lawmakers by the end of yesterday, while hard copies would be distributed today. “We will use all of tomorrow to study and hopefully pass it on Thursday,” he said. “Let me congratulate the Appropriation Committee, because we have seen history being made. This is the first time the Appropriation Committee is laying the budget with the details,” Saraki added. THISDAY had reported last week that the National Assembly also increased its budget to N150 billion, from the proposed N120 billion. Briefing newsmen after plenary, the Senate spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi-Abdullahi said the submission of the harmonised

version of the budget in both chambers has eliminated any further delays. “Remember I once said the two committees were working to harmonise their reports. The report that was laid at the Senate is the exact report that will be laid in the House of Representatives. “The key take away today is the fact that we did not just lay the report, we laid the report along with the details of the budget. “I think this is unprecedented because to the best of our knowledge, from 1999 to date, it has not happened,” the spokesman said. Also, the House yesterday received the report of the Committee on Appropriation on the 2017 budget. President Muhammadu Buhari last December submitted a budget proposal of N7.29 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly.

Melodrama in Senate Also, a letter from the president to the leadership of Senate and House, notifying them of his medical trip and handover to his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, was read on the floors of both chambers by Saraki and Dogara. But whilst the letter was read without incident in the House, a mild drama ensued after Saraki read the letter in the Senate. Buhari’s letter dated May 7, 2017, said: “In compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, I wish to inform the Distinguished Senate that I will be away for a scheduled medical follow-up with my doctors in London.

“The length of my stay will be determined by the doctor’s advice. “While I am away the vicepresident will coordinate the activities of the government.” After it was read out in the Senate, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa (Abia North) stood up to point out that the word “coordinate” failed to make it clear that Osinbajo would act as president in Buhari’s absence. According to the Abia senator, the letter had refrained from stating that Osinbajo would be acting president and was therefore ambiguous. He advised that the letter be returned to the presidency. “Mr. (Senate) President, I do not think in our constitution we have anything like ‘coordinating president’ or ‘coordinating vicepresident’. It’s either you are vice-president or you are acting president and any letter should be unambiguous and very clear. “So, I am saying that this letter really does not convey anything because ‘coordinating’ has no space on any place in our constitution. “We have been having letters like this, you tell us he is the acting president and we know who to deal with as a Senate. This is the highest legislative body of any country and if you are sending us a letter it should be direct, unambiguous. “So, I am saying that this letter for me is not right and maybe should be sent back,” Ohuabunwa said. As Ohuabunwa presented his argument, several senators could be heard murmuring, while some nodded their heads in agreement with his observation.

The Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan, however, called on the lawmakers to simply rely on the first paragraph of the president’s letter. “Any other word in this letter or indeed anywhere else is irrelevant. I therefore feel that Mr. President has done what the constitution requires him to do and I urge this senate not to go ahead to discuss this because it’s not an issue. “We have the budget and so many other serious issues for us to discuss and Nigerians are waiting,” Lawan said. Having heard both men, Saraki did not subject the issue to debate and ruled Ohuabunwa out of order. “I think it is a very clear issue and what we should be guided by is the constitution. I think that it is clear, the letter has referred to the constitution and there is no ambiguity in the constitution. “So, I don’t think there’s any issue there. Let me first rule you out of order, Senator Mao,” Saraki said. But the debate in the Senate snowballed into a debate among Nigerians, some of who felt that the president deliberately did not state in the letter that his deputy would “the discharge the functions of his office” in his absence, as clearly stated in Buhari’s letter in January, when he embarked on a similar vacation and handed over to Osinbajo. This prompted one Bernard Amaiguo to post a Tweet asking Osinbajo why the president refused to hand over to him. In his post, he wrote: “Mr. Vicepresident, why did Mr. President refuse to hand over the affairs of the country to you?”

Responding, Osinbajo said the president had indeed transferred power to him. In his Tweet, Osinbajo wrote: “He did sir. He transmitted a letter to the Senate in compliance with S.145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”

‘No Ambiguity, Osinbajo is Acting President’ Also reacting to what transpired in the Senate, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun and Chief Olisa Agbakoba said Osinbajo remained the acting president regardless of what the president wrote in his letter to the Senate. Speaking to THISDAY, Olanipekun said that there was no question about it, “Osinbajo is acting president”. He stated that as long as the president transmitted the letter in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, Osinbajo had become the acting president. “Whether the president called him acting president or not, the fact that he called him the coordinator of activities of government is immaterial. It is inferred that all powers vested in the president have been transferred to him.” Olanipekun, however, expressed some reservations, saying that the country was yet to evolve in terms of governance. “There should be a system where the acting president is imbued with all the powers, including the power to be Commander-in-Chief, power to manage the economy and power and vires to appoint and constitute the cabinet that will enable him to deliver. “We should stop personalising governance,” he said. Agbakoba also agreed and advised Nigerians to focus on what is important and ignore trivialities. He said: “I think it is a matter of nomenclature. We should avoid unnecessary distractions. I’m aware what the politicians were trying

to do with the interpretation but that is not the issue Nigerians are interested in for now. “It is just semantics. It makes no difference. Let us not concentrate on trivial issues. The man is acting president. We wish the president well and also pray for Osinbajo to address the challenges of poverty, bad roads and joblessness in the country.”

Enoh Defects to APC In another development, the Senator representing Cross River Central, Senator John Owan Enoh announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). His announcement at plenary yesterday elicited applause from APC senators, some of whom shook his hands as he was ushered to take a bow in front of the mace. Reacting, PDP Senators put up a feeble protest. Smiling, the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, said Enoh, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, is a political tourist. “I raised this order because the event that just took place has become a tradition that they have gotten another political tourist. By the time the bubble bursts, they will also move back when the baton changes. I want to also put him on notice that we are willing to receive him back,” he said. Saraki, however, congratulated Enoh. “The only thing for me as the presiding officer is to recognise Senator John Enoh and wish him continued fruitful contributions and service to his people through the platform he has now chosen,” Saraki said. Enoh’s defection increased the membership of the APC Caucus in the 109-member Senate to 66, against PDP’s 42. The seat for the Anambra Central Senatorial District is currently vacant.

FG, AGIP TO SIGN UNBELIEVABLE $15BN REFINERY, POWER PROJECT DEAL FOR N’DELTA

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA IN FOCUS…

L-R: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and Director, African Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Abede Selassie, during the Fund’s launch of its Regional Economic Outlook on sub-Saharan Africa, in Abuja… yesterday enock rueben

HOW PASSAGE OF BUDGET, CABINET RESHUFFLE DELAYED BUHARI’S TRIP This much the president was said to have mentioned at a meeting with the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo; President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, shortly before departing on Sunday night. However, when pressure was brought to bear for him to return to the UK for the medical followup, he eventually succumbed and left the country. “Two things he was said to have mentioned at the meeting he held last with those people at the Villa, because they had also asked him why he refused to go for his checkup, was that

he wanted to reconstitute his cabinet in order to give it more life, as this he reckoned was very overdue. “Two, he wanted to sign the 2017 budget before leaving since a lot depends on it. “But they assured him all would be well even while he is away. In fact, they informed him that they wouldn’t mind taking the budget to him to sign in London and whenever he gets back, he can reshuffle his cabinet. “But for now, they told him he had to travel to take care of himself. He was looking tired and needed rest and a checkup,” the source revealed. He added that contrary to the perception that Buhari had not

been working before he left the country, the president had learnt to pace himself by attending to important memos and matters of state at the Presidential Villa, while at the same time taking time off when the need arose. “It was shocking to know that the president was working as hard as he was when healthier and they told him if he continued at that rate, there was no betting that he would not suffer a breakdown, so his decision to travel eventually was timely,” the source said. Some well-meaning Nigerians like Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) had enjoined the president

to return to London for his medical follow-up, when it became evident that he had lost considerable weight and appeared to be very weak the few times he was seen at the Villa. Last month, he missed three cabinet meetings and only managed to attend some Friday Juma’at prayers at the State House. Concerns over his health became more pronounced when he missed the wedding ceremony of his grandson and personal assistant, Sabiu “Tunde” Yusuf, a man named after his late deputy, Tunde Idiagbon, when they both seized power as military leaders over 30 years ago.

Kachikwu said the deal was in pursuit of the federal government's commitment to increase capacity for local production and consumption of petroleum products with a view to ending fuel importation in Nigeria within a scheduled period. “We just finished a meeting with the acting president and Agip. In the meeting, we dealt with the issue of Agip’s investment in the Zabazaba field and their cooperation with us in the repairs of the Port Harcourt refinery. “We reviewed, following my meeting with Agip, an agreement that the firm will build a brand new refinery of 150,000 bpd capacity which will be located in Port Harcourt or Brass. “They have accepted and are preparing a memorandum of understanding along this line. The effect of this is that oil companies operating in Nigeria will begin to migrate from only exporting crude and begin to look at how to start refining crude so that we will be able to meet our local consumption. “With this new refinery and along with other things, what we are going to do with the refinery in Port Harcourt gives us hope in our quest to try and increase our local capacity to produce the refined products we need

in the country and to meet the timeline of 2019. “We are now going ahead to work out the modalities with Agip. I am also calling on other multinationals to see what they can do along this line. “In the area of power, Agip has second the largest plant which will be on stream by 2020. This is to make sure they are not only just taking away crude but have other local investments. “Total investments in the area of power and the refinery from Agip will be in excess of $15 billion,” Kachikwu said.

TOP GAINERS NGN NGN OANDO 0.80 8.69 FIDSON 0.16 1.84 TRANSCORP 0.07 1.05 MAYBAKER 0.06 1.07 PORTPAINT 0.09 1.91 TOP LOSERS NGN NGN LINKAGE 0.02 0.52 DANGSUGAR 0.24 6.46 TOTAL 6.00 249.00 LAFARGE 1.10 48.50 SEVEN-UP 1.89 102.00 HPE Nestle Nig Plc ₦760.00 Volume: 539.233 million shares Value: N2.815 billion Deals: 4,519 As at 9/05/17 See details on Page 40

% 10.1 9.5 7.1 5.9 4.9 % 3.7 3.5 2.3 2.2 1.8

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWS

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

IMF Seeks Strong, Sound Policy Measures to Restart Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa’s Growth Adeosun: Our problem is Not over-borrowing, but servicing the debt Emefiele says banks well-capitalised, CBN addressing NPLs

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa to implement strong and urgent policy actions to bolster growth in the region. It foresees a subdued outlook for the region in the near-term if pressures on sovereigns and spillovers to the private sector intensify. The IMF, in its latest Regional Economic Outlook, titled: ‘Restarting the Growth Engine; pointed out that growth in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole dropped to 1.4 per cent in 2016—its lowest level in two decade, with a projection that it would record a modest recovery of 2.6 per cent in 2017. This is in spite of the fact that a number of countries, especially in eastern and western Africa, continue to grow robustly. Unveiling the report in Abuja yesterday, with the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and other top public and private sectors players in

attendance, the Director of IMF’s African Department, Mr. Abebe Aemro Selassie, said: “The overall weak outlook partly reflected insufficient policy adjustment.” “The delay in implementing much-needed adjustment policies is creating uncertainty, holding back investment, and risks generating even deeper difficulties in the future. Adjustment in resource-intensive countries has been delayed. In particular, oil exporters such as Angola, Nigeria, and the countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Union (CEMAC) are still struggling to deal with the budgetary revenue losses and balance of payments pressures, some three years after the fall in oil prices “Vulnerabilities are also emerging in many non-resourceintensive countries. While they have generally continued to record high growth rates, they have also maintained elevated fiscal deficits for a number of years as their governments rightly sought to address social and infrastructure gaps. As a result, fiscal and external buffers are declining and public debt is on the rise.”

Going forward, the report pointed to a modest growth recovery from 1.4 per cent in 2016 to 2.6 per cent in 2017.. This, it said, would barely put sub-Saharan Africa back on a path of a rising per capita income, adding that the uptick will be largely driven by one-off factors in the three largest countries. These are a recovery in oil production in Nigeria, higher public spending in Angola, and fading of drought effects in South Africa. However, for other countries, the outlook remains shrouded in substantial uncertainties, including a possible further appreciation of the United States dollar, a tightening of global financing conditions - especially for countries where fundamentals have deteriorated. The IMF report further noted that the outlook is further clouded

by security issues that have contributed to an increase in food insecurity and even famine in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Based on the foregoing, the IMF admonished that “strong and urgent policy action is needed to restart growth where it has faltered and preserve the momentum elsewhere.” Selassie noted that while restoring macroeconomic stability is a prerequisite, it needed to be complemented with structural reforms to support the rebalancing and policies to strengthen social protection for the most vulnerable. For the hardest-hit countries, the report noted that strong fiscal consolidation was required, with emphasis on revenue mobilisation. It added that where available, greater exchange rate flexibility and the elimination of exchange restrictions would be important to absorb part of the shock.

But for countries where growth is still strong, the IMF emphasised the need to address emerging vulnerabilities from a position of strength, including by shifting the fiscal stance toward gradual consolidation The IMF pointed out that subSaharan Africa remains a region with tremendous potential for growth in the medium term – provided strong domestic policy measures are implemented. Reacting to the report, the Director, Monetary Policy, CBN, Mr. Moses Tule, said it was analytical and quite comprehensive. Tule noted that the shock in the prices of commodities adversely hit about 23 countries in the region, adding that for resourceintensive countries, it triggered huge budgetary constraints and fiscal deficits. He said huge public debt also followed due to humongous

borrowing with inflation skyrocketing to as high as 18.2 per cent in Nigeria and 42 per cent in Angola. Tule observed that from the report, there would be a modest growth, regretting that what he called policy space was highly constrained just as revenue is constrained, leaving room for growth. He also stated that the sub-region had been hobbled by insufficient reforms and lack of political will to carry through reforms. Also commenting on the report, Prof. Doyin Salami of the Lagos Business School called for human capacity development and prioritisation of private capital, among others, urging governments in the region to make up their minds on what their roles are in fostering, ensuring and sustaining inclusive growth.

NLNG: Amendment of Act Will Portray Nigeria as Promise Breaker EjioforAlikea The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has described yesterday’s passage of a bill for the amendment of the NLNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act by the House of Representatives an action against the national interest, saying the direct consequence would be to project Nigeria as a sovereign-state promise breaker and an unsuitable destination for investments. A statement by the General Manager, External Relations of the company,Dr.KudoEresia-Eke,saidthe amendmentviolatedtheassurancesand guaranteesgrantedtheinvestorsbythe country, and reinforced by successive governments, which paved the way for the huge international investment thatenabledthecompanytobecomea reality and the success story it is today. According to Eresia-Eke, the main thrustoftheguaranteesandassurances was to assure the foreign investors that theirinvestmentswouldbeprotectedby thenon-amendmentoftheNLNGAct. “This is the reason why the NLNG Act has remained intact and protected by all administrations from inception, in recognition of the sanctity thereof,” he said. Also in his reaction, the Managing Director of Nigeria LNG, Tony Attah, saidtheproposedamendmentwould hamper the present administration’s ease of doing business agenda and in the current administration’s determination to attract direct foreign investment to Nigeria. “It needs to be clearly stated that investments are unlikely to flow into an environment where contracts and agreements are flagrantly violated as is imminent in this instance. By

way of background, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act has its origin in the need to address the adverse effects of upstream oil and gas exploration and production activity –specifically oil spills and gas flaring—as well as the development needs of the Niger Delta region,” he explained. Attah restated that NLNG does not prospect for or extract gas from the ground. According to him, the company buys feed stock from its gas suppliers, which it proceeds to clean and cool for sale. “As such, the company is like any manufacturing, petrochemical or refining firm that uses gas as feedstock, and there are quite a number of them in the Niger Delta. We are unaware that any other company is being targeted as NLNG apparently is. NLNG helps to convert and monetise gas for the benefit of the environment, shareholders and other stakeholders including the government and Nigeria,” Attah explained. He said the NLNG had since inception continued to pay applicable taxes, levies and charges to local, state and federal tiers of government amounting to well over $5.5 billion. “This is beside about $15 billion already paid in dividends to the federal government through the NNPC. In addition, we operate a robust corporate social responsibility programme, considered to a model by the rest of the oil and gas industry. The programme has cost about $200 million to date and extends to areas including business and human capacity development and infrastructure development in our primary areas of operation and across Nigeria,” Attah said.

SERVICE TO GOD

L-R: Deputy Chancellor of the Lagos Diosese, Justice George Adeshola Oguntade; Diosese Bishop of Lagos Anglican Communion, Most Reverend Adebola Ademowo; Special guest of honour and Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; Justice (Mrs.) Adedayo Oyebanji; and President, Women and Girls Organisation of Lagos Diocese,, Mrs. Oluraanti Ademowo, at the opening ceremony of the second session of Anglican Communion held at St. Saviour Church in Lagos ....recently MUBO PETERS.

Ikoyi Billions: House C’ttee Issues 24-hour Ultimatum to NIA DG Summons Magu, Emefiele, Monguno James Emejo in Abuja The House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence yesterday handed down a 24-hour ultimatum to the suspended Director- General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Mr. Ayo Oke, to appear before it and shed more light on the controversial N13 billion recently discovered in an Osborne apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos. Oke, who ought to appear before the committee yesterday alongside other invitees, allegedly shunned the investigative hearing which was ordered by a resolution of the House.

However, the committee, chaired by Hon. Aminu Sani Jaji (APC, Zamfara), further summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, National Security Adviser (NSA), MajorGeneral Babagana Monguno (rtd), and acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu. Jaji claimed the committee had received useful information and petitions from members of the public on the local and foreign currencies - $43.4 million, £27,800 and N23.2 million discovered. He expressed displeasure over the failure of all invited

stakeholders to appear before the committee yesterday. Jaji added that the investigative hearing was in line with section 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution which empowered the National Assembly to expose corruption, hence urged all the agencies and appointed officials to respect constituted authorities. According to him, the suspended NIA boss is to appear on May 10, 2017, by 12p.m; while CBN Governor will be expected at 2p.m. as well as Magu by 3p.m. NSA is to appear by 4p.m. He said: “This is the law of the

land and we have to respect the constituted Authorities which the National Assembly is one of them. And it is disrespected for any agency that this government put in place in campaigning against corruption and many Nigerians are very much aware of this saga, the $43 million.” The chairman further expressed concern that no agency of government had so far laid claim to the recovered funds legally or otherwise. He said the committee would soon compile its report and present it before the House in line with its resolution.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWS

CBN Approves $100m for Sale at SMIS

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the sale of $100 million at the Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) auction it announced on Monday. The CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, confirmed this yesterday, while disclosing that the sales would be settled this

week. Okorafor reiterated that the CBN would continue to make every necessary intervention in the interbank market to meet all legitimate foreign exchange demands by customers. The CBN had last Friday sold a total sum of $389million to authorised dealers in the retail sector of the market as spot

and forwards. Of the sum, $87.885 was for spot sales, while $300.8 million was sold as forwards in three tenors of 30, 45 and 60 days, respectively. Meanwhile, the naira closed at an average exchange rate of N390 to one United States dollar on the parallel market yesterday.

Oil Workers Threaten to Shut Down ExxonMobil Operations Ejiofor Alike Oil workers under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has threatened to shut down the operations of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, an affiliate of ExxonMobil until the sacked workers are recalled. The workers yesterday picketed the company’s offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt and insisted that the actions would continue until the federal government prevails on the company to address their grievances. Addressing the workers, who sealed the company’s corporate head office in Lagos to protest the sack of their colleagues, the National President of PENGASSAN, Francis Olabode Johnson, said the union had written several letters to the company to resolve the issues to no avail. He threatened that the workers would shut down the company’s operations between Tuesday (yesterday) and Friday, stressing that the action would

have negative impact on the economy. “PENGASSAN will start withdrawing its members from all upstream locations starting from tonight to press home their demands. This will impact on oil production and further drive down Nigerian production and revenue. The picketing is going on simultaneously in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Eket and Onne,” he said. “We expect the federal government to intervene so that it will not escalate to other International Oil Companies (IOCs),” he added. The Lagos Zonal Chairman of PENGASAN, Comrade Abel Agarin alleged that the report of the committee set up by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu on the workers’ crisis was sent to only the management of ExxonMobil. According to him, the minister intervened and set up the committee after the company sacked 83 staff. “Following the intervention of the minister, ten cases out of the 83 were set aside because

they were high flier employees. But after the committee reported its report, the company started distributing another redundancy letters and even the 10 that were initially set aside were given redundancy letters,” Agarin explained. Also speaking in Lagos, the Port Harcourt Zonal Chairman of PENGASSAN, Comrade Azubuike O. Azubuike confirmed that the picketing was also taking place in ExxonMobil offices in Port Harcourt and Eket. “We are here at the corporate head office in Lagos for the amicable resolution of the crisis because my zone is also affected by the sack. I have activated the strike in Port Harcourt before coming to Lagos. We are hosting Eket, which is a stronghold of ExxonMobil. We will shut down completely,” he said. Some of the placards carried by the workers read: “We demand to be treated with dignity by our management,” “No to racism in Nigeria,” and “Expat contractor $2,000 per day, One Expat = 20 Nigerian workers.”

Borno Governor, Chibok Elders Meet 82 Freed Schoolgirls Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, yesterday led key stakeholders and elders from Chibok community to the Department of State Services (DSS) medical centre where they met with the 82 schoolgirls freed by Boko Haram three years after their violent abduction from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April, 2014. The governor’s wife, Nana, was also at the centre to meet the girls. Shettima’s delegation included the district head of Chibok, prominent elders, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume representing Borno South, lawmakers from the House of Representatives and Borno State Assembly representing Chibok and other government officials from Chibok community. The governor was received by the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Jummai Alhassan, and the Chief Medical Director of the DSS Medical Centre, Mrs. Ann Okorafor. The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Alhassan, revealed that although the 21 girls freed by the insurgents in October last year, have been under the custody of the federal government

and undergoing rehabilitation, Governor Kashim Shettima has been making financial contributions to the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to co-fund the rehabilitation and skills acquisition programmes. “The people of Borno State are lucky to have a compassionate Governor who cares deeply and genuinely for his people. The 21 girls freed last year are under the federal government but Governor Shettima said these girls are his daughters, they are citizens of Borno and as such he was still going to be making contributions so that whatever we planned as federal government could be improved upon and he has been supporting us. He offered support without us asking and I am sure he will still support us in managing our 82 daughters by the time they leave this hospital and come to us,” the minister said. Shettima told the girls that he was so full of joy and looks forward to receiving their remaining counterparts still being held. “By the grace of God your sisters will be also be freed. We have a determined president, all we need is to support him and pray for him. I assure you that

we shall do whatever we can to make you not only comfortable but to actualise your dreams of becoming whatever you wanted while in school. 56 of your colleagues who escaped from abduction are in their final year in two international private schools. They are doing very well. We will work with the federal government and your parents to determine what is best for you. For now, the focus is on your health. I will urge you to cooperate with the physicians here. Please, do not hide anything from them, they are trained to keep your medical records confidential and the information you give them is what they need to assess your health. When your health assessment is completed, we will then discuss your education but please, do not allow your experience make you give up on education” Shettima said. Senator Ndume and representative of Asabe, Vilita Bashir, both representing local government areas that include Chibok, addressed the girls separately, thanking God for their return and calling on them to pray for the return of others still in captivity.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Court Orders DSS to Produce Ifeanyi Ubah on Friday

Capital Oil: NNPC owes us N16bn Accuses DSS of attempt to criminalise commercial dispute Ejiofor Alike and Anayo Okolie Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered the Department of State Services (DSS) to unfailingly produce the Managing Director of Capital Oil and Gas Limited, Ifeanyi Ubah, before him next Friday, May 12, 2017. He said the order is for the DSS to show cause why Ubah should not be unconditionally granted freedom. The judge gave the order after entertaining an ex parte application from Ubah on what he described as an unlawful detention by the DSS. Specifically, Ubah, through his counsel, Ifeoma Esom, informed Justice Idris that he had been in detention since May 5, 2017. The lawyer then prayed the judge to direct the DSS to release Ubah so as to prevent the security agency from coercing him to accede to “whatever conditions they impose on him in exchange for his freedom.” The DSS had maintained that the business mogul is being detained over his alleged involvement in actions that are clearly unfriendly to national security. Spokesperson of the DSS, Tony Opuiyo, in Abuja had argued that Ubah allegedly stole, diverted and illegally sold petroleum products stored in his tank farm by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The DSS insisted that the cost of the oil is N11billion. Opuiyo added that such acts were impacting negatively on the national economy. The DSS stated: “In line with the statutory mandate of the DSS to investigate economic crimes of national security dimension, the service, on May 5, 2017, arrested Ubah, “The arrest was sequel to Ubah’s engagement in acts of economic sabotage which include stealing, diversion and illegal sale of petroleum products stored in his tank farm by the NNPC. “So far, it has been established that the products stolen amounted to over N11billion. “There is no doubt that Ubah’s acts have the capacity to negatively impact on national economy.” Meanwhile, Capital Oil and Gas Limited has alleged that the NNPC is indebted to it to the tune of over N16 billion and accused the DSS of attempt to criminalise a commercial dispute between the company and the corporation. According to a statement issued yesterday, the company described the incarceration of its Chairman, Ubah, by DSS as “unlawful, a disregard for the rule of law and a breach of Ubah’s fundamental right to liberty, freedom of movement and association.” The company also described the allegation of economic sabotage levelled against Ubah by the DSS as false, insisting that NNPC is indebted to it to the tune of over

N16 billion. Capital Oil listed the debts to include: $5,540,000 (N2.2billion) - berthing fees for NNPC vessels that called at the company’s Jetty; $2,952,555 (N1billion) -invoice for chartered vessels to carryout Shipto-Ship (STS) operations Lagos offshore to ferry petrol to storage at the request of NNPC since 2015; N1.170billion for throughput services from March to October 2016 and N3.146billion: payment made to NNPC for 26,820 million litres of petrol vide Pro-forma Invoice No. 53598, which is yet

to be delivered to Capital Oil. Other debts include: N2.0billion- payment to NNPC in April to facilitate the release of the Managing Director and engender reconciliation, which NNPC reneged on and N6.266billion- N0.80k and N0.40 Jetty Throughput charge on over seven billion litres dispensed for NNPC by Capital Oil. According to the statement by the company, an invitation was extended to Ubah on March 24, 2017, which he honoured as a law-abiding citizen, only to be

detained in DSS offices in Abuja for almost a month. “During that period a Fundamental Rights Enforcement Application was brought on behalf of Ubah at the Federal High Court Lagos as Suit No. FHC/L/C/487/2017. Although an order was made for his production in court in that action, rather than obey the order, DSS officers, using a combination of coercion and cajoling, constrained him to discontinue that action upon an understanding that he would be immediately released.

He was not released until over two weeks after he had complied and completely discontinued that action,” the company explained. The company added that upon Ubah’s release on April 13, 2017, it was discovered that during his incarceration, he had been coerced into executing various documents committing the company to make certain payments and pledge some assets to NNPC Retail Limited. According to the company, Ubah was also made to execute a document in favour of the Asset Management Corporation

of Nigeria (AMCON). “As soon as his doctors permitted access to him, an action was brought at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court seeking, inter alia, an order to restrain DSS and others from further inviting, arresting or threatening to arrest or detain him in regard to the NNPC/ NNPC Retail Limited matters. The processes originating the new action filed as Suit No. FHC/L/CS/644/2017, were served on the DSS on the 28th of April 2017,” the company said.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

COMMENT

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

A CONFUSED GENERATION A permissive sexual culture will give rise to gang rapes, argues Sonnie Ekwowusi

ast week one social media user by the name Michale Mathew alerted the public to what might have been a school gang-rape in which some students of Ireti Grammar School, South-West Ikoyi, Lagos were implicated. In case you missed the Michale sad story, let me briefly do a recap. Michale alleged that on May 4, 2017 she and her son encountered some students of Ireti Grammar School, Falomo, South-West Ikoyi, Lagos gang raping some students of Falomo Senior High School, Ikoyi, Lagos. The Ireti boys had earlier forcefully used scissors to rip off the skirts of the Falomo Senior High School girls before commencing their evil act. What shocked Mathew most was that the incident took place in a broad day light before a motley crowd of onlookers. As the gang rapes were going on in the various groups, some students of the school, Falomo Senior High School and other onlookers did not deem it fit to rescue the girl victims. Instead they were cheering the rapists. Anyway, the Lagos State Government has waded into the alleged rape incidents. At the time of writing, about four students of Ireti Grammar School had been arrested over the alleged rape even though some of the government officials are of the view that the offence committed might have been mere sexual assault and not gang rape. The above is not surprising. We willed them. We bargained for them. So we should not be seen to be complaining. As long as we continue to promote a permissive sexual culture we would continue to be overwhelmed by teenage gang rapes. Recall that on March 16, 2017 six students of the University of Lagos who allegedly gang-raped their 17-year-old female colleague were arraigned in court. Already cases of teenage rape are now rampart in most family courts in Lagos State. But the tragedy is not the frequent rape cases: the real tragedy is that there is no solution in sight to the rape cases. We are a confused lot. Ours is a generation that seems unable to differentiate sense from nonsense. On one hand, the people of our generation promote teen sexual liberation, but, on the other hand, they complain that teenage rape is rampart. A society reaps what it sows. If our school children are taught in open classroom that self-control is unnecessary, repressive and impossibility and that casual sex makes them feel good all in the name of sex education, how do we expect the students of Ireti Grammar to control themselves? If the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) sees nothing wrong in exposing Nigerian children to TV pornography (even when the NBC law forbids it) why condemn the misbehaviour of these students? If the federal government funds and promotes adolescent sexual reproductive right aimed at luring the Nigerian young into “safe-sex” or telling them that casual sex is their right and therefore they shouldn’t be ashamed to practice it even if the different cultures and religions teach otherwise, why are we surprised that some students of Ireti Grammar School are implicated in an alleged gang rape? A few years ago, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (which unfortunately has been authorised by the federal government to distribute condoms at NYSC Orientation Camps) went into the NYSC Orientation Camp in Lagos in the morning and distributed condoms to the hapless

INCLUSION WHICH HAS REMAINED ELUSIVE, MUST MEAN THAT HOPE RETURNS TO EVERY VILLAGE AND HUMAN SETTLEMENT IN EQUAL MEASURE. EACH WITH ITS FULL COMPLIMENT AS IT IS, WITH EVERY CELL OF THE HUMAN BODY

corpers there. Then, in the evening of the same day, a male corper and a female corper were caught by the NYSC security agents misbehaving with the condoms. The next day the NYSC Camp authorities met and expelled the two corpers from the camp. The logical question at that time was: If UNICEF gave the corpers the condoms, why expel the two corpers for misbehaving with the condoms? Point is we are the cause of the damage being done to our children. We are the architects of the destruction of our children. So, we cannot be seen to be complaining. Volenti non fit injuria (To the consenting, no harm is done). A youth is a property of a generation, a possession of humanity itself. It is in young people that the hope and optimism of tomorrow is better lived and nourished. Secondary school education, in particular, is the core foundation of the educational system. But regrettably the Nigerian youths are wasting away under the watch of Nigerian political leaders and Nigerian parents. To begin with, most public secondary schools in Nigeria are in complete ruin. The alleged gang rapes involving students of Ireti Grammar School, Ikoyi, Lagos attest to the ruin that has overtaken public schools in Nigeria. As we speak, the teachers of 11 Federal Government Colleges including King’s College, Lagos and Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos are on strike over non-payment of their four months salaries. The paradox is that the same government which complains that the school pupils lack character is complicit in the damaging of the character of school pupils. Why will the school pupils not lack character when the school is destroying their character? I remember now that a few years ago some teachers were hired and paid N20,000 each to move into public secondary schools in Nigeria and demonstrate to the students how to put on condoms with the aid of rubber penis and rubber vagina. So, you can see how deep we have sunk. We seem not realise that we have sunk so deep. In the past emphasis was placed on character-based education. Unfortunately today we are neglecting the character-based education despite the fact that many of the oldies were beneficiaries of a character-based educational system. The consequence of this gross negligence is that we are churning out school graduates who are rapists, armed robbers, kidnappers, ritualists, and so on. Therefore in the light of the alleged gang rape involving some students of Ireti Grammar School, Ikoyi, Lagos, the federal government should reassess its role in education. Is it not true that oftentimes government pretends that it can offer quality education when in fact it lacks the competence to do so? Government should be sincere about its commitment to education. It should know when to hand over the schools to private hands or to the missionaries which can run them competently. In educational formulation including drawing up school curricula and syllabi government should learn to seek the advice and collaboration of education experts. Since education, especially primary and secondary school education, is the most potent vehicle for integral development of any country, government should invest heavily in qaulity education in order to remedy the present tragedy which has befallen our education sector.

COMMUNICATING THE MESSAGE OF SANITATION

chieving and maintaining a cleaner Lagos is one of the priorities of the present administration. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has demonstrated, by words and actions, that he is committed to bringing this to reality. Lagos once had a reputation for being a very dirty and disorganised city. However, tailored and sustained efforts in this direction since 1999 had ensured that Lagos is no longer in the class of extremely dirty cities. However, there is still work to be done. In an article titled, Lagos Must be Clean, a policy analyst wrote that, “One striking feature of a capital city in any developed country is its cleanliness. There are no heaps of refuse. No abandoned broken down vehicles. No bloated dead bodies on the road. No suicidal beggars competing with moving vehicles and threatening to harm motorists who fail to give out alms. Unfortunately, this cannot be said of Lagos, which used to be the Nigerian capital, and a major entry port for visitors coming into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Other international capitals like London, Washington, Oslo, Dublin, Paris, etc., are beauties to behold because of their sparkling clean environments, which lead one to the question of how these capital cities manage to attain their cleanliness. The answer is simply that governments in those cities and countries pay painstaking attention to personal hygiene and have developed very effective waste disposal systems, right from individual households to the larger public space. While the efforts of the past and present administrations in the state to keep Lagos clean, in accordance with internal best practices in waste disposal, should not be lost on us, much still needs to be done to attain the level of cleanliness obtainable in other developed capitals across the world. There is no gainsaying the fact that the Ambode administration in Lagos State has made giant strides in achieving

Akintola Benson-Oke writes that a hygienic environment helps to stay fit

the Lagos of our dreams, not only in terms of a commercial hub that offers prosperity to everyone but also a cleaner megacity becoming more environmentally hygienic.” We understand that it is one thing to have a plan or policy in place but it is totally a different matter all together to have a strategy for communicating the import, nature, benefits, changes and opportunities inherent in the policy. The importance of communication in public administration cannot be over-emphasised. The University of Southern California made this observation in a publication: “Public administrators can be considered the link between the public and policymakers. To operate effectively, public administrators should consider the public’s desires and concerns. Good communication skills can help public administrators engage with members of the public in debates and discussions, and the issues raised during these exchanges can then be discussed with policymakers. While the policymakers may not always act exactly as the public would like, the public can feel satisfied that policy decisions occur when information flows freely….” The publication further noted at least three areas that emphasise the importance of communication in public administration: one, communication helps persuade decisionmakers to enact change. In other words, good communication takes the concepts developed by a public administrator and turns them into a reality. Good communication can be persuasive and powerful, not only imparting knowledge, but also turning the listener around to the speaker’s way of thinking.Two, communication helps disseminate information. Through the use of emergency management operations, government officials at all levels are responsible for keeping citizens safe and secure. As part of these operations, public administrators working in the government sector must communicate

with members of the public to ensure citizens know about imminent dangers and the recommended courses of action. For example, public administrators might use social media accounts, notify news outlets, and organise press conferences to inform citizens when they need to evacuate during an emergency or how to minimise the risk of contracting a serious illness during a public health crisis. Three, communication skills help public administrators work effectively with the media. Public administrators do not use the media only during times of crisis. Media outlets including newspapers, television and radio programmes, and Online media can be crucial for keeping the public informed about the issues that matter to them. Public administrators may act as media liaisons and spokespeople, ensuring that messages are transmitted during times of policy change and social upheaval, for example. Good communication skills are crucial when dealing with the media to ensure the message is accurate, informative, and presented in the way the entity that the public administrator represents intends. It may be helpful to call to mind why a cleaner city is very important. Indeed, while no one can possibly be in doubt as to the need for a clean environment, it helps to briefly discuss the most important of the benefits. The first and primary reason is for the better health of the residents and tourists. Hygienic environment helps us to stay fit and augurs for a longer, healthier life. The fact we all know is that mosquitoes, insects and flies carry a lot of germs and bacteria in them. They are the main transmitters of diseases like chicken pox, malaria and jaundice. We do know that these mosquitoes and pests are frequently attracted towards heaps of garbage and wastes. Also, a cleaner city is always a sure bet that it would attract more and more tourists from around the world. Historical buildings, iconic sites along

with cleanliness constitute the perfect combination to attract tourists and make for people to enjoy their holidays in the city. But garbage lying here and there would be a turn off for tourists as it would disappoint them. Avoidance of degradation is another benefit of a clean city. Plastic wastes and carry bags are the factors that degrade the quality of our environment. Nowadays, we find that plastic wastes enter into the stomach of animals along with other edibles, thus affecting their health which in turn affects the animal kingdom in a severe manner. We are also very well aware of the fact that many plastic wastes are non degradable, thus affect the environment. They lead to the degradation of the soil. Another benefit of keeping our cities clean is that it helps in maintaining a respectable ranking when cities are ranked. The ranking of cities is helpful in terms of employment and development opportunities. Multinational companies are attracted to set up their offices in the cities with good rankings. I am hopeful, that we will also understand and appreciate the strategy for communicating hard facts on environmental pollution such as those compiled by the “Do Something Project” as follows: pollution is one of the biggest global killers, affecting over 100 million people. That’s comparable to global diseases like malaria and HIV. In 1975, the National Academy of Sciences estimated that ocean-based sources, such as cargo ships and cruise liners had dumped 14 billion pounds of garbage into the ocean. Over one million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed by pollution every year. People who live in places with high levels of air pollutants have a 20% higher risk of death from lung cancer than people who live in less-polluted areas. Excerpts from a speech by the Lagos State Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pensions, Dr. Benson Oke

T H I S D AY •WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

EDITORIAL THE RELEASE OF 82 CHIBOK GIRLS

Cheering as it is, there is much more to do to restore order to the nation

ollowing the release of a new set of 82 abducted Chibok schoolgirls last weekend, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar spoke for many Nigerians when he said the development indicated what we could achieve as a nation when the people unite around a common cause. “Nigerians stood together as a people with a purpose to free these girls,” he said. “Despite the many setbacks, the government, civil society and the citizens all stood together, and today, we are enjoying this victory as a people”. While we rejoice with the families of the freed girls and indeed all Nigerians, we must commend President Muhammadu Buhari whose efforts are yielding results. We also join in congratulating the leadership of the Directorate of Security Services (DSS) and the military, the Swiss government and the International Red Cross for the synergy of efforts that led to the release of these girls. We thank the various civil society groups, especially the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement, THE CHALLENGE OF THIS for their persistence PLEASANT OUTCOME and pressure on the IS TO DEEPEN THE federal government ENGAGEMENT PROCESS and the international IN ORDER TO SECURE community. FREEDOM FOR THE REST Since the violent abduction of more OF THE GIRLS than 200 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok by Boko Haram terrorists in April 2014, their plight has remained a major global concern. And in the last three years, options in the effort to rescue them had ranged from outright military action to futile negotiations and fraudulent prisoner swap deals. Not until October last year when there was a breakthrough with the release of the first batch of 21 girls. The latest outcome clearly indicated that with the

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HATS OFF TO OKONJO-IWEALA

n January of this year, there was a lot of talk about the ghostworkers syndrome in the country with some depressing figures reeled out detailing how much the government had lost paying salaries to phantom employees. Naturally, after a while, the stories died down and everything returned to ‘normal’. Then, recently, it was all over the news that the Nigerian Army was one of the next bodies to have their data uploaded on the almighty IPPIS and the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeoshun, expressed optimism that this would further bring down the current payroll allocation as exact figures of active personnel would be discovered. One need not be an economist to understand how money works. Every coin has two sides, the same with every economy. And what the government is trying to do is to work from both sides of the coin; increase revenue and decrease spending - in this case by blocking leakages. The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), is one of two initiatives introduced by former finance minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, which have helped to do just that. Since the introduction of IPPIS, more ghostworkers have been discovered than any other time in our national history. This is just one of the ways government can streamline its spending. The second is the Treasury Single

right mix of force, there is hope for the remaining abducted girls. With significant effort by major international partners, the negotiations that have seen to the return of more than a hundred of the girls in the last six months were indicative of a resolve by the Buhari administration to end the Boko Haram insurgency. The challenge of this pleasant outcome is to deepen the engagement process in order to secure freedom for the rest of the girls and all the other hostages of Boko Haram. However, the peace and victory which Nigerians seek today is a comprehensive one and on all fronts. That is why the Buhari administration must leverage on the success of the ongoing process regarding the release of the abducted Chibok girls to pursue a comprehensive peace and resolution of all other pressures and conflicts around the country. As things stand, there are by far too many divisive forces at play in the nation today. In the Niger Delta, in the South-east, and the urban and semi-urban areas of the nation, militant forces and separatist pressures have continued to multiply. When all these are combined with the scourge of the Boko Haram sectarian upheaval in the North-east, we are confronted with a picture of a nation at war with itself. It is therefore our hope that the federal government will exploit this opening to pursue a comprehensive peace process that will give comfort to all Nigerians regardless of ethnicity or religion. The message is clear: In order to advance national goals and begin to resolve the myriad economic and social issues that currently besiege the country, we need peace in Nigeria. Dialogue with critical stakeholders will help to blunt the swords of war and heal the various wounds that afflict the nation. More than at any period in history, we need an inclusive solution to the divisive violence that has plagued our land in order that all Nigerians can join hands to harness their potential for the development of our country.

Account (TSA) which allows government, MDAs, and parastatals to warehouse their funds in a single account as opposed to what obtained in the past. In addition to launching the IPPIS and TSA, Dr Okonjo-Iweala also started the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC), Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), operationalised the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), and pushed Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). Coupled with these, she led the Economic Management Team (EMT). This was the internationally endorsed economic team that was saddled with the responsibility of bringing down Nigeria’s huge debt portfolio. Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s team was able to see to the wiping out of US$30 billion of Nigeria’s debt, including the outright cancellation of US$18 billion which President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his memoirs, admitted would not have been achieved without her influence and hard work. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has always believed in systems and institutions as the best weapon against the challenges faced in Nigeria, by Nigerians and she has always said as much. No wonder she spent her years in service ensuring that these institutions were set in place to give the nation an opportunity for a better future. Uwa Eghomeka, Benin, Edo State

LAI MOHAMMED, CLEANINESS AND PARADISE

significant segment of Nigerians hopes to go Paradise when they die. They are told every passing day that the streets of this Paradise are paved with gold and that there are plethora of luxury items to be enjoyed at will just by the dint of sheer desire. The conclusion that can be drawn here is that Paradise is one extremely neat and very, very clean abode. Disappointingly, those residents here on Earth who strongly desire to go to Paradise are not doing enough preparation in terms of personal hygiene and general cleanliness; how can anyone desire to go to a place paved with gold macadam whilst they do open defecation with carefree abandon? Other than open defecation on roadways and backyards, they do not properly dispose of their refuse and raw sewage, and they are constantly beset by fly and vermin infestations. There is obviously a big contradiction here, no doubt about it.

Without telling anyone to quit believing in the promises of their religion, the federal government through the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, could initiate a win-win public awareness campaign whereby Mr. Lai Mohammed would constantly remind his compatriots that it does make a iota of common sense to do even a modicum of preparation for Paradise and to even experiment with enjoying some of the promised luxuries (good food, especially) while still on Earth so that the shock of transiting from abject wretchedness to absolute luxury would not cause the new entrant of Paradise awkward moments. Taken seriously, this campaign would promote good hygiene across Nigeria and ultimately improve quality of life and save the federal government vast sums of money in emergency healthcare response (the recent meningitis crisis is just but a case in point). Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of

Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

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

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING

The Chiboks Girls’ Narrative

For the first time, the federal government admitted swapping detained Boko Haram suspects for the release of 82 Chibok Secondary School Girls. This sudden admission belies previous positions that nothing was given in return for the release of the girls in the past, writes Tobi Soniyi

unday morning, Nigerians woke up to the cheering news that 82 out of the 276 abducted Chiboks Secondary School Girls have been released by their captors. The girls were kidnapped in April 2014. Apart from this being the single largest release made so far, there is also something different about the development. It is the first time government would be bold enough to admit that detained Boko Haram suspects were released in exchange for the girls. That is a radical departure from the past when government maintained that nothing was conceded to the terrorists for the release of the girls. A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu announcing the release of the girls reads: “The president is pleased to announce that negotiations to release more of the Chibok Girls have born fruitful with the release of 82 more girls today. “After months of patient negotiations, our security agencies have taken back these abducted girls in exchange for some Boko Haram suspects held by the authorities. “The girls are due tomorrow in Abuja to be received by the President. “The president expressed his deep gratitude to security agencies, the military, the government of Switzerland, the Red Cross, local and international NGOs for the success of this operation. “It may be recalled that when the first batch of 21 girls were released in October last year,the president directed the security agencies to continue in earnest until all the Chibok girls have been released and reunited with their families. “The president has been receiving full reports from the Director-General of the State Security Services at each stage of the negotiation.” In October 2016 when 21 of the girls were released, government dismissed claims that something was given to Boko Haram before the terrorist group released those girls. Rather than come clean, government said that the release of the girls was, “the product of painstaking negotiations and trust on both sides.” Trust from Boko Haram! That sounded stranger than fiction. Despite leaks from those who took part in the negotiations that some members of the terrorists group were released and that cash was also given, the government insisted nothing was given in return. The release of the 21 girls was followed by a sudden increase in attacks by the terrorist group. This led to a convenient explanation that the group was using the ransom it collected from government to buy weapons to boost its capacity to unleash attacks. This, was however denied by government. Although, the Department of State Security Services was believed to have coordinated the release of the girls, it was the military that issued the denial. In November last year, the military spokesperson, Rabe Abubakar, issued this statement: “The attention of Defence Headquarters (DHQ), has been drawn to a news story alleging that ransom was paid by the government in exchange for the recently released of 21 of the abducted Chibok girls. This unsubstantiated story, to say the least, is quite unfortunate. It is important to recall here that several statements have been issued by the military high command to clarify the issue surrounding the release of the girls, which the whole world applauded. It is therefore

The president and his deputy with the 21 Chibok Girls rescued in October last year

worrisome that some sections of the media continue to undermine this modest effort of the government, security agencies and other stakeholders. It is imperative to state categorically

Six months after, the authority is getting clever. Rather than leave the issue in the realm of speculation, it thought it wise to volunteer the information that some members of the terrorist group were released in exchange for the girls. It however stopped short of telling Nigerians how many of them were released in exchange for the 82 girls. Was cash given in addition to the release of arrested Boko Haram members? This and other questions certainly deserve answers because they have implication for the peace and security of the country

that the sponsors of this media campaign have a hidden agenda which is best known to them. The military and other security agencies will not be distracted and would remain focussed in achieving its objectives in the North East. The important thing is that the release has been made and circumstances surrounding this effort should not be a matter of controversy so as not to overheat the polity and jeopardising the ongoing efforts to secure the release of the remaining girls and other innocent citizens still in captivity of the terrorists. “The insinuations that ransom was paid to the terrorists which the terrorists used to escalate the recent attacks in the North East is completely false and imagination of the author. The general public should therefore dis countenance it in its entirety.” Six months after, the authority is getting clever. Rather than leave the issue in the realm of speculation, it thought it wise to volunteer the information that some members of the terrorist group were released in exchange for the girls. It however stopped short of telling Nigerians how many of them were released in exchange for the 82 girls. Was cash given in addition to the release of arrested Boko Haram members? This and other questions certainly deserve answers because they have implication for the peace and security of the country. Despite efforts by the government, the story of the girls continued to be shrouded in mystery. Many Nigerians remained the unconvinced. Not entirely their efforts. The faults lie squarely with government. Those in government beginning from the time the girls were kidnapped till now continued to do a poor job managing the information. Three years after the girls were kidnapped, people were almost given up hopes for their

release. But a group, the BringBackOurGrils campaign refused to give up. At a time, the Muhammadu Buhari-led government considered the group a nuisance and did it best to rubbish members of the group. But the group persisted and refused to be intimidated. The group had suffered similar treatment in the hands of the Goodluk Jonathan-led government. But it the perseverance of the group that brought the kidnapped girls into international limelight with Michele, Obama, wife of the then President of the United States joining the campaign. Reacting to the news of the release of the 82 girls, a member of the group, Bukky Shonibare said: “This is a very, very exciting news for us that we have over 80 of our girls coming back again. Their life in captivity has been one that depicts suffering, it depicts the fact that they have been starved, abused, and as we have seen before some of those girls have come back with children, and some of them have also come back with news of how they have been sexually abused.” Stephanie Busari was on point while reacting to the release of the 82 girls. Using her twitter handle @StephanieBusari she said: “I salute the resilience and steadfastness of the @BBOG_Nigeria led by the formidable Oby Ezekwesili along with others like Bukky Shonibare and Aisha Yesufu. Continuing, she said, “They have been shamed, ridiculed and insulted for three years, yet they persisted with almost daily protests and became a thorn in the side of people who would rather the Chibok girls were forgotten. But for them, these girls would have become postscripts in Nigeria’s long list of terrible tragedies.” About a hundred girls still remain in captivity. Hopefully, government will double its efforts to free them.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

THE NEWSMAKER

MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Umahi’s Historic Visit to Abia The recent visit of the Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi to neighbouring Abia State, where he had a conducted tour of projects embarked upon by his host, Okezie Ikpeazu reveals that there is a lot governors can learn from one another, if only they are humble enough to understand that nobody has a monopoly of knowledge, writes Benjamin Nworie

fter a three-day working visit of Ebonyi state governor, David Umahi to Abia state, the host governor, Okezie Ikpeazu declared that Umahi is the wisest governor in Nigeria. The mission of the visit is quite result-oriented, revealing and memorable. The visit is the first of its kind especially to be recorded for Ebonyi state, for a governor to interface with his colleague on the best way to drive the economy. The visit, observers hinted, has shown that Umahi is not only wise but humbly committed to uplifting the welfare of the people of his state and the development of all the critical sectors of the economy in his state. Testimonies of the people have indicated that Umahi has displayed enough wisdom in the services of his state since he came to power. On May 4 2015, Umahi led a strong delegation, made up of some of his cabinet members, leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and other relevant stakeholders to Abia state on the visit where he was hosted by his Abia state counterpart. The visit afforded Umahi and his entourage the opportunity to inspect some of the ongoing projects in the state. When Ikpeazu first visited Ebonyi to observe Umahi’s administration construction of three long flyovers at the same time, some ill-informed members of the opposition parties in Abia state picked hole in the visit and described it as shameful for Abia state and its citizens to look to Ebonyi state for development strategies. The decision of Umahi to return the gesture by visiting Abia to see first hand how Ikpeazu was carrying on should be a welcome development for critics who believed that Ebonyi should be looking forward to Abia for developmental purposes. But the critics are missing the point: Umahi’s visit to Ikpeazu leaves big and memorable lessons to other governors and leaders to always interface and exchange ideas to move their states. For those wondering why the exchange between the governors is important, Umahi has answer for them: it is a peer review mechanism. He said the opportunity provided him with the opportunity to tap into the ingenuity of the Abia state governor in e-governance, especially in the area of commerce and industry. While receiving his visitor, Ikpeazu said “Umahi is a very wise man. To me, his is the wisest governor in this country. I believe there is more to learn from Ebonyi than what Ebonyi would learn from us. I know a few months ago when we were conceptualizing Osisi Oma interchange, I went to him and was bold to inform the Nigerian public that I went to Ebonyi to learn how to donbridges because Governor Umahi is doing three flyovers at the same time. “He took me out and we were standing at the projects sites until 7pm. Beyond that with his long hands, he wrote dimensions of the bridges, concrete mix and what I should expect contractor to do. Infact, I went to school and I came back with notes. Today, to the glory of God, that project is ongoing.” Since Umahi assumed office, he has placed his campaign promises above party politics. The defeat of the former president, Goodluck Jonathan in a way rattled him like other PDP faithful because of its implication for the the government and people of Ebonyi state. Ebonyi state has existed on the paltry federal allocation and crumbs of internally generated revenue to carter for all the needs of the people. The situation called for a display of uncommon wisdom by aligning with the federal government for support and other assistance, rather than play opposition politics with the fortunes of the people. This, according to Umahi was why he was among the first governors elected under the PDP platform to show solidarity and love to the president, Muhammadu Buhari. Umahi’s visit to Buhari was misunderstood in some quarters, as a ploy to perfect his defection to the ruling APC. Rumours had it that his

Umahi....see nothing wrong in governor’s learning from his colleagues

romance with the Presidency was to enable him use the APC platform for his re-election. Notwithstanding these criticisms and suspicion Umahi continued to praise Buhari’s government. He remained focus on his mission which is to get the federal government’s support for the state. The governor maintained that he was elected to do the work of government while party leaders should concentrate on the business of party politics and game. At many fora, Umahi noted that he would not gamble or play politics with the future or fortunes of Ebonyi people and that was why he has consistently said that individual rather than party politics would play prominent role in Ebonyi’s choice of Presidency in 2019. Umahi has maintained that Buhari’s government has been beneficial to his people and it would be ungrateful of him to play opposition with the federal government. Umahi’s position has paid off handsomely in his agricultural revolution, especially in rice production with federal government supports to boost food sufficiency in the state. To domesticate the success stories of Abia state government in his state, Umahi said “we are here to tap your ingenuity in commerce, your ingenuity in internal revenue mobilization, your ingenuity in governance, your ingenuity in peace and e-governance you have deployed in the state. We want to know how to make these. You must teach us how to make these. That is why we are here. We came with people who are into shoe making, people who are into cloth making, leadership of our market associations. “I tell people that care to know that when it comes to governor and president of the country, there is no politics. The President is the only boss we have and the President has supported your state, has supported my state. So, we have no reason not to support him. Party politics is a different ball game. I believe that our party leaders should play politics while we do the work of government.” He said that through these measures, his state has been transformed in less than three years of his administration. Much of the Ebonyi success stories are in the area of road construction, bridges, urban renewal, security, workers welfare and other sectors. All the sectors have benefitted from

Ikpeazu... glad to learn from Umahi

the government. Many visitors to Ebonyi state have always praised the ingenuity of Umahi’s administration in uplifting and advancing the ecstatic quality of the Abakaliki capital city. Less than one year of his administration, Umahi embarked on streets light projects and construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of all urban roads which at that time were deplorable and badly damaged. The refuse dumps which had overtaken major streets and junctions in the capital city were tackled with much resilience and commitment by his government. It is to the governor’s credit that Ebonyi state capital ranks as one of the neatest state capitals in the country. The water fountains and adoring lightings are another tourism sites to behold. Meanwhile, it also worries Umahi that most of the hawkers at the major cities in the country are from his state. To correct this, he introduced empowerment programmes where over 4000 youths were selected and given N250, 000 each to start small scale businesses. The governor also understood the point that, no development in the state would translate into much to the people, who are predominantly civil servants without improving workers’ welfare and other packages. Notably, the May Day celebration by workers in Ebonyi state always turned out to be the most excited moment in the life of workers in the state. The workers love him too. They were full of excitement and jubilation that the governor had virtually approved and granted all their demands and ordered immediate implementation. Umahi not only increased the workers’ salaries by 5 percent, he also introduced the payment of 13th month salary to workers. He also suspended the new Ebonyi Pension Law and ordered for the immediate refund of all deductions made from workers salaries since the advent of the law in the state. The pension bill since signed into law had generated controversies and mixed reactions from the organized labour which maintained that the ratio of five percent and eight percent by employer and employee respectively contravenes the provision of the Pension Reform Act (2004) as amended which pegs the ratio at a minimum of ten percent employer and eight

percent employee. The governor also approved N1 billion One to pay gratuities for local government and state workers for the month of May. According to him “In the month of May, we shall be releasing the sum of N500m for local government gratuity. And state gratuity will get another N500m.” He pledged to give union leaders a free hand to come up with another, stressing that he would not interfere with whatever resolutions the labour union come up with. He said “I am going to address all the problems of workers today. In the past because of deceit, it appears workers are at logger heads with government. Workers are government, government is workers. There is no government without workers. You are the platform upon which government is laid. “By your popular request, we are going to suspend the pension law and all your desires will be taken into considerations. In the month of May, by 15th, every deduction,made in respect of the pension law will be refunded back to you. Since we have two pension boards for local government and state and we have very hardworking leadership of organized labour, it will be your duty to seat down and articulate what you will like the pension law to be. I will not interfere”. “You will be the one to tell us when the law should come into effect. Any moment it’s convenient for workers, we will now approach the house of assembly. But we will continue to pay pension to our senior citizens”, the governor declared. The labour crisis reached a crescendo during the past administration of Chief Martin Elechi over demand for the implementation of the N18, 000 minimum wage. The organized labour battled, Elechi’s administration throughout his eight years in office, to press home the demand for the wage. The crisis spilled over to Umahi’s administration with Elechi’s surremptious approval of 50 percent increase in workers’ salaries at the twilight of his administration. Umahi saw the decision as a plot to destabilize his government and an opportunity to nail him and plant perpetuatelabour crisis, knowing that the allocation of the state could not sustain the payment of 50 percent increment.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

FEATURES

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

‘We Can Fly, If Given Wings’ Peace Obi, who was at the UNILAG 2016 Convocation Exhibition came across some talented, zealous and creative students of the institution who have a vision to build automobiles that can serve today's and future generations' demands to meet the changing ecosystem

L-R: Emmanuel Chukwuma, Qudus Adegbuji and Reuben Akande, standing with the two vehicles under construction Auto Deluxe or Urban Concept and Autonov 3 at the UNILAG 2016 Convocation Exhibition

he University of Lagos 2016 Convocation Exhibition booth for the Engineering Department turned out to be a speed limiting spot for most visitors. Standing out among others on the exhibition arena, were two vehicles under construction. Obviously too unique to be ignored, guests and visitors made a brief stopover to catch a glimpse of the structures as well as have a few words with the team behind the creation. Though found in a university environment, which ought to be home of innovation and creativity, yet, people gazed at the structures with some kind of awe in their eyes. Although some others expressed their delight at the institution's departure from theory-centered education to a practical presentation of theories and ideas by UNILAG students. To many at the exhibition site, the handiwork of the students was actually saying, "Trust us, we can do even better, if given the opportunity, support and enabling environment. Nigeria does not necessarily have to depend on other countries for her automobiles and many of such things she spends her hard earned foreign exchange on. Trust us, we can fly, if given the wing and we really can go far. All we ask is a helping hand.” To the observers, it was once again, a confirmation to the fact that Nigeria has in her youth population, what it takes to remain great among the comity of nations. Thus, pointing to the need for all stakeholders at different levels and sectors to step up their commitment to manpower development, capacity building as part of the deliberate efforts in ploughing back into the Nigeria economy for recovery and growth. Inspired by Shell Eco-Marathon Competition To the students, what was on display, was but one out of their numerous brilliant, creative and innovative designs begging for expression. And this might not be any difference from what is obtainable in similar departments in various tertiary institutions across the country. Speaking with a member of the team, Mr. Qudus

Adegbuji, a 500 level student of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, he gave the name of the team behind the car construction as ‘Shell Eco-Marathon Team UNILAG. Adegbuji noted that while the cars are displayed on the Engineering Department's booth, members of the team are drawn from different departments like creative Art, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Economics, Chemical Engineering, Law, among others. According to Adegbuji, the team came into being as a response to a competition organised by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) in 2012 that required students to build fuel efficiency car. "We were inspired by a competition organised by SPDC called ‘Shell Eco-Marathon’. The aim was for students to design energy efficiency cars. So that was what led to forming the team and what we have here today. This is our second car, we have the first one. We are working on this at the moment, the Urban Concept. And we still have some

After our success in building this car, we want to do a synergy of both concepts, that is a car that has near zero emission but with components of an urban car that can be used on Nigerian roads. I think if we are able to achieve that, we will be able to reduce the level of pollution in Nigerian environment and also build economical cars that will meet the needs of our people

designs we need to work on and exhibit. Enumerating some of the benefits of a fuel efficient vehicle, Adegbuji noted that it would be useful in any part of the world. And that Nigerians would find it helpful as it reduces the cost of fuel to the barest minimum. "The fuel efficient car will be very useful here in Nigeria because a litre of fuel now sells for N145. And if this comes on the road, with barely N100 fuel, you can actually get to Ibadan. So with cars of this nature, you can be sure of saving cost of fuel because it does not consume fuel like others."

engine - Internal Combustion engine; four tyres like any normal car, with doors. And that it is also going to have telemetry system like radio, navigation system, among others. "The Shell competition actually challenged students to build energy efficient cars. When we set out for the competition, our main objective was to build a car that will have zero emission of gas. And so, for our first car, we went for an electrical battery. After working on the prototype for two years, we now want to work on an Urban Concept, that is the common car you see outside there,” he explained.

Boasts to make Nigeria self-sufficient in automobiles Speaking further Adegbuji enthused that "If government can provide the necessary equipment, we can produce more because we have the human resources. And for the materials, we used fibre glass, it is not manufactured here in Nigeria. Though we bought it from the local market here but we don’t produce it here, they are imported. The motor controller is also not made here. So, if we have all these materials made available here, a lot can be achieved. Our team got this done within six months, with a rough cost estimate of N1.2m,” he said.

A new concept for Nigeria and the world Speaking further Akande hinted, "After our success in building this car, we want to do a synergy of both concepts, that is a car that has near zero emission but with components of an urban car that can be used on Nigerian roads. I think if we are able to achieve that, we will be able to reduce the level of pollution in Nigerian environment and also build economical cars that will meet the needs of our people. At the moment we are working on the prototype and if we succeed, we may ask the industry to produce it en mass for us because the prototype is usually more expensive." Stressing how the oil company spurred them into a journey of no looking back, Akande explained, "When we started the competition, SPDC was sponsoring us. They gave us the fund we worked with and even in traveling for the competition. They stirred up the zeal in us through the competition but right now, we don't have their sponsorship rather we are being sponsored by our school. But that is not enough. We need sponsorships from corporate organisations and well meaning Nigerians. "Like when we went to South Africa, in a stand for a team, you can see about five logos of different companies, showing the various organisations they have their support and sponsorship. Those ones have both financial and technical support. For us to go far in this project, we really need support from individuals, corporate organisations

Autonov 3 and the Urban Concept Explaining further on the two different concepts on display, another member of the team and a final year student of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Mr. Reuben Akande, said that the Autonov 3 is a prototype vehicle. According to him, it is a futuristic kind of vehicle. "It is the sports car kind of concept. It is a one-seater, three-tyre vehicle that runs on battery-electric. It runs on 120.1KM/KWh; that is like traveling from Lagos to Ibadan on N12.54 worth of electricity.” In preparation for the 2017 competition and in way that suggests the team is never in lack of creative and innovative ideas, they came up with the Auto Deluxe or Urban Concept. Noting that the urban concept is a design of a normal car, Akande said that it was going to run on IC

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

FEATURES and government, but more importantly from the industries. The gap between the industry and the university is so wide. In fact, if there can be a go between industry and the university, I think it will really help engineering students,” he noted. Encouraging students to actually experience engineering And for another final year student, Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, it is his team's desire to sustain the vision as well as the project. For this team member, part of what will give him joy even after leaving UNILAG would be seeing Shell Eco-Marathon Team UNILAG continue with greater achievements. According to him, "we want this project to be an avenue for engineering students to actually experience engineering because this project has been able to train us, the engineering students in project management, product development, process evaluation. With this, we have been able to plan, design, build and run. "So, because we have been able to actualise this, we do not want this competition to die. And that is why we are appealing to well-meaning individuals, corporate organisations and even the government to support us in any way they can. For example, we want to reduce the car's weight in terms of increasing the energy efficiency, we need fibre, which is a very innovative material used in energy efficient cars today. So, we need both financial and material support like carbon, fibre, fabrication, machining, technical assistance, even moral support and any form of support is very much welcomed,” he stressed. Engineering as future of every country Caught up by the power of vision, Chukwuma disclosed that given the knowledge acquired from the project and the possibilities of birthing newer discoveries, there is no looking back. And that even after handing over the baton to their successors, they would want the Shell Eco-Marathon Team UNILAG continue to lift the institution's flag high. "This project has been able to imbibe energy efficiency in us, the young engineers. That was the aim of the competition when it started. We competed with other universities in Netherlands, 2014 and South Africa in 2015. "Due to financial constraints, we are shaky in terms of delivering the project for future competitions. So, that is why we are also appealing for sponsorship because much depends on the sponsorship we can get. And for us as a team, we are not relenting. We want to do an all out energy efficiency phase. There are a lot of opportunities in renewable energy, there are a lot of opportunities in energy efficiency from biomass to alternative fuel for combustion engines, for IC engines and for different things. We are looking at all of these." In his appeal, Chukwuma said, "Please support engineering discipline because engineering is the future of every country. Support young people and support the competition. The competition is an annual event, this year's competition will hold in South Africa in October. We are also getting ready. Like now, we are done with the design phase, the implementation phase has also started where we have the frame work and the body work, we also have an engine but the seat, the telemetry unit, ECU, injection system, we need more support to complete the work,” Chukwuma appealed. According to the Coordinator of the team, Professor Ike Mowete, the concept of fuel efficiency is always a welcomed one. Adding that it does not only reduce ones fuel bill, it also

Experience tells us that if given the wings the youths can actually fly. We may not get results overnight but history tells us that if we are patient enough, we will always get results. If we invest in research, especially with the younger ones - they are very adventurous, we will always get results with right guidance

Visitors admiring the Autonov 3 on display

The Autonov 3

helps control pollution. In his words, Mowete said, "It is something that would always be considered useful. Experience tells us that if given the wings the youths can actually fly. We may not get results overnight but history tells us that if we are patient enough, we will always get results. If we invest in research, especially with the younger ones - they are very adventurous, we will always get results with right guidance.” UNILAG management behind the team And as part of the ways to keep the students' adventurous spirit alive, the university don said, "We will keep inviting ideas from them. We will always encourage them to participate in such international competitions where they meet youths from different parts of the world so that they can see that they have the same skin as these ones and that the difference is just the environmental set up. Such opportunity boosts their confidence. One of our students that went to Netherlands found out that whereas some teams from Europe couldn't get on track, but we from Africa, first timers for that matter were able to get on track." Disclosing his confidence in UNILAG's preparedness to nurture yet more great scientists and engineers that would impact the society

greatly, he said that the institution has been renowned for its enviable products making waves in different sectors and in different parts of the world. And describing himself as an incurable optimist, Mowete said that, "of course, from past experience, I have been teaching for close to 40 years, I know we have the potential, it is just a matter of how to harness them." Our challenges and call for sponsorship Speaking further, Mowete noted that the Eco-Marathon is an annual event that holds in Europe and Africa that requires students to build the best car in fuel efficiency - that can go the most miles with the least volume of fuel. "When we started, we had funding support from SPDC and Joint Ventures Partner. But when the economy took a downturn, they couldn't continue but we like the idea and we are very impressive of what our students could do and we have resolved to continue with the competition." The team, left with its school management as the major sponsor, Mowete said that the support from the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rahmon Bello has been tremendous. And that but for visa difficulty, that hindered the team's participation in 2016 edition, the VC actually provided the team with transport and logistics expenses. "Our Vice-Chancellor has been very supportive. He is

particularly interested in the project. And you know he is a Chemical Engineer, that explains why he is interested in our various ventures. Beyond that, it is very fulfilling to find young men and women of talent building something from the scratch, from the drawing board to hardware. We feel very impressed and is very gratifying,” he said. Enumerating some of the team's challenges, he said, "the students of course have to combine working on the car with their academic responsibilities, that has not been easy but they are enthusiastic. The car displayed during the convocation exhibition is about 75 per cent built up and we hope to enter it for the competition in Johannesburg in October. We have just a few promises of funding support. The promises have not been fulfilled. We are hoping to get more funding support. “We have already registered to participate in Johannesburg event in October and we are hopeful to get enough funding to complete the car so we can enter it. For every competition, we build a new car because quite many of them would have graduated, so we bring in new students every year. We try to catch them as early as possible so that those who show interest and are enthusiastic will remain with the team,” Mowete said.

IMAGES

L-R: Head of Administration, Apapa Local Government Council, Prince Sunday Olujobi; Chairman, All Progressive Congress(APC), Apapa, Alh. Fatai Samni; Sole Adninistrator, Apapa Local Government Council, Hon. Luqman Babatunde Alao; Director General, Centre For Democratic Governance in Africa (CDGA), Dr. Dafe Akpocha; and Executive Director, Legal Services, CDGA, Mr. Phillip Ehighale, at the conferment of distinguished gold service award to Hon. Luqman Alao as the best sole administrator by CDGA in Lagos...recently etop ukutt

L-R National President, Association of Nigerian Physicians n the Americas, Dr. Johnson Adeyanju; National President, Junior Chamber International Nigeria, JCI Senator Richard Ojo and Chairman, Medical Mission,Dr. Babajide Bamigboye, during the free medical mission by the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas and Junior Chamber International Nigeria in Lagos...recently

Chairman, Lagos State Chapter, NIPR, Mr. Olusegun Mcmedal (left) and Chief Consultant/CEO, TPT lnternational, mr. Tokunbo Modupe during a media briefing by the Lagos NIPR on the forthcoming Lagos Public Relations Week in Lagos...recently Abiodun Ajala

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

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

L-R; General Overseer, Rehoboth Christian Centre, Pastor Douglas Vincent; Group Head, Corporate Affairs, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Diran Olojo; Traditional Ruler of Usung Urua-Adong Orok, Chief Effiong Andong and Special Adviser to Governor of Cross River State on Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Betta Edu, during the community outreach programme for the FCMB sponsored Priceless Gift of Sight free eye screening and surgery, in partnership with Tulsi Chanrai Foundation, in Calalabr, Cross River State...recently

L-R: Executive Director Commercial, NASCON Allied Industries Plc, Fatima Dangote; Managing Director, Paul Farrer; and the Company’s Chairperson, ‘Yemisi Ayeni at the Annual General Meeting of the Company in Lagos… recently SUNDAY ADIGUN

L-R His Royal Highness Alh. Abdulmuminu Kabir Usman, Emir of Katsina and Chairman Nigerian Polo Federation receiving gift from Haroun Malami Head, corporate communications of Peugeot automobile sponsors of the just concluded Zaria Polo tournament in Zaria...recently

L-R: DMD, Wema Bank, Ademola Adebise; MD/CEO, Siemens Limited, Onyeche Tifase; Former Communication Technology Minister and Partner TLcom Capital LLP, Omobola Johnson; Group Chief HR Officer, Dangote Group, Usen Udoh; GM Customer Enablement Enterprise Business Unit, MTN Nigeria, Ladipo Nylander and MD Technology, Accenture Niyi Tayo, at the unveiling of Accenture Technology Vision 2017 in Lagos...recently.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

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* *AS AT LAST FRIDAY

Quick Takes FMDQ Wins Financial Markets Award

In recognition of the contributions made by FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange to the development of the Nigerian financial markets, the OTC Securities Exchange bagged the ‘Most Innovative in Financial Markets’ award at the first BusinessDay Top 25 Most Innovative Companies & Institutions in Nigeria Awards 2017, held recently. BusinessDay Media acknowledged that FMDQ’s visionary stride in pioneering and successfully operating the Naira-settled OTC FX Futures Market; the FMDQ Academy; the Debt Capital Market Development (DCMD) project; amongst others; has provided ground-breaking advancements that have resulted, in no small measure, in commercial and socio-economic impact, as well as value creation for Nigeria.“As an innovation-driven OTC Securities Exchange, this award validates FMDQ’s efforts in transforming the Nigerian financial markets through product and market innovation. Determined not to rest on its laurels, FMDQ will continue to challenge the norm and explore new frontiers in fulfillment of its mission to empower the financial markets to be innovative and credible, in support of the Nigerian economy,” a statement from the Exchange said.

ACCI Appoints Ekechukwu DG

CONGRATULATIONS

L-R: Associate Partner, Jobberman Consulting, Gbenga Totoyi; Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Jobberman Consulting, Olalekan Olude; Executive Director, Technology and Services, Union Bank, Nath Ude and Head, Human Resources, Union Bank, Miyen Swomen, at an award presentation ceremony which held at the Union Bank Head Office in Lagos

Inflation Rate Predicted to Reduce Further in April Obinna Chima The year-on-year inflation rate has been predicted to drop further in April. According to analysts at FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is anticipated to drop to 17.11 per cent in April, from the 17.26 per cent recorded in the month of March 2017. FSDH Merchant, which stated this in its latest inflation forecast noted that although it noticed increases in the prices of food and non-food classification for the fourth consecutive month, the base effect in the CCPI in April 2016 will be responsible for the drop in the inflation rate. Based on the data release calendar on the National

ECONOMY Bureau of Statistics (NBS) website, the bureau is expected to release the inflation rate for the month of April 2017 next week. “Our analysis indicates that the value of the naira appreciated at the inter-bank market, while it depreciated at the parallel market. The naira gained by 0.16 per cent at the inter-bank market to close at US$/N305.85 while it lost 0.25 per cent at the parallel market to close at US$/N396 at the end of April. “The fall in the international prices of food helped to counter the effect of the depreciation in the value of the naira at the parallel market. The ap-

preciation of the naira in the inter-bank market and the drop in the prices of food at the international market led to a moderation in the prices of consumer goods in Nigeria,” the firm added. It further stated that its model indicated that the general price movements in the consumer goods and services in April 2017 would increase the Composite Consumer Price Index (CCPI) to 226.01 points, representing a month-on-month increase of 1.48 per cent. Similarly, the Economic Intelligence Group of Access Bank Plc has estimated that inflation rate (year-on-year) to trend downwards. But the bank in a report predicted 17.05 per cent in April 2017, from the 17.3 per cent posted in March

2017. “As usual, our methodology adopts an autoregressive analysis of past prices, while it recognises all the assumptions used by the NBS in its computation of monthly CCPI. The expected moderation in inflation is chiefly attributable to an anticipated downward movement in the food and core sub-indexes. “Price movements for major commodity groups in the food basket, which makes up over half of the CPI basket, remained muted in April. Based on an independent survey, vegetable oils, rice, and flour trended downwards, while the price of garri, potatoes and noodles Continued on page 24

Savings Bonds: DMO Woos Retail Investors with High Coupon Goddy Egene In an apparent move to attract more retail investors the Debt Management Office (DMO) has increased the coupon (interest) paid on the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Savings Bond that opened for subscription on Monday. The DMO introduced the FGN Savings Bond in March this year as part of efforts to deepen the national savings culture, provide opportunity to all citizens, irrespective of income level, to contribute to national development, enable all citizens participate in and

ECONOMY benefits from favourable returns available in the capital market. The first two-year savings bond was issued in March and due in March 2019 with coupon of 13.01 per cent. The second savings bond was issued in April with a coupon of 12.794 per cent. However, THISDAY checks showed that the savings bonds for the month of May, which opened on Monday, have higher coupon rates. While the two-year bond is being offered at an interest of 13.189

per cent, the three-year bond is being sold at 14.189 per cent. The rates are higher than the 12.794 per cent and 13.794 per cent offered for two and three years bonds respectively in the April auction. Although the FGN savings bond still have a lower yield compared to Treasury Bills, investment analysts said the interest rates are very attractive given the minimum amount (N5,000) required to buy the bonds. “One can say 14.189 per cent is still lower than 18.8 per cent that treasury bills were sold last week, but if you look

at the minimum investment required to play in the treasury bills market and what an investor needs to buy savings bond, the interest on savings bond is a very attractive deal. You cannot get that kind of returns on savings accounts,” a market analyst said. According to some market operators, the higher coupon being offered would attract more retail investors. The Director General of DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo had explained that the floating of FGN Savings Bond was Continued on page 24

The Board of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), has appointed Chijioke Ekechukwu as its new Director General effective May, 2nd 2017.Ekechukwu, who holds a BSC in Economics; MBA in Management and MSC in Finance, is an entrepreneurial executive with extensive leadership experience.His work career spans over 25 years, from Cashdata Services Ltd, Ikoyi Lagos, Senior Officer, Citizens Bank Ltd; Branch Manager, Equity Bank Ltd; Senior Manager, Oceanic Bank; Assistant Vice President, FCMB Plc; and Regional Director and Group Head, Public Sector, Bank PHB.Before joining ACCI, he was the Group Managing Director of Bristol Group with core business in investments, property and schools. He is a Director in First Generation Mortgage Bank Ltd. Following the reorganisation of the chamber, Ekechukwu, comes with a track record of success in multiple areas. Ekechukwu is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria, fellow, Institute of Management Consultants; Member, Nigeria Institute of Management (Chartered); and a Past President of Rotary Club of Abuja. He has attended many professional courses both locally and abroad; and he is married with children.

Investors Highlight Opportunity in Africa

Large scale datacentre investment opportunities are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa as key commercial hubs benefit from the critical combination of high quality international backbone infrastructure (subsea cable) connectivity and mushrooming local demand for data, investment leaders have said.The former chief executive of data center operator Telecity, Michael Tobin said at an event in London that there was massive potential for datacentre investment in sub-Saharan Africa and conditions in three markets especially standout.“Clearly South Africa is the core environment,” said Tobin. “We’re just starting to see the big boys go there: Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Netflix arrived last year, and you are seeing burgeoning volumes on the internet exchanges. Teraco, which is owned by Permira, is the standout asset by a million miles. It has the NAPAfrica infrastructure within it, so much of the traffic in all of the 53 countries in Africa goes through that.” “Kenya is becoming increasingly interesting as the subsea cables coming into Mombasa drive more traffic through Nairobi. There is also significant traffic going up the east coast of Africa, through Tanzania and beyond. However, Lagos offers even more potential,” added Tobin. “As well as the massive demographic potential, it has the benefits of both subsea cables coming in, and acting as the central commercial hub for Nigeria, which are the two key drivers for datacentre location.”

No Disco has exclusive rights over any area and its ability to retain an area must be consistent with its ability to provide service to the area

Minister of Power,Works and Housing,

Mr. Babatunde Fashola

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD INFLATION RATE PREDICTED TO REDUCE FURTHER IN APRIL were stable. “Core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce, is expected to extend its downward trend in April. This partially reflects the effects of currency appreciation in the parallel market. Month-on-month, the naira appreciated by 8.32 per cent as the Central Bank maintained the tempo of interventions in the forex market. The monthly Food Price Index (FPI) that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) released recently showed that the Index averaged 168 points, 1.84 per cent lower than the revised value for March 2017, but 9.93 per cent higher than the April 2016 figure. According to the FAO, sugar prices dropped the most, vegetable oils, dairy and cereal prices also declined. However, prices of meat continued to trend upward since the beginning of the year.

SAVINGS BONDS: DMO WOOS RETAIL INVESTORS WITH HIGH COUPON to encourage the public, especially low income earners to save, invest and earn commensurate returns from their investments. Nwankwo noted that the new instrument was part of the strategic plans for 2013-2017 with the objective to deepen and broaden federal government’s securities market in order to sustain the development of other segments of the bond market. The savings bond has the following benefits: It offers guaranteed returns, and encourages financial inclusion among low income households; it enables individuals to enjoy those benefits which accrue to high net-worth investors in the capital market; it has a competitive fixed rate – interest rate; the interest incomes earned from the securities are tax exempt; and the FGN savings bond certificate can be used as collateral for loan.

NEWS

British Virgin Islands Court Places Sea Trucks into Provisional Liquidation Ejiofor Alike

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the High Court of Justice British Virgin Islands has placed Sea Trucks Group Limited into provisional liquidation, and appointed Chad Griffin of FTI Consulting LLP and Ian Morton of FTI Consulting (BVI) Limited as Joint Provisional Liquidators. Sea Trucks operates in Nigeria as West African Ventures (WAV), which is a subsidiary of the Group. However, the appointment is only to the company, being the group holding company, as the underlying operating/ asset owning companies or subsidiaries are not subject to insolvency proceedings. Collectively the company and the subsidiaries are referred to as the Group. According to a statement by the company, the provisional liquidation of the company has no impact on the operations of the Group, as the management team remains in control of operations and it is business as usual for the Group. Joint Provisional Liquidator of the company, Chad Griffin said the provisional liquidation would provide stability and court protection, to create a platform to maximise value. “We will be working closely with the Group’s directors and management team to

understand the affairs of the company,” Griffin said. Executive Chairman of the Group, Tom Ehret has also noted that the appointment of Provisional Liquidators “has no impact on the Group’s operations; the management team remain at the helm and

look forward to working with our loyal customers to continue to develop our successful trading relationships”. “Fundamentally, the Sea Trucks Group is and remains a strong and viable business, well positioned in its markets. We

are excited about its prospects and will continue to service clients to the expected high standards,” Ehret said. Sea Trucks Group is an international group of companies that provides offshore installation, accommodation and marine support services

to the oil and gas industry worldwide, employing a multinational workforce. Sea Trucks operates from five locations around the world offering a wide range of services, from offshore accommodation, pipe laying, offshore construction to SURF and marine support.

SUPPORT FOR THE RED CROSS

L-R: Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, FBNInsurance; Elizabeth Agugoh; Chief Operating Officer, FBNInsurance, Jonah Schalkwyk; Secretary; Lagos Branch Nigeria Red Cross Society, Olakunle Lassi; Database Coordinator of the society, Jamiu Raheem and Head, Actuarial Services/ERM, FBNInsurance, Adekunle Adeola, during a cheque presentation to Nigerian Red Cross Society by FBNInsurance in Lagos, recently

GMOs: FG Tasks Regulatory Agencies on Synergy Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja To ensure that Nigeria does not become a dumping ground for Genetically Modified (GM) foods, the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jubril has called on the regulatory agencies in the country to collaborate with one another. He made the call on Monday in Abuja at a meeting on collaboration between regulatory agencies and the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) in Abuja. Jubril, who was represented by the Director of Human Resources, Mr. Gabriel Oloto said that teamwork would help to monitor and do early detection on GM commodities in the country.

According to him, “now that modern biotechnology is becoming increasingly important in addressing the emerging challenges with regards to food security and renewable energy demands and in turn economic and social challenges; with success stories in countries such as China, India, Brazil, and some African countries that have incorporated agricultural biotechnology strategy to their sector. The minister added that, “With its perceived and real unintended consequences, we the regulatory agencies must unite with a sense of purpose, vision, mission and determination to ensure that our nation do not become a dumping ground for GM foods and feed nor shy away from reaping the benefits

of the application of modern of modern biotechnology and use of GM foods and feeds.” He stressed that the partnership and synergy became important in order to develop a joint framework among all regulatory agencies for commercial GM crop oversight, rather than solely being an NBMA oversight function. Earlier, Director General, NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba said the meeting was designed to further partner necessary MDAs, on the issue of biosafety. He said that, “Modern biotechnology is the movement of genes to transfer traits of beneficial interests. We have a law and that will serve as our guide for our operations. So we will not encroach on

each other’s responsibilities but we will seek collective efforts in areas of support.” Ebegba noted that the NBMA was mandated to certify GM foods or commodities before being allowed into the country for safety reasons, thus it was important to partner to achieve greater success on issues regarding Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Government regulatory institutions listed include the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), National Agency for Food, Drugs, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Federal Ministry of Justice, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS)

among others. Speaking on the GM detection lab, Ebegba explained that the lab would ensure whatever GM crop being imported into the country is well tested and analysed, as the country cannot afford to allow uncertified GM commodities escape into the market. He emphasised that with the standard of technologies equipped in the laboratory, the NBMA could detect the smallest element of GM. Also, the African Coordinator, Program for Biosafety System (PBS), Dr. Mathew Dore described the meeting as a platform to discuss and analyse legal mandate of NBMA and the government agency as they impact commercial release of GM crops.

Facebook Steps up Security Measures,Targets 3,000 Recruitment Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (Maritime)

Emma Okonji Following recent reported cases of assassination, threat to lives and bullying on the Facebook online platform, its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, has announced new measures that will further beef up security on the social media platform. Zuckerberg also announced plans to employ 3,000 community operators globally in the next one year. In a statement, which was made available to the media, Zuckerberg said over the last few weeks, we have seen

people hurting themselves and others on Facebook, either live or in video posted later. It is heartbreaking, and I have been reflecting on how we can do better for our community. “If we are going to build a safe community, we need to respond quickly. We are working to make these videos easier to report so we can take the right action sooner, whether that means responding quickly when someone needs help or taking a post down” Zuckerberg said. He said over the next year, 3,000 people would be added to our “community operations team around the world, on top

of the 4,500 we have today, in order to review the millions of reports we get every week, and improve the process for doing it quickly.” These reviewers, he added: ”Will also help us get better at removing things we don’t allow on Facebook like hate speech and child exploitation. We will keep working with local community groups and law enforcement agencies who are in the best position to help someone if they need it, especially they are about to harm themselves, or when they are in danger from someone else.”

In addition to investing in more people, we are also building better tools to keep our community safe. We are going to make it simpler to report problems to us, faster for our reviewers to determine which posts violate our standards and easier for them to contact law enforcement agents if someone needs help. As these become available they should help make our community safer, Zuckerberg pledged. According to him, the security measures became necessary, following recent reported cases of assassination and suicide on the Facebook platform.

Just last week, we got a report that someone was considering suicide and made the suicide post threat on the Facebook platform. We immediately reached out to law enforcement agents and they were able to prevent him from hurting himself. But in similar cases, we were not so fortunate, as some people have had cause to take their lives, after announcing it on the Facebook platform. No one should be in this kind of situation in the first place, but if they are, then we should build a safe community that provides them the help they need, Zuckerberg said.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

SIFAX Urges FG to Concession Scanning Service at Seaports Eromosele Abiodun SIFAX Group has urged the federal government to concession the scanning service at the nation’s seaports. The scanning service is currently being handled by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). Speaking at the NigerianBritish Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) Advocacy Roundtable with the theme, “The Role of Concessions in Fixing the Transportation Sector,” Major Henry Ajetunmobi (Rtd.), Executive Director, SIFAX Haulage & Logistics Limited, said there was a need for the government to deepen the involvement of the private sector in the country’s transportation industry in order to improve the level of efficiency in the sector.

Using the case study of the port concession, which has been adjudged as a huge success, as a strong argument point, Ajetunmobi said concession remains the most practicable option available to the federal government in its bid to address the debilitating infrastructural challenge in the industry. According to him, “The current economic reality makes it clear to all that the federal government cannot solely address the infrastructural deficit in the country’s transportation sector. This deficit has negatively affected service delivery and ultimately, its contribution to the economy. This is the right time for the government to concession critical infrastructure in the sector, especially at the seaports.” He added: “Of utmost

importance is the scanning service. Most scanners at the ports are either completely broken down or functioning well below installed capacity. This situation has subjected the Nigerian Customs Service and other agencies to a hundred percent examination of cargoes, which does only wastes time but also more favourable to the smugglers, too. We have waited anxiously for the scanners and it is not forthcoming. I want the government to consider the concession of the scanning service to investors as this will really make the port reform system more efficient.” SIFAX Group is a multinational corporation with diverse interests in maritime, aviation, haulage & logistics, oil & gas and hospitality.

Firm Launches Software to Address Mobile-crime Ugo Aliogo, Joshua Odebisi and Gloria Onoja Mobile Reg. Nigeria Limited in partnership with Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN) has launched innovative crime prevention software known as Fonreg. Speaking at the launch in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ayodele Thomas, said the technology device was conceived and developed in Poland, where the company won the innovative award, adding that the device is operational in London Warsaw, and backed by the European Union (EU). “We are small in Nigeria, but I can tell you that we have international backing”, he enthused. He also noted that they are a subsidiary of an international company, adding that the technology cost 500k euros to develop, part of which was financed by the government of Poland, while the rest was

self-financed, though they began the concept in Europe and expanded to Nigeria. In his remarks, the CAPDAN President, Mr. Ahmed Ojikutu, said the issue of criminality, phone theft and others can ordinarily be solved by the use of the technology, as a result they are deploying it to tackle issues that have to do with phone losses and theft to protect the buyer and the sellers to buy secured property. Ojikutu also noted that the software also has tracking applications that can help to track missing people, stressing that the last location of the victim would be recorded. He expressed confidence that if this application is embraced, in the next few years, phone theft would be a thing of the past. He said: “We have launched it today and with the presence of all the executives from CAPDAN and security agencies, we believe this is just the beginning. We want to ensure the

safety of all Nigerians so that there will be no more market for stolen phones. There are serious crimes committed using the mobile phones so we want to help the law enforcement agents to curb mobile phone crimes in Nigeria. “According to statistics carried out, mobile phone crime is the number one crime in Nigeria. So if we are able to tackle that area, then am sure all other crimes will be averted. There is hardly any crime that does not involve mobile phones. Fonreg is actually new in Nigeria but we have been around other European countries. We are trying to launch in African countries and we decided to start from Nigeria. We can see that a lot of enthusiasm is coming from the law enforcement agencies. We plan on launching a massive campaign, interact with people and let people know exactly the benefits abound with Fonreg.”

Banks Urged to Share Intelligence to Tackle Cyber-Crimes Ugo Aliogo A group of cyber security experts have advised financial institutions to actively engage in intelligence sharing in order to tackle cyber-crimes in the financial sector. Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos recently, the convener of the Najia Cyber Security Conference, Rotimi Akinyele, said effective collaborations by banks would help stem the tide of cyber-crimes, adding in developed societies, there are monthly engagements to share security and risk threats since they are working in the same ecosystem. He said as a group, they are passionate about changing the way things are done in the cyberspace in Nigeria, because of their understanding of the processes and policies involved. Akinyele further stated that

the conference was aimed at identifying cyber talents in Nigeria by organising a competition where they would give out N200, 000 to the winner as a way of supporting cyber security talents, adding that they are also committed to using the conference to create awareness about cyber security. He added: “Yearly we will be organising this conference and it is going to be bigger. The interesting thing about the programme is that people are willing support. They have the conviction that what we are doing will change the future of cyber security in Nigeria. The mentality about cyber security is that if there is no strong attack, people will not get serious. We have had regulatory bodies which made it compulsory for financial institutions abide by certain cyber security standards and regulatory framework. As long as the motive is right,

the support will be heavily required. “We are hoping that they will be a lot of partnership in the years ahead. We are speaking to other agencies to ensure that this will not just be a Lagos based thing, but nationwide. There is internal cyber security issues which we need to solve, for instance terrorism. We are focusing on the Africa continent also. “Before talking about the global body, we need to talk about what happens internally. There has to be a lot of synergy on how to address cyber-crimes. Cyber-crime is growing exponentially, the issue has been in the media and this has attracted government attention to pass into a cyber-crime bill. A lot of agencies have been created to tackle cybercrime but nothing serious has been done. There are no forensic tests been carried out, people get away with fraud.”

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

Don’t Make Yourself Extinct

In life, we should never allow anybody put us down or peg our progress. Most importantly, we should not stunt our progress with our own hands. A lot of us are in employment or working with business partners and have not been able to achieve our full potential or are not allowed to attain our full potential. We must fight this situation with everything that we’ve got. Lately, the following quotations have resonated and reminded me of some of the attributes and beliefs that have pushed me and taken me to where I am today. Let me share some of them with you. Jim Rohn said: “When you know what you want and you want it bad enough, you will find it”. “Let others lead small lives but not you (me). Let others argue over small things, but not you (me). Let others cry over small hurts but not you (me). Let others live their future in someone else’s hand, but not yours (mine). One thing we need to realise is that our future is in our hands. To have more, we must first become more. What are you doing to change your course? I read an article by Amasi Mwela titled, “Loyalty, Job Hopping or Strategic Job Placement”. Mwela’s piece made a huge impact on me. I spent over 20 years working in one organisation. While I would say I was lucky as I was able to perform different roles and wear many hats which honed my skills in different areas. I was fortunate to also rise to the top of my career. Many people are not as fortunate and do not have such opportunities. This was the crux of Mwela’s article. He talked about joining a company and asking the workers who worked there 2 questions: •How long have you been in the company? And •Why are you still there? He said to his amazement, the first 5 people he asked had been there for over 8 years, which he found impressive. However, most of them could not tell him why they had been there for that long, what life changing benefits they derived during this time, and what they had learnt or even whether they were still happy working there. If anything, he said, they felt stuck and were almost helpless. He went on to say that one of the middleaged women he talked to who had spent over 9 years, quickly put him in his place by telling him that getting a job was tough and he should be grateful that he was employed. In his investigation, he found out that this same lady, that squarely put him in his place, had only been promoted once in her 9 years of working in the organisation. She hadn’t seen her CV nor updated it nor applied for open positions internally or externally. Can you relate to the above? I certainly can. I have seen many people in dead-end jobs or working in toxic environments who are not thinking about improving themselves, learning new skills or moving into new areas or jobs. Based on the latest job projections, we expect to see about 25 jobs becoming extinct by 2020. Where the observation is that a lack of specialisation is detrimental to your growth and survival in the job market. Many of us have basic degrees in fields that are not necessarily specialised. This lack of specialisation typically translates to a greater exposure to threats and replacement by new technology or younger, smarter workers. Banking for example, one of the largest job group and most viable in this country, will decline in the coming years. The advent of online and mobile banking will drive this decline. Consumers are now able to take care of many tasks that require bank’s

staff including transferring money between accounts, depositing cheques and many more. Manufacturing jobs are threatened and will become extinct when robots take over. In addition to word processors, postal services, printing, etc. Going back to Mwela’s story and my agreement with it, he decided to become a “job hopper”. Let me correct an impression quickly. I am not saying job hopping for its sake is advisable, however, job hopping in order to remain relevant, keep up-to-date, adapt to change, be agile, know as much as you can, being able to speak the language of various departments within an organisation is essential. What we all need to start to do, is to become more strategic about our careers. Mwela called it “Strategic Personal Placement”. Staying over 20 years in one organisation worked for me. But, I sometimes wonder whether I could have been better placed if I had been more strategic, calculating and more daring in my career. Mwela defined “Strategic Personal Placement” as: Strategic – each move should be with a goal in mind, a vision and not simply because of the lure of a few cents. Many people move for as little as 5% salary increase alone. I sometimes advise people to explore taking a pay cut to move them in strategic directions they want to achieve. Personal – It’s our responsibility to manage our careers ourselves and to determine where we want to get to. We should not outsource our careers to our boss or an organisation or system. And, Placement – We need to be very clear and deliberate about where we work. We need to ensure that for the most part, the next job is at a more senior level than the previous one and be clear about why you want to work for a particular company. We need to strive to place ourselves in organisations rather than wait for the system or an employment agency to decide for you. In essence, we should not move because we are having challenges with our boss or are tired. We should move because it is strategically important for our career and has been strategically thought through. How can you make yourself more relevant and marketable in today’s peripatetic marketplace? •Consider furthering your education and specialise in areas that you have carefully researched and know are unlikely to be in the list of professions that can become extinct and make re-educating yourself a priority. •Complete various certification programmes to enhance your degree and specialisation. •Work for free, especially if your move is specialised and you want to get into a job without job experience. You can volunteer or take an internship to garner the necessary experience. •Practice interview skills. I have realised that, many people have no clue about how to interview well, especially those of us who have risen to senior positions or have spent many years in organisations. We need to get proper tutoring on showcasing ourselves. In conclusion, quoting from Alvin Toffler, who said; “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. Your career and life is in your hands. Don’t become extinct. Make sure you are always relevant and remain “hot cake’, throughout your career.

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

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T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

EQUITIES WATCH

Dangote Sugar Commits to Backward Integration With investment of N106 billion in its operations centred on its backward integration programme, shareholders of Dangote Sugar Refinery should expect better returns in the years ahead, writes Goddy Egene

Dangote Sugar Refinery (DRS) is Nigeria’s largest producer of household and commercial sugar with 1.44 million tonnes of refining capacity. The company was spun out of Dangote Industries in 2006 and got listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) about 10 years ago. With its factory at Apapa, Lagos State, DSR currently imports raw sugar from Brazil and refines it into white, Vitamin A fortified sugar suitable for household and industrial uses. However, the company’s strategy is to become a global force in sugar production, working within Nigeria’s National Sugar Master Plan to end importation and sell more than 1.5 to 2.0 million metric tonnes of locally produced sugar in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. In order to successfully execute that strategy, the company is making significant investment in its backward integration programme (BIP). Already, the company’s Savannah cane sugar factory located near Numan, in Adamawa State has an installed factory capacity of 50,000 tonnes. Covering 32,000 hectares in extent, the Savannah estate has considerable opportunity for expansion which is underway. Last week, the acting Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of DSR, Abdullahi Sule told the capital market community that the company would be investing about N106 billion in the next six years to achieve BIP and make Nigeria sugar self sufficiency. Impressive financial performance Despite the economic headwinds in 2016, DSR posted impressive results and has consolidated that performance with improved first quarter (Q1) results ended March 31, 2017. Profit before tax stood at N19.61 billion, up from N16.16 billion, while PAT grew to N14.4 billion as against N11.4 billion in 2015. Earnings per share similarly rose from 93 kobo to 120 kobo. The board of directors of the company recommended a dividend of N7.2 billion, which translates into 60 kobo per share. Its sugar sales volumes was 778,518 metric tonnes(mt) in 2016, compared with 778,000 mt in 2015. The increase in total revenue by 68 per cent over that of the previous year was predominantly driven by increase in price as just about same volume of 778,518 mt and 778,000 mt were achieved in 2016 and 2015 respectively. Commenting on the results, Sule said: “We are very pleased with the results for the period under review, our revenue grew by 68 per cent and improve sales volume compared to 2015 despite the current macro-economic challenges. Our focus in the current year and for the future remains leveraging our strengths to maximize every opportunity to generate sales, increase our market share and create sustainable value for our stakeholders.” He added that concerted efforts are being made towards the actualisation of the company’s BIP. “The implementation strategy has changed and the full focus is now on the expansion of the Savannah Sugar Estate to its full potential, and development of the new site at Tunga in Nasarawa State,” Sule said. The company explained that group sugar sales volumes was 778,518 metric tonnes(mt) in 2016, compared with 778,000 mt in 2015. Sule stated that “Achievement of our BIP plan and growing our market share remains our focus, and efforts are geared towards achievement of effective resource optimisation and cost management; drive for greater efficiency especially in supply chain; human capacity building and route to market redefinition. Others are improved security in the north, consolidation of our position as the largest sugar producer in west African, with 1.5 million MT/PA local sugar production, creation of a robust export market, production of ethanol. And surplus power for supply to national grid and animal feeds production.” Although investors received a dividend of 60 kobo per share for 2016, the Chairman of DSR, Alhaji Aliko Dangote assured shareholders that the company remained committed to the delivery of superior returns to shareholders.

According to him, the company was in a position to pay a higher dividend but it retained some part of its earnings for investment in the company’s BIP. “Our focus is the actualisation of our backward integration plans, your board will continue with the effective management of resources to achieve this target, sustainable financial future for the company, and in the turn drive sustainable returns to shareholders,” he said. Improved First Quarter results For its first quarter (Q1) result ended March 31, 2017, revenue was up by 83 per cent to N59.5 billion from N32.6 billion in 2016 and 71 per cent of Q1budget achieved. Cost of sales went up 100 per cent, due to increase in gas, gross profit increased 16 per cent to N7.84 billion as against N6.77 billion. Gross profit rose to N7.84 billion, from N6.77 billion. Profit before tax increased 28 per cent to N7.04 billion, while profit after tax went up to N4.76 billion from N3.34 billion in 2016, indicating a growth of 42.5 per cent.

Analysts’ comments According to analysts at Cordros Capital, DSR’s revenue and PAT beat their estimates by 16 per cent and eight per cent respectively. “Annualised, revenue and PAT are above consensus by 30.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively. The revenue growth was driven by the significantly higher average price (121 per cent), which more than compensated for relatively lower sales volume (17 per cent). Management said it sold 174,981 tonnes of sugar during the period, seven per cent more than the 164,129 tonnes achieved in Q4-16, and 13 per cent above our estimate,” they said. Cordros Capital said the quarter/quarter (q/q) volume growth is consistent with the encouraging demand the management guided to during the 2016FY conference call. “That said, the management’s reported average selling price of N17,010/50kg bag is above our computed N16,775/bag, and is not consistent with the N1,000/bag reduction (implemented in March) from the N17,000/

DSR 2017 FIRST QUARTER FINANCIAL SUMMARY 70 65 60

March 2017 N59.5Bn March 2017 N51.6Bn

55 50 45 40 35

March 2016 N32.6Bn March 2016 N25.8Bn

30 25 20

March 2017 March 2017 N7.84Bn March 2016 N7.0Bn March 2016 March 2017 N5.1Bn N6.77Bn N4.76Bn March 2016 N3.4Bn

15 10 05 0

REVENUE

COST OF SALES

GROSS PROFIT

PROFIT BEFORE TAX

PROFIT AFTER TAX

bag as at end of 2016. Also positively impacting PAT was the significant increase in investment income (N971.4 million vs. N7.1 million in Q116), enabled by growing cash generation, and consequent investments in short term money market instruments (N40.3 billion). Management said it earned 11.5 per cent (vs. 7 per cent in Q1-16) average interest on its bank deposits,” they said. The analysts noted that although gross margin improved from the trough of 7.3 per cent in Q4-16, the 13.2 per cent realized during the period was significantly shy of the 20 per cent guided by management, and lower than their 14.7 per cent estimate. “Management had cited the purchase of forex at a relatively lower average rate (compared to Q4-2016) and higher output from Savannah where margins are higher, as the potential enablers of margin recovery. Overall, DSR Q1-17 PAT is consistent with our strong growth expectation (22 per cent) for 2017F. We look for lower PAT growth in subsequent quarters as narrowing y/y price differential (with sales volume unlikely to improve significantly from current level) forces revenue growth to taper. We maintain HOLD rating on the stock,” they said. Similarly, analysts at FBN Quest said the strong sales growth more than offset the negative impact of a gross margin contraction of -758bps y/y to 13.2 per cent and opex growth of 29 per cent, leading to the improvement in profitability. “PAT was up by 43 per cent due to a comparatively lower effective tax rate of 32.4 per cent compared with 34.7 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2016. Sugar price increases over the last 12 months were the primary driver behind the sales growth recorded during the quarter as the company pushed through increasing production costs. We estimate that prices were raised by around 75 per cent over the period from c.N7,500/50kg of finished sugar. Higher imported raw sugar (a key raw material) prices were the primary driver behind the gross margin contraction,” they said. The explained that compared with their forecasts, sales were ahead by 23 per cent, while PBT and PAT were broadly in line. “A negative surprise on the gross margin line was completely offset by positives on both the opex and other income lines. DSR’s sales and PBT are tracking ahead of consensus’ sales and PBT estimate of N181. billion and N22.5 billion respectively, as such we expect upward adjustments to consensus 2017E estimates. Looking ahead, DSR’s focus remains its backward integration projects,” FBN Quest said.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Ekpo: I’m Always Worried Whenever Oil Prices Rise The Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, in this interview with Obinna Chima and Nosa Alekhuogie, stressed the need for policies that would help change the structure of the Nigerian economy from its reliance on crude oil revenue. Excerpts: With recent events in the global economy, what do you think is the future of globalisation? Well, the way President Donald Trump has taken it is to show that neo-liberialism is dead. That is, we are back to the old era of nationalism. But there is a problem because any vacuum they leave, I think the Chinese would fill it which is very strange because the Chinese are not meant to be imperialistic in a way. So, if Trump persists, and it looks like he is serious about it, you would see globalisation dying slowly because every country would also want to be nationalistic and then we are going to have problem because of the so called free world. For us in the third world and Africa, we have not really gained from globalisation because for us to enjoy from globalisation we need to have a strong national economy. For us it wouldn’t really mean much. America stopped buying our oil sometimes ago. But generally, the way the world is going, a la American approach, it points to the fact that globalisation is beginning to die off the way we understand it. What do you think at this point in time Nigeria should be doing? Nigeria from a long time ago should try to build a strong domestic economy so that it can absorb external shocks and it is still not difficult. For example, at the time when we were depending a lot on agricultural products we would have industrialised via that venue. For example, you were exporting raw cocoa, why not begin to manufacture chocolate? You are exporting cotton, why not have a textile industry? Then oil came again, and created another problem for us. Even the oil sector itself was not diversified. So, if we are honest, we can go back to the drawing board and say it shouldn’t happen again. That is if we are serious about it and begin to implement some reforms, so that we can change our structure of depending only on exporting crude petroleum to manufacturing, produce certain things, even if it’s not the complete product, maybe add some value before you export. Otherwise, we would still be having problems. Monoculture was more of depending on exporting the crude oil to earn foreign exchange. We still have problem and so we need to change that structure. We keep saying it all the time, but at the end, we never do it. That is why each time I see prices of oil go up, I worry. This is because once it starts going up, we are relaxed. That is not the way to go and we have the market. Nigeria has a market where even if people produce for the economy alone, it can be absorbed. The market is very large. I think that is what we should be doing. We should demystify the oil sector. If we have to, let us refine and sell our refined products outside, not crude oil. I think your proposition also has to do with the level of our infrastructure development? It is part of it. You cannot industrialise without having infrastructure. The early founding fathers in my opinion, no matter their own fault, they had the right direction. They were interested in Ajaokuta, Oshogbo machines, all these research institute and so on. The idea was to build infrastructure -rail way, road, dam, power. They started them, but it was truncated. Now if you try to travel within our roads in Nigeria, you would see that we are in a very bad shape. Just roads, so infrastructure is part of it. And luckily for us, we have the resources to do those things if we are committed and if we think strategic. I always argue that this power, we know the companies in the world that have the expertise, they have the resources and so on. Why not invite? We say we have privatised the power sector, the assets were sold to fronts that didn’t have the money and expertise. After they bought the different power companies, they came

Ekpo

back and said there is no money and started talking about gas price. Power is very crucial for industrialisation. Prior to 1948, America had power failure. But in 1948, they decided it would never happen again and you can see where they are today. So we have a very long way to go. Sometimes I’m convinced that I have not seen as a government, whether this one or the previous government, any commitment to move the country forward. We keep doing things ad hoc. I always say that if you keep patching your trouser, one day you would have to buy a new one or you go naked and I think we have gotten to that point. And that leadership issue appear to be affecting confidence and trust in the system? There is leadership and there is also followership. Now, when you say leadership, you have to define it in context. Is it just the president and his cabinet, the House of Representatives and Senate? The leadership, are they thinking about development of the country? People forget that development is a struggle. There are people who want you to remain the way you are because they are benefitting from it. There are people who want to change the status quo. So, it is not easy. So for me, we are the ones that voted the leaders under this democracy, except it is military setting where they come by coup. That means we also have to change the orientation of followership. I used to ask in my community that someone came and told you guys that I would do A,B,C D, if you vote for him. You gave him your vote. He came after four years again and he has not done one, he distributed the same bag of rice or whatever, you voted him in again. I wonder if it is poverty that causes that. You see, the system Nigeria is building is such that we do not have a large middle class. For example any country you go, the rich are very few relative to others. So during election, they would not be able to influence who would govern them. They may give money to influence it. But when you have a large middle class, they can decide that leadership whether it’s of good quality. The middle class would take your money and whatever and vote their conscience. But in our country where the middle class is very small, poverty is all over the place and you have a few people at the top, it is a big problem. So most people you see that call themselves leaders are not voted

in by the conscientised followership. They use money as we are seeing being revealed every day. I used to argue when I was very young that we needed a benevolent dictator. That is, they would come, build the country and the next generation would come and enjoy and vote. Singapore is a good example, China is also. The United Nations and the World Bank agree that china model has move millions out of poverty within a short time because they were strategic in their thinking and they were committed to development. In Nigeria, when I look back, the founding fathers were less tribalistic and to build a nation, the tribe must take secondary position. Religion is no longer a private affair in Nigeria. Today, every two houses, one is a church. The pastor that should galvanise them doesn’t do that, rather he wants to take from them and tell them to leave all to God. And you see that in most parts of the country. Everybody believes in one kind of miracle or the other. No country moves forward with that type of orientation. Do we have to go back to re-orientation? What is your take on the aggressive intervention in the foreign exchange market by the Central Bank of Nigeria since February as well as the call by the IMF that the naira should be freely-floated? Before the different intervention, there was a wide margin between the official and the parallel market rate. So, when the reserves started picking up because of the increase in oil prices, they began to push out the dollars and increased supply so see whether they can align with the parallel market. You see, my worry is that is it sustainable? Let us assume that tomorrow oil prices fall below $42 per barrel what would happen? So, for me, the windfall should have been managed because you don’t accumulate reserve only to back your local currency. Government needs to sterilise those dollars to do a few things. So I hope it is being well managed? You pump some into the forex market; you also leave some for government to also exchange. It is still being driven by oil prices. I don’t know of any other source that is bringing huge foreign exchange than oil. But what they are doing now, in the short-term it makes sense because they want to make sure there is stability. The problem with the foreign exchange market is the volatility. I always tell my friends at the central bank that they made mistake when the naira was officially

at N197/$. When the market gave them the sign of scarcity, they would have moved the band to N250/$, but they delayed and trying to catch up became a problem. I am very careful to criticise the CBN because I know that the technocrats there do a lot of work. But, the IMF saying that we should float - one time the central bank almost floated the naira when it introduced the flexible exchange rate? They saw that it did not work; they now decided to be intervening in several ways. So, I would not support IMF saying that we should float the naira. You see, when you float it, it can get to N700/$. The naira has appreciated but prices have not come down and inflation affects the poor more than the rich. That is why we have to be very careful about the IMF suggestion about floating the naira. My argument is very simple, the currency is not yours, either dollar or pound, your local currency is not convertible, you have to convert to naira, because of that you manage your foreign exchange and the external reserves. How you manage it, you need some skills; you use technocrats to do it. It is almost like a trial and error game and you do it every day. That’s why in America here, you manage an economy 24 hours a day. We all blame the CBN; there is also a fiscal side. What are they doing? There is a ministry of trade, what are they doing with the trade policy? All these things have to be coordinated. In Africa, we tend to blame central banks for everything, but it is not right. The CBN only does monetary policy. In fact, our CBN has taken too much because that intervention fund on agriculture, we are not sure if it was done in conjunction with the Agric Ministry. They have intervention fund in power, etc. But their main mandate is price stability but they also have development functions. But I think they take up so much and you cannot draw the line whether they are doing fiscal policy or monetary policy. I don’t think we should be blaming them for everything. So, government too has to play its part. Look at the budget, it is taking too long. What is it in passing a budget? When you delay, monetary policy may not be effective. When you delay passing a budget, it creates adverse dislocation for the economy. First of all, you further erode confidence that people have of the economy, and then you delay project implementation.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

Convergence of Africa Capital Markets as Panacea to Illiquidity Oscar Onyema posits that integration of key African capital markets has the potential to speed up the development of the region’s various domestic financial systems, promote increased competition, and increase opportunities for innovation and risk diversification Africa capital markets battle with the conundrum of illiquidity being the main catalyst of its sustained lack of liquidity. The process of trying to boost liquidity and depth in the region through i) increase in cross-border activities of broker-dealers, fund managers and private equity funds and ii) increase in cross-listings within and outside economic blocs – ECOWAS, East Africa, Southern Africa, etc. has been ongoing pretty much since the independence of African nations from their colonial masters. Now, more than ever, market forces are calling for the convergence of African capital markets as one potential solution to the problem. Several sub-regional integration initiatives have active capital market integration programs for example, the i) Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative; ii) East Africa Community (EAC) initiative; and iii) West African Monetary Institute (WAMI). With only nuggets of successes to boast of on a sub-regional level, it is no wonder that Africa’s most liquid and developed markets have decided to aggregate the learnings from each of their respective regional integration efforts and create one large pool of liquidity as opposed to maintaining multiple smallmedium sized markets that will inevitably stay small-medium.

Onyema able to galvanize the commercial will required to drive the project through to fruition. The project focuses on linking some of the most developed and vibrant markets across Africa including the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Nairobi Securities Exchange, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Casablanca Securities Exchange, Stock Exchange of Mauritius and Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA, and will open access to trading across

all linked exchanges, sharing all market information between them and offering investors access to a deeper pool of liquidity. The AELP officially launched in 2015 and in its initial stage, established two (2) work streams; (i) a Steering Committee comprising of Principals of the Exchanges and Officials from the AfDB; (ii) a Technical Committee, comprising of technical experts from the Exchanges and their CSD counterparts, as well as a sub technical committee made up of legal experts. So far, the project has concluded: i) a feasibility study and an Economic Sector Work (ESW) report; ii) execution of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) by all participants; iii) several technical workshops; and iv) wide spread national consultation efforts. The key next steps for the project is the establishment of a project management office to ensure the projects stays on course, and the successful application for funding from the capital market division of the AfDB. Despite significant strides in a relatively short span , most linkages, capital market or otherwise have failed because of: i) overoptimistic IT assumptions – cost & speed; ii) exchange governance implications; iii) lack of credibility of contractual commitments; iv)

cross-jurisdictional legal and regulatory issues; and v) politics. The AELP is not going to be immune to some, if not all of these challenges. However, the principals of the initiative have proffered the following as adequate solutions to anticipated challenges. WEST AFRICAN CAPITAL MARKETS INTEGRATION (WACMI) PROJECT Undoubtedly, the AELP is taking its cue from one of the most successful Africa capital market integration programs to date – the West African Capital Markets Integration (WACMI) project. The WACMI is an initiative to establish a harmonized regulatory environment for the issuance and trading of financial securities across the West African sub-region. Inaugurated in 2013, the project saw its first cross border trade in 2015 and has been an influential beacon in the development of the AELP and other capital market integration programs across Africa. The WACMI program is designed to be rolled out in three phases: i) Phase 1 - Sponsored Access; ii) Phase 2 - Direct Access by Qualified West African Brokers (QWABs); and iii) Phase 3 - Integrated West African Securities Market (WASM). The

AFRICAN EXCHANGES LINKAGE PROJECT (AELP) The African Exchanges Linkage Project (AELP) is Africa’s most optimistic capital market integration initiative at the moment. Driven by the Africa Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), it is backed by a formal partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB). What is disparate about the AELP compared to other existing sub-regional integration projects in Africa, is that the AELP transcends any particular regional bias. It also doesn’t hurt that the incumbent two term ASEA president is the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), one of the Exchanges participating in the pilot project. As ASEA President and CEO of the NSE, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema OON is

project is still in its first phase, however, Direct Market Access (DMA) for the region has been successfully launched under a sub phase of the Sponsored Access phase. This formed the basis for the first cross border trade and has been instrumental in the scoping out of the AELP. The WACMI program faces the same set of challenges as all integration projects, including a language barrier (i.e. English, French and Portuguese) which is being addressed through the use of translators to breach the gap. CONCLUSION Evidently, the African rising story is being truncated as global flows to Africa circumvent volatility and single commodity based economies. However, successful integration of key African capital markets has the potential to speed up the development of Africa’s various domestic financial systems, promote increased competition, as well as increase opportunities for innovation and risk diversification. Successful integration will also harmonize regulations that can enhance national profiles in areas such as taxation, accounting standards, corporate governance, and legal practices, and facilitate the sub-region’s integration with the global economy. The large and diverse population of over 290 million translates into a consumer base with significant domestic savings and investment potential. Thus it is envisaged that the convergence of Africa capital markets will promote the size of issues distributed at attractive prices and provide trading and settlement processes that support active clearing and settlement. Ultimately, removing barriers to cross-border investments through integration will provide more choices of financial products in the coming years, reduce costs of raising capital and improve access to financing for businesses, particularly SMEs. African securities exchanges as highly valued national symbols must therefore collaborate to harness the increased revenues and synergy from ongoing integration efforts.

Adopt Digital Transformation, Signal Alliance, Cisco Urge Banks Emma Okonji Signal Alliance and Cisco have advised money deposit banks in the country to adopt digital transformation that is currently driving the globe. At a recent meeting with the banks in Lagos, the security companies demonstrated how the operations and security of banks could be improved and become more efficient without spending above their budget.

Speaking at the Signal Alliance-Cisco business engagement session, Signal Alliance Director of Service Delivery, Adegbola Adesina, said:“More companies continue to embrace mobility, cloud, analytics, and increase in custom built application on low bandwidth, consuming applications to digitize their businesses. These have made IT teams to struggle in their bid to keep up with the ever-increasing complexity of

the network, sophistication of security attacks and growing end user’s expectations.” This, according to Adesina, has led many organisations to spend huge sums of money acquiring new devices all in the name of upgrade which may not be necessary. The Signal Alliance Digital Transformation event was well attended by leading banks in Nigeria. The bankers were shown by experts how their

organisations can make do with what they already have, cut down on their Information Technology (IT) spend and grow their services in a more secure environment to gain competitive advantage through process digitization. Three presentations were made by experts. Yinka Adeosun of Signal Alliance spoke on Digital Network Transformation, Tomi Amao of Cisco demonstrated the

new Cisco Security Integrated Architecture, while Kaecy Udumukwu presentation was on Digital Business Transformation. During the presentations, participants were made to know that Cisco had realized that traditional networks simply could not scale to meet the increasing demands of the digital business. For this reason, a new network was needed for the digital business,

which is a new network for the digital era. A network designed from the ground up to be flexible, programmable and open; while leveraging on and protecting existing investment. The Cisco Digital Ready Network helps IT to address these demands by moving networking from hardwarecentric to software-driven, from manual to automated, and from reactive to adaptive.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

INSURANCE

Efekoha: Govt is Beginning to Realise the Importance of Insurance Eddie Efekoha, is the Managing Director of Consolidated HallMark Insurance Plc. In this interview with Ebere Nwoji, he spoke on role of insurance in a recessed economy and his company’s journey so far after its merger with three other firms, among other issues. Excerpts: How do you assess your 10 years in the Nigerian insurance sector, how did it all start? Yes, 10 years ago; some developments took place in the insurance industry. Principally, we know of the recapitalisation that was induced by government through the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). It spanned over a period of 18 months and ended February 8, 2007. While some people saw it as an opportunity, others saw it as a challenge. For us, we saw it as an opportunity to increase in size, so, rather than do it alone, we decided to go as a team in order to build capacity. So, our way of responding to the recapitalisation was to go through a merger which was a merger of three companies. They are Consolidated Risk Insurance Plc, Hallmark Assurance and Nigerian General Insurance Company, and fortunately we did that and NAICOM issued us a license. So, by March 1, 2007, we opened to business in the name of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, taking advantage of our brand combination and this reflected in the choice of our name today. This is how we came about the company we are running today. We are celebrating 10 years from the time of this merger not when the merging entities came into the business of insurance. There were many stakeholders in the merger and the first to give kudos is the investors that went through the court ordered meetings that gave birth to this merger. All of us can vividly remember what happened then, when we had to all face the wall of NAICOM office in Abuja like students waiting for the result of an exam, until your name was called, you were not sure you have scaled through. As soon as we concluded the process of getting our license from NAICOM, we came back happy and the process of integration started. In integrating, we looked at key functional areas of the business, issue of staffing was also critical because we ensured that we didn’t lose our best hands, but also were mindful because we needed to ensure we raise our standard and had a minimum benchmark. We had committee empowered by the board and they went round all the company locations, conducted fresh interviews and as soon as you crossed the minimum benchmark, found fit and proper and age is on your side, you had a space. So, when that was concluded, we issued ourselves fresh letters of appointment. That is why as we celebrate 10 this year, many of our staff who was part of us at the beginning have clocked 10 years working with us. We also worked on the technical side of the business and integrated all the operations and processes. We thank God we are where we are today. Many business that started off 10 years ago are no more today, can you let us know what you did differently to weather the storm? We cannot say it’s by our power, Attaining 10 years is by God’s grace. They said the race is not for the swift; so we cannot say that we are strong to have survived the past years or everything was just by our own power. I think God got us to where we are. It’s unfortunate if any company fizzled out within this past 10 years. I wouldn’t say may be they did not pray hard enough, but for us, we prayed and also worked very hard. This is a service business, so it’s largely premised on people and if you don’t have the right people, you are not going to be able to make it. So, as soon as we concluded the merger, we had a retreat where we agreed our core values and also agreed to change our logo and all that stuff. By the time we agreed on core values – we saw that these core values of professionalism, relationship, integrity, customer focus, excellence are people determined not machines. It’s only people that can drive them, and so we came up with this offline “We are what we have”. So, we focused on people and have continued to build on our strength and

for values to go up, it will also take time for it to come down. There have been job losses here and there, but the ingenuity in us has also helped us to remain growing and insurance has really found relevance in the current situation. The current situation has thought people on the need to save and that has further re-echoed the need for insurance. While it lasted, it impacted the business, no doubt. The capacity of most of us to buy insurance was limited, some factories closed down and all of these impacted on the business. As a major stakeholder, what is the future of insurance in Nigeria and where is CHI in the picture? The indices are clear. If you look around us, you will see that a lot of our friends from outside Nigeria are looking at Nigeria and if they are doing so, then you don’t need any one to tell you that there is something good about us or a potential they are seeing. It then means that those of us here should equally watch out. You have seen that the minister recently engaged the market and has continued to engage the market to unlock its potential. This has been further strengthened with recent developments in NAICOM and all of these are to help harness the potential of the industry. Unlike before, government is beginning to understand that in its bid to get out of recession, to grow the economy, to get out of recession insurance cannot be handled the way it has been. For us as operators, we should roll up our sleeves and see how we can take advantage of the opportunities in our industry.

Efekoha

capacity. We tried to select rightly and that is not to say we did not make mistakes. We also emphasised on technology, which are needed to help our people deliver. People alone cannot deliver and so we emphasised technology. You remember we are the pioneer promoter of online third-party policy and the acting commissioner for insurance at that time was on ground to flag it off and we went all round town. Bye and large, the product got matured and we went on. In between, we realised that if we must survive these 10 years, we needed to pay attention to these key stakeholders that made this merger possible. How do we respond to them? By paying dividends,we did not pay dividend all the years, but we paid dividend most of the years we existed after the merger. And it will interest you to know that a company that was capitalised a little over N3billion, has paid to date about N960 million divided and by the time this year’s own is added we would have crossed N1billion mark. This has helped us to move from our year zero to year 10. The principal thing in our business is the payment of claims. So, we made sure that in these ten years, we have paid claims the way it is supposed to be paid, against the perception out there about insurance. So, each year, when we go out to say happy New Year to our clients and brokers, we are encouraged about the comments they pass on us on our claims paying practice. So, we are getting our own share of the market. It could be better but we are grateful to God. And we have enjoyed the cooperation of our board, being that they gave us freehand to operate and there is absolute trust between board and management and this has taken us to where we are today. Looking at the insurance industry pre and post consolidation, what has changed? I think before consolidation, our attitude and way to business of insurance was far low. Today it is better. Reasons are not far-fetched. First, is that the industry had more money post consolidation. The average wage bill has gone

up; the average expenditure on publicity is more. There is more money for advertisement, there is more money for awareness. We are engaged in one education activity or the other. Today many insurance companies are engaged in sponsorship of golf. How many could do it at that time? If you say they are doing only one advertisement now, before they were not doing anything at all. We were not having insurance as subject in secondary schools, today it’s offered at WAEC level. Many higher institutions today offer insurance as a course, unlike accounting that you find in every institution. You will see that post consolidation, things are happening. Are we there yet? The answer is no. But are we better? The answer is obvious yes. We have done something, but it could be better. Nigeria is currently in a recession, how has the insurance industry fared at this time? Recession is a matter of a very short time. Yesterday and today, World Bank said Nigeria is out of recession and the presidency said they are conscious of it and they are waiting for the figures from the Bureau of Statistics. Truly, you will feel it. Yes, we are beginning to feel it. When we are in recession, we felt it, so as we are getting out we are also feeling it. If the federal government can fund the foreign exchange demand the way they have done and have been doing it, we wouldn’t have gotten to this level. And for them to have funded it and still grow reserve is a pointer to the fact that we are out of it. And when you look at it sectorally, you find out the financial services did not really go down like that. Oil and gas ran into hitches, no thanks to restiveness and insecurity by the boys. But a few visits initiated by the presidency and anchored by the vice president and talking to the leaders and the boys have brought the whole situation under control. Just a word of reassurance; we value you; we are part of you and all that. We no longer hear bombing of pipelines and all that. Every individual is important, even in our companies. Recession yes! It takes time

You are an expert in aviation insurance, often times, airline operators in Nigeria have complained about high rate of aviation insurance in Nigeria compared with the rates in other countries, what is your reaction to this? You find out that we have multiplicity of problems when it comes to aviation insurance in Nigeria and you must take all of these into account in your rating. What is rating? First of all, it starts with underwriting; look at the good features and look at the bad features and all these help you to determine your average rate, The good ones will help you to determine your discount rate, the bad ones will help you to blow the rates in order to come with the rates that apply to that particular risk. When you bring all of these into specific operators, you then look at their managements. We had issues; I don’t have to name them. Number one, airline has problem; and when there are financial problems, what happens; what do you do you begin to cut corners. So, what do you expect the rates to be. Do you expect the rates to be lowest compared with emirate, or compare with BA, who are they comparing with? Emirates that had a fleet of almost a thousand or if you want to compare them, the largest we had in Nigeria before was about 28 today, the largest is not more than 15 .Is that what you want to compare is it up to fleet an individual will own in America. So there is no basis of comparison. Countries’ risks differ. All these aviation operators over there do they pay premium on monthly or daily basis and when you get to the airport, look at our airports, with all the touts and what have you so everything is wrong with it so the rates cannot but be high. When we get our things right, the premium can reduce. Of course size is an issue. You are generating a premium for instance that cannot buy one plane but like the likes of BA, their premium can buy three Planes. So size is an issue for instance, if I am running a factory, I should not expect to enjoy the same premium with a company like WAMCO or Dangote, so size is an issue. I think our complaint is as a result of level of our literacy in insurance. Insurance is a specialised profession so we don’t expect that everybody will understand it that is why it is a profession.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

ANALYSIS

Wema Bank’s Strive towards Futuristic Banking Nume Ekeghe writes on the new digital banking experience championed by Wema Bank and how it would transform banking buy you, rather than ‘collaborate’ and leave the future of a part of their business at a start-up’s mercy. Collaboration is the short-term answer to the threat posed by FinTechs but for a bank that has been around since 1945, short-term is never good enough. The Wema Bank had survived enough crises owing to global headwinds as well as in the Nigerian banking industry in the past, to leave its fate in the hands of FinTech start-ups. Wema Bank will innovate. Wema Bank will compete. But the current struggle is not the end. In the UK, app-only banks are becoming an increasing threat to traditional banks. It goes beyond a traditional bank having a robust e-banking offering; because let’s face it, who has time to go to a bank branch for the initial documentations of new account holders and documentations for some services? British app-only bank Atom has raised £135 million since it was founded in 2014. Target At the launch of ALAT, Oloketuyi said: “We have a target that by 2020 on ALAT platform to have three million customers and you can say that is audacious but it is achievable. Wema bank has 1.75 million customers and we have a history of 72 years behind us. ALAT in 2020 would be hitting 3million customers. I would say Wema blazes the trail and sets example for other banks leveraging its investment in digital and so on.

Oloketuyi

In its continuous strive for digital transformation, Wema Bank Plc recently launched a full digital banking platform ‘ALAT.’ It is a platform targeted at youths, which the bank believes would increase its earnings by $200 million by year 2020. The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank Mr. Segun Oloketuyi disclosed this recently at the launch of the digital banking solution. This he explained, would reduce operating cost to the barest minimum and would give customers the best deals on savings. This form of account, he also explained is fully digitalised as the account opening is always done online without going to the bank. It also goes with free ATM cards, better savings deals and maximum security. The cost of running banks in Nigeria is higher than what is obtainable in most countries considering that most banks have to generate power, among other expenses. To this end, banks have come up with various products to encourage digital banking. In February, global professional services firm, PwC released its Nigeria FinTech Survey 2017 report, with a striking message: “Nigerian retail banking and payment sectors will be the most disrupted by a group of new companies building financial technology (FinTech) solutions.” This has long been coming, and forwardthinking financial institutions have prepared for this by partnering start-ups earlier seen as competitors. It is true that banks have the advantage of legacy and wide customer bases over FinTech start-ups, but many lack speed and the capacity to understand and quickly build a very good user experience to improve efficiency and decrease costs. Such adaptability is what characterises the typical FinTech start-ups today. Advisory Partner and Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Dr. Andrew S. Nevin, in his comment on the Nigeria FinTech Survey 2017 report, noted: “FinTechs are empowering customers by providing services that are delivered via technology applications on customer’s mobile devices. This allows consumers conveniently

initiate and complete transactions, connect to third party entities and access information without restrictions. “All over the world, the increasing momentum of FinTechs and their success is challenging financial services players to devise a spectrum of strategic responses.” While some collaboration has started, banks remain worried about the threats posed by the sheer determination and guerrilla strategies of these start-ups. At PayThink last September, major organisations in the payments industry gathered to discuss innovations and trends in the payment space. A line of thought that emerged at the conference was that the existing relationship with FinTech startups won’t advance innovation in banking, and fear might stymie it. What then can banks do? But Nevin is convinced that not all FinTechs pose the same threats or opportunities. “In some cases, FinTechs will be viewed as enablers to traditional innovation and continuous improvement. In others, it presents a series of disruptions and threats as they continue to make inroads into banks’ traditional territory by offering a competitive service or product.” The question remains: what then can banks do? Innovate or Die The popular saying is the stark message for banks in the era of marauding FinTech start-ups. The message of collaboration and adoption of an ecosystem approach where banks grant start-ups access to their API endpoints, large sales and agent networks, is gaining traction but it is a lazy way out for banks. Microsoft and Google do not remain relevant by giving in to threats posed by start-ups. They have remained relevant by constantly innovating and getting into the trenches with the start-ups. Big companies, sometimes due to the fear of risk-taking, often find it difficult to innovate. This, however, is not so with the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook. When they can’t beat you in innovation, they

For Wema in 2020 would be phenomenal and what we are seeing is over 3 million customers on the ALAT platform and over $200 million in revenue and best in class in cost to income ratio.” Security Furthermore, speaking on steps to ensure the platform is secure; he said the bank has taken extreme measures to ensure customers’ funds safety. He added: “Our platform is very secure and we have been able to demonstrate to the satisfactory of central bank that we have a very well secured platform. Wema bank is offering its services on a platform called ALAT. The reason we have done that is because the way ALAT would offer service is different from the way we offer services in the traditional bank.” The difference with us and other platforms is that they are limited in scope while here the whole array of banking services is what is possible and that is our claim to be the first of its kind. With ALAT, account opening/sign-up can be done in 5 minutes from a mobile phone or personal computer. Holders of the account can also enjoy a simple automated savings plan that will see them earn 10% annual interest – about three times the standard bank rate. Debit cards are delivered to an account holder’s address in two business days, anywhere in Nigeria, at no cost. Also, after activating a debit card, an account holder can lock it, unlock it and choose where it works. All these can be done from a mobile phone.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY,MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

FG’s Forex Policy Boosts Local Production, Says Presco • Bags awards for CSR activities Stories by Crusoe Osagie Integrated Oil Palm producer, Presco Plc, has extolled the federal government’s directive restricting the use of foreign exchange for importing products Nigeria has the competitive and comparative advantage of producing, noting that local production in the nation’s agricultural sector has continued to witness positive growth and development. The Head of Administration and Relations Manager, Presco Plc, Mr. Anthony Uwajeh, explained that in spite of the harsh business environment in

the country, the company has continued to thrive in terms of profitability and expansion courtesy of the forex policy. Uwajeh said: “During the Nigeria Agricultural Awards (NAA), in spite of the challenging times, we did very well last year. The government policy which restricted importation of palm oil and related products, coupled with the foreign exchange policy, helped the local producers of palm oil and other related products which we as well as other local producers took advantage of.” Meanwhile, the company

emerged as the ‘Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Company’ as a result of its strong commitment and focus on provision of educational infrastructure, scholarships, road maintenance, provision of electricity, potable water supply and other essential services for its host communities. The Chairman, Awards Planning Committee, Mr. Emmanuel Ikani, said within the past two years, Presco has impacted positively on its host communities and environs and remained committed to its CSR policy as a way of giving back to its environment which he said

is a key factor in sustaining peaceful coexistence with host communities a vital factor for the success of its business. Uwajeh lauded organisers of the award, maintaining that it is encouraging to know that what Presco does as a matter of deliberate corporate policy is appreciated by others and recognised at this level, adding that the company has spent over N114 million in two years for CSR programmes. “The truth is that our CSR is very clear cut. We have about 22 communities around our four project areas. We try to ensure

that we stream line the things we do such that we are able to replicate for all the communities. We intervene in the area of education, potable water supply, electricity provision and road maintenance. We will continue to do things to improve the community because we know that there is no end to the needs of the community,” he said. In his words, “We are sponsoring a golf tournament in Benin to raise funds to support the sickle cell club in the community. We are amongst the highest employers of labour in Edo State employing about

over 5000 direct employments. The project we are currently doing in Edo State is about 14400 hectare oil palm and rubber estate. We have not less than 50 trailers lifting seedlings from Obaretin Estate to our new project area where we are planting about 3000 hectares this year. We create massive employment and with our new project we have employed about another 800 workers and as we expand that project we will continue to increase job employment opportunities for people in the State.”

SON Impounds Imported Goods with False Declaration The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has seized a 40-feet container laden with various electronic products with false declaration, noting that this move by the importer was to outsmart regulatory agencies at the port and also avoid paying excise duties to the federal government. The container, which belongs

to one Golden Ring Mega Biz Ventures Limited, was stocked with unbranded refrigerators and television hangers but was falsely declared as soldering iron materials. Indeed, the agency noted that the move to intercept the container on the highway was to ensure that these untested and uncertified products do

not find their way into the Nigerian markets so as not to short-change the unsuspecting Nigerian consumers. The Director, Inspectorate and Compliance, SON, Bede Obayi, explained that the agency had several times informed importers on the critical importance of always declaring the contents of their

containers with all sincerity, maintaining that this is the only way the federal government’s policy on ease of doing business can be achieved. He said: “The importer of this container, Golden Ring Mega Biz Ventures Limited brought in this 40 feet container loaded with unbranded refrigerators and LED television hangers, but

declared soldering iron. This is false declaration and from our Nigeria Customs Information System (NICIS), we monitored the container and was able to intercept it on the highway.” Obayi during an enforcement exercise in Lagos, said SON will continue to complement the effort of the federal govern-

ment in its quest to improve businesses in the country. ”We have examined the container and the content is different from what the importer declared. As you can see, the refrigerators are unbranded and once it gets into the market, it will carry names of popular brands to deceive the unsuspecting Nigerian consumer,” he added.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

EDUCATION Blending the Town and Gown for Effective Research

The absence of research in higher institutions of learning in the country, is becoming a worrisome trend, as University professors who spoke to Funmi Ogundare, submit that there has to be a merger between the town and gown, commitment and willingness on the part of government and stakeholders concerned, aside a policy that works The importance of research in Nigeria’s higher institutions of learning, cannot be overemphasised, as in accordance with university ordinances world-wide, academic researches remain the yardstick for employment, promotion and retention of credible academic staff to date. In Nigerian universities, it has for long been a culture adopted since the time of the establishment of the first university education in Nigeria, University College, badan, as an affiliate College to the University of London, as early as 1948. Indeed, one of the three cardinal duties of a university is that it serves as a place for teaching, center for research and that which offers community service. It is therefore evident that research occupies a primary role and it has since then remained a vital hallmark of the academia in Nigeria. For Nigerian universities and all other universities world-wide, academic progress can not be guaranteed, without a minimum amount of competence and expertise in research and quality research output, in addition to teaching, where university training is involved. In the same vein, no nation is known to progress when educational development is neglected. Observers who have been monitoring the trend argued that the country has not been investing much on research as a result of large-scale corruption, vision-less leadership, planlessness and lack of political willpower. Some also argue that the country is yet to reach where it should be in terms of socio-economic development. However, some university dons are of the opinion that there has to be commitment and willingness on the part of government and stakeholders concerned, aside an effective policy that will ensure that the country develops to its full capacity. The Vice Chancellor of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun state, Professor Dayo Alao said since the key essence of academics is research, students must be taught right from their undergraduate level how to research and identify relevant problems , with the aim of proffering solutions that will help the community and society at large . “Higher institutions are established for the purpose of research, the ultimate of learning, that is why you identify a problem, work on it and look for a solution. In doing this, you are embarking on a research, ” he said Emphasising on some of the problems hindering research, Alao expressed concern that the nation itself constitutes a hindrance. According to him, “our environment and our nation is not research oriented because even the money government puts in education is not encouraging . In other countries where people do well, they put a lot of money in education and research, such that you see some young people who have talents and right from the young age, they are encouraged financially and environmentally to really see what they are bringing out. In other parts of the world, they will work on computer and come up with some progress, however, the African environment is not encouraging research.” The VC stressed the need for the government and other policy makers to encourage research through a national policy, that will be properly addressed and monitored. “The government must be very interested in research and , even right from the elementary age of a child, it is also very essential for the nation to encourage research,” he said, he expressed concern that no governor has ever been reported to seek for research material in any of federal universities in the country. “I have never seen any governor going to the University of Ibadan or University of Nigeria,

President Mohammadu Buhari

Nsukka, or Ahmadu Bello University, to ask for research material. Industrialists must also be encouraged to be research-oriented, there are so many problems in the industries, so there must be a blend between the town and gown to encourage universities and industrial-based research.” A Professor in the Department of Lifelong and Continuing Education, University of Lagos, Oluwayemisi Obasoro-John said many researches had been carried out over the years in the institution , especially in the area of primary and early childhood education, which had been successful, but at bigger levels, such research may not see the light of day. “When there are inaugural lectures, they are not funfairs. They are ways of disseminating research findings , but when you do that , what happens to it in the system? It just dies. At small levels, things have been happening , but at bigger levels, where you will expect to have breakthroughs they are hindered.” She opined that the dissemination of research findings would be taken seriously by various schools, adding that there has to be commitment and willingness, aside funding to carry out any research. “We know it is not easy to carry out any research. We need funds to be able to pay the researchers and the assistants. They will not be doing it for fun. As an academics, are you willing to take the other step other than looking and reading at what others have done? What are you contributing to it? The next one is commitment, if you are not committed , you can not be a researcher because it does not come easy and the results may not be obvious immediately , so you have to wait and persevere , you do it more and more before you get results. The government too, must buy into it, the town has to buy into what the gown is doing so that we can have a robust education system, ” Obasoro-John stressed. Another Professor of Educational Foundation, University of Lagos, Mopelola Olusakin, affirmed that people who carry out research in the institution, have made efforts to seek for funding online and through written proposals, adding that some lecturers had gotten research

Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu

awards and grants in the process. “A lot of people write research proposals, on the internet, there are opportunities for people to submit proposals for their research works and some of us lecturers have won some research awards and grants and a lot of these lecturers are doing it using the name of UNILAG and giving part of their grants to the university , as part of our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), so we are carrying out research work.” The Don stressed the need for more funding and effective implementation of the research findings, noting, “it is one thing to carry out research works, it is another thing to make use of the findings. It shouldn’t just stop on the shelves . People , companies should go ahead and make use of the results of the research works. Government should implement and it will be for the betterment and development of our nation. That will make us to go higher.” Olusakin also stressed the need for the Buhari-led administration to put the right people in government who would carry out research works in the area of proper budgeting and implementation that would turn things around for the growth of the nation. “We are talking about economic recession, we have qualified and eminent professors who have ideas and carried out research works, but most times, those who are lecturers are left behind and when it is time to put people in positon, they will put those who are not interested in coopting persons who had carried out research works and have ideas of solutions to some of these issues and challenges we are facing as a nation.” She argued that if the country is making use of the brains it has, it will not be where it is currently, as a nation. “Abroad, they tap into the brains of our people and they are getting results. You will hear that somebody who is having breakthroughs in the UK or US is a Nigerian. Why can’t we identify such people here in Nigeria and make use of the potential that God has given to them to develop our nation? I think its high time government will fund research works in the universities and tertiary institutions and also make use of the

findings of the research works. “Nigerians pay people abroad to come and carry out research work. You will see people fill a survey, that is research. They do that a lot so that they can know where they are coming from and where they are going to, at a particular point and where they could go later , that is how to develop. You have to know where you are coming from, where you are now and where you should be.” The Vice Chancellor of Edwin Clark University, Professor Timothy Olagbemiro, recalled when he joined the university system in 1978, as Lecturer l, at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), saying he got opportunities from foreign institutions and attracted research grants from the British Council, the United States National Foundation(USNSF), as well as the International Foundation for Science(IFS), which he enjoyed continously for over a period of 10 years. “With collaborative partners in UK and US universities, These enabled me to use first class research equipment which we were not able to afford in my universities at Bayero or ATBU, Bauchi. My research findings were published in international Journals of high repute. Of course such publication soon earned me my professorship in the field of Chemistry in 1984. When l joined ATBU, Bauchi, university research grants just as it was in Kano, were made available to academic staff. On occasions l served as chairman of that committee when l assisted the Vice Chancellor. Academic staff were made to draw from the university research grants either as individuals, or collaboratively as groups. There l was able to set up a multidisciplinary research group, The Scrub Savannah Studies, comprising of academic staff from Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Botany, Physics, Mathematics, Animal Science, Soil Science, Plant Science, as well, as Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. “The group studied the scrub savannah region of Nigeria, with the aim of improving human capacity, enhancement of food production as well as the environmental factors responsible for the spread of river blindness in that zone. The over 43 member participants secured funding from the university research grants, as well as from the British Council, DFID Program.”

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

EDUCATION

OASIS President Canvasses Partnership for Effective E-learning Education Funmi Ogundare The President and Chief Executive Officer of Olawoyin Awosika School of Innovative Studies (OASIS), Professor Abiola Awosika has stressed the need for a public private partnership where government would provide the enabling environment that will ensure the effectiveness of elearning education in Nigeria. Awosika who made this call, recently, at an E-learning policy roundtable, organised by Sterling Bank, in Lagos, with the theme: ‘Developing Cross-sectional partnerships to promote e-learning in Nigerian

HEIs’, said the partnership is imperative so as to move the country forward and ensure that the Nigerian child can have access to quality education without being restricted. According to her, E-learning seems to be the solution, a lot of people don’t understand it yet, and so we have to come together especially those of us who work in the education system, that can fund education and every support sector to determine what kind of policy the government needs to put in place.” She said there is need to use technology to upscale the teachers and students, adding

that digital technology involves access, equity and affordability. “Technology is changing the way we work, live and learn , we must create the right environment for human development and also for technoprenuers to thrive,” Awosika said. In his remarks, Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo stressed the need for higher education in Nigeria to explore holistically how to use technology to enhance access, quality and affordability, adding, “the infrastructural requirements and capital intensive nature of deploying E-learning, and the disruptive changes it will cause

in any institution deploying it, requires educators, policy makers, the private sector and students to come together to deliberate on how a conducive policy environment can be created for innovations in E-learning to thrive in Nigeria, and how institutions can effectively adapt to the technology to suit it curriculum.” Osinbajo who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on ICT, Mr. Lanre Osibona, said E-learning provides learners access to quality education at their convenience and from any location.

“Following on this, we the stakeholders can attest that it is necessary for higher education in Nigeria to explore holistically how to use technology to enhance access, quality and affordability.” He said from the theme of the forum, it is clear that government alone cannot transform higher education to meet the needs and aspirations of Nigerians, adding that there must be collaborative effort by all stakeholders to meet the target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) designed to ensure inclusive and quality education for all

and promote lifelong learning. Osinbajo said the country must chart its own course in education, noting that the focus of educators should be on subject and lessons that encourage critical thinking, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. The Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Afrigants Resources Limited, Ms. Thelma Ekiyor who emphasised on ‘Exploring funding/financing opportunities for E-learning in Nigeria’, said it cannot happen in a vacuum, but requires investment and effort of all stakeholders to map out solution for it to work.”

200 Staff of Kogi State University Screened Out of Service Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kogi State University (KSU) Anyigba, chapter, has said that about 200 of its members were screened out of service during the recently concluded staff verification exercise. The Chairman, ASUU-KSU, Dr. Daniel Aina, who made this known, recently, while addressing journalists, in Lokoja, said the ongoing strike could only be suspended when all issues relating to arrears of salaries, 2015 employment, contract and sabbatical staff were resolved. The union also said government must resume the monthly instalmental payment of the 2009-2014 arrears of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA). According to them, “the Kogi state university management must pay up the outstanding balance of the 2014/2015 arrears of the EAA.” said Aina. The union, which commended the government for reconstituting the governing council of the university, however, said the more serious issue of payment of arrears of salaries to all categories of its members had not been addressed. The chairman said the union had, at the inaugural meeting of the governing council appealed to it to expedite action on the resolution of uncleared staff and payment of arrears of salaries. “This was to create a pathway for the amicable resolution of all outstanding issues before the April 24, 2017. ASUU’s suggestion would seem to have been jettisoned. This is because while staff of other tertiary institutions in Kogi state who have been on strike, have received their February and March 2017 salaries, those of KSU, Anyigba are yet to be paid. “Since 2014, the Kogi State

government has never paid the staff monthly salary in full. The university administration has had to augment the recurrent short falls from its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Even this amputated salary wage bill has become erratic. “The government must be told that the propaganda on salary payment is a ruse because artisans, traders and the business environment of the state do not enjoy the patronage that naturally flourishes when workers are paid. “It is pathetic that economic activities have been seriously hampered in Kogi state due to the non-payment of salaries occasioned by the long-drawn and tortuous staff screening exercises. Many parents whose children and wards have been at home since the strike action commenced, are yet to be paid their salaries. “To date, several of our members have not received salary since June 2016. In fact, all staff of Kogi State university, Anyigba have not received their February and March 2017 salaries. Neither the government nor the university administration has provided,” Aina stressed. The lecturers expressed concerns over the consistently deteriorating working conditions of the academic staff of the university that had led to mass exodus of staff. It also noted a sharp reduction in the funding of the institution by government, regretting that infrastructure and staff development in the school have been left in the hands of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the NEEDS assessment. The union however condemned the disruption of the peaceful protest embarked upon by students of the university, their arrests, rough handling and detention by security agents while trying to draw government’s attention to their plight.

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Olawoyin Awosika School of Innovation Studies (OASIS), Prof. Abiola Awosika; Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman; Senior Special Adviser to President on ICT/Senior Personal Assistant to Vice President, Mr. Lanre Osibona and Chief Executive Officer, afrigrants, Mrs. Thelma Ekiyor, during the E-Learning Policy Round table by Sterling Bank in Lagos…recently

FG Takes Steps Towards Eliminating Skills Gap in Education

FG Task Unity Colleges On Proactive Measures against Emergencies

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Director of Technology and Science Education of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Joel Ojo, has expressed concern about the widening gap and mismatch between the quality of graduates and the actual needs of industries. Ojo who made this known, recently, at a stakeholders workshop designed to address the skills gap in the Nigerian education system and development of a training plan for teachers and laboratory technicians, said government was worried by the inability of many students to fit into work places because they lack the necessary soft skills required of them to perform. According to him, as the percentage of unemployed graduates increased yearly, the issue of mismatch between what is offered in institutions of learning and the labour market is yet to be fully addressed, just as he acknowledged the inadequate capacity building for teachers which is a major factor responsible for declining quality of education in the country.

The Director who was represented by the Deputy Director Vocational Education, Mr. Emmanuel Ocheja said, “ the stakeholder workshop would among other things identify the mismatch and develop a national plan for continuous professional development of teachers and laboratory technicians, as well as identify sources of funding for these activities.” He noted with dismay that unlike the advanced countries such as Singapore, Nigeria has no approved Continuous Professional Development (CPD ), even though it is recommended that all serving teachers should undergo at least 100 hours CPD each year. Various paper presenters at the workshop identified causes of skills gap basically to include: poor quality teaching, obsolete equipment input and students’ teacher ratio, noting that students eventually graduate with deficiency in critical areas such as communication, technical competence, and analytical skills for problems solving.

The Acting Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Husseini Adamu has called on the authorities of Federal Unity colleges to be more pro-active in securing the lives of students entrusted in their care. Adamu, who gave this directive while declaring open a-day sensitisation workshop on ‘Education in Emergencies/Emergency Preparedness and Response’, for Vice Principals (Special Duties) in the North Central, South East, South South and South West geo-Political Zones, at the ministry’s headquarters, observed that the country has in the recent past witnessed a myriad of emergencies, ranging from flooding, fire outbreaks, ebola- virus epidemic to armed conflicts, which according to him affect students more. He said the workshop is designed to, among others, create awareness on the importance of Education in Emergency (EIE) and what should be done to reduce vulnerability. The permanent Secretary

expressed concern about the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East Zone since 2009, which affected five of the 104 Federal Government Colleges including: Federal Government College, Buni Yardi; Federal Science/Technical College, Michika; Federal Government Girls’ College, Potiskum; Federal Government College, Munguno and Federal Science/Technical College, Lassa. “ FGGC, Potiskum and FGGC, Munguno were later re-opened, but FGC, Buni Yardi, FSTC, Lassa and FSTC Michika are still closed down, ” he said Adamu also recalled the kidnapping of over 200 Chibok girls in Borno State by the Boko Haram insurgents on April 14, 2014, noting that some have been released, while some are still being held. He urged all participants at the workshop to prepare for the unexpected, which requires planning ahead, and recommended that effective communication should be crucial and timely in preparing the students, staff as well as the neighbouring communities for emergencies.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

UNILAG Alumni Awards Scholarships to Indigent Students Funmi Ogundare Miss Ndidiamaka Egbe, is a 400 level student of the department of Arts and Social Science, University of Lagos. Brought up in a polygamous home, her parents who are farmers and reside in the village, could not cater for her needs, as a result, she had to hawk plantain and clothes to be able to secure, finance her admission and fend for herself. Another, Mr. Oluwafemi Adeniji, is also a 400 level student of the department of Social Work, of the same institution. His mother is a petty trader, while his father is unemployed. The family is affected by lack of finance and support for his education, as a result, feeding himself and processing his final year project has become a challenge. Egbe and Adeniji, have one thing in common. They are some of the 20 less privileged, but brilliant University of Lagos (UNILAG) students who are to benefit from the institution’s alumni scholarship. They were referred and recommended

for support by the Counselling Unit of the institution and would be presented with a cash sum of N150,000, each, during the fifth Professor Babatunde Sofoluwe memorial lecture, scheduled to hold on May 12, at the J.F Ade Ajayi Auditorium. The Chairman, UNILAG Alumni, Lagos state branch, Dr. Lukumon Adeoti, who made this known, recently, while briefing journalists, said it made the promise to assist the indigent students during its Annual General Meeting(AGM), at the state level in February, this year, so that they can achieve their dreams, adding that it was also aimed at honouring the late vice chancellor who was benevolent when he was alive. According to him, “ we promised to give the indigent students money because most of them are very brilliant. Are we going to say because there is no money, they will not achieve their dreams? This is the first of its kind from the alumni and we hope to sustain it.” Emphasising on the lecture to honour the late VC, he said, “When the man was

alive he was able to contribute immensely to the university. He was an embodiment of simplicity and served this university so well throughout his course. He deserved to be immortalised. That is why the alumni have chosen to celebrate him yearly.” On what the association missed about him, Adeoti said, “not only the association but the university as a whole have missed him. He was very humble; he used to give hope to the less privilege. He sponsored up to 72 students when he was alive and most of them are graduates today. I personally benefited from him. He was always advising me especially on my publication and that advice has really helped me.” The lecture, titled, ‘The Administration and Management of a University in a Recessed Economy: The Case of Nigeria’, will be delivered by the Vice Chancellor, Sokoto State University, Professor Nuhu Yakub, the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa is the Special Guest of Honour, while the Managing Director, Mobil Oil Nigeria

-L:R:The Chair, Planning Committee of the fifth Sofoluwe lecture, Professor Oluwayemisi Obashoro-John, Chairman UNILAG alumni Lagos State branch; Dr. Lukumon Adeoti, Secretary of the alumni, Alhaji Ganiy Alimson and the Spokesperson, Miss Florence Okeke, during a press conference, held in Lagos…recently

ICAN Awards Members for Sustaining Accounting Profession A Professor of Accounting and Finance, Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun state, Rufus Ishola Akintoye has received the 2017 Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) merit award for his contribution towards the growth and sustainably of the Accounting profession. He received the award along with members of ICAN , non-members as well as other corporate bodies at the well attended annual dinner and awards of the institute, held recently, in Lagos. In his remarks, the 52nd ICAN/President, Deacon Titus Soetan, congratulated the recipients, saying that all they were carefully selected considering their antecedents and success in their chosen field as well as

their contribution to the growth of the profession. He urged them not to relent but should continue to keep the flag high, especially as far as taking accountancy to a more enviable heights and finally bailing our dear country out of recession. In his response, Professor Akintoye, thanked God for making it possible not only as a recipient of the award, but as the winner of the 2017 merit award in the members category, adding that the best honour that can be given to any accountant in this country is to be recognised by ICAN, He advised the youths to be determined and focused, not minding various obstacles on their way, noting that the challenges

are surmountable. “I can’t imagine various odd jobs I have engaged in, all in my aspiration to become great in life. I could recall the time I declined an admission offer by a Nigerian university and resorted to go to The Polytechnic, Ibadan, because I knew at that time that I would not be able to combine academics with university education, but can manage while at the polytechnic,” he said. Other recipients of awards at the event include the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the Governor of Lagos , Mr. Akinwummi Ambode, Rev. Peter Friday Obadan, and Professor Kabiru Isa Dandago.

NTI DG Stresses Institute’s Role in Education Devt. By John Shiklam in Kaduna The National Teachers Institute (NTI), Kaduna has been repositioned to play its role in the educational development of the country, The Director-General and Chief Executive of the institute, Prof. Garba Dahuwa Azare has said. The Director-General who disclosed, this in a statement, said the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the institute and the National

Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is already impacting positively on the institute, noting that with the repositioning , the quality of its students are of best international standards. He said as part of efforts to ensure easy enrollment for the programmes of the institute, a new portal; www. nti.edu.ng, was recently launched. According to the statement, “ registration for academic programmes has been extended to the end of May to

allow for hitch free registration among students and applicants.” Azare said all the programmes offered by the institute had been duly approved by the relevant authorities, making it one of the best teacher training institutions. He called on state governments to take advantage of the facilities at the institute by upgrading and updating the capacity of school teachers through trainings.

EDUCATION

Autism Has a Face Autism is often explained in grandiose and superfluous words. It is impossible to grasp the scope of this condition, which is essentially a developmental disorder, until you have lived with or worked with autistic people over a considerable period of time. Indeed, it is said (and it certainly is true) that, ‘the taste of the pudding is in its eating’. The scope of autism is broad and it is truly a spectrum. It is referred to as a spectrum because it is a collection of; an assortment of; or if you like a variety of emotions and behaviours that allude to one and the samecondition.Inmyworkexperiencewithautism,foroverthepast12 years, I have found that autistics are in many ways different from each other.Theirrangeofintellectualabilitycanextendfromseverelearning disabilities to normal or even superior levels of intellectual language and thought processes. Metaphorically, autism is an African warrior’s ceremonial cap bedecked with a variety of feathers; each feather is embedded in its own slot on the cap and signifies a feat in battle. As you would recall from my memoir in the past, I told you about Adam with his fixation on mustard. Sometimes, this rigidity is to a routine. The individual thrives only under set ways of doing things and resists changes. Schedules and clear plans of known activities benefit him. Deviatingfromasequenceatthelastminuteorlastminutecancellations evokeanxiety,frustrationsandchallengingbehaviour.Constancy,order, regularity help the autistic child to cope with his fears and anxieties, misgivings,complexitiesandambiguitiesoflife.Indeed,islifenotcomplex andpeopleinconsistent?Overtheyears,Ihaveseentolerancetochange rangingfromzerotominimal.Ihavewatchedhoweverastheacceptance ofchangeimprovesignificantlywithpersoncentredprogrammesthat have been professionally drawn by relevant therapies, and effectively implementedbyallpersonsinvolvedinthelifeoftheindividual. Thisweek, I’d like to unveil the nature of autism a bit more with Kofi’s expression of autism. Kofi (fictitious name) was a young adult with autism. I was professionally involved here in the UK with his wellbeing, on a regular basis for three years. His particularly distinguishing personality was an intense self-absorption and a disinterest in people. He consistently displayedalackofinterestincommunicatingwithothersandindeveloping relationshipsofwhateverform.Althoughhewasnon-verbal,heappeared to understand functional Makaton and key spoken words, symbols, pictures - in his scope of experience, functional signs and routines. At the start of our involvement with him, his mum sadly commented that he had never displayed any connection or recognition of her as his mother. Kofi hardly made eye contacts or allowed touch. He was fully ambulant and doubly continent. Nevertheless, rooting his anus and smearing faeces about, plus self-injurious behaviour were what we had to contend with, in those first transitional weeks of college. Just like many autistics, Kofi was a picky eater showing a great sensitivity to taste and many times not noticing hunger. He tolerated only bland dry foods eating only un-stewed pasta, rice, vegetables and cereals. Soups, fruits and moistened foods were out of it! Kofi took snippets of water only, from his own cup only. We topped this up vigilantly and placed it within his field of vision always - to keep him hydrated. Kofi also displayed an altered sensitivity to pain. He seemed oblivious to pain and cold. In winter, he insisted on going out in just a t-shirt and thin trousers. It was a long and arduous challenge for us to get Kofi dressing upafractionwarmerbytheendofhissecondyearincollege.Wepursued this need for change because we considered Kofi’s choice here to be an uninformed one that had potential damaging health consequences. Kofi’s space was very precious to him; he wanted it white and sparse. He permitted no curtains or blinds on his window; no wall hangings or pictures,justhisbedwiththebuiltinwardrobeasfurniture.Hehadcome into residential college with his own television from home - this was wall mounted and screwed onto the wall. This stayed permanently in the station of his choice and was volumned down to his specification. All of these latter personal preferences were respected by us. Kofi had no road orientation but loved to be outdoors. He verbalised sounds of delightandmadegratifiedfacialexpressionswheneverhewasoutdoors. He seemed to be oblivious of people and animals but displayed a keen fascination with cats. Sometimes we heard him, while on a night shift, mimicking ‘meows’ (cat sounds).This is a form of Echolalia, which is also quite common in autistics. Kofi was another success story at the end of his three years in Further Education. With the aid of pictographs, Objects of Reference, PECS and other living-skills programmes, Kofi blossomed into a less anxious and reclusive young man.We have heard that he is doing very well in his currentplacement. Pre-schoolteachers,theirassistantsandmanagers at home need to be vigilant indeed.They must observe and record the behaviours of the children in their care daily. Parents must insist on receivingdescriptiveinformationaboutthebehavioursoftheirbabiesand toddlers on a daily basis and make comments. Being currently involved in pre-assessment interviews, as a member of the onsite therapies in a FurtherEducationCollegehereintheUK,Ifrequentlyhearmothers(and dads) mention autistic symptoms as being present in the young adults presented,rightfromtheirchildhood.Theearliestsignsofautisminvolve the absence of normal behaviour in the different stages of childhood. Symptoms of autism may be misinterpreted as signs of a ‘good baby’, a quiet-nature, independence, and an undemanding infant. There are some behaviours that a child should be exhibiting by three months, six months, nine months, 12 months, 18 months and by 24 months. How well do you know your child? It’s not too late to take more interest in your bundle of joy and in what goes on at his/her crèche.. Omoru writes from the UK

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

EDUCATION

SAN Charges Governments on Enforcement of Free Education Policy By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali has called on government at all levels to go beyond proclaiming free education policy, but rather take bold steps to enforce its proper proclamation so as to add values to the educational advancement of the society. Ali who is also the founder of Yusuf Olaolu Ali Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, made the call in Ilorin, weekend, during the formal presentation of scholarship award of N100,000.00 each to five brilliants students of Ilorin Emirate. The beneficiaries including; Mr. Dasuki Ahmad Olorunisola (Ilorin South LG),Abdulateef Saheed(Ilorin West LG) and Mahmud Muktar Opeyemi (Asa LG).Others are Abdulraheem Kolawole (ilorin South LG) and Bello Rofiat (Ilorin West LG) are to receive the scholarship annually throughout their academic programme in their various universities. Ali said spending of more

money on education is an area where government expenditure yields highest rate of returns from the point of view of development, adding helping the individual to achieve their goal to seek knowledge, should be a personal responsibility. “While government has the larger responsibility to make individuals reach the peak in their educational pursuit, it is apparent that government alone cannot do this, it then behooves individuals whom Allah has blessed to lend a helping hand to assist others to acquire education. “Those who have the benefit of education must not see it as mere acquisition of certificate, but rather must come truly educated because the ultimate goal should not be to pursue enrichment after schooling, but to seek innovative ways of moving the society forward.” The legal luminary said the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries included being an indigene of the selected places, undergraduate in a Nigerian university, must be in 200-level, a cumulative of

not less than 4.0 or a scale of 5.0 and a CGPA of 5.5 on a sale of 7.0 and must be in the faculties of Science or Medicine or Law. According to him, “after a painstaking process, the board of trustees in collaboration with the Ilorin Emirate Development Progressive Union(IEDPU) came out with the names of the beneficiaries for Ilorin. The worth of each award is N100,000 per annum and the beneficiary would be entitled to enjoy the award till graduation subject to the CGPA not going below 3.6, on a scale of 5.0 or 4.5 on a scale of 7.0.” Ali said any awardees that is expelled or suspended for misconduct will automatically forfeit the award”. The Senior Advocate said the foundation was designed to promote education and health development adding, “the foundation consulted the United Capital Trustees (UCT) and based on advice, we set up a trust and gave a little seed money with the directive that the fruits be invested

in ethical business and in conformity with the tenets of Islam. We further decided that the profit /income from the investments be used to pursue the objectives of the foundation and for starters, we are focusing on education and health subject to availability of funds. “What we are doing today is to unveil the educational aspect of the intervention. We choose to begin with the three places I have historical connections with viz, my home town, Ifetedo in Osun state, Ilorin in Kwara state and Ibadan in Oyo state.” He assured that he would continue to use his little resources towards the development of the society so that such beneficiaries would also give back to the society in the future. The National President, Ilorin Emirate Development Progressive Union(IEDOU), Alhaji Hamid Adi lauded the gesture of the foundation and advised the beneficiaries to guard the scholarship by being and up and doing in their academic pursuits.

JCI team with some pupils of LEA Primary School, Dawaki , Abuja

Osun Kicks-off World Schools’ Calisthenics Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo The Osun state government has disclosed that state calisthenics programme, will now be part of extra curricular activities that will avail schools from the 9 federal constituencies in the state to compete against each other. The Director of Development of Social and Grassroots Mobilisation and Guidance, Office of the Governor, Mr. Adebayo Ojo, who made this known, recently, while briefing Journalists in Osogbo, said the calisthenics programme will now have new templates which include a wider spread, adding that it would afford more students opportunity to participate, and instill discipline in the school children.

He said the new template as approved by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, would not only allow interested private school to participate, but would also be voluntary, adding that though the state government will be responsible for the training funding, support would be sought from social and corporate organisations as sponsors. “Efforts are underway to institutionalise the programme in the state school academic calendar, ” he said, while commending the state governor’s effort towards re-branding the education sector. Ojo said the introduction of calisthenics into the public schools is an integral part of a rejuvenated education system in the state and that it has enhanced organisational capacity and understanding of system by

the students. He added that the programme apart from instilling spirit of team work, discipline and promptness in over 5000 pupils that have been participating since its commencement, has also help in boosting the economy of the state. Echoing a similar view, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr Festus Olajide thanked Aregbesola for introducing the program me, saying calisthenics game has enhanced organisational capacity and understanding among the youth. Olajide explained that education is one of the grassroots requirements that determined the future of youth, adding that all hands must be on deck to encourage young one acquiring it.

RUNNING THE CLASSROOM Career Guidance

CHIOMA ERUOTOR

Career guidance implies series of tasks, which the individual has to accomplish in each educational institution levels i.e primary, secondary and tertiary. Without the completion of these, he cannot satisfactorily progress to the next development. A variety of social, economic, educational and vocational factors underscore the critical need for vocational or career development in schools, many young people in our school, colleges and universities do not have accurate knowledge about themselves, their personal characteristics’ (abilities interest aptitude motives attitudes and values) and the world around them. They lack skills, which are necessary for work, working and life after school. Activities that foster career development of individual make up career guidance programme. Career guidance activities should be viewed as a consequential series of experiences, which begins in the primary school and continue periodically through the exploratory years of junior and senior secondary and into adulthood. It is observed that at any educational level, individual differences exist in terms of vocational development and vocation development need.This article will consider some career guidance goals and career guidance methods for the three levels of educational institutions. Goals for career guidance in primary institutions . Helping each pupil understand himself in terms of interests, abilities and skills. . Helping each pupil develop skills in these processes needed to assume responsibility for processes leading to self-ego decision making and problem solving. . Helping each pupil understand others and to develop ability to form healthy interpersonal relationships. . Acquaint the pupils with the world of work by helping them develop a healthy attitude towards work and a respect for the importance all types of work performed in the society and by stimulating interests in several occupations. Goals for career guidance in secondary institutions .Helpinganindividualtocometopersonalunderstandingofthemeaning and value of education. . Helping an individual to become aware of his personal characteristics-abilities, interest aptitudes, value etc and how these correspond to those needed in occupations. . Helping an individual to understand better the behavour of others; the more an individual understand himself and his behaviour, the more the can understand others and their behaviours. . Become, acquainted with the sources of educational information, and develop the skills required to find and used such materials. . Engage in educational and vocational planning. . Recognise, plan for and adapt the changes in occupation and society (Shertzer 1973, Goals for career guidance in tertiary institutions . Stress the need to assist each undergraduate to define identity and implement his own career. . Helping each undergraduate to find a job thatmeetsandsatisfiesfor,andonewhichpermitshimtousehistalents maximally for self and society’s benefits. Courses or subject choice Intheseekingforadmissionintoinstitutionsofhigherlearning,students need to know the right subject combinations, the duration of proposed courseofstudyandthecollegesofeducation,polytechnicsanduniversities wherethereareoffered.Itisexpedienttoseekcareerinformationthrough occupational pamphlets, reference and files containing educational and vocational material, college and university brochures or bulletins or prospectus. Secondly, the importance of continuous and periodic career conferences though which students get a series of exposures to occupational information cannot be overemphasised. Many resources persons representing a variety of industries and occupation should be invited to make presentations. Thirdly,parentsandcounselorsshouldencouragestudentstoinvestigate the jobs of their parents and other people in their communities. As they investigatetodevelopanoccupationalfile.Eachjobshouldbedescribed under the following headings: Job tile, officer, company where jobs may be viewed in action, contact person and brief description, physical aspect, age and experience. Fourthly, knowledge of work experience is paramount in the choice of courses. In fields like teaching, medicine and social work, internships of one sort or another are required before students are said to have completed their educational requirements for award of certificates. For instance, practical teaching for work, experience is an integral part of a particular educational programmed meant for grade II teachers certificate, Nigeria Certificate Education and undergraduate degrees in education. When students are placed to have actual “field” or “work| experience, such opportunities enable them to develop specific attitude, occupational and skill training on the jobs. All students should have opportunities for actual field or work experience before leaving school i.e at least holiday vacation jobs. Scriptural breakthrough in career guidance (1Jn 5: 4, 5) . Receive God’s salvation: The first step toward successful life is to surrender our hearts to Jesus and be born again. By being reconciled to God, the grace and blessing from the lord will rain into our lives. . Have positives attitudes in your heart:The most positive power in our lifeisfaith,Hopeandlove(1Cor13:13).Wherethereisfaith,circumstances are conquered and fears disappear. . Be consistence in your prayer life (Matt 11: 28) when you release the burden in your heart to God in prayers, He will take them all and cleanse you and bring peace (Phil 4:4-6). Rejoice in the Lord always. . Study God’s world deeply: The word of God is also the heavenly supernatural food that can reveal the supernatural world to us careers, dreams, vision and faith beyond human imagination and experience the supernatural power of God. . Finally, be filled with the Holy Spirit and power and he will teach you to prospers in all things, counsel you and enables you to prosper in all things in Jesus Name Amen. Eruotor writes from Lagos

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

CITYSTRINGS

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

Propagating the Ijaw Heritage Emmanuel Addeh, who visited the Ijaw National Academy, a post-primary institution set up by the Bayelsa State Government, reports that the new institution is the right place to begin changing the Ijaw narrative

ith a chequered history, the Ijaw people found mainly in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Ondo and to a lesser extent in Akwa Ibom State, have come to deeply embrace their identity and indeed how they should relate with the rest of the world, while not jettisoning their own very essence. At first contact and noticeably so, the Ijaw are as train that is very finicky about their language, culture and traditions. Their contact with the white man, still resonates in the kind of names borne by this stock till today. Names like Meeting, Money Sweet, Kitchen, I don’t care, Lagos, Carpenter would probably amuse a first-time visitor to Ijaw land, especially those coming to Bayelsa, but no, they are just a reflection of the rich history vis-à-vis the interaction of Ijaw people with the outside world. They are a proud people; forever staying true to their heritage, whether in terms of their foods, dances, marriage traditions, general mannerisms or even the way words are pronounced. The typical Ijaw man, would sound the word jeep as Zip or church as sauce and not give any qualm or in any way feel inferior to the listener. He will greet you Nu`a or Adoo, not minding whether you understand a word of the language. It is in consolidation of these rare traits, enriching the Ijaw culture and growing a new set of Ijaw leaders that the establishment of the Ijaw National Academy, symbolically located in Kiama, the hometown of the revered late Ijaw hero, Major Adaka Boro, has become important. Sited off the popular and easily accessible East/ West road which runs across most states of the South-south, the Ijaw National Academy, though currently equates with secondary schools in terms of ranking, stays markedly different in terms of physical structures, faculty and focus, with its buildings comparable to those of universities. The INA is fully decked with modern hostels, dining halls, classroom blocks, staff quarters, library, laboratories and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as health facilities. Unlike in most secondary schools in the state, the Ijaw language, culture and way of life will be vigorously taught to the next generation of leaders, whom the promoters of the project say would outperform them, given the kind of foundation being laid by the new institution. Already the Ijaw academy, a mixed institution,

The Ijaw National Academy has already started and we have 1,000 students there. Almost a hundred of the students are from other Ijaw-speaking states. So when I give scholarships, most people do not know I give scholarships also to other Ijaws in other states. This is because Bayelsa has a responsibility not only to mobilise ourselves within this state for development but also to lead the way for the rest of the Ijaw nation

The students of Ijaw National Academy in one of the classrooms

L-R: Dickson, INA Principal, Mr. Charles Hughes Johnson and Education Commissioner, Markson Fefegha, jointly receiving the MOU between the state government and the principal on the school's formal take off

has kicked off academic activities with about 1000 students from Bayelsa, while it has also provided 100 slots for Ijaw people outside Bayelsa State. Governor Seriake Dickson, who describes Bayelsa as the Jerusalem of the Ijaw people, says the project, the first of its kind, would help in rewriting the Ijaw story and prepare the youths of the state for responsible leadership. “The Ijaw National Academy has already started and we have 1,000 students there. Almost a hundred of the students are from other Ijaw-speaking states. So when I give scholarships, most people do not know I give scholarships also to other Ijaws in other states. This is because Bayelsa has a responsibility not only to mobilise ourselves within this state for development but also to lead the way for the rest of the Ijaw nation. Some of the deserving boys and girls from other neighbouring states are there and they will feed for free. We are going to have about seven to 10,000 compulsory

boarding students fed by the state, clothed by the state, taken care of by the state,” Dickson posits proudly. Aside the physical structures, the headship of the Ijaw academy also differs from the conventional secondary schools. The Principal is a British educationist, a thorough-bred disciplinarian who is expected to maintain the highest standard of learning and character in the institution. Dickson continues: “There are medical facilities in the schools, laboratories, libraries built to standard. For the Ijaw National Academy, the first principal I have appointed is a British citizen, a distinguished Cambridge University graduate. There is a major revolution going on that has to be supported and funded. The only thing we want parents and guardians to do is when your child gets admission into any of these boarding schools, you only buy those little items that they write down like bucket, cutlass, dormitory wears and so on. The government will now take

care of the intellectual moulding of that child and we are training all round citizens. When I took over this state, we had the unfortunate situation where in 2012 we did not have a single boarding school. Soon, the Bayelsa government says, the Nigerian Army would deploy some of its officers, led by a commandant to ensure the physical discipline of the students. A chaplain to ensure moral rectitude and spiritual wholeness, has also been deployed in the school to ensure that benefitting students are well-rounded.” The governor says he believes that making the centre the epicenter of educational excellence, would change the narrative, whereby many Ijaw youths were perceived to be militants and violent people. “We have kidnappers and militants, criminals and cultists because the young people have not been given the opportunities to discover their potential and to contribute meaningfully to the society,” the governor adds. Pioneer principal of the school, Mr. Charles

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

CITYSTRINGS

The main administrative building

A block of classrooms

Hughes Johnson, agrees with the governor and opines that his headship of the school would assist in opening it up to partnering with institutions outside the country. “I am here in this part of the world to help nurture the Ijaw National Academy into a torch-bearing institution that in years to come the Ijaw nation will be very proud. We will produce leaders, academics in much the same way some of the schools that were set up during the colonial period. We want to create a new school and produce students that will rank among the best in the world,” Johnson explains. On the quality of equipment and the structure on the ground, the Principal adds, “This is one of the best equipped public schools that I have seen here in Nigeria located in a serene environment that could rival some of the best private schools. Children thrive in serene and tranquil environment and we are lucky to have this here at the Ijaw National Academy, a spacious setting where we would have two football pitches. Children, particularly boys need exercise; I am very passionate about the physical part of boarding school. We will be having a very structured approach,” he states. The Principal noted that with his experience over the years, it would only be a matter of time before the Ijaw academy becomes some

form of tourist attraction to many countries. Johnson continued: “The governor himself wants us to build a chapel here and we will have a chaplain. He is posting a commandant from the Army, we will teach the children drill; I was in the British Army myself and left 30 years ago as a captain. I know it is good to instill discipline in the children, especially in the boarding school. A visit to the school shows the gigantic structures that were erected and the first set of staff. Four blocks of one-bedroom flats, a sickbay, clinics, a couple of medical doctors, four nurses, 32 classrooms, toilets, multiple sound-proof generator sets. This is very rare elsewhere. Even in some universities,

It is a centre for leadership training.The Ijaw language will be taught so that it doesn’t go into extinction to ensure that we preserve our cultural heritage

this sickbay is better than what you find there,” says Dr. Enize-Tonvie Eze, one of the medical staff on duty. Raphael Big-Joe is the Senior Perfect in SS2 at the academy. He expresses excitement over what he met when he first arrived the school. “At first I was surprised with what I saw in terms of the infrastructure and facilities. Later I discovered it was even much more than I had initially seen after I saw what we have inside. The equipment and everything. The sporting facilities. The common rooms, dining halls, classrooms. I was wowed. With these things on the ground, I look forward to being one of the intellectual gurus of the future. The teachers are sound in their areas. This is a big contrast to where we are coming from. Nobody is complaining here and everything is free,” Big-Joe said. Kiyah Ebitimi, Head Girl, SS2, who is a beneficiary of the scholarship from the Ijawspeaking part of Edo State, also speaks in the same vein. “I am from Edo State. I am very happy. Not everybody is opportune to have this opportunity. I am grateful to the government. Our facilities are some of the best I have seen,” she says. The Commissioner for Information and Orientation in the state, Mr. Jonathan Obuebite,

posits that the school is not like every regular secondary school. “What is special about the school is that one: the school will be a centre of Ijaw national integration. 100 of the 1000 students that are currently there, were taken from other Ijaw-speaking states,” Obuebite explains. He adds, “It is not unlike every other school. We have a vicar sent by the Christian community for the moral upbringing of the students, we have the military personnel. We don’t have these in other regular schools. It is a centre for leadership training. The Ijaw language will be taught so that it doesn’t go into extinction to ensure that we preserve our cultural heritage. Unlike other schools, the beneficiaries are taken from the eight local councils of the state, not minding that it is located in Kaima.” On why an expatriate was picked to head the school, the commissioner noted that the school will also be affiliated to schools outside the shores of Nigeria, “reason it was necessary to get a man with the right contacts. It is also to set standards like what obtains outside of Nigeria, just like some schools in Lagos are doing and ensure things are done the right way. We are bringing abroad here instead of sending our children there. The man’s wealth of experience too matters. He has been in the education subsector all his life,” he said.

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Etisalat Nigeria Loan Talks Stalled as Banks Avoid Provisions Obinna Chima with agency report Talks between the Nigerian arm of Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat and its lenders to renegotiate the terms of a $1.2 billion loan have reached deadlock after the telecoms firm missed a payment, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The banks that are under pressure to avoid loan-loss provisions, are pushing to finalise the debt restructuring before next month’s half-yearly audit, a banking source said. Etisalat met with the lenders in London on April 28 led by Guaranty Trust Bank but they could not agree a way forward, the sources said. According to Reuters, Etisalat could not be

reached for comment. The telecom firm signed the medium-term seven-year facility with 13 local banks in 2013 to refinance a $650 million loan and fund expansion of its network, but is now struggling to repay. Etisalat Nigeria told Reuters that it was in talks with lenders to restructure the loan after it missed a payment. “There is no conclusive view on the way forward,” one banker who declined to be named told Reuters after the meeting. “The most viable solution which the banks are pushing for is for the shareholders to inject equity into the business.” A source at Etisalat, which owns 45 per cent of the Nigerian company, said the company was not willing to invest more after

converting some loans it made to the affiliate to equity and writing down its investment to $50 million. Abu Dhabi’s state-owned fund Mubadala owns another 40 percent. Etisalat is the biggest foreignowned victim of the dollar shortages plaguing Nigeria’s financial system. Nigerian regulators in March agreed with local banks to pursue a default deal rather than a receivership for Etisalat Nigeria so as not to deter investors and to avoid a wider debt crisis. But lenders are keen to keep a lid on rising non-performing loans (NPLs) to preserve their capital as Africa’s biggest economy battles a recession and currency crisis. NPLs hit 14 percent in 2016 from 5.3 percent a year earlier.

LeasingIndustryRecordsGrowthamidstRecession Obinna Chima The Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN) has affirmed that the Nigerian Leasing industry is vibrant and remains a source of succour to many organisations across all sectors in the economy, in spite of the current economic realities. According to a report from ELAN, the industry in 2016, recorded a 14 per cent growth in leasing activities. The outstanding lease volume grew to N1.26 trillion, from N1.1 trillion in 2015. Commenting on this development, Executive Secretary of ELAN, Andrew Efurhievwe stated that: “Leasing continued to be attractive to new investors with massive diversification by existing players in the industry.” The analysis of the volume by sector revealed that the oil and

gas, with its present challenges still out played other sectors with the lead of N398 billion, representing 24 per cent of the total portfolio, while transportation followed with N319 billion, which 19 per cent of the total portfolio. On the other hand, manufacturing recorded N180 billion, with agriculture, government, telecoms sectors and others (education, healthcare, construction and consumer sectors) recording considerable growths.“Categorising the lease transactions according to types, finance leases retained the dominant position accounting for 70 per cent of all lease transactions while operating lease accounted for 30 per cent. This revealed the increasing trend of operating leases in the recent times, due mainly to risk mitigating mechanism and response by industry players to current

market dictates, by provision of vehicles (trucks, cars and staff buses) and other assets to support the operations of their corporate customers. “The industry continued to witness the banks as the lead players, particularly financing big ticket leases, and also providing funds to lessors for lease transactions. The non-bank lessors contributed 70 per cent of lease transactions concentrating majorly on the small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs). Many financial investment and capital market companies are coming into the industry to tap into the opportunities in leasing, as a way of hedging against other non – performing product offerings. Also, vendors, service providers (telecom and oil) are getting more involved in leasing,” the ELAN report added.

Google Wants FG to SimplifyTaxes to BoostTechnology Nigeria’s government should simplify taxes and reduce fees involved in laying fibre optic cables to encourage development of infrastructure for the technology industry, Google’s Manager in Nigeria, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor has said. Ehimuan-Chiazor told Reuters boosting the technology industry would help diversify Nigeria’s oil-dependent economy, the largest in Africa and which is now in its second year of a recession caused mainly by low crude prices. The Budget and National

Planning Ministry said in March the government should encourage local production of technology hardware to reduce dependence on imports and generate foreign exchange. The government aims to create 2.5 million new technology jobs in 2017-2020 via a state-run training programme. “The private sector can play a very strong role,” EhimuanChiazor said, adding that internet service providers regularly complained that multiple taxes at the federal and state level raised the cost

of expanding the required infrastructure. “Where the government can help is just removing some of those obstacles - for example, bringing down right of way fees and removing this challenge around multiple taxation,” she said. Right of way fees are the charges paid when securing permission to lay cables. A reduction of fees by Lagos state government helped bring fast broadband to Yaba, a district of commercial capital that is now Nigeria’s technology hub.

Kie: Ecobank Digital Channels Make Banking Cheaper, Faster Ecobank Nigeria Limited has restated that it had invested in a state of the art mobile application that is fast and accessible and gives better transaction incentive to the users. The Managing Director of Ecobank, Charles Kie who made the remark, said with this strategy, the bank hopes to increase its customer base in Nigeria to over 40 million in the next five years. This represents 40 per cent of the 100 million customers target of the Ecobank Group. This, he was quoted in a statement to have said was the bank’s strategy for financial inclusion, enabling more people

do their banking transaction wherever and whenever without necessarily visiting the branches. According to Kie, what financial inclusion “means for Ecobank is the ability to allow more people into the banking space, doing their transactions in cheaper and quicker ways.” He maintained that some of the significant steps already taken include the ability of every citizen to download the Ecobank mobile app and open an Ecobank Xpress account within minutes on the go. “Also the Ecobank Mobile App enables customers do instant payments as well as do instant transfers across

33 countries in Africa. The Ecobank App, he reiterated is the first of its kind in Africa as it has an innovative payment solution, the Ecobank Masterpass that allows customers the convenience to pay for goods at merchant locations by simply scanning a QR code on their phones. Also Ecobank now has an enhanced Retail Internet Banking platform with much speed, stability and flexibility,” he added. On why the bank decided to merge some of its branches, Kie maintained that customers do not need to get to a physical branch before doing their transaction.

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 • Source - CBN

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 • Monetary Policy Rate - 13%

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, WED, 8 MAY 2017 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $46.87 a barrel on Monday, compared with $46.56 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 10, 2017

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Eight-day Rally Pushes Market to Year High Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The Nigerian equities market rallied to a year high yesterday after gaining for the eight consecutive days. Sustained demand lifted the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index by 1.28 per cent to close at year’s high of 26,756.21, while market capitalisation added N116.8 billion to be at N9.25 trillion. The gain was

spurred mainly by demand for stocks such as Oando Plc, Access Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Zenith Bank Plc. According to analysts at Meristem Securities Limited, the increased investors’ appetite being witnessed may be traced to the streams of positive news inflow as regards companies’ performance and economic recovery.

T H E MAIN BOARD

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

“Whilst we do not rule of some profit-taking activities at the end of the week, we reiterate that the current positive trend may persist,” they stated. The bulls visited 34 stocks, while only six stocks played host to the bears. Just like Monday, Oando Plc led the price gainers with 10.1 per cent, trailed by Fidson Healthcare Plc with 9.5 per cent. Transcorp Plc chalked up 7.1 per cent just as May & Baker Nigeria Plc,

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

S T O 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 Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified 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--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified 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

Portland Paints and Products, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc and Access Bank Plc appreciated by 5.9 per cent, 4.9 per cent, 4.8 per cent and 4.8 per cent in that order among others. Conversely, Linkage Assurance Plc led the price losers with 3.7 per cent, followed by Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc with 3.5 per cent. Total Nigeria Plc shed 2.3 per cent, just as Lafarge Africa Plc and Seven-Up Bottling Company

6 6 12

30.00 34.00

12,629 11,640 24,269

374,530.15 421,345.20 795,875.35

19 19 31

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

2.69

614,065

1,572,223.05

Plc depreciated by 2.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. However, the value of stocks traded fell by 13.5 per cent to N2.815 billion, while volume rose by 101.4 per cent to 539.23 million shares. The three most actively traded sectors were Financial Services (488.45 million), Conglomerates (23.43 million) and Consumer Goods (9.78 million), while the three most actively traded stocks were: FCMB (243.86 million),

Zenith Bank (52.29 million) and UBA (42.52 million). Performance across sectors remained positive with three of the sectors appreciating, while only the NSE Industrial Goods Index, which dipped 0.3 per cent on account of profit-taking in Lafarge Africa. The NSE Banking Index led sector gainers, rising by 2.2 per cent , followed by the NSE Oil & Gas Index with 0.7 per cent growth.

E X C 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

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Nigerian Breweries Appoints Doyer Interim MD/CEO Goddy Egene

Doyer’s appointment takes effect on the 16th of June, 2017 on The Board of Directors of an interim basis pending the Nigerian Breweries Plc has appointment of a substantive announced the appointment MD/CEO. of Mr. Johan Antonie Doyer as According to Nigeria the company’s new Managing Breweries, Doyer joined Director/CEO. Doyer will Heineken Netherlands in succeed Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, 1978 as Product Manager and who will be leaving Nigeria subsequently held increasingly Breweries to assume a new senior Marketing management position as the MD of Heineken positions in different regions. He Asia Pacific Region. became the General Manager In a notification to the in Vietnam followed by La Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Reunion, Burundi, Democratic yesterday, the company said Republic of Congo, Chile and 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

the Sedibeng Brewery in South Africa. “Doyer retired from Heineken in July 2015 as the MD of Heiken Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia, he was responsible for building the new company, integrating two acquired breweries, building a new brewery, launching new brands and overseeing the tripling of that company’s volume. He set the stage for the growth Heineken Ethiopia has recorded. The Board is confident that Doyer’s wealth

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 8-May-2017, unless otherwise stated.

of experience stands him in a very good position to help the Company continue its twin strategy of Cost Leadership and Market Leadership towards sustaining the company’s leadership position in the market and its philosophy of winning with Nigeria,” the company said. Nigerian Breweries Plc recorded a revenue of N313.743 billion for the 2016 financial year, up from N293.9 billion in 2015. Profit before tax stood at N39.675 billion, down from N54.514 billion

in 2015 while profit after tax was N28.416 billion as against N38.05 billion in 2015. The directors recommended a final dividend of N20.457 billion, which translate to N2.58 per share, bringing the total dividend to N28.386 billion or N3.58 per share. The Chairman of the company, Chief Kola Jamodu told the shareholders last week that the operating environment in 2016 was very challenging especially from an input cost, foreign exchange and

purchasing power perspectives. “Our volume growth was in the mid-single digit region, coupled with the price increases that we implemented positively impacted our revenue growth. The positive results we achieved in 2016 were helped in no small measure by our Cost Leadership Agenda through which we focused on being better with revenue management, optimising costs and a continuous process of consumer value engineering,” he 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 137.62 138.36 8.44% Nigeria International Debt Fund 223.96 225.00 4.12% 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 0.72 0.73 2.43% 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 12.82 13.21 3.83% ARM Discovery Fund 299.51 308.54 4.29% ARM Ethical Fund ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 15.62% 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 114.66 115.46 9.01% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.10% 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 10.13 10.39 8.23% Women's Investment Fund 89.31 91.60 5.57% 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 18.29% 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 1,066.05 1,067.17 5.54% FBN Heritage Fund 117.07 117.86 4.92% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.59% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $107.96 $108.79 4.94% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $107.61 $108.44 5.32% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 120.97 122.51 7.35% 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 1.02 1.04 9.57% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.71 2.71 5.42% 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 2,297.41 2,325.56 4.02% Coral Income Fund 2,236.72 2,236.72 6.29% 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 17.22% 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 17.75% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.79 1.81 6.55% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.59%

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 1.03 1.04 3.75% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,020.96 1,020.96 3.78% 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 10.28 10.35 6.27% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 15.60% 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 11.47% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.52 10.58 1.22% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 14.43% 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 115.53 116.43 13.45% 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 3.89% 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 1,897.90 1,907.73 3.62% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 156.90 156.90 1.91% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.79 0.80 3.25% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 196.78 196.78 5.29% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 133.49 135.32 2.86% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.03% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 7,609.23 7,697.64 0.34% 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 1.18 1.19 9.83% United Capital Bond Fund 1.27 1.27 15.36% United Capital Equity Fund 0.67 0.69 2.22% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.11 1.11 11.72% 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 10.57 10.76 9.54% Zenith Ethical Fund 11.60 11.71 6.16% Zenith Income Fund 17.72 17.72 7.21%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 126.75

1.01% 2.24%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

8.22 76.50

8.32 77.93

-6.34% 0.95%

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

2.93 6.30 12.32 16.80 130.05

2.97 6.38 12.42 17.00 132.05

6.43% -10.33% 2.62% 5.30% 0.13%

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.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

UTILIZATION OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE AS AT 5TH OF MAY 2017 S/N

CUSTOMERS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212

CROWN FLOUR MILLS LTD PROMASIDOR NIGERIA LIMITED SEVEN UP BOTTLING COMPANY PLC SEVEN UP BOTTLING COMPANY PLC SEVEN UP BOTTLING COMPANY PLC ORBIT WOOD AND ALLIED IND LIMITED WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS KAM IND KAM IND WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC EBELE E OGBUE WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS CBN CBN CBN CBN CBN CBN CBN CBN KAM IND KAM IND NIGERIA PIPES LIMITED RAYBROS RAYBROS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS WEST AFRICAN CERAMICS BALOGUN ENETOME MICHAEL BASSEY GRACE EMEM AHMED LAWAL BABAWO CHINEDU OBI JOHN OKONKWO CHINYERE YUSUF ADAMU DURUNNA CHINWENDU OLUCHI ROWLAND GLORIA NYANTE AGBEBIYI ADELOLA TEMITOPE ODACHI UDOKA VICTOR ISEDE TEMA VALENTINE NURA LAWAN MUSA AFOLABI OMOTOLA OLAYEMI OLUKOYA MICHAEL OLUSEGUN DAWODU BODUNRIN OLUBUNMI MADUAKO CHIOMA NNANCY ALACKSON TITILAYO OLUWASEYI TENDIMADI NZOLANINGI MUSA NAFISA BILYAMINU AMINU SADIYA ABDULLAHI KWALMI N. ROSEMARIANNE UDENDE MEMGA EMMANUEL OKOCHA JOY UCHECHUKWU MEZUE TINA NDIDIAMAKA IJOSE ADEOLU OLUGBENGA HASSAN UMAR HUSSAINI ALI MUKTAR SUNUSI MUHAMMAD ALIYU ASDAMU KYAUTA SALEH REV FR. IBEKWE ANTHONY PAUL OKOCHA JOHN ONOCHIE ADESANYA EMMANUEL ADEKUNLE EMMANUEL ONOKPASA SOLADE OLUBUKOLA OLUBOLA LAWAL FEBISOLA TOLULOPE FASUBA KOLAWOLE ABIODUN AJINIRAN ABIMBOLA JOLAYEMI BELLOMUHAMMED ABDULLATEEF ADAM IBRAHIM AGU COSMAS OKAFOR ABUBAKAR KABIR UMAR ABDULLAHI MAIMUNAT ABDULLAHI SULEIMAN ADAM BADAWI SAADATU SHEHU IYONAWAN JEFFREY BODE CHRISTOPHER OLUSANJO ADEWOYIN JOHNSON ADEKUNLE OGUEJIOFOR MARIA NGOZI OKONNE CHIKE AUGUSTINE IROEGBU GODWIN CHIDOZIE ADEBISI BOLANLE OMOLARA ATASIE MACAULEY CHIDINMA MUHAMMAD INUWA BASHIR GAMBO USMAN SHARIF OLADOYIN OLANREWAJU OLUFEMI NWANKWO JOY IFEOMA ASUMO OLALEKAN ADESINA OMOSHIN MOROHUNMUBO FOLUKE IBRAHIM ABDULLAHI AHMED MAHMUD ALIYU MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR A AKANDE OLUGBENGA OLUSOLA FADAHUBSI SAMSON OLUKAYODE OKENWA COSMAS AGUNDU AIGBEDO SAMSON EHIARIMWIAN ADEOSUN DEBO OLUWASEGUN AKPAN INEMESIT VICTORIA OBAKIN MARGARET EKUNOLA OJO ADELEKE OYEDIRAN ADEGUNJU KABIRU ADEWALE OBAKIN MOSES AKINROPO MBATA AZUKA BARBARA ABDULKADIR HALIMA SAADIYA CHUKWU OGELE STEPHEN MALIK RAFIAT OLAMIDE MALIK SEKINAT OLUBUNMI YUSUF OLAIYWOLA RASHEED ADESHILE ADETOKUNBO SEUN NABABA ABDULLAHI ADAMU LAWAN AMINU LAWAN RABIU MURTALA IDRIS TIJJANI ABBAS IBRAHIM USMAN JIBRIL MANG STEVE ONU UDEBUANA OSITA OKEKE BONIFACE IKENNA BOSAH UCHE CORDELIA LEIGH RICHMOND SISAN ADETUWO GRACE ABOSEDE WAMI BEKWELE KINGSLEY WARAFANAU MOKANA ALLIYA GLOBAL UZOHO CHIJIOKE N SAKA ILIAS OLANIYI NWEKEOMA EBELE GRACE OKORO NWABUEZE NICHOLAS SALAAM OLOLADE OLUBUNMI KENNETH UDOCHUKWU ONUMAKU LADIPO OLALEKAN AZEEZ AMED MARIAM GLORIA BIN MUSA MARYAM SALIHU EFEJUKU DAVID WEYINMI EFEJUKU ANWULI AUGUSTINA ATIGARI MATTHEW ONYERHOVWO SHOYOOLA KAZEEM ABIODUN UMAR UMAR FAYU AKPA EMMANUEL ANYAEGBUNAM ENARUNA OSASERE NOSAKHARE JOHNSON VICTORIA NJOBI JUDITH EMMANUELA EZEANAKA AUGUSTINE CHIDIEBERE ADEPOJU FELICIA LABAKE MUSA ADAM UMMA CARDELLNORWOOD ZITTA REGINA OYINDAMOLA OJOFEITIMI KABIRU BASIRU KASSIM MUSA ALFAZAZI SALISU ANIGBATA NATHANIEL CHIDOZIE NNADIRINWA EMILIA ADAKU NAZIYYA IBRAHIM MARIRA IDRIS LAWAN HADIZA ONWUGHALU MABUBUEKE JULIUS IGNATIUS ONYEBUCHI NWOKO ADESINA KUDIRAT IYABODE OGUNLANA AKINTUNDE HABEEB EMMANUEL NJOKU EZE AJALA ADEBAYO OLUKUNLE YINUSA KEHINDE OLUSEGUN NWANKWERE CHARLES OKECHUKWU ABUBAKAR AUWALU SAMINU ONILENLA SHERIFF ADISA FANIMOKUN TOLULOPE OLUBUKOLA OZIGHO PHILEMON CLINTON GAMBO ADO YUSUF OLE PRECIOUS IFEYINWA MUSTAPHA AUWAL INUWA OYEWOLE SAMSON ADEKUNLE HAFSATU MUHAMMAD ATIKA KABIR SANI MAIMUNA HANIFA YUSUF INUWA B. SANI MUHAMMAD LAWAN ABDULKADIR HARUNA ADETUNJI OLUFEMI SAMSON SIDI DAHIRU UMAR MOHAMMED UBA BASHIR IDRIS ABUBAKAR LAWAN ABDULLAHI DAHIRU MUSA AMINU RABI KADIRI OLAYINKA TOLANI ABDUGANIYU AISHA IDRIS OLAOYETAYO SARAH EBUN ASHASU MUDI GODA ADELOSOYE ISAIAH OLAREWAJU YAHAYA IDRIS ALHASSAN AMED YUSUF AIWANLIMIBO SANI DANJUMA MUZAKKIR ABDULLAHI AMINU UBA MAMMA BRIDGET SHEPUYA OGIORIO UWAILA ERIYO NWANERI DORCAS OGISI ANORUE HENRY OBIORA MUNTARI MUSA HAYYO SALE DANLADI NASIRU ABUBAKAR NAFIU SANI ERESANARA TORITSEJU AMAJU

www.ubagroup.com

AMOUNT (US$) PURPOSE

15,341.46 619,840.00 608,593.91 599,760.00 72,800.00 697,440.00 44,310.00 14,620.00 2,494.65 200,000.00 75,153.50 36,162.49 37,247.51 1,302,857.14 72,380.96 144,761.90 4,999.94 14,400.00 59,185.00 214,428.29 422,822.85 238,055.96 214,746.24 120,132.52 277,101.53 173,235.08 150,076.61 7,238.50 17,608.00 42,000.00 42,892.22 157,107.78 38,000.00 19,145.00 48,487.51 7,260.00 487.16 6,870.00 82,660.00 106,717.84 892.84 1,430.00 4,050.00 2,770.00 38,365.00 95,750.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,500.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,340.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,110.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,700.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,500.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,600.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,500.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,250.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,300.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 150.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,500.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,600.00 5,000.00 2,700.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00

FLOUR ADDITIVES 260 TONS OF MIKSI BULK MILK POWDER MOUNTAIN DEW,MIRINDA PINEAPPLE,LEMON TEEM 588 UNITS PEPSI COLA PVC FREE NON PEELABLE LINING COMPOUND WHITE INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY FOR PLYWOOD PLANT ALUBIT GRINDING MEDIA FELCITE LINING GROUND COLEMANITE INDUSTRIAL ACCESSORIES INDUSTRIAL ACCESSORIES MAGNESIUM SILICATE MAGNESIUM SILICATE MOBILE USER TOKEN LICENSE MOBILE USER TOKEN LICENSE MOBILE USER TOKEN LICENSE MORTGAGE TOYOTA SPARES VARIOUS TRANSPARENT FRITS IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN IMTO TRANSFER TO CBN PREENGINEERED STEEL STRUCTURES PREENGINEERED STEEL STRUCTURES PVC RESIN SUSPENSION GASOLINE GENERATOR 1,238 UNITS OF NEW SUMEC FIRMAN CATERPILLAR SPARES PUMPS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE VARIOUS PIGMENTS POLISHING LINE SPARE PARTS BELTS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE BEARINGS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE VARIOUS MACHINES SPARES VARIOUS SOLUBLE SALTS BELTS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE GLAZING LINE SPARES DRIVE UNITS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE DRIVE UNITS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE CATERPILLAR SPARES USED CAT EXCAVATOR PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA

RATE DATE

340.50 340.50 330.50 330.50 330.50 326.50 371.00 309.50 311.00 306.25 306.20 309.50 311.00 325.50 325.50 325.50 325.50 309.50 309.50 357.00 357.00 357.00 357.00 357.00 357.00 357.00 357.00 306.20 306.20 336.00 306.20 306.20 309.50 309.50 309.50 371.00 371.00 371.00 371.00 371.00 311.00 311.00 311.00 311.00 311.00 311.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00

2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 4-May-17 3-May-17 5-May-17 3-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 2-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 2-May-17 4-May-17 5-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 4-May-17 5-May-17 2-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17

S/N 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424

CUSTOMERS ERESANARA TORITSE OLATUNDE FATUSIN ADUNOLA OLUWABANKE SANI MUHAMMAD HUSSAINI NWACHUKWU KELECHI VICTOR OYOR PATIENCE FORTUNE ABUBAKAR ISA RABIU IBRAHM SARKI JAMIL HARUNA UMAR HARUNA MUHAMMAD ABDULYASSAR DR MONSUDI KEHINDE FASASI SIR CHARLES K WAMI NWOKOLO CLEMENTINA ANWULI USIFO JOHN EHIMEN FRANK ABDULSALAM ABBAS ABUAH FLORENCE ADAEZE NURA MUHAMMAD NASIDI KABIR ABUBAKAR AJAO ADEBAYO ISAAC OBASANJO ABRAHAM OLUJONWO AKINWUMI ADEDEJI AUGUSTINE EDOSA OGBEIDE OYEWUMI OYEWOLE KAZEEM DUFF ABASIMODO NTIEDO OMOREGIE EHI JOSEPHINE ORAKWE REGINA OBIANUJU KADIRI ALIKEJU KADIRI YUNUSA KADIRI UFEDO MARIAM NWOGU CHIDINMA NNENNA CHIOMA EBELECHUKWU ONYEKA DR MARIA AGU AKINLA MARTHA OLUFUNKE AKINLA OLABISI ABOSEDE SOLOMON JEMINI CLAPPERTON HOME FRESH YOGHORT LIMITED OSAH OBARO MARVEL OKOLIE SANDRA KEKAPOH SALAKO FOLAKE ABDULLAHI MUHAMMADU AUYO ARIRISUKWU FORSTINA ALOBARI ABIGAIL PATIENCE OGBEMUDIA ISAAC OKUR MOSES AUDU FIDELIS OJONUGWA KENNYLAS VENTURES OSUJI NDUBUISI GEOFFREY OMITOGUN BOLA ADEMOLA, OMOLOLA DORCAS ALOBARI ABIGAIL PROF. JOHN O OLAJIDE ARIKERU NNANNA MONDAY LAWAL OMOLOLA OYINDAMOLA OZOEMELAM VICTOR CHIBUZO CHIROMA, SULEIMAN MUHAMMAD EGOR FERDINAND EGBE FRANCIS AND FATIMA ESHIEBOR NWOSU IHEKWEABA EZE OLADEJO JACOB OLUWUMI PROF JOSHUA MONDAY TOMMY JAFASAR ELNIGERIA LTD BOLAJI KHALEEL ADEKUNLE GALADIMA INVESTMENT LTD ODUTOLA ABIODUN OLUSEUN OBAJI ONYEMAECHI SAMUEL OBAJI CHINWE NORA IGBOKWE LUKE TOCHUKWU ALIYU MARYAM RABIU IBEGBU IFEANYI JOSEPH SALAMI OWOYEMI TAOFIK OLADAPO WINSTON DAMILOLA RABIU MUAZU MUHAMMAD GALADIMA MOSES PYEFA OGU DANIEL EZE UMANA ROSEMARY EDT ODUBELA ADEOLA MORAYO ODUBELA CHARLES ODUYEMI HON NGWU STELLA UCHENWA OBIAGELI LASODE ABOLANLE OLUKEMI ODOR OGECHUKWU CECILIA OKENYEKA IHEOMA SYLVIA NWADIKE HELEN OGECHI UCHENNA EKE ISAIAH PRINCE OLUGBOYE TEMITAYO ESTHER ARARAUME GLADYS NWANYIBUIFE JUNAID ROTIMI AMOPE ADENIRAN OLUWABUNMI ADEMOLA ADENIRAN OLUWABUNMI ADEMOLA YAREMA FATIMA MALA SANNI OLAYINKA AKEEM ZANG PATRICIA IFEANYI ZAINAB AMINU SULEIMAN MAMOH ANTHONY O TEMILOLU TEMITOPE IDOWU ONYEIBE FRANK SAMSON EKPENYONG MARY EKPIKEN DILLI NURA GARBA AHMAD SADI SANI ADAMU NASIRU USMAN ATTAHIR RABIU USMAN OKEGBENRO OMOBOLA O EMIKO JULIE JEMINE DAHIR SALMAN SALMAN ETUKUDOH NKEREUWEM S OKAKURO JUDITH EMOKEMOPIYA OGUNBAYODE DAVID OLUFEMI ABDULKADIR ABUBAKAR MUKHTAR UDAYA CHIBUZO ADOLPHOUS YAYYAD MUSA AHMED POLUYI ABIGAIL OLUREMI JOHNSON OLUWATOYIN ADEBUKOLA OLOFINTUYI JOHN AKINTOYE ODUYEMI OGOCHUKWU EUNICE ADEDAPO ADEMOLA ONUOHA JOSEPH CHIBUZO NNABUIFE UCHE GLADYS NKEMELU OBANIYI SAMUEL BABATUNDE EGBIKUADJE BEATRICE OBOMIATA ELEBUIBON ABIMBOLA TAIWO MOHAMMED HAMIDU MUSA ABDULHAMID MAMMAN BALOGUN OLUWATOYIN ADEOLU ADAMU ABDULKADIR JIBRIN AFIADIGWE EVARISTUS EDE OKEKE CHUKWUEMEKA PRECIOUS YAKUB NURA MUHAMMAD IKPENGWA EMMA ONWUSANYA AZUKA SAMUEL OGBOLUMANI OLOWOSHILE WASIU ABIOLA ALIU SAHEED LAWAL NURA KABIR KABIR NWAJIUGO CYPRIAN EBUKA OSINBOYEJO ABUBAKAR MOROOF ADEYEMI MOPELOLA THERESA IDRIS DAMILOLA ABDULAFEEZ TIJANI NURUDEEN OGBONNAYA NELSON EMENIKE AFIADIGWE EVARISTUS EDE MARCUSANGA DASOBA ANGELA NWANKWO CHIZARAM DAGOGO OBANIYI SAMUEL BABATUNDE YISHAWU GBOLAHAN IKA CHRISTIAN ROCKY ABIMBOLA ST. JOHN LYLE ODOR OGECHUKWU EMMANUEL AWONAIYA TAIWO HENRY UKO ATIONU UMA UMA & COMPANY ODONIOWEI OPUKRI CHRISTIAN LAMBERT N. ONYEKONWU MOHAMMED ADAMU, GONA OSUNKWO, DAMARIS AMARACHUKWU AJAO REBECCA MOROLAYO AMADI SCHOLASTICA IBEKWE AKANINYENE SUNDAY CHARLES IFEKWE AGBO HYACINTH OJOBO AKINWALE MUJIDAT MOJISOLA ALEX TAMIPIRINYE NENGI USEN LUCY CHIOMA EJENAME BROWN OLOWOJAIYE ENEH, MICHEAL CHUKWUMA STELLA M OFOJE CHUKWUMA CHIOMA PATIENCE NWAODU UDOCHI OGOLO SOLOMON T. JEVUEFO JACOBS MADUDU OGBALUBI LINUS N. KALEJAIYE EMILY ADEYEMI OKPO IRENE EYO AGBERAGBA VALERIE IFUEKO JANET O ABIOYE AMEDU JOSEPH USIKALU ABIONA IBE ANTHONY OGBONNAYA AGBASI NNAEMEKA IGNATIUS KELECHI OKAFOR KELVIN EZEIBE STEPHEN NGOZI BIENOSE JOHN EBEIGBE ADEDIPE IKEADE ADEBOLA NSE OBOT INYANG W. ANIEKE NONSO ADEABOLADE KHADIJAH OLUWAKEMI AJIBADE FAHAD ADEOLA IGE ALABI SULAIMON IGE ABIODUN OLUWAYEMISI FIDELISIWUAGWU EUNICE UGONMA AGBETUYI OLUMIDE KOLAWOLE OKPARANYOTE MATHA KEVWE EKE PATIENCE NDIDAMAKA ADJEKOTA LORETTA UFUOMA HARUNA SAMIRA ALIYU HUSSAINI BABA NAZIFI ISHAQ HARUNA ALIYU ABBAS, ISMAIL SANI MAL USMAN, SANI AUWALU YUSUF ABDULKARIM ABDULLAHI AKWALOR IKECHUKWU PETER CHIROMA AJA OSENI AKANBI YAKUBU OJO OLABISI ADEBOWALE MUIDEEN FEMI BALOGUN SADIKU ABIODUN RILWAN ONUIGBO IKECHUKWU UMARU KEVIN JIMMAI ALAMINA BOMA IBIGONI SHOWUNMI ABOLADE MICHAEL IYEN OSAS GEORGETTE ANOLIEFO CHINYERE SYLVIA GANGAS ALICE AHMED AKE AHMED OLANREWAJU OLAWEPO YINKA A OKOLIE CHINASAOKWE INNOCENT

AMOUNT (US$) PURPOSE

4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,500.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,217.78 2,229.40 1,113.51 3,988.17 3,988.17 3,988.17 3,273.78 1,330.81 2,661.61 3,992.42 1,330.81 14,563.56 4,321.80 12,627.13 1,901.86 5,245.34 862.80 950.00 1,707.00 2,800.00 1,000.00 650.00 5,500.00 9,600.00 5,542.00 2,184.00 2,100.00 1,975.00 4,965.00 4,600.00 3,049.00 15,000.00 4,348.74 947.38 1,707.00 7,319.40 2,688.66 3,327.00 5,744.61 9,315.60 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,800.00 1,200.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 1,850.00 2,150.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 900.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,340.00 4,000.00 900.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 500.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 3,500.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 1,797.70 2,127.02 3,988.17 2,660.00 3,000.00 2,261.00 2,777.78 3,992.42 15,000.00 2,567.50 1,600.00 2,200.00 1,913.00 825.00 7,200.00 3,000.00 1,650.00 1,580.00 1,168.00 4,510.00 10,000.00 4,000.00 4,900.00 3,000.00 2,500.00 5,340.11 14,905.34 1,900.71 778.89 3,140.42 11,127.00 1,012.56 5,934.49 4,488.75 5,399.80 5,320.00 6,384.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,500.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00

PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES ACCOMODATION FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES BTA BTA BTA BTA BTA BTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES ACCOMMODATION & LIVING EXP SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES RENT AND LIVING EXPENSES LIVING EXPENSES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL AND ACCO FEES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSES PTA PTA BTA BTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA BTA PTA

RATE 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00

DATE 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 2-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 3-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17

S/N 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636

CUSTOMERS AJIBOYE OLADIPO JACOB FAJEMISIN OMOYENI OLAPEJU OYATOYE OLATEJU EMMANUEL IHEONU EMMANUEL CHUKWUNWEIKE NNAJI HENRIETTA NNEKA PAKI JA'AFARU ALIYU NYINGIFA GLORY LOKOTE AJAYI HELEN INIKPI BATURE YIMI MIRIAM SANI KURA IDRIS ATTA EDIDIONG UDEME USMAN MUHAMMAD JAMILU AWAL IBRAHIM USMAN JAMILU ORJI KENNETH OBUMNEME ANIBEZE CHIKE ANIBEZE CHINWE AJAH LEONARD OREDOLA TAIWO REMI SEIBOKURO OYINTARE NWOSU KEVIN OKEY ADENIYI SHERIFAT OPEYEMI FAYESE OLUWATOYIN TITILAYO COKER OLUWABUNMI MARY BETTS GEORGE TAMUNONIMIM CLARK BETTS ENENE GEORGE ABATAN OLUSEGUN GBOLAHAN ABANA CUKWUNONSO IKECHUKWU ODUPE OLUWEMIMO ADESEMOWO IHEMEDU CHINOYEREM CHARITY ISAH MAIMUNA OKEKE ARTHUR NNAJI JAMES VINCENT AJURUCHI ONUOHA CHRISTIANA OYIBOGALU MOGBOGU OBUORA ANTHONY OMOKARO ENOMA DICKSON ODIYI ONYINYE VALLERY AJUYAH ITSEORITSEWARAMI EUGENE LAWAL IBUKUN BOLADE OLANIYAN HAFEEZ SOJI OLAGUNJU ABIODUN OLOLADE SHEHU GARBA SHEHU HAFSATU GARBA MODIBBO UMAR SIKSUMI SERAH SALEEM FATIMA MOHAMMED JALANI FALNYI NAPHTALI USEH FRANCIS MONDAY (PROF) LASISI KAZEEM OLUSHOLA IGBONGIDI BINAEBI PAUL MAINASARA ABBA ABDULLAHI GORA USMAN ALIYU ALIYU YUSUF ISHAK SANI ALI YUSUF YUSUF AMINU ADAHAMA SALISU MOHAMMED KURFI ABDULLAHI SADIYA ZUBAIRU DORAI SHEHU MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM ADAM DANJUMA OGUNLOLU ANUOLUWA ORIYOMI AKINTUNDE IDRIS DAMOLA LAWAL SURAJUDEEN AYODELE SIWOKU MOYOSORE OMOLARA AJUWON ADEMOLA BILIANMINU A SFASASI MONSURU KEKINDE ABAYOMI ABDULTAOFEEK FADOJU AKINYELE OLAMIGOKE KADIRI IBRAHIM BUKOLA EMIRI OGOCHUKWU THADDAEUS OPUBIRI TONIFIYE UDEAJA OSCAR ALESE BOLA FLORENCE GLORIA ADAEZE OKONJI AJIMOTOKAN GBOLAHAN KAZEEM BAJULAIYE ADEBAYO AKINOLA ADEWOLU ADUNNI MORENIKE IHEME THEDUS UGOCHUKWU OGUNMWONYI IKPONMWOSA IGHOAKPEDEYE BONITA OMOWEKA EYESAN ALERO ROSALINE SANI ABDULKADIR OFFIA ABUCHI AMBROSE JOHN ANE ROSE UBANWA MARY OGECHUKWU EZE ADANNAYA LOVETH OSINUPEBI FEYISARA TOMILAYO KANU OGONNA HENRIETTA AKINRINADE JOSEPH ALAO UZOKA LOTANNA CHINWE ISSA MUFUTAU OMOTAYO YISHAWU GBOLAHAN D.D. DODO & CO. UGOJI CHIBUZOR ROMEL ACE SOLICITORS IRAGUNIMA PRISCILLIA UBELEJIT OKOYE SUNDAY NNAMDI WILMER ASHAKA A U WILMER ASHAKA A U C.U TAMARA NIG LTD OLANIYAN VICTORIA SHAMAH EMPORIUM LTD CHIKA CHRISTIANA IKE JOEL YAKUBU IROZURU GODWIM NDUBUISI ATUNDE SHAMSIDEEN OLAYINKA MICHAEL JOSEH OLUWOLE AKUECHE FRANCIS NONSO CHUKWUDUM CALISTUS JOESPHNWOSU NWOBODO NDUBUISI CHRISTIAN CHIDUME OMENIFE BETRAND AJIBOLA MUJIDAT MOJISOLA FASOYIN SUNDAY OLUSEYI ABOLUDE SAMUEL OLAYEMI DUGGAN GLORIA IKEOLUWAPO UKEOMA IKENNA JUDE ABUAH BALONWU F IBRAHIM.A. SHUAIBU MATO ZAKARI IDRIS IBRAHIM IDRIS BAIWA AHMAD, FATIMA LAWAN ABUBAKAR BASHIR SANI ALHASSAN MUBARAK YUSUF MANSUR SALAHUDDEEN JAMILU KOKI BASHIR SAEED BELLO ABDULRASHEED ISYAKA SADIQ SHAMSUDEEN GARBA FARIDA ABUBAKAR ABDULKADIR ALALAWIY ABDALLAH SIDI SHARIF BABA SANI MOHAMMED MADUAKO CHIDI ANTHONY AKINMEJI JOHN OLUWEMIMO AYILARA BISOLA MISTURA UMEH IFY UGWUOKE GODWIN EBERE IMAM ABDULLAHI USMAN OPARA EMMANUEL NWAWUIKE NJELITA NNAAMA CHIJIOKE ODOH PATRICK ABUTU ABDULSALAM IBRAHIM ADEKUNLE AINA MULIKAT KPAJIE TOCHUKWU EMMANUEL BELLO YASEERAH NWACHUKWU AHAMEFULE CHIMEZIRI NWOSU EMMANUELA OBIANUJU NWOKOCHA DANIEL UKEGBU MGBEMENE VICTUS EKEMEZIE GEFU JEROME ONI ABUBAKAR BAWA OBI PATRICK EJIKE EGBUE EMMANUEL CHINEDU OGUNSANYA ANTHONIA KANAYOCHUKWU ONYIA CHIKA ROSELINE OBIERIKA UCHENNA CHINYELU ADESOLA ADEYEMI BABATUNDE SANNI TOYIN FOLASHADE ONYEMA EKENE KINGSLEY AKINULI MARY UZOMA TEMILE UDUOGHO ORITSEWEYINMI OFODUM PRECIOUS EJIMONYE OKOLIEABOH ARAKA LEVIS NZEKWE IHEANYI KENNEDY OGOHI ANDREW ENABOSI AMOS ADENIRAN ADENIKE MUAZZAM AHMED ABACHA MAHMUD SANI EMETI IROGUBA PETER OLISAKWE PEACE CHISOM ADETOYESE SHODEINDE EZEAMAMA MICHAEL OBINNA AGU CHUKWUEBUKA NDUBUISI ADEKOYA COSMAS ADEWUNMI IKERIONWU JUDE CHIDI AHMAD UMAR MUHAMMAD KANKAROFI ISAH RUFAIDA MOHAMMED KHAIRIAH TASIU TOKA MOHAMMAD HAFSAT BASHIR USMAN SANI USMAN BASHIR MUHAMMAD HAMZA UMAR ABUBAKAR MUFTAHU SHEHU ABDULMAJID SAID SANKA ABBAS SHAREEF FILLO OLATUNJI ADEOLA RUKAYAT YILJEP YOHANNA SARAH KAREEM AFEEZ ADEWALE NIMI ATORUDIBO IDOGUN CHRISTOPHER EMETE EKEH BATHOLOMEW SUNDAY ANUKAM STELLA ETUKUDOH MARIA N KOKU YEWANDE TITILOLA NWAGBOSO CHIOMA KELECHI LAWAL BELLO DALHAT SHITU OJIAKU NWACHUKWU MATHEW TAIWO MOSES OLUBI MUHAMMAD AHMAD KAWU IJEOMA VITUS NDUBUEZE EZEGAMBA FELICIA NWANYINKWO IBEGBU BENNETT CHUKWUNONSO NWOKOYE ALLEN CHINEDU OKORO CHIBUZOR GODIAN MODEBE CHUKWUEMEKA EMMANUEL JOSEPH OLAJUMOKE VICTORIA HARUNA OYENIKE AGUNBIADE ADEBUKOLA BOLA ISA AWWAL MUHAMMAD NASAOKOLIE ROSEMARY KOKOEKA NEGEDU OJOCHIDE RUTH IGBOANUGO VICTORIA IHUGBA NWOKEAFOR NNAEMEKA FIDELIS

AMOUNT (US$) PURPOSE

4,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,700.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,700.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,900.00 525.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,781.74 3,992.42 3,995.70 3,973.80 3,990.00 13,341.00 1,814.38 10,539.39 2,668.20 4,002.30 3,822.92 4,350.42 14,989.68 3,909.52 10,655.24 6,793.00 685.00 3,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,000.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 3,300.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,800.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,400.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,400.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 1,500.00 4,000.00

PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES PTA BTA BTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA

DATE 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 4-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17

Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global bank

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

UTILIZATION OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE AS AT 5TH OF MAY 2017 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670

OLATINWO KEMI RASHIDAT BILIKISU IBRAHIM AROLU ENTERPRISES ONYEKWELU DORATHY DURU CHIBUIKE EJEFOR ONYEBUCHI BETRAN ELUKE CALISTUS CHIBUEZE JANET JOHNSON KOLAWOLE MARY ADEBISI SULAIMAN MUYIBAT AJOKE GARUBA OLAJUMOKE ABODEDE OYERO ABOLANLE B GBEMUDU KENNETH NKEM FAKUNLE ABAYOMI ONWASIGWE ERNEST ADEPOJU AJOKE MOJISOLA EZEODUM UCHE AUSTIN ANAKUDO OGOCHUKWU GRACE MICAH NUMONDOGIO SUKURAT OYEBISI SODIQ MUSA HAMZA AGBATO ADEOLA OLUWAYEMI LUCAS SIDIKAT TOLANI MORAWO SUBANA KOLA MAJOLAGBE OLUWADAMILOLA GRACE NZEH PATRICK NNAMDI AKPADE IMOH JACOB OLOWOLAYEMO RASHEED YOMI OBILO EKENE MAGNUS ASA EJIM ONAH UGOCHUKWU PAUL AHMIEGBE OLUWAFUNMILOLA MERCY ALLI BENEDICT ATAGAME ODUKOMAIYA EMMANUEL ADELAJA OLORUNBEPELUMI PRAISE EBOSEREME

4,000.00 5,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 1,500.00 4,000.00 1,500.00 1,500.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 600.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 5,000.00

PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA

360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00 360.00

5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17 5-May-17

671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704

EKUNDAYO OLABOWALE EKUNDAYO OLAKUNLE OLORUNDADE OYINDAMOLA MOJI ADEBIMPE OLUWATOYIN JAMES IGE MACRINA OLUSOLAPE ADIELE CHIKE DAVID UBA YUSUF ABDULLAHI LAWAL AYODELE HAKEEM RUKAYYA BASHIR AISHATU YAHAYA NAWAWI HAFSATU YAHAYA NAWAWI EZEODUNWA CHUKWUNONSO BEN ADEYEMI GBENGA OLUWOLE CHIKERE CHIOMA BLAISE OBIGBA OKIEMUTE IBRAHIM RABIU ALIYU OLADIMEJI ADEPOJU CHARLES ODEKPE OLIGBO FELIX DANDAWAKI BAFFA DAUDA MARYAM BALA BELLO FATIMA BALA BELLO SAGIR TAUHEED SIDI USAMATU LAWAL SURAJO GAMBO ABBAS ABBA HARUNA USMAN ATTAHIRU DANJALELE BABANGIDA BALA NDUKWO MARK KALU OLUKAIKPE NWAOBILOR MATHIAS PRINCESS ONUEKWA IGUGUNDA UDE CHIOMA GEORGINA AZIKE KATE IFEOMA IDEH PROSPER ESE IDOWU OLUWAKEMI MOSUNMOLA BUSARI OLASUNKANMI SAHEED

4,000.00 5,000.00 2,500.00 4,000.00 2,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 500.00 1,000.00 4,000.00 3,329.08 3,994.90 500.71 3,981.58

PTA BTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA BTA BTA BTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA PTA BTA PTA PTA

705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736

AKENOBO CHARLES NWAGBOSO CHIOMA KELECHI AJAKAIYE MARGARET OLUTOYIN DAVIES OLABISI NWONU CECILIA CHINWENDU KALAGBOR ARTHUR CHIDEBE SHODIPO PAMELA N. ALLIED THRUST & SYSTEMS NIG LTD D.D. DODO & CO. ALLIED THRUST & SYSTEMS NIG LTD AKPANYUA BASIL NONSO MOHAMMED DAHIRU DOYO MARK WULENGME KOLAWOLE PETER KEHINDE OYEFOLU OLUFUNKE OTUTU PETER PATRICK LAFENAX NIGERIA LIMITED OGUNMEFUN ADETOLA OLUSOLA PROF FEKARURHOBO GODSWILL KUTA ASSIAK ESSIET EKPONYONG SHAMAH EMPORIUM LTD OSAKWE LINDA OLUEBUBE OMOOJO ERNEST IVIE ADELEYE ADEDEJI MUNIR UYOS UWHO ENGR & MRS DENNIS N AJULU ABUBAKAR AHMED MOHAMMED GBADEBO, DAVID ADEREMI O AND COMPANY NIG LTD AREGUAMEN DONALD O UKARIONISO PAUL TERRY TOLORUNLOGO, JEROME OLUWAROKAN

3,317.99 1,990.79 1,327.20 2,220.00 308.50 13,272.00 5,308.80 1,327.20 13,272.00 1,327.20 3,981.60 3,981.60 5,642.40 2,255.21 954.49 5,363.36 10,636.84 14,970.22 3,753.18 1,500.00 11,479.88 500.00 12,676.00 1,126.35 1,100.00 6,425.00 1,707.00 3,765.00 2,857.58 4,479.20 5,146.00 6,437.00

PTA PTA PTA PTA SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSE SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSE SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES LIVING EXPENSE SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES SCHOOL FEES

SOURCES OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE AS AT 5TH OF MAY 2017 S/N

SOURCE

AMOUNT (US$)

RATE

DATE

S/N

SOURCE

AMOUNT (US$)

RATE

DATE

S/N

SOURCE

AMOUNT (US$)

RATE

INTERBANK

230,000.00

309.25

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

320.00

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

601.16

310.00

3-May-17

INTERBANK

200,000.00

306.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

125.00

310.00

4-May-17

100

AUTONOMOUS

4,492.55

310.00

3-May-17

INTERBANK

200,000.00

305.95

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

520.00

310.00

4-May-17

101

AUTONOMOUS

64.47

310.00

4-May-17

INTERBANK

100,000.00

305.95

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

325.00

310.00

4-May-17

102

AUTONOMOUS

322.35

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

60,000.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

275.00

310.00

4-May-17

103

AUTONOMOUS

332.33

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

975.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

160.00

310.00

4-May-17

104

AUTONOMOUS

374.14

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

4,200.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

183,000.00

310.00

4-May-17

107

AUTONOMOUS

159.35

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

147.95

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

42,000.00

335.00

4-May-17

108

AUTONOMOUS

112.99

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

164.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

190.00

310.00

5-May-17

109

AUTONOMOUS

380.05

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

80.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

131.80

310.00

5-May-17

110

AUTONOMOUS

172.10

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

555.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

70.00

310.00

5-May-17

111

CBN

3,000,000.00

357.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

57.16

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

600.00

310.00

5-May-17

112

CBN SME INTERVENTION 4

3,000,000.00

357.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

244.17

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

390.00

310.00

5-May-17

113

CBN

2,613,775.37

331.26

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

913.26

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

124.31

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,000.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

417.14

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

535.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

570.00

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

723.08

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

42,830.00

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

15,000.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

16,129.03

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

2,000.00

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

145,161.29

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

114,121.45

310.00

2-May-17

IMTO

158,417.17

355.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,494.22

292.65

2-May-17

IMTO

1,759.52

355.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

26,471.00

316.25

2-May-17

IMTO

283,014.17

355.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

20,000.00

310.00

2-May-17

IMTO

2,890.21

354.64

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

459.82

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

197,895.28

355.01

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

10,000.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

2,206.87

355.02

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,664.90

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

283,334.83

355.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,500.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

2,993.49

354.67

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

80.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

365,392.16

355.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

490.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

4,076.54

355.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

960.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

557,808.33

355.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

2,100.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

5,955.47

354.58

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

12.42

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

228,433.05

355.02

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

244.04

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

2,547.06

355.02

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

285.00

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

313,922.53

355.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

185.85

310.00

3-May-17

IMTO

3,485.42

354.66

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

610.12

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,272.50

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

890.00

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

63.63

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

145.00

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

667.70

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

140.00

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,275.70

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

1,000.00

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

253.80

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

60,000.00

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

88.83

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

7,000.00

370.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

59.45

310.00

5-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

115,599.85

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

106.98

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

248,305.00

370.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

2,139.60

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

3,225.81

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

12,837.60

310.00

2-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

440.00

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

107.35

310.00

3-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

490.00

310.00

4-May-17

AUTONOMOUS

493.81

310.00

3-May-17

www.ubagroup.com

DATE

Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global bank

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017 • T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Moon Jae-in: South Korean Liberal Claims Presidency Win

Liberal candidate Moon Jae-in has claimed victory in South Korea’s

presidential election. Mr Moon favours greater dialogue with

Ex-French PM Seeks to Join Macron Revolution Incoming French president Emmanuel Macron was starting to build his centrist government Tuesday, with his former Socialist boss jockeying for position in a radically changed political landscape. Macron, 39, was elected France’s youngest-ever president on Sunday, crushing far-right leader Marine Le Pen after a bruising campaign that left France’s traditional parties by the wayside. He faces a huge task to unite a fractured, anxious country and to win a parliamentary majority in June’s general election, without which he could struggle to implement his ambitious reform agenda. His victory at the head of a year-old pro-EU movement that has presented itself as a home for progressives of all stripes has blown up France’s

long-standing left-right political divide. On Tuesday, former Socialist prime minister Manuel Valls -- a failed candidate for his party’s presidential nomination -- said he wanted to run for parliament on Macron’s ticket. “The Socialist Party is dead, it is behind us,”Valls, a reformminded prime minister from 2014 to 2016 when Macron was economy minister, told RTL radio. “I will be candidate for the presidential majority and I wish to join the list (of candidates) of his movement,”Valls said, while insisting that he remained a Socialist and “a man of the left”. Macron’s newly renamed “Republique en Marche” (the Republic on the Move) movement reacted warily to the announcement.

North Korea, in a change to current South Korean policy. “I will be president for all South Koreans,” he told cheering supporters in Gwanghwamun Square in the capital Seoul.

the prison shouting “Free Ahok” -- Purnama’s nickname -- and shook the gate of the facility. The 50-year-old was hauled into court last year to face trial on charges of insulting the Koran while campaigning for re-election, after the blasphemy accusations sparked a series of mass protests in Jakarta spearheaded by radical groups and encouraged by his rivals. Tuesday’s jail sentence and his loss last month to a Muslim challenger in the Jakarta vote, which he had once been favourite to win, has fuelled fears that hardliners are growing increasingly influential and that the country’s much-vaunted tolerant brand of Islam is under threat. “It’s another big step in the slow decline of religious freedom in Indonesia,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch, after Purnama was jailed. “If someone of that political stature can be charged and sent to prison, what will happen to others?”

Obinna Chima

The Government of Spain has welcomed the release of 82 abducted Chibok girls by the Boko Haram sect. The Spanish government in a statement through is Embassy in Nigeria, also expressed joy and satisfaction with the development. The government also reiterated its solidarity with the government and people of Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists. The statement explained: “The government of Spain welcomes and expresses its joy and satisfaction at the release of a group of more than 80 of the girls abducted in Chibok, and at them being re-united with their families. Spain expresses its utmost wish

Indonesia, 90 percent of whose 255 million people are Muslim, has a long tradition of pluralistic values and is home to substantial populations of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists. But there has been a rise in attacks on minorities in recent years. The five-judge panel at the Jakarta court found Purnama guilty of blasphemy after a months-long trial, in a case criticised as politically motivated. Announcing the verdict, presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto said Purnama was “convincingly guilty of committing blasphemy and is sentenced to two years in prison” and ordered him to be detained. Blasphemy carries a maximum jail term of five years in Indonesia but the sentence was a surprise as judges typically follow the recommendation of prosecutors -- in this case, they had proposed two years probation.

Senior U.S. Senator Pushes Trump on Russia, French Election A senior U.S. lawmaker pushed President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday to respond to concerns that Russia was responsible for a hacking attack on the campaign of French President-elect Emmanuel Macron. “Mr. Macron’s victory in Sunday’s election does not diminish the need for the Trump Administration to take this attack seriously and to work

closely with the French government to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent similar attacks from taking place in the future,” Senator Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, wrote in a letter to administration officials, including Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general. Jeff Sessions, Trump’s at-

jointly by three network TV stations had put him on course to get 41.4% of the vote, with hi s n e a re s t c h a l l e n g e r, conservative Hong JoonPyo, on 23.3%. Pa r k G e u n - hy e i s

accused of allowing a close friend to extort money from companies. She denies all wrongdoing. Mr Moon is expected to be sworn in on We d n e s d ay.

Spanish Government Hails Release of Chibok Girls

Jakarta’s Christian Governor Jailed for Two Years for Blasphemy Jakarta’s Christian governor was jailed for two years Tuesday after being found guilty of blasphemy, in a shock decision that has stoked concerns over rising religious intolerance in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Islamic hardliners outside the Jakarta court shouted “God is greatest!”as news came through that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama would be sent to prison for insulting Islam, a surprisingly harsh punishment after prosecutors recommended only probation. Purnama, Jakarta’s first non-Muslim governor for half a century and its first ethnic Chinese leader, looked calm when the verdict was announced and said he would appeal, as some of his supporters in court burst into tears. He was immediately transferred to jail and authorities said his deputy would take over running Jakarta for the final few months of his term. Hundreds of his supporters descended on

The early election was called after a corruption scandal led to the impeachment of the former president. Official results have yet to be released. An exit poll conducted

torney general, has removed himself from probes of Russian election interference after failing to disclose his meetings with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. “Quite frankly it is the height of irresponsibility that President Trump still denies Russia’s act of cyber war against our election,” Durbin wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.

that the rest of the women and girls abducted by Boko Haram will soon be released after their lengthy stay in captivity and that those responsible will be brought to justice. “The government of Spain reiterates its solidarity with the people and government of Nigeria over the inhumane suffering that Boko Haram has caused in recent years. Spain supports the efforts of the government of Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism, which has led to so much instability in the region.” President Muhammadu Buhari had at the weekend received the 82 Chibok schoolgirls freed by Boko Haram on Saturday. The president had while receiving the girls said: “I cannot express in a few words how happy I am to welcome our dear girls back to freedom. On

behalf of all Nigerians, I will like to share my joy with you, your parents, your relatives, friends and Government of Borno State on regaining your freedom.” He commended the security agencies, the Red Cross, local authorities, local and foreign NGOs and all those, who

contributed in one way or another to secure the release of the girls. He also assured that the federal government “will spare no effort to see that they and all other Nigerians, who have been abducted, safely regain their freedom.”

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Court Clears Oronsaye of Corruption Charges EFCC to appeal case dismissal

Alex Enumah and Paul Obi in Abuja A High Court of the Federal

Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja, yesterday discharged and acquitted the former Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF),

Fuel Subsidy Probe: DSS Video Shows Farouk Lawan Receiving Bribe from Otedola The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday presented a video evidence at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Lugbe, where businessman, Femi Otedola, was seen giving out a parcel to former member of the House of Representatives, Farouq Lawan. Lawan was the Chairman of the ad hoc committee set up by the House in 2012 to investigate massive petrol subsidy fraud. The committee found some oil companies culpable of defrauding the federal government via spurious subsidy claims. Zenon Petroleum and Gas Company, belonging to Otedola, was also found culpable. Despite the wide approval of the committee’s work, claims that Lawan who appeared strict during public hearings, had received gratifications to clear some companies, soon emerged. His encounter with Otedola allegedly involving the exchange of over $600,000 was a “sting operation” to collect evidence, the DSS later said. Lawan’s trial is in its fifth year. Yesterday, Justice Angela Otaruku granted the request of the prosecuting counsel,

Adegboyega Awomolo, to play the video as evidence of Lawan collecting bribe from Otedola. The video, revealing an exchange of parcel, lasted for almost three minutes. “The video I just played are those of Otedola and Lawan where there was an exchange of parcel at Otedola’s house in Aso drive, Abuja,” said Awomolo. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the defendant’s counsel, Mike Ozekhome, while crossexamining the DSS prosecutor, David Ojataha, said the device used in playing the CD had no imprint of time and event in the video. Ozekhome said there was nothing to show that the defendant was there to receive bribe. He added that there was also nothing in the video to suggest that bribery was discussed because such words like “bribe” was not heard in the video. The trial judge, Justice Otaruku, while discharging the DSS prosecutor from the witness box, ordered the prosecution counsel to bring his other witnesses to court on May 10, being the adjourned date of the trial.

Chief Steven Oronsaye, of all the seven-count charge filed against him by the federal government. Justice Olasumbo Goodluck discharged the defendant in a ruling she delivered on the no-case submission filed by the former HoSF. Oronsaye was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly diverting the sum of N190million for personal use, when he was the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Financial Action Task Force set up by administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. He was alleged to have contravened the provision of Section 311 of the Penal Code, punishable under Section 315 of the same Code. In proving its case, the prosecution called six witnesses who alleged complicity of the former HoSF. But following the closure of the prosecution’s case on November 15, 2016, the defendant filed a no-case submission on December

9, 2016, declaring that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie against him that would warrant him to open his defence. Arguing the no-case motion on March 2, the lead counsel to Oronsaye, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), argued that the evidence adduced before the court against the defendant failed to link him with the alleged crimes. Agabi pointed out that there were omissions of essential elements in the charges against his client and said on that account, the charges were imperfect and failed. He said the prosecution had initially filed a two-count charge against the defendant, only for it to later on May 19, 2016, amend it to seven, declaring that that was a sign that something was wrong with the charge from the beginning. The counsel to the defendant further argued that the prosecution failed to either specify the amount that was entrusted to Oronsaye or the mandate of the committee

the defendant chaired, adding that there was no evidence of personal use of the fund that the defendant was accused of but mere allegations. In his response, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Offem Uket, told the court that the prosecution had proved its case with reasonable doubt that the defendant should enter his defence. Uket argued that it was not right to bring up the issue of imperfection of charges now that it was against the provisions in Sections 220 and 221 of Administration of Criminal Justice (ACJ) Act, 2015. According to him, the prosecution had been able to prove a prima facie case against Oronsaye. He therefore, urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission. Ruling on the matter, Justice Goodluck noted that the no-case submission filed by the defendant raised issues on colouration of preliminary objection. According to her, a party could challenge the competence of

jurisdiction of the court at any time but with the ACJ Act, could not be entertained at the interlocutory stage. The judge stated that though there was copious evidence from some of the witnesses called by the prosecution that Oronsaye collected money from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) which was entrusted to him, she was unable to hold that he converted same to his personal use. She added that there was no evidence laid before the court regarding the funds collected from CBN and ONSA being used for his personal benefit. However, the EFCC last night said it would appeal the ruling by Justice Goodluck. The EFCC Head of Media and Information, Wilson Uwujaren, said trial judge erred in his ruling and would approach the appeal court to set aside the ruling. “The commission believes the trial judge erred in his ruling and will approach the appeal court to set aside the ruling,” Uwujaren said.

PDP Intact, No Decision to Join New Party, Says BoT Party expects fair hearing at Supreme Court Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the entire party structures are intact and has not reached any decision to join a new political party. While pledging to remain resolute, united and absolutely loyal to the party, the BoT said it would remain committed to the pursuit of all legal processes in order to redeem the image of the party. In a statement issued yesterday by its Chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, the PDP BoT said contrary to insinuations that the PDP has adopted a newly formed political party, the opposition party has not taking such decision. “The attention of the PDP BoT has been drawn to series of publications alleging that PDP has adopted a particular political party just newly registered as its fallback position. I want to make it very clear that PDP has never formed any alternative party,” he said. Jibrin said before any decision

will be taken to join forces with another party or to form a new party, all the organs of the PDP must be consulted. According to the BoT chairman, all the organs and membership of the PDP are confident that the Supreme Court would freely and independently take fair decision on the leadership crisis bedeviling it. “If it has to agree on something like that, all organs and forums of the party through BoT, national caucus, PDP Governors’ Forum, National Assembly caucus, states PDP chairmen forum, former ministers forum, former governors forum, various youth forums, elders forum nationwide, women’s forums will be fully consulted before every sensitive decision is taken. “For now, I want to assure our teeming supporters that PDP will accept the judicial processes going on at the Supreme Court and that we are very confident that the Supreme Court shall freely and independently take fair decision which will be historic in Nigeria’s democracy.

PREPARING 91ST ANNIVERSARY

L-R: Group Managing Director, DailyTimes, Mr. Noel Anosike; Chairman/ Publisher DailyTimes , Mr. Fidelis Anosike; and General Manager, Mr. Olisa Egbumike, during a press conference on the newspapers’ 91st anniversary in Abuja...yesterday

Rivers Re-run Election Crisis: Court Declares Police Probe Panel Illegal Alex Enumah in Abuja A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday declared as illegal, the 15-man probe panel constituted by the Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, to investigate the violence, killings, destruction of property and other criminal activities that took place during and after the December 10, National Assembly rerun election in Rivers State. Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in a judgment he delivered on the suit filed by Rivers State Government and Governor Nyesom Wike (1st and 2nd plaintiffs) on January 11, 2017, said the “the police panel was unknown to law” because it lacked constitutional backing. Consequently, the court held that the report of the panel was not valid and of doubtful source. In view of this, the judge said

it remains to be seen whether the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) would prosecute those indicted by the police probe panel based on a report that is illegal. “The police panel is unknown to Nigerian criminal justice system. It’s a contraption. The said report is unknown to law and its validity to be used by the Attorney General of the Federation to press a charge is in great doubt, the court said. According to the court, it was wrong for the IG to constitute a police panel that had the Department of State Services (DSS) as member. Justice Kolawole noted that under Section 11 of Police Act, the IG requires presidential assent to delegate power to another prosecutorial agency.

“The special multi-agency panel is not a statutory body but a product of ministerial act.” Though the court agreed that the IG, in line with Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 4 of the Police Act, that police can conduct investigation of any crime, however such duty must be carried out in strict adherence with the law. In addition, the court said it would have quashed the report but for the fact that it was not pleaded before it. “The report was not presented before the court, if not, it would have been quashed. Also, the court held that there was no merit in the 2nd defendant’s (DSS) preliminary objection on grounds of jurisdiction. Consequently, It was dismissed. Justice Kolawole had earlier

fixed May 2, 2017 to deliver judgment in a suit after parties in the matter adopted their written address and oral submissions. While adopting his briefs and tendered video clips of Channels Television reports on the re-run election before the court as exhibits, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) representing Governor Wike and the Rivers State Government, told the court that security personnel deployed to Rivers State for the purpose of the election did not carry out their duties the way it should be. He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) indicted security agencies, especially the police in their report on the election, adding that the plaintiffs have raised ten issues for the determination of the court.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWSEXTRA

Witness Tells Court How EFCC Recovered $9.8m from Yakubu’s House Alex Enumah in Abuja

Tamiu Abubakar, the first prosecution witness in the on-going trial of the former Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, yesterday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, gave a detailed account on how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered over $9million cash in Yakubu’s Kaduna residence. Yakubu was arraigned on a six-count charge of money laundering and false asset declaration. Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Prince Ben Ikani, the witness, a police superintendent attached to the EFCC Kano Zonal office, told the court that a huge amount of $9,782,800 and 74,000 Pound Sterling was stacked in Bupapi fire proof safe with four panels in an unsuspected house belonging to Yakubu in Kaduna. Abubakar told the court that some time in February this year, EFCC Kano Zonal office received information that there was a house in Kaduna where a huge sum of money suspected to be proceeds of corruption was

Femi Kuti to Try Again After Failing to Beat World Record for Longest Sax Note It turns out that Femi Kuti, son of late Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti, didn’t set a new world record last Sunday when he held a single note on a saxophone for 46minutes 38seconds Kuti, an internationally renowned musician in his own right, admitted that the celebrations from his family and fans had been premature, after he mistakenly thought that he had surpassed the previous longest note played by US saxophonist Kenny G. The official Guinness World Record for “the longest continuous note on a saxophone using the circular breathing method” is in fact held by Vann Burchfield (USA), who managed 47minutes, 5seconds back in 2000, as one tweeter pointed out: “@Femiakuti did not set a new world record, he broke Kenny G’s record but still, big ups to him!!!” But Femi, according to BBC, has taken to Twitter to say that he would make another attempt to break the record: “Did not know about this. Was told only about KG’s. I will go for this now. Just for personal reasons to prove I can. Might take a while.”

being kept in in Sabon Tsah, Kaduna. According to him, the information was then passed to the Intelligence Special Operation Section (ISOS) whose duty it is to carry out investigations. He disclosed that he was one of those assigned to carry out the investigation, adding that the team immediately proceeded to Kaduna to carry out their assignment. “On our arrival at the house, we met the caretaker who identified himself as Mr. Bitrus Yakubu. We served the warrant on him but he said he did not have the key

to the house so we invited a welder who came with breaking tools and unlocked the doors,” he said. Abubakar stated further that a member of the team, one Suleiman Mohammed, did a video recording of the proceedings. “When the main door was unlocked, we moved in with the welder to the inner door and he also unlocked it and we found a grey colour Bupapi fire proof save with four panels. We asked Bitrus who turned out to be the brother of Yakubu who owned the save? He said it belonged to his brother

Andrew Yakubu.” The witness said the team took Bitrus, the safe and a white SUV found in the compound to their office in Kano where in the presence of the zonal head of operation, other senior officials of the EFCC and Bitrus, the safe was unlocked by key expert. “In the first panel we discovered pound sterling, we unlocked the other three panels and discovered that all contained money. The zonal head of operation then engaged the services of cashiers from a bureau de change who came with cash counting machines.

“The counting was covered on video tape and money amounting to a total of $ 9,782,800 million and 74,000, Pounds Sterling. Bitrus confirmed the counting,” he said. At this point, the prosecution lawyer applied to tender the safe and the defence lawyer Ahmed Raji (SAN) had no objection. The giant grey Bupapi fire proof save with four panels was admitted and marked as exhibit. Equally admitted as exhibit was the search warrant executed on Yakubu House and Andrew Yakubu

voluntary statement. The witness also told the court that after the money was counted, the legal unit of the EFCC applied and obtained an interim forfeiture order. Abubakar said at the time of the discovery, the defendant was out of the country on medical treatment abroad and that he returned immediately when he was contacted and he returned to the Kano Zonal office on 8 February. Trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohamed, then adjourned the matter to May 24, for cross-examination of the witness.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017• T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

Minister: Present NDDC Management Not Responsible for Poor Projects Execution Segun James Following the damning report that holds the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) responsible for poor project delivery in the region, the Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Usani Uguru

Usani, has exonerated the current management of the commission of any blame. The minister in a statement signed by him, described reports suggesting that he passed a vote-ofno confidence on the management of Mr. Nsima Ekere as malicious,

Senate Declines to Withdraw $5bn Fraud Petition against Chevron Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday declined a request for the withdrawal of a petition against Chevron Nigeria Limited for alleged fraud amounting to over $4,926,464,100. According to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East), the petitioner, Dr. George Uboh of Panic Alert Security System (PASS), had written to inform the committee of his decision to withdraw the petition. Uboh had petitioned the Senate through Senator Obinna Ogba (Ebonyi Central) on December 15, 2015. Presenting the report of the committee, Anyanwu noted that Uboh and the Executive Director of Finance for Chevron, Mr. Uwakwe J.U, already appeared before the committee and made presentations. Uboh, according to the report, had alleged that between 2001 and 2002, Chevron evaded tax to the tune of over $343 million through over bloating of its operational costs under Petroleum Profit Tax, using Carry Agreement with NNPC as a cover when such agreement never existed with the company. “That Chevron Nigeria Limited recouped spurious loan of $235 million from the Nigeria Government between 2002 and 2005 for overdue cash calls; that Chevron conspired with some oil producing companies, NNPC auditors and defrauded Nigeria by over $3.6 billion by merely manipulating accounts and records which were also done under the umbrella of Carry Agreements,” the report added. The report stated that the representative of Chevron,

Uwakwe, had denied that the oil company recouped spurious loans from the NNPC or from any other entity. “Chevron Nigeria Limited received notice of Assessment for Education Tax, Education Tax Gas and Gas Income tax and later made payment of $38,259,021 via Citibank on August 28, 2006, for the three assessments,” it added. Anyanwu told the lawmakers that the committee was settling down to examine submissions of the petitioner and respondent, when the petitioner asked to withdraw his case. “Consequently, the committee could not continue with the case, since the petitioner has given up on the matter. Based on the petitioner’s decision to withdraw the case, the committee recommends that the case be stepped down,” Anyanwu added. Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), however, kicked and argued that the petitioner seemed inclined to waste the time of the lawmakers. He added that the Ethics Committee, where he is a member had already spent time working on the petitions. “The Senate is not a police station; you cannot petition the Senate and come back later to say you have withdrawn it. It is expected that before a petition comes to this Senate, due diligence must have been done. We are talking of almost $5 billion,” he said. Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, agreed with Melaye’s submission, but added that the Senate should go ahead to conduct investigation into the petition, whether the petitioner withdraws it, or not.

Dele Fajemirokun No Longer Director in Food Concepts Plc A notable Nigerian entrepreneur, Chief Dele Fajemirokun, has clarified that he is no longer a Director of Food Concepts Plc, contrary to a report by THISDAY where he was named as a director of the company said to be indebted to United Bank for Africa (UBA). In a clarification made by Fajemirokun, who is the owner of DF Holdings and has also served on several boards of successful companies in both chairman and director capacities, the entrepreneur stated that he ceased to be a director of Food Concepts Plc since July 24, 2014 by virtue of the company’s resolution.

According to him, he has been a mere shareholder in the company contrary to the media report of August 6, 2015, published at the instance of the UBA, which listed him as a director of the indebted company. He noted that his letter of resignation, Form 7A of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the resolution of Food Concepts Plc attested to the fact that he is no longer a director of the company. Fajemirokun noted that the report was a public notice issued by the United Bank for Africa on loan defaulters.

stating that “they do not convey any coherent correlation between my views and the role of the current management for the deeds that span for more than one decade.” Usani said he was conscious of the fact that his observation predates the current management which places no burden of liability on the current Managing Director, adding that he made no committal pronouncement on the claims of reporting certain unaccomplished projects as completed because he never sighted any such documentary content of claims. “It is reminiscent of simple reasoning to note that we cannot blame a five-month old management of the deeds that spans for more than one decade,” he declared. He said whereas he expressed “discontent for obvious observations of poor project execution” during

his visit to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, he pointed out that “there is no vestige of attributing the cause to the current management.” The managing director of the commission had earlier given contractors handling projects in the commission 30 days to return to site in order to complete all on-going projects in the region or face prosecution. The commission, in a statement in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, had explained that it had become imperative to fast track the on-going audit of projects awarded in the region, in line with the federal government directives as one of the planks of the new governing board’s four-R Initiative, which is to restructure the balance sheet of the commission and determine poor performing projects. Ekere had said: “It is important

for our contractors to realise that it can’t be business as usual as President Muhammadu Buhari is determined to change how government business is conducted and everyone must wake up to that reality. But beyond that is the fact that we owe the Niger Delta region and our people the duty to implement and complete these projects, in order to facilitate sustainable regional development.” Reacting to the reports of allegations of abandoned projects, Chief Edet Nkpubre, a stakeholder in fromAkwa Ibom State said it is cheap blackmail to associate abandoned projects in the commission to the present board and management. Nkpubre, explainedthatwhenthe managingdirectorassumedofficebarely five months ago, he made it clear he wasgoingtoensurethatalltheprojects were completed. HesaidwhileEkereismakingeffort

to correct the anomalies he met in the commission, the people of the region should give him time to adequately address the problem of abandoned projects. He said: “All these stories of abandoned project and blaming same on the present management of the commission boils down to the politics of 2019 in the state. And that is regrettable. It is impossible to assess the managing director in just five months.” Also reacting, another stakeholder in the state, Chief Sunny Jackson, said Ekere should rather be commended for what he has done for the state, in particular,andtheNigerDeltaingeneral. Jackson said even though there are incidence of abandoned project in the commission, credit should be given to the present management for taking positive steps to resolve them, by ordering contractors to go back to site.

THE CONTEST HAS STARTED....

Literature Prize Advisory Board Chairman, 2017 The Nigeria Prize for Literature, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo (right), handing over entries for the competition to the Chairman, Panel of Judges, Professor Ernest Emenyonu (second left), as the General Manager External Relations Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke (second right), and member, panel of judges, Dr. Razinat Mohammed, look on at a brief ceremony in Lagos....yesterday

Ozekhome Proffers Legal Implications on Buhari’s Medical Trip Paul Obi in Abuja Human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, yesterday gave the legal implications on the President Muhammadu Buhari’s second medical trip to the United Kingdom. According to him, section 146 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) cannot be invoked given the circumstances that will prompt such action of removing the president from office. Ozekhome also argued that considering the current peculiarities of tribalism, sentiments and religious bias, members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) will not be able to invoke the provisions of the constitution in order to declare the president incapable and subsequent removal from office. He said: “Section 143 of the constitution generally deals with the removal of the president from office on the grounds of misconduct in the performance of his office, and the entire procedure involved in the process of such removal. “Gross misconduct” is defined by the Constitution to mean a “grave violation or breach of the

provisions of the constitution or a misconduct of such nature as amounts in the opinion of the National Assembly to gross misconduct. “It is therefore clear that aside a ‘grave violation or breach of the provisions of the constitution,’ what amounts to ‘gross misconduct’ is what, in the objective, subjective, whimsical, or capricious “opinion of the National Assembly” to amount to same. “Section 144 constitution provides for the removal of the president on the grounds of “permanent incapacity” of the president to discharge the functions of his office.” Ozekhome held that “his removal under this provision, unlike that of S. 143 which is initiated by the National Assembly, is initiated by the members of the Federal Executive Council through a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the FEC declaring that the president is incapable of discharging the functions of his office. “Section 144 (5) defines “Executive Council of the Federation” to mean the “body

of ministers of the government of the federation, howsoever called, established by the president... “Where the declaration is made by the members of the executive council, it is verified by a team of medical panel appointed by the President of the Senate, comprising five medical practitioners, including the president’s personal physician. “If, in the opinion of the medical panel, the president is suffering from such “infirmity of body or mind” as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, it shall send its report to the President of Senate; and where a notice signed by the President of Senate and Speaker House of Representatives is published in the gazette of the government of the federation, the president or his deputy shall cease to hold office from the date of the publishing of the notice of the medical report. “It is clear from the above, going by the present scenario of the president’s second medical sojourn abroad that until he is so declared unfit by reason of “infirmity of body or mind,” by two-third majority of ministers, there is nothing any one can do about it.”

He maintained that “it is left to be seen if the Federal Executive Council, a body appointed by, and solely responsible to the president, will summon enough courage to take such steps, even if it were crystal clear that the president is permanently incapacitated to carry out the functions of his office. “In a plural society such as Nigeria, where cronyism, nepotism, tribalism and ethnoreligious sentiments reign supreme, and where allegiance is owed to the benefactor of a favour rather than allegiance to the nation, it will be impossible to see our squirming and pigeonhearted Ministers, mustering 28 out of about 42 ministers or there about, to secure a two-third majority and declare Buhari unfit to govern. That will be the 8th wonder of the world! “It is clear from the case of Danbaba Suntai, former Governor of Taraba State, that members of the Executive Council in whose domain lies squarely the kick-starting of the process for the president’s removal on ground of “infirmity of body or mind”, are never ready, able or willing to commence such a highly politically charged process.”

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

CRIME&PUNISHMENT

Five Officers Missing as Smugglers Attack Customs in Ogun, Torch Patrol Van Eromosele Abiodun A few days after vehicle dealers attacked officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Kaduna, burning down their patrol van, officers of the service once again came under attack yesterday in the hands of daredevil smugglers in Ogun State. In the attack at the Tollgate end of Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, operational vehicle of the service was damaged and burnt beyond recognition. One of the affected officers who said he escaped death, said about five of his colleagues are missing in action. Narrating his ordeal, the officer who did not want his name mentioned for security reasons, said they were on a routine patrol when they accosted and seized three vehicles laden with frozen chickens and foreign parboiled rice. According to him, “We were on a routine patrol when we saw three vehicles filled with poultry products and foreign parboiled rice. We impounded the vehicles, and on our way to the office, we were attacked by smugglers, and a vehicle with

frozen chickens which one of our officer was driving was attacked and freed.” He said his colleague who drove the contraband-laden vehicle had to take refuge at the nearest police station when he was attacked. Explaining further on how the NCS vehicle was burnt, he said: “After taking the contraband to the office, the CG compliance team was on patrol when they ran into the mob and were attacked.” He disclosed also that the officers who had no fore knowledge of the earlier incident were attacked and their vehicles burnt. “The officers who were attacked were on routine patrol when they ran into the mob, they were not the first crop of officers who impounded the frozen poultry products and foreign rice,” he said. The source however disclosed that no one knows the whereabouts of the officers. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Jerry Attah, confirmed the attack on Customs officers. Attah said: “Our officers were ambushed and attacked on their way to the office after seizing

frozen chickens and imported rice.” He also confirmed that a Customs patrol vehicle was burnt and officers were mobbed. “The CG compliance team

was on a routine patrol and they ran into the mob who attacked and burnt their patrol van. Presently, we don’t know the status of the officers,” he added.

Attah also stated that the remaining two vehicles laden with rice and frozen foods are in their custody. “Two out of three vehicles laden with rice and vehicles

chicken are in our custody. One Mazda 626 with registration number KTU504AL and Volkswagen with no plate number is presently in our warehouse,” he added.

MEN OF THE UNDERWORLD Suspected kidnappers being paraded by the police after their arrest in Imo State...yesterday

Court Remands Husband in Prison for Allegedly Killing SEC Director Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Mary Anenih of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja yesterday ordered the remand of one Charles Eni-Umukoro in prison custody till May 19 pending the hearing

of his bail application. The judge gave the order following the arraignment of the defendant, who pleaded not guilty to charges of culpable homicide filed against him by the federal government. Eni-Umukoro, a one-time

Chairman of Sapele Local Government Area in Delta State, was alleged to be responsible for the death of his wife, Louisa EniUmukoro, who until her death was a Director at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He pleaded not guilty to the

one, count charge. Consequently, the prosecution counsel led by Jubrin Okutepa (SAN), asked the court for an adjournment to enable him respond to the bail application of the defendant and also call his witnesses in the suit.

Responding Justice Anenih, adjourned the matter till May 19 for hearing of the bail application. The judge had earlier refused a request for adjournment by Godwin Emagun, counsel to the defendant, on the grounds that he failed to present a justifiable

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AYO AROWOLO

reason for adjournment. Emagun had objected to the prosecution of the case, on the grounds that Okutepa being a private lawyer, must first obtain a fiat from the Attorney General of the Federation before prosecuting the case.

BINOCULARS

BEYOND NUMBERS AND EXTERNAL VALIDATIONS to fund the SMEs, only few banks responded. In fact most banks preferred to lend the money out to speculative borrowers and pay the penalties for not lending to local businesses as instructed by the apex bank instead of gambling with the SME operators as they are wont to say. The CBN needs to wield the big stick and enforce compliance. I am also assuming that the Federal Government would get its acts together and pursue its new economic programme for there is very little the banks can do without an enabling environment. Second, banks should get more creative. Rather than being obsessed with declaring huge profits (which is alright), they should come up with creative ways of working with local businesses and assist them develop their small businesses into mega operations that can offer employment. Who says banks cannot deploy their senior officers into the offices of the small-scale businesses and work with them on a continuous basis to grow their businesses. The economists are needed more in the factories than in the banking halls drinking coffee and wasting their intelligences which can be

deployed to help their customers. This would ultimately pay off. In this regards a few banks have done very well. First Banks, for instance, has been known over the years to support small and medium scale enterprises. This is obvious when you analyse the destinations of their loans. The bank’s imprints were visible in a number of projects: contributions to building infrastructure and improving power generation through lending to investors and off-takers. The bank also participated in financing the new Lekki-Epe Expressway, Tejuosho Shopping Complex, Aswani Shopping Complex and the financing of the, several housing estates across the nation. The bank has played active role in financing local oil businesses and which possibly accounted for while it was affected the most when the oil sector started having problem. Access Bank is another bank that is actively pushing its finances in areas which could have ripple effects on the country ultimately. The bank, for instance, is actively involved in financing most of the infrastructure development of Lagos state. So is GTB which

has remained very creative in coming up with platforms for promoting entrepreneurship. Most SME operators also give thumbs up for Diamond Bank for being very supportive of their causes. Heritage Bank though not quoted is another bank to watch in terms of helping to grow the productive sector of the economy. More banks should go in this direction. The final suggestion I would offer on how the Nigerian banks can add more value to the economy is drawn from the story of Muhammed Yunus founder of Grameen Bank a bank that specialises in extending micro credits to the poor, as told by Stephen Covey in his highly seminar book-The 8th Habit. Dr. Yunus who holds a PhD in economics was a class teacher in one of the universities in Bangladesh. It dawn on him one day that the theories he was teaching in the classroom needed to be practicalised on the streets near his school campus where people were ravaged with poverty. He tried an experiment one day as he was returning home. He asked one of the women in the cluster of the neighbourhood

how much it would take to run her small business and he learnt it was not more than a dollar. Then an idea came to his mind. Dr. Yunus put some amount together and gave it as a loan to 42 petty traders. To his surprise, all of them repaid the loan without any defaulting. With that success rate, an idea came to his mind, that he could approach the bank and convince them to partner with him to help develop those small businesses. It will be nice to quote verbatim the interactions between him and the banks: “I thought of the bank branch which was located on the campus of the university, and I went to the manager and suggested that he lend money to the poor people that I had met in the village. He fell from the sky! He said, You are crazy. It is impossible. How could we lend money to poor people? They are not credit worthy”. I pleaded with him and said: “At least, give it a try, find out-it’s only a small amount of money,” He said “ No. Our rules don’t permit it. They cannot afford collaterals, and such a tiny amount is not worth lending. “ He suggested that I see the high official in the banking hierarchy in

Bangladesh”. I took his advice and went to the people who matter in the banking sector. Everybody told me the same thing. Finally after several days of running around, I offered myself as a guarantor. “ I’ll guarantee the loan, I’ll sign whatever they want me to sign, and they can give me the money and I’ll give it to the people I want to”. So that was the beginning. They warned me repeatedly that the poor people who receive money would never pay back. I said: “I’ll take the chance”. And the surprising thing was that they repaid me every penny. I got very excited and came back to the manager and said:” Look they pay back, there is no problem”. But he said: “ Oh no, they are just fooling you. Soon they will take more money and never pay you back.” So I gave them more money and they paid me back. I told this to him but he said, “Well, maybe you can do it one village, but if you do it in two villages, it won’t work”. And I hurriedly did in two villages and it worked”. The banker suggested that he should try his experiment in four, five, six, seven and 100 more villages that it won’t worked but it worked. Exasperated, Dr. Yunus looked away from

the direction of the bank and invested his own money into promoting micro credit. As at the time of that report, Grammeen Bank was in more than 46,000 villages in Bangladesh through 1267 branches and over 12,000 staff members and they had loaned out more than $4.5 billion. The lesson here is that banks can get more creative, deploy their top level staff to the street to locate promising small businesses, put their weight and expertise behind them and work with them to grow. Ultimately, they would be the beneficiaries. The profit may not be instant but in the process of time, they would discover that is the only way to grow their profits on a sustainable basis and thus be in a position to meet their obligations to their shareholders. Speculative lending is not the way up The federal government can also take a cue. Before developing the budget for the year, they should despatch their ministers to the factories, to the farms to find out the real situation of things. They will gain vision on how to run the economy and there won’t be any need for budget padding. I rest my case.

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

TCN

TRANSMISSION COMPANY OF NIGERIA PROJECT MANAGEMENT UNIT NIGERIA ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION PROJECT (NETAP)

GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE Loan No. /Credit No: Project ID No.: P146330 The Federal Government of Nigeria, on behalf of the

announced, as they become available, in UN Development

Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has applied for

Business and dgMarket and in local newspapers.

financing to the amount of Four Hundred and Eighty Six Million United States Dollars (USD 486 million) equivalent

Interested eligible bidders who wish to be included on the

from the World Bank toward the cost of the Nigeria Electricity

mailing list to receive invitations to prequalify/bid under

Transmission Project (NETAP), and it intends to apply part of International Competitive Procedures should send their the proceeds to payments for goods, works, related services request to any of the two addresses below: and consulting services to be procured under this project. The project will include the following components:

Address (1)

Goods & Works

2 3

Rehabilitation and Reinforcement 330/13 2kV and 132/33kV Transmission Substations Reconstruction and Reconductoring of 1,275km of 132kV Transmission Lines Supply of Substation Essential Power Equipment to Ojo Stores, Lagos

Rehabilitation of SCADA System in Transmission Network

Instal lation of Static Var Compensators

Transmission Company of Nigeria â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Project Management Unit (TCN-PMU) Conference Room 1,

Attention: Engr. A. J. Ciroma -General Manager Consultancy Services PMU 1

Engineering Supervision and Site Management for the Construction of New 330/132 and 132/33kV Substations and Reinforcement/ Rehabilitation Old 132/33kV Transmission Substations (North-West, North Central, South East and South-South, and Lagos Area)

Engineering Supervision and Site Management for the Rehabilitation of Transmission SCADA System

Engineering Supervision and Site Management of Reconstruction and Reconductoring of 132kV Transmission Lines

Engineering Supervision and Site Management of for Installation of Static Var Compensators

No. 7, Hombori Street, Wuse 2, Abuja 900288, NIGERIA

Tel: +234-808 028 8802, +234 808 028 8803 6

Environmental and Social Studies

Advisory Services for Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements for the Construction of New Transmission

E-mail: tcnpmu@tcnpmu.ng & jciroma@tcnpmu.ng Website: www.tcnpmu.ng

Procurement of contracts financed by the World Bank will be conducted through the procedures as specified in the World Bank's Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. Procurement in Investment Project Financing Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services July 2016 and is open to all eligible bidders as defined in the Procurement Framework.

Address (2)

Usman Gur Mohammed Interim Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer Transmission Company of Nigeria TCN Corporate Headquarters No. 14, Zambezi Crescent, Maitama

Specific procurement notices for contracts to be bidded under Abuja, NIGERIA the New World Bank's Procurement Framework will be

E-mail: mohammed.ug@tcnmail.com

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY MAY 10, 2017

RIVERS STATE GOVERNMENT

WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATIONS The Rivers State Golden Jubilee Committee is pleased to welcome invited guests and the public to the Golden Jubilee Women’s Day activities including a public lecture titled: “Status of Women and Politics in Nigeria” Guest Lecturer: Professor Dame Uche Nnamdi Azikiwe, MFR

DATE:

Thursday 11th May, 2017

VENUE:

Dr Obi Wali International Conference Centre, Port Harcourt

TIME:

10am

May God bless you as you come.

Rivers State Golden Jubilee Committee Signed

PROF. JOSEPH AJIENKA Chairman, Media & Publicity Sub-Committee

T H I S D AY • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017

WEDNESDAYSPORTS Musa on the Verge of Walking away from Leicester City

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

TRANSFER

Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report Super Eagles Vice Captain, Ahmed Musa, is believed to be considering dumping English Premiership champions Leicester City barely one year after signing a club record transfer to the Foxes. The 24-year-old Nigerian forward joined Leicester from Russian side, CSKA Moscow for £17 million last July but has failed to hit expected heights at the King Power Stadium. He has fallen down the pecking order at King Power Stadium since Craig Shakespeare took charge from Claudio Ranieri who lured the talented former Plateau United star to England. Musa has struggled for regular first-team action with goals scored at a premium too. He has made just seven starts in the Premier League for Leicester City this season and UK’s Daily Mirror reports that the former VVV-Venlo man is edging towards the exit at the King Power. In total, Musa has managed just four goals in 31 appearances in all competitions for the Foxes. The real cause for concern for Musa now is that there is possibility he could find himself even further down the pecking order if, as expected, Leicester dip into the transfer market to revamp their strike-force this summer. In his last 20 appearances, he has scored only twice — and both of those came in the same game, a 2-1 win at Everton in the FA Cup on January 7 that he began on the bench. In contrast, Musa’s Nigerian compatriot, Wilfred Ndidi who arrived at the club in the January has thrived fuelling speculations that the former is struggling to settle into life in England.

Sources from Musa’s Jos base in Plateau State attributes the slump in his form in Leicester to unsettled family life. “You are well aware of the issues Ahmed Musa has been having with his marriage. It has kind of affected him psychologically to the point that he is no longer the goal poacher he was in Russia,” observed the Jos-based coach who would not want his name in print. Early last month, Musa was reported in the British media to have been invited by Leicester police over domestic matters with his wife Jamila. Although the Eagles star later claimed that the matters was reported out of context and even threatened legal actions against the news media, City asked Musa to explain his side of the case before being left off. Musa was later released without charge after his own version of the story was backed by the police and his agent has insisted reports of his arrest hours after he had wished his wife a happy birthday on Instagram had been exaggerated. “It’s normal for a couple to have a bit of a row now and again, however, Musa did not at any point hit his wife nor was he attacked by her. It was a mere domestic issue which has now been resolved and they are now talking again. Everyone knows Musa is a jolly good fellow. ‘’He doesn’t drink or smoke, doesn’t party and has never been in trouble with the police all his life. He couldn’t harm a fly,’’ Musa’s agent had told reporters last month not minding the fact that pictures of another lady surfaced in the media said to be the his new heartthrob waiting to walk the aisle with.

Quarterfinalists Emerge in Zenith/Delta State Principal’s Cup Quarterfinalists have emerged in the ongoing Principals’ Cup football competition for Secondary Schools in Delta State sponsored by Zenith Bank. A total of 29 schools competed for honours in the zonal event that took place in nine centres with eight teams qualifying for the quarter final stage of the event which begins today. The organisers of the event, Hideaplux Limited, Warri, yesterday assured all stakeholders that all arrangements for the quarterfinals have been concluded with two matches today and the remaining on Thursday. CEO of Hideaplus, Tony Pemu, said the draw for the quarterfinals took place on Tuesday with interesting ties anticipated. “We saw many talented players in the zonal event and we expect that in this stage of the competition, more talented

youths will exhibit their football artistry,” Pemu said. At the Ogbemudia Secondary School in Agbor, Rev Martin’s College Issele Uku will lock horns with MasterCare International School, Asaba while at the Government College, Ughelli, Ogbe-Ijoh Grammar School will take on Udu Secondary School, Otor-Udu On Thursday, Okotie-Eboh Government Secondary School Sapele will host the quarterfinal tie between : Idgerhe S/S, Idgerhe VS Jedo S/S, Jedo while in Kwale, Utagba-Ogbe Grammar school is the venue for the encounter between Igbuku Secondary School and Amai Secondary School, Amai. Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education in Delta State, Mr. Chiedu Ebie, has commended the organisers, Hidealus, and the sponsors of the event Zenith Bank for bringing back the event.

Musa… thinking of dumping Leicester

Delta Sports Festival: Egwero Wins 100m Gold The sixth Delta State festival entered its second day yesterday with a superlative performance from sprinter Ogho-Oghene Egwero, who ran 10.52 seconds to emerge champions in the 100m event. Egwero is one of the elite athletes taking part in the Games. Another elite athlete, Austin Monye, threw 51.01 meters to win the men’s discuss event. Also yesterday, Ineh Neyiwa

wrote his name in gold, winning the men’s triple jump event in 15.04 meters. After 12 years, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa decided to revive the Delta Sports Festival, an action that is being hailed by the athletes and their officials. Competing at the Ozoro Polytechnic Stadium yesterday, Egwero, who is eyeing four gold medals at the Games, lived up to

his promise, as he over powered all contenders in the 100m event. Earlier, Monye had sent the atmosphere into a wild jubilation, when he threw 51.01 meters to capture the gold medal in the men’s discuss event. Before then, Neyiwa, who competed for Warri South Local Government Area had beaten all male contenders to the gold in the triple jump.

In the long jump for women, Odifri Victory won gold medal for Warri South LGA with a leap of 5.70 meters, just as Inyang Cecelia (Aniocha-North) won the hammer event with a throw of 46.74 meters. The festival will end on Friday with Governor Okowa expected to perform the closing ceremony at the Ozoro Polytechnic Stadium.

Top Stars for Okpekpe Race to Jet in Today

Screening and accreditation of athletes, officials begin

Invited IAAF labeled athletes will start to arrive Nigeria today for the fifth Okpekpe International 10km Road Race scheduled to hold on Saturday in Okpekpe, Edo State. The athletes will come in through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos and will be transported to Auchi where accommodation has been reserved for them. “The athletes, together with their Nigerian counterparts will go on tour of the course on Friday in line with IAAF requirements.”

Some of the top athletes expected to jet in today are men’s defending champion, Simon Cheprot of Kenya, who has vowed to set a new course record on the way to successfully defending his title; compatriots Edwin Nyandusi Mokua, Wilson Kiprono Too, Emmanuel Kiprono Kipsang as well as Ethiopian trio of Dawit Fikadu Admasu,Fikadu Haftu and Leul Gebresilasie. Also expected to arrive today is Tanzania’s Ismail Juma, Turkey’s Kaan Kigen Ozbilen and Thierry Ndikuwenayo of Burundi.

They are all among the elite athletes from eight countries that will participate in Saturday’s race.

Meanwhile, final registration of athletes for Saturday’s race begins today in Auchi.

Juventus Beats Monaco to Reach Champions League Final Juventus reached their second Champions League final in three seasons with a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory over Monaco. Already leading 2-0 from the first leg, the Italian side extended

their advantage when Mario Mandzukic stabbed in after his initial header was saved. Dani Alves doubled their lead on the night with an instinctive volley from goalkeeper Danijel Subasic’s punched clearance.

Ofowino Rules at First Lady’s Chess Tourney Femi Solaja

Dominant National Female Champion, Toritshemuwa Ofowino, last Sunday emerged as the winner of the First Lady’s Chess Tournament organised for all female chess players in the country. The one-week event, which held at the Obafemi Awolowo

Stadium in Ibadan was sponsored by one of the legion of the brain game from USA, Mr. Ayo Oguntuase in honour of the wife of the President of Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), Mrs. Adebola Adeyemi. It is meant to raise gender awareness for the game in the country. He wants female players to maintain their status

among male peers. The tournament which was a combination of Swiss and knockout pairing had Ofowino leading the pack till round five with 3.5 points before moving into the money spinning knockout phase starting with the quarter final stage. Labake Coker, Peace Sampson, Assa Oluwaseun, Vivian Dzaayem, Deborah

Akintoye, Doris Adebayo and Nkem Omishogbon all proved their worth in the crucial stage of the tourney. While Ofoniwo edged out veteran Dzaayem, former national female champion, Coker proved better against Sampson just as Akintoye won the clash against Omishogbon while Adebayo lost to Assa.

Wednesday May 10, 2017

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Mohammed to State House Reporter

“The answer to your first question is absolute bunkum. It is absolutely untrue that he is being fed. He was in the office yesterday as you all reported. “And if the doctors say he should take a rest, because they think he’ll recover faster, then he ought to rest rather than forcing himself to work when he is not fit to work.” – Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed reacting to a question from State House reporters who wanted to confirm rumours that President Muhammadu Buhari’s health had deteriorated to the point he was being spoon fed.

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Beyond Numbers and External Validations

everal years back, at the time when most of the Nigerian banks and a few corporate organisations were caught with the craze of rushing abroad to purchase awards from some influential financial publications, I had gone to visit a highly placed Nigerian who was the country managing director of a global consulting firm then. He has always been self-effacing and on the quiet side but with impact that could not be overlooked. And I admired that virtue. I wanted to know why he wasn’t too visible , why he wasn’t a beneficiary of some the awards that were being thrown at people. Two statements he made to address my question have been ingrained in my spirit ever since. “The moment an individual, or an organisation or a country starts to depend on external third parties to validate his or its worth, that individual or organisation or country is doomed’ he said. And he added: “Ayo, watch those banks and their CEOs collecting awards all over the place; it is just a matter of time, they would be out of the system.” It was a like a prophetic declaration in a hurry for self-fulfilment. One after the other, as he had predicted, the banks started to vanish from the banking landscape. Some of their CEOs were arrested and clamped into detention while their banks were forcefully taken over either by government or by other perceptive investors. Between that time and now, the rough water in the financial services industry has shuffled out more than 100 banks out of the system, leaving fewer than 20 operating at the moment. The twin brother of that malaise is the obsessive focus of banks, regulators and investors on numbers as against what those numbers are supposed to reflect or mirror. I want to suggest that this tendency only reflects what is happening in the country as a whole; so the banks are only acting to type. Otherwise, what is the sense in the government rushing to the press to tell us how Nigeria has become the largest economy with the highest GDP in Africa, when patients are dying daily in the hospitals for lack of bed spaces; when universities are churning out half baked, ill-trained graduates wrongly equipped to fit into the job placement market; when successive governments have spent billions of dollars on the power sector with the hope of giving us uninterrupted supply of electricity only to bring us into thickening darkness.

All is Not Well! Back to the banks. Regardless of what the Central Bank of Nigeria is saying regarding the health of the banks, the truth is that all is not well with the Nigerian banks. It does not mean they are collapsing; it is even more serious than that. The 5-year survey of the Nigerian banks conducted by THISDAY Financial and Economic Intelligence Unit in association with some leading research firms confirms this: When all the top-line numbers from the results posted by all the 15 banks are put together the obvious conclusion we were able to draw was that all the banks were struggling to keep afloat profitably. As the table below indicates, all the banks, without exception, witnessed progressively declining profit margins meaning the rate at which they were able to convert their earnings to profit has remained on a downward slide. Also, of the 15 banks

First Bank Chairman, Ibukun Awosika

GTB MD, Segun Agbaje

Acccess Bank MD, Herbert Wigwe

surveyed over a five -year period most were not able to post an increasing profit margin and while some recorded inconsistent movements on this indicator. Our survey also indicates that only four banks (UBA: 55.8%; GTB: 44.3%; Access: 37.8% and Zenith:19.6%) were able to create wealth for their shareholders in 2016 when we combined the dividends they paid plus their share price appreciation to get total returns. The rest even created financial erosion for their shareholders. Expectedly this is not surprising because the economy itself has been on a downward trajectory with many factories closing shop while a few warehouses are being taken over by spiritual houses. What is happening in the banking industry is a perfect reflection of the Nigeria’s economic realities. That the banks are not declaring sterling results is not the issue; the problem is the way they have responded to the economic realities. I will make few observations quickly and then

follow with a few suggestions on what I think the banks ought to do, reflecting the outcome of my interaction with analysts on the state of the Nigerian banking system.

production, not in locally dependent businesses but in speculative lending activities that fuel high level of bad loans recorded by most of the them since most of those transactions are usually at high interest rates which make loans to go bad. Related to this is that while banks charge high interest on those few speculative transactions, the interest they pay on deposit is ridiculous or even punitive making most individuals to look at another direction . Some even put their money under their pillows or even in uncompleted building! Some had to resort to some ponzi schemes which, of course, have pushed many into financial losses and avoidable sorrow. And when depositors hide their money from the banks, banks will then depend on charges instead of interest income to grow their revenues. As we have seen, most banks have survived by patronising government and its agencies for easy monies. The economy is the loser as banks are not channelling their loans to productive sectors which could create employment and beef up the country’s GDP. The third game we discovered from our survey is the across -the- board tendencies of the banks to squeeze salaries and overhead to grow profits. When we computed the ratios of staff cost to the number of employees for the banks, almost all have cut their staff costs to half over the past five years without considering the consequences. Some have continued to sack staff giving all manner of excuses. When banks increase the sizes of their operations and then man those operations with poorly remunerated staff (most even prefer contract staff) what you get is what is happening in the banking halls these days when some tellers don’t even know how to operate the computers in front of them!

On the Wrong Path One, most of the banks with the exception of a few have virtually abandoned their core banking role which according to a World Bank report involves “accepting funds from those with surplus (depositors) and lending them to those with ability to use additional funds for productive purposes (borrowers). Borrowers must be able to use the funds to create products or services that generate adequate income to repay the principal plus a usage fee (interest, mark-up) at a rate high enough to provide the bank with interest differential income”. The first transgression by the majority of the 15 banks is that most of their loans are not in

BANKS’ PROFIT MARGIN (%) BANK 01 Access

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

17.5

17.3

19.4

18.6

02 UBA

24.8

17.4

16.2

18.6

03 Zenith

34.3

28.2

24.7

25.5

04 GTB

39.2

36.9

33.7

32.7

31.7

05 ETI

11.1

3.7

11.5

2.3

-9.5

06 FBNH

20.8

17.8

17.5

30.7

2.4

9.7

16.7

24.3

11.07

15.8

08 Sterling

10.1

8.7

9.3

4.6

09 Fidelity

15.2

6.1

10.4

9.5

6.4

10 Union

4.1

6.1

10.4

9.5

6.4

11 Unity

11.5

-36

13.8

6.1

12 Diamond

16.1

15.9

12.2

2.6

1.6

13 Wema

2.6

5.5

5.6

5.2

4.8

14 FCMB

13.1

12.4

3.2

8.1

15 Skye

9.9

12.5

13.7

-24.9

16.1

11.31

15.7

10.7

07 Stanbic-IBTC

INDUSTRY AVERAGE

Source: THISDAY Financial and Economic Intelligence Unit and Afrinvest Research

Options for Progress First, the CBN should modify the way it assesses the contribution of the banks. While declaring huge profits is important, there should be a guided enforcement on the banks to perform the role they were set up to perform. Over the years, any time the CBN introduced the policy of getting the banks Continued on page 51

10.3

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