Monday 12th June 2017

Emefiele Highlights Benefits of Movable Assets, Credit Reporting Acts

Insists Nigerian lenders are safe Parallel market operators taking over our business, BDCs lament

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku and Obinna Chima Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele at the weekend

expressed satisfaction with the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act (otherwise known as National Collateral Registry Act) and the Credit Reporting Act, that were

recently signed into law by acting President Yemi Osinbajo, saying they would help to expand access to financing

by Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in

the country.

This is one of the cardinal objectives of the development finance function of the CBN, he said.

Emefiele, who said this in

an exclusive interview with THISDAY in Lagos, also reacted to criticism of the central bank’s creation of several foreign exchange (FX) windows, saying the policy

was targeted at helping to correct the crisis in the market.

In addition, Emefiele reiterated that Nigerian banks Continued on page 10

Arik Secures Major Investor to Offset AMCON, Other Creditors’ Debts... Page 64 Monday 12 June, 2017 Vol 22. No 8089. Price: N250

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In Landmark Judgment, S’Court Rules Against Granting Stay in Criminal Trials

Tobi Soniyi

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has upheld the provisions of Section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and Section 40 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, which prohibit courts in the country from granting stay of proceedings in criminal trials.

A five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Dattijo Muhammed, in a unanimous ruling delivered on Friday, held that by virtue of the provisions of both laws, no court in the country, including the Supreme Court, has the power to stay proceedings in a criminal case.

The highest court in the land took the position while Continued on page 10

Presidency: Budget Not Delayed for Buhari’s Assent

Bill will be signed this week, says National Planning Ministry Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja The presidency has described as untrue speculations making the rounds that the delay in the 2017 budget’s signing was a deliberate ploy to keep the budget unsigned till President Muhammadu Buhari returns from his trip to the United Kingdom where he is undergoing medical treatment

for an undisclosed ailment.

A source in the presidency who did not want to be named, told THISDAY that the speculation was misplaced, pointing out that Buhari transmitted full presidential powers to acting PresidentYemi Osinbajo on May 7 before leaving the country.

Continued on page 12

Tinubu: June 12 is Mother of May 29... Page 68

AFTER FATHER’S DESPOTIC RULE, SAIF GADDAFI GETS HIS FREEDOM…

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second son of the late Libyan Head of State, Maummar Gaddafi and his preferred successor, was released yesterday from jail under an amnesty law. Saif al-Islam had been sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli in 2015 reuters

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MONDAY, ÍšÍşËœ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž T H I S D AY

PAGE TEN IN LANDMARK JUDGMENT, S’COURT RULES AGAINST GRANTING STAY IN CRIMINAL TRIALS dismissing an appeal on an application for stay of proceedings filed by a former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Olisa Metuh.

The Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier rejected his application to stop his trial pending appeal, following which Metuh appealed unsuccessfully to both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, are on trial before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, for laundering the sums of $2 million and N400 million, which the defendants allegedly received unjustifiably from the Office of the National Security Adviser in 2014.

The funds were allegedly used to fund the 2015 presidential campaign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Although Metuh had pleaded not guilty to the charges, the Federal High Court dismissed his application for stay of proceedings for being “violently in conflict�

with Section 36(4) of the constitution, Section 306 of ACJ, and Section 40 of the EFCC Act, and a number of case law authorities.

Metuh had approached the courts to grant a stay of proceeding after he had filed a no case submission in his criminal trial, which was dismissed by the Federal High Court.

Controversy has also raged as to whether the two provisions – Section 306 of ACJA and Section 40 of the EFCC Act prohibiting courts from staying proceedings in a criminal trial – contravene the constitutional right to appeal by persons charged with offences.

But Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, who delivered the lead ruling, held that the provisions of both laws do not contravene the constitution.

On the contrary, she held that both provisions are in agreement with Section 36(4) of the constitution, which provides that any person charged with a criminal offence “shall be entitled to fair hearing in public within a reasonable time�.

According to her, it is

only logical to interpret the spirit of the foregoing constitutional provision to translate that, where the grant of an application for stay will unnecessarily delay and prolong the proceedings, it should not be granted.

Justice Ogunbiyi held that the decision by the Supreme Court in 2016, granting a stay of proceedings in the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, a case law cited by Metuh’s lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), was irrelevant.

Justice Ogunbiyi held: “This court (the Supreme Court) pronounced also in Olubukola Saraki V Federal Republic of Nigeria (2016) 3 NWLR (Pt. 1500) SC 531 that the Code of Conduct Tribunal is not a court of superior record of jurisdiction, but a court of quasi-criminal jurisdiction. “Therefore, the application of the cases to the circumstances of this case (Metuh’s case) cannot be relevant, as rightly submitted by the learned counsel to the first respondent (EFCC’s lawyer). “The appellant/applicant’s

(Metuh) motion for stay of proceedings is violently in conflict with the provisions of Section 36(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Section 306 of ACJ and section 40 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004 as well as the plethora of case law authorities cited.�

The Supreme Court also disagreed with Metuh’s lawyer on the point of whether or not Section 306 of the constitution only relates to the trial court and not the appellate courts – Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Justice Ogunbiyi agreed with EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir, to the effect that by virtue of Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act, the Appeal Court could grant an interim order or any injunction, only for which the court below (the trial court) has the jurisdiction to make or grant.

She also referred to a replica of the provision of the Court of Appeal Act in the Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act. Justice Ogunbiyi noted that Section 22 of the Supreme

Court Act also restricts the Supreme Court to making an interim order or granting any injunction “which the court below (the Court of Appeal) is authorised to make or grant�.

She therefore held that since an order of stay of proceedings, being a form of interim order or injunction, the Federal High Court and other trial courts had by both Section 306 of ACJA and Section 40 of the EFCC Act been prohibited from granting it, it follows that neither the Court of Appeal nor the Supreme Court has the power to grant same. “Contrary to the submission advanced by the applicant’s counsel, the consequential effect is that the Supreme Court, like the two lower courts, also lacks the powers to stay proceedings under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act or under its inherent powers,� she held.

She further noted: “The appellant’s counsel (Metuh’s lawyer) argued vehemently that Section 306 of the ACJA does not apply to the court below (the Court of Appeal) or this court (the Supreme

Court). “The argument, in my view, is grossly misconceived as rightly submitted by the first respondent’s counsel (EFCC’s lawyer). “The conclusion, as stated earlier, is predicated squarely on the contention of Section 306 of ACJA and Section 40 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004, whereby the trial court lacks the powers to order for stay of proceedings; also the court below under Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act as well as this court under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act, also lacks the power to order for stay of further proceedings pending before the trial court. “I wish to emphasise that this is a criminal proceeding.

There are also clear constitutional and statutory provisions that enjoin and mandate the trial court not to delay criminal cases.�

Other members of the panel – Justices Muhammad, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Ejembi Eko and Sidi Bage – agreed with the lead ruling.

Metuh’s trial before the Federal High Court will now resume on June 19.

“Now, what we have done is to move them from that market into the official market at an exchange rate that is better than the rate they would have sourced if they went to the alternative market. So, I would say things are working well. “We set up the investors and exporters’ window and what that did was that it eliminated some of the sharp practices that we saw in the market. Now, everything is done in the open and in a very transparent manner. “If you want to sell your dollars, you offer the banks and the bank knowing that he has a buyer, matches you with the buyer and the bank makes only N1 spread. With the transparency that has been brought into that market, we have seen a lot of inflows into that market and rates began to converge.�

Emefiele, who also disclosed that the central bank was still conducting stress tests on Nigerian lenders, allayed concerns over the health of the banks, pointing out that Nigerian banks were among the most regulated financial institutions globally.

He explained: “First it is important that we all know that there is no need to grandstand about stresstesting. The CBN under its current management does stress-tests under different scenarios using the balance sheets, non-performing loans (NPLs) and other performance indicators of the banks on a regular basis and based on that we are able to determine what advice to give and what action the bank can take. “So stress-testing is like a normal thing in the CBN today.

It is not something we want to grandstand about because the process of grandstanding may create unnecessary noise that might create problems for the banking system. “But aside from that, it is important for us to know that in the entire world, when there are global shocks, external shocks, beyond the control of anybody, there would be incidents of NPLs rising and

you can go and check data in any jurisdiction to ascertain that. “But I think what is important is how well the banking sector is prepared to absorb those shocks. The Nigerian banking industry I always say is one of the most regulated in the world today.�

According to Emefiele, the standard practice in several jurisdictions is that the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement for banks should be eight per cent, minimum.

But in Nigeria, the smallest bank is expected to maintain a CAR of 10 per cent, while the large Systemically Important Banks (SIBs) are expected to maintain 15 per cent as CAR. “What we have done with this is to provide capital buffers for the banks to be able to withstand shocks. But of course there are internal guidance limits, when these rates go above your own internal guidance limits, people tend to make noise and say the institutions are weak. “I think the important thing to remember is that a lot of shock absorbers have been built into the system to ensure that the banks are either relatively well capitalised or have proper levels of liquidity to be able to run their businesses so that depositors’ funds are not in jeopardy. “We are also working hard to ensure that some of the weak ratios are addressed in some of the banks. But for me, there is no cause for worry, there is no cause for concern and we would continue to work assiduously to see to it that we are able to manage the banks so that depositors’ funds are safe. That is our primary mandate and that is why we are doing what we are doing,� he said.

He revealed that banks had started complying with an agreement reached at the 2016 Bankers’ Committee retreat requiring them to contribute five per cent of their profit after tax into the Agriculture and Small and Medium Enterprises Equity

Fund. “To date, we have close to N26 billion in that account sitting in the CBN. We have started engagements and we have told the banks and we at the CBN have also started our engagement with certain institutions,� he disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) yesterday appealed to the CBN to review dollar buying rate for BDCs downwards from N360 to N350/$1.

Currently, the parallel market and BDCs rates are trading around N360 to the greenback.

In a statement, ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadade indicated that owing to the central bank’s intervention in the FX market, which has led to a convergence of the BDC and parallel market rates, his members were finding it difficult to attract patronage. “For now, parallel market operators are taking over our business because BDC rates and their selling rates are the same and this has to change,�

Gwadabe lamented.

EMEFIELE HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS OF MOVABLE ASSETS, CREDIT REPORTING ACTS were safe and sound despite the foreign currency scarcity and external shocks that they have had to contend with in recent months, leading to the rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) above the regulatory threshold and impaired capital adequacy ratios (CAR).

On the benefits of the National Collateral Registry, Emefiele said when he resumed as governor on June 3, 2014, one of his vision statements was to ensure improved access to credit to MSMEs. As part of efforts to achieve this, he disclosed that since 2014, the CBN has been working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank, to sponsor the bill on the Collateral Registry. “I am delighted that, that bill has been passed into law and has also been assented to by the acting president. What that does is that it provides a legal framework under which banks can lend money to the SMEs. “Banks would naturally not lend without taking collateral because of the perceived risk of either non-performance arising from business failure. “So, because the banks are in business not to lend their own money, but depositors’ money, they would want to be sure that whatever money that they lend to any person or corporate entity, is secured. “But some SMEs don’t have fixed assets like buildings or land that banks can hold on to as collateral in the event of business failure. So the idea of movable collateral makes it easy to say, if you have a car, you can register it through the registry and the bank would take the car as collateral and register it in the registry. “The registry would assign certain code numbers, which gives that bank exclusive charge over that car, so that in case there is failure, they can possess the car and with the legal framework in place, they would be able to sell the car to realise what they lent out as loan. “Similarly, if you are a

hairdresser, the bank can take the hairdressing equipment, if you are a mechanic, they can take your mechanical tools, or any kind of business.�

To this end, Emefiele expressed optimism that with this law, Nigerian lenders would be further encouraged to loan to the SMEs, saying that the CBN in collaboration with the banks would soon start creating awareness on the benefits of the National Collateral Registry. “Of course, this will not go without some form of awareness. So the next round of engagement that would take place is that the central bank and the banks would start some form of engagement and campaigns for the SMEs to access loans through the framework created by the collateral registry. “I believe once that is done, we would see the sustainable and inclusive growth that we are looking for. In Nigeria, we have close to 40 million SMEs. So, for us to be able to provide jobs for people, we need to encourage the SMEs to be able to access finance. “So I think with the kind of campaign that the CBN would begin to engage in, it would help to spur lending to SMEs. “The other bill that was signed into law is that of credit bureaus. It will also help to increase our credit discipline. There are people who are perpetual debtors in the sense that they take loans and they don’t want to repay.

They move from one bank to another, deceiving bankers and collecting loans. “So, what the Credit Reporting Act does is to ensure that banks are able to see their customers’ credit history. “If it is good, the bank would be encouraged to lend and if it is bad, the bank would encourage the customer to go and clear his bad credit history before they can lend, or they would just refuse to lend to the customer,� he explained.

On the multiplicity of FX windows in the market, the CBN governor said they

were created to ensure that Nigerians that have legitimate demand for FX were not excluded from the market.

The CBN has different FX windows for various segments of the economy, comprising one for SMEs, another one for investors and exporters, and yet another one for retail invisibles such as PTA, BTA, school and medical fees, which have continued to attract criticism. “First, I think it is important to understand the reason behind creating those windows. You find out that when the CBN, in this case under the wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) for instance, allocates $10 million to a bank, that bank’s preference would be to allocate the FX to its large customers. “That was what we observed. And we began to say, what happens to the vulnerable, the SMEs, those who want to pay school fees and those who want to travel? So that was what necessitated the creation of those windows,� he said.

The CBN governor also defended the criticism that there are multiple exchange rates in the market, saying that the prevailing rate was N360 to the dollar.

According to him, recent FX measures by the CBN were initiated to ensure that various sectors or sub-sectors of the economy were able to access FX for their business.

He expressed satisfaction with the fact that Nigerians who need to travel can now access FX for PTA or BTA and school fees, while SMEs can also access $20,000 per quarter for their inputs.

He added: “Our happiness is that these people are able to access the FX market rather than go to the alternative market, which is the parallel market. “This is because when they go to the parallel market, they shoot up the demand in the parallel market, which is what primarily contributed to the high exchange rate in that market.

Continued on page 12

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T H I S D AY MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

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˾ MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

NEWS

How Police Finally Nabbed Notorious Kidnapper, Evans Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Paul Obi in Abuja After evading the law for four years, notorious kidnapping kingpin, Chukwudubem George Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, was finally apprehended at the weekend by the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT).

Given his penchant for evading the law, his capture after four years of living under the radar was celebrated by the police.

Wanted in three different states – Edo, Anambra and Lagos – Evans was touted to be the brain behind most of the high-profile kidnappings nationwide.

Going by his police profile, Evans had been touted as the most brilliant, crafty and richest of the criminal world, thus making him a dangerous kidnapper.

Although he continuously evaded arrest for four years, he became a person of interest to the police, following his alleged involvement in the abduction of Innocent Duru, the owner of a pharmaceutical company in Ilupeju, Lagos.

After the victim fled and revealed Evans’ gang’s hideout, a building which belonged to the kingpin, the Lagos State Government set out to demolish the house at no 19 Ataye Street, by Lanre bus stop, New Lagos area in Igando.

But as his nefarious reign grew, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had mobilised all the resources to back the IRT in making sure he was arrested. The IG also placed a N30 million bounty on his head.

Three weeks later, he was arrested by the IRT, led by Abba Kyari, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who had closely monitored his movements and everyone in contact with him.

The tireless monitoring, sleepless nights and the close marking on motorcycles finally paid off, when he was picked up in his home at Magodo estate, Lagos.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Evans had over the years collected billions of naira as ransom during his

seven-year reign as the kingpin of kidnappers.

The 36-year-old native of Nnewi in Anambra State, was known for collecting ransoms in dollars and often got the family of his victims to pay as much as N300 million to N400 million to secure the release of their loved ones.

To get such huge sums as ransom, Evans usually targeted people living in Festac, Amuwo Odofin, Ikoyi, Lekki and Victoria Island in Lagos, and also extended his nefarious activities to Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States.

He was also the mastermind behind the attempted kidnap of Chief Vincent Obianudo , the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors in Festac, in August 2013.

Known for his lavish lifestyle, Evans was fond of splashing his ill-gotten money on luxury goods instead of depositing the money in the bank so as not to attract attention.

Preliminary investigation further revealed that he once bought a wristwatch for $170,000, three phones for $6,000 each, two houses in Magodo Estate, and two other house in Ghana, where he is also a citizen.

Since the police started investigating him, two of his gang members had earlier been arrested with six number plates, one grass cutter, two Barreta pistols with four magazines, one army cap, two locally made leg chains, four AK47 rifles, one bullet proof vest, 59 AK47 magazines and 1,272 rounds of ammunition.

When the policemen gained access to his house in Magodo on Saturday, the suspect was said to have run to the roof of the house and engaged in a gun battle, but the policemen were able to smoke him out.

A policeman was, however, injured in the process.

During the bust, the police also recovered four AK47 rifles and over 50 magazines rounds during a search of the premises.

In his confession at the command headquarters in Ikeja, the suspect said he was once an importer of spare parts before circumstances pushed him to drug peddling. He said he then graduated to armed robberies and later kidnapping.

Nigeria and decided to start kidnapping rich men for ransom.”

He added: “The highest amount I have collected was $1million from Festac. I don’t know my net worth. I don’t have any money in the bank.

I operate only one account.

I collect dollars because it’s my choice.

“Once the victims pay the ransom, the money goes to the people who own it. I don’t have a boss but some people own the money.

“I have people heading different sections. There are two gangs that work for me in every operation. It is not all the time I follow them for the job. Most times, I give them instructions on the phone. The two gangs do not know themselves and none of them know my house.”

Evans, who expressed remorse over his criminal activities, advised other criminals to learn from him and quit.

Also, in a statement yesterday, the police in a statement signed by Moshood said: “The Joint Special Forces led by the Intelligence Response Team, the Lagos State Police Command’s AntiKidnapping Unit and Technical and Intelligent Unit of the Force under the supervision

of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, on the 10th of June, 2017 swooped and raided the criminal fortress of Chukwudi Dumeme Onuamadike, a.k.a Evans, a native of Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State”.

The police described him as the “vicious leader of a highly organised kidnapfor-ransom syndicate and criminal gang terrorising the country”, adding that he was responsible for several kidnappings of prominent Nigerians in Lagos State, including in the South-west, South-east, South-south and some Northern states.

The police said Evans had active gangs spread across the mentioned states.

“After an intense gun battle between them that lasted several hours, Evans and his gang were overpowered by the superior fire power of the joint special forces and he was arrested at Magodo Estate, Ikeja Area of Lagos.

“Evans was first declared wanted in August, 2013 when he masterminded the attempted kidnap of Chief Vincent Obianudo, the owner of Young Shall Grow Motors in Festac, Lagos, where a policeman attached to the victim foiled the attack and

killed three of Evans’ gang members but also lost his life in the process.

“Some of Evans’ gang members were subsequently arrested, but he regrouped with several gangs and became more vicious and unleashed terror in the mentioned states of the federation.

“Evans and his gangs kept their kidnapped victims in the Lagos Area at No. 21 Prophet Asaye Close, New Igando until the ransom was paid to him.

“Ransom monies were paid to him in millions of dollars, while some victims were kept for upwards of six to seven months until the last penny was paid.

“He never reduced his ransoms and none of his gang members knew his house.

“In every kidnapping, he had a separate armed group that kidnapped victims with him and had another armed group that took over the victims to their hideouts and prevented them from escaping.

“Members of the two groups did not know each other. They complied with Evans’ instructions.

“Evans and the dreaded vampire who died during a gun duel with the police special forces led by IRT and the Imo State Police Command in a forest in River State early this year, were the axis of evil in kidnappings in Southern Nigeria and some Northern states.

“He (Evans) has two mansions in Magodo GRA Phase 2, worth about N300,000,000. He also has two houses in a highbrow area of Accra in Ghana, among many other properties such as exotic cars, expensive watches, jewelry, etc, which he acquired from the proceeds of his criminal activities,” Moshood said.

Having released the details of Evans’ victims and the ransom that had been paid for their release, Moshood added: “During interrogation and preliminary investigation, Evans and his gangs confessed to all the kidnappings linked to them and made confessional statements to the various roles they played in the commission of the crimes.”

He said they would be charged to court on completion of investigation.

Speculation was rife in Abuja last week that the silence in the presidency on the budget’s signing since its transmission by the National Assembly on May 19 was a deliberate ploy to ensure that Osinbajo does not assent to the Appropriation Bill.

Concern over the delay in the budget’s assent has

also mounted in view of the 30-day constitutional requirement for the assent of a bill after its transmission by the National Assembly to the executive. The duration will expire on June 18.

The National Assembly had upon the passage of 2017 budget on May 11, raised the N7.2 trillion Appropriation

Bill presented by Buhari last year to N7.4 trillion, with the appropriation document predicating sources of funding on oil revenue pegged at N1.985 trillion, non-oil revenue at N1.73 trillion, external and domestic borrowing, and other federal government independent revenue sources.

which is N15 higher than the N360/$1 cash rate, currency speculators were mopping up dollars and moving them to Dubai, China and Lebanon from where they transfer them back to the country and make huge margins.

Gwadabe, nonetheless, lauded the CBN for liberalising the FX market and making more dollars available to his members.

“We are happy that the CBN is liberalising the foreign

exchange market to ensure that its objective of deepening the market is achieved.

“We applaud its decision of allowing authorised dealers in interbank trading to release excess foreign exchange trading positions to other authorised dealers without seeking prior approval from the CBN,” he said.

Gwadabe also said the creation of the investors’ and exporters’ window was also part of CBN’s efforts to further

develop the FX market and improve market structure.

“What stops the CBN from raising the PTA and BTA to $8,000 and $10,000 per quarter? The school fees and medicals should also be increased to $20,000 and $15,000 respectively, to put more dollars in the hands of end-users.

“That way, the liquidity that is coming from liberalisation of the FX market will be absorbed,” he said.

One of Evans' houses in Magodo, Lagos Evans was paraded before journalists by the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), alongside six members of his gang, who were arrested with him.

The six other suspects were identified as Felix Chinemerem, Nwosu Chikodi Chukwuma, alias Sudo, Suoyo Paul, alias Nwana, Ikenna Emeka, Uchechukwu Amadi and his wife, Ogechi.

During his confession, Evans said he bought his two homes in Magodo for N130 million and N70 million, adding that he also owns two four-bedroom houses in Ghana.

He also confessed that he sent his wife away when he realised the police were closing in on him and secluded himself in his home at Magodo.

He said: “I was into auto spare parts importation but lost all my money (over N25 million) when Customs seized my goods. From there, I relocated to South Africa, where I started peddling drugs.

“But along the line, my business partner shot me and passed me for dead.

I recuperated, returned to

PRESIDENCY: BUDGET NOT DELAYED FOR BUHARI’S ASSENT According to him, deliberately holding the nation down by delaying assent to the budget would be at variance with the president’s intention to hand over power to his deputy, explaining further that Buhari does not want the nation to be held to ransom in anyway and hence his decision to transfer

powers without reservation to Osinbajo.

He expressed confidence that the budget would be signed soon.

His statement was corroborated by a senior official in the Ministry of Budget of National Planning at the weekend, who assured THISDAY that the budget will

be signed this week.

“The budget will be signed soon. The president does not want the country’s affairs delayed so he transferred power to the vice-president.

So who is trying to delay the country against the wishes of the president? It is not true,” the source in the presidency stated.

EMEFIELE HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS OF MOVABLE ASSETS, CREDIT REPORTING ACTS He also called on the CBN to ensure that the stability in the FX market is sustained.

According to Gwadabe, the standard/average trade margin for BDCs across the world is 12 per cent, saying reviewing the rate to N350/$1 would be less than three per cent for Nigerian operators.

“The CBN should be proactive enough to quickly review the BDC buying rate so as to bring the foreign exchange transfer rate down

and boost market stability.

“The BDC rate should be brought down to N350/$1 for now and see the positive impact on the local currency,” he said.

Gwadabe said BDCs would continue to support the CBN’s determination to achieve stability in the market and strengthen the value of the local currency.

He also called on the CBN to increase the volume of PTA from $4,000 to $8,000; BTAs

from $5,000 to $10,000; school fees from $5,000 to $20,000; and medicals from $5,000 to $15,000 quarterly, in order to deepen liquidity in the market.

Gwadade said implementing these recommendations would help to stop, what in his opinion was “a new wave of volatility building up in the FX market over the parallel market/BDC rate convergence”.

He added that with the FX transfer rate at N375/$1,

T H I S D AY MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

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T H I S D AY MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

COMMENT

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

THE POWER SECTOR AND THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT

A

The government is trying hard to resolve the lingering issues in the power sector, contends Ikeogu Oke

t its inception on May 29, 2015, the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC), otherwise the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, listed three major areas in which it hoped to make immediate and lasting impact.

These are power, security and the economy. Anyone conversant with the state of the nation at the time would appreciate the reason for the choice. Power had remained a pounding Nigerian headache for decades, its inadequacy ensuring chronic economic underperformance nationwide, not to mention the distress it caused most of the citizens. You couldn’t fix Nigeria without fixing power.

As for security, the Boko Haram menace concentrated in the North-east but occasionally spilling into Abuja, the federal capital, and as further south as Kogi, had created a climate of fear. This also impaired economic activities by the citizens and, like the problems of power, undermined the faith of foreign investors in the country. Who would be eager to do business in a country characterised by violence and insecurity?

And of course the economy was in dire straits due to the decline in the price of oil, the country’s main source of revenue.

In all, Nigeria was faced with a Gorgon of systemic dysfunction with multiple snakes for hair, and the biggest of the snakes were power, security and the economy. And something like mythical power would have been needed to scotch the snakes, let alone slay the monster, in the first two years of any government.

Having been involved in the power sector for 32 years, since 1985, I appreciate the complications inherent in trying to tackle its many man-made and systemic problems from which various unpatriotic and other perverse interests profit at the country’s expense.

So I understand the feeling of disappointment when our new governments and their Ministers of Power rush to confront the problems in the sector with gusto borne out of a genuine commitment to change only to realise that their effort is like trying to bring down an elephant with a catapult. As for the APC government, needless to say that, two years at the helm, it is still battling the power behemoth, trying now to slay it not with an obviously ineffective catapult but with an arsenal of projects and programmes whose proper implementation may truly exterminate the monster and consequently lead to a sustainable improvement in the country’s power situation.

For instance, in implementing the power sector reform, liquidity issues led to inconsistency in paying for gas supply to generating companies.

This has created hiccups in power generation, undermining power availability for economic production and other purposes nationwide.

But, faced with the scarcity of hard currencies due to the decline in oil prices, the government’s launch of the N701 billion Payment Assurance Programme is arguably a good, creative intervention intended to resolve such liquidity issues by ensuring payment in naira to gas and generating companies, while it undertakes the reform and strengthening of the distribution companies.

Power production is capital intensive and its engine is oiled with funds.

And such funds, if properly managed – and vigilance is called for to ensure that they are – should improve the power situation in the country.

And there is the additional Power Sector Recovery Programme (PAP) initiated by the government, launched in March 2017, which has received the endorsement of the World Bank. In a joint press statement issued by the Nigerian government and the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., on April 22, 2017, the Director of Operations at the multilateral investment guarantee agency, Sarvesh Suri, pledged that “a full range

IN IMPLEMENTING THE POWER SECTOR REFORM, LIQUIDITY ISSUES LED TO INCONSISTENCY IN PAYING FOR GAS SUPPLY TO GENERATING COMPANIES. THIS HAS CREATED HICCUPS IN POWER GENERATION, UNDERMINING POWER AVAILABILITY FOR ECONOMIC PRODUCTION AND OTHER PURPOSES NATIONWIDE

of instruments will be deployed to help the government mobilise investments directly from the private sector and through private sector guarantees.” Also, the World Bank’s Senior Director for Energy and Extractive Industries, Riccardo Puliti, noted that “controlling the cost of electricity supply is a critical element of the recovery programme that will require close attention to prioritising investments based on least cost power development investment planning principles.”

Then, the global director for infrastructure and natural resources at the International Finance Corporation, Bernard Sheahan, noted that “a turnaround of the power sector will require the expertise and financing of the private sector.” Also, that “this would require continuous improvement in the investment climate in Nigeria and strong communications among stakeholders of the sector reform plan during its implementation.”

On the other hand, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babantunde Fashola, in one of the remarks by top-ranking Nigerian government officials including the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Steel and Metallurgy, Enyinnaya Abaribe, stated that “the approval of the Power Sector Recovery Programme by the Federal Executive Council demonstrates that the federal government is committed to the sustainable development of the power sector.” Also, that “the implementation of the programme is critical to achieving the objectives of the Government’s Economic Growth and Recovery Plan.”

Then the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud, summed up the proceedings with a pledge that “the World Bank Group is committed to supporting the implementation of the Government’s Power Sector Recovery Programme to re-establish financial sustainability in the power sector.”

Now, the advantage of this type of high-powered bilateral engagement to resolve the lingering issues in our power sector is that, through the physical participation of the key players and their avowals, it clears the suspicion of the sham involvement of such international agencies as the World Bank, like foreign investors, that may have plagued previous efforts by our governments to resolve the same or similar issues, with the implied doubt of their credibility.

In other areas, such bilateral commitments are being complemented with projects by the Ministry of Power to boost the capacity of the power sector to deliver value to the Nigerian people. And the projects have varied gestation periods. These include the 40 per cent completion of the 700-megawatt Zungeru Hydro Power Plant and the 99 per cent completion of the 40-megawatt Kashimbila Dam. Also, 45 per cent of the work on transmission infrastructure for evacuating power from the dam to the Yandev 132KV substation had been completed by March 2017. The Ministry is also on course to rounding off work on the Katsina Wind Farm with an installed capacity of 10.175 megawatts, which is 95 per cent completed. And work is ongoing on the 3,050-megawatt Mambilla Hydro Power Plant.

I regard the various facets of such developmental efforts as critical to preparing the power sector for delivering what may be described as “a real feel of megawatts” in the Nigerian system, given their efficient management. And it behoves the government and other stakeholders to monitor the process to ensure that they produce the projected results.

Oke, a former technical staff of the National Electric Power Authority and a former Technical Adviser to the former Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, wrote from Abuja

FOUNDATIONS FOR A NEW NIGERIA (1)

I

Wilfred Usani argues the imperative of a national charter among ethnic nationalities in Nigeria

n my previous essays I have argued that the problem with Nigeria is the absence of a national spirit to inspire the peoples of Nigeria to take ownership of the country and so advance its development in all spheres. I have argued that without this national spirit, corruption will remain rife no matter the laws put in place and no matter the commitment of any government in power to stem corruption.

The question arises as to how to practically recreate the country Nigeria as a nation. In answer to this question I propose, following the thread of my earlier arguments that the ethnic nationalities that consist within the geographical territory known as Nigeria must come together and agree even if symbolically or notionally to be formed into one united country to be called “Nigeria” and this agreement should be contained in a document to be known as “The National Charter”.

The national charter will be a document which will be akin to a National Bill of Rights and it will articulate the over-arching vision, fundamental principles and ideals and reasons to which the ethnic nationalities consisting in the territory accede as the basic terms upon which the union of the ethnic nationalities into one nation is founded. In other words, this national charter will be the agreement by the ethnic nationalities to be formed into one nation and will contain the reasons for the agreement and the terms of the agreement. In my view, this agreement is critical to the ethnic nationalities and their various peoples taking ownership of Nigeria. It will mean that Nigeria is no longer a creation of the

colonial masters but a nation born by or out of the will of the peoples who make up the country.

To achieve this, the government of the day must take the lead. This is necessary in order to maintain order within the territory since the government of the day is the sovereign authority over the territory called Nigeria at the moment.

Having said this, this government like previous governments and indeed large sections of the Nigerian ruling elite fear and oppose any discussions on the structure of Nigeria. They fear that such discussions may unwittingly lead to a break-up of Nigeria particularly having regard to the infrequent but persistent agitations in some quarters for independence and separation from the country.

I think it is safe to say the fears of a break-up of Nigeria are exaggerated because a vast majority of Nigerians believe that we are too far gone as one country to turn down the road of separation into different countries. Many if not all the agitations for separation are merely cries for more equitable terms of association in the union called Nigeria – whether it is “Boko Haram” or “IPOB”.

Notwithstanding, it is important to manage the situation carefully and pragmatically by continuing to emphasise the reasons why even though it is clear to us all that the current state of the union is not tenable for any ethnic nationality consisting in the territory called Nigeria today, breaking up this country as it is cannot be an ideal we must pursue.

In the world as it is today, Nigeria with its resources - both human and material - is the most populous and richly endowed country in Africa and

in the black world. As one united country Nigeria is a significant country in the world. It has the potential to become a world leader and indeed the pride of Africa. It is the collective human and material resources of all the ethnic nationalities that consist in Nigeria that gives it that significance. Were the ethnic nationalities not fused together by the British, the ethnic nationalities individually will not have this potential. They will be too small to be able to muster the economies of scale which Nigeria currently can muster to be significant players in international economics and politics.

In the over 100 years that the ethnic nationalities that consist of Nigeria have been forced to stay together as one country, there has been so much interdependence and interconnection socially and economically that it would be easier to find ways to stay together amicably than to find ways to separate. If truth be told, a typical Nigerian meal today consists of products from different parts of the country! The large population of the country, its landmass and diversity of peoples, languages and cultures makes a united Nigeria a more potent economic and political force in world trade and politics and consequently provides better protection to the individual ethnic nationalities than if the country were broken into smaller individual countries. The country as it is today is said to consist of over 250 ethnic nationalities or linguistic groups. There is mutual suspicion between all the ethnic nationalities and people tend to band together with their own particular ethnic or linguistic group no matter how small. For the proponents of a break-up, the question

will be into how many countries will the country be broken down into? What type of country will each be? Even if groups of ethnic groups were to bind together to form one country would there still not be mutual suspicions among them in that country which they will still have to address? Wouldn’t each country be so small that they become vulnerable to other countries economically, politically and even militarily? Will the result of this vulnerability not be a worse fate for these ethnic nationalities to suffer than what they think they are currently suffering within the entity called Nigeria? We must remember that during the civil war the minority ethnic groups of the Eastern Region did not buy into the “Biafra” idea for fear of domination by their majority Igbo compatriots. The irony was that “Biafra” itself was an idea born out of the fear of the Igbo of domination by the other majority ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. To this day there is deep suspicion of the Yoruba in all parts of South - Eastern and South – South Nigeria and vice- versa so that those who think the problem of the country is between the Muslim dominated Hausa/Fulani North versus the Christian dominated South should think again. I know many people from Cross River State who rightly or wrongly blame the Yoruba for the failure of the Calabar EPZ and the Calabar Port because according to them the Yoruba fear the loss of economic power to the minorities of the South – South.

Usani is Senior Partner in the Law Firm of Ethan & Magdiel and former Special Adviser and member of the Cross River State Executive Council

15

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EDITORIAL THE CHALLENGE BEFORE NIGERIA The government should take the lead in instituting social policies that would discourage recourse to violence

T

he mid-term of the Muhammadu Buhari administration was marked two weeks ago without pomp and ceremonies. It could not have been otherwise. Not only was the president abroad on medical leave, a report on Fragile States Index (FSI) for 2017, released at about the period, also categorised Nigeria as the 13th most fragile state in the world.

Compiled by the Fund for Peace (FFP), a Washington DC-based organisation, the report showed that Nigeria retained her 2016 unenviable position, indicating that not much progress had been made in the effort to remedy the political and socio-economic conditions that were dragging the country down the slope. The assessment, which started 12 years ago, is an early warning system for analysing domestic threats that have the potential to escalate to major national crises with international outcome. Subsequently, development organisations in Europe and North America saw in the US experience, the danger extremist tendencies in weak states could pose THE FEDERAL to stronger countries GOVERNMENT TO TAKE and the international THE LEAD IN INSTITUTING community.

THE APPROPRIATE SOCIAL The FSI, therefore, POLICIES THAT WOULD is a predictive model ENGENDER A REGIME OF for signposting trouble spots that the interJUSTICE national community must keep in view for quick intervention in the event of outbreak of conflict. The report this year identified Nigeria as one of the states the international community must keep in view, having scored 101.6 out of 120.

Individual FSI score is usually any number from zero to 10 that depicts the intensity of the pressure exerted by each of 12 social, economic and political indicators on conditions within each of the countries on the Index.

The higher a country’s total score, the more fragile it is.

Of the 178 countries assessed this year, 165 countries

Letters to the Editor

V

were more stable than Nigeria because each of them scored lower than 101.6.

Perhaps the federal government is still assessing the report hence it has not commented on it. We, however, think it is a matter for serious concern that Nigeria has remained firmly rooted in the top 20 of the weakest states in the world. When the assessment started in 2005, the country was ranked 54. She has degenerated since then, sliding to 17th in 2007, 18th in 2008, 15th in 2009 and 14th between 2010 and 2012. The current position puts her in the high alert category of countries whose scores fall between 110 and 100. They include Afghanistan, Iraq and Democratic Republic of Congo.

These are countries that have been ravaged by war in recent times.

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o doubt Nigeria merits her position.

With the Boko Haram devastation of the North-east, wanton kidnapping and armed robbery in the south, the rampage of violent herdsmen in most part Middle-Belt as well as internecine ethnic strife in several parts of the country, it is not difficult to see how Nigeria fell so badly short of the standards set for the various political indicators.

It is very clear that the Nigerian state is losing the dominance of the machinery of violence to non-state actors.

To compound the problem, the prevailing economic downturn has worsted the capacity of both the state and individuals so much so that basic necessities of life, including food, medicare and shelter have gone far beyond the reach of the majority of Nigerians. That Nigeria is a failing state is, therefore, no longer open to debate. What we need to debate now is how to apply the wedge and pull her back to stability.

On this score, we urge introspection and ask the federal government to take the lead in instituting the appropriate social policies that would engender a regime of justice, a major requirement for the peace and security that is needed for economic growth and development.

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

LAGOS JUSTICE SECTOR AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION

ital reforms that the Lagos State justice system has experienced over the years are partly responsible for the steady progress the state has been making since 1967. There is virtually no emerging issue bordering on development without the State Ministry of Justice playing a touch-bearing role; this is because most of our lives and interactions with each other are regulated by law.

The State’s Ministry of Justice has contributed to Lagos enviable position as the vanguard of good governance, rule of law and constitutionalism in the country through legislative initiatives, law reforms, law and order initiatives and provision of legal services to government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

Perhaps, the only reason why Lagos success story has not been told from the justice sector contributions’ perspective could only be from the reality in our clime where yardstick for measuring government’s achievements is largely based on infrastructure development. Meanwhile “restless engines’’ that service the vehicles which ensure the state’s race to actualise its optimal potential reside and work from the Ministry of Justice. People pay tax, which is the golden key to Lagos economic development because the law demands they do such. Physical and social infrastructure development, environment, health, business investment, education and transformation in tourism, etc., all have an input from the justice sector.

Since the current democratic dispensation in 1999, top priorities given to justice sector by successive governments in the state have contributed, in no small measure, to the growth and development of the state. For instance, the Justice Sector Reform Programme of the Tinubu administration between 1999 and 2007 drew

substantially from the recommendations of the Justice Committee, which centered around its vision that ‘administration of justice system in Lagos State must be impartial, efficient, pro-active, well-remunerated, merit-driven, corruption-free, technologically up-to-date, affordable and adequately resourced.

Poised to uphold the rule of law in a highly populated and multi-religious metropolis, the Tinubu administration reviewed military edicts, following the unconstitutional provisions in the decrees promulgated by the then Federal Military Government for nationwide application. This was in addition to the review of byelaws. A full-fledged directorate for citizens’ rights in the Ministry of Justice, with departments like Office of the Public Defender (OPD) and the Human Rights Protection Unit (HRPU) were created to offer free legal services in civil and criminal matters to the poor and the vulnerable.

Other justice sector reform initiatives of the Tinubu administration included the reform of the criminal code and criminal procedure laws; court automated information system; criminal case tracking system (CCTS); activation of coroner’s inquest and the review of the coroner’s law and creation of the citizen’s mediation centre. In World Bank’s Doing Business 2007, Nigeria was listed as one of the 24 countries that made positive reforms in registering property. This was due substantially to the registry reforms in Lagos State.

The critical agenda of justice sector reform also continued under the regime of Mr. Babatunde Fashola between 2007 and 2015.

OPD under the administration ensured that no one is defenseless irrespective of whatever part of the country they come from. The immediate former governor ensured that Ministry of Justice was

optimally used to engineer myriad of laws that addressed various problems that stood in the way of the state’s progress.

In the past two years of the Ambode administration, which seems like eight years, the Ministry of Justice has been unrelenting in implementing programmes that give the people of Lagos State greater access to justice while reforming and improving the justice sector.

The establishment of mobile courts is one of the novel means through which the Ambode administration is ensuring quick dispensation of justice in the state. The courts were inaugurated to summarily try traffic as well as environmental offenders and mete out immediate punishments to those convicted. This is also a way to decongest the courts and not add to inconclusive cases that have been in courts for years. Since it began operations in March, 2016, a total of 4, 426 offenders have so far been arraigned as at last May whilst series of enlightenment campaigns have been carried out to make residents aware of the need to obey traffic rules and keep environment safe and secure. In essence, anywhere problem of traffic gridlock is solved, justice sector plays a huge role.

In line with the commitment of the state government to provide adequate support to the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) on its mission to ensure that tax payers comply with tax laws and ensure full tax compliance through prosecution of defaulters, the Rapid Tax Prosecution Unit was set up at the Ministry of justice. This has ensured some level of compliance with tax defaulters approaching LIRS to offset their outstanding tax liabilities.

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

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T H I S D AY MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

POLITICS

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

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E

Danger Signs from the North The three-month ultimatum issued last week by the Coalition of Northern Youths for the Igbos to leave the north has threatened the nation’s tenuous unity, writes Gboyega Akinsanmi.

T

he last fortnight has been defining in the recent history of Nigeria due to two major developments that brazenly put the country’s tenuous unity under strain and tension.

The first is the directive by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) that all Igbos across the federation should observe a sit-at-home protest on May 30.

The directive was issued on three interrelated grounds. It was meant to mark the struggle for the Sovereign State of Biafra, which the late Military Governor of Eastern Region, Col. Chukwuemeka Ojukwu declared on May 30, 1967. Also, it was issued to honour the heroes of the Biafra and other slain activists.

Lastly, as the IPOD leader, Nnamdi Kanu observed, it was a mini referendum to gauge preparedness for an independent Biafra.

Across the federation, the Igbo people largely complied with the directive. Compliance with the directive, consequently, culminated in the closure of markets, restriction of movement and suspension of all socio-economic activities in the South-east and other states of the federation. It was perhaps the most successful peaceful protest the protagonists of Biafra ever held. It also underlined the potency of civil disobedience as a weapon of protest.

The success of the sit-at-home order stoked anger, mainly among the northern leaders.

That led to the second development that put the country’s fragile unity under duress on June 6. Citing the Igbo push for secession, a coalition of northern groups addressed a news conference at Arewa House, Kaduna where they asked Igbos to vacate the north on or before October 1.

Unlawful Declaration The coalition comprised Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Arewa Youth Development Foundation, Arewa Students Forum, Northern Emancipation Network and 11 other northern youth groups. Representatives of the northern youth groups that constituted the coalition eventually endorsed a declaration directing the Igbos to vacate the north in absolute disregard to sections 41-44 of the 1999 Constitution.

Described as an outburst from the north, the declaration was co-signed by the President, Northern Emancipation Network, Abdul-Aziz Suleiman; President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Shettima Yerima; North Central Coordinator, Arewa Citizens Action for Change, Mohammed Abdulhamid and 13 other signatories that represented different northern groups.

As contained in the text of its news conference, the coalition proclaimed that the north “will no longer be disposed to co-existing with the Igbo and shall take definite steps to end the partnership by pulling out of the current federal arrangement.” Also, the coalition declared that the north had ceased “to be comfortable or safe sharing the same country with the Igbo people.”

Besides, the coalition said that each should be allowed “to go its own way as we categorically proclaim that the north is fed up with being in the same country with this pack of Igbo partners rather than allow certain sections hold Nigeria to ransom at every stage.” Hence, it issued three directives which it said the Igbos must comply with or face the consequence.

El-Rufai... called on police to arrest leaders of the coalition

First, the coalition asked the Igbo people to vacate the 19 northern states before October 1. Second, perhaps the Igbo people fail to comply with the notice, it threatened “to implement visible action to prove to the whole world that we are no longer part of any federal union that should do with the Igbo.” Third, effective from October 1, the coalition said it “shall begin peaceful and safe mop-up of all the remnants of the Igbo that neglect to heed this quit notice.”

Obviously, the declaration violated different

However, apparently, the support the coalition garnered from the ACF and NEF emboldened its promoters. After the Nigeria Police directed that it arrowheads be arrested, the coalition convened another meeting at Arewa House, where its members agreed that the threat of arrest “will not stop them from insisting that the Igbo people should leave the north.

sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

It, flagrantly, breached section 41, which states that every citizen of Nigeria “is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereto or exit therefrom.”

Likewise, the declaration violated section 43, which states that every citizen of Nigeria “shall have the right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.” It, equally, flouted section 41, which guarantees that no immovable property or any interest in an immovable property “shall be taken possession of compulsorily and no right over or interest in any such property shall be acquired compulsorily in any part of Nigeria…”

Even though it expressly violated the country’s grundnorm by all standards, no author of the said declaration has been arrested seven days after the coalition conducted itself in disregard to the letters and spirits of the 1999 Constitution. However, the Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris had directed the arrest of all signatories to the declaration. The fact that those who made the declaration did not go into hiding and yet could not be arrested speaks volume.

Secession Questions In its declaration, the coalition recognised that Nigeria was a federal union, to which it argued, the Igbo people were a threat. It, also, recognised that it was voluntary to be a member of any federal union anywhere in the world. On these grounds, the coalition drew an ominous conclusion that the north “will no longer be disposed to co-existing with the Igbo people.”

However, the coalition never considered whether any ethnic nationality – be it Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba – has right to self-determination if such a nationality is no longer comfortable with the federal union. Apparently, the right to self-determination is not enshrined in the 1999 Constitution. But the United Nations Charter, to which Nigeria is a signatory, guarantees such right.

Unequivocally, Chapter 1, Article 1, explains four core objectives the UN Charter seeks to achieve. Part 2 of Article 1, specifically, states that the purpose of the UN Charter “is to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.”

Also, in the spirit of Article 1, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 1514 (XV) on December 14, 1960 to further protect the rights of nations, nationalities and peoples seeking self-determination. However, the General Assembly agreed to the resolution primarily “to end the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation globally.”

It states that such subjection “constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation.” Apparently, the content of the resolution is not limited to hastening the process of decolonisation.

It, equally, recognises that all peoples “have the right to self-determination.”

Also, the resolution never entertains reasons that can undermine the exercise of such right.

CONT’D ON NEXT PAGE

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

POLITICS

MONDAY DISCOURSE DANGER SIGNS FROM THE NORTH

That is why it states: “By virtue of that right, they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Inadequacy of political, economic, social or educational preparedness should never serve as a pretext for delaying independence.”

Under these legal instruments, the pursuit of self-determination is right pure and simple.

Likewise, legal pundits argued that the sit-athome protest, which the Igbo people observed on May 30 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Biafra struggle, was lawful under the 1999 Constitution. So, they said, such an action should not stoke anger from any part of the federation.

Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a human rights lawyer, cited section 39 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression for every citizen irrespective of his ethnic nationality, political affiliation or religious background. Adegboruwa, thus, argued that sit-at-home protest “is a form of civil disobedience, recognised worldwide and employed as a weapon of peaceful protest.

It is meant to express dissatisfaction in a peaceful manner.”

He, also, cited section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of movement. Under the section, he argued every citizen “has the freedom of movement. This includes freedom not to move. As government cannot restrain movement, it cannot compel movement as well. So, every citizen has absolute right to decide to move or not to move. This cannot amount to a crime under law, to warrant threat from any quarter.”

Condoning Illegalities Undoubtedly, the northern leaders are not oblivious of where the laws stand on the issue of hate speech and what international legal instruments say about the right to selfdetermination. Yet, the response of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Northern Elders Forum (NEF) to the ultimatum the northern youth groups gave the Igbo people was disappointing.

In the statement issued by its spokesperson, Mallam Muhammad Biu about 48 hours after the October 1 ultimatum, the ACF disowned the coalition of northern youth groups on paper. But the coalition issued the quit notice at Arewa House, a clearing house for all northern agenda. The forum warned the coalition against any act that could threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria.

But the Forum observed that it appreciated the frustration of the northern youth groups with the activities of MASSOB, BIM and IPOB. It never pinpointed how the activities of the secessionist movements are frustrating the northern youths; neither did it explain how the sit-at-home protest affected the northern youths, even though the Igbo people in the north complied almost 100 percent.

Similarly, the NEF threw its weight behind the northern youth groups, even when the declaration violated, not just the constitution, but extant international legal instruments. In an interview its spokesperson, Prof. Ango Abdullahi granted about 24 hours after the police directed that the arrowheads of the coalition be arrested, the NEF never admitted that the northern youth groups constituted graver threat to Nigeria than secessionist movements themselves.

Rather than recognising the threat the coalition posed to Nigeria’s fragile peace, Abdullahi condemned the position of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), which had requested the security agencies to arrest the promoters of the coalition and probe the motive behind their action. He, also, expressed disappointment at the position of the NGF for failing to support the youth groups and condemn the Igbo people for merely exercising their rights, which the UN Charter guarantees.

Abdullahi, therefore, said the northern elders “are disappointed outright at the decision the NGF took on the declaration of the youth groups. It is also disappointing that the NGF disowns and condemns the agitation by the young, agile and progressive youth groups. Let me ask the governors. Who are they representing? Are they representing the spirits, ghosts or people of the north?”

Osinbajo...insists Nigeria belongs to all its citizens

Aside, the NEF spokesperson argued that it was hypocritical for the Igbo people “to continue to live in other parts of Nigeria and still agitate for Nigeria’s disintegration. The Igbo people are busy calling for the Sovereign State of Biafra; yet they live in other states of the federation. From all indications, their leaders, including governors, are behind them.”

However, Abdullahi never explained how the Igbo action became an offence under the law.

Emboldened Coalition Different interventions have been made to assure the Igbo people of their safety in any part of Nigeria. The federal government has, for instance, asked the Igbo people “to ignore the ultimatum to quit the north on or before October 1. In a statement by the Minister of the Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, the federal government urged the Igbo people and other Nigerians “to go about their businesses without fear of molestation.”

In the same spirit, the Kaduna State Government condemned the declaration of the coalition.

It, thus, directed that the promoters of the coalition should be arrested and prosecuted, allegedly for making incendiary statements capable of undermining national security. It, also, directed that its Ministry of Justice “should prepare charges and prosecute the signatories and anyone complicit in arranging this egregious assault on the rights of fellow citizens.”

Likewise, the NGF under the leadership of Borno State Governor, Mr. Kashim Shettima warned against hate speech, though asked the Igbo people “to remain calm and go about their legitimate businesses” without entertaining fear from any quarters. He assured them that nobody “can dare to intimidate, harass or dehumanise them in any of the 19 northern states. We cannot afford to take chances. We cannot afford to toil with the destiny of Nigeria.”

However, apparently, the support the coalition garnered from the ACF and NEF emboldened its promoters. After the Nigeria

Police directed that it arrowheads be arrested, the coalition convened another meeting at Arewa House, where its members agreed that the threat of arrest “will not stop them from insisting that the Igbo people should leave the north.”

Abdul-Aziz Suleiman, a leader of the coalition, confirmed that the northern youth groups reconvened after the threat of arrest.

He said the coalition decided that there “will be no retreat, no surrender. Contrary to the position by Kaduna State Government, we are not advocating violence. Our declaration did not mention violence at all. The Igbo have consistently insisted that they do not want to be in Nigeria. Let them, therefore, go back to their places.”

Portentous Signs For Afenifere, a Yoruba socio-political organisation, the conduct of the northern youth coalition is an ominous sign. Consequently, it said the insistence of the coalition that the Igbos should vacate their region “is a source of grave concern and threat to our national unity.” In a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere noted that the disposition of the northern youth coalition “is not good for the country in any way.”

Afenifere likened it “to holding a knife to the tiny rope that still holds the country together.” Unlike 1967 when the northerners had no coalition to fight the Igbo, it said such coalition “will no longer be possible. This time, the north will not get support from any Yoruba leader.” Hence, it warned the northern elders that their conduct might be the beginning of the end of Nigeria.

Afenifere explained that carrying out their threats would be a prelude “to another pogrom.

These elements have over the years showed their propensity to attack people, but like the Chinua Achebe said, they are holding a knife to the tiny rope that still holds the country together. We hope if the northern groups still have elders, their elders should call them to order.”

Failing to yield to the voice of wisdom, Afenifere said it “may be the beginning of the end of Nigeria, as we know it. In 1967, the north had a coalition to fight the Igbo.

But that coalition is no more there today. We know the people that fought the last war and won it. We can boldly speak for the Yoruba nation. Why should the Igbo people be threatened?

“For northerners to tell them to leave the north is sad. If the north thinks they can declare another war against the Igbo, it will not work. If they see any Yoruba man joining them to fight the Igbo, then that person must be a mercenary. The Igbo did not fight any group; neither did they cause any crisis.

They only expressed their grievance in a peaceful manner.”

Beyond what might have transpired in the last fortnight, there are three cogent lessons.

First, as Prof. John Ayoade once observed, if what people want from an institution is contrary to what the institution can give, the result is at best a blending of processes that work at cross purposes. He, thus, said this appeared “to be part of the problems of Nigerian federalism.”

Likewise, Ayoade, an Emeritus Professor at the University of Ibadan, observed that no federation “is an outfit for command and control by the federal authorities exercising the power of domination.” So, since every federal union is a product of compromise, constitutionalism, the rule of law and political justice, it thus follows that the current federal structure in Nigeria “is no longer sustainable, hence the need for political restructuring.”

As canvassed in an address he gave to mark the 2017 Democracy Day, the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said Nigeria “belongs to all of us. No one person or group of persons is more important or more entitled than the other in this space that we all call home. We have a responsibility to live in peace and harmony with one another, to seek peaceful and constitutional means of expressing our wishes and desires…”

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

POLITICS

Respite for Kashamu The assurances secured from the Attorney General of the Federation and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agent by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court are what Senator Buruji Kashamu needed to enjoy his freedom unmolested, writes Daidson Iriekpen

T

he Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) last week committed themselves to a declaration that they would not extradite Senator Buruji Kashamu to face drug-related offences in the United States until all court actions in respect of his extradition were resolved. Both the AGF and NDLEA made the declaration in the court processes they filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Kashamu, who is representing Ogun West in the Senate had dragged the two agencies before the court seeking their committal to prison over allegations that they were planning to forcibly abduct him to the US to face drug-related offences. However, at the hearing of the matter, Kashamu told Justice Gabriel Kolawole through his counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), that the AGF and NDLEA had agreed not to extradite him until all the court actions in respect of the case had been resolved.

Olujimi said in view of the assurances from the two parties, there was no need to pursue the contempt proceeding against them at the Federal High Court. He applied to the judge to grant him leave to withdraw the suit in view of the assurances not to extradite him to US until all cases are fully resolved. The counsel told the judge that both parties would now go back to the Court of Appeal to continue with the appeal cases that emanated from the refusal of the Federal High Courts to grant the extradition request.

Counsel to the AGF, Mr. Tanko Ashang, a Deputy Director and Head of Central Authority in the Federal Ministry of Justice and that of the NDLEA, Mr. Mike Kassa, did not object to the withdrawal of the case and the resolve to go to the Appeal Court to pursue all pending appeals.

Consequent upon the assurance, Justice Kolawole in his brief ruling, granted him leave to withdraw the suit and endorsed the decision to shift to the Court of Appeal for the pursuit of the appeals. “In the light of the application of the applicant to withdraw this suit and to move to Court of Appeal to pursue all pending appeals in respect of the extradition matter, leave is hereby granted for withdrawal of this suit,” the judge ruled.

The NDLEA had in January revealed that plans were ongoing to push for Kashamu’s arrest. It predicated its decision on the ruling of a United States’ court which ruled that the senator must face trial on drug-related charges. The agency stated that it would ensure that the orders stopping the arrest of the senator were vacated to pave the way for his extradition, noting that it would not undermine the extradition agreement that Nigeria had with the US with respect to the case involving the senator.

Trouble started for Kashamu after his return from the Republic of Benin where he was one of the most successful businessmen. As soon as he landed in Nigeria, with his stupendous wealth, he quickly became a prominent figure in the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and soon hijacked the party structure from those he met there, starting with Ogun State, from where he moved to the South-west geo-political zone. At the time, he was the darling of eminent politicians including the then President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Soon after, he fell out of favour with Obasanjo who promptly wrote an 18-page letter to the then President Goodluck Jonathan in December 2013. The former president in his letter, rejected Kashamu as the leader of the PDP in the South-west, alleging that he (Kashamu) was wanted in the US for drug-related offences.

However, Kashamu denied the allegation,

Kashamu...remains under apprehension

saying the former president was not happy that he was chosen as the PDP leader in the South-west. Since then, the senator has remained embattled, constantly sleeping with one of his eyes opened. He later contested and won election to represent Ogun East in the Senate. This even infuriated those who wanted him extradited to the US the more.

A few months to his inauguration as a senator, Kashamu still afraid that he could be abducted, filed a suit before a Federal High Court in Lagos accusing Obasanjo of working in concert with others to mastermind his arrest during his swearing-in as a senator. He alleged in the suit that the former president had concluded plans for him to be transported to the US in a private plane to face trial.

Kashamu stated that Obasanjo was desperate to deny him the opportunity of enjoying the mandate freely given to him to represent the people of Ogun East senatorial district in the Senate. In a fundamental human rights enforcement suit against the Chairman of the NDLEA and 11 others, he prayed the court for an order to stop the alleged plot to extradite him to the US.

A few months to his inauguration as a senator, Kashamu still afraid that he could be abducted, filed a suit before a Federal High Court in Lagos accusing Obasanjo of working in concert with others to mastermind his arrest during his swearing-in as a senator.

He also asked for a declaration of the court that the move to abduct and forcibly transport him to the US amounted to a violation of his right to liberty, freedom of association and freedom of movement as protected by Sections 35, 40 and 41 of the Constitution.

While the suit was pending, the NDLEA in May 2015 attempted to arrest him. Kashamu again, sued the NDLEA, the AGF and others before Justice Okon Abang also of the Federal High Court seeking to restrain them from arresting and extraditing him. The judge heard the case on May 8, 2015, during which the NDLEA, AGF and other defendants denied making any such move and urged Justice Abang to dismiss the suit for being speculative and showing no reasonable cause of action.

After hearing the case on May 8, Justice Abang reserved his judgment till May 27, 2015.

But between May 23 and 25, 2015, operatives of the NDLEA laid siege at Kashamu’s house in Lekki, Lagos, trying to arrest him, for the purpose of extraditing him. He, however, locked himself in and refused to turn himself over for arrest. The senator later commenced contempt proceedings against the NDLEA, AGF and others before Justice Buba, alleging that the move to arrest him would be prejudicial to Justice Abang’s judgment, which was reserved for May 27, 2015. Justice Buba agreed with Kashamu’s lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), and ordered the NDLEA operatives to vacate the senator’s house.

Justice Abang later delivered his judgment on May 27, 2015, barring the NDLEA, AGF and others from arresting and extraditing Kashamu. The judgment was later affirmed on June 8, 2015 by Justice Buba, who also held that Kashamu could not be extradited unless Justice Okon Abang’s judgment was set aside by the Court of Appeal.

To the surprise of everybody, in his last few days in office, precisely on May 28, 2015, the then AGF, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) initiated an action marked No. FHC/ABJ/ CS/479/2015 before Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking a warrant for Kashamu’s arrest. The action, according to him, was based on an affidavit

deposed to by Assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Diane MacArthur, attached to the extradition request from the US government, dated April 27, 2015.

But in his judgment on July 1, 2015, Justice Kolawole said he was unable to grant the AGF’s request because of the two earlier judgments of Justices Abang and Buba, which had barred the federal government from extraditing Kashamu.

However, Kashamu has consistently maintained his innocence. He has accused his political foes of being behind his travails.

He also accused them of twisting the ruling of the US court over his extradition trial. The senator said the case brought against him by the US government had been laid to rest by two British courts 14 years ago, and three Nigerian courts in 2015, all of which he said were not appealed. He added that all the US could do was to “abduct” him, claiming that no extradition proceedings could be lawfully commenced against him. He claimed that he was mistaken for his younger brother, Adewale Kashamu, and was 14 years ago erroneously prosecuted by the US government in two English courts before he was exonerated.

On many occasions, he had produced documents to show that even the NDLEA which is now turning around to pursue his extradition, once went to the United Kingdom in 2002 to testify in his favour of Kashamu.

He said even in 2013, the agency deposed to an affidavit that Buruji was not the same Kashamu that was indicted by a US court.

Tracing the genesis of his travail, Kashamu said while on a business trip to the UK in 1998, he was arrested at City Airport in London and detained, pursuant to an arrest warrant issued on the basis of an indictment in the US in which the name Alaji had been introduced as a party to an alleged offence of importation of narcotics. He denied ever visiting or residing in the US, as well as being involved in any business or criminal activity whatsoever in the US. The senator disclosed that his lawyers discovered some exculpatory evidence which the US government had concealed from the courts in the extradition proceedings. The evidence, he said, was the outcome of a photo identification parade for the purpose of identifying the Alaji held in the US Attorney’s office.

After the US court ruling, Kashamu had issued another statement titled: ‘US court ruling’ where he said: I have no case to answer,’ claiming that he has never been to US in his life. He said he was not the offender wanted in the US, but his younger brother, Adewale Kashamu, who is now late.

He stated: “My brother was living in Chicago, I sent him to school. He’s very well educated.

He was the one having girlfriends there; he was the one who caused a lot of problems.

Even when I was in London, they still traced almost $2million into his bank account while I was in prison; they still continued doing the transaction. If you go through the last British judgment, it is there. The Interpol people were the ones who went to the bank and got all the information, and carried all the documents, they came to London and gave evidence in court.

“The Beninoise Interpol produced evidence showing that the Benin telephone number, through which the US offenders communicated with their West African collaborators, belonged to my brother, Adewale Kashamu, and not me, Buruji Kashamu.”

Many analysts are wondering if the NDLEA actually went to London to testify in favour of Kashamu, why has it not maintained that position. What has changed? They equally wondered why it has refused to exhaust all the legal options before thinking of extraditing the senator rather than resorting to illegality.

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MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017 • T H I S D AY

FEATURES

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

Late Macaulay

Remembering Herbert Macaulay At a lecture delivered recently in Lagos, a retired diplomat and professional historian dug into the past and exhumed pieces of a man who helped shape the Nigerian identity, writes Solomon Elusoji

I

t is astonishing, or, perhaps, shameful, if we are to be one-eyed critics, that despite the man’s famous moustache and street credibility as the ‘Father of Nigerian Nationalism’, Herbert Macaulay does not have a single book-length biography to his name. The fact is shocking, perplexing even, when one considers that Nigeria is more than half a century into independence, a project nationalists like Macaulay devoted their lives to.

At the Lagos Country Club, on a wet morning, recently, the first Herbert Macaulay Gold Lecture was delivered by Ambassador Dapo Fafowora, a trained historian who attended the University of Ibadan in the early 1960s. Ramrod straight and alert, despite his age, the septuagenarian, who also attended Oxford University and joined the Nigerian Diplomatic Service in 1985, brought a brilliant and insightful angle to the task he was assigned. The topic was ‘Herbert Macaulay and his relevance to the excellence of Lagos’, and Fafowora did, in about an hour, a graceful exploration of Macaulay’s illustrious life.

Fafowora was only five when Macaulay died and never met him. But as a schoolboy, his late father, who was a civil servant in the colonial service and was a great admirer of Macaulay, told him about the nationalist and his struggle against colonial rule in the country. Later, when he was 12, the older Fafowora took his son to Herbert Macaulay’s

house, named ‘Kirsten Hall’, at 8, Balbina Street, Lagos. “I admired the house and, for years, visited it often as I lived near-by, at Ita-Faji.” Unfortunately, an indigenous government decided to demolish the house,

Macaulay had seen how the colonial authorities looked down on Africans, even when they were fully qualified. He decided he would devote the rest of his life to fighting against this gross injustice and for the emancipation of the Africans from colonial rule. That was the origin of his long and difficult nationalist and patriotic struggle against foreign rule and domination in Nigeria

an impressive elegant one storey detached building, in order to build a Post Office, a decision Fafowora describes as “a singular display of the lack of a sense of history.”

Herbert Macaulay was born on November 14, 1864, at Broad Street, Lagos, to Thomas Babington Macaulay and Abigail Crowther, the second daughter of the first African Bishop, Samuel Ajayi Crowther. Macaulay’s paternal grandfather, Ojo Oriare, a native doctor, was from Oyo. He and his wife, Kilangbe, were enslaved, but freed by the British anti-slavery squadron and taken to Freetown, Sierra Leone, where they settled for a while, before returning to Owu in Abeokuta. It was while they were in Sierra Leone that Ojo and Kilangbe gave birth to Thomas Babington Macaulay. As was the practice among freed slaves in those days Thomas Babington Macaulay simply dropped his father’s name and instead adopted a Christian name.

In Freetown, the elder Macaulay was educated at the Church Mission Society (CMS) Grammar School and later at Fourah Bay College, a higher institution set up by the CMS for the training of priests. He was first sent to Abeokuta in 1854 and later ordained a priest of the Church of England in 1857.

Shortly after, he returned to Owu as a CMS priest for missionary work there. But he was in Owu for only a year, returning to Lagos where, on June 6, 1859, he founded and became the first Principal of the CMS

Grammar School, Nigeria’s oldest secondary grammar school.

So, Macaulay, raised by two educated parents, a rare privilege in those days, had a good start in the world. Until he was five, he was home schooled by his mother. In 1869, he enrolled at Paul’s School, Breadfruit, for his primary school education. At 13, he gained admission into the CMS Grammar School, the institution his father helped found. He left the school in 1880 and, according to his school records, he was astounding in English, Logic, Mathematics and Latin, an early sign he was destined for great things.

In September 1881, at only 17, he was appointed a clerical assistant and indexer of Crown Land grants in the colonial Public Works Department (PWD) in Lagos. Within three years of his appointment, he was promoted as a draughtsman and clerk of Crown Land grants. He was so diligent in his duties that he was awarded a colonial government scholarship in 1890 for further studies in England in civil engineering and surveying, a first of its kind in those days.

Fafowora notes that that scholarship award later proved to be a mistake by the British.

“It exposed him to the genteel British way of life and liberal democracy,” he said.

For the next three years, he was in Plymouth, England, studying, not only civil engineering, but architecture, surveying, including railway surveying. He qualified as a civil engineer in 1893, the first Nigerian

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

FEATURES

L-R: Former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, the Lecturer, Ambassador Dapo Fafowora, Coordinator of the event, Mr. Femi Macaulay, Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Gbemiga Ogunleye and past President of Nigerian Institution of Surveyors, Mr. Jaiye Ojeikere, at the Herbert Macaulay Gold Lecture in Lagos…recently to do so, and was also admitted as a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). But when his lecturer at Plymouth, one Mr. Bellamy, recommended Macaulay for further training in civil engineering, the colonial government in Lagos denied him that opportunity. Fafowora notes, again, that this denial was a fatal mistake by the colonial government as it was, perhaps, the beginning of the man’s grievances against the colonial government, a grudge that would catapult him into national prominence.

After being denied a scholarship for further studies, Macaulay joined the Colonial Civil Service, where his dislike of the racist colonial government grew and his passion for nationalism continued to be stoked. He was appointed as a Surveyor, but was put on a salary scale of 90-150 pounds per annum.

Meanwhile, a white Foreman in the PWD, junior to Macaulay, earned 250 pounds per annum. He left the service after only five years and obtained a government license to practice privately as a civil engineer, architect and surveyor. He never worked for the government, again.

“He had seen how the colonial authorities looked down on Africans, even when they were fully qualified,” Fafowora said. “He decided he would devote the rest of his life to fighting against this gross injustice and for the emancipation of the Africans from colonial rule. That was the origin of his long and difficult nationalist and patriotic struggle against foreign rule and domination in Nigeria.”

On his own, Macaulay struggled, in the early days, to find success, as the colonial authorities made sure he did not get any government jobs and only a handful of Africans were rich enough to engage and pay him for his professional services. But that didn’t stop him from getting married in December 1898, the year he left the civil service, to Caroline Pratt, the daughter of an African Superintendent of Police.

Unfortunately, the marriage came to a sudden end with Caoline’s death in August, 1899, during childbirth. Macaulay vowed never to remarry but he had mistresses with whom he fathered 16 children. The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Babatunde Kweku Adadevoh was a grandson and Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh, Nigeria’s unsung hero during the Ebola epidemic, was a great granddaughter.

Macaulay would go to prison twice. The first was as a result of one of his numerous financial setbacks, when he was found guilty of improperly taking a sum of 350 pounds from the estate of one Mary Franklin, a freed slave who had named him as an executor of her will. Macaulay argued that he had

used the money to pay off debts owed by Mary’s estate, but his claims were dismissed and he was sent to two years imprisonment in 1912.

His second imprisonment came in June 1928, at a time when he had become a serious opponent of the colonial government.

Macaulay was responsible for the reports and editorial views of the Lagos Daily News, a medium which he used to fight his political battles. But he soon got into trouble with the British, when the paper reported a story that the car which was to bring the deposed Eleko Esugbayi of Lagos back from exile in Oyo would be blown up by his opponents. It was a rumour and the colonial government felt that the publication was an incitement to fuel existing tensions within the colony.

Macaulay served six months without any option of fine.

These instances of imprisonment eliminated Macaulay’s chances of ever contesting in public elections. But that did not slow down his passion for politics, which was tied around fighting for self-rule and the fundamental rights of the black man. In 1923, he helped to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) and became a political force

Ambassador Dapo Fafowora recommended that the government set up a Herbert Macaulay Foundation, with the active and generous support of the private sector, to keep his memory and political ideals alive. He also suggested that the Herbert Macaulay Gold Lecture be made an annual event to mark the anniversary of his death.

Then, he canvassed for a major public educational institution in Lagos, preferably a higher institution, be named after him

as NNDP won all the elections into the Legislative Council, a figurehead organ the British created to soothe the local’s rising nationalist temperature. This, NNDP’s success, “was due largely to Macaulay’s remarkable leadership and organisational abilities which even his opponents and critics acknowledged,” Fafowora said. “With his control of the party, Macaulay was able, to some extent, exert some influence on some issues that came before the Legislative Council, such as the poll tax, the building of a new cemetery for Africans at Atan, and the Lagos railway construction. When the colonial government decided to control market prices during World War 2, Macaulay supported the opposition of the market women to the idea, arguing that government could not seek to control what it did not supply.”

At 80, Fafowora described Macaulay as the “grand old man of Nigerian politics.”

When the National Council and Cameroons (NCNC) was formed in 1944, Macaulay was elected the party’s president and Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, who would go on to become the first president of independent Nigeria, became its first Secretary General.

In 1946, the colonial government proposed a new constitution for Nigeria. But, led by Macaulay, the NCNC and other nationalists rejected the proposition. They argued that it did not go far enough in granting responsible government to Nigeria and that the locals had not been fully consulted on its provisions. At a meeting in Glover Hall in Lagos on April 11, 1945, it was decided that an NCNC delegation be sent to London to convey the party’s reservations to the proposed constitution. Even at 81, Macaulay was chosen to lead the London delegation.

A tour of the provinces was planned from April 8 to June 5, to raise funds for the proposed trip to London.

But it was while Macaulay was on tour in the Northern provinces, leading the NCNC delegation, that he fell ill and had to return to Lagos, where he was treated by Dr. Ibikunle Olorunnmbe, his personal physician and political associate in the NCNC. He died on May 7, 1946.

“The people of Lagos were in deep mourning over his death,” Fafowora said. “It was estimated that crowds of nearly 200,000 people, virtually the whole of Lagos, turned up at his funeral to pay this great man and outstanding patriot their last respects. Macaulay was a man of the people. He committed and dedicated his entire life to the struggle for the defence of the political and economic rights of the masses in Lagos. He fought courageously and relentlessly against the injustice and repression of the people by British colonial rule in Lagos and Nigeria.”

At the end of his lecture, Fafowora made some recommendations on what the Lagos State Government should do to immortalise a national legend, like Macaulay, in the sands of time. “What have we done to honour his memory?”, Fafowora said. “I am aware that he has a major street named after him in Lagos and Abuja. He also has two public statutes erected in his memory in Lagos.

But for posterity and in recognition of his immense contribution to the political development of Lagos and Nigeria there is a need for Lagos to do more to honour him. What more can we do to honour and immortalise the memory of this outstanding nationalist and patriot?”

He recommended that the government set up a Herbert Macaulay Foundation, with the active and generous support of the private sector, to keep his memory and political ideals alive. He also suggested that the Herbert Macaulay Gold Lecture be made an annual event to mark the anniversary of his death. Then, he canvassed for a major public educational institution in Lagos, preferably a higher institution, be named after him. “As an alternative, a Herbert Macaulay School of Politics and Government should be established in one of our leading universities in his honour,” the retired diplomat said.

Fafowora also suggested that a course on Herbert Macaulay be introduced and made compulsory in our secondary schools and that the Glover Memorial Hall on Customs Street, Lagos, which is “a sad reminder of our colonial past”, be renamed Herbert Macaulay Memorial Hall.

The Provost of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), who also doubled as the Chairman of the Lecture, Gbemiga Ogunleye, described Macaulay as a nationalist to the core and a foremost Nigerian politician. He noted that even the N1 coin, which had the image of Macaulay, had gone out of circulation. He then went on to advocate for the teaching of History in schools to give the younger generation the opportunity of learning about the country’s past heroes.

Also, former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Macaulay’s great grand nephew, Olabode George, noted that Macaulay’s contributions to the development of Lagos and fight for self-rule was something worth recognising.

“The main trust of Macaulay’s conviction was to alleviate the sufferings of the people of Nigeria,” George said. “Today we are celebrating a man who gave his all for the country and Lagos. We are celebrating 50 years of Lagos now but how will this sound without due recognition of Herbert Macaulay.”

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

IMAGES

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

L-R: Mrs. Mia Essien, SAN, Dr. Eno-Obong Essien and Mr. Charles Essien during Eno-Obong’s graduation from the University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, USA... recently

L-R; President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief (Mrs) Nike Akande; Chairman of the Occasion, Chief Mathew Akinlade, The Authur, Dr. David Isiavwe; and Chief Johnson Barovwe, at the unveiling/ presentation of Corporate Disclosure in the Banking Industry-Evidence from Nigeria by David Isiavwe in Lagos...recently E TO P

Deputy Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Mr. Abdulwasi Musah; State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; his wife, Florence; and Special Adviser to the governor on ICT, Mr. Niyi Ajao, during the inauguration of the state’s e-governance initiative, at the Governor’s office, Ibadan...recently

L-R; Secretary to Kwara State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, acting Commander, 303 Medium Airlift Group, Nigerian Air Force, Ilorin,Wing Commander Ayotunde Kuponiyi,Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, Wing Commander M.O.D. Ede and Flying Officer A.A. Ologun during a courtesy visit to the Governor at Government House, Ilorin...recently

L-R:, Company Secretary, Lafarge Africa Plc, Uzoma Uja; Chairman, Mobolaji Balogun; and GMD/CEO, Michel Puchercos, during the 58th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos...recently

L-R: Manaing Director, Livestock Feeds Plc, Mrs Modupe Asanmo; Chairman, Mr. Larry Ettah and Company Secretary, Mr. Adeleke Yusuf, at the Annual Genral Meeting (AGM) of the company in Lagos...recently

S U N DAY A D I G U N

Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN (right) and the Chairman of the Governing Board of NDDC, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN at the banquet organized by Cross River State when the acting president visited Calabar,...recently.

L-R; Coordinator and Consultant, Clinical Nigeria Tobacco Council Research Group, University Teaching Hospital Ibadan, Dr. Pelumi Adebiyi; Sub-Regional Coordinator, West Africa Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Mrs. Hilda Ochefu and Deputy Executive Director,Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, Mr.Akinbode Oluwafemi, during the press conference on 2017 World Tobacco Day in Abuja... recently.

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Quick Takes ACCA, CIBN, Others to Tackle Fraud

The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) in collaboration with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA),The Convention on Business Integrity (CBi) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) have joined forces to tackle fraud and financial corruption in the country’s banking and finance sector.

The anti-corruption programme themed: “Financial Systems Integrity Improvement,” is a conference scheduled for 30th June, 2017 in Abuja.

According to a statement, the keynote speaker for the event will be Nick Leeson, “whose dealings at Barings Bank led to the collapse in 1995 of one of Britain’s oldest financial organisations.”

The conference is expected to address regulatory and institutional measures being taken by the financial services sector and regulators to minimise fraud and corruption in the sector, the effectiveness of such measures and required steps to close existing gaps and effectively sanction breaches by few defaulting players.

“The collaborating partners are persuaded that all stakeholders in the financial services sector share a common goal for enthronement of systemic integrity and accountability in light of existing self-regulating measures albeit inadequate.

“Therefore, the conference will identify further preventive and practical measures required by the players and regulators to tackle fraud, corruption and other forms of financial crimes,” it added.

CELEBRATING LAGOS AT 50

L-R: Head, Marketing and Sales, Slot Systems, Jonathan Uzomba; MD/CEO, Nnamdi Ezeigbo and Head, Procurement, Emmanuel Nwachukwu, at a media briefing to announce the Lagos Photo Contest in partnership with Slot, as part of the celebration of Lagos at 50 in Ikeja, Lagos...recently

10 Stockbroking Firms Facilitate N525bn Investment in Stocks Goddy Egene A total of N525 billion was invested in 35.022 billion shares through 10 stockbroking firms between January and May this year. According to the data obtained from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the weekend, the value represents 73.3 per cent of the total transactions and 51.9 per cent in volume terms in the five months.

An analysis of the value of the trading showed that Cordros Securities Limited led with N190.507 billion or 26.6 per cent. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited followed with N110.009 billion or 15.3 per cent. Rencap securities (Nigeria) Limited facilitated investment of N60.824 billion or 8.5 per

CAPITAL MARKET cent, while CSL Stockrokers Limited accounted for N38.033 billion or 5.3 per cent.

A.R.M Securities Limited traded N34.180 billion or 4.7 per cent, while FBN Securities Limited accounted for N24.725 billion or 3.4 per cent. EFCP Limited traded N24.725 billion or 3.08 per cent, while Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited accounted for N19.231 billion or 2.6 per cent. Cardinal Stone Securities Limited accounted for N14.138 billion or 1.9 per cent, just as Apel Asset Limited traded N11.309 billion or 1.5 per cent.

In terms of volume, Capital Assets Limited led with 7.108 billion shares or 10.5 per cent, followed by Stanbic IBTC

Stockbrokers Limited with 5.240 billion shares. Rencap Securities (Nigeria) Limited traded 4.01 billion shares or 5.9 per cent, just as A.R.M Securities Limited accounted for 3.479 billion shares or 5.1 per cent. CSL Stockbrokers Limited traded 3.129 billion shares or 4.6 per cent, while Meristem Stockbrokers Limited accounted for 2.752 billion or 4.0 per cent.

Cordros Securities Limited, Imperial Asset Managers Limited and Morgan Capital Securities Limited and Cardinal Stone Securities Limited traded 2.404 billion shares, 2.307 billion shares, 2.296 billion shares and 2.296 billion shares respectively.

After a slow start at the beginning of the year, the volume of trading has im-

proved since April in line with the bullish trend that has been sustained as at last week. The Nigerian equities market recorded a monthly growth of 14.5 per cent in May as foreign portfolio and domestic investors sustained demand for shares following improved foreign exchange management and indication that the economy is emerging from recession.

The rally has been triggered by the introduction of the new foreign exchange window for investors and exporters (I&E) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Apart from the new FX window by the CBN, analysts said investors are also responding to more Continued on page 24

Price of Diesel Drops by over 30% in Four Months Ejiofor Alike Following the fluctuations in forex and international crude oil prices, the ex-depot price of diesel has dropped by over 30 per cent between February and June 2017, THISDAY has learnt.

As a deregulated product, the price of diesel is controlled by the market forces of demand and supply, unlike petrol, which has a price cap.

THISDAY gathered that with the international market price of crude above $53 in February, the prices of refined products were also high as the ex-depot price of diesel was between N225 per litre and N235.

ENERGY The situation, it was gathered, was worsened by the high exchange rate at the period, which also impacted on the landing cost of products.

For instance, during the first week of February, the depots in Lagos were selling diesel above N235 per litre , while the pump price at filling stations were as high as N260 – N280 per litre.

While some were selling at N231, N230, 235, 227, 225, and N226, others were selling above N235 at the depots.

However, at the beginning of June, the depots were selling

between N152 and N154 per litre.

According to THISDAY’s market survey, the marketers were selling diesel at N152, 153 and N154, while the pump price was below N200 per litre at the beginning of June.

The price of diesel dropped further at the weekend with depots in Lagos selling at N155, 149, 147, 145, 144, and 144.50.

A marketer, who spoke on the situation, said the development was cyclic as a result of changing prices at the international and forex fluctuations.

“The price of crude and exchange rate in February were on the high side and they impacted not only on

the price of diesel but all other products. Nigerians did not feel the impact on petrol because of the price cap. With the drop in price of crude below $50 per barrel, the country is not seeing the benefits of liberalisation on diesel,” he said.

Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Akin Akinfemiwa had told downstream operators in Lagos recently that the country was reaping the benefits of diesel and called on the federal government to remove the cap on the price of petrol.

“Without that, we will not Continued on page 24

MallforAfrica.com Extends Operation

In a move designed to live up to its name as the continental online shopping platform, Mall for Africa, has upped its ante with the recent launch of its Kenyan entity. The management of the e-commerce company stated that the decision to explore the market is in a bid to serve its Kenyan and the wider East African audience.

Speaking on the expansion, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Chris Folayan, the move is a direct result of the company’s drive to cover the growing African market with robust shopping options in line with the expansionary bent of its current phase of growth.

According to him, this is responsible for the different initiatives it has sprung in recent months to increase consumer access through its new websites – Grocery Direct, Fashion Direct, and eBay ‘powered

by Mall for Africa’.

He described the company as an organisation that functions as an ecommerce store and payment solution for the African shopper who wishes to purchase and items in from stores in the UK and US. He pointed out that as the reality of a wider market made possible by enhanced internet access and a growing middle class grows, Mall for Africa is situating itself to live up to the expectation of its digitally-empowered audience who desire quality products ranging from fashion to groceries from reliable merchants across the world.

“We bridge the e-commerce gap between continents and provide high-quality products to people in Africa. The Mall for Africa app is the medium by which the company facilitates this with over 200 US & UK stores, 10,000 brands and 8.5+ billion items,” he said.

Outori Joins Densu Aegis Network

Nigeria’s Outori, an unconventional consumer experiential agency has formally signed an affiliation arrangement with global advertising networks, Dentsu Aegis Network in a strategic move designed to enhance both companies’ mutual positioning and business footprints in the sub-region.

Outori, which came into the market just about ago has made some defining moves as one company in the market that enjoys the membership of both the experiential and advertising sectorial groups in the ocuntry, EXMAN and AAAN respectively.

Led by the trio of Obinna Aniche as President; Wole Olagundoye as Managing director and Dele Anifowoshe asV.P, Business Development, Outori has emerged as one of Nigeria’s fastest growing consumer experience agencies and ranked at the top of its chosen field. “The leadership team has earned numerous awards for creativity, execution and effectiveness both on the agency and client’s sides across Africa”.

Outori as a full fledged brand communications agency, offers specialised services in experiential marketing, live experiences, activations, sponsorship planning, digital marketing, media consulting and content marketing.

“What government has to do to make it easier for people to do business is to create the right environment, to lower the cost of doing business; to make the process of getting approvals easier” Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment,

Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah

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T H I S D AY • MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

BUSINESSWORLD 10 STOCKBROKING FIRMS FACILITATE N525BN INVESTMENT IN STOCKS

favourable economic indicators.

Before now, market analysts had linked the poor performance of the equity market in the last three years to: weak macroeconomic performance, inconsistent policies, weak corporate earnings and portfolio realignment from equities to fixed income securities.

They, however, had at the beginning of the year raised hopes that the market would recover this year.

“Looking at the strong growth in the unaudited results that quoted companies released for the period January – March 2017 and the improvement in the macroeconomic environment, we believe the equity market is ready for a recovery in 2017,” analysts at FSDH Research had said.

According to them, the increase in the supply of foreign exchange to meet the input requirements of manufacturing companies should increase their production activities and revenue in the current financial year.

“The stability in the macroeconomic environment and the strong earnings of quoted companies should attract the needed liquidity into the market. Consequently, the equity market should record a strong recovery in the year 2017,” they stated.

PRICE OF DIESEL DROPS BY OVER 30% IN FOUR MONTHS

realise the potential of this $5 billion revenue in the sector,” Akinfemiwa said.

The Chairman of Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA), Mr. Dapo Abiodun, had also made similar call, saying that it was not by choice that the marketers allowed NNPC to currently import 95 per cent of petrol.

Abiodun, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Heyden Petroleum Limited, said in addition to paying the marketers’ outstanding $2 billion claims arising from the old subsidy regime, the permanent solution was to remove the cap on the pump price of petrol and fully liberalise the downstream sector.

Group Business Editor

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

Crusoe Osagie

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Senior Correspondent

Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents

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

Nume Ekeghe (Money Market) Nosa Alekhuogie (AgriBusiness)

NEWS

SINAICO Ltd Appoints Nonye Ojiaka as Executive Director SINAI Collateral Ltd, a member of JKPEEZ Group has announced the appointment of Ms Nonye Ojiaka as its Executive Director.

Prior to her elevation weekend, Ms. Ojiaka led Change Management at the Company where she was responsible for developing strategies for the smooth implementation of the Company’s Transformation Initiatives and Marketing/ Business Development of the products across the country.

Founder and chairman of Sinai Collateral Ltd (SINAICO), Chief Peter Ojiaka, who broke the news said: “After a rigorous search and selection process by the Board of Directors, we are pleased to announce Nonye Ojiaka’s appointment and to welcome her on board SINAICO”.

According to him, the appointee “brings a valuable blend of experience to the organisation and we are pleased having her in the Board as we hope to see her forge ahead towards the attainment of our goals.”

Ojiaka Two years ago, SINAICO has blazed the trail when it partnered wherein you can See and Feel ARDENT WORLD INC. (AWI) the results. based in the Philippines which is “We specialise in beauty a fast-rising name in the skincare and natural product which is and beauty industry. AWI is part our Moringa line of products of a group of companies engaged which helps in skin repair and in Personal Care Services and rejuvenation. Also, we have Retail Vanity Products all over herbal hair products which the world. help in hair growth so our Reacting to her appointment, company is the sole distributor Ms Ojiaka said: “These are excit- of AWI products in the entire ing times for SINAICO and I am Africa. very delighted to join the board Elaborating on the company’s in this role. Our philosophy is brands she said: “The Glutato develop reasonably priced, C skincare product line has premium quality products gained loyal customers and

firm converts through the years because of its effective delivery of safe skin whitening with the combined powers of Glutathione and Vitamin C. “The Gluta-C Intense Whitening line features a wide range of products that not only intensely whitens the skin, but also softens and smoothens the skin without the greasy feel. Also, the Gluta-C line provides oil control and minimises fine lines, wrinkles and pores. It also protects the skin against environmental elements that can cause it to

look dull and unhealthy”.

According to her, MoringaO2 which is another product distributed by the company is a powerful blend of Malunggay, Olive Oil and Omega (from Sunflower Oil) for hair and skin care adding that Moringa-O2 Hair Care helps repair and nourish the scalp for beautiful, shiny and healthy hair while the Moringa-O2 Skin Care gently cleanses, protects, and smoothens the skin.

Moringa-O2 Herbal Shampoo she pointed out brings together nature’s powerful multivitamins and Argan oil, which are very rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals including Vitamins A, C, D, E, B-complex, essential fatty acids Omega 6 and 9, calcium and other minerals.

Ms Orjiaka, is a trained economist with many years of experience in organisational transformation , business management and strategic communication. She has a B.Sc in Political Economy at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

On her vision for the company, she said: “My dream is to build one of the biggest cosmetics company in Nigeria, I want our products to be in every home and all beauty stand. I want everyone to be confident using our products. I want everyone to know what hydroquinone does to the body; that it damages the skin and causes black knuckles and it gives black lips and some burns as well. People need to be enlightened about the dangers of hydroquinone and that is part of my vision to enlighten the public.”

On what makes SINAICO products unique, she revealed that they are hydroquinone free and dermatologist tested. “Our Gluta C is the only product in the market that has Glutathione and Vitamin C, it is the only product that has the ability for skin repair and rejuvenation.

Also we normally conduct seminars for the distributors and members of the public on our products and how to take care of their skin”.

Besides, she said that her company is happy telling the people to have confidence in their skin complexion and desist from bleaching, because bleaching is dangerous and damages the skin.

She further hinted that SINAICO would go into local manufacturing of the product in the country in the near future adding that “We have actually acquired a land where we intend to build our factory and ensure local content. We desire to create employment and use the local materials we have in the country instead of importing products which cost us a huge amount.

“We desire to create a world class cosmetics company in the country at an affordable rate, so we urge the federal government to improve on power supply which will in turn help manufacturers in the country.

Sinai ltd is the sole accredited dealer of all Gluta-C and Moringa-O2 products in Nigeria with a goal to provide consumers with the highest quality products by assuring the performance, consistency, safety and value of all our products.

House C’ttee Orders Suspension of Lottery Activities with Telcos

Neconde Energy Sues PENGASSAN after Termination of Workers’ Appointment

James Emejo in Abuja

Solomon Elusoji

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the activities of telcoms operators and vendors has ordered the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) to end all existing lottery contracts between GSM companies and lottery operators.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ahmed Abu (Niger, APC), said the existing lottery contracts which has now gone awry were carried out in breach of the National Lottery Act and constituted illegality.

Speaking at a meeting with the Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the acting Managing Director, NLRC, Mr. Adamu Muhammed Sifawa and Director, Operations, National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF), Mr. Bello Maigari, over a controversial sharing formula for lottery proceeds among the stakeholders, the committee chairman also advised the parties to seek amicable solution to the issue or have it resolved at a public hearing.

The bone of contention was that the National Lottery Act had already stipulated how revenues realised from lottery should be shared among stakeholders.

It stipulates that 50 percent should go to the winner at any particular point in time while 30 percent should go to the operator as well as 20 percent

to the regulatory commission.

But further realising the potential of mobile telecommunications in recent times, particularly handheld devices to further expand the scope of their operations, lottery operators reportedly entered into a contract with GSM companies to leverage on their infrastructure to deliver lottery products to consumers.

But the sharing formula for revenues generated had since been a bone of contention between the parties.

It was gathered that the telcos charged 70 percent of the total share, leaving lottery operators and the commission with 30 percent to share.

The lottery operators argued that the percentage charged by the telcos was unilaterally decided without their involvement.

Although, there’s an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the NLRC and the NCC, it doesn’t however, cover the agreement between lottery operators and the NCC. Nevertheless, Abu ruled that the parties should end the existing contract immediately stressing that they had been operating illegally.

He said their operations are also shortchanging government while the telcos feed fat at the expense of Nigerians.

There was yet another contention between the NLTF and the NLRC over the channeling of revenues meant for the Trust Fund according to the establishment Acts.

The stage is set for a showdown between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Neconde Energy Limited (NEL) over the termination of NEL workers’ appointment, following their participation in an industrial action organised by the former .

On May 15, PENGASSAN had led a picketing of NEL premises in Lagos and Warri, over alleged grievances, which included forceful restructuring (evidenced in Realignment, grade categorisation and harmonisation of salary structure, and downgrading of conditions of service/contractual terms of employment) of Neconde to other non -exploration and production subsidiaries of the Obijackson Group; lack of evidence (TCC) of employee tax (PAYE) remittance in Lagos and Delta State since 2012; non- payment of 2016’s 13th month pay; non-payment of field allowances since August 2016; forceful and immediate transfer of union members from Lagos to Warri office with no consideration of impact on families; non-payment of transfer allowances (two months after the forceful transfer); and non-payment of severance benefit.

However, on May 18, after the picketing, officials of PENGASSAN and NEL met and apparently reached a friendly agreement.

In the communiqué which was signed by the representatives of the Company led by its Company/Board Secretary, Mr. Val Uche- Obi SAN, who signed

on behalf of the Chairman, Neconde Energy Limited, Dr. Ernest Azudialu, and the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Frank Edozie, among others and PENGASSAN representatives led by Chairman, PENGASSAN Lagos Zone, Com. Abel Agarin, among others, it was agreed that nobody will be victimised on the ground of the industrial action.

But, by June 1, NEL allegedly terminated the employment of five members of staff because of the industrial actions.

The development has prompted PENGASSAN to issue a 72-hour ultimatum, starting from Monday to NEL management to reverse the termination or “face monumental consequences.”

According to a statement by Comrade Agarin, the NEL management has resolved to continually harass and victimise senior staff members, particularly those who participated actively in the recent industrial action.

“It is our position that the termination exercise is unlawful, not in line with equity, good conscience, industrial relations best practices and extant labour laws. We are aware of the efforts by Neconde Management to balkanise the union and we are categorically saying that this will be vehemently resisted,” Agarin said.

When THISDAY visited PENGASSAN office on Friday, a source confirmed that the association had been dragged to court over the issue. “We cannot comment on the issue presently,” a PENGASSAN official said. Also, calls made to NEL management were not returned, as at press time.

T H I S D AY MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

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BUSINESSWORLD

INSIDE BROAD STREET

As Market Awaits N420bn Maturing Treasury Bills Obinna Chima Treasury bills worth N420.317 billion are expected to mature this week. A breakdown of the maturing showed it is made up of 91-day bills worth N39.006 billion; 182-day bills worth N23.024 billion; 363-day bills worth N205.942 billion and 364-day bills worth N152.343 billion will mature via open market operations (OMO) on Thursday.

However, the maturing instruments are expected to offset expected treasury bills auction worth N214.373 billion, viz: 91-day bills worth N39.006 billion; 182-day bills worth N23.024 billion and 364-day bills worth N152.343 billion.

To this end, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited anticipate improvement in financial system liquidity and resultant stability in interbank rates.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) auctioned treasury bills worth N42.053 billion which was more than offset by matured treasury bills worth N51.14 billion, viz: 143-day bills worth N27.97 billion, 177-day bills worth N8.04 billion and 181-day bills worth N15.13 billion.

However, amid addition outflows to satisfy demand of forex end users, NIBOR for overnight funds, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months rose to 20.33% (from 9.64%), 20.45% (from 19.41%), 22.28% (from 22.01%) and 24.50% (from 24.08%) respectively.

Also, the Nigerian Inter-bank Treasury Bills’ True Yield Fixing (NITTY) rose across all of the maturities amid sell pressure – yields on 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months maturities rose to 18.59% (from 16.58%), 19.62% (from 17.58%), 20.43% (from 20.11%) and 22.50% (from 22.33%) respectively.

Forex Market Last week, the naira appreciated week-on-week in most foreign exchange market segments. The naira firmed against the U.S. dollar at the interbank and parallel market segments by 0.37% and 2.39% to N323.81/$ and N367/$ respectively.

This followed CBN’s injection of $190 million into the foreign exchange market of which $100 million was allocated to Wholesale (SMIS), $50 million was allocated to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises while $40 million was sold for invisibles.

According to Cowry Asset Management, the local currency also appreciated at Investors & Exporters Forex Window (I&E FX) by 1.82% to N373.28/$, but weakened at the Bureau De Change segment by 0.56% to N362/$.

Meanwhile, the weekly movements in most dated forward contracts at the interbank OTC segment suggested future stability of the naira/$ exchange rate amid rise in the external reserves increased week-to-date by 0.14% to $30.29 billion as at Wednesday, 07 June 2017.

The 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months forward contracts remained stable week-on-week at N320/$, N328.07/$, N336.56/$ and N354.04/$ respectively.

Furthermore, the spot rate depreciated by 0.05% to N305.60/$ despite the $7.5 million in intervention sales

by CBN to banks.

“In the current week, we expect further stability in the foreign exchange market with possible appreciation against the dollar subject to CBN’s level of intervention,” they predicted.

that have an impact on an authorised dealer’s FCTPL are expected to comply with the rate reasonability standards.”

In addition, the CBN pointed out that it reserves the right to intervene, as a buyer or sellers as it deems it fit in the interbank market.

It advised the dealers to encourage their corporate clients to on-board the FMDQ-advised forex trading system immediately, in order to avoid sanctions and to deepen the market.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

Bond Market In the bond market, FGN bonds traded at the OTC segment moved in mixed directions: The 20-year, 10.00% FGN JULY 2030 debt and the 10-year 16.39% FGN JAN 2022 bond shed N0.06 and N0.03 respectively; their corresponding yields rose to 16.09% (from 16.07%) and 16.19% respectively.

However, the 7-year 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 debt gained N0.05 and N0.06 respectively; their corresponding yields fell to 16.43% (from 16.45%) and 16.43% respectively.

Elsewhere, FGN Eurobonds traded on the London Stock Exchange depreciated in value across most of the maturities amid profit taking.

The 5-year, 5.13% JUL 12, 2018 bond and the 10-year, 6.38% JUL 12, 2023 bond appreciated by $0.03 (yield rose to 3.42%) and $0.02 (yield rose to 5.54%) respectively.

“This week, we anticipate stability in bond prices in the OTC market on the back of expected boost in financial system liquidity,” they added.

Sell of Dollar Position The CBN last week paved the way for authorised dealers in the foreign

exchange market to offset their excess foreign currency trading positions to other authorised dealers in the market without seeking the prior approval of the regulator.

The central bank, in a circular, said all authorised dealers shall be subject to a maximum spread of N1, adding that funds purchased by an authorised dealer from another dealer on the interbank market shall not be held in position overnight by the buying authorised dealer or sold to another authorised dealer.

The CBN, in the two-page document signed by its Director, Financial Markets Department, Dr. Alvan Ikoku, added: “Such interbank purchases shall only be sold by the buying authorised dealer to its customers for Permitted/ Eligible Transactions as outlined in the above-referenced circular. All documentation requirements for Permitted Transactions shall apply.

“Authorised dealers shall not exceed their respective foreign currency trading position (FCTPL) without approval of the CBN. Compliance with the FCTPL shall strictly be monitored by the CBN. “All interbank trades – spot, forwards, futures, option and swaps –

Fitch on Banks’ Dollar Liquidity One of the leading global rating agencies, Fitch Ratings last week noted that Nigerian banks’ ability to access foreign currency (FC) has improved considerably since the CBN introduced a foreign exchange window at end-April aimed at investors and exporters.

The Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Rate Fixing (NAFEX) mechanism, commonly referred to as the “Investors’ and Exporters’ FX Window”, appears to be boosting FC supply and the flow of FC liquidity into the banking system, the agency stated.

According to the agency improved access to FC means that liquidity pressures have, for now, eased for Fitch-rated banks.

FC was in acute short supply through much of 2016 and early 2017, restricting imports and forcing several Nigerian banks to extend maturities on their trade finance obligations. NAFEX provides investors and exporters with a more transparent mechanism through which they can sell FC to willing buyers.

Authorised banks act as intermediaries, clearing funds supplied by portfolio investors and exporters and ensuring timely execution of settlement for buyers. Despite its short record, volumes transacted through NAFEX are growing.

“In our opinion, NAFEX offers a more transparent alternative to accessing FC than is available through the other foreign-exchange markets in the country. Several exchange rates operate in Nigeria.

“The CBN was the main supplier of FC during the height of the FC liquidity crisis and it still sells FC to the market through regular auctions, with banks acting as intermediaries,” Fitch added.

Boost for Exports Also, the CBN last week directed that bills of lading in respect of exports from Nigeria shall henceforth carry Form NXP number of the underlying cargo.

The central bank stated this in a circular addressed to all authorised dealers, exporters and the general public that was titled: “Exports from Nigeria: Compliance with Memorandum 11 of the Foreign Exchange Manual,” obtained on its website.

The four-paragraph circular that was signed by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, CBN, Mr. W.D. Gotring added: “Consequently, all exporters are required to register Forms NXP with an authorised dealer of their choice prior to shipment in line with Memorandum 11 Section 1(a) (I).

“For the avoidance of doubt, it shall be breach of extant regulations for any shipper to take on-board cargo for which a Form NXP is not duly completed by the exporter. This circular takes immediate effect. Please ensure strict compliance.”

Reward for Whistleblowers The federal government last week confirmed that it had released N375,875,000 to the first batch of 20 providers of information under the Whistleblower Policy, culminating in the recovery of N11,635,000,000.

Of the N375.8 million, the 20 whistleblowers were paid various amounts, the government stated.

The Ministry of Finance, in a statement quoted the minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun as saying: “This payment, which is the first under the Whistleblower Policy, underscores the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in meeting obligations to information providers. The policy is an essential tool in the fight against corruption.”

Adeosun further disclosed the recent amendments to the Whistleblower Policy, including the introduction of a formal legal agreement between information providers and the federal government, which is executed by the Minister of Justice and AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF).

The minister also provided details of the Whistleblower Unit (WBU), a multi-agency team, which is resident in the Ministry of Finance.

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INTERVIEW

Enelamah: Ease of Doing Business Drive will Lower Cost In a bid to diversify the economy, promote trade and investment, and stamp out old practices which have torpedoed Nigeria’s development for decades, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah reasons that initiatives such as Ease of Doing Business, Industrial Council, and the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, among others, are desirable to turn things around for good. Ndubuisi Francis provides the excerpts: Could you give us an update on the special economic zones?

The special economic zones is an important attempt to solve the problems that are hindering industrialisation, and they are important because we believe that one thing to do to encourage industrialisation would be to provide the enabling infrastructure for producers to produce competitive products.

Special economic zones would be special areas dedicated for industrial parks and zones where power, infrastructure and facilities are made available for world class production and manufacturing, the government decided because it has an important role to play, it provided infrastructure and land, access in terms of logistics that we would use special economic zones which had been used successfully by other countries and climes. In Nigeria, we do have some but they have not been well ran and they are not up to world class standards, but I can assure you that we just met with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing. We are collaborating to make sure that these special economic zones would have adequate power. So, it is definitely about implementation and it is certainly to aid industrialisation and the implementation of the Nigerian industrial Revolution Plan.

What is your strategy on the Ease of Doing Business as this administration tries to diversify the economy?

Our strategy as a country is to diversify away from oil. It is not that oil is not important but we cannot stand on one leg. We are blessed to have oil. But we cannot depend on one commodity. Therefore, in order to diversify away from oil, we need to go into other areas, especially industries, services, SMES to get into different businesses and trade.

Without any iota of doubt, what government has to do to make it easier for people to do business is to create the right environment, to lower the cost of doing business; to make the process of getting approvals easier. That process is what this whole focus is.

We are saying let us diversify in theory, we are taking practical steps to make economic diversification a reality.

The government has been working on the Ease of Doing Business since last year because the President launched the Presidential Ease of Doing Business Council last year. It is chaired by the Vice President, with a number of ministers, 10 ministers, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Head of Service. It has a secretariat called the Enabling Business Secretariat and it has been working on several initiatives on how to ease doing business in Nigeria.

In fact, it came up recently with the 60-day National Action Plan to deal with business registration, construction permit, trading across borders and the like so that we can improve on our Ease of Doing Business rating. This will enable people view our country as a business friendly environment.

The Executive Orders were passed as an extension of this work. Two weeks ago, the Acting President signed three Executive Orders.

Executive Order 001 was on Transparency and Ease of Doing Business. The purpose of that Executive Order is to now make system wide. Every agency of government should be very clear on what people need to get approvals in terms of time requirements, fees

Enelamah to be paid and where a person can expect an approval or a rejection. Those should be published on their websites and public places so that people can be aware.

The second leg is on the modalities for approvals provisions. What it provides for is that if for any reason you don’t get back to the people. What it means is that silence is consent, therefore, the onus is on the public servants to tell people why they don’t qualify for something, rather than the other way round. When you don’t hear from me, it means you don’t qualify.

It is a clear signal to the public that we are here for you; that we are here to render service. It is a clear signal that the government is the government of the people by the people and for the people.

Number three goes further and deals with the principle of one government. What that means is that if you are getting an approval from a government agency or department and there is something that is required and the original copies of the document are in another government agency, that original agency should take the responsibility to get it from the other agency because we are all agencies

of one government, rather than telling the applicant to go and bring.

All you need to do is to provide evidence that such a document exists. It could be a photocopy or any other thing and the other agency would liaise with the other. You know when government agencies liaise with each other, they are a lot more supportive of each other. The whole idea is to make it easier to do business.

How is the government really going to ensure that these things are carried out?

Let me start by quoting the acting president. He said when he addressed the civil servants last week that it is a new day. It’s only a person who is insensitive, in attentive or unwise that will treat these executive orders as business as usual. As I speak to you today, there is another session going on with the senior civil servants explaining how the orders will work or operationalise and brainstorming and working on it, there was one on Tuesday, which I addressed. So the first thing today is that these are rules and regulations of engagement of government and the civil servants understand the importance

of rules.

Number two is that the reason why we are having meeting like this is that the public is also made aware and the citizens are empowered with information and understanding of their right so that they, in effect can demand those services, because that is what the law says. The third thing to say is that, like if you read the executive orders carefully, they include sanctions and consequences and who is responsible. For instance, it says each authority, the head of that agency would be held accountable and I can tell you that in my ministry, we have already met to talk about how to implement.

There is no question. Like you said, we are going to need task force, implementing bodies, there are a number that already doing that.

There is an agency of government called SERVICOM that is clearly there on how to provide service to the public. They are gearing up to support, there is Enabling Business Environment secretariat that I talked about, who are focused on implementing these Executive Orders particularly number one which is on CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

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ENELAMAH: EASE OF DOING BUSINESS DRIVE WILL LOWER COST transparency and ease of doing business and enabling environment. I think by far, the most important thing is that as we demand more from our people and there are consequences for not doing the right thing, you will find that we will change. I am positive that it is not going to be business as usual and the media has an important role to play to keep publicising the orders and to keep reminding citizens of their right and keep engaging. You talked about the airport for instance, we are working with the airport authorities to make sure that those airports work like they do elsewhere and that’s already something we have started on before. You know, we are now doing visas on arrival, there has been a face lift of the airport in Abuja, but let me say that culture change takes time, and we all need to change as a people. We want a better country but we are the people that will change things, both those in government and those outside of government, but I’m positive that we will change because it is positive for us. We will do what is good for us as a country.

Could you specifically explain how this ease of doing business will work at the ports?

I think the first thing to say is that, that is executive order 001 and one of the first things I would say is that the media especially would need to understand the orders and publicise them. What the executive orders say exactly about ports is that there shall be no touting whatsoever by officials or unofficial persons at any port in Nigeria and all non-official staff shall be removed from the secured areas of the airport, those are directives, rules, commands given to people.

So if you see somebody who is not an official, already they are breaking the rules and you have every right to report it. Another one is that any official caught soliciting or receiving bribes from passengers or other ports users shall be subject to immediate removal, that means you need to start screaming remove, remove, remove. We need citizen activism and it is serious. Our citizens tolerate far too much, why would somebody extorting money from you against the rule, you know your right, and you can’t even do anything.

It says any official caught soliciting or receiving bribes from passengers or other ports users shall be subject to immediate removal from posts and disciplinary as well as criminal proceedings in line with extant laws and regulations. Merge departure and arrival interfaces at the airport into a single customer within 30 days without prejudice to necessary backend procedures. It also says, harmonise operations of all MDAs of government physically present at the port into one single interface, meaning station or desk domiciled in one location in the port and implemented by a single joint tax force at all times without prejudice to necessary backend procedures within 60 days. It also says assign an existing airport terminal, to be dedicated to the exportation of agricultural produce, within thirty days of the issuance of this directive, then for Apapa port, it shall resume 24hours operations within 30 days as well. This is about single window and single interface as well, trying to leverage technology to make sure that all the people who have responsibilities in the ports can do it electronically, through a portal. I think we mean business and we do need to partner with people like you to implement.

Has this order come into effect?

You just heard when I said 60 days, 30 days. It has been signed, we have started counting already What value addition would the Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations give to Nigeria’s position in international trade?

The Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation (NOTN) has just been approved last month by the Federal Executive Council. The purpose why the country decided to go in this direction is because trade is a very specialised area and also very technical. It is becoming very technical and we found out that in order to put our best foot forward. When it comes to trade negotiation, we need a body of experts; we need good experts to lead our negotiations.

So, the Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiation is just being set up now; it has been

Ab

Enelamah approved and it will be operational in the next few weeks and the whole idea is that it would be led by a chief negotiator and trade advisor. We have a candidate already and then we would also have experts on trade from this ministry and other ministries that would advise the country and the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on trade.

Basically, some of the areas we will be looking at, we are looking ahead, and we think that the Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), sorting out our relationship with ECOWAS and Europe with the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA); looking at some of the agreements we’ve entered into already like CET (Common External Tariff) and ETLS (ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme). We would also be looking at the relationship with Europe in terms of Brexit and all those things. We will also be looking at some of the so-called Free Trade Agreements, or strategic trade agreements to help to create value chains--global value chains, regional value chains.

What that means essentially is that you are entering into agreements with other countries on how you add value to products that come to them; the way you are part of the total picture for producing finished goods.

At the heart of it is really trying to ensure that we go beyond passive trading to adding value in our trade relationships and i think you will find out that it also ties into all the other policies of government, made-in Nigeria or made-in-Naija or buy-Naija because what you are trying to do is to increase value addition in Nigeria.

It also ties into the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which is essentially about creating jobs, about agriculture and agro processing and agro value chain, which is about industrialisation.

It also ties into our emphasis on SMEs because SMEs ultimately need help from their countries and their governments to make sure that their products are adding as much value as possible and are getting the best price possible because the price between value added products and raw products is dramatic. This is why in Africa, we’ve often suffered from selling raw materials and the commodity circles and the bust boom circles so I think the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiation will be very helpful in addition to what we are doing already.

Nigeria has been having trade negotiations and entering into trade agreements all the while. Why is the NOTN important?

There are many reasons: We have been suffering what we call the ‘coordination deficit’

which means we are not well coordinated as a country in terms of trade negotiations. It basically means that the level of coordination has been poor in different MDAs of government when it comes to trade.

Trade is a very wide-ranging subject as you know and different people conduct trade in different shades and forms. As a country, we need to have common positions on trade.

Now related to that coordination deficit is this idea of agreeing on what are those common positions and having a repository or a place where they fully understand our strategic positions on key issues. So that that thing we are coordinating, so that they support the different agencies, so we are speaking with one voice as a country.

A country needs to have a strategic direction. Look at the ERGP, for instance. What it means for trade is that somebody needs to master that and make sure that we enter into negotiations in line with the plan.

The need for expertise makes the NOTN imperative. Rather than trying to reproduce expertise in every agency, every department, there is certainly synergy and it makes sense to have experts that you keep training them and helping them to stay current and so on and so forth.

By the way, this is not something that is unique to Nigeria. This is why you find out that other countries have done it as well but the important thing is that by so doing, it strengthens our position; it doesn’t weaken it. In the past, we’ve had trade agreements that have not really been properly completed and implemented by having people who work with the various operational agencies, departments and ministries of government. It is a lot easier to follow through and being able to understand all that our commitments are.

They will also build a data base agreement.

There are several other reasons but these are the more important ones.

Will NOTN be a pool or you will only train experts and still leave them to remain in their various MDAs? First of all, it is going to be an agency of the government that is focused on trade negotiations; it is called Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiation. And we would have a number of experts, a limited number of experts.

Some people are of the opinion that Nigeria lacks expertise to negotiate trade agreements in her favour. What’s your take on this?

The gentleman, who is leading this effort, Amb. Chiedu Osakwe has been at the World Trade Organisation for close to 20 years. Before then, he spent about 15 years or more in foreign

service. He is a trade expert and understands the technicalities and the language of trade.

There are other people who have received similar training and exposure. Part of what we are doing now is to identify them, pool them together. We will also be undertaking training and equipping others with tools of negotiation.

And the answer is yes, we are going to be training people, we are going to be helping them get the necessary exposure and the necessary skills and tools for negotiations and then the final thing to say is yes, there are times you say ‘no’, but it is important you say ‘yes’ depending on the negotiation.

You know that one thing you are trying to solve is that ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are not negotiation.

That is the elementary form of negotiation.

In fact, most people would tell you get into saying ‘yes’ or everything is negotiable. I used to be a student of negotiation myself. So it is not about saying ‘no’. In fact, negotiation teaches you that ‘no’ is not the answer to negotiation; the answer to negotiation is ‘what do you want?’ The person that says ‘no’ hasn’t said what he wants and people always want something and negotiation is the process of getting what you want and that is what we would be doing..

Could you bring us to speed on CFTA and the Industrial Council The CFTA, which is the Continental Free Trade Agreement is a directive of a proposal which came from the AU summit, to increase intra-African trade which is roughly now around 10 to 15 per cent in order to get to the 30s. There have to be modalities on how we trade with each other; we have to make it easier to trade with each other. So, the Continental Free Trade Agreement is an attempt to put in place protocols and rules of engagement to include trading in goods, services and other areas across Africa, which could eventually include ease of doing business including infrastructure and free movement of people and so on. But those negotiations are going on. The AU summit of heads of state would like to see their first level of agreement by the end of this year, which is why meetings have been happening at a fast pace; negotiating teams have already met six times and there is another meeting coming up next week On the industrial council, the full name is the Industrial Council and Competitiveness Advisory council or Industrial Council for short. The council is a body made up of CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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ENELAMAH: EASE OF DOING BUSINESS DRIVE WILL LOWER COST a leadership of the government and the private sector to come together in a public private partnership to address the problem of industry. The council was inaugurated on the 30th of May That council includes leading lights in business and key senior members of the government, including about nine ministers cutting across all the ministers that interface in areas relevant across the country, the Central Bank Governor, Head of Service and Secretary to the Government of the Federation and chaired by the Vice President. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment is the vice chair and Aliko Dangote and Atedo Peterside are vice chairs on the private sector side.

That council already had a very successful inaugural meeting and agreed that it will meet monthly, identified the areas it is going to work on and the whole idea is to make sure that it is an implementation body as well that can get things done when cooperation or collaboration is needed between the public and the private sectors.

There are fears that if the government brings in the private sector into the public sector, it can lead to sentiments like offering undue tax incentives. What is your position on this?

I think you are right to make a distinction between people who are regulators and people who are players. However, when you talk about an advisory council, you also will be wise to note that if you are given policies to implement, and you do not get the private sector input, then you may fall short; which is one of the reasons why implementation has been difficult. If you also look at what you are trying to implement, things like the infrastructure for industrialisation, increasing employment, increasing training of workers, stopping smuggling, making sure that we produce more locally, who would carry out all these things? Government alone cannot do it; it needs a partnership with the private sector, and I am a great believer that there is great collective interest called national interest.

National interest is not the same thing as government interest; the government should clearly be working for national interest so should the private sector. National interest is our collective interest. For example, our collective interest is to have a country where we could have easy access to do business that is cheaper to move around. We all benefit; it is our collective business to have more industrialisation and industrialists benefit because they do more and they sell more, the government benefits because as they sell more, they pay more taxes for development and the people are happy. The question is if we do not come together to build our house, who will build it for us, because if one of us says leave me alone, I want to build my house and government should not interfere, you would eventually get to the limitations of government and governance. I will tell you that the private sector members were very happy for the reasons you pointed out, that they had been invited in an atmosphere of trust and stewardship to work together with government to build a better country and industry and that is really how it was positioned. In fact, one of the things that was said in the meeting was that anytime when we gather together, there will be no self-interest, nor needs for companies seeking favours, because it is a collective body for the national interest and it will always be guided by national interest.

Are you looking at Anti-trust laws to discourage monopoly?

I think there are two dimensions to that, one dimension is what we call promoting competitiveness in the economy, which is part of the role of this council, the industrial policy and competitiveness advisory council. But there is also as you are aware a competition bill that has been approved by the house, it has gone through the final reading in the senate and it is now being harmonised that is based on trying to address this issue from point of view of making sure that no player stifle competition or the market. The other part to it is also that the country itself is not unfairly treated by the International players because they can also monopolise your market and

Enelamah dominate it if you do not have anti-dumping and protection mechanisms to avoid what you might call unfair trade practices.

So, one of the things we are doing is that there is a law that is being drafted to deal with what the World Trade Organisation calls safeguard mechanisms, anti-dumping mechanisms, defences against substandard goods, defences against unfair practices. Every country has to have that; if not, other people will eat your lunch.

What is government’s position on EPA as we speak?

One of the areas we expect to get advice from the Nigerian Office on Trade Negotiation technical experts is on how to solve the EPA challenge. There is a challenge and the reason why there is a challenge is why “”” negotiated with other countries, and they did not necessarily engage Nigeria, which they should have given 60 per cent of the ECOWAS market, we have looked at the agreement and we believe that the agreements are situated in the 19th century and we are now in the 21st century.

You know if somebody is trying to plan with you based on where you are today when you are planning to move somewhere else, it will be wise to look ahead and make sure that the agreement anticipates where you are going. The problem with the EPA is that it does not anticipate where we want to be as an industrial economy. It sort of assumes we bring the raw materials in, we send them to Europe and it says if you bring them in, we will give you access to our market, but then you will have to give them access to the finished goods to come back. That was the trade of the colonial era and the 20th century.

The trade of today is that every country, whether a large country or not needs to be value added in manufacturing, the jobs cannot be exported out so we made that case to Europe and we are engaging. The important thing is to sit down and negotiate a win win agreement, and I believe there is an agreement somewhere there, that is what negotiation is about, it is about agreeing in a way that both sides benefit and frankly it can be done with the required expertise which requires work and engagement.

What is the government doing about the abuses in Expatriate Quota policy?

The point is this--that we have a responsibility to ensure that we control influx of people in a way that is responsible without becoming an island or adversarial especially for countries like China who have indicated very clearly that they want the good of Africa and Nigeria. They say if you do not have funds, we have surplus funds and we will give you. It is an act of friendship and it has to be accepted and that is why the president said that China is a friend of Nigeria, because we are trying to rebuild our infrastructure. The infrastructure he met when he was here in the 70s were good and the president’s vision is for us to return or do better than that and if you look at the money involved, you are talking about tens of billions of dollars to build up our railways across Nigeria, our highways and power sector and the Chinese have said they would support that. That is fine, nothing against it.

However, like I said, it does not mean that our own people should not do the work. After all, it is not an end on itself, it is to create jobs. So, if the jobs have gone away, what are we doing? I think we have a responsibility to do that. The other side of this is that, for those people who should get expatriate quotas, there should be transparency in issuing it. That’s ease of doing business so that we are not having immigration officers and immigration people basically having unclear rules on who gets what and not.

Let it be published, let everybody know when you will be qualified or not and I think that Nigeria must become a country of transparency, because transparency empowers the citizens to regulate and ask their government to be more accountable and I say this with all due respect to the organs of government that we owe you a duty to be accountable, because without information, how would you do it, or if I can refuse to give you something you rightly deserve, because somehow, you rightfully criticise me?

To know when you qualify, there have to be rules to know how long it takes for an approval to come out and what you need to provide, so you look through your own checklist and say that I have ticked everything which is why it

requires work and work is ongoing What is the government doing about the rejection of our export especially by Europe and US? One of the things about trade export in particular, is that like, we live in a world where you have to be competitive and you have to give the world acceptable products, everybody has a right to export without sort of meeting the baseline. That is one point.

The second point is that there is also a lot of gamesmanship that goes on, what they call non-tariff barrels, where they come up with barriers to trade, where they come up with rules. We have to be proactive in engagement.

Trade is about engagement which is why we need our trade experts to engage our markets. Markets are not impassible and they will point out what is wrong, but I believe that it is that engagement that leads to the successes. So I think the thing to understand is that it is more trade engagement, more negotiation. It is not a matter of being passive and the government has some role as well as the quality assurance certification bodies have a role to make sure that what we are exporting meets standards; which is why we are launching some more and there is a lot of work going on in that area.

Why are we yet to see a vigorous made in Nigeria campaign by government?

One interesting thing about the order three is that; recently we launched the made-in-Nigeria campaign because it is about consumption and not coercion, to sensitise our people to utilise more Nigerian products; but like they say, charity begins at home. We as a government, we have to live by example.

In living by example, the acting President issued executive order 3 which is on public procurement; which is that 40 per cent of our public procurement of goods and services must be locally produced, and I think that the demand would spur more production let our people have more demand and I have a feeling that production would ramp up to it.

The campaign is still in early days and it is a long one that we want to look back and say that we are proudly Nigerian, because Nigerians are innovative, when you give them the chance, they grow and get better.

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Shittu Calls for Regulation of Outsourcing Solomon Elusoji The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has described the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sub-sector as an emerging, green field in Nigeria, which has the potential to grow the economy by more than 10 per cent and create an estimated one million jobs, if well harnessed.

The minister made the remarks at the Association of Outsourcing Professionals of Nigeria’s (AOPN) Outsourcing Conference and Expo held in Lagos, recently.

To harness the potential, Shittu noted that it was pertinent to open up the sub-sector for business activities to flourish by providing proper guidelines that will regulate the conduct of the players.

“Setting global standards for any activity involves provision of a level playing field through a very focussed policy, regulation and legal framework, which we believe must be developed through elaborate consultations with all stakeholders

and factoring in global best practices,” he said.

The minister also said that the federal government would support the outsourcing industry in every way possible, referencing Nigeria’s collaboration with South Korea for the adoption and implementation of egovernance as one of the steps it is taking to help the sector prosper.

The South Korea collaboration “is on its final lap of the race,” he said, adding “a master-plan to serve as the national working document to guide the process, which is now before the Federal Executive Council, has been created.

“I hope within the next four weeks, we will get the final approval. As soon as it is approved, e-governance activities will commence in earnest and, in the process, business outsourcing opportunities will begin to emerge”, he added.

Meanwhile, the AOPN President, Dr. Austin Nweze has pleaded with the government to provide support for the sector

due to its inherent gargantuan economic opportunities.

“Outsourcing cuts across every facet of the economy,” he said. “In the early 1990s, India was declared bankrupt by the World Bank, but outsourcing saved the day. We are ready to work with the government,” he added.

The AOPN Conference, which was themed: “Setting Global Standard for Outsourcing in Nigeria,” featured several engaging speakers and industry thought leaders.

The Group Managing Director of Custodian and Allied Plc., Mr. Wale Oshin, who was the keynote speaker, observed that for outsourcing to thrive, the problem of infrastructure has to be solved and a pool of skilled workers must be formed.

Other speakers were the Chief Executive Officer of RTC Advisory Services, Opeyemi Agbaje; Managing Partner at AEC Legal, Mr. Anu Eso; a General Manager at MTN, Mr. Kolawole Oyeyemi and the CEO of Advantage Projects, Helen Emore.

Heritage Bank Reiterates Commitment to Empower NYSC Members Heritage Bank Plc has restated its commitment to support National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) members and young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses as a start-up or prospective business owners.

The MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo disclosed this during the Leadership Development Programme for Corps members organised

by Guardians of the Nation International (GOTNI), nationwide.

The bank is currently in partnership with GOTNI, a capacity building organisation to present leadership programmes in all the NYSC Orientation camps in the 36 States.

According to a statement, the MD in a message to the corp members said “the partnership was a demonstration of Heritage

Bank’s commitment to using financial inclusion to boost entrepreneurship development, which is critical to our mission to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.”

He explained that Heritage Bank’s various entrepreneur schemes in the support for business had always focused on dependable job-creating sectors, such as agricultural value chain (fish farming, poultry, snail farming), cottage industry, mining and solid minerals, creative industry (tourism, arts and crafts), and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Sekibo restated that the aim of Heritage Bank being in the forefront of youth empowerment was to emancipate the latent entrepreneurial spirit in the teeming youths.

“At Heritage, nothing else is more fulfilling than to groom-to-empower young aspiring start-up entrepreneurs, as we mentor them to grow and become large corporates enlisted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

“In recent times, we have worked with NYSC and the Central Bank of Nigeria to support youth Corp members and young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses as a start-up or prospective business owners.

“As a timeless wealth partner, we are here today to support you in your endeavours and empower and hold you, hand-inhand, thereby providing timely quality business support services for promising and better future after your service year,” he explained.

IMF Harps on Increased Spending on Education, Health Sectors A latest research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has shown that health and education spending have typically been protected in lowincome country programmes.

In fact, an analysis of more than 25 years of data (1988–2014), according to the fund, suggested that public health spending, as a share of GDP, has on average remained unchanged, while public education spending has increased by 0.32 percentage points.

The findings, the IMF stated, underscored its strong commitment to protect health and education spending and the most vulnerable during challenging economic reforms.

“Indeed, in many countries with IMF-supported programs— from Tanzania, to Honduras, to the Kyrgyz Republic—per capita public spending on health and education has significantly outpaced the growth of per capita income.

“Safeguarding social spending

is critical because women, young people, seniors, and the poor often lack the political leverage to promote their economic well-being.

“By protecting the health and skills of vulnerable groups, growth will be stronger, more durable, and more inclusive,” the Fund added.

It pointed out that last year, it extended zero interest rates on all IMF concessional lending to help low-income countries deal with future shocks and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

But cheaper financing alone is not enough to ensure more durable and inclusive growth, the IMF stated.

The success of low-income country programs increasingly depends on two key factors—minimum levels of government spending on health, education, and social safety nets; and specific reform measures to protect vulnerable groups.

“Our data indicate that

minimum financing levels were included in virtually all low-income country programs, and that more than two-thirds of these program targets were met.

“In other IMF-supported programs, measures were taken to strengthen social safety nets.

“More broadly, IMFsupported programs have helped boost social spending by unlocking additional donor financing and by encouraging tax reforms that create stronger and more reliable sources of government revenue.

“We also provide hands-on technical assistance in this area, helping more than 130 countries per year to generate higher public revenue that can be used for fresh investment in hospitals, schools, and poverty reduction.

“I am glad to say that the Fund’s work has made a difference in low-income countries in recent years, which has been acknowledged across our membership,” it added.

Shittu

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 8 JUNE 2017 The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $45.78 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $46.78 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), 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

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MARKET NEWS

Total Promises to Grow Business, Market Share in Nigeria Goddy Egene Nosa Alekhuogie Total Nigeria Plc has restated its commitment to growing its business in Nigeria in particular and Africa at large.

The Chairman of Total Nigeria Mr. Stanislas Mittelman stated this at the 2016 annual general meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

According to him, the company

has no intention to withdraw it business from Nigeria or Africa, explaining that Africa and France constitute Total’s core business activities especially the downstream business.

He therefore, assured stakeholders that the company would continue to invest in the Nigeria and African businesses to grow its market share and boost profitability.

T H E MAIN BOARD Activity Summary on Board DEBT Federal Bond Name 15.54% FGN FEB 2020 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 Federal Totals DEBT Board Totals Bond Activity Totals 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. JOHN HOLT PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. Building Construction Totals 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 Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals 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 FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES 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. JAIZ 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 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Micro-Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

DEALS

MARKET PRICE

“Some international competitors made strong choices years ago to withdraw from Nigeria for most of them to raise loan from Africa. As far as Total is concerned, we made an opposite strategy, we keep investing in Africa.

Today Africa is, of course with France, a core of our business especially the downstream business. Our

N I G E R I A N QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

No. of Deals 1 1 2 2 2

Current Price 98.7 135

Quantity Traded 105 100 205 205 205

Value Traded 103,815.41 137,197.80 241,013.21 241,013.21 241,013.21

No. of Deals 11 4 15 No. of Deals 5 5 20

Current Price 44.18 46

Quantity Traded 41,208 5,201 46,409 Quantity Traded 153,470 153,470 199,879

Value Traded 1,887,024.20 240,161.40 2,127,185.60 Value Traded 119,266.60 119,266.60 2,246,452.20

Current Price 0.78

No. of Deals 1 1 4 56 48 110 110

Current Price 0.78 0.66 3.77 0.78 15.1

Quantity Traded 100 500 10,000 4,840,952 350,363 5,201,915 5,201,915

Value Traded 78 315 35,900.00 3,807,735.66 5,054,510.34 8,898,539.00 8,898,539.00

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 5 5 No. of Deals 65 65 71

Current Price 4.79

Quantity Traded 200 200 Quantity Traded 10,272 10,272 Quantity Traded 1,656,711 1,656,711 1,667,183

Value Traded 958 958 Value Traded 375,647.04 375,647.04 Value Traded 3,493,667.49 3,493,667.49 3,870,272.53

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 3 64 7 208 282 No. of Deals 18 18 No. of Deals 33 22 32 15 11 113 No. of Deals 25 98 123 No. of Deals 14 14 No. of Deals 26 17 43 594

Current Price 0.5

Quantity Traded 100,000 100,000 Quantity Traded 5,160 288,915 51,123 1,386,914 1,732,112 Quantity Traded 6,947 6,947 Quantity Traded 616,050 345,909 84,482 1,028,600 117,500 2,192,541 Quantity Traded 136,880 133,592 270,472 Quantity Traded 140,811 140,811 Quantity Traded 203,505 43,451 246,956 4,689,839

Value Traded 50,000.00 50,000.00 Value Traded 11,558.40 17,613,098.61 801,955.76 156,078,414.27 174,505,027.04 Value Traded 675,390.11 675,390.11 Value Traded 2,410,595.00 2,125,832.90 1,491,827.07 1,128,310.00 833,010.00 7,989,574.97 Value Traded 1,172,206.13 79,110,103.35 80,282,309.48 Value Traded 289,850.97 289,850.97 Value Traded 2,596,373.80 1,424,799.57 4,021,173.37 267,813,325.94

No. of Deals 167 26 27 69 219 24 1,530 73 33 1 1 2,170 No. of Deals 9 6 2 2 5 1 2 1 2 1 2 33 No. of Deals 1 2 3 No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 31 16 1 68 6 132 254

Current Price 6.6 0.86 9.8 0.84 23.8 1.31 0.7 4.8 4.9 0.83 0.5

Quantity Traded 11,476,994 1,149,393 58,189 8,142,068 20,039,315 1,081,695 25,994,229 5,772,233 251,225 350 800 73,966,491 Quantity Traded 214,682 503,100 200 3,000 44,144 900 5,100 1,000 401,000 1,000 384 1,174,510 Quantity Traded 1,000 25,100 26,100 Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000 Quantity Traded 450,576 325,400 1,000 3,530,043 12,830 8,474,959 12,794,808

Value Traded 76,018,367.81 990,711.98 560,377.50 6,806,919.19 477,105,071.95 1,417,729.20 18,222,090.30 27,705,413.04 1,185,050.41 276.5 408 610,012,415.88 Value Traded 126,611.20 530,295.00 100 4,770.00 36,196.64 450 2,550.00 500 200,500.00 500 192 902,664.84 Value Traded 2,700.00 27,111.00 29,811.00 Value Traded 1,440.00 1,440.00 Value Traded 1,399,304.19 1,084,759.00 500 4,689,332.14 211,696.60 31,174,405.94 38,559,997.87

Current Price 34.83 Current Price 2.12

Current Price 2.35 60.92 16.15 117.5 Current Price 106.5 Current Price 4.1 6.1 18 1.1 7.03 Current Price 9 600 Current Price 2.08 Current Price 12.16 34

Current Price 0.59 1.05 0.5 1.59 0.79 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Current Price 2.58 1.08 Current Price 1.47 Current Price 3.05 3.32 0.5 1.31 17 3.7

ambition is not to withdraw or divest but to grow with all our strength.

Mittelman disclosed that the company is presently developing its solar business with ambition to cover all the different parts of solar business.

“We are selling Awango lamps to individual customers we have sold more than 300,000 lamps in the last two years.

STO C K

We target at reaching 400,000 lamps at the end of 2017. We are also looking at developing solar into a big business, helping our industrial customers to develop solar solutions hybrid together with their existing power generation system either electricity system or generator, we are identified that as a major act of development of our business,” he said.

Mittelman informed the shareholders that the company would continue to invest in its lubricant facilities as well as improve the depots and logistics. Although he said 2017 would be a challenging year, he assured them the company would continue to grow in all indices for enhanced shareholders’ value and improve its customer service delivery.

E XC H A N G E

MAIN BOARD FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals Processing Systems CHAMS PLC Processing Systems Totals ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC MEYER PLC. LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals Packaging/Containers BETA GLASS PLC. GREIF NIGERIA PLC Packaging/Containers Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals NATURAL RESOURCES Metals ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. Metals Totals NATURAL RESOURCES 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. MRS OIL NIGERIA 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 Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC Advertising Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals Hotels/Lodging TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. Printing/Publishing Totals Transport-Related Services NEWREST ASL NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC C & I LEASING PLC. Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES Totals EQTY Board Totals Daily Summary (Equities) Activity Summary on Board ASeM FINANCIAL SERVICES Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services OMOLUABI MORTGAGE BANK PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES 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

2,461 No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 13 12 4 6 2 37 38

Current Price 0.5

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 1 1 2

Current Price 1.3

No. of Deals 7 2 7 11 1 20 48 No. of Deals 15 15 No. of Deals 3 1 4 67

Current Price 11.25 6.08 29.6 4.28 0.87 42

Current Price 1.01 14.75 1 0.66 1.95

Current Price 0.5

Current Price 1.45 Current Price 36.45 9.69

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

87,962,909

649,506,329.59

Quantity Traded 738,000 738,000 Quantity Traded 5,177,490 110,135 5,015 11,000 900 5,304,540 6,042,540

Value Traded 369,000.00 369,000.00 Value Traded 5,178,570.00 1,551,318.88 4,770.10 7,063.20 1,836.00 6,743,558.18 7,112,558.18

Quantity Traded 2,438 2,438 Quantity Traded 100,000 100,000 102,438

Value Traded 3,023.12 3,023.12 Value Traded 50,000.00 50,000.00 53,023.12

Quantity Traded 11,405 2,997 1,215,127 141,429 300 23,390 1,394,648 Quantity Traded 792,168 792,168 Quantity Traded 70,030 100 70,130 2,256,946

Value Traded 130,100.00 17,322.66 35,970,022.30 604,431.24 249 987,177.40 37,709,302.60 Value Traded 1,142,840.30 1,142,840.30 Value Traded 2,552,593.50 1,016.00 2,553,609.50 41,405,752.40

No. of Deals 1 1 1

Current Price 9.75

Quantity Traded 2,000 2,000 2,000

Value Traded 18,540.00 18,540.00 18,540.00

No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals 76 76 No. of Deals 16 20 229 20 1 16 302 No. of Deals 2 2 382

Current Price 0.5

Quantity Traded 18,000 18,000 Quantity Traded 1,722,434 1,722,434 Quantity Traded 35,100 284,436 905,220 12,017 100 8,826 1,245,699 Quantity Traded 5,150 5,150 2,991,283

Value Traded 9,000.00 9,000.00 Value Traded 8,234,046.51 8,234,046.51 Value Traded 1,190,988.64 886,497.72 56,399,639.77 3,215,511.70 3,708.00 2,400,901.12 64,097,246.95 Value Traded 2,045,501.50 2,045,501.50 74,385,794.96

Quantity Traded 55,000 55,000 Quantity Traded 575 29,090 29,665 Quantity Traded 1,000 13,000 14,000 Quantity Traded 500 1,000 1,500 Quantity Traded 101,050 46,801 147,851 Quantity Traded 274,973 1,000 275,973 523,989 111,640,921

Value Traded 27,500.00 27,500.00 Value Traded 2,645.75 26,607.80 29,253.55 Value Traded 3,550.00 61,623.60 65,173.60 Value Traded 355 2,190.00 2,545.00 Value Traded 275,866.50 114,662.45 390,528.95 Value Traded 242,233.86 500 242,733.86 757,734.96 1,056,068,322.88

No. of Deals 1 1 No. of Deals 2 3 5 No. of Deals 1 3 4 No. of Deals 1 1 2 No. of Deals 7 6 13 No. of Deals 14 1 15 40 3,786

Current Price 4.71 Current Price 35.49 3.24 62.5 275.99 39.03 270 Current Price 380

Current Price 0.5 Current Price 4.4 0.91 Current Price 3.65 4.98 Current Price 0.68 2.19 Current Price 2.73 2.57 Current Price 0.9 0.5

No. of Deals 1 1 1 1

Current Price 0.9

Quantity Traded 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000

Value Traded 90,000.00 90,000.00 90,000.00 90,000.00

No. of Deals 279 279 No. of Deals 140 140 419

Current Price 15.01

Quantity Traded 48,467,690 48,467,690 Quantity Traded 1,684,690 1,684,690 50,152,380

Value Traded 727,624,234.12 727,624,234.12 Value Traded 5,345,599.68 5,345,599.68 732,969,833.80

No. of Deals 10 10 10 429 4,216

Current Price 169

Quantity Traded 45,766 45,766 45,766 50,198,146 161,939,067

Value Traded 7,736,239.30 7,736,239.30 7,736,239.30 740,706,073.10 1,796,864,395.98

Current Price 3.2

34

˾ MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Mutual Benefits Pays N3.3bn Claims, Grows Underwritten Income to N11bn

Goddy Egene Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc paid a total of N3.3billion in 2016, up 43 per cent from N2.3 billion paid in 2015.

The company explained at the weekend that the claims payment was in line with its “firm commitment to honouring its obligations and delighting our customers, while improving customer service excellence.”

Mutual Benefits Assurance grew its underwriting income by 27 per cent from N8.3 billion to N10.7 billion despite

the challenging economy and consumer apathy towards insurance. This, according to the organisation, was achieved through its improved risk retention policy. Its underwriting profit (non-life and life) rose from N3.619 billion in 2015 to N4.1 billion in 2016.

A few months back the organisation in conjunction with KPMG embarked on a strategic roadmap for the next five years, aimed at repositioning the company for future opportunities and challenges.

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

Chairman of the company, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi told shareholders that Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc was strategically focussing on developing innovative customer-centric products, increasing market share and concentration on core insurance business.

Ogunbiyi said that gradual divestment from non-core insurance businesses allowed the company to grow its businesses, manage profitability in a difficult business environment and advance key strategic

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 08Jun-2017, unless otherwise stated

initiatives.

“To re-position the Group for further opportunities and challenges, in Q2 of 2016 the board directed an analysis of the company’s strategy and structure, incorporating the best insight from within the group, KPMG consultants, as well as invaluable contribution from the board of directors.

The result is a new strategic roadmap to be implemented from Q4 2016. The themes of strategic thrust are to deepen market penetration / customer acquisition; embed customer and service

delivery excellence; transform people and culture; and drive operational effectiveness,” he said.

The chairman noted that the bedrock of this strategic direction was the leverage on disruptive technology – use of electronic decision tools across all businesses.

Also speaking at a forum to mark the 21st anniversary of the company, Ogunbiyi acknowledged that it is going to be tough no doubt but assured that with the trust in the knowledge, professionalism and

dedication of its stakeholders and staff they will be able to realise their vision of taking the company to the top of the industry in a recessed economy.

“This year must witness a remarkable shift in the way we do things. Our words and actions must be influenced by our strategic aspirations.

There must be transparency, open enhanced teamwork, trust, effective communication and dialogue, well intentioned and conscientious execution of roles and sharper clarity,” 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 161.15 162.19 27.05% Nigeria International Debt Fund 223.88 225.29 5.59% 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 0.75 0.76 7.09% 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 18.88% 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 15.44 15.90 25.04% ARM Discovery Fund 337.28 347.45 17.45% ARM Ethical Fund 24.16 24.89 8.13% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 16.28% 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 134.70 135.64 28.06% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.48% 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 11.04 11.33 17.99% Women's Investment Fund 89.99 93.08 6.83% 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 18.86% 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 1,080.18 1,081.31 6.84% FBN Heritage Fund 130.71 131.72 17.20% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 19.78% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $109.13 $109.51 5.84% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $108.49 $108.88 5.96% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 141.56 143.56 25.70% 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 1.22 1.24 30.85% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.75 2.75 6.90% 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 2,440.98 2,473.30 10.58% Coral Income Fund 2,261.13 2,261.13 7.45% 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 16.72% 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 17.46% Vantage Balanced Fund 1.95 1.98 16.25% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 17.64%

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 1.08 1.10 8.83% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,033.57 1,033.57 5.03% 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 12.85 12.96 32.98% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 17.13% 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 1.12 1.14 12.99% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.59 10.66 1.97% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 16.32% 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 119.32 120.35 17.22% 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 1.31 1.31 4.98% 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 2,038.85 2,050.58 11.35% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 159.30 159.30 3.47% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.91 0.92 18.83% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 199.63 199.63 6.82% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 157.71 159.88 21.52% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 18.47% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 8,808.82 8,910.33 16.15% 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 1.25 1.26 6.52% United Capital Bond Fund 1.34 1.34 13.56% United Capital Equity Fund 0.77 0.78 1.06% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.17 1.17 11.11% 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 11.82 12.04 22.09% Zenith Ethical Fund 12.54 12.68 14.66% Zenith Income Fund 17.97 17.97 8.72%

REITS

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 126.92

1.01% 2.38%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.14 95.96

10.24 97.74

15.40% 26.62%

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

3.88 7.95 15.33 19.88 129.35

3.92 8.03 15.43 20.08 131.35

40.36% 13.01% 27.30% 24.48% 0.36%

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

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CITYSTRINGS

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

The students planting trees

How to Help Save the World Solomon Elusoji and Ugo Aliogo who visited a beach along Lagos Island on World Environment Day, write about how everyone can contribute to the planet’s survival

O

n World Environment Day, this June, about five hundred children left their various classrooms and gathered at Kids Beach Garden, a sustainable beach in Lagos Island.

Together, they planted 201 trees, cleaned up the shoreline and played a variety of games.

“We wanted them to connect with nature,” the Founder of Kids Beach Garden, Ms. Doyinsola Ogunye told THISDAY. “When the children gathered and were planting their trees, it was so memorable because that’s the connection I would always love to see.”

Doyinsola is a fervent environmentalist.

She started Kids Beach Garden after realising kids were losing touch with nature. “I grew up going to Bar Beach,” she said, “but I realised that in Lagos, today, there are not so many places that children can actually play and have a good time; so many houses don’t even have a potted plant and children are very dissociated from nature; that saddened me. So I decided to reach out to people who could help me do something about that. I wrote to Paragon Holdings; they own the real estate and they gave me a license to start my nature activities.”

Ever since starting the Kids Beach Garden, she has come across more evidence to back her theory that more needs to be done to teach children about their environment.

“There was a time a child came here and

she saw a cow and she was crying. Some children are even scared of grasshoppers and dragonflies.”

In 2015, she started Kids Beach Garden, teaching school children the art of beach

The state of the environment is determined by the choices we make, which will make a significant difference if we all did something, and the World Environment Day is geared towards bringing these issues to the fore...

Developing countries seem to be waking up to environmental issues and climate change, and it is time to put Nigeria on the map as we push towards greener societies

cleaning, planting coconut trees, and lecturing them on environmental issues like coastal erosion. “The best thing is to catch them in their formative years, so that they understand these things and pass it on to generations unborn,” she said.

The World Environment Day event was one of the Kids Beach Garden’s activities with school children and it was supported

by Visionscape, an environmental utility company. “Funding has been a challenge, but more importantly, it is the fact that a lot of people do not understand the reason why we should actually do these things, they don’t understand that without nature we are nothing,” Doyinsola, a lawyer who was called to the bar in 2012, said.

Connecting with nature For those who pay attention to reports from the scientific world, it is no more news that planet earth is sinking into oblivion, constantly clubbed in the face by the devious actions of carbon emitting, wasteful homo-sapiens.

Recently, the United States pulled out of the Paris Agreement, a deal that was famously declared as the contract that was going to save the homo species from extinction by reducing the rate of carbon emissions and pursuing a greener climate.

In 1974, the United Nations, aware of the need to protect and improve on the environment, designated June 5 as World

Environment Day. According to the diplomatic body’s website, “the celebration of this day provides us with an opportunity to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in preserving and enhancing the environment.”

Each World Environment Day is organised around a theme that focuses attention on a particularly pressing environmental concern.

The theme for 2017 was ‘Connecting People to Nature’ and it “urges us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to think about how we are part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. It challenges us to find fun and exciting ways to experience and cherish this vital relationship.”

Although the host country for the World Environment Day, this year, was Canada, the celebration was marked across the world, including in Nigeria.

“The state of the environment is determined by the choices we make, which will make a significant difference if we all did something, and the World Environment Day is geared towards bringing these issues to the fore,” the Chief Executive Officer of Visionscape, John Irvine, said. “Developing countries seem to be waking up to environmental issues and climate change, and it is time to put Nigeria on the map as we push towards greener societies.”

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CITYSTRINGS

Ogunye...teaching children to connect with nature

The students cleaning up the beach The company is also set to deploy Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology on its bins, which will be distributed across individual homes in the state.

“The RFID tech will feed us with information on the level of waste in each bins and let us know when to deploy trucks to empty them,” Elias said. “We are looking for ways to make waste management more efficient. What we have been doing for the past 18 months or so is getting to know Lagos properly.

“I think it is safe to say we have touched all corners of Lagos now, engaging with the people and the community, knowing what people’s needs are,” she said. “We have planned our operations down to ward level, since that is the lowest level of community governance in Lagos. We have made considerations for literally every streets in Lagos; there are some streets in Lagos Island you can’t even drive a bus into, talk less of a truck; for such kinds of streets, we will make available nimble tricycles. We have mapped out black spots, places where people are fond of dumping waste; we have identified over 200 of those. In a couple of week, we will start to clean up those spots for the next three months; and then we will start to place bins in individual homes.”

Visionscape, which partnered with Kids Beach Gardens to mark the World Environment Day on Lagos Island, is one of few agile companies attempting to maximise mankind’s ability to safeguard the environment from industrial hazard, through the promotion of turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment. The company is especially focused on implementing an “integrated waste management system that maximises the unique opportunity of generating sustainable and renewable energy resources, while making a positive impact that is beneficial to our customers, the communities we serve, and the environment.” Recently, Visionscape signed an agreement with the Lagos State Government, the administrator of one of the most populated cities in the world, to help manage its waste.

The cleaner Lagos initiative Lagos is one of 26 megacities in the world.

Largely due to a population surge caused by mass immigration and rising per capita income, the amount of waste generated in the city grows exponentially. While exact figures are unavailable, the current level of waste is colossal. With a population of about 22 million, vigorous levels of economic activities and consumption, it is estimated that approximately 13,000 tons of waste is generated daily.

Until recently, the state did not have a sustainable waste management plan. But the present administration is attempting to change the state’s notorious waste problem.

“As much progress as we have made in Lagos State in the areas of economic development, security, improved infrastructure and other achievements, many will agree that we are lagging in one area and that is environmental pollution and cleanliness,” the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, said recently. “We must acknowledge the environmental degradation that plagues the state and the urgent need for a world class comprehensive waste management system that addresses this crucial quality of life issue.”

The governor went on to launch the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), a move which he described as “a holistic approach to address the inefficiencies in our current system and identify, develop and implement concepts and solutions that address the challenges we face with unsafe sources of water, food and energy, climate change, air pollution, improper waste management practices, and our debilitating utilities infrastructure.”

Under the CLI, according to Ambode, the commercial sector will be serviced by licensed waste management operators while an environmental consortium will provide waste collection, processing and disposal

The students making the world a better place services for residential properties through a long-term concession. Over the concession period, the consortium will be deploying a large multidimensional fleet of over 20 landfill and transfer loading station management vehicles, 590 new rear-end loader compactors,

Visionscape, which partnered with Kids Beach Gardens to mark the World Environment Day on Lagos Island, is one of few agile companies attempting to maximise mankind’s ability to safeguard the environment from industrial hazard, through the promotion of turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment

140 Operational vehicles and close to 900,000 new bins to all be electronically tracked and monitored by a new government unit, Public Utilities Monitoring Assurance Unit (PUMAU), which is under the Ministry of Environment.

The consortium will also be expected to run a 24-hour operation at the transfer loading stations and the landfills which will undoubtedly address many of the operational challenges previously experienced.

The environmental consortium selected by the Lagos State Government was Visionscape, after they reached an agreement earlier in the year.

Speaking at the World Environment Day event held on Lagos Island, Head, Corporate Communications, Visionscape, Motunrayo Elias, noted that the agreement, which is to last for 10 years, would see the company introduce “a complete integrated waste management system in the state.”

“The principle of waste management in the developed world is that the least amount of waste should end up in the landfill; this means you should reuse, reduce and recycle.

And that’s the sort of system we are bringing in to Lagos,” she said. “We want to open up the value chain and let people understand that there needs to be a rethinking about waste management.”

Saving the world On many levels, the partnership between the Lagos State Government and Visionscape is a valuable one. According to one interesting statistic from Worldwatch Institute, a globally focused environmental research organisation based in Washington D.C., billions of plastic bags are made each year. Of these bags, one hundred billion are thrown away, with less than one percent finding their way into a recycle bin. The end result of this is, around one billion birds and mammals dying each year by the ingestion of plastic.

So, it is high time governments across Nigeria emulate the port city and pilot initiatives that place premium on securing the integrity of the environment. This is an idea Doyinsola believes in. “My father likes to call me a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,” she said, “but I tell him I am a Senior Advocate of Nature.

I always tell people that the environment will survive without human beings, but we cannot survive without the environment. So we are not doing the environment a favour by taking good care of it.”

Her evangelism for a greener world has led her to put people she knows behind prison bars, after they mutilated her plants.

“Everything in nature has value and there are legal consequences for such acts, globally,” she points out, “People have to know that the environment is for all of us and everybody should come out to take care of it.”

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Nigeria’s top 50 stocks based on market fundamentals

9-Jun-17

01 Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd

8-Jun-17

% Change

Capitalisation

EPS

468.56

425.00

10.25%

02 Forte Oil Plc.

64.30

58.33

10.23%

83,749,534,922.90

03 International Breweries Plc

32.23

29.24

10.23%

04 Cadbury Nigeria Plc

15.67

14.22

05 Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

20.65

06 Fidson Healthcare Plc

P/S

Div. Yld

Price/ Book Value

-5.71

4.09

3.40%

0.69

2.22

28.97

0.56

5.37%

1.93

106,173,654,294.40

0.02

1,430.41

3.99

0.78%

9.68

10.20%

29,431,425,966.80

-0.16

-99.30

0.98

8.30%

2.66

18.74

10.19%

24,694,849,477.20

3.51

5.88

1.72

1.45%

1.45

2.86

2.60

10.00%

4,290,000,000.00

0.21

13.54

0.56

1.75%

0.65

07 Honeywell Flour Mill Plc

1.98

1.80

10.00%

15,701,791,362.84

-0.40

-4.90

0.33

8.08%

0.47

08 Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc

1.52

1.39

9.35%

58,855,916,086.00

-0.03

-52.22

0.99

0.00%

0.68

09 Sterling Bank Plc

1.06

0.97

9.28%

30,517,843,213.56

0.18

5.91

0.27

8.49%

0.36

10.11

9.30

8.71%

26,785,822,001.58

0.91

11.09

1.46

5.44%

3.33

11 Fidelity Bank Plc

1.42

1.32

7.58%

41,126,871,682.64

0.39

3.67

0.27

11.27%

0.22

12 FCMB Group Plc

1.41

1.32

6.82%

27,921,822,201.21

0.72

1.95

0.16

7.09%

0.16

13 FBN Holdings Plc

7.00

6.62

5.74%

251,267,049,544.00

0.21

33.74

0.47

2.14%

0.40

14 PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc

21.95

20.79

5.58%

21,950,000,000.00

5.69

3.86

1.53

0.46%

0.59

15 Presco Plc

62.50

59.53

4.99%

248,154,815,312.50

0.03

2,137.50

3.48

2.08%

5.93

16 Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc

9.76

9.30

4.95%

117,120,000,000.00

1.20

8.14

0.69

5.12%

1.77

17 Cement Co. Of North.Nig. Plc

6.62

6.31

4.91%

8,319,206,810.92

0.22

30.24

0.75

1.51%

0.77

39.80

38.00

4.74%

52,536,000,000.00

-2.89

-13.76

0.38

3.77%

0.75

19 Continental Reinsurance Plc

1.33

1.27

4.72%

13,795,749,934.96

0.42

3.17

0.62

9.02%

0.74

20 Unity Bank Plc

0.71

0.68

4.41%

8,299,429,938.82

0.19

3.80

0.10

0.00%

0.10

21 Diamond Bank Plc

1.44

1.38

4.35%

33,350,960,113.92

-0.29

-4.90

0.16

0.00%

0.15

22 Skye Bank Plc

0.53

0.51

3.92%

7,356,559,747.30

-2.93

-0.18

0.04

56.60%

0.07

23 Wema Bank Plc

0.55

0.53

3.77%

21,215,956,344.55

0.07

8.19

0.39

0.00%

0.44

54.00

52.64

2.58%

245,964,697,740.00

3.71

14.56

1.12

5.56%

0.99

25 AIICO Insurance Plc

0.56

0.55

1.82%

3,880,914,508.80

1.48

0.38

0.14

8.93%

0.45

26 United Bank for Africa Plc

9.00

8.84

1.81%

326,515,736,898.00

1.99

4.52

0.85

6.67%

0.73

27 Mansard Insurance Plc

2.32

2.29

1.31%

24,360,000,000.00

0.25

9.24

1.18

2.16%

1.21

28 Access Bank Plc

10.40

10.27

1.27%

300,850,904,962.40

13.18

0.79

0.79

5.29%

0.66

29 Zenith Bank Plc

20.70

20.46

1.17%

649,907,421,370.20

4.13

5.01

1.28

8.70%

0.92

30 Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

12.66

12.54

0.96%

232,305,318,381.90

0.68

18.72

0.40

4.90%

0.37

282.00

279.50

0.89%

95,745,158,034.00

43.58

6.47

0.33

4.96%

4.06

32 Cap Plc

37.80

37.71

0.24%

26,460,000,000.00

2.29

16.50

3.88

3.04%

11.59

33 7-Up Bottling Comp. Plc

94.54

94.54

0.00%

60,561,412,918.02

-0.05 -2,069.84

0.65

2.33%

2.73

205.00

205.00

0.00%

3,493,304,018,025.00

10.95

18.72

5.68

3.90%

4.38

35 Guinness Nig Plc

73.00

73.00

0.00%

109,929,837,724.00

-3.06

-23.87

1.06

4.38%

2.79

36 Nestle Nigeria Plc

964.00

964.00

0.00%

764,120,626,928.00

10.00

96.42

4.20

3.01%

24.75

60.63

60.63

0.00%

57,835,563,300.00

5.15

11.78

4.03

0.16%

3.40

38 Resort Savings & Loans Plc

0.50

0.50

0.00%

5,664,866,202.00

0.03

17.71

3.72

0.00%

1.94

39 Stanbic IBTCÂ Holdings Plc

29.00

29.00

0.00%

290,000,000,000.00

2.85

10.17

1.85

0.34%

2.06

40 Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

33.50

33.55

-0.15%

985,944,504,004.00

4.49

7.45

2.38

5.28%

1.95

41 U A C NÂ Plc

18.48

18.53

-0.27%

35,497,573,871.76

3.37

5.48

0.47

5.41%

0.47

42 Nigerian Breweries Plc

156.00

156.50

-0.32%

1,236,939,738,528.00

3.58

43.53

3.94

2.31%

7.46

43 Mobil Oil Nig Plc

285.86

287.00

-0.40%

103,079,761,595.32

22.61

12.64

1.10

2.52%

4.80

35.55

36.00

-1.25%

134,496,181,687.50

0.81

43.78

1.93

0.14%

11.51

45 Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc

3.20

3.25

-1.54%

5,197,500,000.00

0.36

8.95

0.65

6.25%

0.80

46 Oando Plc

8.37

8.52

-1.76%

100,729,760,142.78

0.29

28.83

0.22

8.96%

0.52

47 Wapic Insurance Plc

0.51

0.53

-3.77%

6,825,196,508.52

0.18

2.83

0.87

5.88%

0.41

27.60

28.80

-4.17%

72,428,946,361.20

-1.19

-23.13

0.17

7.25%

0.73

49 Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc

3.67

3.86

-4.92%

21,586,441,595.65

0.91

4.05

0.56

3.81%

0.72

50 UACN Property Development Co. Limited

2.66

2.82

-5.67%

4,571,874,986.70

-0.90

-2.95

0.72

26.32%

0.13

10 National Salt Co. Nig. Plc

18 Julius Berger Nig. Plc

24 Lafarge Africa Plc

31 Total Nigeria Plc

34 Dangote Cement Plc

37 Okomu Oil Palm Plc

44 Unilever Nigeria Plc

48 Flour Mills Nig. Plc

259,259,080,259.28 -82.02

P/E

TOTAL

10,886,578,295,489.10

TOTAL MARKET CAP

11,503,932,152,713.60

% OF MARKET CAP Annotation - MA* = Simple Moving Average

94.63%

Table 1 Market Statistics Mkt Indicators

Open 8-Jun-17

NSE All Share Index NSE Market Cap (N'Trillion)

32,937.98 11.39

33,276.68 11.50

1.03 1.03

138.36 10.77

139.82 10.89

1.06 1.06

Thisday BGL 50 Index Thisday BGL 50 Market Cap (N'Trillion)

Close 9-Jun-17

Change %

Table 3 Top 5 Gainers Stock

Open 8-Jun-17

Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd Forte Oil Plc. International Breweries Plc Cadbury Nigeria Plc Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig. Plc

425.00 58.33 29.24 14.22 18.74

Close 9-Jun-17

Change %

468.56 64.30 32.23 15.67 20.65

10.25 10.23 10.23 10.20 10.19

Table 4 Top 5 Losers Stock

Open 8-Jun-17

UACN Property Development Co. Limited Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc Flour Mills Nig. Plc Wapic Insurance Plc Oando Plc

Close Change 9-Jun-17 %

2.82

2.66

-5.67

3.86

3.67

-4.92

28.80 0.53 8.52

27.60 0.51 8.37

-4.17 -3.77 -1.76

NSE ASI gains with 1.03% as financial industry tops active sectors.

Market pulse on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today – Friday, June 9th, 2017 ended on a positive note as the stock market closed green. This was further highlighted by positive performance from the NSE Subsectors: Banking, Insurance, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas. Also, trading activities increased in volume as 686.30m shares worth of N6.07 billion in 6,785 deals exchanged hands today.

This is an increase from 528.69m shares worth of N4.84 billion in 5,603 deals which exchanged hands on Thursday. Topping in volume terms are: Access Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Diamond Bank Plc; Access Bank Plc and Dangote Cement Plc ended trading as the most active stocks in value terms.

Brent crude oil price today settles at US$48.15 per barrel.

The All Share Index (NSEASI) closed positive with 1.03% (+338.70) increase to close at 33,276.68 from 32,937.98 the previous trading day. Market capitalization appreciated in tandem to N11.50 trillion from N11.39 trillion of prior trading day.

Similarly, the Thisday BGL 50 Index closes with an increase of 1.06% to 139.82 from 138.36 recorded at the end of the previous trading day, while its market capitalization stood at N10.89 trillion from N10.77 trillion of the previous trading day.

Market breath closed positive today as 44 stocks gained on the bourse while 17 stocks also declined, leaving 51stocks unchanged. Topping the Thisday BGL 50 Index gainers’ list Seplat Petroleum Dev. Co. Ltd as it emerged as the day’s toast of investors with a gain of 10.25% to close at N486.56 per share. It was followed by Forte Oil Plc with a gain of 10.23% to close at N64.30 per share. Others on the gainers list include: International Breweries Plc, Cadbury Nigeria Plc and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nig. Plc; while on the decliners’ list, UACN Property Development Co. Limited lead with a loss of 5.67% to close at N2.66 share. It was followed by Custodian And Allied Insurance Plc with a loss of 4.92% to close at N3.67 per share. Others on the decliners list include: Flour Mills Nig. Plc, Wapic Insurance Plc and Oando Plc. REQUIRED DISCLOSURE This report has been prepared by BGL Plc. BGL Plc does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should use this report as one of many other factors in making their investment decisions.

For more details go to www.thisdaylive.com

MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

Trump’s State Visit to Britain Put on Hold Donald Trump has told Theresa May in a phone call he does not want to go ahead with a state visit to Britain until the British public supports him coming.

The US president said he did not want to come if there were large-scale protests and his remarks in effect put the visit on hold for some time.

The call was made in recent weeks, according to a Downing Street adviser who was in the room. The statement surprised May, according to those present.

The conversation in part explains why there has been little public discussion about a visit.

May invited Trump to Britain seven days after his inauguration when she became the first foreign leader to visit him in the White House. She told a joint press conference she had extended an invitation from the Queen to Trump and his wife Melania to make a state visit later in the year and was “delighted that the president has accepted that invitation”.

Many senior diplomats, including Lord Ricketts, the former national security adviser, said the invitation was premature, but impossible to rescind once made.

Trump has named Woody Johnson, a Republican donor and owner of the New York Jets, as the new ambassador to the UK but has yet to nominate him formally. A large number of US ambassadorial positions remain unfilled worldwide largely due to the Trump team failing to make any formal nominations.

The acting US ambassador to the UK, Lewis Lukens, a career diplomat, clashed with Trump last week by praising Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, for his strong leadership over the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.

His remarks came just days after Trump criticised Khan for his response to the attack, misquoting

Macron Eyes Victory as France Elects New Parliament French voters went back to the polls on Sunday for the first round of parliamentary elections that are predicted to give President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party a commanding majority.

Macron has enjoyed a political honeymoon since he beat far-right candidate Marine Le Pen to become France’s youngest-ever president on May 7, naming a cabinet that crosses left-right lines and making an assured impression in meetings with US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

But the 39-year-old president has only done half the job. His Republique en Marche (Republic on the Move, REM) party, which he only founded 14 months ago, now needs a clear majority in the National Assembly for him to push through the reforms he promised in his campaign.

A host of opinion polls show Macron’s untested party could take 30 percent of the first-round vote, putting it on track to secure a landslide in next Sunday’s second round.

the mayor’s message to Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased presence of armed police.

Khan’s office pointed out Trump’s error later but the president responded by accusing London’s mayor of making a “pathetic excuse”. Khan then called on the UK government to cancel Trump’s invitation. No date had been fixed for the visit.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Twitter that Trump’s decision was “welcome, especially after his attack on London’s mayor & withdrawal from #ParisClimateDeal.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman said it would not comment. “We aren’t going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations. The Queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans.”

There was no immediate official response from the White House, which has yet to respond to a Guardian request for comment.

Jenna Johnson, a Washington Post reporter tweeted to say that the White House press secretary had told her the Guardian’s report was “false”; though added that the White House “won’t say when Trump plans to go to the UK”.

She also quoted White House spokesman Raj Shah in another tweet as saying: “The President has tremendous respect for Prime Minister May. That subject never came up on the call.”

The UK’s traditional effort to act as a bridge between the US and Europe has become more complex since the vote last year to leave the European Union and Trump’s support for policies that

have angered European allies.

The Foreign Office was disappointed when against its pleading Trump went ahead earlier this month with his plan to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord. The UK had lobbied hard for Trump not to take the decision, which has led to a wider break between the EU and the US. Trump had been an advocate of Brexit, and at one point seemed to want the EU to break up, but confidence has since returned to the bloc with pro-European Emmanuel Macron’s victory over far-right Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election.

Hello again … … today we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So we think it’s fair to ask people who visit us often for their help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.

I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information. Thomasine F-R. If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps to support it, our future would be much more secure.

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

Arik Secures Major Investor to Offset AMCON, Other Creditors’ Debts

Chinedu Eze The controversy rocking Nigeria’s major carrier, Arik Air, may soon be over as the shareholders are now deeply in discussion with a major investor, who would take over significant shares from the company and provide the funds to offset the debts of the airline owed to Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and other creditors.

THISDAY investigations revealed that the company interested in investing in the airline is a Middle East-based conglomerate, which has its headquarters in Dubai with interest to do business in Africa, as the continent has been projected as new bastion of hope for economic

development in the world.

Informed source told THISDAY that negotiation, which took place in London last Wednesday and Thursday, had advanced to the level that the two companies have made “headline” commitments as discussion continues.

The plank of discussion is on the shareholding and the depth of the debts, which creditors must back with evidence, and also operational conditions.

THISDAY in a telephone interview confirmed the discussion from the Chairman of Arik Air, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide.

Arumemi-Ikhide who was on a medical trip to London, said the investor has started negotiation with the shareholders of the

company and so far both parties had had fruitful discussions as negotiation continues.

Informed source also disclosed that some top government officials might be privy to the negotiation and that the Middle East-based company is the third organisation that had contacted Arik Air shareholders on partnership, including a company from the United States, which met with the shareholders 10 days ago, but the company in talks now seemed poised to invest in Africa, which is seen as the next huge economic window for investment.

THISDAY also gathered that the company, which if encouraged by the Nigerian government would build

a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility, is also interested in investing in power and agriculture in Nigeria and is in discussion with another company on investing in the power sector.

According to informed sources, the Middle East-based company has been monitoring Arik Air activities in the last two years and has seen it as strong platform to make in-road in air transport in Africa.

“We have been having discussions with investors and 10 days ago we had discussion with a US-based company, but we are having serious discussion now with this organisation, which is based in the Middle East because they have a package to invest in

Africa and take advantage of the growing economy in the region.

We have reached agreement on what I will call the sub-heads but the details will come out in our next discussion, but so far the discussion has been fruitful.

“They are interested in expanding our operations and will give us additional airplanes in addition to the six we ordered from Boeing; so we have to expand our operations throughout Africa and other international destinations with their partnership. They are eager to invest in Nigeria but, of course, with the support of the Nigerian government and they said that government support is crucial because you cannot really succeed in airline

business without government’s support and that is necessary for them to invest in Nigeria or they will take their funds to another African country,” informed source told THISDAY. THISDAY also learnt that Arik Air shareholders are putting a strong team for the next round of discussion, including Deloitte UK, Barclays Africa and UK-based law firm.

In addition to international creditors, AMCON claims that Arik Air owed it N263.7 billion, but the airline had argued that its total debt exposure, including that of international creditors and local debts amounted to N160 billion, which represents a 16.4 per cent of its value put at $3.2 billion by Deloitte UK in 2013.

Edith Unuigbe Appointed to Petralon Energy Board Petralon Energy Limited has appointed Edith Unuigbe as Non-Executive Director to the Board of Directors.

Unuigbe joined Petralon’s board after an illustrious 20-year career at the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited where she was General Counsel and Company Secretary, a role she had for 10 years.

Before assuming the role of General Counsel in 2006, she was the Company Secretary and Legal Adviser for seven years and the Head of its Legal and Commercial unit.

Unuigbe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She attended INSEAD Business School’s International Executive Programme, in France in 2009, as well as Harvard University’s Women’s Leadership Forum, in 2011 and earned a certificate from the Wharton Business School Advanced Management Programme, Pennsylvania, in 2012.

She joins Mr. Mutiu Sunmonu and Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, who are both Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the board respectively.

Sunmonu, is a former Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, with an oil and gas career spanning over 36 years in Nigeria, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Aig-Imoukhuede is the Founder and Chairman of Coronation Capital, a private equity and propriety investment firm operating out of Mauritius; President of the National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Chairman of Wapic Insurance Group, and former Managing Director of Access Bank, where he led and witnessed the transformation of the institution into one of the largest banks in Nigeria.

Commenting on her appointment Unuigbe said: “It is a privilege to be appointed to the board of an indigenous oil and gas company with such proven capacity and potential. I

Unuigbe look forward to working with the Petralon board and management team, contributing to and learning from their expertise, as we work towards the vision of increasing indigenous participation across the entire spectrum of the oil and gas value chain in Nigeria.”

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Petralon Energy, Ahonsi Unuigbe, added: “Edith has over 18 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and we are excited to be able to benefit from that strong and well-rounded experience, garnered from her many years within Nigeria’s energy sector.

We are confident that with this valuable addition, combined with the existing caliber of expertise and sound judgment from the board and leadership team, we are well on our way to superseding the goals and vision we have for Petralon Energy.”

Petralon Energy is an African exploration and production company based in Nigeria but with regional expansion plans into other African countries.

The company which has already raised over $50 million to fund its immediate growth plans, is set up to acquire, develop, and operate assets in the oil and gas sector, including, but not limited to farm-in opportunities (with indigenous and international oil companies), marginal fields, and bid rounds and concessions.

As part of its social responsibility and active community engagement strategy, aimed at fostering sustainable development, the company has pledged five per cent of its net profits to the communities where they work.

WELCOME TO OYO STATE

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo (right) being received by Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at Ibadan Airport for the wedding of the daughter of the former interim National Chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, in Ibadan... weekend Oyo State Governor’s Office

CJN Directs Sokoto CJ to Investigate Ahmadu Bello’s Grandson’s Petition Bolaji Adebiyi in Abuja The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has directed the Chief of Judge of Sokoto State, Justice Bello Abbas, to promptly investigate two petitions

by Malam Hassan Danbaba and his lawyer, Mr. Yusuf Dankofa, alleging gross misconduct by Justice Umar Sifawa of Sharia Court 1, Sokoto.

In a letter dated April 28, 2017 and signed by the Secretary of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Mr. Danladi Halilu, the CJN directed the Sokoto CJ to ensure that the Sokoto State Judicial Service Commission took necessary action on the petition.

Danbaba, a grandson of the late Sardauna Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, had filed the petition dated March 24, 2017, complaining that Sifawa mocked the Sharia court system in Sokoto State in a suit between him and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Vice Chairman (NorthWest), Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir.

Sifawa had while ruling on a motion filed by Abdulkadir,

who sued Danbaba for alleged defamation of character, issued a warrant of arrest against Danbaba.

But Danbaba filed a notice of appeal on the grounds that the court erred by issuing a summon on March 13 and March 22, 2017 giving him only two days to appear before it for his defence.

He also filed a motion on notice praying for the stay of the court’s proceedings, pending the determination of his appeal at the state High Court and asserted that the Sharia court breached his right to fair hearing and fair trial.

Temporary relief came his way, when Justice Malami Daji of the Sokoto State High Court ordered that all actions relating to the criminal charge against Danbaba at the Upper Sharia Court 1 be stayed, pending the determination of his suit against the Upper Sharia Court and Abdulkadir.

The presiding judge adjourned the matter to April 18, 2017.

Danbaba’s case in the petition filed on his behalf by his counsel, Dankofa, and also addressed to the

Grand Khadi of Sokoto State was that he was wrongfully served a criminal summons through a proxy to appear at the Sokoto Upper Area Sharia Court to answer to allegations levelled against him

by Abdulkadir.

He complained in the petition: “Sir without fair hearing, the court sat and out of manifest bias issued a bench warrant against our client when the judge knew that there were pending applications challenging his jurisdiction and that a date had already been given by the court for all parties to appear.”

Danbaba’s lawyer further outlined his grievance: “Sir, our client was wrongfully served a criminal summons through proxy to appear before the above court to answer to some allegations levelled against him by the complainant.

He was served and given two days to appear before the court.

“Upon the receipt of the said summons, we filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the proprietary of the summons as a gross violation of section

36(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution as amended which provides that every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be entitled to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and that since the accused was not even served personally, the court had no jurisdiction to entertain the matter and that the court should in that circumstances strike out the case.

“Sir, we were in court on March 16, 2017, to argue our preliminary objection having filed and served the complainant. On that day, neither the complainant nor his solicitor was in court and the senior judge who came in at 10a.m. told us that his colleague who would preside over our case sent words to him that he will not be sitting and as such we should take a date. Upon telling the court that we came in from outside jurisdiction, one of the registrars of the court was called upon to give us date and we took March 30, 2017 as the next adjourned date. This is in the records of the court.”

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How Obama, Cameron’s Attitude Towards Jonathan Changed after Ex-president Signed Anti-gay Law In a recently released book, ‘Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years, Chibok, 2015 and the Conspiracies’, written by Reno

Omokri, a former aide of former President Goodluck Jonathan, has revealed that he noticed a thawing of his relationship with former

Adamawa Alerts on Fresh Boko Haram Tactics Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The Adamawa State Government has revealed the new strategy being adopted by Boko Haram terrorists to trap large number of innocent victims.

The state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Ahmad I. Sajoh, who spoke with journalists in Abuja at the weekend on the sinister moves by the terrorists, said suicide bombers now pretend to be suffering from epilepsy or someone with serious pain in order to attract people before detonating their explosive device.

“We are also aware that the terrorists now have another tactics which is that they will come to a place where people are gathered and begin to pretend as if they are epileptics or having severe stomach pain, and once people gatner to assist them they will detonate the bomb,” he said.

While narrating how the terrorists were able to detonate a bomb which killed two children last week, the commissioner said: “What happened last week was very simple, a man was driving a vehicle and he

stopped somewhere he saw some children playing, he gave them a parcel to take to their parents but unfortunate for these kids and fortunate for the parents, it was suppose to be a timed bomb but children being children continued playing and did not immediately take the parcel to their parents.

“And by the time they took the parcel to take it to their parents, the bomb exploded and two of the children, age eight and seven died immediately, while three others were injured.”

Speaking on the efforts being made by the authorities in the state to counter the terrorists’ plans, Sajoh said: “We have now understood and going on advocacy to the parents to tell their children not to collect something from people they don’t know.”

“So, we are also doing advocacy to tell people not to fall for such tactics. We have had it in the past, the first bomb blast in Yola was engineered like a street fight. Two people were fighting and people gathered to watch the fight and they detonated the bomb.

United States President, Barack Obama and ex-British Prime Minister, David Cameron, after he signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill.

The book also traced the timeline of meetings at the White House before and after the Chibok schoolgiarls kidnap that in hindsight appear conveniently choreographed.

Omokri noted in the book that Susan Rice, Obama’s National Security Adviser, met with Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima on March 18, 2014 at the White House where their talks featured very strong anti-Jonathan sentiments (which were spoken in the presence of Omokri’s source) and then the Chibok kidnap occurred on April 14, 2014, less than a month after Shettima’s White House visit.

Knowing Susan Rice and her antecedents with Abiola’s tea which incidence culminated in the death of the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 election and altered Nigeria’s history, Omokri asks if this was a coincidence or if the whole incidence was a false flag

intelligence operation.

He also noted that the story did not take off in the international media until the then US First Lady, Michelle Obama, tweeted a picture of herself with the BringBackOurGirls hashtag.

In the book, Omokri states: “For starters, for the first three weeks after the kidnapping, the story did not gain traction in the international media, but something unusual happened on May 10, 2014. Every week, Obama gave a Presidential Address to the US public. On May 10, 2014, for the first time ever, Obama asked his wife, Michelle, to deliver the weekly Presidential Address in his stead. The previous week, she had tweeted a picture where she held up a sign that had the hashtag, #BringBackOurGirls.”

On the gay marriage issue, Omokri, wrote thus: “When I asked him when he felt a change in his relationship with Cameron, former President Jonathan said: ‘sometime in early 2014.’ Could it be a coincidence that early 2014 is also the same time he signed

the law criminalising same-sex marriage in Nigeria?”

The book, which became the first Nigerian book to get to the top 10 books on Amazon’s bestseller rankings (peaking at #9 among political books in the world within 24 hours) also traced the cooling to certain comments made by Obama and Cameron.

In the book, Omokri stated how a former member of the Obama administration had listed the bill as one of the reasons why that government turned on Jonathan.

“Although he (Matthew Page Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Africa with the National Intelligence Council) listed three reasons why the Obama administration felt let down on by Jonathan, my conversation with Mr. Page gave me a sense that the first two reasons were just excuses and that the main reason was because of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013.”

The author noted that: “In fact, after a July 25, 2013 reception at Number 10 Downing Street, held to celebrate the legalisation of gay

marriage in the United Kingdom, Obama ally and then U.K. Prime Minister, David Cameron, boasted that he was committed to exporting gay marriage around the world.

His exact words were: ‘I am going to export the bill.” Five months after Cameron made that pledge, Jonathan, as Nigerian president, signed the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013 on January 13, 2014 putting him in direct opposition to both Obama and Cameron. Recall that Jonathan had said: ‘I got on very well with Cameron but at some point, I noticed that the Americans were putting pressure on him and he had to join them against me” The book also details statements made by prominent Nigerians including Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and his predecessor, Umar Ganduje, which evidenced a conspiracy against the Jonathan administration.

The book is available on Amazon as a paperback and hardcover as well as an e-book.

Okowa Cautions against Drumbeats of War Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has warned against beating the drums of war in the country, noting that the consequences of any war never do anybody any good as the negative effects of the Nigerian Civil War (Biafran War) were still being felt today.

The governor urged Christians and well-meaning Nigerians to continue to pray for peace and unity in the country as Nigeria does not need war.

He spoke yesterday at the second year thanksgiving service of the sixth assembly of the Delta State House of Assembly held at the Living Faith Church, Asaba.

Okowa said: “In this time, we don’t need another war, it is time for us to think and reflect on the past and build a greater, more united country.

“Nigeria needs God to survive; by the grace of God, Nigeria is one and will remain as one. Christians should continue to pray for the country, we don’t want to see war.

“It is time to reexamine ourselves, examine our homes and to think of our existence; we need to reflect on things we do as parents and what we are inculcating into our children because, as parents, we must build in our children the knowledge of God for us to have a better society.”

Nonetheless, he commended the state legislature for a successful anniversary, saying the legislators have been very diligent in serving God and diligent in working with him to serve the citizens of the state through making of relevant laws.

“I believe that Lord has been very faithful to you and you have worked very diligently with God and has worked very diligently with me,” the governor stated, reiterating: “We deserve to give Him thanks and praise and I am glad that all the members of the House of Assembly are here to serve God; if you don’t look up to God and trust in Him, you are going to have problems.”

Speaker of the state assembly, Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, who took the first reading at the church service, told newsmen earlier that the state legislature could not be rightly termed a rubber stamp of Okowa or the executive arm of government simply because of the level of cordiality existing between the House and the governor.

Oborevwori, who disclosed that the assembly received a total of 34 bills in the legislative year including 10 executive bills, pointed out that such cordial relation is in the interest of the people and good governance as peaceful relation between the arms of government has enhanced the process of making laws for the good governance of the state.

Earlier in a sermon, the presiding minister, Mr Julius Oyinloye, stressed that “thanksgiving is expression of peace in our lives; thanksgiving is the will of God, giving Him thanks is application for more.”

The thanksgiving servicewas attended by the Deputy Governor, Mr. Kingsley Otuaro, traditional rulers, the Speaker and members of the state assembly and top government functionaries, their family members and friends.

REJOICING WITH A FRIEND

L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose; Father of the bride and National Publicity Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Dayo Adeyeye; Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson; and former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, during a wedding reception of Adeyeye’s daughter in Lagos....weekend.

FG’s Homegrown School Feeding Programme Gulps N3.7bn in Nine States Omololu Ogunmade inAbuja The presidency said at the weekend that a total of N3.770 billion had so far been released for the feeding of 1,287,270 school pupils in nine states of the federation under the federal government HomeGrown School Feeding Programme, a subsidiary of Social Investment Programme (SIP).

A statement by Mr. Laolu Akande, spokesman to the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, listed the beneficiaries to include Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta and Abia States.

He said the states had received various sums in tranches adding that 14, 574 cooks had been engaged in the communities where the schools are located.

It added that the money was paid directly from the federal

government’s coffers to the cooks with a slight variation in Osun State where it said some of the food items such as eggs “were bought centrally by an aggregator.”

Akande also gave a breakdown of overall payment to each of the nine states as well as the number of pupils fed so far.

“Anambra State got a total of N693,013,300, in eight tranches of N53,684,400, N67,462,500, N68,570,600, N70,387,100, N70,950,600, N71,480,500, N145, 238, 800 and N145, 238, 800, respectively while a total of 103, 742 children have been fed so far.

“The total release for Enugu State is N419,427,200 in six tranches of N67,244,800, N67,244,800, N69,570,900, N69,570,900, N69,570,700 and N76,225,100 respectively while 108,898 school children have so far been fed.

“For Oyo State, a total of

N414, 708, 700 has been released for the feeding of 107,983 in six tranches of N72, 288,300, N66, 622, 500, N66,736,600, N66,736,600, N66,736,600 and N 75,588,100 respectively.

“In Osun State, N767,483,244 was released in eight tranches of N58,299,130, N62,089,580, N49,671,664, N62,089,580, N62,089,580, N49,217,310, N212,013,200 and N212,013,200 respectively for the feeding of 151,438 pupils.

“In the same vein, Ogun State has been paid a total of N880,055,400 in seven tranches comprising N119,648,900, N119,648,900, N119,648,900, N119,648,900, N 119,648,900, N119,648,900 and N162,162,000 respectively while a total of 231,660 school children have been fed.

“Ebonyi State received N344,633,100 in three tranches

of N115,218,600, N115,218,600 and N114,195,900 respectively for the feeding of 163,137 school children.

“Zamfara, Delta and Abia states got a total of N188,001,100, N63,366,100, N42,921,200, and for the feeding of 268,573, 90,523 and 61,316 pupils respectively. The last three states are the latest to join the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme which is projected to feed over 3 million pupils this year.

“The total number of cooks that have been hired in Anambra, Enugu and Oyo states are 1009, 1, 276, and 1, 372 respectively while 2, 863, 2, 205 and 1, 453 cooks were hired in Osun, Ogun and Ebonyi states.

“In Zamfara State 2,738 cooks were engaged under the programme while 908 and 750 were hired in Delta and Abia States respectively,” the statement said.

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Police Rescind Decision to Arrest Separatist Group Leaders Catholic bishops urge FG to quell agitations

Paul Obi in Abuja The police yesterday said it had rescinded its earlier decision to arrest all separatist group leaders agitating for self rule and issuing ultimatums to citizens from a section of country to leave their territories.

The police had last week said it would arrest leaders of Arewa Youth Council who had threatened all Igbos living in the North to leave

the region latest October 1, 2017.

The Inspector General of Police (IG) Ibrahim Idris, had during an elaborate meeting with Commissioners of Police, Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGs), issued an order to the CPs “to ensure the directive issued by” Governor Nasir el-Rufai, for the arrest of the Arewa youths is “carried out as far as there is

an impediment of the law of this country,” adding that, “it is a directive and authority on them to ensure that where these groups are seen, obviously we have the security to arrest them and that is what I am telling them.”

But less than a week to the order, the spokesperson of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Prof.

Ango Abdullahi, while backing Arewa youths on their ultimatum

to the Igbos, called on the Igbos to ‘quit’ as well.

Also, a coalition of Niger Delta militants at the weekend in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, asked all northerners to leave the South-south by October 1, 2017.

The threats and counter-threats have raised tension across the nation, amid calls by eminent Nigerian on the federal government to intervene, while some are calling

Melaye: Bello Has Earmarked N1.4bn for My Recall It’s a spurious allegation, says Kogi govt Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja Senator Dino Melaye has raised the alarm that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has released the sum of N200 million to each of the seven local government areas in the Kogi West senatorial district to facilitate his recall from the Senate.

Moves to recall Melaye commenced last Friday in all the seven local government councils in Kogi West senatorial district as people came out in their hundreds to sign their signatures and then submits photocopy of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) as evidence.

However, in a swift reaction, Governor Yahaya Bello has denied the allegations.

According to him, “It is a spurious allegation.”

Meanwhile, Melaye while addressing thousands of his supporters at his newly constructed constituency office in Kabba yesterday, dismissed the threat to recall him as a huge joke.

The senator who later went round Kabba, noted that 30 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who refused to collect the money and sign the recall form had allegedly been arrested by the police.

Among those arrested included the Ward Unit chairman in Ife/ Olukotun, Mosunmola Shittu and Raphael Ibitiye, husband of the APC Zonal Woman Leader in Kogi West, Khadijhat Suleiman-Ibitiye.

He said: “Quote me, Bello has released N200 million for each of the seven LGAs in my senatorial district to facilitate my recall from the Senate.

“The money has been released but they are facing resistance in all polling units as people have refused to sign the recall form. But he is a joker, my achievements speak for me.

“So far, about 30 persons, including the Ward Unit chairman in Ife/Olukotun, Mosunmola Shittu, have been arrested and taken to the police station on the orders of the Kogi State government.

“Everywhere they go, they are facing resistance and have not been able to get signatures because the

Anambra Guber Poll: Osita Chidoka Dumps PDP for UPP Onyebuchi Ezigbo inAbuja The protracted leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is taking its toll on the party as another frontline member and a governorship aspirant in the November Anambra State governorship election, Chief Osita Chidoka, has decided to quit the former ruling party.

The party had preciously lost a serving senator, Andy Ubah, who has declared his intention to contest for the governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to a statement issued yesterday by the Director General his campaign organisation, Bright Nebedum, the former Minister of Aviation would on Wednesday

officially register with the United Progressive Party (UPP).

The statement said the event would hold in his hometown, Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Nebedum also said the governorship aspirant would use the occasion to unveil to the media, his plans and vision towards redirecting the fortunes of Anambra State and restoring its lost political and economic glory.

The statement read: “A highly visionary administrator, propelling a new and innovative team spirit, with exceptional vigour and remarkable experience, Chidoka stands out with his reputation as a forthright administrator and manager of resources in whose

hands no assignment had ever failed.”

While giving a brief profile on the aspirant, Nebedum said before becoming the Minister of Aviation in 2014, Chidoka proved his mettle as the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), a position he held at the age of 36, to become the youngest ever to occupy the seat.

The campaign director said Chidoka already commands overwhelming support from various segments of the citizenry of Anambra state on which we will leverage to run a robust, all-inclusive and broad-based, winning governorship election campaign.

Umeh Berates Falana, Agbakoba over Stance on Anambra Central Seat Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, yesterday berated two senior lawyers, Chief Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba, on their positions in the pending rerun election for the Anambra Central senatorial district.

The duo were reported to have said that the INEC was right to withhold the conduct of the disputed election pending the determination of the suit filed by the Peoples

Democratic Party (PDP).

Umeh is the candidate of APGA in the pending election.

Speaking with journalists in Enugu, Umeh said it was either the two top lawyers did not have the judgments subsisting on the matter before they made their comments or were in obvious attempt to ridicule the course of law.

“I am sure they did not have the two judgments delivered by the same court, Justice Anwuli Chikelu of the Federal High Court on the Anambra Central senatorial rerun election. One, she said that PDP

should be included and later this year said there is no room for fresh candidates in that court ordered election which ordinarily would have cleared the way for INEC to go and conduct the election without any fresh candidates.

“PDP which is waiting to take part in the election according to the order will put a new candidate which she has ruled on March 14 2017, that there is no room for fresh candidate.

There is a principal of law that when a judge delivers two judgments on the same subject matter, the later in time prevails.

people are resisting them,” he said.

Efforts to speak with the state Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. William Ayah, on the arrest of people proved abortive, but a top senior officer at the Kogi State Police Command confirmed that some arrests were made, saying the arrest was based on public disturbance.

However, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mrs. Petra Akinti Onyegbule, has denied the allegation.

Speaking with THISDAY, she said “It is a spurious allegation.”

for a restructured country that will give room to true fiscal federalism.

But speaking with THISDAY, a top official of the police said on condition of anonymity that the Force would no longer go ahead to arrest leaders of the separatist groups threatening their perceived rival ethnic groups.

According to the source, “the police should be kept off this matter, it is becoming too untidy; the whole thing is now untidy. It is better you keep us out. Let the government respond.

“You know everybody is now talking from all the sides; the Niger Delta, Arewa and Afenifere, it’s not good for us to mix up,” the source stated.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops

Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) yesterday urged the federal government and the presidency to be emphatic in quelling the separatist agitations.

CBCN President and Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, informed THISDAY that “government should be emphatic in stopping the agitations. These are undemocratic and unpatriotic declarations.

“Anyone calling for the repatriation of citizens of this country should be considered an enemy of Nigeria,” Kaigama stated.

He warned that Nigeria cannot cope with such type of agitations, stressing that, what the youths should rather do is to foster unity and peaceful co-existence.

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NNPC Fails to Load Petrol in Ibadan, Other Depots, Exacerbating Apapa Gridlock NUPENG engages Ambode, Fashola on bad roads Ejiofor Alike In spite of the recent claim by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru that the reactivation of some of the NNPC’s depots across the country, particularly Mosimi in Ogun State and the Kano depot, had reduced the gridlock on the highways, the reverse is the case in Apapa, Lagos, as the influx of tankers from all parts of the country and the bad state of the roads have worsened the traffic situation in recent days, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.

The horrendous traffic situation in Apapa was aggravated by the inability of NNPC to pump imported products from the Atlas Cove depot in Lagos to Ejigbo depot also in Lagos and Mosimi depot in Ogun State, Ibadan depot, Ore depot in Ondo State and Ilorin depot – all of which make up NNPC’s System 2B Network that accounts for 60 per cent of petrol supply and distribution in the country.

Investigation also revealed that the re-commissioned Mosimi depot was loading out only 40 tankers daily during the weekend, as against the normal truck-out of over 200 tankers before the pipelines that fed the facility with products

were vandalised at the Arepo axis.

However, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to which the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) is affiliated, told THISDAY at the weekend that it was engaging the Lagos State Government and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on the bad state of Apapa roads.

Workers and residents of Apapa are increasingly finding it next to impossible to access their offices and homes by road, as tankers from various parts of the country waiting to lift petroleum products from the private depots have blocked the roads, causing pain, frustration and anguish to other road users.

It was also learnt that trucks carrying containers of goods from Apapa ports and those returning empty containers to the ports have also worsened the gridlock.

Speaking during the 2017 World Environment Day (WED) held recently, Baru had stated that the re-commissioned Mosimi and Kano depots had impacted positively on highways across the country, by relieving the impact of long haulage of petroleum products on the roads, shielding the nation from the serious environmental consequences of bridging to motorists, settlements along highways, as well as the general ecosystem in the country.

But THISDAY’s investigation revealed that despite the efforts of the corporation to reactivate some of its 21 depots to reduce the over-dependence of tankers on the private depots at Apapa, virtually all NNPC’s depots under the System 2B Network, the corporation’s most active fuel distribution system, are not yet loading products.

However, NNPC spokesman, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu told THISDAY at the weekend that the important thing was that the “train has left the station”, as the corporation had started rehabilitating the depots as a result of reduced vandalism.

“And we are progressing. Today, depots that were not wet are filled with products. We shall get to your target,” Ughamadu added.

He also maintained that the number of tankers on Apapa roads had reduced in recent weeks, contrary to THISDAY’s investigation revealing that tankers

found it difficult to access Folawiyo and NIPCO depots in Apapa at the weekend to lift products as a result of the traffic congestion.

The Western Zonal Chairman of NUPENG, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo told THISDAY at the weekend that the bad roads at Apapa were contributing significantly to the pains of tanker drivers and road users of Apapa roads.

He argued that if the tanker drivers withdrew their vehicles in protest against the bad roads, the action would cause a fuel crisis and be viewed as sabotage.

“If there is fuel in the other depots under System 2B, the tanker drivers will go there and load and decongest Apapa. But we don’t understand the policy of the federal government.

“Previously, they suspended loading activities at all the depots in System 2B because of vandalism.

But recently, they told us that they

had resumed loading but as I speak to you, no loading is taking place in Ibadan, Ore and Ilorin.

“Even Mosimi and Ejigbo are just doing skeletal loading. So there is more pressure on Apapa, which is worsened by the closure of Capital Oil. If Capital Oil was loading, it will also reduce pressure on Apapa,” Korodo explained.

With all access roads to Apapa in a dilapidated state, petrol tankers and trucks of containers block the roads and inflict severe hardship on other motorists.

Along the Mile 2-Apapa road, motorists spend about four to six hours daily on a 1-kilometre stretch of road between the second gate of Tin Can Island Port and Coconut bus stop, waiting for the removal of containers and vehicles that capsize on a daily basis on account of the bad road and obstruct free flow of traffic for several hours.

The traffic situation is also very

bad along the Ojuelegba-Apapa axis, as motorists spend several hours daily waiting behind the long queues of heavy-duty vehicles that obstruct traffic as a result of the bad roads.

Korodo, however, said the tanker drivers were in close contact with the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and Fashola on the poor state of Apapa roads.

“We are in close contact with them on the need to put the roads into use and they have continued to make promises. If we evacuate our trucks from the roads in protest, it will affect fuel distribution and be viewed as sabotage,” Korodo added.

Fashola said recently that the federal government would require N100 billion to construct Apapa roads, adding that the design and other requirements needed for the reconstruction of the roads were ready.

Wike Disputes FG’s Claim that Rivers Got N34bn as Paris Fund Refund Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the federal government did not disburse N34billion to the state as Paris Fund Refund, saying that the level of lies, deceit and negative propaganda by the Federal Government has reached an embarrassing level.

Wike challenged the federal government to publish the account where it paid N34billion in respect of the Paris Fund Refund due to the state.

Speaking during the first session of the 8th Synod Thanksgiving Service of the Anglican Province of Niger Delta, Wike said: “As I speak to you, no N34billion has been paid to Rivers State. I challenge the federal government to show Nigerians the account they paid the N34billion.”

He said the federal government released N14billion as Paris Fund Refund to the state.

According to him, after series of protests that the state had been short-changed, the federal government released another N3billion to the state, totalling N17billion.

The governor explained that the state government judiciously deployed the N17billion and monitored the use of the local government funds for the payment of outstanding salaries.

He accused the federal government of deliberately short-changing Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta States by ignoring the approved payment plan.

Meanwhile, Wike has declared that the state is becoming safer on a daily basis because of the investments of his administration

in the maintenance of security.

Also last Saturday, Wike appreciated the people of the state who have invested in the economic development of the state.

Speaking at a dinner to mark the 20th anniversary of Air France flying into the Port Harcourt International Airport, the governor said: “Port Harcourt is becoming safer everyday because of the commitment of the administration to the security of lives and property.

“We will do everything to build on the confidence of investors to do business in Rivers State.”

He said attracting investments remain critical to the rapid development of the state because in generates employment.

“It is a priority for us to attract investors for our people to be employed. That is why we make security a priority.”

The governor berated opposition leaders for engaging in negative propaganda against the people on security issues, pointing out that they refuse to acknowledge the fact that Rivers is more secure than Lagos, Kogi, Kaduna, Benue and Kano where kidnappers and murderers ravage urban communities as reported daily.

He said: “Investors are coming to Rivers regularly and they are talking about insecurity. Look at what is happening in Lagos, Kogi, Kaduna and Kano and you will realise that this state is the safest.”

French Consul General, Laurent Poloceaux, said French businesses are thriving in Rivers State with schools, businesses and Air France.

Air France Manager, Jean Raul Tanzin, said Air France became the first international airline to fly into the Port Harcourt International Airport 20 years ago.

ROYAL VISIT

L-R: Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; and the Vice-Chancellor, Kwara State University, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, during a courtesy visit by the Ooni to the governor at the Government House, Ilorin....weekend

Saraki: 10.5m Out-of-School Children A Ticking Time Bomb Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described the statistics that over 10 million children in the country are out of school as not only alarming but a ticking time bomb.

He also expressed the readiness of the National Assembly to partner stakeholders like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to drastically reduce the numbers.

Addressing a UNICEF delegation, led by its Country Representative, Mohammed Malick Fall, during a courtesy visit to him in Abuja, Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, said the legislature is “committed to do all it can to address the issue of out of school children through funding and material resources.”

He lamented that Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children in the world.

“This represents approximately 20 per cent of the world’s population of children that are not in school,” Saraki said.

“Having 10 million children out of school is literally a ticking time bomb for our nation.

“An uneducated population will be locked in a cycle of poverty for their entire lives. Additionally, these children could constitute the next generation of suicide bombers and militant terrorists. In this regard, education is a national security priority,” Saraki added.

He said that the 8th National Assembly is determined to make laws and appropriate resources needed to drastically reduce the menace.

Saraki said: “The Senate is already working with few state governments who are yet to domesticate the Child’s Rights Act. We are determined to also improve on this and to work together to see how best to reduce drastically the level of illiteracy among our people especially from the preliminary stage.

“The quality of our education must be in line with the best global practices. We will continue to

work closely together with you.

To support your programmes, we plan to organise an inclusive roundtable discussion where the impediments in our education system will be identified and a plan of action designed to eliminate them. I am confident that your contributions at that stage will be highly welcome,” he said.

The Senate President endorsed the school enrollment campaign of UNICEF in the country and thanked its Country Representative for their years of exemplary work in education and other areas.

“UNICEF is one of the leading organizations working to aid children in the North-east.” said Saraki.

“Their work in the region is routinely celebrated by government officials and camp leaders.”

Earlier, Mr. Fall encouraged the Senate President to endorse UNICEF Nigeria’s 2017 school enrollment programme. This year’s theme is: “Education Matters…

Every Nigerian Child Deserves

to be in school.”

He stated that UNICEF’s school enrollment campaign seeks to partner with the education stakeholders at the state level to ensure the impact reaches grassroots communities.

He said the campaign also seeks to underscore the country’s commitment to free and compulsory education and to encourage states to prioritize education.

He thanked the senate president and the Senate for the outstanding partnership offered over the years in the areas of child health and education. Fall lamented that with the statistics of about 10.5million children out of school in Nigeria, “such number pose a lot of danger to the growth and development of the country.”

He said urgent attention, by governments at all level, is needed to address the trend, “we need additional resources and this support requires stronger partnership with legislation.”

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JUNE 12 REMEMBRANCE

JUNE 12 REMEMBRANCE

Tinubu: June 12 is Mother of May 29 Our Correspondents

Former Lagos State Governor and national stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has underscored the importance of the June 12, 1993 election and the agitation that followed its annulment, saying June 12 is the precursor of the democracy we now enjoy in the country.

“Without the uncompromising resistance to military rule engendered by the annulment of the June 12 election, there would most probably be no 4th Republic today and we would still be groaning under the jackboots of military dictatorship,” he said.

In a statement on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of June 12 released by his Media Office yesterday night in Lagos, Tinubu poured encomiums on the late Chief MKO Abiola. He described him as an embodiment of “the eternal Yoruba adage, which says that death is better with honour than life without dignity.”

He also used the occasion to appraise the two years of the present administration, saying any objective analyst would agree that the Muhammadu Buhari administration had already taken impressive strides to clear the Augean stables it inherited from the past administration. He said critics labelling the administration a failure was not been objective.

In the statement entitled: “What June 12 Taught Us,’ Tinubu said: “The blood of those who gave their yesterday and sacrificed even their lives for the democracy and freedom we enjoy today was not shed in vain. The truth is June 12 is the mother of May 29. Without the uncompromising resistance to military rule engendered by the annulment of the June 12 election, there would most probably be no 4th Republic today and we would still be groaning under the jackboots of military dictatorship.

“The annulment was a bitter pill to swallow especially for the millions of people who expended so much time, energy and material resources to help ensure victory for Chief MKO Abiola. The late MKO selflessly committed so much of his substantial fortune towards ensuring his victory at the polls. In doing this, he was not motivated by personal, selfish or pecuniary considerations.

“Abiola could have chosen to abandon the mandate in order to rebuild and resuscitate his disrupted business. But he opted for the path of the true ‘Omoluabi’. He refused to sacrifice honour for an ephemeral mess of pottage. He was an embodiment of the eternal Yoruba adage, which says that death is better with honour than life without dignity.

“Looking back, we can say, thank you Chief MKO Abiola for giving your all that we may bask in the glow of democracy today.

The annulment was meant to halt the unstoppable and irresistible march to deeper democratic practice in Nigeria. That objective failed woefully. The annulment was a challenge that precipitated a concerted response, which helped to promote the cause of democracy in Nigeria contrary to the will of its anti-democratic perpetrators. That annulled free and fair election taught us, once again, to organize. It tutored us new tactics and strategies of confronting, undermining and ultimately overcoming seemingly impregnable forces and fortresses of dictatorship and oppression.

“It revealed to us the imperative of forging working relationships and diverse networks across ethnic, religious, regional and partisan divides if we were to move forward.

“It is this invaluable experience we gathered in the struggle to enthrone democracy and retrieve our country from the iron grip of dictatorship that emboldens us today to warn those directly or indirectly threatening our democracy through another military intervention to perish the idea.

Just as happened in the past, those who stand on the path of truth and higher moral values will always triumph over those whose strength derive from the barrels of the gun.

“Twenty-four years after its annulment, the spirit of June 12 lives on in the hearts and minds of millions of Nigerians. The lessons of that election still speak eloquently to us today despite the utter lack of vision and imagination in governance between 1999 and 2015 that has fuelled the revival of separatist agitations and deepened distrust among the component parts of Nigeria.

“One enduring truth that June 12 demonstrated is that given inspirational, visionary and sincere leadership, Nigerians can rise above divisive primordial sentiments to demonstrate high patriotism and a belief in merit in their voting patterns. “Thus, Chief MKO Abiola won a pan-Nigerian mandate in that poll garnering considerable votes across the various zones of the country and even beating his opponent in the latter’s Kano State home base. Again, despite having a fellow Muslim, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe, as his running mate, the duo won handsomely even in wholly-Christian dominated parts of the country. All these show that it is really the elite most times that deliberately instigate the politics of distrust, fear, suspicion and divisiveness; they are the ones that all too often exploit our differences to destabilize the polity for their own selfish interests.

“This year’s commemoration of the anniversary of June 12 coincides roughly with two years in office of the All Progressives Congress at the federal level. Some critics particularly of the opposition are already writing off the government as a failure. Well, that is their prerogative and in accordance with their rights in a democratic polity. But the vast majority of Nigerians are neither stupid nor lacking in political sophistication. They are aware of the immense mess inherited by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“But even in our darkest moments, let the torch of democracy be our guide to the higher and nobler plains of good governance, strong institutions, reverence for the rule of law and a continually-improving and growing economy. It is only through strengthening the institutions, practices and procedures of democracy that we, like the Americans, foremost exemplars of the democratic ideal, can ceaselessly strive moment by moment, day by day and year by year to continually aspire towards the more perfect union of our dreams.”

Atiku Asks FG to Immortalise Abiola

Former Vice President and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, has urged the federal government to pay the necessary tribute to the late Chief MKO Abiola by naming a befitting

Otitoloju who spoke with THISDAY in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the annulment of June 12, 1993, presidential election, said: “The election was a watershed in the political history of Nigeria that no any person would ever forget.” “This is the election that Nigerians, irrespective of their political or religion affiliations, came out enmass and voted for Abiola.”

He said: “Even in the military barracks, they all came out too to vote for Abiola of the defunct the Social Democratic Party (SDP) against the presidential candidate of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), Alhaji Bashir Tofa, without any hindrance.

“Despite all these overwhelming support from Nigerians in the election, former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd), and members of the Armed Forces Ruling Council annulled the election.

Lagos Declares Today Public Holiday

Late Abiola national institution after him. Atiku described Abiola, the leading personality of the June 12 struggle, as a national ‘Hero and Patriot’ deserving of accolades and honour by Nigerians. In his goodwill message to all Nigerians on the occasion of the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by the late businessman, philanthropist and patriot, Abiola, the former vice president said June 12 and the events that brought it are part of our country’s history and cannot be forgotten.

In a statement released by his Media Office in Abuja, the APC stalwart noted that the events of June 12, 1993, are a watershed in the history of the nation, and therefore, it behooves on all Nigerians to work hard to ensure that the nation never again repeats that painful experience.

He said June 12 is a remarkable date due to the unity and comradeship displayed by Nigerians on that election day in 1993.

Atiku recalled that June 12 traumatised Nigerians and made some people to question the unity and oneness of the country and whether true democracy can take root in the country.

He commended Nigerians for moving beyond the challenges thrown up by June 12 and putting in place a democratic system of government that has lasted for 18 years.

Emulate MKO’s Style of Politics, Group Urged

Hope for Niger Delta Campaign (HNDC), a non-governmental organisation in the Netherlands, has urged Nigerians to emulate the politics of Chief MKO Abiola by avoiding comments capable of disintegrating the nation.

Comrade Sunny Ofehe, President of the group in his statement to commemorate the annulment of the June 12, noted that the quest to unite the nation through democratic dividends must be paramount rather that hate speeches.

According to the statement, which was made available to newsmen in Benin City, Ofehe said “honestly, I don’t think Nigeria has learnt all the lessons that should have heralded the annulment of June 12. The only major lesson learnt is the stability of our democracy and the fact that the military have stayed out of power.”

According to him,: “The future of Nigeria and her citizens must be paramount and the quest to unite our country through democratic dividend must be their guiding principles and watchword. The outcome of such patriotism must be a clear lesson and message to everyone that those who sacrificed for June 12 did not do that in vain.”

Declare Abiola as Former President, ActivistTells Buhari, FG

A human rights activist and Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari led-federal government to recognise the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, Chief MKO Abiola as a former President of the country.

He argued that Abiola, his wife, Kudirat and other martyr laid down their lives for the enthronement of the current democratic experiment in the land.

In a statement he signed to commemorate the 2017 June 12 anniversary, he maintained that the non-recognition of Abiola since 1999, has been hurting the present political system, insisting that the only solution to the many political challenges currently facing the nation was to first give the acclaimed winner of that poll his rightful place in the country’s political history and development, adding that national emolument like the University of Abuja and the Eagle Square should be named after the late winner of June 12,1993 Presidential election.

CDHR: Cabal That Annulled June 12 Presidential Election Still Controls Nigeria The National Coordinator of the Committee for Defence of Human Right (CDHR), Taiwo Otitoloju, yesterday said it was disheartening that the cabal that had made the annulment of June 12, 1993, presidential election presumed to have been won by late Chief MKO Abiola are possible still controlling the political space of the country.

The Lagos State Government has declared today as a public holiday to mark June 12 celebration in the state, saying that the state remains committed to the ideals of the annulled 1993 presidential election.

In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, on behalf of the state Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, the government said the holiday was in honour of the ideals which June 12, 1993 presidential election represents being a day that the country experienced an election that was adjudged as the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s history. The governor said 24 years after, the ideals of June 12 commemoration were worth celebrating, describing the day as one of the most defining moments of the country’s political history which has positively shaped its democratic rule.

Ambode said the time has come for Nigerians to go beyond the commemoration and entrench a viable democracy as a way to immortalise the late presumed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, Abiola through the practice of true federalism and conduct of credible and fair elections.

Continuing, Ambode said part of the enduring lessons of June 12 election is that it imbued the patriotic and nationalistic zeal in all Nigerians to speak with one voice to make a political choice devoid of ethnic, racial or social sentiments.

Meanwhile, the state government, through the office of Civic Engagement, has perfected arrangement for the annual public symposium which will hold at the De Roof, LTV 8 in Ikeja, to celebrate June 12.

Falana to Deliver Lecture

A human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) will today be the guest speaker at a lecture organised to commemorate the June 12 anniversary in Ondo State.

The lecture entitled “ June 12 : A Celebration of Courage and Resilience” would hold at the Ondo State Event Centre, The Dome. This is also as the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu had directed that today be declared as a work free day in honour of the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief MKO Abiola.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Segun Ajiboye, Akeredolu said the late Abiola’s supreme sacrifice culminated in the hurried departure of the military from the political scene in 1999. Ajiboye said eminent Nigerians, including notable activists are lined up to grace the event that would be chaired by Wale Oshun.

The government had directed all public servants of Grade Level 10 and above to attend the lecture.

Afenifere Warns against Civil War

Following a recent threat to Ndigbo community in the North, Nigeria has been described as a country continuously making mistakes as a result of its refusal to learn the lessons of history from crisis that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election adjudged as the fairest ever in the history of the country, which was won by late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

The National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, who made the assertion yesterday in a June 12 commemorative statement, wondered why those behind the anti-Igbo quit notice threat acted as though they are oblivious of its implications on Nigeria, particularly if such degenerate into another civil war. “We have fumbled and wobbled through 18 years of pretending that our unity is settled, mouthing hackneyed phrases like ‘indissoluble union’ and ‘non-negotiable unity’, while the country falls more and more into pieces on a daily basis. We now mark another June 12 amid an October 1 quit order to Ndigbo by Arewa youths who have also secured endorsement from the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), with the Arewa Consultative Forum conceding what they called ‘the frustrations of the youths’ with Ndigbo.

“While the primary targets of the Arewa youths’ quit notice are the Ndigbo residents in the North, we are not deceived that when the rubber hits the road, the Almajaris and the Mujaheedin would pick and choose among all southerners in the North for the baying of blood. This is why the Yoruba nation is warning that this is a déjà vu and that no country has ever survived two civil wars.

“We recall how events cascaded in the 1960’s from the moment emergency rule was imposed on the Western Region until war broke out in 1967. The same arrogance of power, insensitivity and atrocious impunity that were at play then are still very much at play today.

The same section of Nigeria that rejected the outcome of Aburi is still shouting down the strident calls of most peoples of Nigeria for restructuring today, because command and control is more important to them than equity, justice, fairness, peaceful co-existence, harmony and a progressing country.

“A climate of fear, apprehension and anxiety now pervades the country as no one knows what could happen, with the absence of a leadership that can rise up to the occasion to save the republic,” the Afenifere spokesperson lamented.

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How Oyo, Osun Discovered Concealment of N14bn in 97 Banks Ademola Babalola in Ibadan Struggling to get to the root cause of the financial crisis bedevilling the smooth running of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, the owner states of Oyo and Osun yesterday revealed how 97 different bank accounts being operated by the management of the institution were discovered against the earlier directive of Single Treasury Account (TSA) policy specifically put in place to promote transparency.

The discovery, the owner-state governments said was based on the visitation panel report which submitted its report recently and insisted on forensic audit of the account of the institution.

The report also revealed that a majority of the banks have closed shop due to either restructuring, merger or outright de-listment by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and a total sum of N13.626 billion subventions, excluding Internally

Generated Revenue (IGR) was released to the institution by Oyo and Osun States between 2011-2016.

The Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela, while receiving the state executive of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), made the position of the owner-states known to the public.

He noted that part of the recommendations of the visitation panel led by a legal luminary, Chief Wole Olanipekun, was that the accounts of the school and its workforce must be audited.

According to him, “We are not too comfortable with the accounting process or procedure of the institution, that is the least we can say now.

“Part of the recommendations of the visitation panel was that the accounts of the school must be audited; not only the accounts but the work force too must also

be audited such that we look at the best practices on how to run this particular institution.”

The bursary departments still rely on analogue mode of operation, with its attendant challenges and risks.”

The commissioner continued: “When the government said you must have single account, in that visitation panel report, you have various accounts. If you have various accounts, you have not been accused of any financial difficulty, but we must know the truth so that at the end of the day, we will know whether something is wrong with the

management, administration or the accounting process.

“The visitation panel observed that the university opened 97 different bank accounts in almost all the commercial banks in the country. Some of the banks have closed shop, due to either restructuring, merger or outright de-listment by the CBN. In a likewise manner, Olowofela summarily analysed as follows: “The subventions released to LAUTECH between 2011-2016 goes thus; Oyo state released 8,473,361,702.25, and Osun State contributed 5,153,047,345.74, totaling N13.626 Billion.

“Also, the students population is as follows: Undergraduate (Regular) - 27,457. Undergraduate (Part time) -1,514. Postgraduate (Regular) -2,857. Postgraduate (Part-Time) 3,054 . Open Distance Learning (ODL) 655. Total- 35,507 students.

Why is it difficult for LAUTECH to survive, since institutions with less students’ population are surviving?

“We must ascertain whether the government needs to jerk up the subvention or whether government needs to remove the subvention completely. We must know so that we will be acting based on facts.

But what are we observing now, people are moving from one quarter

to the other raising emotions,” Olowofela added.

Appealing to the labour unions of the institution to give peace a chance, he, however promised: “We are getting closer to the solution than to the problem. If we have an enabling atmosphere such that the audit firm is able to do the job there, the two governments will comply with the recommendations.

The audit firm must submit its report within the next three weeks.

But it appears as if some people want to truncate the exercise. I am appealing to the workers to give peace a chance,” the commissioner urged.

Ultimatum to Igbos: Fayose Urges FG to Arrest Ethnic Bigots Victor Ogunje in AdoEkiti Declaration by some Northern group that Igbo living in the North should leave the area has been described by the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, as having the tendency to cause anarchy in the country, if not checked.

Fayose said the trend of statements credited to some elements in the North has shown clearly that Nigeria is no longer one.

He said this while reacting to a quit notice served on the Igbo in the North by the Coalition of Northern Groups, and which was recently backed by some northern elders, including a former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Prof. Ango Abdullahi.

“The gap has widened beyond measure because of the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration. We are more divided than ever. The elements are emboldened because they believe their person is in office and nothing would happen.

“This is not surprising to some of us as the herdsmen set the tone and became notorious under the watch of Buhari.

“If this continued, it would further heat up the already tensed situation and promote distrust among ethnic groups in the country.”

Fayose urged the federal government to accept responsibility for trend and called for a decisive action to stop it.

NNSG: Arrest Northerners that Gave Igbos Ultimatum Immediately Jonathan Eze The Nigeria National Summit Group (NNSG) has called on the federal government to immediately anybody, whether young or old, who is supporting or behind the ultimatum given to the Igbos resident in the northern part of the country, describing it as a treasonable offence against the country.

In a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Tony I Uranta, yesterday and made available to THISDAY, the group noted that such brazen and public act of treason could trigger a pogrom like the civil war that lasted 30 months between 1967 and 1970.

The statement reads in parts: “Although some of the signatories have been comrades seeking Justice in a restructured Nigeria, I am shocked by, and outraged at, this brazen and public act of treason, that could, at the very least, trigger a pogrom against all nonNorthern Nigerian; and, at worst, throw Nigeria into a civil war! We must never forget how the 1966 pogrom in the North eventually

threw Nigeria into the costly civil war that lasted for 30 months.

Nor, can we deny the avoidable calamities it has wrought on the country since the war ended.

“Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB never created terror on this level, yet he spent so long in detention charged with treason against the nation. These youths and elders who are definitely trying to whip up hate and violence in millions of otherwise peaceful northerners must be seen in the same light that Kanu was by the federal government. This is NOT a case of treason against Kaduna State; it is a case of terrorism expressly promised...a threat to the very survival of Nigeria.

“All leaders that publicly support the “Igbos-must-leave” stand, be they young or old, must be quickly arrested, fully investigated and lawfully prosecuted! Anything less than that will be seen as nepotistic favouritism premised on base ethnic sentiments. Let the courts determine who is culpable of what...but, let Nigerians not have the perception that there are limits to their rights as citizens.”

CONGRATULATORY VISIT

R-L: Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Hon. Sadiq Hamza Dasin; Hon. Lawal Shuaibu; and Hon Abdulrazak Namdas, at the congratulatory visit of the Adamawa House of Representatives caucus led by Dasin to the former vice president on his appointment as Waziri Adamawa, at his residence, in Abuja... weekend

Troops Eliminate Terrorists in Kala Borno Community, Rescue Nine Minors Following a tip-off that some suspected Boko Haram terrorists were gathered at Jarawa village, Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, troops of 3 Battalion, 22 Brigade Nigerian Army of Operation Lafiya Dole, in conjunction with some Civilian JTF yesterday carried out a successful clearance operation along that axis.

The troops, about a kilometre to Jarawa village, entered a heavy Boko Haram terrorists’ ambush, which they successfully cleared after about some minutes of fire fight.

A statement by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the troops were able to neutralise a large number of

Boko Haram terrorists including the notorious Abu Nazir, the terrorists’ Amir in Jarawa during the operation.

He said the troops also captured several weapons including an AK-47 rifle, one double barrel gun, one primed heavy Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and three motorcycles.

Usman said the soldiers rescued nine abducted children undergoing training at the terrorists’ training camp in the village.

Headdedthattheminorshavebeen evacuatedandarebeinggivenpreliminary humanitarianassistanceinpreparationto handing them over to Kala Balge Internally Displaced Persons Camp management committee.

SERAP Asks Court to Order FG, Fashola to Provide Free Pre-paid Meters to Nigerians A civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has sued the federal government and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), over their collective failure refusal to enforce their own directives to electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) to provide free prepaid meters to all Nigerians and end the use of patently illegal, arbitrary, unfair and discriminatory estimated billing across the country.

The application with suit number FHC/L/CS/906/17 was filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

SERAP in the suit, argued that Fashola by failing and neglecting to enforce his directives to DISCOs, he is implicitly promoting the use of unjustifiable estimated billing,

and increasing consumer costs.

He said the use of estimated billing is marginalising Nigerians living in extreme poverty, disproportionately affecting women, children and the elderly, and increasing their vulnerability to discrimination.

SERAP also argueed that Fashola’s constitutional and statutory responsibility is not just to give directives to DISCOs to provide free prepaid meters to all Nigerians but also to decisively enforce such directives and end the use of estimated billing.

It contended that effective access to electricity includes metering of all consumers, and that responsibility of the federal government has been assigned to Fashola, and that he cannot shy away from it.

SERAP further argues that, “Unless the reliefs sought are

granted, Mr Fashola and the Federal Government will not perform their constitutional and statutory responsibilities to enforce the directives to DISCOs to provide free prepaid meters to all Nigerians. It is in the interest of justice to ensure strict enforcement of directives, deadlines and regulations on provision of free pre-paid meters to all Nigerians, and an end to estimated billing.”

The suit brought pursuant to Order 34 of the Federal High Court Rules and the inherent jurisdiction of the court, was signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale.

The suit followed the organisation’s request to Fashola asking him to “urgently enforce your directives and discharge your ministerial and statutory duty to ensure completion of metering of unmetered customers and total abolition of estimated

billing in the country.”

The suit read in part: “Access to regular electricity supply is a prerequisite for satisfying basic human needs, improving living standards, maintaining good human health, alleviating poverty and facilitating sustainable development. It’s unlawful for DISCOs to disconnect electricity supplies on the basis of unpaid estimated bills.

“Obedience to the rule of law by all citizens but more particularly those who publicly took oath of office to protect and preserve the constitution is a desideratum to good governance and respect for the rule of law. In a democratic society, this is meant to be a norm; it is an apostasy for government to ignore the provisions of the law and the necessary rules and directives made to regulate matters.”

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T H I S D AY Ëž MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

MONDAYSPORTS Dalung to Meet NFF Technical Committee over Eagles Defeat in Uyo

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

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, is to hold an emergency meeting with the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday.

According to a statement from the Special Assistant to the Minister (Media), Nneka Ikem-Anibeze, the meeting will hold in the Minister’s conference room at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja at 2pm.

Dalung’s meeting the NFF’s Technical Committee headed

by Chris Green is coming on the heels of the Super Eagles AFCON 2019 qualifier 0-2 loss to visiting Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo at the weekend. Nigeria is now third in the Group E table behind Libya and South Africa. Seychelles is the fourth team in the group.

Meanwhile, the Minister has called on football lovers and Nigerians generally to collectively support the Super Eagles in their quest for Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup tickets. “This is a temporary setback which is surmountable. We need to sit with the Technical Committee and crew to find out the immediate and remote

causes of this setback. “We have very young talented players in the Super Eagles and we trust that with more hard work and determination, this result can be reversed when we go to South Africa. “This is just the beginning of a long journey. The Super Eagles will definitely be in Cameroon because we can’t afford to be absent at the Africa Cup of Nations for a third consecutive time. “We must do all within our means to support the team when they win and when there’s a setback. We will ensure that no stone is left unturned in our pursuit of a ticket to Cameroon.� Dalung assured football stakeholders.

Meanwhile, South Africa Head Coach Stuart Baxter has revealed that plaudits have continued to trail Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 defeat of Nigeria last weekend. “I have received countless messages of congratulations, mostly from back home in South Africa. They are still trickling it and it goes to show what this win means for the country,� said an emotional Baxter. “It is the way the victory was achieved which has

been so emotional. The long trip to west Africa, the short preparation period and then go into the match and completely outplay the

home favourites is something special,� reflected Baxter.

He said Bafana were cautious in the opening minutes but once they realised

the Super Eagles were there for the taking, they completely took control of the game. “We were comfortable on the ball, hit the post twice; I

am absolutely delighted. This is what South Africa should do on a regular basis,� he said, touching on how successful Vision 2022 was penning out.

Nadal kissing his 10th French Open trophy after defeating Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 6-1 in the final...yesterday

Like Madrid, Nadal Completes Eguakun Seals Maximum Points for Rivers Utd NPFL ‘La Decima’ at Roland Garros Fred Edoreh in Port Harcourt

History was made at Roland Garros yesterday as Rafael Nadal completed ‘La Decima’ at the French Open by beating Stan Wawrinka 6-2 6-3 6-1 in the final.

Nadal’s victory made him the first man in the Open Era to win the same grand slam on 10 separate occasions, enhancing his right to the nickname of ‘King of Clay’.

The Spaniard was unplayable as he swept aside the challenge of Wawrinka, producing a moment for the ages when he sent a laser-guided forehand down the line after scrambling across court to return an excellent backhand from his opponent.

He extended his record at Roland Garros to 79 wins and two losses since his first victory in 2005, the only defeats coming against Robin Soderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2014.

Martina Navratilova won Wimbledon nine times, while Roger Federer and Pete Sampras are the only post-war players among a group of six men to have won a Grand Slam seven times.

Despite a 15-3 career record against Wawrinka, and an imperious run to the final over the last two weeks, Nadal still had questions to answer heading into the final.

He responded in emphatic fashion, proving he was back to the kind of form that saw off all-comers in Paris for the best part of a decade.

Wawrinka’s firepower off both forehand and backhand

With scores at 1-1 at regulation time with three minutes spent out of four minutes added time and FC IfeanyiUbah looking to steal away with a point from Port Harcourt, Efosa Eguakun brought out the long knife, masterminding a last minute attack from midfield and following up to deliver a clinical finish to give Rivers United a 2-1 win and maximum points.

The first goal of the Match-day 24 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) came for Rivers United via a penalty in the 60th after Stephen Eze handled the ball in the box and Ayo Saka fired hard to leave Bamba Drissa no chance to save.

IfeanyiUbah however levelled up also through NADAL’S PAST FRENCH penalty while Prince Aggreh OPEN CONQUESTS who came on for Godwin r CFBU .BSJBOP 1VFSUB Obaje in the second half slotted (Argentina) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-1 7-5 r CFBU 3PHFS 'FEFSFS (Switzerland) 1-6 6-1 6-4 7-6 (7-4) r CFBU 3PHFS 'FEFSFS (Switzerland) 6-3 4-6 6-3 6-4 England won their biggest r CFBU 3PHFS 'FEFSFS international title since 1966 (Switzerland) 6-1 6-3 6-0 by beating Venezuela 1-0 in r CFBU 3PCJO 4PEFSMJOH the Under-20 World Cup final (Sweden) 6-4 6-2 6-4 yesterday. r CFBU 3PHFS 'FEFSFS It was England’s first (Switzerland) 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 appearance in the final of 6-1 a global tournament since r CFBU /PWBL %KPLPWJD their World Cup victory 51 (Serbia) 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5 years ago. r CFBU %BWJE 'FSSFS Everton forward Dominic (Spain) 6-3 6-2 6-3 Calvert-Lewin’s first-half goal r CFBU /PWBL %KPLPWJD was enough for victory thanks (Serbia) 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4 to Newcastle goalkeeper r CFBU 4UBO 8BXSJOLB Freddie Woodman’s second(Switzerland) 6-2 6-3 6-1 half penalty save. had seen off world number one Andy Murray in the semi-finals, but he could not dominate Nadal in the same way.

The Spaniard’s relentless depth and power left Wawrinka trying for his spectacular winners from too wide and too deep, opening up the court for Nadal’s forehand to deliver the decisive blows.

A scrappy start from both men in hot conditions saw Wawrinka miss the first break point in game three, and fail to earn another.

While the Swiss could not stop leaking errors, Nadal found his rhythm and began skipping around his backhand to fire off forehands, breaking serve at 4-2 and again to seal the set.

in perfectly.

IfeanyiUbah had a great chance to increase their tally when Rivers keeper Akande Abiodun rushed as far as to the half way to stop a counter with all his defenders across the divide but the Nnewi boys failed to take their chance in the ensuing throw in.

The winner by Eguakun who came in the final quarter to replace Lukman Mohammed, was a huge relief for the Rivers fans and officials who were apprehensive of dropping points at home after loses in two successive games after their last continental outing.

With the victory, coach Stanley Eguma believes his team showed great character in fighting till the end and the win will boost the confidence of the players ahead of the coming games and back into their continental campaign.

Interestingly, it was Eguakun’s first game in a very

long time and only second in the season.

Eguma explained that the player is easily the best and most experienced in his team but that he had kept him out for long because he was battling with fitness and also fell ill on his return.

Elsewhere on the evening, Niger Tornadoes goalkeeper Mustapha Aliko bemoaned the three goals he conceded against top-flight side Wikki Tourists.

The Ikon Allah Boys were beaten 1-3 by the Bauchi Elephants in Sunday’s NPFL Match-day 24 clash at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium (ATBS) in Bauchi.

Goals off the foot of the trio of Chinedu Onyelonu, Victor Alegbe and Ahmed Usman were enough to hand the Bauchi landlords the three points at stake while Andrew Ikefe scored the consolation for the Minna outfit.

(Match-day 24) Plateau Utd 5-1 Gombe Remo 1-0 Nasarawa MFM FC 1-0 Shooting Rangers 1-0 Akwa Utd Rivers Utd 2-1 IfeanyiUbah Katsina Utd 3-0 El Kanemi Wikki 3-1 Tornadoes K’Pillars 3-1 Sunshine ABS FC 1-0 Lobi Enyimba 2-1 Abia Warriors

AFCON 2019

(Qualifiers) Ghana 5-0 Ethiopia Zimbabwe 3-0 Liberia Benin 1-0 Gambia Cape Verde 0-1 Uganda C’Afr Rep. 2-1 Rwanda

UNDER-20 WORLD CUP

(Final) England 1-0 Venezuela

England Wins FIFA U20 World Cup Woodman denied Adalberto Penaranda from the spot after the Malaga forward was fouled by Kyle Walker-Peters.

With 17 minutes to play, the referee pointed to the spot to signal a penalty before immediately referring to the video assistant referee.

The decision stood - there was the slightest of contacts - but Newcastle keeper Woodman’s strong palm kept out Penaranda’s effort.

In the first half Ronaldo Lucena hit the post with

an audacious long-range free-kick that had Woodman well beaten, while Tottenham midfielder Josh Onomah saw a powerful effort strike the underside of the Venezuela bar after the break.

After the match, England forward Dominic Solanke, due to join Liverpool from Chelsea on 1 July, was awarded the Golden Ball given to the player of the tournament. Previous winners of the award include Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Luis

Figo, Paul Pogba and Sergio Aguero.

Woodman was awarded the Golden Glove, given to best goalkeeper of the tournament. “Thankfully Freddie saved the penalty. I was watching through my fingers from the halfway line and it was an incredible moment. It was a big, big moment that helped turn the game,� said CalvertLewin, who joined Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters as the only Englishmen to score in a World Cup final.

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T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY JUNE 12, 2017

MONDAYSPORTS

Eagles Uninspiring Uyo Misadventure

Bafana Bafana defender Mphahlele Ramahlwe (left) leaves Super Eagles’ Elderson Echiejile sprawling on the turf during the AFCON 2019 qualifying match between Nigeria and South Africa in Uyo… last Saturday Duro Ikhazuagbe New Bafana Bafana Head Coach, Stuart Baxter, warned Nigerians 48 hours before last Saturday’s embarrassing 2-0 defeat of Super Eagles. Baxter said he was coming to Uyo to win. Nobody took him serious. Nigerians thought it was going to be the usual easy ride over the men from Mandela’s country. Now we know better.

Instead of seating at the top of the AFCON 2019 Group E qualifying round on same three points with Libya, who took Seychelles to the cleaners, Eagles have returned to the permutation game again! Are we going to qualify or not?

Miss three Nations Cup editions in a row?

Clearly unthinkable but the reality is starring us in the face with Bafana Bafana victory at the Nest of Champions.

Of course, Franco-German Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, who has had a jolly ride since he was appointed some months ago is seeing the other side of football crazy Nigerians. He’s getting flak here and there.

Nobody wants to know this is the first defeat Eagles have suffered under his watch in nine games. The 2-0 defeat remains a nightmare of some sort.

But Baxter made it clear when he was appointed weeks ago that he was not bothered by the arrays of stars in Nigeria’s camp. What mattered to him was getting the South African squad to play as a unit.

On arrival in Uyo last Thursday, a confident Baxter told reporters he has the key to unlock Eagles. “We don’t have the big stars but we have a team. Every Africa nation faces the same problem but then the coaches try to balance the stars and others to make the difference.

“We are not going to play defensive or careful because Nigeria has good players. We should not be intimidated by anybody. Nigeria is the favourite for this game but will South Africa be intimidated? No. We are confident in the way we are approaching the game at the moment but the players know what to do to get the job done. The players are hopeful ahead of the game but not intimidated,” Baxter warned as a matter of fact. He was ignored at our peril.

Now, Rohr must have learnt a lesson or two from Baxter. The Eagles gaffer must have realised that playing in big clubs in Europe does not translate to success. In the Bafana starting 11, only two players Dolly Larenzo Keagan who plays for Montpellier in France and Turkey-based Rantie Tokelo came from outside the South African league. The reserve bench of the South Africans was also dominated by players from the PSL. What this means is that the players know themselves and have a sort of synergy. The chemistry was the same.

But unfortunately, the mix of young and old players that Rohr fielded lacked the bite and that never-say die spirit that keeps Eagles going.

How on earth Rohr expected his defensive midfield approach to the game to work when Eagles forward combination of Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Daddy Simon played like strangers? Oghenekaro Etebor too appeared off duty last Saturday as most of his incursions deep into the Bafana goal areas ended with no goal. On one or two of such, Etebo blasted wide when a simple pass to Simon could have made the difference. There was nobody in the middle to hold on to the ball

and do the playmaking role. John Mikel Obi’s absence clearly showed and for 90 minutes, Rohr didn’t know that his game plan wasn’t working. The Wilfred Ndidi we saw against South Africa was clearly a different chap who has become the darling of Leicester City fans.

Eagles backline didn’t fare any better. By my rating, only Williams Troost Ekong stood out of the floundering pack. His pairing in the central defence with Chidozie Awazie too looked shaky for the better part of the second half.

Shehu Abdullahi can be forgiven for the type of school-boy errors but certainly not Elderson Echiejile. Was he also on recess last Saturday?

When Eagles team list was released, I remember pointing out that Daniel Akpeyi has not been too impressive and wondered why Rohr opted for him ahead of Ikechukwu Ezenwa of FC IfeanyiUba. Akpeyi lacks confidence in big occasions. Again, he also does not have the type of Vincent Enyeama’s organisational ability. If he had organised his defenders well perhaps, the scoreline would have been different. Why start Akpeyi who ply his trade with Chippa United in South African against some of the players who know his weaknesses and strength having played together in the same league?

Eagles need to celebrate the slim 2-0 scoreline.

The embarrassment could have been more if some of the balls that hit woodwork had found the back of the net.

However, rather than see this setback as the end of the rebuilding process of a formidable Eagles, I see it as a wake-up call for handlers of the three-time African champions. If Nigeria had defeated South Africa, a false impression would have been created ahead of our World Cup 2018 clash with Cameroon in August.

Now, Rohr has been told that he needs to do more to earn the confidence of Nigerians back. It is obvious that the presence of Mikel, Victor Moses and Carl Ikeme cannot be waived for now. The team that played last Saturday in Uyo lacked leadership. I don’t want to believe that the preference of Onazi instead of vice-captain, Ahmed Musa, had anything to do with how the boys played. Mikel is a leader. He commands respect almost like the late Stephen Keshi as captain.

The challenge posed by the Cameroonians is far greater than what Bafana brought to Uyo. The Indomitable Lions are the current African champions and would want to prove that to Eagles. What is at stake is far greater than the AFCON ticket. The Cameroonians want to go to Russia World Cup 2018 as African champions. The rivalry between both countries is legendary. With Nigeria at the top of the Group B pairing, the Lions know they need at least four out of the six points at stake for them to have any chance of grabbing the ticket.

They certainly must be having a healthy laugh in Yaounde now. Their feelings would be: “If South Africa can do it, the Indomitable Lion can also.” This is the real challenge ahead of Rohr as he gets back to the drawing board ahead of the August battles in Uyo and Yaounde.

A third Nations Cup miss would certainly create a problem for the game here while failing to grab the ticket to the World Cup cannot be explained with Nigeria leading the pack right from the first game. Let’s not just think about that happening as the consequent may be too hot to handle.

TR

Monday June 12, 2017

UT H

& RE A S O

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Price: N250

MISSILE PANDEF to FG

“PANDEF insists that this call by Arewa yourhs, must be nipped in the bud and the Federal Government should, as in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, arrest, detain and prosecute them for treasonable felony, with immediate effect. In this matter of threat to the corporate existence of Nigeria, there must be no sacred cows.” – Chief Edwin Clark calling on the federal government to decisively deal with and contain the Arewa Youths for calling on Igbos to leave the north and return to their eastern homeland.

ALEXOTTI OUTSIDE THE BOX

alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

Nigerian Universities in the Development Equation

P

enultimate Wednesday, I was privileged to deliver the 2017 Convocation lecture of the Babcock University. Below is the edited paper which I hope, readers will find useful.

Introduction

In his book, the ‘Origin of Species,’ Charles Darwin wrote “One general law, leading to the advancement of all organic beings, namely, multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.” In other words, in the natural order of things, the weak tribe, the shallow ethnic group, the intellectually limited race and the socially inferior being or nation becomes predisposed to an unfortunate but certain end, death; which yields room to the more accomplished, the intellectually superior, the technologically advanced and the culturally sophisticated.

Life leaves little room for weakness. Life is a continuous evolution of superior minds and societies attaining greater levels of growth and development.

Indeed, life is about change and adaptability. Perhaps at no other time in human history have change and adaptability become so significant than now.

Computing power is several times greater than it was as recently as twenty years ago when there was no Business to Customer (B2C) online shopping platform like Alibaba.com. Amazon was just a fledgling online book retailer, as distinct from the retail behemoth it is today. Think about it: just ten years ago there was no Jumia, and no Konga. Elsewhere, Tesla has shown that cars can actually be driven on batteries rather than fossil fuel. Solar energy solutions are becoming increasingly cheaper and more diffuse.

Waste to energy (WTE) solutions are converting shredded used tires to low Sulphur diesel fuel and medium capacity electricity. In other words, high grade thinking is redefining the human work space, home space and indeed play-space.

Putting it in even more epigrammatic light, one of the greatest minds of the last century Albert Einstein noted, ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’ If Nigeria is to correct the errors of the past and chart a course that assures her of an enviable place in global history, she must start with a new mental paradigm.

The Demographics

To provide perspective, we should take a brief overview of the nation’s socioeconomic context. Nigeria is a giant with gigantic problems. With over180 million people and an annual population growth rate of 3%, if we apply ‘the rule of 70’, Nigeria’s population would double over the next 20 years.

Also of critical importance here is the fact that Nigeria’s population is one of the youngest in the world. Over 70 per cent of the country’s population is less than 35 years of age resulting in what you could term a “pot-bellied youth bulge”. This is not necessarily bad, but if this growing army of young talented Nigerians is not put to productive use, the intense social unrest that could be precipitated could lead to one of the most disturbing sociopolitical upheavals ever experienced on the African continent, making the Arab Spring of the last decade, a child’s play.

Officially, Nigeria’s unemployment rate is considered to be about 18% today. At best this is a politically convenient figure, but even this number is 100% higher than the 9% unemployment rate recorded in 2015, a mere two years ago. The clearly worsening unemployment situation in the country at a time the nation graduates roughly 350,000 students yearly, leaves little to imagination about the dire consequences of not growing the nation’s economy by at least 10% per annum over the next 10 years.

Unemployment Subterfuge

At the beginning of 2016, unemployment rate was at 10.4%, by mid-year, the rate had increased to 12.1% with year-end forecast of 18%. We are almost

President Muhammadu Buhari at ‘the tipping point’ when the unemployed may begin to push back against society and escalate open social dissension.

So far, we seem to be blissfully ignorant about the implications of our demographics and surprisingly treat the issue of population and its nuances as if it were some minor inconvenience, like a mosquito humming in our ears. To be sure, Nigeria’s burgeoning population and its attendant repercussions are far more complex and exceedingly more dangerous than a bite from a female anopheles mosquito.

Again, lemonade comes from lemons not oranges; if a nation aspires to greatness it must groom great people, it cannot thrive with people unaccustomed to advanced thinking, intellectual rigour and social flexibility. If Nigeria is to progress, we must improve our productivity and the challenge starts with our schools, especially our universities.

Education and Its Responsibilities

At the heart of a nation’s progress are not its mineral resources, its ethnic or tribal affiliations nor necessarily its geographic location but the quality of its people.

The difference between rich and poor nations is a contrast between the types of people that live within their different geographic boundaries. Nigeria has remained a struggling country, largely because it has incrementally betrayed its responsibility to the education of its youth. Nigeria is one of the lowest spenders on education on the African continent.

Rich nations have better educated people and tend to attract such people to reinforce already exceptional talent. We can debate whether Harvard is an exceptional University, but what is not in contention is that Harvard attracts exceptional students, just like Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Gifted students are attracted to Harvard and become gifted lecturers who in turn attract gifted students.

Which University in Nigeria today can lay claim to attracting the finest of Nigeria’s brains deliberately and consciously to build a school tradition of excellence that will attract independent funding? Most Nigerian universities, private ones inclusive, are funded in ways that cannot guarantee the excellence that the nation requires to forge ahead in an increasingly digital world, with technology proceeding at a pace Microsoft’s Bill Gates once said was ‘faster than the speed of thought’. The world of Tesla’s Elon Musk is certainly not the world the Nigerian educational system is preparing our youths for. We are talking of the world of advanced robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), neuro plasticity, driverless cars, digital urban roadways, automated route switching metro lines and smart cities! The emerging world order is driven by intellect and creativity and no longer the dumb

mining and trading of natural resources.

As a people we have become comfortable with a lazy view of life. We have come to expect that we should do well because we have a dubious wealth from oil. This is one of the most blatant falsehoods we have created. Wealth is not a ‘thing’ it is a ‘process’.

The problem we face today is that our education is not designed to create wealth. It is structured and nurtured to produce at best bureaucrats, and at worst plutocrats. Men and women who expect to become wealthy through all kinds of means other than the rigorous application of their intellect, and creativity. These are people that bury money in septic tanks; stash loot in obscure buildings and flaunt everything but intellect.

If this country must progress, schools must be dedicated to producing students equipped to think creatively, deeply and unconventionally. Albert Einstein did not become great by memorizing the theories of his lecturers, but by diligently challenging their concepts unless they could irrefutably prove their correctness. He persistently asked the question, ‘why’ and if that would not be sufficient he would then ask, ‘why not’ an alternative! It is this critical tradition that has now culminated in a composite worldview where in the western world today, universities do not generally teach students ‘what’ to think but ‘how’ to think!

This is at the very basis of the failure of Nigeria to translate academic knowledge into solutions. This has inhibited our ability to solve even the most basic of problems in the areas of science, technology, and engineering. The lack of intellectual flexibility and creativity, the willful laziness of our campuses have resulted in a nation that is dependent on everything that is imported, no matter how inappropriate to our unique environment. Nigeria produces oil but the sector is not ‘internalized,’ and its major participants are foreigners serving external interests while dropping crumbs on the table for the locals to keep them from being restive. We have not defeated slavery; we have merely made it more subtle and perhaps more permissible. Our universities, with due respect, have so far failed us.

Nigerian universities have remained in the lower rungs of rankings in the World and Africa. In the latest edition of Times Higher Education Ranking, 2016, no Nigerian University made it to the top 981 universities in the world, quite unlike in 2015 when we featured at No. 600. That explains how fast the rest of the world is moving and or how fast Nigeria is moving in the wrong direction. In this same report for Africa, University of Ibadan which placed 11th in 2015 had dropped to the 14th position. Out of the best 15 universities in Africa, South African Universities took the first 6 positions, except the 4th position that went to Makerere University, Uganda. In another report, the 2017 African University Ranking, which largely agreed with the Times ranking, only 4 Nigerian universities made it to the top 50 in Africa.

Most curricula are a poor imitation of the study packs of western universities. Our universities lack the creative muse, the authentic home grown feel that makes study instantly relevant to the local environment. Our graduates are simply not being prepared for the real world. They lack an interface with their likely future work environment and falter from the very start of their careers because of poor preparation.

Furthermore, our universities are not tailored towards solving evolving challenges. If power has become an albatross to us, what solutions have our egg heads proffered? Why have our universities not designed, marketed and implemented alternative energy solutions? Why must we wait for Bill and Melinda Gates to fight malaria? With over 150 universities in the country today we should feel extremely scandalized by the ‘entitlement’ and ‘dependency’ culture we have encouraged. We

should feel terribly pained by the fact that we have to look abroad for solutions to local problems.

Nobody can love us more than ourselves. Nobody can understand us better than ourselves. As far as foreigners are concerned we are a great source of demand for their intellectual products. We are the consumption haven waiting for their production paradise.

A Call For Action If we must take our place in an intellectual world, we must rethink education now. I believe the following actions must be taken amongst others: 1. We must have the will to spend at least 25% of the country’s annual budget on education and create special education fund to support R&D in priority areas.

2. The government should grant special education support for students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) while company investments in R&D should be tax deductible.

3. Universities should run their schools much more efficiently and effectively. They should market their schools the way companies market their products.

They should sell research, provide feasibility studies, and run joint ventures. They should get off their butts and work!

4. Universities must ensure that their curricular are not only relevant to our peculiar circumstances, but up to date with realities. The study of pinhole cameras in a digital world can only pass as a history topic.

5. Universities need to use their alumni networks to attract endowments and bequests. They should produce saleable journals. They must see the possibilities of commercial viability of their own indigenous products and processes. Handouts are no longer fashionable. These days the smartest dog gets the fattest bone while the patient dog eats no bones.

6. Our universities need to engage government.

They need to analyze government’s policies, produce papers, host seminars and create a buzz that makes them noticed. The comfortable and serene indolence we seem to be witnessing today helps nobody.

Elsewhere, universities take positions; challenge orthodoxy; keep people and governments on their toes. They do not have to be ‘nice’ but professional.

7. We need a national agenda on education. Where are we? Where do we want to go? And how do we get there?

CONCLUSION

If our universities would be relevant in the development journey, they must make drastic changes. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect different results.

Ladies and gentlemen, as the young minds here today go into the world to express the gospel of education for development, I wish to admonish that they will find no free lunches, they will find no helpful handle bars to prop themselves up. What they will find is a world prepared to accept them for what they can offer. They will succeed to the extent of the value that they are prepared to add to society. This, therefore, is the primary task of our gowns, to provide top class minds to drive the development of our towns. While Einstein insists that “education is what remains when one has forgotten what one has learned in school’, I shall modify it to “education is what is of value when we put what we learned at school to use”.

Someone out there may like to draw my attention to a failed educated person and a successful person with little or no education. My response is, for every one educated person that failed, I will show you ninety nine successful educated people and for every one uneducated successful person, I will show you ninety nine failed uneducated persons. I will also like to add that if the successful school drop-out was able to complete his education, only God knows how successful he would have been.

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