MONDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2021 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

PwC Wants FG to Float Future Energy Fund, Not Frontier Exploration Account Oil contribution to GDP falls from 13% to 7% in seven years Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja A new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has advocated the setting up of a “Future Energy Fund” that would incorporate elements of the transition to cleaner fuel sources, rather than devoting

30 per cent of profit from oil and gas to the Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF) as provided in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). The global professional services and consulting firm, in a document which analysed the implications of the PIA, noted that based on the

World Economic Forum (WEF) data, a country’s energy transition readiness was measured by six factors. It listed the factors as availability of investment and capital; effective regulation and political commitment; stable institutions and governance;

supportive infrastructure and innovative business environment; highly skilled human capital and consumer participation; and robust energy systems structure. It stated that Nigeria scored 35 per cent in its energy transition readiness.

The report, titled, “The Petroleum Industry Act: Redefining the Nigerian Oil and Gas Landscape,” explained that lack of enabling infrastructure, regulatory framework and governance of energy transition were the major reasons for the low score.

The new PIA stipulates that a frontier exploration fund shall be maintained for the exploration of unassigned frontier acreages financed by 10 per cent of rents on prospecting licences, 10 per Continued on page 11

OPS: Worsening VAT War Leaves Business Operators Confused... Page 6 Monday 13 September, 2021 Vol 26. No 9653. Price: N250

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Presidency: Buhari’s Visit to Imo Successful, Pleasant Experience State government takes a swipe at opposition Deji Elumoye in Abuja Contrary to insinuations doing the rounds, the Presidency, yesterday, declared that the visit by President Muhammadu Buhari to Imo

State was a pleasant experience as he was overwhelmed by the reception accorded him by South East leaders during his official visit to the heartland of the east last week.

The presidency, therefore, clarified a statement credited to the President in Owerri, the Imo State capital, where he was quoted to have told Governor Hope Uzodimma that “I’ll be careful

with your future invitations.” The statement has since generated controversy in the state as the opposition had interpreted the statement to mean that the president was not satisfied with

the visit. To that extent, the state government has said the opposition in the state would continue to fail in their desperate bid to undermine the government of Senator Hope

Uzodimma and by extension, that of Buhari. President Buhari was in Owerri on a one-day working visit last Continued on page 11

Presidential Visitation Indicts UNILAG VC, Ogundipe, Mgt Exonerates Babalakin of wrongdoing in vice chancellor’s removal Says Ogundipe was given fair hearing before sack by former council University accounting system abysmally poor, fraudulent, report reveals Obinna Chima The visitation panel set up by Visitor to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), President Muhammed Buhari, following a fierce disagreement between the then Governing Council of the institution and the management finally submitted its report on September 7 to the Federal Government, with an indictment of the Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe. Although yet to be officially released, THISDAY was able to obtain a copy of the 241-page report from the Federal Ministry of Education. The report examined Continued on page 11

Lamido Visits Obasanjo, CEREMONY... Says Nigeria is SENDFORTH L-R: The new Managing Director, NLNG, Dr. Philip Mshelbila; Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom WIke and former Managing Bleeding... Page 59 Director, NLNG, Tony Attah, during Attah's sendforth ceremony at NLNG corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt… recently

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

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HOW TO SECURE THE NATION... L-R: Executive Director, GEJ Foundation, Ms. Ann Iyomu; former President Goodluck Jonathan; National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno; ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Amb. Pache Gueye and Assistant PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI Inspector General of Police, Bala Ciroma, displaying copies of the book, 'Terrorism and Banditry in Nigeria: The Nexus', during the public presentation at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja...weekend

OPS: Worsening VAT War Leaves Business Operators Confused May withhold remittances Dike Onwuamaeze There is a looming danger that the federal and state governments might experience a steep drop in revenue accruing from the Value Added Tax (VAT) as some members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) are considering withholding remitting the consumption tax until the controversy surrounding its payment is addressed. They also suggested that a new formula for distributing the VAT revenue among the tiers of government has become necessary in order to calm the raging controversy. The representatives of the OPS which included the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI), the Nigerian Employers' Consultative Association (NECA) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers

of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) have called on the federal government to act fast in addressing the raging VAT ‘war’ between the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and some state governments. The matter has been as subject of legal tussle between the FIRS and Rivers State which had enacted a VAT Law that empowered the state to start collecting VAT. Lagos State also followed its south-south counterpart by enacting its own VAT Law. Since then, some states had also expressed their readiness to also enact laws to enable them start collecting VAT as well. But Without hearing the application seeking to stay the judgment of a Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State which had restrained the FIRS from collecting VAT in Rivers State, nor

NCAA Directs Airlines to Board Passengers Without Evidence of COVID-19 Test Payment Chinedu Eze The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has given permission to airlines operating international service to Nigerian destinations to allow passengers travelling to the country,who were unable to show evidence of payment for day-7 COVID-19 PCR test or generate paid QR code or permit to fly, to board their flights. The order was however hinged on the difficulties being experienced by travellers to Nigeria in trying to fill their health and travel history into the Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP). The permission was granted in a letter with Ref: NCAA/ DG/AIR/11/16/317 to airlines’ Accountable and Country Managers, signed by the Director General of NCAA, Captain Musa Nuhu and dated 11th September 2021. According to the letter, the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has been made aware of the challenges being faced by passengers to access the Nigerian Health Portal. The Director General said such passengers would be required to make payment for the repeated

day-7 COVID-19 test at their destination airport in Nigeria. The letter also stated that holders of diplomatic passports and children aged 10 years and below, who were unable to complete the NITP were to be allowed to board their flights, adding that, their health declaration and travel history would be captured by the Port Health Services at the destination airport. He said airlines were to bring this information to the knowledge of their passengers and ensure strict compliance with the above stated conditions. Relevant government agencies were notified of the new directive. The letter stated: “The Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 has been made aware of challenges some travellers to Nigeria are experiencing while trying to fill their health and travel history into the Nigerian Travel International Portal (NITP). “Airlines are hereby permitted to board any traveler to Nigeria, who is unable to either pay for the repeat day-7 COVID-19 PCR test or generate the paid QR code/ permit to fly. Such passengers will be required to make payment for the repeat day-7 COVID-19 test at their destination airport in Nigeria.

issuing a stay order, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal last Friday ordered the Rivers State Government to suspend collection of VAT. But reacting to the development, Director General of the NECA, Dr. Timothy Olawale, said businesses should not to remit their VAT until the matter is finally dealt with in the court of law. Olawale told THISDAY that, “in this regard, an employer (business firm) can open an Escrow Account for the money, which must be different from other accounts of the company. This should be remitted upon the final judgment of court, as it appears that the case could get to the Supreme Court,” adding that “the FIRS and the states’ Inland Revenue Services should be notified of this development officially.” He said the concern of businesses, “is basically who to remit deducted VAT to due to the pending appeal in order to avoid penalties and double payment.” He also advised that firms could, “approach the court by way of interpleader proceedings to determine who they should remit the deducted VAT to.” An interpleader, according to

Olawale, “is a process whereby somebody in possession of anything i.e. money, properties, etc, and he is not the owner. But two or more people are laying claim to that money or property. The person in possession approaches the court to determine who that money or property should be given to or how it should be handled or what should be done.” Also, his counterpart at NACCIMA, Mr. Ayo Olukanni, told THISDAY that, “the contention over VAT has introduced uncertainty into the business space and it is our hope that it will be resolved definitively and quickly.” Similarly, the Director General of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, stated that the first concern of the chamber, “is the confusion that businesses face as to who is in charge of VAT collection. This is not healthy for the business community and planning.” Almona stated that businesses should not be subjected to unnecessary hurdles and made to pay the same tax twice from different agencies and urged “the federal government to urgently establish an understanding with states on what is best for the nation and

businesses. She noted that VAT was introduced in 1993 to replace the sales tax in the states. With an initial sharing formula original formula that allocated 50 per cent to the federal government, 35 per cent to the state governments, and 15 per cent to local governments. But this was altered in January 1999 when the formula was adjusted to be 15 per cent to federal government, 50 per cent to state governments, and 35 per cent to local government. “Presently, the states and local governments share their allocations using the factors of equality 50 per cent; population 30 per cent and derivation 20 per cent. “We advise that the current sharing formula for the states and local governments be adjusted using the factors of equality 20 per cent, population 30 per cent, and derivation 50 per cent per cent going forward. This arrangement should be agreeable by all concerned parties. “This can drive innovation on revenue generation in all the states towards increasing their internally generated revenue. It will also make the states more sensitive to the needs of businesses in their

respective States, knowing that an enabling business environment is likely to boost tax revenues,” Almona said. A Professor of Accountancy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof. Gloria Tochukwu Okafor, told THISDAY that businesses might withhold the remittance of the VAT. Okafor said: “Currently businesses that should remit VAT are confused, especially after the decision by the court that Rivers State should collect the taxes. When two persons are struggling on who should receive the money you have been paying periodically at regular intervals, the normal thing a human being should do is to hold back that money and wait until he or she is sure who to collect the payment. “The implication of this confusion is that the money would neither accrue to the federal or the state government because businesses would rather retain the VAT than remitting it to the wrong government.” She also advised state governments to work hard on improving their internally generated revenue than relying on allocations from the federation account.

Nigeria’s October Oil Inventory Struggles for Buyers Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Nigeria has sent a signal that the recovery in global oil demand still has some way to go, with volumes of its next month’s loading struggling to find buyers, even among its main customers, a Bloomberg report has indicated. As much as two-thirds of Nigeria’s crude for October export were yet to find buyers, according to traders specialising in the West African market, whose volume is enough to fill 30 Suezmax tankers, each carrying one million barrels of oil. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Asia’s biggest buyer of Nigerian crude from the region had disappointed the market for a second week, compounding already sluggish sales to Europe, the producer’s other main market, the sources said. The news medium reported that earnings for ships hauling

West African oil to that region were at the lowest level in a month. The state oil refining giant purchased just two million barrels of Nigerian oil in its latest tender, after a 1-million-barrel buy the previous week as opposed to the IOC typically buying as much as 20 million barrels of West African crude per month before the pandemic. THISDAY recently exclusively reported that India, Netherlands and Spain, according to a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) document, topped over 50 countries cutting across Western Europe, Oceania/Pacific, South America, North America, Middle East, Asia and Far East as well as Africa, which are favourite destinations for Nigeria’s oil. Last year, India led the pack of buyers of Nigeria's crude for the 2020 trading year with 107.89 million barrels, followed

by Netherlands with 73 million barrels and Spain with a total quantity of 70.4 million barrels. As the United States turned its back on Nigeria’s crude because it was more expensive due to its top quality, India and other countries had upped their hydrocarbons trade with Nigeria, the data obtained by THISDAY showed. Meanwhile, oil rose to briefly top $73 a barrel at the weekend, supported by growing signs of supply tightness in the United States as a result of Hurricane Ida and as U.S.-China trade hopes gave riskier assets a boost. About three quarters of the U.S. Gulf's offshore oil production, or about 1.4 million barrels per day, has remained halted since late August, which is roughly equal to what OPEC member Nigeria produces. Brent crude rose to settle at $1.47, or 2.3 per cent, to $72.92, while the session

high was $73.15 a barrel as United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.58, or 2.3 per cent to $69.72. Both grades posted a small gain on the week, but Brent rallied 41 per cent this year on supply cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and some demand recovery from the pandemic. Oil and equity markets also got a boost from news of a call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, raising hopes for warmer relations and more global trade. The United States added rigs in the latest week, energy service provider Baker Hughes said, indicating production may rise in coming weeks. Earlier, crude contracts fell more than 1 per cent after China said it would release crude oil reserves via public auction to help ease high feedstock costs for refiners.

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DEDICATION SERVICE OF THE REDEEMED… L-R: Senior Pastor, RCCG Apapa, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Senior Pastor, RCCG City of David, Abuja, Pastor Gbolade Okenla and Minister of Women Aﬀairs, Dr. Pauline Tallen, during the PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI dedication service of the Redeemed Christian Church of God 'City of David Parish', Utako, Abuja... yesterday

EFCC, ICPC May Go after Doctors for Fraudulently Collecting N540m Training Allowance 2,000 dropped from residency programme Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The federal government is considering dragging some medical doctors through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for illegally collecting medical training allowances meant for House Officers on residency training programme in 2020, to the tune of N540 million. The move came as THISDAY learnt that the government had released N4.8 billion for the 2021 residency training programme. Reliable sources at the Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment told THISDAY at the weekend that the health ministry was considering reporting the doctors, who failed to refund the illegal payment to the treasury, to the anti-corruption

agencies. The source said there were three categories of medical officers involved in the scam, including some consultant doctors. The source also said the government had accused the managements of some of the Teaching Hospitals of allegedly smuggling names of those who had completed their residency training programme into the list of House Officers that received payment from the medical training fund in 2020. According to the source, though the affected doctors had promised to refund the money, they were yet to do so, thereby making it difficult for the ones due for the training to access their allowances. THISDAY gathered that the federal government was particularly concerned that some of the consultant doctors who were involved in the illegal deal

had not shown remorse for their action but rather were among those collaborating with resident doctors on the on-going strike. The source also disclosed that out of the 8,000 House Officers that applied for the 2021 residency training programme, 2,000 were screened out for not having postgraduate residency training numbers. The source said verification was on-going to ensure that only those qualified were deployed for the next programme. According to the source, the Federal Ministry of Finance has released N4.8 billion as this year's residency training fund to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation two weeks ago. Regarding the smuggling of names into the salary payment platform, the source said the federal government had issued queries

to Chief Medical Directors of the Federal Teaching Hospitals involved in the illegal act. About 205 doctors were alleged to have been illegally recruited at the Ibadan Teaching Hospital, while the Calabar Teaching Hospital carried out illegal recruitment of over 100 doctors out of the 500 health workers. According to the source, these illegally recruited doctors and health workers formed the majority of those that the NARD leadership were demanding that government should pay before they would end their on-going strike. The source said, "These CMDs went ahead to recruit new doctors and other health workers without relevant approvals and ignoring the federal character principles. They went further to smuggle their names into the (GIFIMS) salary payment platform.

"Teaching Hospital, Ibadan recruited over 950 health workers without waiver from the office of the Head of Service, without certificate of finance and manpower compliance from the Budget Office of the Federation and without compliance with the federal character principle. "These illegally recruited doctors and health workers were among those that NARD is demanding that federal government must pay salaries. This amounts to arm twisting of the government and cover-up of fraudulent act and it will not happen. "The federal government in its magnanimity, despite the on-going strike, has decided to pay these illegally recruited doctors and health workers by asking the Head of Service of the Federation to approve a waiver for the affected doctors to be recruited formally into full

Ekweremadu Warns N'Assembly against Legislating Over VAT Collection, Stamp Duties Says legal action be allowed to run full course Deji Elumoye in Abuja Former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has advised the National Assembly not to legislate on the collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Stamp Duties, which are currently subjects of litigation between some states and the federal government. Ekweremadu said allowing the litigations to run the full course would be a major step towards strengthening the country's federalism. In a statement yesterday by his media adviser, Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu recalled that he had for over a decade warned the country against a “feeding bottle federalism” in which states depended on redistributed resources of other federating units for survival. He held that any constitution amendment to transfer VAT collection to the Exclusive Legislative List, as reportedly requested by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), would amount to changing the goal post in the middle of a game. The ranking senator, who

chaired the constitution amendment process in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Senate, stressed that since past legislative efforts to get things right had failed or had been scuttled, it was natural and imperative to allow the judiciary to play its role in shaping the country's federalism. He said in the statement, “I commend Governors Nyesom Wike and Babajide Sanwo-Olu as well as the Rivers and Lagos Houses of Assembly for their courageous moves. It is by so doing that our constitution or laws can be tested and our federalism strengthened. “In April 2012, I delivered a lecture at the Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada, entitled, ‘Nigerian Federalism: A Case for a Review’, wherein I forewarned that Nigeria would surely run into stormy economic weather unless we reinvented our federalism, steering the country away from a military-imposed ‘feeding bottle federalism’ to one predicated on self-reliance, hard work, enterprise, and resourcefulness to catalyse national development and economic prosperity. Many others have also

made related calls. Unfortunately, few people were interested in what we were talking about. “Although we achieved a number of successes, perhaps my worst experience at the helms of the constitution amendment process was in the Seventh Assembly. We recorded the most elaborate amendments to our constitution, including the rearrangement of the Legislative Lists to devolve more powers to the subnational governments by moving certain items like Aviation, Railway, Power, Stamp Duties, among others to the Concurrent Legislative List. Unfortunately, the amendments were denied assent by the President. “But as a lawyer and lawmaker, I know that case law or judicial precedent, is also a veritable source of law. So, I think we should allow the constitution and the laws of our land to be tested in the courts of law. It is untidy for the Presidency or its agency to come through the backdoor to seek legislative intervention in its favour on the same matter that is prejudice. The ball is now in the court of the judiciary and all we should

seek at this juncture is an expedited and courageous adjudication of the lawsuits.” The Chairman of Senate Committee on Environment also advised every state to look inwards to boost its revenues, saying every part of the country has what it takes to prosper. According to him, “The bottom line of the raging tax ‘war’ is that having unwittingly killed industry, having elevated our nation to an oil dependent economy, and consequent upon the collapse of oil price amid other sources of energy, our economy is virtually collapsing, the naira has crashed to an all-time low, and the nation has come to rely more and more on taxes. “Inevitably, some states have now begun to question some practices they feel fly in the face of federalism and justice, among them the collection and distribution of VAT and other taxes. “VAT is essentially a consumption tax and what states like Rivers and Lagos are saying in essence is that the federal government cannot continue to rob them of

taxes paid on goods and services consumed in their states, some with environmental and social consequences that they have to deal with, but only to withhold as well as transfer a large chunk of such revenues to other states.” The lawmaker added, “The major takeaway from our ailing economy, collapse of the naira, and the VAT and stamp duty imbroglio is that our feeding bottle strand of federalism is no longer sustainable. “We must diversify and expand our economy now; and there is no other way than to remake our federalism to enable states to harness and unleash their endowments and comparative advantages. “Rather than begrudge states like Rivers and Lagos, all federating units should be encouraged and enabled to look inwards to reinvent themselves, boosting their respective competitiveness through improved security, human capital development, industry, and building of egalitarian and cosmopolitan societies to attract more investments and economically viable populations. That is how federations are meant to function.”

employment. “The Budget Office of the Federation is now working to capture them into the budget to be paid through the service wide vote." But, in a statement issued at the weekend and made available to THISDAY, former President of NARD, Dr. Muhammad Askira, accused some government officials of deliberately delaying the grant of waiver for recruitment or replacement of medical doctors and other health workers in the federal government health institutions. Part of the grievances of the striking Resident Doctors was that their members were being owed several months of salaries and allowances by federal and state governments. Askira, while justifying the current strike by resident doctors, said it was as a result of the government’s insincerity in implementing agreed actionable series of memoranda. He alleged that there was currently a dearth of medical manpower in healthcare institutions caused by unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks. Askira alleged that the country presently had a doctor-to –patients’ ratio of 1: 7000, adding that many hospitals are finding it difficult to recruit or replace doctors. According to Askira, many doctors are leaving the country to other climes where they can do their job with satisfaction. He said, "As a result, the hospitals are depleted but find it difficult to employ new staff because of bureaucratic processes that involve the Budget Office of the Federation, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the Federal Character Commission as well as the Federal Ministry of Health. "This has made the work burden on the available doctors to be unbearably high, resulting in physician burnout and limited care to a limited number of people needing care." Writing on the alleged rot in the public health sector, Askira said the process of recruitment or replacement of medical staff was incessantly delayed for no just reason. He accused some officials in the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies of corruption and deliberately delaying grant of approval for waiver for recruitment or replacement of medical staff. He said, "It takes an average of Continued on page 10

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THE ENDANGERED GIRL CHILD... L-R: National President, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, (NAWOJ), Alhaja Ladi Bala; former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinotu Ojikutu and wife of former Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Abimbola Jakande, at NAWOJ B Zone (South West) Maiden Annual Conference with the theme: 'Insecurity: The Girl child as endangered' held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos... recently

ICPC Probes Police Trust Fund's Alleged N11bn Equipment Donation to Nigeria Police Procurement of 640 sub-standard bullet proofs, 120 ballistic helmets, 120 buffalo fans under investigation Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Barely a year after the coming into existence of the fund, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has commenced investigation into the procurement of sub-standard equipment, part of the N11 billion equipment donated to the Nigeria Police by the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF). The anti-graft agency, in a letter of invitation to the fund, requested the Board Chairman of the fund and former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleman Abba and five others to appear before the commission over alleged procurement of sub-standard equipment by the NPTF, which was donated to the police. The fund had recently sought approval of N74billion budget from the National Assembly. The invitation to the officials of the intervention agency was contained in a letter dated September 6, 2021, addressed to the Executive Secretary of the NPTF and signed by the Director of Operations of the ICPC, Akeem Lawal. The letter titled, ‘Investigation Activities: Letter of Invitation Pursuant to Section 28(1(A-B) of ICPC Act 2000’, the agency invited the officials to appear before it between Monday, September 13,

and Thursday, September 16, 2021. The officials invited by the commission included Board Chairman and former IG, Suleiman Abba (rtd); Director, Legal Services, Mrs Victoria Ojogbane; Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Alhaji Yahaya Mohammed; Director, Finance and Account, Mr. Lawal Gunjunju; Special Assistant, Technical, Mr. Salihu Abubakar; and Dr. Fred Femi Akinfala, Director, Human Resources and General Services as well as Board members, Mr. Ben Akabueze and Mansur Hammed, Board Member. Akabueze is also the DG, Budget office. The bullet proof, expected to possess resistant shields on two

Tuesday, September 14, 2021. Others include Abubakar by 1pm on Tuesday, September 14, 2021; Akinfala, 10am on Wednesday, September 15, 2021; Akabueze by 1pm on Wednesday, September 15, 2021 while Hammed is expected in by 10am on Thursday, September 16, 2021. “Similarly, the invited staff is to come with the following documents as applicable to their office and schedule as well as the original copies for sighting. "Copies of all payment vouchers for overhead, recurrent and capital for year 2020 and 2021, copies of all contract agreement for contracts awarded from the take-off grant and capital,

copies of staff nominal roll, comprehensive list of staff on transfer, posting and secondment", the letter read. The ICPC also demanded the "vote for take-off grant, breakdown of all spending and approvals, print-out of ledger vote and spending, all no objection certificate from Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). "Evidence of BPP clarification on contract award, financial limit and thresholds, procurement methods and threshold of application and expenditure as related to NPTF. “They are also expected to come with any of the following: a lawyer, Justice of Peace, Staff

of the Legal Aid Council or any individual of their choice. Accept the assurances of the Commission’s highest regards, please." The spokesperson of the ICPC, Mrs Azuka Ogugua, confirmed the invitation in a chat with THISDAY. When contacted, spokesperson of the NPTF, and Chief Supretendent of Police, Olabisi Okwuobi, confirmed the invitation too but denied the donation of N11 billion equipment to police. "On the invitation of the Chairman, it is confirmed but there are two parties to an investigation: a witness or, and a suspect either to confirm or give otherwise testimony. It is not good to preempt the investigation," he said.

Report: Nnamdi Kanu’s Abia State Least Affected by IPOB Activities in South-east Ebonyi most impacted Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Abia State has emerged the least impacted by the sit-at-home order by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), despite the fact that its founder, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, hails from the state, a new report by the SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence has shown. SBM, a leading geopolitical research firm in Nigeria carrying out political, economic and social analyses in the country and West

EFCC, ICPC MAY GO AFTER DOCTORS FOR FRAUDULENTLY COLLECTING N540M TRAINING ALLOWANCE 8-12 months for a lucky hospital to finally obtain a waiver for recruitment or replacement of medical staff. In some cases, the hospitals would be forced to consider candidates from some directors and politicians if at all they want the processes to be expedited, otherwise, it would be out rightly rejected or at best delayed and the required number slashed." But the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, had debunked these, saying contrary to the claims by the striking members of NARD, no genuinely recruited doctor or health worker in Nigeria is being owed monthly salary. Speaking recently at a conciliatory meeting with doctors, Ngige

sides, was only effective on one, which was incapable of protecting police personnel in a possible shootout with criminals. It was gathered that they would be investigated for alleged violation of the provisions of the ICPC Act No. 5 of 2020. According to the letter, the former police chief, Abba, is expected to appear for questioning at exactly 1pm on Thursday, September 16, 2021. Ojogbane is expected at the commission by 10am on Monday, September 13, 2021 while Mohammed is due to appear by 1pm on Monday, September 13, 2021. Gunjunju is billed to appear for questioning by 10am on

had said, "NARD goes about telling Nigerians that government is owing them salaries and that government is not taking the problems in the health sector serious. But this is not true. It is incorrect. “No doctor, nurse, pharmacist or any other health worker, including the driver, is owed monthly salary. Government pays as and when due. “The truth is that NARD doctors fail to tell Nigerians that their colleagues who are owed salaries are the ones illegally recruited and were, therefore, neither captured by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation nor was their payment provided for by the Budget Office of the Federation."

Fear driving compliance, says research group

Africa, noted that the survey was held across the five states in the region to ascertain the level of compliance to the order declared by the separatist group. The survey titled, “Perception and Impact of IPOB-ordered Sit-atHome,” showed that 34 per cent of men supported the sit-at-home as opposed to 24 per cent of women, while persons between the ages of 18-30 years comprised 37 per cent of those that supported the directive. Of the five states in the Southeast, the sit-at-home order was most effective in Ebonyi State with 98.07 per cent of the respondents affirming that it was observed, followed by 97.17 per cent in Imo State, 96.30 per cent in Enugu State, and 83.78 per cent in Anambra State. IPOB recently deployed the strategy as a form of protest, especially against the arrest and detention of its leader, Kanu, following his forced return to Nigeria in an operation carried out by the federal government. Since then, vehicles have been burnt and as many as four persons were killed in Imo State, while four others were slain in Anambra State, although the group had announced the suspension of the weekly exercise. On September 6, a truck carrying mattresses from Onitsha in Anambra State to Orlu in Imo

State was stopped and set ablaze at Kootu Road, near Orlu, while a trailer loaded with motorcycle spare parts was burnt at Eluagu Obukpa, in Nsukka council of Enugu State. On the same day in Eke Okposi, Onicha council of Ebonyi State, a businessman and some of his apprentices were killed by alleged IPOB enforcers. However, SBM emphasised that the compliance might be driven by fear of the repercussions of disobeying the order as alleged by an increasing number of voices from the region. Furthermore, persons between 31 and 40 years constituted 52 per cent of those who backed the group, 41-50 years made up 49 per cent, and 57 per cent of those who supported the action were above 50 years. The report showed that transporters were most negatively impacted with 73.3 per cent, those in the hospitality industry had 71.4 per cent, self-employed persons 73.9 per cent, artisans 62.1 per cent, blue-collar formal sector workers 64.5 per cent, students 47.6 per cent, and white-collar formal sector workers 49.53 per cent. It also revealed that equal impact was felt by both male and female respondents to the sit-at-home order with 83.7 per cent of women and 81.7 per cent of men attesting to the sit-at-home

order being observed in their locality. About 60 per cent of female respondents indicated that the sit-at-home order affected their productivity compared to 67.9 per cent of men, while 12.9 per cent of women said their productivity was not affected by the sit-at-home order compared to 9.42 per cent of men. Out of the respondents that expressed support for the protest, the SBM report noted that only 19.7 per cent of women and 23.34 per cent of men indicated support for future sit-at-home protests, while 19.42 per cent of women and 17.51 per cent of men said they will offer no support to future protests. It stated that the strongest sign of resistance to future protests among those who never supported it in the first place was among persons 18-30 with 25.65 per cent with least share of support among young people between 18-30 years with only 23.1 per cent expressing support for it. “This is contrary to the general perception which had indicated that IPOB’s strongest support comes from young people who do not have the lived experience of the Nigerian civil war and the years succeeding it,” the report said. SBM concluded that the relative lack of support for the sit-at-home

protests in Abia State, which is IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu’s home state, may be related to the impact of the three military exercises in the region since 2016 tagged ‘Operation Python Dance I, II and III. The report said, “Operation Python Dance I was carried out mostly in Abia State in a bid to arrest Nnamdi Kanu. There were numerous reports of clashes between the military and IPOB, as well as the military’s invasion of Mr Kanu’s home to arrest him. “The effectiveness of the sit-athome order in the various states might be as a result of the use of force by IPOB in enforcing it, particularly in Imo State which saw an increase in violence in the months leading up to the sit-at-home order.” In Abia and Imo, according to the research group, respondents said they were in support of the sit-at-home order when it was initially announced, but explained that the manner of enforcement, the use of force, left a lot to be desired. In Abia, the research group observed that the people across the board who it interviewed, expressed minimal support purely for economic reasons since such orders are bad for businesses, especially as the sit-at-home is scheduled on the first workday of the week.

MONDAY, ͹ͻ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

ELEVEN PRESIDENTIAL VISITATION INDICTS UNILAG VC, OGUNDIPE, MGT the affairs of the university and issues that led to the crisis and concluded that all the allegations made by the then Dr. Wale Babalakin-led Governing Council against Ogundipe were substantiated by the panel, contrary to the position held by the special panel, which was set up then after the removal of the VC. Constituted on March 29, 2021, the seven-member Presidential Visitation Panel was asked to look into the affairs of the institution between 2016 and 2020, which incidentally fell within the period that the Babalakin-led Governing Council removed Ogundipe as VC, over alleged financial malpractices. The VC was alleged to have misappropriated the university’s funds. Babalakin had explained then regarding Ogundipe’s removal, “We agreed to have a secret ballot that we have always had when there are contentious issues. The votes were counted, they were not just votes, everybody wrote their own comments and I read it out to everybody.” But few months after the removal of the VC, Buhari approved the report of a Special Panel to the university, which had then recommended, among

other things, the reinstatement of Ogundipe and also dissolved the Governing Council headed by Babalakin, who had earlier resigned his chairmanship. Following the special panel’s report, Ogundipe was reinstated to his position, which he currently occupies. However, the visitation panel, in its final report, revealed that Ogundipe could not provide any defence for his actions. It alleged that the UNILAG VC was involved in splitting of contracts. According to the panel, “The explanations given were mere justifications to the breached contract tender processes that resulted in contract splitting, not out of ignorance of the requirements of the rules and regulations that have been substantively enacted.” The report highlighted many contracts that were illegally awarded by the Ogundipe-led management. It alleged that in violation of the Procurement Act, the management of UNILAG under Ogundipe regularly diverted, by way of Virement, the sum of N1.800 billion from the university’s recurrent expenditure to fund award of contracts, which were clearly illegal. The visitation panel stated, “The university operates a structured budget processing system. The

budget process seems complete except that a bulk allocation of funds was made to each department, and they are each at liberty to allocate amount available as they deem fit. This is totally inconsistent with the structured process and needs to be revisited. “The format of the periodic budget performance report presented to the Governing Council has major deficiencies. It lacks the critical aspect of good management information, performance review criteria and presentation. There is no section for the statement of financial positions that could have disclosed the fixed asset and all financial assets and liabilities of the university. “It is half-baked reporting template used over the years for the quarterly financial reporting, however, it might not have been intentionally generated with the view towards hiding useful financial information from the Governing Council and the management of the university. “We also noticed some inconsistency between the figures of the approved budget and that of the budget performance report. It points to the fact that subordinates are not being supervised as required. With a staff strength of 120, such

errors should not be continuous and mistakes are not expected from the Bursary Department. “The budget performance reports concentrated on the monetary aspect of operations and also failed to determine the variance between the budget and the actual performance of each critical areas of the university, which include direct teaching, research and human resource development.” According to the panel findings, even the monthly donation of N500,000 to the Law Faculty by Babalakin for the purchase of law reports was diverted by the university management or the Faculty of Law by paying the sum into an unofficial account. This enabled the indicted officers to spend the money in a manner not authorised by the donor, it stated. The visitation panel came to the conclusion that the Bursary of the University was characterised by concealment, fraud, misappropriation, misrepresentation, and incompetence. Furthermore, the report revealed that the management under Ogundipe concealed the accounts of the university for over three years from the Governing Council, which under Section 7 of the University of Lagos Act, was

P R E SID E NCY: B U HAR I’S VISIT TO I MO SUCCES S F UL , P L EASA N T EX PERIEN CE Thursday during which he commissioned some projects and met with stakeholders, including Ndigbo leaders in the South East zone. The Presidency, in a statement titled: "What President Buhari said (didn't say) in Imo State" issued by the Media Adviser to the President, Femi Adesina, maintained that President Buhari's working visit to the state was successful. The statement read in part: "We have observed that President Buhari’s concluding remarks at the meeting with South East Leaders during his one day visit to Imo State is being deliberately contorted and twisted out of context. "The purveyors of disinformation want Nigerians to believe that the President bluntly told Governor Uzodinma, ‘I’ll be careful with your future invitations.’ They have adduced different meanings to the phrase, contrary to the context wherein the President spoke during his successful dialogue with leaders of thought from Igboland. "When he arrived at the banquet hall of Imo State Government House for his last assignment in Owerri, the President was welcomed by over 50 leaders from the South East, who had waited patiently for him for a Town Hall engagement, after commissioning strategic projects in the State. "The President began his extempore speech by acknowledging the caliber of personalities present at the dialogue, including the President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Prof George Obiozor; former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (Rtd); former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; former Military Governor in old Imo State, Senator Ike Nwachukwu; the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe; Chairman of the South East Governors Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi; Deputy Governors of Abia, Anambra and the SSG of Enugu State, who represented the Governor, the Anglican Archbishop of Owerri Province, Most Rev David Onouha and his brother Bishop of Enugu, Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma; and Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo, just to mention but a few. "An elated President Buhari made it clear that he was expressly overwhelmed by the reception and galaxy of personalities that travelled from the five South Eastern States to have a heartto-heart discussion with him in Owerri, the Imo State capital. "His words were clear: ‘I am overwhelmed by this reception,

overwhelmed in the sense that when I accepted the invitation by the Imo State Governor, who wants to justify investments the government has done to the people of Imo State, I thought I would see the bridges, the roads and a few renovations. “He didn’t tell me he was going to get the whole Igbo leadership here. So, in the future when he invites me, I’ll know what to do. But I think he has done what the military didn’t like. He has achieved surprise. He has surprised me beyond description. "Later, in his concluding statement at the same event, the President made reference to his earlier remarks on the ‘surprise’ action pulled by the Governor. On a lighter note, he quipped: ‘Governor of Imo State, I cannot thank you enough, but I will be careful with your future invitations.’ "The President’s historic visit to Imo State was very successful and the Igbo leaders, who met him shared the same enthusiasm that his coming to the Eastern heartland would bring peace, foster unity, encourage good and better understanding among the citizenry,” the statement stated. The statement further noted that, "Archbishop David Onuoha, who is the Anglican Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, must have summed up the mood in the words of the prayer offered at the event: Thank You, dear Lord for our nation Nigeria and her people with diverse backgrounds, nationalities and cultures. Surely, you did not make any mistakes in bringing us together. “Your purpose is for us to harness our potentials/strength to build a strong and virile nation. May this purpose never be defeated. Glory be unto You for bringing Your servant and our dear President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, safely to this state. Blessed be Your name for his life and the giant strides he is taking for the wellbeing of our nation. Thank you for the huge infrastructural development that is taking place in various parts of the country. “Lord, Nigeria is a great nation with numerous challenges. We pray that you endue our President with heavenly wisdom, grace and strength. In his resolve to serve this nation, he will not fail, fall or falter. He will end his tenure strong and well to the glory and honour of your name and the good of our people. “May his visit today bring peace, foster unity, encourage good and better understanding among the citizens of this great

nation; may it bring prosperity and restoration.’’ Meanwhile, the Imo State government, in a statement by Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to Governor, said the miniscule opposition in the state has been looking for a way to discredit the visit and embarrass Mr. President. “In their desperation, they doctored and proceeded to post on social media platforms, a misleading video on President Buhari's remarks during his Town Hall Meeting with highly respected Igbo leaders, who were in audience at the exclusive meeting, in total disregard for the good intention of Mr. President's remarks,” the statement noted. Sharing the view of the opposition, the statement added: “Because the opposition in Imo State are too bitter with hate to notice even the smallest of humours, nobody would have been surprised if they also lost their sense of understanding when President Buhari went humorous

in his remarks. “Let me explain to them what Mr. President meant in the language they will understand if at all they would be ready to learn. Pronto, President Buhari in appreciating Governor Uzodimma and the good people of Imo State for the superlative host would want to be as prepared as the Governor and the State next time he is visiting so as not to be ‘surprised’ again. “Only those who do not mean well for Imo State will travel this lane that the opposition chose to travel to tweak Mr. President's comment they know is absolute lie. Governor Uzodimma has done what no Igbo Governor, dead or living has been able to do with a sitting President's invitation. “I thought the opposition in Imo should be grateful for this rare feat, swallow their pride and commend him rather than destroying what is left of opposition politics. The earlier they realise that what they are doing is not about Governor Uzodimma the better for them.”

statutorily conferred with the power of superintendence of the accounts of the university. It said it was the insistence of the Governing Council to know the accounts of the university that led to the commissioning of the Professor Omolehinwa Committee, which unravelled the true state of affairs of the university. “The decision arose from the findings of the Chairman of Council that the budget estimates submitted to the National Assembly and the one presented to the Finance and General-Purpose Committee was at variance and irreconcilable,” it stated. The report also revealed that there were 29 income-generating units in the university, but for several years only 10 of these companies were reported in the books of UNILAG. The others were concealed and whatever these companies generated were not accounted for. The panel also found that the books of the university were so poorly prepared and full of non-disclosures that it did not represent the true state of affairs of the university. The panel report revealed that the bursar was not able to produce the ledger of the university for the entire duration of the panel sitting, even though they had requested same from the bursar at several times. Similarly, the bursar was not even able to produce an approved budget for 2020, implying that all the expenditure made for the said 2020 were extra-budgetary payments. In addition, the visitation panel said, “The Bursar was found to be very incompetent and did not demonstrate any capacity to handle the portfolio. The Vice Chancellor and the Bursar regularly diverted money of the university as shown in the consistent diversion of about N1.8 billion from recurrent expenditure to capital expenditure without approval. “Virements of a total sum of N1, 858,458,137 were consistently made from recurrent votes to finance capital projects during the period under review. This is a major breach in budgetary control and has been consistent year to year. “The practice is totally out of place in the budgetary system of financing operations, it results in

killing activities that could have qualitative benefits in favour of capital projects that were not initially budgeted and consequently culminating in the sinking of scarce resources over a long period of time with low financial returns.” The visitation panel in their findings noted that management did not play its conventional role of scrutinising the operation of the accounts of the university, alleging that the internal audit only functioned at the will of Ogundipe. It said, “The internal audit section exists in the University of Lagos but does not seem to be functionally effective. There are summary reports on findings of the Internal Audit Department for the years 2016 to 2020 addressed to the Vice-Chancellor. The reports covered almost every section of the university. “Based on our review of the External Auditors’ Management reports and our direct interactions with the Head of the Internal Audit: the internal audit does not cover final accounts; implementation of the internal audit recommendations is at the discretion of the Vice Chancellor; purview is limited to post transaction audit work on procurement, payment and payroll. “Corrections are unilaterally done by internal audit without reverting to the originating unit; internal audit report to the Provost of the College of Medicine and Vice-Chancellor; there is no proof that the Audit Department has access to accounting software; and no evidence of existence of audit plan for year 2016.” The visitation panel also found the internal auditors of the company incompetent. The Babalakin-led council had appointed a seasoned accountant, Olutola Senbore and Co., to examine the books of the university. The Governing Council adopted the Senbore report but the university’s management refrained from utilising the report. In this regard, the visitation panel advised that an international accounting firm should be appointed to straighten-out the books of the university. The panel exonerated the Babalakin-led Governing Council of wrong doing in the removal of Ogundipe, and stated that the Council of the University properly indicted the VC and the principles Continued on page 56

PWC WANTS FG TO FLOAT FUTURE ENERGY FUND, NOT FRONTIER EXPLORATION ACCOUNT cent rent on mining leases, and 30 per cent of NNPC Limited’s oil and gas profit in production sharing, profit sharing, and risk service contracts. However, PwC, in the document, stated that the country should begin moves to join the global energy transition, stressing that presently, Nigeria’s resources are being devoted almost solely to a fast waning commodity. PwC stated, “Exploration is a high-risk endeavour. In addition, raising the needed finance for the development, production and evacuation from the frontier basins might be a tall order as investors are staying away from high cost emission-intensive assets. “These basins will compete for funds with ambitious and moreenvironment friendly projects like gas, hydrogen, solar and wind. Rather than a frontier exploration fund, Nigeria could consider setting up a future energy fund. “The amounts being set aside in the PIA for the frontier exploration fund can be applied towards funding the development of Nigeria’s future energy potential, which will include, but not be limited to, petroleum, in readiness for the energy transition. “The fund can also be deployed for funding the development of abatement technologies that can aid carbon neutrality.” T The firm, which operates in about 157 countries worldwide, maintained that with the projected decline in global demand for

hydrocarbons, leading oil and gas production companies were cutting back significantly on their oil and gas business and on further investment in fossil fuels. It recalled that British Petroleum (BP), for example, had announced that it would be suspending oil and gas exploration in new countries from 2021, saying the company aims to make a tenfold increase in its spending on low carbon energy. In the case of Shell, based on its new strategy launched in 2021, the report explained that the company aims to decrease its total oil production by one to two per cent per annum and make no new frontier exploration investment by 2025. According to PwC, Shell, which accounts for about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s oil and gas production, has the broad theme of its strategy for its upstream petroleum business to generate the cash to fund the growth of its low carbon business. The report said, “The PIA by its very essence is hydrocarboncentred. While the PIA is expected to attract investment into the Nigerian oil and gas sector and serve as a catalyst for the development of the sector, the PIA doesn’t say much on the energy transition and its likely impact on the sector and its outlook. “In recent times, clean energy has accounted for the majority of global investments in the energy sector. According to the International Energy Agency

(IEA) investments in new power generation are expected to account for 70 per cent of $530 billion to be spent on all new generation capacity in 2021. “In 2017, the World Bank announced that it would no longer finance upstream oil and gas projects. In exceptional circumstances in the poorest countries where there is a benefit to energy access and this is consistent with the countries commitments. “The foregoing puts to question how much investment Nigeria will be able to attract into the oil and gas sector with the signing of the PIA amidst the energy transition.” It emphasised that conversations on energy transition had continued to gain ground, accelerated by climate change and the renewed focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. The PwC report added that the European Union (EU), which includes some of the biggest buyers of Nigeria s crude oil, had pledged to cut carbon emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030, while the UK had also pledged to cut carbon emissions by 78 per cent in 2035. Furthermore, it pointed out that Canada had pledged to cut carbon emissions by 40-45 per cent by 2030, while in June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to set a legally binding commitment to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050, in addition to countries like Ukraine and China that have unveiled plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2060.

These, the report noted, put Nigeria among the countries that must redouble national sustainability efforts along all fronts, pointing out that the low scores indicate the need for greater attention to the spectrum of sustainability requirements. However, the report noted that the silver lining of the PIA on the energy transition was that it appeared to focus on gas as the transition fuel for the country and provided improved regulations and incentives for gas investment with tax holidays of up to 10 years and expansion of incentives to cover midstream gas operations. But while Section 64 of the Act stipulates that NNPC Limited was to engage in the development of renewable resources in competition with private investors, the firm noted that Nigeria needed to do more in providing the enabling infrastructure, regulatory framework and the right level of investment for the energy transition. On the lean sum contributed by the oil industry, the report said despite being a major source of revenue, the oil sector lagged behind other sectors in terms of GDP contribution, which declined to seven per cent in the last seven years. “The relative importance of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria appears to be declining, from 13 per cent of Nigeria's GDP in 2013 to about seven per cent in 2020, while those of other sectors continue to increase,” the report said.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

COMMENT

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

THE BLOODY CRISIS ON THE PLATEAU Danladi Dunhu writes that the crisis persists because of lack of political will to address it

he seeming intractable ethno-religious crisis in Plateau State appears to defy solutions, due, largely, to the obvious hypocrisy of our elite in the state, and across the country. Or, how else can one describe the recent duplicitous call by the Plateau State All Progressives Congress (APC) elders on the state governor to recall and deploy some faceless “intelligence” personnel whose identity, mission and undertakings are murky? On 3rd September, the elders’ council addressed a press conference in Jos, and said, among other things that “The Plateau State All Progressives Congress Elders Council enjoins the rescue administration to revisit and dust its transition committee report, so as to identify citizens of Plateau State that were hitherto trained abroad by the last administration on security and intelligence gathering, to be reabsorbed into the Operation Rainbow to complement the recently trained 3,000 vigilantes”. While it will be hasty to conclude that the elders were up to some mischief in calling for the identification and absorption of this “intelligence squad” into the state’s vigilante group, it is also imperative to state that the elders’ council was not circumspect in making its call. This is because, as “elders”, they cannot feign ignorance of the controversy surrounding the “training” of this “force” in a foreign land, which is widely known to be Israel, but which they curiously chose to simply describe as “abroad” at their press conference. Early in July, 2018, the member representing Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase stunned many citizens when he stated on the floor of the House that about 300 persons who had been trained in Israel by the Jonah Jang administration returned and later vanished in circumstances that are suspect. Hon. Wase, who is currently the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives also alluded to the importation of some “equipment”, by an unnamed high-profile politician from the state. Wase, who was a floor member in 2018, said he was in possession of some documents which he obtained when he served as a member of the Transition Committee set up by Governor Simon Lalong to interface with his predecessor and facilitate a smooth hand over of power in 2015. The member volunteered to tender those documents to security agencies for further investigative work, once called upon to do that. It is doubtful if any of the nation’s security agencies has to this day invited Hon. Wase to shed light on his allegations. For many keen observers, it will also be necessary to establish the whereabouts of the squad’s members since after they received their “trainings” in Israel. There is groundswell of fear, especially among the Muslims in Plateau, that members of this mysterious group could be behind some of the frequent upheavals around the state capital. The ugly incidences of the recent weeks in Jos and its environs, occurring after over six years of remarkable efforts by the current political leadership has

TENSIONS BETWEEN ETHNIC GROUPS ROOTED IN THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES, ELECTORAL COMPETITION, FEARS OF RELIGIOUS DOMINATION, AND CONTESTED LAND RIGHTS HAVE AMALGAMATED INTO AN EXPLOSIVE MIX

restored reasonable level of peace in virtually all parts of the state, have heightened this suspicion. And so, this makes it imperative for the security agencies, if they did not do it before, to call for whatever information Hon. Wase has, and analyse same with a view to unraveling the trained ‘intelligence squad’. Doing this will undoubtedly help to solve some of the mysteries surrounding the relentless killings in and around Jos, by “unknown persons”. Over the past two decades, the indigene-settler dispute in Plateau has metamorphosed into a major source of protracted communal conflicts, which, over time, tore almost the entire state along Nigeria’s most dangerous fault line, which is religion. A 68-page report by Jana Krause, titled “A Deadly Circle: Ethno-Religious Conflict in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria”, which was published as far back as 2011, noted that “Tensions between ethnic groups rooted in the allocation of resources, electoral competition, fears of religious domination, and contested land rights have amalgamated into an explosive mix”. And so today, Muslims and Christians in places like Jos do not co-habit in the same neighbourhoods. Again, because of the mutual recriminations between adherents of the two religions, in Jos and some other parts of Plateau, minor disagreements easily lead to violent clashes that result in loss of lives. Credible reports have shown, for instance, that over 1,000 people were killed in less than a week of a crisis that was triggered by the ‘indigene-settler’ impasses in September, 2001, in Jos. Similarly, a crisis that erupted in the southern part of the state in early 2004 led to the massacre of over 700 residents of Yelwan Shendam, from May 2-4 of the same year. Now, back to my point about the hypocrisy of our elites. There is sufficient evidence that most members of this class of people in Plateau know the remote causes of the frequent clashes in various parts of the state. However, for some incomprehensible reasons, such elements are reluctant to let out the truth. And yet, they make the loudest noise whenever lives are lost in the series of avoidable clashes across the state. For instance, the same report by Krause noted that “The lack of political will to resolve the crisis has been lamented from all sides”. If the Jang and Joshua Dariye administrations exhibited clear lack of political will to deal decisively with the scalawags on the Plateau as suggested, the current governor has signaled his willingness to tread a distinctively positive path. However, Governor Lalong cannot achieve this desired objective without the active cooperation and support of the security agencies, whose primary responsibility it is to track down and prosecute all troublemakers. This, therefore, is the right time to unmask the Israel-trained “intelligence force” on the Plateau, in order to stop, once and for all, the seeming endless circle of violence which adversely impede growth and development of the state. Dunhu wrote from Lokogoma, Abuja

ATTRACTING AND MANAGING RETAIL INVESTORS Capital market operators should evolve innovative strategies to attract retail investors into the securities market, writes Sola Oni

he increasing complexity of picking which assets to own has put both asset managers, especially securities dealers and investors under pressure in the global capital market. It has plunged the concept of sustainable investing into the beginning of a backlash. A definitive Survey of 750 institutional investors and 10,000 retail investors by PwC Global in 2017-2021 entitled: “ Asset and wealth management revolution: Investor Perspectives – Rethinking purpose and performance” is revealing. Retail investors are now more concerned about how their capital is handled by asset managers. They are taking more than passing interest in social responsibility and other nonfinancial aspects of investing. They are scrutinizing operations of firms with special attention to cost and efficiency. They are directing their lens to ascertain asset managers’ ability to generate Alpha returns. The Survey culminated into PwC’s creation of Investor Alignment Index which measures the gap between investor expectation and asset managers’ performance. This brought into fore, the extent to which investors place premium on macroeconomic and political environment than expected return. This is no rocket science as the character of an operating environment will ultimately determine risk-return trade off. By characterization, a retail investor is an individual who buys and sells stocks through a professional securities dealer. But in the current age of digitization, some retail investors execute their trades through online brokerage platforms or other investment accounts. Although Institutional investors determine the direction of the market as they control significant holdings, there is growing impacts of retail investors in equity markets. They deploy social media platforms to monitor and coordinate their portfolio strategies. Retail investors like institutional ones also fuel a rise in trading volumes. Smart ones among them use leverage to

speculate on individual companies while those in the market where derivatives are traded hedge with call and put options. This strategy pays off when the price of the underline asset rises or falls. High networth retail investors channel their transaction through brokerage accounts, and this makes it easy for them to take leverage in the form of margin. In advanced economies such as the United States, equity culture is widespread while retail investor presence is substantial. For instance, Russel 3000 US News & World Report says retail investors account for 10 percent of daily trading on the wide-ranging U. S. stocks index. Retail investors’ debt in the United States was an inflation-adjusted $750 billion last year, the highest level since 1997. Early this year, the surge in trading volumes for call option on both small and large stocks in the United States were attributed to the activities of retail investors. On The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), participation of retail investors is on a sustained upswing as technology has further democratized trading processes, making the market more appealing to millennials. For instance, last year, retail investors contributed 29 percent to equity transaction. The NGX has continued to put investor education on the front burner to grow its shareholder base, where retail investors account for about three million, in a population of 200 million. Investor education in Nigeria is strongly reinforced by the Chartered Institute of stockbrokers (CIS) and the Association of Securities Dealing Housed of Nigeria (ASHON). The latest in the series of strategies by NGX to attract retail investor was the Webinar powered last month, themed: “Sukuk and Green Bonds: More than Just Investing”. In the same vein, only last week, NGX launched its enhanced version of X-Mobile which the Chief Executive Officer, Temi Popoola said “would enable capital market players and potential investors to have requisite resources to engage more with the market. The App which

was first introduced in 2019 is designed to provide “market participants, especially retail investors, with convenient, faster and real- time access to information about NGX, its listed securities and Trading License Holders”. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has always decried low participation of retail investors in the market. But the Commission should also come up with more innovative ways to attract retail investors into the market. However, attracting investors generally is not a tea party in the global world. Enlightened individual and corporate investors are not swayed by loaded curriculum of investor education programme, media hype of mouth-watering return on investment from the market and deployment of modern technology among others. There are fundamental issues which they consider too sacrosanct to ignore before final decision to invest in the capital market. They are worried because of perceived lack of transparency, price manipulation, inadequate disclosure of companies, insider trading, fears of takeovers and mergers of quoted companies, problems of trade settlement mechanism and handling of investor grievances. These issues should be addressed frontally by securities markets across the globe and communicated through investor education to secure investor confidence. Retail investors have their feet of clay. Many low networth retail investors, especially in the emerging markets have no investment objectives just as they lack basic knowledge of risk tolerance and time horizon. This class of retail investors do not usually seek professional advice from securities dealers. They often play the capital market on short term and expose themselves to all forms of investment risks, including mismatch-by obtaining short term loans to invest in long term assets as a gateway to becoming instant millionaires. In Nigeria, some retail investors had lost their bulk gratuity to the market due to expectation of exponential returns. The stock market is not an avenue for Ponzi schemes where

investors are swindled by promise of huge returns with zero risk. It is an organized market and a proxy for perfect market in economics. The market is highly regulated to build investor trust. Securities dealers that cajole an investor with assurances of huge returns will lose their trading license. They can only offer investment advice based on available information. Low networth retail investors do not understand that the quantity of one’s investment determines the return. This partly explains why they often shun dividend before the era of electronic payment. They dominate the list of unclaimed dividend today. Accounts of low networth retail investors are the most difficult to manage by dealing member firms due to burden of irrelevant questions and unrealistic expectations. Such accounts ironically generate the least returns for the houses. Experience has shown that investors with insignificant volume of shares are the loudest voices at companies’ Annual General Meeting (AGM). A few of them actually put the management of companies on their toes in the areas of corporate governance. But it is a game of empty vessel makes loudest noice. The bulk of low networth ones indulge in buy and hold attitude and always await announcement of dividend. Not until the regulators moderated some of their excesses in Nigeria, low networth retail investors expect quoted companies to give them gifts at every AGM, exclusive of their meagre dividend. But every market needs retail investors . They are necessary evil. The high networth among them are more active in speculation and in a way provide liquidity. Retail investors generally boost shareholder base. This is the psychology of retail investors. Capital market regulators and operators should continue to evolve more innovative strategies to attract retail investors into the securities market. Oni, Communications Consultant, Chartered Stockbroker and Commodity Broker, is the Chief Executive Ofﬁcer, Sofunix Investment and communications

T H I S D AY • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

EDITORIAL

THE NNPC PROFIT ANNOUNCEMENT The announcement of the business proﬁt by the Presidency is curious

presidential statement recently claimed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the first time in its 44-year history made a profit after tax (PAT) of N287 billion for the year 2020. Aside the fact that the statement lacked clarity, it was strange that it emanated from the Villa rather than the corporation which statutorily owes its shareholders (the Nigerian people) that responsibility. According to his spokesman, Femi Adesina, President Muhammadu Buhari was delighted that the corporation cut down its losses from N803 billion in 2018 to N1.7 billion in 2019, before claiming a profit of N287 billion in 2020. With the release last week of the 2020 financial statement, pertinent questions remain unanswered. The corporation loudly celebrated its net profit of N287bn but went quiet on its current liabilities which (at about N10.8 trillion) exceeds its current assets (N6.2trn) by N4.6trn. Indeed, this was flagged by auditors who explained that a material uncertainty does exist, which may cast significant doubt on NNPC’s ability to continue as a going THE FEDERAL concern. The corporation GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER needs to come clean on REALLY BELIEVED IN THE this especially when it is obvious that its four REFORMS THAT IT HAS refineries in Warri, Port MOUTHED FOR ABOUT SIX YEARS NOW. IF IT DID, Harcourt and Kaduna remain loss-making SUCH ANNOUNCEMENT centres. OF THE CORPORATION’S The International FINANCIAL STATEMENT Standard on Auditing WOULD HAVE COME FROM (ISA) uses the phrase THE GMD OR BOARD ‘material uncertainty’ CHAIRMAN to situate events or conditions that should be disclosed in financial statements. As it were, when a firm’s assets are valued less than its liabilities, it is technically considered insolvent. Additionally, negative cash flows, declining sales, and a high debt load are the other red flags that a firm’s financial health may be at risk. How then is the

NNPC making its celebrated profits? Historically, we know that oil wealth fuels the patronagedriven politics which has for decades characterised governance in the country and the NNPC is at the centre of it. That explains the suspicion by many of the profit declaration even before the financial statement was eventually released. Besides, institutions that take corporate governance very seriously do not proclaim major business-related news from the mouth of political actors. President Buhari, as the principal petroleum minister for the past six years, may find a way to justify his announcement of NNPC’s 2020 business profit, but he is not the chairman or a member of the board of directors of the corporation.

P T H I S DAY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGED ENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO

erhaps, it is important to remind the NNPC and Aso Rock that as a practice, corporate governance is underpinned on adherence to clear-cut rules, practices, and processes. At the heart of this practice are roles and responsibilities which company executives or officials must carry out. Additionally, a company’s board of directors is key in shaping corporate governance which also upholds transparency. For many years, Nigeria has failed to shed the toga of an oil rentier state, thus nourishing sector corruption and restricting quality reforms that could engender excellence and profitability. That is the meaning of all the reforms being initiated. That President Buhari considers it fine to announce the financial statement of the NNPC from the Villa indicates that the leading logic of governance of the sector is still that of allocation of resources and opportunities in ways that do not promote transparency and accountability. Simply put, the NNPC isn’t free from the apron strings of the president. This also suggests that the federal government has never really believed in the reforms that it has mouthed for about six years now. If it did, such announcement of the corporation’s financial statement would have come from the GMD or board chairman. Even without looking at the specific issues that have now been thrown up by the 2020 financial statement, the presidential announcement of profit was a political gambit that communicated nothing valuable to the investment community.

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IT’S TIME TO REKINDLE THE OLD NORTH

ecently, an event happened which will definitely serve as a vital lesson to the people of Northern Nigeria as a whole and to the old generation of the region’s leaders in particular. On September 10, 2021, a former Commissioner for Works in the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration, Mr Muaz Magaji, posted on his verified Facebook account that a renowned Islamic cleric and the National Secretary-General of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah wa Iqamatus Sunnah, Sheikh Muhammad Kabiru Haruna had in a phone call conversation told Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State that he would decamp from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if the former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is allowed to join the ruling party. Some hours later, Sheik Gombe also posted on his verified Facebook account; a 12-hourr ultimatum to Muaz to withdraw the statement or the Sheik will file a legal suit against the former Commissioner for Works over alleged defamation of character. Sheik Gombe said he had never meet Gov. Buni. And, he is neither a politician nor partisan. His only job is preaching. On Saturday, September 11, 2021, a truce was reached. Muaz visited Sheik Gombe at the Sheik’s residence in Abuja. In attendance were the National Chairman of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah wa Iqamatus Sunnah, Sheik Abdullahi Bala Lau, National Leader of The Tijjaniya Youth Africa, Ahmadu Tijjani Umar Maigeru. The outcome of the meeting: Muaz had withdrawn his statement, he apologized and a friendship is born. A deep look at this event and the people involved will serve as a big lesson to northern Nigeria which is facing some problems of social disorder and insecurity due to the eroded beautiful culture and norms. Firstly, the whole idea of the meeting between Sheik Kabiru Gombe and Muaz Magaji was initiated and implemented by the national leader of the Tijjaniya Youth Africa, Ahmadu Tijjani Umar Maigeru, who is also a frontline

gubernatorial candidate in Kaduna State. Ahmadu Tijjani is of the Tijjaniya sect while Kabiru Gombe is of the Izala. This has shown the rekindling of the old habit in the north- humanity first - sect, race, tribe, and geography don’t matter. Ahmadu Tijjani must be commended for such foresight in initiating the meeting to reach a truce, Sheik Gombe for being magnanimous while Muaz for being level-headed Secondly, for accepting to withdraw his statement, apologize and also make friendship, Muaz has helped the society in two ways- fake news can easily be decimated if a high-profile person that shared it, will come out to denounce it and apologize as well. And, differences between individuals or groups can be resolved with dialogues and understanding. The coming together of the National Chairman of Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah wa Iqamatus Sunnah, Sheik Abdullahi Bala Lau, National Secretary General of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah wa Iqamatus Sunnah, Sheikh Muhammad Kabiru Haruna, the National Leader of Tijjaniya Youth Africa, Ahmadu Tijjani Umar Maigeru, and Engr. Muaz Magaji, a former Commissioner for Works in the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration, to resolve a matter that was supposed to be settled in a court of law, is a clear case of the need to rekindle the old north where every matter is resolved within the community; people were their brothers’ keepers, who, every day bring out from their homes breakfast, lunch and dinner for neighbors, including strangers to eat. The old north, where your father’s friend is automatically your father - he can take any decision on you without first consulting your parent. The old north that people allocate some portion of their houses to strangers to settle. The old north where no child will be seen wandering around without the community showing any concern. That’s was the monolithic North. It has to be rekindled as one-step in solving some of the region’s current social problems, especially insecurity. Zayyad I. Muhammad, Abuja

DON’T FORGET, JUST WORRY

ith the Taliban taking over in Afghanistan there are a number of concerns in relation to the rights and roles of women. Will they still have access to a full education, freedom of movement, the right to work and the right to speak out? What can be done to convince them to allow women full and equal rights? Medical and food supplies should not be restricted nor should any humanitarian support. One area that could be restricted is access to international sports competition especially as women might not be able to play any sports. Perhaps this will be an unnecessary step, but history suggests that within a short time, once the evacuation and exit have been forgotten so will women’s rights. Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

17 Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG

POLITICS

Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

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

The Quest for North Central Presidency Gathers Steam As many anxiously await the 2023 national elections, which might be a watershed for the Nigerian democracy, Emameh Gabriel weights the prospects for a president from the North Central region

Bello

hile the South-east region has been very loud in its quest for the presidency of Nigeria in 2023, the North-central has lately come up with very strong argument. And the justification for a North-central presidency is gathering steam, especially with the recent open declaration of interest by the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, and the push by forces in the region for a single voice to capture the Number One political seat in the country. Politics of Zoning Since the return to democracy in 1999, politics of zoning has become the norm, as different geo-political areas put up a stiff argument to justify demand for any public office that is open for contest. Although, it is not in the Constitution, zoning has been tacitly adopted to address the peculiarities of a multi-ethnic society with diverse religious leaning. The concern over domination by one section of the country is not only harboured by the three major ethnic groups-Hausa/ Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo-who are perpetually at war with each other, but the hundreds of minority ethnic groups that fear being subjugated or permanently obliterated from holding top political offices. Every zone in the country stands up to be counted and makes a strong case for the suitability of their zones to produce the President, Vice President, the leadership of the National Assembly and even the National Chairman of the dominant political parties in the country in every election cycle. Zoning of public offices has been compelled by the ethnic colouration of the country’s politics, the political alignments and re-alignments since 1999. The practice continues to gain traction in every election cycle, with certain regions predominantly and consistently holding sway over others when it comes to which region produces the occupants of the two most coveted offices in the land. This imbalance has over the last few years triggered the sudden agi-

Saraki

Mark

tation by the political bigwigs in some parts of the country and most recently, the North-central, for the presidential ticket of the two major political parties in the country; the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which analysts say might alter the ‘gentleman’ arrangement on zoning between the North and the South Analysts have consistently criticised the idea of zoning, giving reasons why it should be jettisoned. But others have argued that such political answers is the only way to give every region in the country a sense of belonging, especially at a time like this when the country’s politics has become riddled with agitations for self determination by many ethnic groups as a result grievances over marginalisation. In June this year when members of the Kogi State House of Assembly visited Kwara State, Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, he called for better political representation of the zone at the federal level, and opined that it was alarming that the North-central region, with its huge human and material resources, has never produced the President or Vice-President since the nation’s independence.

Olawepo-Hashim

Presidential Hopefuls from North-central This came just few days after posters of erstwhile Kwara State governor and former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, flooded the streets of Abuja. Saraki. Since he left the Senate, Saraki has put himself up as a possible face of a North-central presidency. Respected across the country for his youthful and cosmopolitan mien, he has shown no sign of taking a break from politics and would most likely take another shot at the presidency in 2023. Saraki is optimistic that his drive for the PDP presidential ticket will yield positive result. In the APC, the Kogi State House of Assembly have already resolved formally to compel Governor Yahaya Bello to seek the party’s presidential ticket. Bello who is rumoured to be the brain behind the change of political party loyalty by some PDP governors who embraced APC is said to building a strategic network of sympathizers within the party. But the Kogi Governor will have to slug it out with the successful businessman, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, another strong contender from the region who is eminently qualified to fly the APC presidential flag. Olawepo-Hashim, a former gubernatorial candidate in Kwara State and the pioneer

Despite the strident advocacy by parts of the country like the North-central that feels marginalised, the fact remains that the Middlebelt has had its fair share of representation and opportunity in national politics and governance, particularly during military rule. Some of Nigeria’s best known leaders during the various military administrations were from the North-central

Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, tested the waters of presidential race in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Trust. He was the official candidate adopted by the Middle-belt Elders Forum for the 2019 presidential race. He candidacy is said to attract a lot of fascination as a unifying personality because of his interesting heritage as the son of a Prince from Yauri in Kebbi State and a mother from Kwara State. Prof. Jerry Gana, one of the founders of the PDP, from Niger State is a veteran of presidential races. Over time, he has built an intricate network of friends and associates across the country. He became a national figure as Director of MAMSER under the military presidency of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. He later became a Senator. He has also served the country as a Minister under Gen. Sani Abacha, the Interim National Government of Chief Ernest Shonekan and President Olusegun Obasanjo. He is a scholar. Gen. John Gbor from Benue State was the presidential flagbearer of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2019 national elections. He is a retired Nigerian Army officer from the Tiv ethnic group. Another presidential prospect from the North-central is Mr. John Dara from Kwara State. In the 2011 national elections, he contested the presidency on the platform of the National Transformation Party. A known ally of Gen. T . Y. Danjuma, he sought the presidential ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for the 2019 general election. Is the North-central Marginalised? Speaking on the clamour for the presidency by the region, the Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Matthew Kolawole, said the zone has been relegated in power-sharing agreement in the country under the current dispensation. The North-central region comprises six states (and the Federal Continued on page 18

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

MONDAY DISCOURSE

Prof. Gana

Capital Territory is often added to make it the zone with the largest number of states). The zone includes Niger, Kogi, Kwara, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa and the FCT. Last week, a group, under the aegis of North Central Renaissance Movement (NCRM), said the Northcentral zone was tired of producing political party chairmen, saying that it wanted the presidency zoned to it in the 2023 general election. The group lamented that the North-central has been merginalised in the last 60 years of Nigeria’s independence, having not produced a democratic President since then, calling on the ruling All Program Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to secure their 2023 Presidential ticket for the zone, while insisting that nothing short of the presidency would be acceptable by people of the region. This came few days after another group, North Central Network for Better Nigeria (NCNBN), asked all the registered political parties in the country to pick their presidential candidates for the 2023 presidential election from any of the states in the North-central geo political zone of the country in the spirit of equity fairness and unity of the country. The group claimed that its request was based on the fact that the North-central geo-political zone of the country has not produced the president of Nigeria since the country returned to civil rule in 1999. At a press conference in Minna, Niger State, the Director General of the NCNBN, Mr. Abdullahi Jibrin Muregi, said:, “The demand is coming at a time that leaders of other zones are scheming to produce the president come 2023, but we appeal to their collective consciousness for equity, justice and fairness to drop their ambition and rally round the North-central zone in its justifiable bid to produce the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari come 2023 “We believe that our demand is not out of place having painstakingly worked for other zones in the past to produce the presidency or to emerge as the Vice President of Nigeria through the large block of votes we always deliver to the winning political party in all elections since 1999,” he said. In 1999 for example, Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-west became President, with Atiku Abubakar who is from the Northeast as his deputy, and they were succeeded by Musa Yar ’adua and Goodluck Jonathan, who were from the North-west and South-south respectively. Jonathan later picked Namadi Sambo as Vice President when Yar ’adua passed on and he became the President.

Gbor

Sambo who hails from Kaduna State, is also from the Northwest like the late President Yar ’adua. The Jonathan and Sambo presidency was succeeded in 2015, by Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbanjo of the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC), who arre also from the North-west and South-west geo-political zones. Going by the region from which Nigeria’s president have emerged since 1999, the Southeast and the North-central have not been privileged to occupy either the Number One or Number Two public office in the land. It is on this premise that the South-east and North-central have hinged their claims for the presidency to be zoned to their region come 2023. Agitation for a North-central presidency have even gone farther. Their case, in many instances, has taken greater precedence over that of the much and aggressively touted Igbo presidency because in the history of Nigeria’s democracy they have not had that privilege. According to this school of thought, even the Igbos have had the good fortune of producing a ceremonial president in the person of the Great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in the First Republic and an Executive Vice President, in the person of Dr. Alex Ekwueme during the Second Republic. North-central Has the Numbers to Win According to advocates for a North-central presidency, the North-central also referred to as Middle-belt is divinely placed to lead the country, judging by its connecting position between the Moslem dominated North and the Christian dominated South. Some extremist even attribute the victory of the federal troops in the Nigerian Civil War to the bravery of indigenes of the Middle-belt region on the

Dara

side of the Nigerian Army. In the current political dispensation, the North-central is largely considered a swing region, with the propensity to go either with the South or North in presidential elections; depending on the interests and the mood of the nation. The region has a large population estimated at over 45 million people with a predominant Christian population of 65 percent Muslim population of 25 percent and traditional religionists population of 10 percent, spread into over 230 language groups. But the Tiv and the Nupe are the most prominent. This is how the Middle-belt has voted since the advent of this enduring season of democracy. It came third place in 1999, 2007 and 2011; fourth in 2003 and 2015. Observers opine that before the formation of the APC, any presidential candidate who won the North-central zone wins the election because the South-west always voted its own regional party. The voting equation changed with the formation of the APC. However, it is difficult to understand the direction of this change because even with the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections, the winner still won the zone. While in 2011, Goodluck Jonathan scored 3,376,570 (61.69%) as against Buhari’s 1,744,575 (31.87%), in 2015, Buhari scored 2,411,013 (56.24%) against Jonathan, 1,715,818 (40.03%) and in 2019, Buhari scored 2.4 million as against Abubakar Atiku’s 2.02 million in the North-central. A Region of Historical Relevance Despite the strident advocacy by parts of the country like the North-central that feels marginalised, the fact remains that the Middle-belt has had its fair share of representation and opportunity in national politics

Although, it is not in the Constitution, zoning has been tacitly adopted to address the peculiarities of a multi-ethnic society with diverse religious leaning. The concern over domination by one section of the country is not only harboured by the three major ethnic groups-Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo-who are perpetually at war with each other, but the hundreds of minority ethnic groups that fear being subjugated

and governance, particularly during military rule. Some of Nigeria’s best known leaders during the various military administrations were from the North-central. They include Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, Gen. Domkat Bali, Gen. Mamman Vatsa, Gen. Joseph Garba, David Jemibewon, Tunde Ogbeha and Gen. Salihu Ibrahim among others. Similarly under the democratic dispensations of the first, second and third republics, the Middlebelt has also produced heavyweight politicians, like Sunday Awoniyi, Solomon Lar, Ayorchia Ayu, Audu Ogbe, Barnabas Gemade, Silas Daniyan, Ahmed Attah, Peter Achimugu, George Ohikere, David Mark, Joseph Tarka, Patrick Dokotri, Ameh Ebutte, Prof. Jerry Ghana, Isaac Shaahu and Dr. Olusola Saraki; some of who were instrumental to the formation of the PDP in 1998 and went on to play illustrious roles in the nascent post - 1999 government of Olusegun Obasanjo. As Senate President, Ayu, Ebutte and Mark became Number Three in Nigeria’s ruling hierarchy at different times. With Lar, Gemade, Ogbeh and Ali becoming chairmen of the then ruling party, and another Middle-belter, Ibrahim Mantu emerging as Deputy Senate President, between 2003 and 2007. Even under the subsequent government of Goodluck Jonathan, the North-central had its fair share of recognition in the scheme of things, grabbing the position of Senate President, in the person of David Mark, a position succeeded by Bukola Saraki; from Kwara, another state in the North-central. Some observers have even contended that though the zone has not clinched the two most coveted public offices, it has indeed had a good run in politics. The seeming nosedive in its political fortune happened Buhari’s second term, in which the APC zoning arrangement gave the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, in Hon. Ahmed Wase, to the North-central. Dearth of Consensus The cry for the presidency to move to the North-central has been in the offing since the end of Obasanjo’s tenure in 2007. There have been ensuing consideration for re-zoning of major public offices. However, unlike other regions of the country, that are mostly ethnically monolithic, the North-central has an extraordinary array of tribes, from the Jarawa and Birom in Plateau, to the Nupes in Niger State, the Igalas, Igbiras and Okuns of Kogi state, the Madas, Kuru and Gbagyis in Nassarawa and the FCT, which has made arriving at common political positions or building consensus around regional interests difficult.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

POLITICS

Ijaw Nation Dares Buhari on NDDC Board The gloves are oﬀ in the Niger Delta region following what the authentic stakeholders perceive to be a deliberate red herring by the federal government to unecessarily delay the inauguration of the Niger Delta Development Commission Board despite the eventual submission and acceptance of the forensic audit report by President Muhammadu Buhari. Nseobong Okon-Ekong reviews what appears to be an unmistakable condemnation, and call to action, by Niger Deltans and the pan-Ijaw Congress, on President Buhari, over the continued delay in inaugurating the NDDC Board, and the impending challenges it may pose to the volatile region, where tension has reached fever pitch

Buhari

he big masquerade, the umbrella body of the Ijaw nation, worldwide, Ijaw National Congress (INC), has finally stepped into the ring, to condemn, in unmistakable terms, the Federal Government’s obvious delay in inaugurating the substantive board of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), more than one week after the submission of the forensic audit report of the commission. In what has turned out to be a game of endless turns by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Aso Rock, the Buhari government had routinely assured Niger Deltans that as soon as the forensic audit report is “submitted and accepted” it will inaugurate the NDDC Board which had been screened and approved by the Nigerian Senate since November of 2019. On Friday, September 10, 2021, in Yenagoa, Professor Benjamin Okaba, President of Ijaw National Congress (INC) roared, the Niger Delta region reiteratedfor the umpteenth time, the stance of the authentic stakeholders in the region . The Ijaw nation boasts of the nation’s most dreaded militants High Chief Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo) Niger Delta Avengers and Asari Dokubo, who have since retreated to their shells based on the assurances and promises of the Federal Government through the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs. According to Professor Okaba, INC demands the urgent inauguration of the NDDC Board, because “any further delay in the inauguration of the NDDC board is a clear betrayal of trust and display of State insensitivity on ljaw nation and Niger Delta region.” It will be recalled that on the 24th day of June 2021, while receiving the Ijaw National Congress at the State House in Abuja, President Buhari said that the NDDC Board would be inaugurated as soon as the forensic audit report is submitted and accepted. The president said: ‘‘Based on the mismanagement that had previously bedeviled the NDDC, a forensic audit was set up and the result is expected by the end of July, 2021. I want to assure you that as soon as the forensic audit report is submitted and accepted, the NDDC Board will be inaugurated.” The President of Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, in the widely publicised statement in Yenagoa on Friday, September 10, wondered why President Buhari “till date has not said anything about the report and the inauguration of the substantive board.” Not done, Benjamin Okaba, a Professor of Sociology and former Provost of Oleh campus of Delta State University, noted on behalf of INC that “the complexities and superfluousity that trailed the said Audit process, in addition to the

Akpabio

diversionary comments of Mr Malami have left us with more worries and suspicion of the true intentions of the exercise.” One of such complexities and superfluousity in the NDDC forensic audit report as pointed out by other Niger Delta stakeholders is the queer recommendations on the reduction in size of NDDC Board and making membership of the Board part-time. According to Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy, VATLAD, in a statement by the national president, Mr Emmanuel Igbini, “it is incumbent on us, as patriots and indigenes of the Niger Delta region, to remind President Buhari and Nigerians that by virtue of section 2(3) of the NDDC Act, 2000, those positions of Governing Board of the Commission (NDDC) that our people of Niger Delta Region rightly demanded in year 2000 be placed on part-time are already on part-time and, therefore, need no further placing on part-time.” “Furthermore, it’s important to remind Nigerians that of the 19-member substantive Governing Board of NDDC confirmed by the Nigerian Senate, (on November 5, 2019) 16 are on part-time; only three of them, the Managing Director/CEO; Executive Director, Finance and Administration; and Executive Director, Projects; are on full-time, and rightly so. It was deliberate to differentiate them from the other 16 members on part-time that the NDDC Act, 2000 under section 12, classify them as members of NDDC Management Committee with responsibility to carry out the day-to-day administration of the Commission.” Taking it further, Niger Delta Progressive Network (NDPN) through its Chairman, Kaniye Amakiri and Secretary, Asuquo Inyang noted that “It is apposite to remind

Prof. Okaba

us that the North East Development Commission Act is patterned after the NDDC Act, with board membership drawn from each state of the North East Region as well one member each from each of other geopolitical regions in Nigeria together with other stakeholder representations. Similarly, all Board members aside from the Managing Director and the 3 Executive Directors are on part time basis in line with the North East Development Commission Act which was patterned after the NDDC Act. It is sad that while the North East Development Commission has been allowed to function with its duly constituted Board in place ensuring proper Corporate Governance, accountability, checks and balances and fair representation of its Constituent states, the NDDC has been run arbitrarily in the last two years by Interim committees/sole administrator in breach of the NDDC Act even after the President Buhari had appointed a Board for the NDDC which was duly confirmed by the Nigerian Senate on November 5, 2019. That confirmed Board was asked to be on standby for inauguration after the forensic audit. NDPN therefore alerted Niger Deltans in particular and Nigerians in general that the “unsolicited recommendation to reduce the size of the NDDC Board is a red herring by Akpabio to attempt to initiate a long process of a needless amendment of the NDDC Act to give him more time to continue his hijacking of the Commission and its funds using illegal sole administrator/interim committees in breach of the NDDC Act.” In the submission of Bassey Ime Idongesit, on behalf of Niger Delta Justice Forum, Uyo, “The recommendation of the report that board membership of the commission should be on part time basis in order to reduce costs should be ignored

Any further delay in the inauguration of the NDDC board is a clear betrayal of trust and display of State insensitivity on ljaw nation and Niger Delta region. After 16 months of postponement and rigmarole, the Hon Minister of Niger Delta Aﬀairs, Chief Godswill Akpabio has ﬁnally submitted the long overdue report of the Forensic Audit. Why has Mr President till date not said anything about the report and the inauguration of the substantive board, over two years into the life of his Second Term?

because it demonstrates clearly that the auditors did not even bother to read the Act setting up the Commission and they conveniently refused to question the thousands of people that management has surreptitiously employed in the last two years without recourse to due process.” Lending its professional weight to the adherence of the law setting up NDDC, South East South South Professionals of Nigeria (SESSPN), an advocacy group for the advancement of the two regions enjoined the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio to facilitate “the immediate inauguration of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission whose members have since been screened by the National Assembly.” This, according to the group, “is the safeguard provided by the enabling Law to check all the anomalies that have bedeviled the Commission these past few years and was only worsened by the illegal contraptions called Interim Management or Sole Administratorship which are prone to abuse.” The SESSPN demand was contained in a letter to the Minister, jointly signed by its President, Hannibal Uwaifo Esq. and Publicity Secretary, Collins Steve Ugwu, in which it further urged the Minister to ensure that all those indicted in the recently submitted report of the forensic audit of the NDDC should be swiftly named, shamed, and every stolen loot recovered. In no unmistakable terms therefore, the Ijaw National Congress wondered “why Mr President till date has not said anything about the report and the inauguration of the substantive board, over two years into the life of his 2nd Term despite public concerns and condemnation on the implications of managing the NDDC as a private estate for this long.” Overall, the INC stated that it “considers it as a huge integrity test and task on Mr President to immediately submit the Forensic report, undiluted to the corridors of public domain with the guarantee of free and easy access by anyone that cares, in line with the Freedom of Information Act.” The Ijaw National Congress, going forward, did not forget to admonish the federal government to “stop the practice of using the NDDC as a political patronage agency which is controlled and managed from Abuja instead of by the people of the Niger Delta region. The NDDC going forward must be accountable to the people it was created to serve and not those in positions of authority in Aso Rock.” Niger Deltans therefore expect President Buhari to comply with the NDDC Act and fulfill his promise by inaugurating the Governing Board of the Commission to ensure accountability, checks and balances, probity and equitable representation of the nine constituent states of the Niger Delta Region.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 07010510430

An Octogenarian's Quest for Justice Tired of unending court eviction orders from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria on his property located in Lekki Phase I, Lagos, 81-year-old retired medical director, Dr. Wilson Olatunde Olabisi, has raised the alarm that suspected fraudsters are using fabricated copies of his property documents as collateral to obtain huge bank loans without his knowledge, Sunday Ehigiator reports

AMCON Court Notice on Adexson Loan

r. Wilson Olatunde Olabisi is an 81-year-old medical director who had spent most of his youthful years in public service until he retired in 1999 as a Level 17 officer. For the octogenarian, borrowing to feed or take care of his medical needs, among others, wasn't a plot twist he could have envisaged in his retirement. No thanks to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for freezing his pension account six months ago, even when he had never obtained a bank loan or stood as guarantor for anyone to obtain a bank loan with his property. How it All Started Olabisi said he bought the property located at number 5a (old Plot 18), Bashorun Okunsanya Street, inward Emeka Nweze Street, off Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos, from the Lagos government in 1991 and received a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O). “In 2005, a lady, who is the manager of one of First Interstate Bank branch, now Unity Bank, at Apapa came to me and revealed to me that someone seeking to obtain a N96 million loan for the importation of float-glasses presented documents of my property to them as collateral. “She came to enquire if it was genuine because they intended to approve the loan for the individual the next day and needed my confirmation. She brought out the entire file and asked me for my C of O. Fortunately, it was with me at home. I brought it out, and they compared it, and she saw that the one that was presented to them was fabricated. I didn’t give my approval," said the octogenarian. “She asked me to write immediately to the headquarters that I didn't permit anyone to use my C of O. My lawyer then wrote to them to not use my C of O for anyone, that I didn't permit such. So they didn't go ahead with the loan that time. “Unknown to me, this same company, Adexson Industries Ltd, owned by one Prince Adebare Adeyemo, whom I had no affiliation with whatsoever, had actually taken loan facilities with the same bank, with a government copy of my C of O, without my consent. The first facility he took was in 2003. He was given N10 million. The second facility he took was

AMCON Court Notice on School XP Interactive Limited Loan in 2004, and he was given N44 million. Making a total of N54 million collected with a government copy of my C of O, without my knowledge." It was not until Adeyemo tried taking the third facility of N96 million in 2005 that the bank deemed it fit to reach out to the retired medical doctor. "I think it was out of a guilty conscience the (bank) manager reached out to me. Though the manager didn’t inform me that he had taken two facilities earlier, it was just recently when AMCON began to serve us different court orders that I got to know all these after reading through the court papers." Based on the court papers, the "total money the company now owes the bank, including interest as of today, is N91 million, and this is a company or individual I have never met in my life nor have any affiliation with.” Caution Order Presenting to THISDAY a letter titled, ‘Re: N96 million Import Finance Facility’, dated May 4, 2005, addressed to Adexson Industries Limited, with him in copy, Olabisi explained that his lawyer on May 26, 2005, officially informed the bank that the C of O presented by the company was fake. In the letter titled, 'RE: Use of Fake Lagos State Certificate of occupancy No.70/70/1991T by Your Customer – Adexson Industries Limited to Raise a Loan as Collateral', Abimbola informed the bank that Adexson Industries Ltd. was trying to defraud the bank using a fake C of O of his property. “Even then, I was expecting the bank

AMCON Court Notice on TAGAF & Sons Global Loan

to inform the police that someone wants to defraud them. In fact, I wanted to go to the police myself. But my lawyer then advised that it was better we allow the bank to take it up themselves since they were the one the person was trying to defraud.” Olabisi did not stop there. He equally went to the Lagos State Land Registry, Alausa, and placed a caution on his C of O. According to the document presented to THISDAY, in the caution order titled 'Caution on My Certificate of Occupancy No 70/70/1991T', and dated June 16, 2005, Olabisi stated that the reason for the caution was that “somebody is trying to use my certificate of occupancy (fake) to collect a loan of N96 million from first Interstate Bank.” The caution was approved and certified by the land registry. Olabisi said he likewise “submitted a photocopy of the letter sent to me at Alausa, and they placed caution on the C of O. Since that time, there has been no issue on the property until recently when AMCON surfaced.” Issues with AMCON Narrating their ordeal with AMCON, one of the legal occupants of the property, Mrs. Helen Emore, disclosed the crisis started on August 27, 2020. “I was just upstairs getting ready to go out when they came into the compound and said we owed money. They got an enrollment order from AMCON for N13 million, taken by a company called TAGAF and Son’s Global from UBA," said Emore. “They sealed the place and then told us to move all our cars out, that AMCON

They have also frozen my pension account for six months now. I now live on borrowing money from friends and family to survive. This is totally wrong and a big slap on my personality. Despite all my sacriﬁces to my country, look at what I am getting back

had taken over the property. Unfortunately, the landlord wasn't at home that day, so we all went out because we didn't know what it was about. Corroborating that the octogenarian is the property owner, Emore explained that Olabisi "built the first one at the back, just one small storey building at the boy’s quarters that cuts across the two wings" of the house. “Then he got a developer, Godspower Omozusi, to develop the four-terrace duplexes. Then the developer sold the long lease to people. So I bought it from one of the people that bought it. Dr. Olabisi has sold his interest in three of the units up until 2036 because it was a 30-year lease. When he did that, he got one unit, which is the one at the back, and leased out the others. The C of O of the land is in his name. “I moved here in 2011. That was when I bought my own interest. Since then, there has been no incident of such as today witnessed. So when this thing happened, Dr. Olabisi said he didn't do business with anybody, neither did he guarantee anyone nor give his C of O to anyone." Following the latest incident, Emore further stated that "we got a lawyer, and the lawyer went to court and discovered that all the documents that were filed were not genuine." The C of O filed by the suspected fraudster was a government copy "that was supposed" to be in the care of the Lagos government. “So we went to court, and we vacated that order after two months. So we went to see AMCON and asked them to check through their system if there were other loans so that we could deal with them. But because we went to court with them, they vacated the order, and we came home. The order was vacated in the first week of October 2020,” she said. The Adexson’s Case Emore continued that in March 2021, “AMCON came with another group with a lawyer from Unity Bank, formerly known as First Interstate Bank. They said their customer, Adexson Industries, Ltd, owned by one Prince Continued on page 22

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Dr. Olabisi's house defaced by AMCON's order Adebare Adeyemo, used this property as collateral," and they had a court order to seal it off. The company owed the bank N91 million, and just like TAGAF and Son’s Global, the C of O they filed was also a government copy that ought to be in the care of the Lagos government. The document revealed that the loan was taken in 2003 and 2004, added Emore. "First, they took N10 million in 2003, and also took N44 million in 2004, making it N54 million. I guess plus interest since that long, the total amount they are to pay back now has risen to N91 million," she pointed out. “Mind you, in these two cases before AMCON came to enforce a court order, the owner of the property, Dr. Olabisi, wasn’t invited to any court sitting to give his own account, yet his name was written on the order as part of the witnesses.” Olabisi told THISDAY that at no point was he invited to appear in court by AMCON before securing a court injunction to take possession of his property and freeze his pension accounts. The Adexson case with AMCON was, however, taken to court and won by the octogenarian. But that is not the end of the matter. Olabisi further revealed to THISDAY that he would be suing AMCON for harassment, false accusations, and negligence. “If the AMCON lawyers had taken pains to visit the Ministry of Lands, they would see that I had placed a caution on the C of O since 2005," the octogenarian argued. "Therefore, no reasonable bank will grant anyone a N700 million loan in 2007 without taking possession of the original C of O or registering their interest with the Ministry of Lands.” School XP Interactive Limited’s Case On June 25, 2021, it was yet another case of AMCON enforcing a court order to take over the same property. But this time, it was another case involving a N700 million loan obtained from Oceanic Bank (now Eco Bank) in 2007 by a company called School XP Interactive Limited. As of the time of filing this report, it was unclear if the company also used Olabisi’s property to secure the loan now valued at N4.7 billion (plus interest) in 2021, as his lawyer had yet to obtain the full documents about the case. However, a court order delivered by AMCON to Olabisi on June 25, 2021, seen by THISDAY, revealed that the octogenarian’s name was not on the list of defendants in the case, despite enforcing the court order on the same date by sealing off the property. Narrating the incident as it transpired on June 25, Olabisi said AMCON officials came with about 20 policemen to enforce the court order without any prior invitation to court. “They entered the house, went all over the place, looked at everything and then wrote on the wall, 'Possession Taken by Order of the Court'. Concerning court, I was not even invited to any court. I was not asked any questions. I told the officials that I was not aware of such a court case over my property. But they insisted on sealing the house. They went all around the house, writing takeover inscriptions on every part of the house. They were here for over an hour.”

Developer’s Angle Olabisi engaged a developer, Mr Godspower Omozuzi. Omozuzi, the octogenarian revealed, began to develop the property in 2006 and completed it in 2008. “At a time in 2006, when he was about to begin developing the property, Godspower needed money for the project, and so he approached a bank for a loan. He presented my copy of the C of O, which I willingly gave to him to the bank. “But he wasn’t granted the loan. The bank told him they couldn’t grant him a loan on a third party property, so he had to present his own C of O and returned mine to me,” Olabisi stated. THISDAY contacted Omozuzi, and he corroborated the octogenarian's story. “I wanted to access a facility from the defunct Oceanic Bank as of then with the C of O. But they told me I can’t use a third party C of O. I had to use the C of O of my property at Lagoon Homes," said Omozuzi. “At another time, around 2008, when I wanted to obtain consent at Alausa, for clients that wanted to occupy the property, it was revealed to me at Lagos land registry, Alausa, that Dr. Olabisi had placed an embargo (Caution) on the property," explained the developer. “So, they asked us at the registry to go and obtain consent from him, which we did, before they granted us the consent. So I am still baffled how these banks were able to give these people loans without going to Alausa to verify the document or even inform Dr. Olabisi.” Web of Conspiracy Omozusi’s testimony begs the question: how were other parties able to access a loan with a third party C of O? To Olabisi's mind, a likely web of fraud connects those using his property to collect loans, the Lagos State Land Registry officials, and the banks. “This is because, first, the copy of my C of O attached to all the court orders I have seen were obtained from the government. It’s the government's copy which is supposed to remain with the government, and not my personal copy," he reasoned. “Also, a bank is supposed to verify any document before accepting

to validate it for a loan transaction. On all these loans you are seeing, the bank never reached out to me to get my consent before giving the loans to the individuals or companies." He pointed out that "this is not to mention that they granted a loan to these fraudulent individuals" based on a third party C of O. "The same third party C of O my developer also tried using in 2006 and wasn’t granted a loan. It’s an irony; definitely, this is a web of fraudulent people in the land registry and the banks. Because, how were they able to get a government copy of my property? “Recently someone told me that in 2004, Governor Fashola made some amendments to the land use act, that during that time, some Alausa boys were selling C of O's up and down, this must have been one of such cases.” Demands “I challenge AMCON to go and make an inquest on my C of O at Alausa before coming here to enforce any order. They will definitely feel ashamed of all their actions if they take this step," said Olabisi. “If they had done this, they wouldn’t have had any reason to go to court to secure a judgement against me in the first place, talk more of doing so behind me." He urged the banks involved to do the same. "They would have seen the caution I placed on the property in 2005 if they had bothered to investigate it before pushing out monies to these fraudulent individuals. The banks must learn that you can’t cut a man’s hair without his knowledge. They have the sole responsibility to have reached out to me at the very point these persons tried obtaining these loans with a fabricated C of O of my property before granting the loans. “This is because it was clear from the onset that whoever the individuals were, they were using a third party C of O as collateral for the loan. Why couldn’t they reach me if their hands were also clean?” Lamentation The octogenarian acknowledged the trauma associated with the loan saga and the possible collusion of some banks and

Our lawyers carried out due diligence, and conﬁrmation from the land registry showed that the property is linked to the obligor. Therefore, rather than resorting to the newsrooms, Dr. Olabisi is encouraged to prove beyond reasonable doubt in the court that the property in question is not aﬃliated with the company, and so has no business in the portfolio of AMCON

AMCON's lack of thoroughness. “Imagine a man of my age, at 81, having sleepless nights and apprehension. They probably thought I was dead, but thank God he has sustained my life till this day," Olabisi stated. “I have lost face before meaningful members of the public because it is a disgrace. People all around see all the inscriptions written on the wall, and they look down on me as a debtor, whereas I have never in my life borrowed money from any bank. They have also frozen my pension account for six months now. I now live on borrowing money from friends and family to survive. This is totally wrong and a big slap on my personality. Despite all my sacrifices to my country, look at what I am getting back.” AMCON’s Reaction When contacted by THISDAY for reaction, AMCON's Head of Corporate Communications, Jude Nwauzor, noted that the corporation traced Olabisi’s property to School XP Interactive Limited, which is indebted to AMCON. He did not confirm if AMCON also traced the property to Adexson Industries Ltd, and TAGAF, and Son’s Global. When asked if AMCON carried out any further investigation on the property at the land registry, he said, “Our lawyers carried out due diligence, and confirmation from the land registry showed that the property is linked to the obligor. Therefore, rather than resorting to the newsrooms, Dr. Olabisi is encouraged to prove beyond reasonable doubt in the court that the property in question is not affiliated with the company, and so has no business in the portfolio of AMCON.” When asked if AMCON truly secured an order against the octogenarian without inviting him to testify before the court, Nwauzor claimed Olabisi’s lawyers were in the best position to deal with that aspect. He further noted that AMCON's obligors had perfected the act of employing and deploying all manners of strategies to delay or outright avoid repayment of debts to the corporation, a reason AMCON has over 3,000 court cases. “From the trend that we know, a good number of them always run to the newsrooms to help them to mobilise public sympathy but unfortunately, the courts do not consider sympathy when looking at the cases, they look at the hardcore evidence that is submitted by both parties.” Inside Lagos State Land Registry On July 15, 2021, THISDAY inquired of Olabisi's C of O with the title number 70/70/1991T. It was told revealed that it had no loan facility registered against it. The certified true copy of the C of O, obtained from the registry on August 12, showed no registered encumbrance on the property. But there was a registered caution placed by Olabisi on June 21, 2005. It also revealed that the property, located at Plot 18, Block 15, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 1 (old number), was 1186.80 square meters and was registered by Olabisi on March 14, 1991. It also stated that the property was used as a residential abode and was leased for 99 years with no loan facility registered against it.

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Broadening Forensic Skills of the Nigeria Police To broaden forensic skills in responding to crime and bolster information management of police affairs, the Nigeria Police Public Relations unit underwent training recently in Lagos, Chiemelie Ezeobi reports

The IG with participants and trainers

L-R: Force PRO, CP Frank Mba; Lagos Command CP, Hakeem Odumosu; AIG Zone 2, AIG Johnson Kokumo; IG Baba, and Gertjam

or decades, the Nigeria Police has been dogged with institutional challenges that continuously scuttled attempts to reform it. One of the major challenges is the sub-par forensic investigation, often caused by a lack of appropriate equipment. Therefore, for the police to be at par with global standards, this must be addressed. Essentially, the importance of forensics in an investigation cannot be overemphasised. This is because a poor or lack of forensic skills and equipment will affect the outcome of the investigation. Already, the Nigeria Police rely on tests taken out of the country for investigations to take place. What this does is hamper and delay the investigation, thereby ensuring that most cases drag for years. Another issue that has bugged the police is information management. The PR unit of the police are often seen as the image-makers, and they have the tough task of selling the police to the public, a job that has been made much more difficult in the face of police harassment, extrajudicial killings, and other anomalies. Addressing the Lacuna It was to address these that the police hierarchy subscribed to training on forensics for the officers of the public relations unit. Sponsored by GIZ German Corporation, Nigeria, the training was organised for police public relations officers who are among the first responders to crime scenes. Themed ‘Crime Scene Management and Conclusive Criminal Investigations: The Role of Police Spokespersons’, the three-day training was declared open by IG Usman Alkali Baba for the 30 participants under Batch A. Batch B, which would capture the remaining PROs, will soon commence in Abuja. While the opening ceremony was held at Radisson Blu, Ikeja, Lagos, the main training took place at Police Training School and Ikeja. Present at the training were the AIG Zone 2, Johnson Kokumo; Commissioner of Police, Lagos Police Command, Hakeem Odumosu; and Force PPRO, CP Frank Mba. Content With lead trainer as Mercy Sheila Abia, a graduate of Forensic Science from Amity University, Dubai, and an expert in Crime Scene Investigation Techniques, the courses were

IG Usman Baba with Head of Component, GIZ Nigeria, Gertjam de Gruijter

on crime scene preservation, crime scene cordoning, personal protective equipment, crime scene photography, scene sketching, scene documenting, exhibit packaging, and digital evidence. Objectives Meanwhile, the training objectives were to improve the strategic communication of PROs, enhance the knowledge of PPRO in the area of forensic awareness of general crime scene management, and inculcate in PROs ethics and professionalism in handling crime scenes, especially as first responders. This has become necessary given that one of the major challenges to scientific investigation is how physical evidence such as fingerprints, hair, firearms, blood, and fibre, and related trace evidence is handled at crime scenes by police before they are taken to the lab for forensic analysis. Improving Police Capacity Declaring the training open, the IG said while efforts were on top gear boost the police forensic

unit, there was the need to train the PPROs, especially at a time when the force was implementing a new 'Manpower Development Policy', amongst other things, is focused on improving the capacity of police personnel across all ranks, in line with new policing standards and best practices. “This workshop for Police Public Relations Officers is timely and unique in many ways. One of these is the contextual theme of the workshop, which seeks to develop robust forensic awareness and knowledge for our spokespersons," said Baba. "This in itself flows from contemporary public relations practice, which identifies Police spokespersons across the world as one of the first responders to crime scenes. This is in addition to many other important roles played by police spokespersons in managing crime incidents throughout the investigative processes. These roles are germane to the pursuit of professional criminal investigations and the dispensation of justice to both the victims and defendants."

To succeed as police image-makers, the PROs must be versatile and have deep theoretical and practical knowledge of all aspects of policing, covering administration, operations, investigations, forensics, amongst others

He added that the course also "seeks to equip the participants" with skills necessary for effective descriptive, analytical, and strategic communication touching on criminal investigations and procedures. "This, in turn, will enable them to acquire relevant skills to give appropriate responses to citizens and media enquiries into matters of forensic and evidential nature connected to ongoing criminal investigations. I have no doubt that the three-day workshop would, amongst other benefits, impact police spokespersons positively, particularly in the areas of Strategic Communication and Crime Scene Management." In addition, Baba noted that the participants "of this course must be reminded" that, to succeed as police image-makers, the PROs must be versatile and have deep theoretical and practical knowledge of all aspects of policing, covering administration, operations, investigations, forensics, amongst others. "Therefore, the quest for resourcefulness remains an integral part of the objective of this course," the IG added. Partnership On the need for partnerships, the IG said, “The Nigeria Police, under my watch, remains committed to well-thought-out and goal-driven partnership and collaborations, with progressive and positive-minded organisations such as the GIZ, targeted at enhancing the professional, structural and operational capacity of the force. "The force would sustain this relationship and open new areas of collaborations, particularly ones touching on capacities on criminal investigations, respect for human rights, access to justice for citizens, improved transparency and accountability in policing actions, and other deliberate efforts aimed at strengthening citizens’ complaint response system." In his remarks, Country Director, GIZ, Gertjan Gruijter, said the firm would continue to train the police for effective policing and crime-fighting. Gruijter added that the training was divided into two batches -Lagos and Abuja- due to COVID-19 protocols. "We have started the training in Lagos, and the next batch will be in Abuja. We are going to support the participants in the areas of crime scene management, laboratory support, operational support, human rights, and accountability," he said.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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FBN Holdings, Fidelity Bank, Others’ Interest Income on T.Bills, Bonds Shrink 12% on Low-interest Yield Environment

Darasimi Adebisi Following the low-interest yield environment, Zenith Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and five other banks have reported 12 per cent drop in interest income from Treasury bills (T-Bills) and government bonds in the first half (H1) of 2021. The other banks are: FBN Holdings Plc, Access bank Plc, United Bank of Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Holdings Plc (formerly Guaranty Trust Bank) and Union Bank of

Nigeria Plc. THISDAY can report that the above seven banks reported a sum of N305.15billion interest income from investing in T-Bills and government bonds in H1 2021 as against N346.5billion in H1 2020. Analysts have expressed that the low-yield on government securities impacted on banks interest generated from T-Bills and bonds, maintaining that banks might recouped lost interest income on securities in the second half of 2021.

The Head, Retail Investment, Chapel Hill Denham, Mr. Ayodeji Ebo in a telephone chat with THISDAY attributed the decline to banks interest rate generated from T-bills and bonds to reinvesting in lower rate securities. According to him: “Upon maturity, most banks are reinvesting in government securities at a lower rate. Mind you this year, banks haven’t had major opportunity in making money from government securities. A lot of banks lot money and you can see it from their classification.

Some of the banks have to move their value for sale to held to maturity.” Analysis of the banks results showed that Zenith Bank Plc’s total interest income on securities dropped by nine per cent to N61.86billion in H1 2021 from N67.9billion in H1 2020. The breakdown revealed that interest income generated from T-bills dropped by 29 per cent to N20.3billion in H1 2021 from N28.38billion in H1 2020, while interest income from government and other bonds inched up

marginally by five per cent to N41.58billion in H1 2021 from N39.52billion in H1 2020. This brings the bank’s total interest income for the period to N203.9billion, a decline of six per cent from N216.95billion in H1 2020. On its part, FBN Holdings reported 56.3 per cent drop in its interest income from Investment securities to N31.76billion in H1 2021 from N72.64billion in H1 2020, while GTCO’s interest income from investment securities (Investment Securities FVOCI &

Investment securities at amortised cost) dropped by 62 per cent to N19.2billion from N50.2billion in H1 2020. As Union Bank of Nigeria reported 65 per cent drop in its interest income on Investment securities to N5.07bllion in H1 2021 from N14.68billion in H1 2020; Access bank grew its interest income on investment securities by 134.5 per cent to N92.1billion in H1 2021 from N39.3billion in H1 2020. Continued on page 26

Swiss Re: Global Insurance Premium to Grow 10% Due to Positive Response to Claims, Public Exposure to Risks Ebere Nwoji Recent developments in Nigeria and other climes have pointed to significant growth in insurance premium generation towards the end of this year more than the pre CCOVID-19 era, a report by Swiss Re has revealed. Swiss Re in the report predicted that the global insurance market premium will experience 10 per cent growth, driven by increased exposures, risk awareness and evolving client needs.

“These developments as have been observed come in the form of insurers being more sensitive to claims and people’ s frequent exposures to emerging risks that could cause devastating losses, “the report stated. According to Swiss Re Institute, non-life insurance premiums are expected to be 10 per cent higher than pre-COVID levels by the end of this year. According to the report, heightened risk trends will increase the need for insurance protection, but

also require a greater focus on evaluating and modeling, and ensuring pricing is adequate for the risks taken. “There is a clear recognition that claims’ frequency and severity is rising as demonstrated by recent natural catastrophes or cyber incidents, ”said Swiss Re’s CEO of reinsurance, Moses Ojeisekhoba. “This means the need for protection is growing, and the industry has important work to do in offering insurance and

closing the protection gap. Swiss Re’s extensive risk knowledge and very strong capital position allow us to support our clients in their growth ambitions, “he stated. “Climate change poses the biggest long-term threat to the global economy. The world economy is set to lose up to 18 per cent of gross domestic product from climate change by 2050 if no mitigating actions are taken. While climate change is a real threat, it also poses the

largest growth opportunity to the industry, as major investments will be necessary. To achieve the 2030 agenda for global sustainable development, investments in the order of $6.9 trillion a year will be required, “Swiss Re said. In Nigeria, the emergence of these risks and insurers’ positive response to them has spelt high degree of trust from governments and individuals who before now were alien to insurance. The development became more pronounced after Nigerian

insurance operators settled claims from the EndSARS protest and the offer of N11 billion free insurance cover to frontline health workers during the COVID-19 lockdown. Recently, the Director General, Nigeria Insurers Association, Mrs Yetunde Ilori revealed that insurers have so far paid a total of N5.4 billion claims from the damages caused by the hoodlums who high jacked the EndSARS protest. Continued on page 26

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT F R I D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 2 1 FGN BONDS DESCRIPTION 11.150 FGNSB 11-SEP-2021 12.364 FGNSB 12-SEP-2021 12.175 FGNSB 10-OCT-2021 11.244 FGNSB 16-OCT-2021 10.296 FGNSB 13-NOV-2021

Price

Yield

BILLS Change (%)

MATURITY

OTC FX F U T U R E S

Discount Yield Change (%)

100.02

2.77

0.00

NTB 30-Sep-21

2.94

2.95 0.00

100.05

2.78

0.00

NTB 14-Oct-21

3.08

3.09 0.00

100.74

3.07

0.00

NTB 28-Oct-21

3.21

3.23 0.00

100.79

3.13

0.00

NTB 11-Nov-21

3.35

101.19

3.40

0.00

NTB 25-Nov-21

3.48

CONTRACT TENOR (MONTH) 1

Contract

Current Rate ($/₦)

NGUS SEP 29 2021 420.93

NGUS OCT 27 2021 422.38

NGUS NOV 24 2021 423.83

3.37 0.00

NGUS DEC 29 2021 425.28

3.51 0.00

NGUS JAN 26 2022 426.73

C Ps MATURITY

Discount Yield

Change (%)

MTNN CP III 20SEP-21 MREP CP XXXIX 20-SEP-21 CMBL CP XV 11OCT-21 UBNP CP VIII 18OCT-21 CMBL CP XII 31OCT-21

5.98

5.99

0.00

16.93

17.01 0.00

6.45

6.48

0.00

8.06

8.13

0.00

4.31

4.33

0.00

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

GRADUATION CEREMONY…

L-R: Managing Director, Fortesoft Systems Ltd, Mr.. Adedokun Oduyemi; Director, Sustainability and Corporate Communications, IHS Nigeria, Mrs. Cima Sholotan; Lagos State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Hon. Hakeem Fahm; Director, Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations, IHS Nigeria, Mr. Bond Abbe;and Sustainability Manager, PHOTO: ETOP UKUT IHS Nigeria,Mrs. Funmi Awelewa, at the graduation ceremony of the First Batch of Streets2Click Beneficiaries in Isale-Eko Community, Lagos... recently

FIRS, Joint Tax Board Move to Overhaul Stamp Duty Act to Address Revenue Constraints James Emejo in Abuja Revenue authorities including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Joint Tax Board (JTB) and internal revenue boards from the 36 States of the federation have agreed to push for the amendment of the Stamp Duty Act to resolve inherent grey areas that had limited effective administration of the stamp duty. The stakeholders at the 148th meeting of the JTB, themed: “Achieving Effective and Efficient Administration of Stamp Duties and Other Related Taxes for Enhanced Revenue Generation in Nigeria,” stressed the need to overhaul the existing Act to reflect current reality.

They said that the current Stamp Duties Act was an old law that is backed by Stamp Duty Act of 1939 adding that it is no longer in tune with the dynamics of the present economic reality. The move is also meant to address a situation whereby both Valued Added Tax (VAT) and stamp duty is charged on same item, therefore, amounting to double taxation. Speaking at the meeting in Abuja, Executive Chairman, FIRS who is also Chairman of JTB, Mr. Muhammad Nami, described the stamp duty as a “stone that was rejected by the builders, and before our very eyes, it is becoming a

corner stone in the annals of revenue generation in our country.” He said that the potentials of stamp duty had given rise to other non-tax entities, which have sought to encroach into the territory of tax administration “just to savour from the new gold of revenue generation in the country.” He however, pointed out that stamp duty had increasingly become a controversial topic mostly as a result of ignorance and a misapplication and misrepresentation of constitutional provisions and extant tax laws. He said these challenges are also capable of truncating the effective and efficient administration of other

related taxes, including as capital gains tax, property taxes, among others. Nami said there are new challenges confronting tax authorities adding that these posed a huge hindrance to the administration of stamp duties in the country. He said, “As long as these challenges exist, achieving effective and efficient administration of stamp duties may be a long shot, and this will be to the detriment of not just the national economy, but to the taxpaying public as well.” He said the meeting will broaden the knowledge of stakeholders on the emerging challenges in the administration of stamp duties and

other related taxes in the country. According to him, “With the GDP growth profile of the country looking good again, we must ride on the wave of economic prosperity and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.” However, Secretary of the JTB, Obomeghie Nana-Aisha, told THISDAY that the meeting hoped to look at areas not hitherto being exploited or where revenue generation had been low. She said one of the main focus was the stamp duty, particularly taxes that could be generated from all the dutiable items but which are hitherto not administered. She said, “The Stamp Duty Act

is a very old Act perhaps adopted from the British tax laws. But as the economy and things evolve, there’s the need for us to fine-tune and re-enact the Stamp Duty Act. “Though some part of it has been touched by the Finance Act of 2019 and 2020, but there is need for holistic overhaul.” Nana-Aisha said, “This is the time to overhaul the stamp duty Act and what we are also looking at today is that stamp duty cannot go on the same item that the VAT is also going for so as to reduce the multiplicity of taxes in Nigeria. These are the areas we are looking into and we also specify who is supposed to pay the stamp duty.”

Bi-Courtney Urges National Assembly to Reject FAAN’s Bid to Manage Airports Eromosele Abiodun Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, (BASL) has called on the National Assembly to jettison the proposed Federal Airport Authority of Nigerian (FAAN) Bill that will see it manage airports cross the country/ According to Bi-Courtney, the bill, if passed, would violate the Act that created it, maintaining that the provisions of the bill are serious indictment of the proponents of the bill. In a statement, Bi-Courtney said

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Aviation Editor Chinedu Eze Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

section 1(3) of the FAAN Bill, which empowers FAAN to manage airports in Nigeria is unconstitutional, saying that it is obvious that not all airports in Nigeria are managed by FAAN. The statement added that the position of FAAN in the Bill is incongruous as FAAN cannot be an operator and a regulator in the same sphere. “This clearly creates a conflict of interest situation. First, it enables FAAN to have the power to sup-

press the business of other private companies using regulatory powers. Second, it enables FAAN to be able to compete with private companies and businesses using government funds, “the statement added. Bi-Courtney said the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) concession between it, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria spanning 2003 to 2017, lead to a loss of over 50 per cent of passenger traffic due

to FAAN’s operation of General Aviation Terminal (GAT) and over N14.4 billion of available revenue from passenger flights. “In total, Bi-Courtney Limited has suffered over N50 billion in business losses since 2007. The situation has led to the inability to meet loan repayment obligations to banks from the earnings of MMA2. Based upon the rights conferred on BCL by the concession agreement, we raised funds privately and bor-

rowed money from banks to build the terminal,” the statement added. BASL stated that the FAAN Act provides for a governing board for FAAN, but stated that there has been no board for FAAN for the last five years. “In the absence of a Board, it is noteworthy that an interim board presumably has been in charge of FAAN for the last five years. This position is anomalous. The tenure of the governing board as provided in

section 2(2) is four (4) years. Based on this, we cannot have an interim board that has been in place for five (5) years purportedly to act for the board. This is unlawful. In the same vein, the purported Section 26(1) of the FAAN Bill which expects FAAN to discontinue the use of any airport maintained by FAAN must clearly provide that this provision cannot apply to airports and terminals that are owned by private institutions, “Bi-Courtney added.

FBN HOLDINGS, FIDELITY BANK, OTHERS’ INTEREST INCOME ON T.BILLS, BONDS SHRINK 12% ON LOW-INTEREST YIELD ENVIRONMENT Fidelity Bank was among the banks that recorded decline in its interest income on securities to N10.23billion in H1 2021 from N19.63billion in H1 2020. In addition, UBA reported 3.3 per cent increase in interest income generated from investment securities to N84.93billion in H1 2021 from N82.19billion

in H1 2020. Analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye said yield generated by banks on securities investment in the first half of 2021 depreciated when compared to that of last year. He noted that yield is expected to bounce back in the second half of 2021.

After hitting a four-year low of near-zero percent in 2020, yields on the federal government riskfree T-bills climbed to more than 13 months high in March 2021. According to the T-bills auction result for March 10 2021, investors bid at a rate as high as 8 per cent for the 91-day bill, 9.5 per cent and 10.5 per cent for the 182-day

and 364-day bills, respectively, but CBN settled at two per cent, 3.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent, respectively. The stop rates for the 91-day and 182-day bills stayed flat but the 364-day bill increased by 100 basis points compared to the result of the previous auction. From a yield record low level

of 4.05 per cent in November 2020, Nigerian 10 years’ government bond climbed to 10.62 per cent in March 2021. The recent rise in the yield on government instrument is cheering news for domestic investors who for almost two years had a return that was much lower than Nigeria’s inflation rate.

SWISS RE: GLOBAL INSURANCE PREMIUM TO GROW 10% DUE TO POSITIVE RESPONSE TO CLAIMS, PUBLIC EXPOSURE TO RISKS Insurers told THISDAY that they learnt a big lesson from the protest and at the same time have used their claims experience from it to lure the public to believe in insurance. This, they said, will lead to higher patronage and higher premium growth. According to the Managing Director, Afriglobal Insurance Brokers, Mr Casmir Azubuike said insurers learnt from EndSARS protest, “we have been hearing about catastrophes and everybody believed that catastrophe can only come when you have wars, natural disasters

like flood but little did anybody know that could come from that angle and it came and was very overwhelming to the industry.” “If you look at that EndSARS protest critically, it could have been possible for the insurance industry to opt out of that risks or those losses but for image reasons, the industry decided to take them up because when you read the policy document, they will talk about riot, strike, civil commotion, war or war like situation, politically motivated risks. “If you bring these together and link them to the EndSARS

protests, you find links which could have been possible for insurance companies to say look, we are not liable or at best let us pay these claims on ex-Garcia basis. But because the industry is struggling to shore up our image, we paid, “he stated. Commenting recently, the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanyo Olu, said the behaviour of insurance operators towards claims from the protest was very encouraging and goes to show that insurance protection was real. The governor, who stated this while addressing insurers at the recent Africa Insurance Organisa-

tion’s Conference in Lagos where he was represented by the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Rabin Olowo, said because of this, the state has perfected plans to bring all its workforce under various group insurance coverage including Group Personal Accident Insurance Cover, Group Life Insurance. “EndSARS experience was a test and we are grateful to insurers for taking responsibility and it proves that insurance is working. I encourage Nigerians to buy insurance, we are partnering with 150 brokers who will serve as intermediary to over 20 insurance

companies to provide end to end risk management services for all classes of insurance in the state including group life, he said.” He said given the positive response of the insurers to claims when risk occurs, his administration could not afford to shy away from the services of the insurance sector. “This is why we have continued to partner with various insurance bodies and associations in the enlightenment of our people on the benefits of insurance and mitigating loses that might result from unforeseen occurrences, “he said.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

STATUS REPORT

UBA Outshines Peers in Proﬁtability

Darasimi Adebisi

espite the severe operating environment, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) recorded an impressive performance to outshine its peers in profitability and dividend payout to shareholders

in H1 2021. The bank’s half-year ended June 30, 2021 results showed an impressive performance despite severe challenging business and economic environment that emerged from the slow pace of activities following the global lockdown occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. UBA during the period under review grew its top-line and bottom-line as the management was prudent in managing cost and growing non-core banking operations. Also, UBA reported stronger growth in total assets, driven by its resilient business across 20 Africa where it operates. The group demonstrated strong balance sheet amid Post-COVID-19 pandemic as reflected in growth in customers deposit and loans & advances to customers. The balance sheet structure enabled the group to withstand the negative impact of COVID-19, which virtually affected all the sectors of the nation’s economy. UBA reported N8.32 trillion total assets as at June 30, 2021 from N7.7trillion reported in financial year ended December 31, 2020. Customer Deposits crossed the N6 trillion mark growing by 7.4 per cent to N6.1trillion in the period under consideration, compared to N5.7 trillion as at 2020 FY. The group’s shareholders’ funds remained robust at N752.5billion up from N724.1billion in December 2020, reflecting its strong capacity for internal capital generation. In line with the bank’s culture of paying both interim and final cash dividend, the Board of Directors of UBA has declared an interim dividend of 20kobo per share (+17.6per cent from H1 2021: N0.17/share). for every ordinary share of 50kobo each, held by its shareholders.

STRONG EARNINGS GROWTH

UBA recorded strong earnings growth as core income segment supported H1 2021 performance, driven mainly by improvements in funding cost as non-core income declined year-on-year. The bank recorded an 8.3 per cent growth in interest income to N222.63 billion from N205.69billion recorded in H1 2020 as all major lines recorded gains. Specifically, interest on loans and advances to banks rose by 378 per cent to N10.38 billion in H1 2021 from N2.17billion in H1 2020), while interest on investment securities added 5.1 per cent to N87.24 billion in H1 2021 from N82.19billion reported in H1 2020. In addition, loans and advances to customers rose by four per cent to N118.44 billion in H1 2021

from N113billion in H1 2020 and cash and bank balances inched up by 1.4 per cent to N6.57 billion in H1 2021 from N6.48billion reported in H1 2020. Expectedly, the group’s growth in income from investment securities was strong considering the reinvestments of maturing funds in higher-yielding instruments compared to levels obtainable in the prior quarter. Likewise, growth in loans to banks and customers (+96.3 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively) significantly contributed to the strong performance. Interest expense declined by 13.6 per cent to N74.56 billion in H1 2021 from N86.26billion reported in H1 2020 as the bank recorded moderations across all contributory lines save for expense on interest-bearing liabilities (26.7 per cent to N25.07 billion).

INTEREST EXPENSE

The largest decline was recorded on interest expense on deposits from customers (-20.5 per cent to N42.43 billion in H1 2021 from N53.18 billion in H1 2020) as the bank’s CASA mix improved (H1 2021: 84.3 per cent as against 81.1 per cent recorded in financial year of 2020). Consequent to the income growth and declining expenses, the bank recorded an expansion in net interest income that rose by 24.1 per cent to N148.1billion in H1 2021 from N119.32bbillin in H1 2020, further supported by the significant decrease in loan loss expenses (-47 per cent to N4.14billion). Eventually, net interest income ex-LLE settled 29.1 per cent higher at N143.93 billion. Elsewhere, non-interest income declined during the period by 16.8 per cent to N64.38 billion, driven by foreign exchange revaluation (loss of N2.84 billion as against H1 2020: gain of N8billion) and derivatives (loss of N5.27 billion as against H1 2020: gain of N9.43 billion) as well as the decline in gains from investment securities (-55.5 per cent to N1.96 billion). The aforementioned offset the growth in net fees and commission income (+18.6 per cent to N45.77 billion in H1 2021 from N38.58billion in H1 2020); a consistent trend observed across the industry as electronic banking transaction volumes improve.

UBA’s total operating expenses closed relatively flat, growing moderately by 0.5 per cent to N132.83billion in H1 2021 from N132.13billion in H1 2020, as increasing regulatory cost pressures – Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) premium (+27.3 per cent to N7.11 billion) and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) levy (+24.1 per cent to N27.82 billion) were offset by moderations in personnel, building maintenance and business travel expenses. Consequently, the bank’s operating income (+10.3 per cent) advanced faster than opex, leading to an improvement in operational efficiency – cost-to-income ratio (ex-LLE) settled lower at 63.8 per cent relative to 69.9 per cent in the prior year’s corresponding period. Overall, profitability was more robust, with profit-before tax recording a 34.2 per cent growth to N76.19 billion in H1 2021 from N57.13billion in H1 2020 while profit after tax came in 36.3 per cent higher at N60.58 billion in H1 2021 from N44.43billion in H1 2020, despite the higher income tax expense (+26.4 per cent to N15.61 billion in H1 2021 from N12.7billion reported in H1 2020).

MAKING CHOICE

UBA

AFRICA’S

Commenting on the results, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, expressed delight over the bank’s performance in the first half of the year, adding, “This has been a strong first half for us, as global economic recovery exceeded expectations, creating a positive rub-off on consumer and corporate confidence, savings and investment activities. “We saw this positively impact our business, as we continued to leverage our key strategic levers – People, Process and Technology, and our Customer 1st Philosophy, to revolutionise customer experience at UBA.” He added that the bank’s investment in the Rest of Africa (Excl. Nigeria) continues to yield good results for the group. In his words; “The benefits of pan-African business diversification accruing to the Group is once again evident, with gross earnings and interest

“Capital position remained strong, with the capital adequacy and liquidity ratios of 24.9per cent (22.4per cent in 2020H1) and 58.3per cent (58.2per cent in 2020H1) respectively. This is robust enough to support our growth ambitions.”

income growth of 5.1per cent and 8.2per cent respectively, despite the low yield environment in our largest market, Nigeria. “We are making remarkable progress on our strategy that is progressively positioning UBA as the bank of choice on the continent, driven by our emphasis on tech-led innovation and best customer experience.” Continuing, the GMD pointed out that the bank recognises the far-reaching effects of the pandemic on businesses globally, and remains focused on its promise to always provide our customers with the best banking experiences possible. “Our H12021 performance reflects our progressive efforts in building on the strong momentum that we started the year with. As a purpose-driven organisation, we remain resolute in our drive for sustained growth in customer acquisition, transaction volumes and balance sheet, as we consolidate our ‘Africa’s Global Bank’ market position in the years ahead, uplifting livelihoods across the continent, ”Uzoka explained. On his part, UBA’s Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO), Ugo Nwaghodoh, noted that the bank’s goal is to achieve marked improvement in earnings quality whilst maintaining positive operating leverage as well as top-notch asset quality. “The Group recorded an RoAE of 17.5per cent (from 15.1per cent in 2020H1) and a NIM of 5.8per cent (from 5.4per cent in H12020) as we played the volatile yield environment diligently for best return on our interest earning assets. “Capital position remained strong, with the capital adequacy and liquidity ratios of 24.9per cent (22.4per cent in 2020H1) and 58.3per cent (58.2per cent in 2020H1) respectively. This is robust enough to support our growth ambitions, ”he said. The GCFO pointed out that even while the operating environment remains largely uncertain and volatile, despite marked improvement from Covid-19 induced macroeconomic stress, UBA will continue to build resilience through its geographically diversified business model to support headline earnings growth for the Group. “We remain committed to our 18per cent and 15per cent respective RoAE and deposit growth guidance for FY 2021, as we continue to invest in growth opportunities across our geographies of operation, whilst managing capital and balance sheet prudently, ”Nwaghodoh stated. According to analysts at Cordros Research, “The bank’s performance remains impressive given the challenging core business environment. We envisage this strong earnings growth would remain till full-year, given our expectations of sustained momentum in the acceleration of loans and higher yields obtainable to reinvest maturing assets.We also expect the bank’s continued improvements in operational efficiency to propel earnings further. Our estimates are under review.”

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Adedipe: CBN Must Enforce Laws to Stop Forex Aberrations by Oil Firms Issues around the value of the naira have once again grabbed the front row in national discourse. Opinions, however, differ on measures to stabilize the fluctuating currency. In this interview with Kunle Aderinokun, a renowned economist and chief consultant at B. Adedipe Associates Limited, Dr. Biodun Adedipe, provides crucial insights on steps to restore the integrity of the naira Given the shortage in the supply of forex, is there any leverage Nigeria could make of Diaspora remittances? here was a study done by Bloomberg Economist, it was published February this year. In that global chat, there were only about three to five countries that were outstanding when it came to migrant workers. Nigeria, they put as number one, our country came first, followed by Pakistan, then Canada. But in terms of five outstanding countries, in addition to the three stated earlier, we had the USA, Australia, and Vietnam. What they showed there in that study was, for the countries that benefit from migrant workers, Nigeria is on the side of those that have many migrant workers in the rest of the world, and therefore make remittances home. The estimated remittance from the study and review of literature is that the remittance by Nigerians in diaspora is an average of $34 billion annually. Now, if you look at that study also, the map of the world is what they used there to summarize it. The summary indicates that if Nigeria is able to manage that remittance effectively, it will add 0.4 per cent to our GDP growth annually. That is very significant. But you know where our problem is, those remittances, unlike Pakistan and other countries that get remittances, a lot of the dollar don’t come into the FX market in Nigeria. They remain outside there, and this is the pattern. Someone wants to send money to his or her family here in Nigeria. This person has $10,000 in the US, and wants to give the naira equivalent to his family member here in Nigeria, ordinarily the way it works in other countries is that that $10,000 will come into the FX market within Nigeria, and becomes a boost to supply here. But the reality is that in Nigeria’s situation, the dollar doesn’t leave where it is. The person that provides the naira equivalent here would rather keep the dollar equivalent outside there, so it doesn’t come into the FX market in Nigeria. So, we don’t get the full benefit of diaspora remittances here in Nigeria, despite that we are top in terms of benefitting from migrant workers. So what then happens is that instead of bringing it into the FX market in Nigeria, they keep it outside. That also becomes a leg that supports speculations that we talked about earlier on. I believe that was part of the reason why the CBN introduced the $1 for N5 incentive. The idea now is to see if the country can harness the most of the remittances. That now is a policy I think we need to interrogate more. How can we make it more attractive for those foreign currencies generated by migrant Nigerian workers to be remitted home, and become a part of our national supply to our market here? That now is a space for the BDCs.

Is the CBN not aware that oil companies would rather circulate dollars among their subsidiaries instead of remitting the same? Is there no policy that will mandate oil companies that receive dollars to desist from non-remittance? What do you think is responsible for making the oil companies tow this lane? It even goes beyond the oil companies. The point is that if you operate in Nigeria as a foreign entity, either as a business entity, NGO, or an International Development Partner or whatever it is, there is a regulation in place that says you cannot borrow naira from the Nigerian market here to trade. You are supposed to bring in foreign currencies into the FX market here in Nigeria. So the law exists. But where we have problems in Nigeria, which is our sad reality, is that we have laws for almost everything in Nigeria, where the problem lies is enforcement. And if I understand well, what the CBN Governor said while reading out a communiqué at a recent meeting is the realisation that these things are there, but were being violated without sanction. Then CBN is now saying that going forward, if you violate this, we are going to sanction you. And of course, for those international agencies and development partners, he is saying, ‘I will now report you back to your home office’. That will also bring to the table the disregard for the extant laws in Nigeria and regulations that guide the foreign exchange market. So, if we find the courage and political will to enforce those regulations and laws, all of these

Adedipe aberrations and arrant behaviours will be checked. And then we will come to a point where what has been kept outside of that market would come into it to boost supply. CBN already has the tools, but they need to enforce it. What’s your take on the recent suspension of forex supply to the BDCs? I believe strongly that the Central Bank has gone in the right direction. If we go back to the history of the forex market in Nigeria, when the Bureau de Change was conceived as a concept, the idea simply was that, to create a window for some businesses to buy and sell foreign currencies, and essentially, dealing with those who will not find it easy or convenient to buy from the official window. Within that concept also, the idea is for them to buy from travelers coming into Nigeria, whether they are foreigners or they are Nigerians who did some things offshore, and were able to make some money, and brought back those foreign currencies. So, the idea then was, though we sell to the BDCs, that when people are also going out of Nigeria, they can easily buy from there. This was the original concept. That concept did not include the Central bank selling foreign currencies to BDCs. But because in Nigeria the way we manage forex programs and policies, we often over the course of time, bastardised it in the sense that we completely depart from the original concept. We got ourselves to a point where the government now, through CBN, will regularly allocate FX to BDCs in certain amounts, and of course receive the naira equivalent from them. Under that concept also, we were supposed to operate like participative banks in the official market; which means, they deal within a

fixed commission, in terms of percentage. This means that each time you approach a BDC, they are supposed to quote for you their two-day rate, which means their buy rate and their sell rate. This means that when you approach them, you are supposed to ask them first for their two-day rate, then in response to what they have told you, you will now disclose whether you want to buy from them or sell to them. So, that was the concept originally. Which then means that for any BDC to thrive in such a market, it must be very much in tune with the market dynamics, and therefore also be able to fix its own rate within the recommended commission rate in such a way that is competitive in that market. Then you will now add to that the issues of customer service and relationship management that will make everyone that choose to buy from you today still choose to buy tomorrow because they bought the foreign currency from you without any stress. Secondly, your commission was not out of the market range. And thirdly, what we at times call hospitality, bedside manners; it’s about customer service, that you also treated them well. That was the business model. In the course of time, we got ourselves into a situation where we now began to make allocations to them. In which case, they did not need any longer to market customers that will sell to them, they were now empowered also to sell to those who need FX and are travelling out. So, that was the stage where we got it wrong. It then became a kind of racket where anyone with access to the Central Bank would do everything possible to get a license for the BDCs.

We now know that once you have a licence, it’s a ticket to a certain allocation on a weekly basis. That means you also have a defined income you can project on a weekly basis without adding any value. For me therefore as a professional economist, I describe that as a rent seeking system in which case we open a window for rent seeking, in which case a place where people make money without adding any value. And that was where we got it wrong. We also noticed that in the course of time, the number of BDCs in Nigeria went as high as close to 6,000. So, that was an aberration, which if I were to be the CBN Governor today, I will take us back to where we started from conceptually. That will also bring me to the issue that some of us raised way back as 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006. And that’s the fact that if you look at FX it’s a critical component of our economy for a reason that all the while in those early years, Nigeria used to be a net importer of non-oil goods. That was the pattern. Those were the years when our refineries were still producing refined petroleum products. So we were importing non-oil goods in those years. But because we were net importers, that brought pressure on the FX market. And like we have also argued overtime, the major worry for the CBN or anyone considering the management of the FX market is the premium. Premium is the difference between the official rates of the FX rate you get in other segments of the FX market. The other segments will mean, the parallel market, the BDCs, of course in those days we used to talk about export proceeds, and all manner of different arrangements. But today, the idea simply is that any other market outside of CBN is an alternative. So what is the rate there? How is it as compared to the official rate? So, the difference between these rates is called premium. So anytime that premium is greater than five per cent, it then becomes an incentive for round tripping. This means that the foreign currency becomes now attractive for those who want to speculate to go and buy, sell and then, they generate more Naira. So they can return to the official market and buy even more dollars, then go back and convert the dollar and get even more naira. That’s why it’s called round tripping. There is no currency anywhere in the world that can survive such an arrangement. That is why some of us are of the strong opinion that the CBN should have done this long before now. But doing it at all, we see it therefore as a step aimed in the right direction. The ultimate aim of this policy was to strengthen the naira against the dollar. And before the policy, naira to dollar was below N500. But after the policy, it’s almost hitting N600. What has the CBN gained? This question brings us to the basic understanding of what drives the exchange value of the Naira. If you are able to answer that question, it will bring us to the understanding of what is happening today. But ordinarily, in the interplay of demand and supply, what CBN has done is not to reduce the supply of FX to the market. What they have done is to shift the supply from one segment of the market to another, and even doubled the volume; which means, the response of rate is not to the supply coming to the market, which in fact has doubled. And equally, what could have been the concern is access. The CBN has also dealt with that by not only telling the participatory banks to have desks designated for FX, where members of the public in need of foreign currencies for defined purposes can have access to the foreign currencies required, which you can now also give to them either in cash, or as a credit into their domiciliary account, or into their dollar card. This means the issue is not supply on one hand, and on the other hand also, access is not the problem. It means the real issue is that the speculators knew that this position of the CBN is not something sustainable, which means that it’s not institutionalised. This means therefore that if another Governor comes into office, after the expiration of Emefiele’s term, there is a likelihood that he or she may go back to the old way of doing things. So we have to come back to look at those factors that cause exchange rates to move. There are about 12 of them in economics. One of them is the interplay between demand and supply, which as of today does not support

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

“Our latest data of foreign trade for the ﬁrst quarter of this year shows that everything related to oil in our foreign trade this year accounted for 85.02 per cent. So it then means what you can play around if you devalue the Naira is just 15 per cent.” what we see happening in that market. That is the depreciation of the Naira in the market as we see now is not supported by the interplay between demand and supply. The other things we can now talk about are the state of the banking industry, the state of the economy, the interplay between capital flows, that is either we have net inflows or net outflows. The reality today is that Nigeria is still in a position of net inflows. Those are the data of capital importation. That also can help explain the depreciation. We also would look into the issue of exchange rate differentials between Naira and our major trading currencies. What is happening to those currencies, and what is happening to the Naira; this also explains that. There is also what we call interest rate differentials, which means, what is the average rate of interest here in Nigeria and what is the average rate of interest in those countries of our major trading currencies. There has not been any major shift in that regard also, which means that interest rate differentials have not changed. Hence what is happening right now has nothing to do with the state of the economy, the state of the banking industry, interest rate differential and even inflation rate. In Nigeria, the inflation rate has been coming down gradually, at least in the last three months. That has been the trajectory of the inflation rate in Nigeria. It’s also not admissible to inflation rate differentials between us and those countries. So when you look at all of these factors, and of course there is what we call expected rate of interest, that is, inflation, expected inflation, expected rate of interest, even those would not explain this situation. Which is why I say, ultimately, the only reason we can admit this is speculation, which is based on the fact that, oh, CBN will not be able to sustain this? So, the question now will be, why can’t they sustain it? If we look at our external reserves, there are two ways to interpret that in this connection. First is to relate it to our monthly import bill, where we say, how much do we spend on import on a monthly basis? And if you use the latest public data available on Nigeria’s foreign trade, which is for the first quarter of this year, if you convert the over N2 trillion of our import for the first quarter into dollar, you will get about $5.568 billion per month. In that case, we need about $5.568 billion monthly to pay our monthly import bills. The idea now is to divide that figure into liquid portions of our external reserve; you will get about $5.98 billion thereabout based on the latest data available as at last week. Now the minimum that should ensure the exchange value of your currency is stable is six months, which means as at today Nigeria has enough of the cover expected to ensure that the exchange value of the currency is stable. This means the explanation is not in the position with external reserves as we are going. So if that is not the case, it means it is basically speculation. The question then is this, how do we deal with speculations? I will take that from different perspectives. First is from a study I was involved with way back in 1988 when the General Babangida government then was trying to formulate an industrial policy for Nigeria. It was a Federal Government project with support of the World Bank. The company I was working for then was the Nigerian partner to the foreign consultancy the job was given to. And because I also specialised in Industrial Economics, I became a fit into that project. That was why the company hired me by the way, in 1987. So we went round interviewing manufacturers all over Nigeria. One thing we got from them, which was a major output of that survey, was that they were not as much worried about how much they will spend to buy one dollar, they were more concerned with the stability of the exchange rate. So, which means if the rate was stable in the near term, then they can plan ahead in terms of production, planning and the rest of that. That was what they indicated was more important to them. The other side to it is that if you look at the trajectory of the Naira, from let’s say 1970 till date, which gives you records of about 51 years that we have of the trajectory of the exchange value of the

Naira against the US Dollar and other major trading foreign currencies. Now when you look at that chart, you then ask yourself for instance where Naira lost its value, either by reasons of depreciation that happened in the market or by way of devaluation done by the CBN, you will find that those occasions hang on to certain decisions made in this economy. One that stood out clearly is that anytime they said we were removing subsidies for refined petroleum products, the Naira lost value. You will see that relationship in that chart. We are talking of a chart constructed for a 51-year period. That’s a long enough period to make sense out of this. Also, every time we take measures that target to do precisely what the IMF recommends to you. The role of the IMF within the global-economy is to intervene in any country that has currency crises. And usually in doing that, they will come before the core conventionalities. They will preach what they call posterity measures. When you adopt those measures, some of them do not fit very well into your own economy, so it’s expected that you domesticate them. If you just take them and go out and implement, like what we call the Washington Consensus, you know, privatize and monetise everything, we call them the Washington Consensus. If you run that way, you are likely to end up with more crises, especially for an economy that is largely import dependent, forgetting also that the devaluation of a currency conceptually in economics is designed to make your export competitive. That is what it’s meant to do. The question therefore for Nigeria will be, if you devalue the Naira, it should make our export super and therefore we should be able to sell more to the rest of the world. What then do we sell to the rest of the world? If you look at our exports, disaggregated, it is dominated by hydrocarbons, which is crude-oil, condensing, and associated gas. Those ones, we have no influence on the price. So, the benefit of devaluation therefore doesn’t come to Nigeria. Our latest data of foreign trade for the first quarter of this year shows that everything related to oil in our foreign trade this year accounted for 85.02 per cent. So it then means what you can play around if you devalue the Naira is just 15 per cent. It then means that if you devalue the Naira, the benefit is just 15 per cent of your export. And like I have also argued over the years, because there is always a demand for foreign currency being a largest world economy that we are, it means therefore that if you devalue the Naira officially today, it’s only a matter of time for the rate in the alternative segment to move away from the official rate. We also have seen in those charts that it affected FX rates since 1978 till date. So every time there seems to be a point where the rate appears to come together, you see in a short moment that the parallel market and other alternative segments that their rates begin to move away from the official rate. In which case, until the structure of the economy changes, where we produce more of what we consume, and consume more of what we produce, we will continue to have that scenario play out, which is what the speculators are banking on. In that case, to deal with speculations, we must ask ourselves the honest question: What do we consume today and where does it come from? So if most of the food items we consume are imported, the question should now be which of these items can we produce locally? If we can produce them locally, then the foreign currency demand for the importation of such items could no longer exist; it gets extinguished. And let me also mention this: the demand for FX in an economy where everything is normal elsewhere is lived; which means the people don’t demand for foreign currency because they want to hold it as a stored value, but as

a financial asset for trading purposes. But when your currency keeps losing value repeatedly, then a currency like the dollar will become what it is in Nigeria today. One is a stored value because of the rate of inflation, and also a financial asset that people feel if I buy it today, it will lose value eventually, and I can get more Naira when I now sell the dollars, is an aberration. In that case, you must deal with the fundamentals. And that means, the government itself must provide leadership, and that is what I have canvassed for the last couple of years. The government needs to lead by saying each time we do our budget, that now runs in trillions, the government must then decide for instance to spend 30 per cent of the budget in buying things that are made in Nigeria, especially things that are high with local context. This means that what required FX to import the components, I’ll now say, let’s also not only announce it like we did in 2017/2018, but also have it now institutionalised, which means, whether the current administration is in office or not, those that come after them will have no choice to run with this, so it will be in our feasible responsibility act. That means we will make our amendment there. We would now say, over the next 10 years, for example, we are going to increase the proportion of the government budget that would be spent on things made in Nigeria. Maybe from the 30 that we have now; we would keep raising it annually up until we get 80 per cent. When you do that, it helps people to keep consuming what we produce, which when we do, the demand for FX on the other side of the coin will reduce. So, until we begin to do that consciously, then we can overcome the challenge. And I will also encourage Nigerians to do the same. That also takes us to a policy that has been a part of the conversation since 1987. That is our tariff structure. If there is anything that will discourage Nigerians from buying an imported item, it is to put a very high import duty on it that will make it very expensive, and therefore discourage Nigerians from buying it. It’s only those with a very deep pocket, who also want to make a statement that they are rich, that will buy such items. So, that is a way of discouraging consumption of imported items that are unnecessary. And I have repeatedly, for the past 30 to 35 years, used three items to illustrate. Nigeria should not be importing safety matches, because the technology for it is so basic. We should not be importing walking sticks because the technology for producing walking sticks is basic. And of course, I always use other things that are so basic like textiles for example, just to illustrate. We should not be importing textiles and a couple of other things like that. So, that means we align our tariff structure in such a way that, if we import a fully built vehicle to Nigeria, the duty you will pay on it should be far greater than the duty a company that assembles competing vehicles in Nigeria may pay for components. So that way, the prices of vehicles assembled in Nigeria would be lower than the price of a competing product that is imported. That is what we describe as policy internal consistency, which means, along the line of fiscal policy, managing policy and commercial policy, there will be an alignment. So, by the time we do all this, we will be in a position to deal with speculation. Rather than cease supply to the BDCs, don’t you think the CBN should have found a better way to manage them? I don’t believe in that argument and the reason is very simple. Anyone going into business knows that every business has its own peculiar risks, what we call basic business risk, and the aspect we call financial risk. So if you are going into a

business, you understand the basic business risk very well, that on one hand. The other side is the financial risk, which means you need capital to start the business, and you also need to trade in such a way that you will retain that capital. But if in the process of trading, you made serial losses, your capital must be eroded, and if you want to continue in that business, it means you must inject some fresh capital into it. And if you don’t have it, you must come up with a business case that will make other investors join you to invest in it. That business case rests on the fact that you understand the business, and you know what you need to do to get customers. But in this instance, the Central Bank has become the sole customer of the supply leg of their business. And that is why people like me will interpret BDC as a no business. It’s not a business. It’s just like an extension of the CBN, that’s what it is. So they were not doing business in actual fact. If you do the proper analysis of it, they were not doing business. So, if I were an operator in that space, I would have seen this sort of thing coming as a regulatory risk. And I would have asked myself, what happens to my business if for any reason, the CBN says we are not going to supply you FX any longer, you have to sort FX for yourself from the market. In that case I would have asked myself, who by the nature of their business, normally generates FX, how do I cultivate relationships with them, such that on a regular basis, I get supply from them that will enable me to serve my own customers. That is the way any regular business person will think. It’s like saying as of today, what COVID-19 brought into every business space around the world is that it has accentuated the need and relevance for and, respectively, of digital technology. That means that if one would survive an evolving post COVID-19 world of business, then having an effective digital platform becomes very important for your business. So those are the kind of risks you identify when you are in business, and they never bothered to do that because they had ready supply from CBN. Looking at it broadly from a larger economic perspective, I don’t see this creating any problem of unemployment. In terms of managing the economy, the government chooses where priority goes from time to time. There is a principle in economics that says, whatever you want people to do, put incentives there. There is a principle in economics that says, people, companies and entities, respond to incentives. There was an occasion whereby CBN came up with incentives, that was why many people went for BDC license. So now, what will happen is, if they have to downscale in terms of jobs, the way the large economy is managed is that, whatever you lose in one sector, usually would be absorbed in other sectors of the economy. For instance, if you look at the history of humanity, from the stone age, to agricultural age, to industrial age, to what we call the technology age, and now the knowledge age, the pattern has been that the skills required for survival changes, so people needed to learn new skills to fit into the new age. That has been the pattern historically with human evolution. It’s the same thing with people out here, especially now that we are talking about post COVID-19, everyone here now needs to be digitally savvy to fit into the post COVID-19 world of business. The same thing is going to apply to the BDC operators. Instead of being lazy mentally in terms of strategically planning for business, they will be forced now to do proper business planning. In the process also, it means some may have to let go off some of their employees, while some might even employ more because now they have to look for markets, and not depend on CBN’s allocations.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

O3 Capital Boss Advocates More Collaboration Between Banks and FinTechs Eromosele Abiodun

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s foremost FinTech, O3 Capital Limited, Abimbola Pinheiro has stressed the need for more collaboration between deposit money banks in the country and FinTech to deepen financial services in Nigeria. Pinheiro, who made the call in a chat with newsmen in Lagos also called on Nigerians to embrace cashless transaction and use credit cards for their immediate needs. According to him, “For me and for us at 03 Capital, we at the fore of collaboration with

banks, because everything is like an ecosystem. No matter what you do, there is always someone that can add more value to it. Fintechs are more of the last man to get to the end user. For instance, money has to move from one bank to the other. So, if we don’t collaborate with the banks, that will not help. “The telcos are there providing services, we have to collaborate with them because without them our POS terminals will not work. We always preach that look, you can’t be everything to everybody. So if in the case of where banks do wholesale bank, and let FinTechs like us do the retail to the end users,

everybody wins and everybody makes their money.” He added, “And the thing is that everybody is an expert in a certain area. I have told some banks in the past to leave the retail business to the retail experts. So banks have tried to do some funny FinTech arrangements, they have not had good experiences. But at 03 Capital we have default of less than 4 per cent, which is amazing. Because we know what we do, we know how to analyze our profiles, we know

what algorithm to ask for, so there is no way you will not collaborate. And it is only a matter of time really because you cannot be everything. He added that O3 Capital is the bridge between the old brick and mortar banks and the future mobile or any kind of payment system. “Because Nigerians have affinity to cash, the next thing to cash is card. So what 03 Capital offers is a credit card or prepaid card that works on

any platform. Now we have a mobile app that mirrors that card on your phone. So everything you can do on your card, you can do on your phone, transfer money, withdraw cash from the ATM, use a POS terminal, look at your balances, change your PIN, everything. “So it is that convenience that 03 Capital brings to the fore for people. So in terms of channel innovations, 03 Capital is like a financial supermarket where people will call a digital bank.

Because we offer lending services, we offer saving services, we offer money management services. And we are awaiting the CBN approval to offer remittance services. And that is just the beginning.” O3 Capital, he added, plans to expand its services to other countries and go global. “When we achieve that, Nigerians can take an 03 card from Nigeria and go anywhere in the world and get the maximum benefits available, “he said.

Plentywaka Rebrands as Treepz Plentywaka, the Torontoheadquartered shared mobility startup which provides hassle-free shared rides on-demand, is making a significant shift in its business as it announced that it has changed its name to Treepz. In a statement, it said the name change, which is effective as of now presents opportunity to align the company name with its Pan-African expansion plan. It also better represents the vision of the company, which is to build the largest shared mobility platform across Africa. “After recently securing $1.2 million in seed funding and acquiring Stabus, one of Ghana’s leading mobility startups, the company is now solely focused on expanding across Africa and harnessing the exciting opportunities in the continent. As part of the name change, Treepz has released a new company logo. Its core service offerings will remain the same but with new names; Daily Treepz, Travel Treepz, and Corporate Treepz. Its existing mission statement and “black & yellow” brand colours will also

be retained for marketing and branding purposes. Speaking on the rebranding, CEO of Treepz Inc., Onyeka Akumah said, “This name change is a result of in-depth discussions with our stakeholders, partners and staff. After we discovered that the term ‘WAKA’ can mean different things across Africa, which may be completely different from travel or movement, we decided to change the name from ‘Plentywaka’ to ‘Treepz’ which is pronounced as ‘Trips’. The new name boldly states our mission to provide safe, convenient and comfortable trips across Africa with plans for our expansion to 6 countries in 2 years on the continent.” In addition, the CEO of Treepz said the company had been looking for a globally acceptable name for the last 6 months to use in creating the right kind of positive emotions around bus trips on the African continent. The name Treepz embodies everything that happens on the road, travelling across cities, within cities and it gives a cool vibe to the experience.

FAO Harps on Cost-effective Approach to Solve Humanitarian Crisis Oluchi Chibuzor

The Food And Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has told the United Nation General Assembly that acting before shocks hit, instead of after disaster unfolds, is a more cost-effective humanitarian approach. According to the United Nation body, the move becomes necessary because the number of people trapped in food crises has continued to climb over the past 5 years, reaching 155 million people in 55 countries in 2020. Currently, over 41 million people are facing emergency levels of food insecurity and are at risk of falling into famine or famine-like conditions unless they receive immediate life-saving assistance, the body emphasized. FAO in statement said advances in technology and data, “now allow us to predict and anticipate many disasters before they strike, bringing human suffering - but use of these tools must be massively scaled up against the growing threats to rural livelihoods and food security.” In his remarks at a High-level Humanitarian Event on Anticipatory Action on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, FAO Director of Emergencies

and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, said faced with the increasing frequency, intensity, and complexity of the crises. “We cannot continue to rely on the same strategies we used yesterday - we have to innovate and invest more smartly and efficiently. Yet while humanitarian funding to the food sector grew from $6.2 billion to nearly $8 billion between 2016 and 2019, a significant shortfall persists, “Paulsen noted. He stressed despite ample evidence that anticipatory action to help vulnerable rural communities build their resilience before disasters hit is far more cost-effective than responding with aid after the fact. He added, “Better technology and data means we now have the tools to better understand - and predict - crises and their impact. FAO has been doubling down on anticipatory action” and “putting our money where our values are.” He also noted that with support from resource partners FAO invested $250 million in anticipatory action in 2020-21 which included acting early to contain a massive upsurge of crop- and pasture- eating desert locusts in East Africa via a control campaign that safeguarded the food security of 40 million people and avoided nearly $2 billion in losses.

GLOBAL SAFETY DAY…

L-R: Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen; Port Manager, Lagos Port Complex Apapa, Mrs Olufunmilayo Olotu; Controller, Apapa Area Command, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Yusuf Ibrahim Malanta at the 2021 Annual Global Safety Day of APM Terminals Apapa in Lagos… recently

Mastercard, Paycode Partner to Increase Access to Financial Services in African Communities

Emma Okonji

Mastercard has partnered African Fintech and Start Pathcompany Paycode, to provide both company’s offerings on one biometric smart card that will help increase access to critical services and advance economic inclusion for Africans living in remote communities. The partnership, the company said in a statement, is expected to address Africa’s challenges, where an estimated 57 per cent of the population in sub Saharan Africa remains financially excluded while close to 30 per cent remain without a form of identification and 60 per cent of the continent has no internet connectivity. “The situation has made most people in Africa, unable to access government assistance and basic financial services. Mastercard’s Community Pass platform will be included in Paycode’s Electronic Data And Payments Technology platform

(EDAPT) that currently provides a secure, biometric identity as well as a digital bank account. Individuals can access digital financial services offline in real-time even if they lack a formal identity document such as a birth certificate or passport. “Together, Paycode and Mastercard deliver a path to prosperity, enabling users to manage day-to-day needs including paying school fees for children, getting vaccinations for their families, selling goods, and growing their businesses. To enable this, Community Pass allows a person’s face or palm to be recognized at both online and offline locations, while ensuring best-in-class security of their individual data. Community Pass also leverages consistent technology standards so that an individual can seamlessly access financial, health, agricultural, or aid services across providers, including government disbursements. The partnership’s goal is to

onboard 30 million individuals living in remote, unconnected areas of Africa over the next three years, enabling them to access the products and services they need with a Community Pass biometric smart card that runs on Paycode’s EDAPT platform, “the statement reads. According to SVP, Sales & Market Development, H&D for Mastercard, Ricardo Pareja, “Adding Inclusive ID functionality to Paycode biometric smart cards helps reach those currently excluded from critical government programs and ensures we are addressing basic financial needs of a dispersed population. “As we seek to drive beyond inclusion to fostering prosperity in communities across the globe, a critical focus for Mastercard is to help enable the interoperability and scale of solutions like those provided by Paycode.” CEO at Paycode, Ralph Pecker,

said: “As Paycode we are proud to partner with global leaders like Mastercard to effect positive change for people on the ground and drive innovation in financial services delivery in deep rural areas. As leaders in last mile delivery and proof of life financial services technology, we play the important role of providing solutions that bring tremendous growth and financial access offline in real-time to the financial and technology sectors in Africa.” Vice President, Business Development - Governments at Mastercard, Selim Ergoz, said: “We believe that shared digital tools and scalable channels can drastically improve the reach and access to services, by reducing the cost to serve those communities as well as improving the effectiveness of service delivery. At Mastercard, we are committed to building an inclusive, sustainable economy where everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential.”

CBN Urged to Create Funding Windows for Real Estate Players Ugo Aliogo and Loveth Chinagorom The Executive Director, Sabre Works, Services, Kayode Fagbadebo, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to create more funding windows to ensure that players in the real estate sector have different options of getting funds to drive investments in the sector. Fagbadebo, who disclosed this in Lagos during the unveiling of a brand ambassador of the company noted that government has a lot of

work to do especially in providing long term funding to players in the sector to finance projects. He appealed to government to support players in the sectors in their bid to provide affordable housing for Nigerians, noting that affordable housing comes in different ways, it could come in terms of cheap rentals. He hinted that there is a need for the government to setup an organisation to regulate rent to ensure that it is affordable in line with the actual cost of building those houses.

He further explained that as part of efforts to provide affordable housing government should give incentives to developers, people should able to able to pay conveniently in installment, and the prices should be affordable when compared to the actual cost. Fagbadebo maintained that government needs to empower the private players in terms of projects, adding that if a private player is part of a project he should have more grants, loans, or financial support from the banks, mortgage companies

to do developmental works in the project. According to him, “The National Housing Fund (NHF) and Federal Mortgage Bank are trying. But demand is more than supply and when you have a situation like that then the distribution of this resources and allocation is poor and sometimes it gets to the wrong hands. So, the government needs to be deliberate and pay attention to that sector and ensure that those funds go to the developers that are ready to channel those funds to real projects.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

FG Borrowing Surges as T-bills Rates Peaks at 7.2%, Analysts Predict Sustained Increase in Rates Nume Ekeghe In a bid to attract lending from local investors, the federal government borrowing recorded its highest T-bills offering which has seen 365-Day T-bill rise to 7.20 per cent from 6.80 per cent. This increase can be attributed the heightened inflation figures which had discouraged investors from FG instruments but with the

recent increase in long-term T-bills instrument, investors have increased their stakes in federal government instruments at the expense of the equities market. In the just concluded week, CBN sold T-bills worth N209.50 billion, to mop up the matured N138.17 billion bills, at relatively flat stop rates at the short end of the curve. However, irrespective of the increase in 365 days T-bill, 91-Day

APM Terminals Apapa Honours Employees on Global Safety Day Nigeria’s leading container terminal operator, APM Terminals Apapa has marked its 2021 Annual Global Safety Day, with over 60 employees and contractor staff with outstanding safety records recognized during an onsite event in front of colleagues and invited dignitaries. The event themed, “Leading with Care,” had in attendance the Port Manager of Lagos Port Complex Apapa, Mrs Olufunmilayo Olotu; Controller, Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Yusuf Ibrahim Malanta, and other invited guests. Terminal Manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said in his welcome address that while the management staff have more influence over work design control, the colleagues at the quayside, yard, workshop and other units “are the experts and it is crucial that we all listen and learn from these colleagues with the highest potential for injury”.

Steen said safety is a joint effort “no matter where you sit in the organization”. “You are the experts that expose yourselves to the frontline activities of our business, hence I want to encourage you to continuously learn safety and adapt to best practices. Safety is not what we learn once; it is a continuous process. “Do not hesitate to wave me or other management team members down to share your ideas, suggestions and the challenges you are facing when carrying out your duties. Our priority is to make sure everyone coming to work in our terminal return home to their families safe and sound,” Steen said. Also speaking, the Head of Safety, APM Terminals Apapa, Felix Ugwuagbo, said while safety remains a key priority at the terminal, all employees including senior management team members must be diligent in observing relevant safety measures at all times.

Popoola: Digital Transformation Next Growth Phase for NGX

Darasimi Adebisi

The Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr. Temi Popoola, CFA, has stated that digital transformation is the next phase of growth for NGX considering its laudable achievements in digitization and digitalization so far. This was expressed at the Nigeria Tech/FinTech Conference hosted by Renaissance Capital on Thursday, 9 September 2021 where Popoola was part of a panel discussion. Speaking at the event, Mr. Popoola reflected on technology at The Exchange, noting that, “If you think about The Exchange, our interaction with technology will be around digitisation, digitalisation and digital transformation. What you will find is that we are extremely digitised and digitalised both internally and the way stakeholders consume our products and services. “This is evidenced by the fact there has been no physical trading on the floor of The Exchange for over one year, yet we have experienced zero downtime in trading activities. The next phase is therefore digital transformation where we can ensure that the lastmile delivery of our products and services is digitised and consumed through technology. A priority for us at this time is also to improve the ease of access to investment opportunities for all classes of investors.” He added, “Looking at the listing opportunities within the

technology ecosystem, it is clear that capital is being formed and it is imperative for NGX to being to facilitate this. While a lot of funding in this sector happens at the earlier stages, NGX is undeterred by the fact that listing typically happens at the more mature stages of capital raising.” Popoola provided insights into what NGX is doing in this regard saying, “Already, NGX has the Growth Board which is home to fast-growing companies, but we recognise that there is more to be done. Our approach is to begin to relook our rules and boards that may not necessarily be acceptable to players within the technology industry. We see that capital being raised in this space is mostly foreign, and we want to position ourselves to be more accommodating of the evolving landscape whilst developing the right market architecture. One thing that is however interesting to note is that the FinTech ecosystem has increased awareness around the capital market and the opportunities in personal investing. The next step for NGX would, therefore, be to look at the landscape and begin to leverage advancements that will help the capital raising, trading and settlement processes to democratise finance in Nigeria. Evidently, NGX is positioned to spur the next wave of growth and development in Nigeria, which is technology, and the market looks forward to announcements in this regard.”

and 182-Day bills were unchanged at 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. Analyst from Cowry Assets noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria have appeared to have changed gear amid demand pressure on the greenback. They stated: “In tandem with the direction of rate, NITTY for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months maturities rose to 2.93 percent from 2.85 percent, 3.65 percent from 3.25 percent, 4.76 percent from 4.53 percent and 7.49 percent from 6.87 percent respectively.” “Meanwhile, CBN sold only N50 billion worth of bills to investors

despite the N119.07 billion worth of matured OMO bills. However, NIBOR rose for all tenor buckets, Overnight rate, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months fell to 14.10% (from 12.27%), 12.58% (from 8.95%), 13.43% (from 9.65%), and 14.49% (from 10.57%) respectively.” They further noted that in the new week, “T-bills worth N186.36 billion will mature via the primary and secondary markets to exceed T-bills worth N155.88 billion, which will be auctioned by CBN via the primary market; viz: 91-day bills worth N1.61 billion, 182-day bills worth N5.91 billion and 364-day bills worth N148.36 billion. Cowry

Research expects the stop rates of the 364-day to continue in northward direction as investors seek higher yields.” Furthermore, Analysts from Cordos Securities noted that trading in the Treasury bills secondary market turned bearish following market participants’ reaction to the increase in the stop rate of the long-dated instrument at Wednesday’s NTB PMA. “Consequently, the average yield expanded by 18bps to 5.6 percent. Across the market segments, the average yield expanded by 10bps and 30bps to 6.2 percent and 4.9 per cent at the OMO and NTB segments,

respectively. At the bi-weekly NTB PMA, the CBN offered bills worth N138.17 billion and eventually allotted N209.50 billion – N4.94 billion of the 91-day, N11.88 billion of the 182-day and N192.68 billion of the 364-day bills – at respective stop rates of 2.50 percent which is unchanged, 3.5 percent also unchanged, and 7.2 percent previously 6.8 per cent. “Considering the current uncertainty created by the higher NTB PMA stop rate, we expect the result of next week’s NTB PMA to provide clarity and dictate the direction of yields. At the PMA, the CBN is set to roll over NGN161.79 billion worth of instruments,” they stated.

L-R: Principal Manager, Retail Operations, Fatgbems Group, Shina Soleji; One of the winners of the GiveAway Series 2.0, Ahmed Bako-Ismaila; Area Business Manager, Sango Business Area, Nnamdi Esenwa; and the Senior Manager, Brand and Communications, Fatgbems Group, Adeosun Azeez at the Phase One Draws of the On-going Fatgbems Petroleum GiveAway PHOTO: ABAYOMI AKINYELE Series 2.0 at Sango-Otta Business Area, Sango, Ogun State… recently

NEPC Task Exporters to Leverage e-Commerce to Boost Non-oil Exports Gilbert Ekugbe The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has charged exporters to take advantage of e-commerce to boost Nigeria’s non-oil export sector. The Regional Coordinator, South West, NEPC, Mr. Samuel Oyeyipo, explained that the pandemic has necessitated exporters to think out of the box to ensure continuity in their businesses, maintaining that embracing e-commerce would give Nigeria’s non-oil exporters the leeway to access global markets. Oyeyipo at a sensitisation workshop on, “Earn dollars by selling on Amazon,” organised by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council in Lagos, said the workshop is aimed at enabling participants’ access information needed to enhance the quality of their products and make them suit-

able for the international market and placement on Amazon platform. He added that the scheme is critical as it would afford NEPC all the opportunity to exchange ideas as well as map out strategies and methodologies that would provide necessary information on production of more products and create access to the export market. “These responsibilities we must take with all seriousness they deserve. The workshop is therefore designed to be participatory in nature as it would enable us share our field experiences with a view to enriching our knowledge on product development and conditionality for earning dollars through selling on Amazon platform,” he said. He added” In addition, the importance of this gathering is underscored by the fact that some of you as managers in your company are saddled with the responsibility

of generating information that could be used for planning and access to the foreign market.” Also speaking, the Managing Director, Export and Sell in United State of America (USA), Udeh Nduka, stated that Nigeria is yet to explore the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) to its fullest potential with regards to non-oil export. According to him, the AGOA, which has been extended to 2025 is only being exploited effectively by Uganda and Kenya. “I will not say we have not utilised it, but we have not utilised it to the level we ought to, but when you look at statistics, Nigeria is one of the country doing the most under AGOA because of petroleum, but when we look at the non-oil, we have not done much. We have countries like Uganda, Kenya doing amazing things with

respect to non-oil under AGOA, but we are looking to change all that,” he said. Reacting to rejection of Nigerian products at the international market, Nduka said most exporters do not know the requirements and lack the ability to configure their products to meet international requirements. “This is one of the things we do at Export and Sell in USA. If you bring a product that you want to export, we make sure that the product meets the specifications. We do not want exporters spending their hard earned money on exporting and at the end of the day,get their products rejected. This is the worst thing that can happen to any business. It is not that these countries are rejecting our products based on standards, it is we back home that are not doing our home work to know the requirements for exports,” he said.

NSP Harps on Healthy Sleep Culture f o r C h i l d r e n ’s M e n t a l G r o w t h

Gilbert Ekugbe

The Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP) has emphasised on the need for a healthy sleep culture for children’s physical and mental growth and development. According to the NSP, quality sleep helps repair and restore body cells, tissues, and organs. In addition, it improves cognitive skills development, memory, alertness and general performance necessary for academic excellence. The Coordinator, NSP Paediatric Specialist Group, Dr Ituen Oluwakemi, in a statement said

children between the ages of 4-12 months must observe 12-16 hours of sleep; while 1-2years, 11-14 hours; 3-5 years, 10-13 hours; 6-12 years, 9-12 hours; and those between 13-18 years, 8-10 hours. According to the doctor, quality sleep allows the pituitary gland in the brain to produce different specialised hormones, including the growth hormone, which influences a child’s height. This growth hormone is responsible for increasing the size and repairing tissues, muscles, and bones. This process

is significant during puberty because it facilitates rapid growth spurts, as there have been cases of growth retardation in children with poor quality sleep over a long period. In addition, Oluwakemi advised parents to provide the right sleep solution to ensure quality sleep, adding that quality sleep is not just a function of duration, but also the sleep needs to be uninterrupted. “When asleep at night, the child should wake up not more than once to have a night of quality sleep, as the reverse has negative

consequences like obesity, behavioral disorders, attention deficit, and restlessness, among many others. It is worthy of note that quality sleep enhances a child’s brain capacity to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend and solve complex problems, learn quickly and remember past experiences, as well as in the area of language development. The milestone a child misses during childhood may affect their adolescent and adult life, hence the need for the right sleep mattress from infanthood.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Firm to Bridge Knowledge Gap on Cryptocurrency Oluchi Chibuzor Financial education platform, Olympus has reaffirmed its readiness to bridge knowledge gap around the ban of cryptocurrency transactions. The firm explained that this was necessary to prevent investors from falling into the antics of opportunists who might want to

exploit the ban against investors. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, Victor Louis Adegunloye made the commitment at a recent seminar organised for investors to keep them abreast of development in digital currency. Speaking to journalists, Adegunloye expressed concerned that people were being exploited

via the ban and announcing a pilot scheme for creating a new government-backed digital currency. “This is why Olympus hosts weekly seminars to educate people on the opportunities while working on creating a tech hub to train Nigerians on financial technology and block chain applications. So far, we

have trained more than 30,000 people with at least five percent currently earning anywhere from 100 dollars to 1000 dollars a week.” He stated that CBN ban of cryptocurrency transactions in July may not be unconnected to activities of fraudulent operators, which was fueled by knowledge gap.

He said, “We want people to be empowered by taking advantage of newemerging technologies. We have 2000 active users on our platform holglobal.team, it’s all organic at the moment and we’ll be launching our dashboard within the next quarter. “We also currently have users from over 60 nations

across the globe, especially in African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, SA, Kenya and Uganda. In all, we plan for people to make money, also educating clients with knowledge and information to take advantage of opportunities in the blockchain technologies to make better financial decisions and build a better life for themselves and families.”

dues we pay the government. “The significance of this name and logo change is to also lay emphasis, bring more into focus of who we are, what services we render and our chain of relevance and importance in the Maritime Industry, “he said. “We are professionals in maritime cargo delivery operations certified by various International Standard Organization. We are

repositioning the association for greater efficiency and a more robust stakeholders engagement. Our operations span across shipto-ship, ship to shore, shore to ship, mid-stream, on and off shore cargo delivery operations. Not excluding other stevedoring and cargo related delivery services rendered such as cargo superintendence, gangway security, stuffing and unstuffing etc, “he said

NASC Reposition for Greater Efficiency The National Association of Stevedoring Companies (NASC), has keyed into the on-going reforms in the maritime industry as it repositions itself for greater efficiency for a more robust engagement with its stakeholders. Speaking at the launch a change of name and logo, the group’s president, Comrade Bolaji Sunmola said that the change of name was imperative in view of

the reforms and on-going changes in the maritime industry. Sunmola also said that the group is now to be known as the National Association of Stevedoring Operators with a newly designed logo. He disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Labour gave approval for the new name which gave the association ago ahead to effect the change

He added that the association has gainfully employed Nigerians aside taxes and dues paid to the government adding that the transformation would enhance more focus of customers to the operators, and the services they render. “The change is coming at a time when we are opening a new Vista with some of our stakeholders particularly the

international Oil Companies (IOCs). The change in the new name is borne out of reforms currently being experienced in the Maritime Industry “It is also evident that the importance and contributions of the association cannot be overemphasized.Through our operations, thousands of Nigerians are gainfully employed, this is also besides the taxes and

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

HOMES&DESIGN

M U LT I B I L L I O N - N A I R A

FAMFA TOWER RISES IN IKOYI

Famfa Tower

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

HOMES&DESIGN

FAMFA TOWER AS A NEW GIANT IN LAGOS SKIES Alfred Rewane Road is fast becoming Ikoyi’s high street, where commercial skyscrapers in Lagos congregate. It is the prime location billionaire oil magnate Funsho Alakija is making a rare statement with her Famfa Tower, a 20-storey skyscraper industry watchers say is in excess of N60 billion. Bennett Oghifo writes

Famfa Tower night view

illionaire Funsho Alakija is the chairman of Dayspring Property Development Company, the real estate outfit handling Famfa Tower’s construction. Famfa Tower is not the usual skyscraper, not the financial outlay and the elaborate, futuristic facilities. Industry watchers say the tower could emerge as the most expensive skyscraper in Ikoyi. Famfa Oil Tower is under construction at the corner of Alfred Rewane (former Kingsway) Road and Olawole Dawodu, Ikoyi, Lagos. It is a 20=storey office development, comprising a ground floor, 19 suspended floors, including a basement, and it is on a 5695sq.m parcel of land. According to Dayspring Property Development Company officials, the building

is 103 meters in height with a gross floor area of approximately 55,000 sq.m and has lettable office spaces, owner-occupied office spaces, and a multipurpose hall, each with a dedicated well-appointed entrance at the ground floor. There are six floors of lettable office spaces combined with split-level suspended car parks and eight floors of full lettable office accommodation, divisible into four self-contained office spaces. FAMFA OIL has three dedicated floors within the development. There is a gymnasium, helipad (with a dedicated waiting lounge) at the top of the tower, and 266-capacity car park spaces. “The proposed design, in general, makes provision for a high level of

interior finishes which was taken up several notches in the main reception, multipurpose halls and office floors with input from the interior designer which upon completion would be breathtaking. This comprises raised access floors, select granite finishes, and indirect lighting within the office spaces,” the officials said. The building’s façade comprises extensive high-performance unitised curtain walling with integrated façade lighting, ballistic performance considerations in select areas, and aluminium cladding. The structural design for the tower is reinforced cast-in-place concrete. This is such that cased secant piles and bored piles combined with a mat slab make up the foundation, whilst the superstructure is of conventional post and beam construction.

The MEP services are of high standards, including chilled water HVAC systems, access control systems, fire detection and suppression systems. Others are car park management system, destination control for passenger lifts are all monitored by an active building management system. There are two dedicated cleaning cradles, building management units on the roof to facilitate façade cleaning and maintenance. The development is provided with three 2.5KVA standby generators to cater to the entire development’s power needs. A proposal that is still being considered is to have rotary UPS systems as an alternative to generators such that in the event of a power outage, there is no interruption of power supply, thereby ensuring a seamless flow of electricity.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

HOMES&DESIGN

THE EVOLUTION OF WORK SPACE DESIGN OMON ANENIH MORDI Founder, The DEW Centre

he latest trends in workplace design are moving from a heavy focus on aesthetics and basic functionality to combining beauty, functionality, health and adaptability in exciting new ways. Many modern designs focus on improving employee engagement and productivity by optimizing collaboration, focus, and efficiency according to changing needs. After centuries of traditional desk and chairs with large meeting rooms, we’re witnessing dramatic changes in the ways offices are designed. Gone are the days of the cubicle life as workplaces begin to take on a new identity. In recent years, we have seen a dramatic increase in flexible working environments because we no longer need to be limited to one workstation or space. With the emergence of the Millennials and Gen-Z, the gradual changes that were almost unnoticed have been thrown into stark and dramatic light in recent times. Workspaces are now adopting new age office designs to include, open-plan, flexible and supportive furnishing, social hubs or breakout stations, infusion of technology and a variety of collaborative spaces. This shift has seen a strong focus on recruitment and employee satisfaction, with companies now crafting engaging workspaces that provide a unique experience - all helping to attract and retain their industry’s best talent. The workplace doesn’t have to be like an old library with white walls, chunky furniture and deathly silence. Today, developing the right company culture has become a priority for most companies. After all, happy employees are productive employees. Cubicles have been dismantled and put away as the efficacy for open plan offices to foster collaboration and encourage ‘team culture’ have been realised. Seating arrangements such as sit-stand desks that can help posture and prevent future physical

injuries have been introduced into the workspace. This is usually complimented with breakout spaces and auxiliary spaces that facilitate work at hand and provide quiet corners for when privacy is required. Many companies are intentionally designing social settings into the office, whether it be in the form of a games room, a family-style kitchen or café inspired breakout space. This promotes communal and collaborative efforts. Research in recent times has shown that taking out time to interact with colleagues in an area separate from work bolsters social bonds, improves internal communication and contributes to greater productivity overall. Different seating styles (including couches and benches) are now used to provide extra space for employees to relax or network. This type of design allows companies to put a spotlight on the importance of socialising in the workplace and not make it all about crunching numbers. It used to be thought that you could only be productive at your desk. If you were in the kitchen, or a breakout space, then you were on a break. But what if you just wanted to work away from your desk? Today, more organisations are realising the need to create spaces that facilitate collaboration and allow employees to work in a variety of settings. Also, to promote spending time away from the desk, designers are now intentional about placement of water stations, printing bays and other such shared facilities to force employees to take a break from their work station, and to counteract the effects of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. In the past, it was believed that productivity could only be achieved while seated at the desk. This trend has

changed with the pandemic showing that in many cases, work can be done anywhere even in the kitchen. This is further linked to the extensive immersion of technology in the workspace, with technology developing so fast and consumer standards and expectations constantly changing. Technology has made it easier for companies to have employees working in different places and still deliver quality outputs. Offices, homes and public spaces now have high speed internet and wifi connection rather than the age of fax or desktops and typewriters. We now live in an age of always-on connectivity. Changes in communication standards have empowered employees to be able to choose when and where they work. When all you need is a laptop and WiFi, you can work from a variety of settings throughout the office - be it a breakout space, couch, standing desk or even in outdoor spaces. In addition to this, the sizes of offices can also show the growing preference for working outside the office. With more people working from home or other spaces, office buildings are smaller and more compact. The workplace design model is becoming interconnected and no longer tied down to one location, but rather employees are able to work from many areas. In effect, this means businesses are now able to combine portability and connectivity into their office design. For example, technological office resources like teleconferencing makes it easy to communicate with your top employees from anywhere. According to research done by Herman Miller, the preeminent organizations studied were shifting from a workstation mentality to a workpoint state of mind. Instead of assigning one desk to each person, these organizations created shared workpoints throughout the office to give people the variety they needed to do a range of individual activities. This approach did not mean that assigned workstations were not still appropriate for some people and work, but shared workpoints made better

use of space and provided better support for the way most people were actually working. Although design trends are not purely a generational thing, changes in the demographic of the working population has also accounted for the differences in the work environment. Millennials are especially looking for workplaces that support their lifestyles. This usually means the work of an inspiring, fun and comfortable device. Preferred facilities include public areas and attractive catering services. Fitness rooms, outdoor seating areas and recreational opportunities are also on the list. Modern furniture and advanced technology can further influence the thinking of applicants. Together, these features convey the message that employers care about the well-being of their employees. For most talent pools, this workplace design trend can play a big role in their job selection. Furthermore, research done about workplace productivity has shown that high-quality workplace design can improve overall health and employee satisfaction. The physical environment affects employees comfort, mood, and concentration. The design of the workplace also affects personal efficiency; wellness focused design will increase happiness, sense of worth and reduce sick leave. In addition, employees make better and healthy life decisions based on the quality of the workspace. Employers and designers are increasingly taking this into consideration and it is reflected in the choice of lighting, air quality, colours and greenery that are now being more intentionally infused into the workplace. The workplace has undergone rapid change in recent times to meet the new normal. The reasons are complicated. A new generation of professionals. Faster, smaller, and more powerful technology. Greater insight into the impact of design. All of these have helped to change direction. Companies that wanted to maximize efficiency, productivity, and profit worked to benefit from implementing flexible, activity-based workspaces designed to easily integrate technology and maximize employee well-being. t 0NPO "OFOJI .PSEJ 'PVOEFS 5IF %&8 $FOUSF

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSSPECIAL

Editor: Obinna Chima obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078

NNPC: POSITIONED FOR IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY In recent weeks, a lot of focus has been on the oil and gas industry. From the recent passage of the Petroleum Industry Act to the historic declaration of its ﬁrst proﬁt by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the sector has been, as expected, literally been on an overdrive. Emmanuel Addeh in this report examines the ground-breaking announcement of a net gain by the national oil company hitherto viewed as a loss-making organisation, as it charts a new pathway for its future survival

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the country’s state oil corporation which was established on April 1, 1977 in addition to its exploration activities, has powers and operational interests in refining, petrochemicals and products transportation as well as marketing. In 1988, the NNPC was grouped into 12 strategic business units, covering the entire spectrum of oil industry operations: exploration and production, gas development, refining, distribution, petrochemicals, engineering, and commercial investments. However, for the third time since its establishment 44 years ago, the NNPC under its Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, last week officially released its Audited Financial Statement (AFS), the one for the year 2020. With the development, the corporation joined other state-owned global oil concerns which publish the details of their operations as dictated by the law setting them up which among others has the capacity to boost investors’ confidence and enhance business transparency. But it probably did not come as a surprise to a number of Nigerians who still had some faith in the national behemoth, with its GMD, Kyari, having promised on several occasions that from this year, the NNPC will turn the corner and remain on the path of progress. Earlier, precisely on August 26, President Muhammadu Buhari’s had declared a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N287 billion for the financial year 2020, and further directed the NNPC ensure the prompt publication of its AFS in line with the requirements of the law. While noting that the agency’s losses were reduced from N803 billion in 2018 to N1.7 billion in year 2019, Media Adviser to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed that the move was in fulfilment of an earlier pledge by the federal government to publicly announce the financial position of the NNPC. In June and October respectively last year, the corporation made public its 2018 and 2019 AFS, noting in the documents that were released five months apart, that it had achieved a 99.7 per cent reduction in its loss profile from a whopping N803 billion in the previous year. Buhari stated that to take the corporation to the next level, he had directed that all the financial statements of the organisation must be promptly

released and congratulated the NNPC board for a job well done. “I have further directed the NNPC to timely publish the audited financial statements in line with the requirements of the law and as follow-up to our commitment to ensuring transparency and accountability by public institutions. “I congratulate the board, management and staff of the corporation and look forward to greater value creation for the Nigerian people,” he said.

A NEW BEGINNING

The latest financial statement by the national oil company showed that aside the already announced gains which rose after a loss position of N1.7 billion in 2019 to a profit of N287 billion in 2020, NNPC’s total current assets increased by 18.7 per cent compared to that of 2019 while its total current liabilities increased by 11.4 per cent within the same period. In addition, the group’s working capital remained below the line at N4.56trillion in 2020 as against N4.44 trillion in 2019, while the corporation’s group revenue for the 2020 financial year stood at N3.718 trillion as against N4.634 trillion in 2019. According to the national oil company, the decrease in the group’s revenue could be attributed to the decline in production and price of crude oil due to global impact of Covid-19. But while the directors of the NNPC assessed the group’s future performance and financial position on an ongoing basis and said they had no reason to believe that the group will not be a going concern in the years ahead, the auditors however disagreed, pointing out that some of the indices in the AFS were a cause for concern. The independent auditors, namely PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC), SIAO Partners and Muhtari Dangana & Co drew attention to a section of the document which indicated that the corporation’s liabilities still outstrips its assets. The auditors stressed that though the NNPC announced a profit of N287 billion, but the large discrepancy between assets and liabilities cast some uncertainty on the corporation’s operations. “We draw attention to note 42 of the consolidated and separate financial statements, which indicates that the group recorded a net

profit of N287.2 billion (Corporation: N235.3 billion) during the year ended 31 December 2020 and, as at that date, the group’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets by N4.6 trillion (Corporation: N729.1 billion). “As stated in note 42, these events or conditions, along with other matters as set forth in note 42, indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group and corporation’s ability to continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter,” they noted. The newly released AFS also indicated that the NNPC recorded a profit before tax of N719 billion in 2020 compared with N93 billion loss in 2019, and a total comprehensive income of N655 billion compared to a loss of N20.1 billion last year. The financial statement was signed by the Group Managing Director of the corporation and the Chief Financial Officer, Mallam Mele Kyari and Mr Umar Ajiya respectively and was dated September 3. However, despite their misgivings, the auditors said records show an improvement from prior year based on several group improvement efforts put in place by management, including elimination of the cost drivers responsible for the accumulation of the shortfalls in settling domestic crude obligation to Federation Account. The auditors further acknowledged the introduction of the Price Modulator mechanism in the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) template designed to eliminate the major cause of the losses as well as minimising the breaches to pipeline networks. Under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), they projected that the NNPC when given the autonomy, will operate profitably, noting that the recapitalisation of the corporation will enable the resolution of all outstanding related party payables and receivables to enable NNPC start on a clean slate. During the year, the NNPC said it donated a total sum of N3.6 billion and N9 million respectively to various charitable organisations, higher education institutions and other organisation, while no donation was made to any political party.

KYARI: HOW FEAT WAS ACHIEVED

The management and board of the NNPC attributed the N287 billion profit in its audited statement to the adoption of cost-cutting measures, hitting at least 30 per cent reduction in the last two years. Speaking at the headquarters of the company in Abuja, Kyari stated that the national oil company had adopted drastic changes in the way its business was conducted before now. Joined by board members of the corporation, he explained that the efforts of the corporation to embrace transparency and accountability encouraged by President Muhammadu Buhari, had started paying off. The GMD said he attempted to bring in a new perspective in the running of the national oil company and built on what he met, ensuring more efficiency by automating the company’s processes and systems as well as choosing wisely what to invest in. Added to those factors, the NNPC boss stated that the corporation had also been focusing on people’s issues since happy workers will ultimately deliver on the objectives of the company. “The first principle of course is elimination, that is, you don’t buy what you don’t need. And we simply stopped buying what we didn’t need. Also, during the particular fiscal year 2020, whoever we engaged on all our contracts, we insisted on cutting costs by at least 30 per cent. “This worked and we were able to pull down most of our procurement costs by 30 per cent. We saw the opportunity to be much more efficient by automating our systems and processes and that made us faster and also ultimately it reduced so much of logistics costs that ordinarily would have been additional costs to our business,” he noted. He admitted that although there’s more work to be done, he remained proud of his team at the corporation, maintaining that history had been made by the NNPC. According to him, NNPC has now turned the corner from being a loss-making business that will look to improve on its performance Continued on page 40

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

INTERVIEW

NWODO: DESPITE ALTERN ATIV E PAYMENT CHANNELS, USE OF CASH WILL KEEP INCREASING The Founder/Chairman, Integrated Cash Management Services Limited ((ICMS), ) Mr. Charles Nwodo Jnr, in this interview says despite the increasing focus on alternative payment channels across the world, facts show that the use of cash has been on the increase. He also urges the Central Bank of Nigeria to enforce its guidelines on cash processing and distribution so as to achieve sustainable cost optimisation for banks. Obinna Chima brings the excerpts: With the increasing adoption of cryptocurrencies; central bank digital currencies globally, whereby in Nigeria we have seen the proposed e-Naira, and also the emphasis on alternative payment channels across the world, what is the future of cash? here are facts and there are aspirations about the usage of cash. Our aspiration is to create a complementary alterative to the use of cash for transactions; use of cheques, and use of paper-based instruments. That is a very good aspiration not just in the Nigerian economy, but globally. By its very nature, the goal of policy regulators it is to create continuously improve the ease of transactions for citizens and the convenience of transacting between parties within a jurisdiction and internationally, while also keeping an eye on the security issues. So, the world is obviously on an irreversible move towards digital, not just in terms of payment systems, but in terms of medicine. You have tele-medicine, you have tele-law, so it is easy to ask same question about the practice of law and its jurisprudence because if people can get solutions to their legal problems and questions digitally, then what is the utility of law as a practice and medicine also. If you can go to Google and search for solution by typing in the symptoms and get prescriptions, then why would anybody go to the hospital? So, we can actually stretch this to so many things, including the issue of Artificial Intelligence, which is the mother of them all. So, you can also ask: Is the concept of going to work and human employment, is it finished? This is because if robots are able to do all the tasks that Artificial Intelligence has enabled robots to do today, why do people even bother getting any training or applying for any job? So, I like I said, in terms of aspiration, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) goal is in line with the global shift to modernisation to a different layer of human civilisation, etc. So, that is the way I can look at it and I welcome it. Now what are the facts? The facts are that, number one: the use of cash is actually increasing year-on-year in the last 10 years and we see no reason to expect a decline in the coming years. Maybe there will be, but the facts, because we belong to a global network, research after research across different economies - the United States, the European Common Market, the United Kingdom, North America including Canada, show an increase in cash usage. And as you can imagine, these countries I listed have advanced digital payment systems. You will even expect that the common sense approach is that maybe there is even no cash in use in these countries. But like I said, I am talking about statistics published by the Reserve Bank in each of these countries, just tracking the distribution of cash, the velocity of use, the spread, the denominations, the use of coin, and then the rate of attrition in terms of replacement of particular series by the Central Banks in each of these countries. And like I said, the statistics tell a different story.

The story is that the use of cash, especially low denomination cash, is increasing. Again, interrogation these statistics, we also try to find out some of the reasons. And some of the reasons are as follows: Number one is the human instinct. Generally, psychologists will tell you that when humans feel unsafe or feel threatened, they tend to seek to hold some cash. So, as you know the world has experienced different upheavals in the last couple of years. From 9/11 to all kinds of religious and cultural extremism to now COVID-19 pandemic across the world. And in many parts of the world, the devastation caused by some of these crisis made it impossible for electronic platforms to operate. In some cases, when networks were down for example, you could not transact from the digital platform. When the telephone networks were down you could not use mobile payment systems, when internet was down you could use the computer systems. And these are challenges that are real. So, once you have cash in your pocket, nobody will tell you story. You can buy what you want to buy and you can sell what you want to sell. If you want to travel out of Nigeria and you have $5,000 in your pocket, you will find a way out through Benin Republic, through Seme or Togo. So, from experience, humans, not just in Nigeria, but across the world, again this is statistically determined, research has proven that whenever there is tension, there is a tendency for the greater number of people to hold cash and chose to transact in cash. I don’t want to add the issue of illicit flows like corruption, drugs and money laundering etc, all of which we know patronise cash heavily. We know that the more a country is high in the corruption index, the greater the use of cash. And there are many countries that are known to be high in this respect. But even for an ordinary citizens like me in Nigeria that is a country of 200 million people, it is inconceivable that in our life time, the use of cash will reduce, given the realities of the low level of financial inclusion that we have even achieved. That is because whether you are talking about mobile payment, digital payments or cryptocurrencies, you are looking at the bankable population of Nigerians. And then furthermore, you are looking at population of Nigerians that have access to the digital platforms and have the resource and the knowledge to operate within the digital space. This is a very small fraction of the 200 million Nigerians. Again, what does the trader in Birnin Kebbi and the trader in Abakaliki, and the trader in Yenogoa, and the man who is refining illegal petrol in the Niger Delta, what do they have that they want to transact in, cryptocurrency? No! They want to carry cash. As a store of value in periods of

stress, cash is still preferred. And like I said statistics tell us that this trend is going to continue for a long time to the end of our own life time and perhaps the life time of our children. One of the things we were meant to believe was that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted to increased adoption of digital payment system, but you are saying the contrary, how do we reconcile that? Yes, indirectly, it strengthened the justification for the use of cash. Like I said, many people found themselves stranded. In the United States and United Kingdom for example, there were many people who were trapped in apartments during the lockdown and they could not transact, they did not have access to any other means of settlement. So, from experience, what they did was to go and withdraw as much cash as they needed for a period of time. Of course, we can also say that there was also a corresponding, but parallel in the recourse to digital payments. But my argument is that one reinforced the other. But that doesn’t mean that one grew at the expense of the other. I don’t believe that the expansion in the use of digital or alternative payments systems was at the expense of cash. Like I said, statistics tell a different story and we deal with statistics. Statistically the reduction in currency in circulation can only be accounted for by the scaling down of economic activities generally, if we refer to the CBN data. And as soon as economic activities picked up again, the cash in circulation witnessed an increase. But the CBN has always made us to understand that the cost of handing cash, that is cost of managing and processing cash is expensive, hence the need to shift to digital payment systems? Like I said, in terms of aspiration, it is an aspiration that is well founded and I support it and will encourage the CBN to intensify the move in that direction. At the same time also, the cost of handling cash is still expensive. If you look at the line item expenditures of the central bank, you will find that the central bank still spends a lot to process and handle cash for the banking industry. And given the fact these banks are private concerns, the truth is that it is subsidy that is undeserved. The CBN can devote those resources to doing so many other things for the needy sections of the economy. The commercial banks that are privately owned should be able to fend for themselves, which is exactly what happens in other countries of the world. But in Nigeria the CBN spends a lot. So, the CBN move to other alternatives to cash payment systems, as commendable as it is, it does not speak to the issue. The issue is why should they even feel obligated to subsidise privately-owned banks to the extent that they do in the economy? If you ask them (CBN), they will say they don’t want the financial system

to collapse even though we know that many of the Nigerian banks are strong enough. If the central bank today says from the next three months it is not going to subsidise any bank and that the banks should find a way to distribute and process their cash according to the standards in its guidelines, the banks would comply. And if the central bank says if they don’t comply it would withdraw their licences, I am telling you, in a few days, all Nigerian banks will implement currency processing standards that will reflect those CBN guidelines. It is because the central bank has not mustered the political will and just treating the old issue with levity. That is why the banks are enjoying the subsidy in terms of cash management, just like the petroleum product operators are enjoying subsidy in Nigeria. So, everybody is being subsidised to the detriment to the ordinary people like you and I. Can you tell us about ICMS and the role it plays in the cash management value chain? Well, we are licenced by the central bank to provide the service of the distribution of cash and the processing of cash on behalf of commercial banks and on behalf of the central bank to a large extent. Our mandate is to play the role which I just described as being currently played substantially by the Central Bank of Nigeria. So we have a very uncomfortable situation where the central bank is our competitor and is also our regulator. And that is not good for the viability of our business, it is also not good for the Nigerian economy because there are various standards that the central banks themselves have laid out in terms of policies, in terms of guideline to protect the naira and safeguard the value of the naira which are being flouted with impunity by the banking industry. And at the end of the day, like I said, it is our economy that suffers. And there are various ways in which our economy suffers. For example, part of our process involves detecting, eliminating and passing unto the central bank counterfeit notes. It also involves detecting, collating and passing on to the CBN unfit notes, which as you know in Nigeria, the currency is one of the dirtiest and most unfit of most currencies in the world. Why is that so? There are fitness levels that the central bank has defined in guidelines to the commercial banks. There are fitness levels that the central bank has invited the citizens to report. Like if you go to a bank and the banks pays you money that does not meet certain fitness level, you should call a certain number in the central bank and report. But I doubt that the average citizen is even aware of this. And because, again the Continued on page 40

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

BUSINESS SPECIAL

ANALYSIS

NNPC: Positioned for Improved Transparency especially under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). “This is a very proud moment for us, because to our shareholders we’re no longer declaring losses. As a matter of fact, just like last year as we moved from loss level of N803 billion in 2018, we reduced it to N1.7 billion in 2019. “And in the 2020 fiscal year, we’re making profit after tax of N287 billion. This is no doubt a huge progress, but by no means sufficient,” he said. On the changes made by the corporation, he said: “There are very drastic changes to the way we do our business. One is to cut costs, to be more efficient, and also to ensure that this company is transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people.”

DIRECTORS’ FEES, ENTERTAINMENT EXPENSES, OTHERS SLASHED

“We already achieved N147 billion by May and by end of June, we were nearing N200 billion. So, other things being equal, by our year end outlook, we should be far above N300 billion.”

As part of the attempts to restructure the organisation’s spending, the NNPC slashed the various fees collected by directors of the national oil company from N606 million in 2019 to N214 million in 2020. Typically, directors’ fees entail compensation for services as a member of the board of directors of the company, excluding reimbursement of expenses or other non-regular forms of compensation. In all, the audited statement showed that in certain areas, the corporation did remarkably well in its avowed cost-cutting efforts during the year under review, while other administrative cost centres, gulped a substantial portion of the NNPC’s finances. Following the economic downturn occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic last year which led to the fall in oil prices, the NNPC said it was embarking on internal restructuring of its operations, including shaving off unnecessary spending as well as automation of its processes. “The corporation saved a lot of cost through contract renegotiation by up to 30 per cent on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, introduction of technology that drastically cut travel cost through reduction in in-person meetings and the general automation of processes that enhanced efficiency across the group’s businesses,” Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, said last week. Under general administrative expenses, although the NNPC paid N6.2 billion for rent and rates as opposed to N5 billion in 2019, but repairs and maintenance costs reduced from N38 billion to N26.6 billion, security expenses were N12.6 billion and N12.3 billion respectively for 2019 and 2020, while directors fees reduced from N606 million

to N214 million, a slump of about 62 per cent. The NNPC board is led by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who doubles as the alternate chairman, assisted by Senator Magnus Abe, Dr. Tajudeen Umaru, Dr. Steven Dike, Mrs Lami Ahmed, Chief Pius Akinyelure, Mallam Mohammed Lawal and Secretary of the Board, Mrs. Hadiza Commassie as well as the permanent secretary, ministry of finance. For general and administrative charges, the NNPC’s bank charges increased from N370 million in 2019 to N845 million in 2020, exchange loss was N72 million, advertisement and publicity gulped N5.3 billion, up from N1.2 billion in 2019. In addition, employee benefits expenses cost increased from N357 billion to N397 billion, donations rose from N279 million to N3.63 billion, audit fees rose from N1.040 to N1.07 billion, while entertainment expenses was slashed from N8.3 billion to N1.6 billon in the 2020 financial year. Between 2019 and 2020, legal and professional fees paid by the corporation reduced from N30 billion to N24 billion while printing and stationery came down from N1.6 billion to N976 million. Staff training and recruitment cost slumped from N12.8 billion to N7.5 billion in the year under review and what the corporation termed management and facilitation fees increased from N1.3 billion to N5.6 billion. However, the document revealed that transport and travelling gulped N13.5 billion

in 2019 and N14.2 billion in 2020, a year marked by travel restrictions as countries embarked on lockdown due to the pandemic, even as postages and telephone expenses which consumed N8.5 billion in 2019, dropped to N5.6 billion in 2020. Office running cost jumped from N11 million to N83 million, while under the subheading other expenses, which included Nigerian content expenses, business development expenses , decoration and beautification expenses, the amount spent was reduced from N53.2 billion to N26.6 billion. Similarly, the NNPC paid N94 billion as pensions in 2020, up from N90 billion in 2019 and gratuity costs decreased from N51 billion to N46 billion in 2020. Cumulatively, the NNPC spent N678.171 on general and administrative expenses, a reduction from N695.949 in 2019. In terms of monies from contracts, revenue from crude oil sales was N828 billion in 2020 as opposed to N1.0 trillion in 2019; revenue from petroleum product sales was N2.2 trillion in 2020, from a high of N2.9 trillion in 2019, sales of natural gas increased from N489 billion in 2019 to N524 billion in 2020 while monies from services rendered decreased from N144 billion to N89 billion in 2019 and 2020 respectively. In all, group revenues from the above items for the group, decreased from N4.6 trillion in 2019 to N3.7 trillion in 2020, according to the document.

CORPORATION FORECASTS ADDITIONAL N300BN PROFIT IN 2021

A few days after declaring a PAT of N287 billion in its audited account for 2020, the corporation said it was projecting a further net gain in excess of N300 billion by the end of 2021. Group Executive Director, Finance and Accounts of the corporation, Mr. Umar Ajiya, who spoke on Arise Television, THISDAY’s broadcast arm, explained that the national oil company had been able to reverse its impairment losses from previous years. Ajiya explained that the NNPC was turning the corner, with current financial obligations being met as and when due, without default, adding that although there was a “write-back’’, the process of restoring to profit provisions for bad or doubtful debts previously made against profits, the write-back was not responsible for

its 2020 profit. “We already achieved N147 billion by May and by end of June, we were nearing N200 billion. So, other things being equal, by our year end outlook, we should be far above N300 billion. “And for sure, by the end of the year we should be able to surpass our 2020 performance, which will go a long way to reducing the accumulated losses of the group and at the same improve liquidity position such that the working capital is no longer in deficit,” he stated. He noted that although the accounts of the corporation had been audited in the past, the audits were done some years in arrears, but were only being released to the public in the last three years since the corporation is now a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Ajiya stated that a combination of aggressive debt recovery, cost optimisation, renegotiation of all contracts, rescheduling of debts, exiting joint ventures that did not bring value as well as non-interference from President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo helped return the NNPC to the path of recovery. However, he noted the federation continues to owe gas-to-power debts of N285 billion, admitting that the write-backs that had to do with impaired revenues or incomes that were not initially recognised, including $1.57 billion had been refunded to the NNPC. He listed other cost-cutting measures as automation of business processes, reduction of paper work, improvement in efficiency as well as reduction in cost of travels, general elimination of wastages and optimisation of staff. “We had thousands of staff in the refineries which we had shut down but those engineers have now been moved to other businesses where they can add value, so that way cost is also optimised. “There were so many initiatives within the system that were geared towards improving the profitability. The profit of N287 billion, one could say it’s small, but you recall that 2020 was a Covid year and we were faced with three variables, price collapse, demand which also collapsed, but we had to do something about cost,” he explained. The NNPC official maintained that shutting down refineries was a cost saving measure to reduce the challenge of crude oil disruption, saying that in some instances pumping 1 million barrels into the refineries could yield half the expected product.

Nwodo: Unemployment in Nigeria, a Time Bomb Waiting to Blow Up central bank has not been enforcing the guidelines, the banks operate with impunity and they continue to recycle unfit notes. And recycling unfit notes give room for criminal elements to inject counterfeit into the economy. Because they know that the banks do not process the notes to detect counterfeit. The only thing the banks do is limited, they use mercury to look at money. That is why central bank licenced specialist entities like the ICMS to be able to play this role for the benefit of the economy. And to the extent that our hand has not been strengthened by the central bank, you have this situation where these particular gaps exist in the cash management value chain. The other thing is also the transmission of cash. There are parts of Nigeria where ATMs don’t exist, even where the ATMs exist, people queue up from morning till afternoon for hours just to withdraw money from ATMs. This does not have to be the case. That is exactly what a processing company like us are licenced to do if we had the appropriate support from the central bank and the banking industry. That is because it is the excess cash that end up in vaults of banks that should be feeding these ATMs and ensuring that not only are ATMs filled with cash at all times, but that even the deployment of ATM is more widespread that it presently is. If the central bank would be kind enough to look at this issue more seriously and give it the serious attention it deserves, even the goal of financial inclusion will materialise. As you know very well, the agency banking initiative that the central bank launched through the use of point of sale (PoS), now makes the thing even more compelling. That is because many of these agents at very dispersed location, are having to transact in large volumes of cash. So, it is easy if the central system that compels banks and other players to operate according to certain fitness levels, if those guidelines and those standards are not rigidly enforced, in no time Nigeria may become a playground for counterfeit currency smugglers. Keep in mind that there are various powerful interest across different parts of the world that just deal in the counterfeiting of currencies. That is their business, just like you have smugglers of wildlife, traffickers of human beings, people who sell human organs, there are people whose business it is to counterfeit currencies of different countries and they look at institutional weaknesses. Once they detect such institutional weaknesses, they capitalise on it. And we don’t want Nigeria to become a destination because once that happens, firstly, it would affect the integrity of the Nigerian currency. Secondly, other countries with more advanced and secure financial

Nwodo system may take steps to protect themselves or perhaps ring-fence themselves against the naira. And that will create some sort of isolation mentality against our economy. Whereas more than ever before, we need to be integrated into the global financial system. But if we don’t take some of these actions, the world will treat us like lepers or with great suspicion and nobody wants you to infiltrate their economy with weaknesses that you are unwilling to deal with in your own system. That is why different countries before they allow you to transact with them on a bilateral level, they insists that you meet certain conditions. What I am talking about in terms of how you manage local currency and the entire value chain of cash is an important requirement for countries to operate with credibility in the global financial system. But have you raised some of these concerns with the CBN? Yes we have in the past and their explanation is always that we the operators don’t have capacity and that if they go ahead and enforce

the guidelines, the financial system will collapse. With due respect this is not logical if you look at how the central bank responds whenever there is a Wonder Bank. Whenever a Wonder Bank is detected, the central bank goes after them with all the full weight of the law and make sure that they protect the citizen. So, if you have licensed entities to provide certain services that will safeguard the quality and integrity of the Nigerian currency, why would you be unable or unwilling to enforce your own guidelines that supports the activities of those entities? So, the banks see that the central bank does not have any interest in enforcing those guidelines, they just say there is no need to spend money on this because central bank is not able to enforce it. So, the impunity the banks exhibit is because they see that the central bank over the years has for some reasons not been enforcing the guidelines. There is not a single country that is developed, I am talking about countries like South Africa, maybe United Arab Emirates, Turkey, UK, US or Canada, where you find the central bank distributing cash on behalf of banks or processing cash on behalf of banks. For what? They simple layout the guidelines and say this is what we want to so. What the central banks do in modern economy is simple to issue new notes and to destroy unfit notes. What is your take on the recently released GDP figures and what advice do you have for the policymakers on how to enhance economic growth? I am not an economist, but I am a student of expansionary economic planning. If you look around the world today, every country is introducing one kind of bold economic resuscitation programme or the other. And the whole objective is to inject as much resources into key sectors of the economy as possible, in the knowledge that the more funds that they invest in big capital projects, the more jobs that will be created. That is because one of the greatest victims of the economic component of the COVID-19 pandemic, is job losses on a global unprecedented level. And economist will tell you the connection between employment, cost of living and even positive GDP growth. GDP growth does not just drop, it is not an abstract figure. It is a bottom-up reflection of the various economic activities within a jurisdiction. So, if there is some kind of government engineered

active economic stimulus, for example, in the form of a massive infrastructure renewal project that the federal government is targeting to build road. I think the GDP growth you have seen is the direct reflection of the government’s investment in infrastructure through the various foreign loans that they have secured - the Chinese loans, for railways and airports expansion; the Sukuk bonds that they are using to build roads; the various interventions in various infrastructure renewal projects across the length and breadth of Nigeria. I can guarantee that the GDP growth is traceable to the ripple effects of this kind of intervention by government. And so for me, the idea is to set even higher goals for ourselves. Now they have mapped out the second phase of the railway modernisation projects - I think the one linking Port Harcourt and Maiduguri through the South-east states. And government should bold about its highway concessioning project plan, but it should be transparent. We don’t want some of these transactions to be enmeshed in a kind of credibility challenges that attended the power sector privatisation exercise, which you can see the outcome. You have seen how the Discos are gasping for breath, because the fundamentals were not present in the first place. We simply transferred inefficiency from government to private sectors that were lacking in capacity. So, I think government is on track in terms of its focus on infrastructure renewal and expansion of the infrastructure space for purposes of enabling private sector investment. That is because if the infrastructure issues are dealt with, private investments, by even Nigerians will come. And I think that for the first time in very many, many years in our country there is some kind of strategic attention being paid to key sectors of the economy like agriculture and infrastructure. You are talking about roads connecting roads from the farms to the market, then you are talking of space like storage facilities, transportation and distribution facilities, export processing opportunities for Nigerian raw materials to make farming economically attractive so that people can invest in agriculture on a massive scale. Once we can do this, create jobs for young people, through this kind of government strategic investment in key sectors of the economy, not only will we have consistent and progressive GDP growth, we will also give hope to the millions and army of young people that appears to have given up of the Nigerian dream for themselves. And that is the real problem we have, that unemployment is a time bomb that is waiting to blow up in our faces if we don’t take this kind of steps.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

TALIBAN SEPARATES FEMALE, MALE STUDENTS IN AFGHANISTAN SCHOOLS

fghan universities, secondary and primary schools will no longer have male and females students in the same classrooms, with a new Islamic dress code to be introduced, the Taliban says. Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani indicated women would be allowed to study, but not alongside men, said the BBC. He also announced a review of subjects taught. Women and girls were banned from schools and universities under Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001. The Taliban have said they will not prevent women from being educated or having jobs. But since they seized control on August 15, they have asked all women, except those in the public health sector, to stay away from work until the security situation improves. The announcement of the higher education policy comes a day after the Taliban raised their flag over the presidential palace, signalling the beginning of their administration. They seized control from the elected government a month ago. But Mr Haqqani was unapologetic about bringing an end to mixed classes. “We have no problems in ending the mixed-education system,” he said. “The people are Muslims, and they will accept it.” Some have suggested that the new rules will exclude women from education because the universities do not have the resources to provide separate classes. However, Mr Haqqani insisted there are enough female teachers and that where they are not available, alternatives will be found. Girls and boys will also be segregated at primary and secondary schools, already common throughout Afghanistan. Women will be required to wear hijabs.

WILDFIRE FORCES CLOSURE OF CALIFORNIA MAJOR ROAD A wildfire near Castaic on Saturday has led to the closure of a part of a major freeway

in Southern California, officials told local media. The fire, known as the Route Fire, reached 1.6 square kilometres as of Saturday evening and forced the shutdown of a section of Interstate 5, the Angeles National Forest told KTLA-TV.

KTLA reported that the Route Fire is threatening structures, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Santa Clarita Valley station. The fire was uncontained as of late Saturday, authorities said. Elsewhere in California, thunderstorms

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

FOREIGN DESK that dropped light rain gave some breathing room to crews struggling to quench the state’s massive wildfires, but lightning sparked several new blazes in the drought-stricken north, fire officials said. The storms that rolled through Thursday night into Friday were followed by weekend forecasts of clear weather and a warming trend in fire areas into next week. The National Weather Service said there were more than 1,100 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes in California between Thursday evening and Friday morning. Fire officials said lightning strikes ignited at least 17 fires. Firefighters were diverted from the huge Caldor Fire south of Lake Tahoe to fight multiple overnight lightning fires throughout El Dorado County, fire officials said. However, most of the blazes were kept to under four hectares. Three new fires were reported in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks in steep, dense forest areas of the Sierra Nevada.

ENGLAND DITCHES COVID-19 VACCINE PASSPORT

TRUMP TURNS BOXING COMMENTATOR I N H O LY F I E L D C O M E B A C K F I G H T Plans to introduce vaccine passports for access into nightclubs and large events in England will not go ahead, the health secretary has said. Sajid Javid told the BBC: “We shouldn’t be doing things for the sake of it.” It was thought the plan, which came under criticism from venues and some MPs, would be introduced at the end of this month. No 10 stressed it would be kept “in reserve” should it be needed over autumn or winter. Under the scheme, people would have been required to show proof - whether of double vaccination, a negative Covid test or finishing self-isolating after a positive PCR test - to gain entry to clubs and other crowded events. The Night Time Industries Association warned the plans could have crippled the industry and seen nightclubs facing discrimination cases. The industry body has since welcomed the move, saying it hoped businesses could now plan with some certainty and start to rebuild the sector and regain customers’ confidence. There was opposition too from Tory MPs on the Covid Recovery Group and the Liberal Democrats, whose leader Ed Davey called them “divisive, unworkable and expensive.”

Former world champion boxer Evander Holyfield stepped back in the ring for the first time in over a decade, but it didn’t go quite to plan for the 58-year-old. Holyfield, who is best known for his two victories over Mike Tyson -- including the infamous fight in which Tyson bit his ear -- suffered a first-round technical knockout to former UFC fighter Vitor Belfort on Saturday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida. Belfort, 44, who was a UFC light heavyweight champion, attacked Holyfield with a succession of quick punches early on, pinning him against the ropes. And, having not landed a punch of his own, Holyfield was knocked to the canvas twice before the referee called

an end to the fight in the first round. He returned to boxing with just over a week’s notice to replace Oscar De La Hoya, who contracted Covid-19. Belfort called it a “legendary” moment, given the tough season everyone is going through. “I remember I was fighting two guys on the same night, and Holyfield was fighting Mike Tyson for $30 million,” he told the media after. “It’s been a privilege.” While the two former combat sports competitors did battle in the ring, former US President Donald Trump and his son, Don Jr., provided their input from the commentary booth. The Trumps were part of the commentary team for the event, alongside rapper 50 Cent.

IRAN TO ALLOW INSPECTORS TO SERVICE CAMERAS AT NUCLEAR SITES Iran has agreed to allow international inspectors to service surveillance cameras at its sensitive nuclear sites and to continue filming there, averting a diplomatic showdown this week. According to the Voice of America, the announcement was made on September 12 after talks in Tehran between Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The talks were aimed at easing a standoff between Tehran and the West just as it threatens to escalate and scupper negotiations on reviving the Iran nuclear deal. “We agreed over the replacement of the memory cards of the agency’s cameras,” Eslami was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies. “IAEA inspectors are permitted to service the identified equipment and replace their storage media which will be kept under the joint IAEA and AEOI seals in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the nuclear bodies said in a joint statement. “I am glad to say that today were able to have a very constructive result, which has to do with the continuity of the operation of the agency’s equipment here,” Grossi said. It “is indispensable for us to provide the necessary guarantee and information to the IAEA and to the world that everything is in order.” It was Grossi’s first visit to Iran since hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi took office in August. Talks between Iran and world powers over

limiting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief have been idle since June. Earlier this month, the IAEA said in a report that Iran had continued to increase its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. It also said that verification and monitoring activities have been “seriously undermined” since February after Iran refused to let inspectors access IAEA monitoring equipment. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, reintroducing painful economic sanctions. Iran responded as of 2019 by breaching many of the deal’s core restrictions, like enriching uranium to a higher purity, closer to that suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

FBI DECLASSIFIES DOCUMENTS INTO SAUDI 9/11 LINKS The FBI has released a newly declassified document that looks into connections between Saudi citizens in the US and two of the 9/11 attackers, reports the BBC. Relatives of victims have long urged the release of the files, arguing Saudi officials had advance knowledge but did not try to stop the attacks. But the document provides no evidence that the Saudi government was linked to the 9/11 plot. Fifteen of the 19 plane hijackers were Saudi nationals.

Ahead of the declassification, the Saudi embassy in Washington welcomed the release and once again denied any link between the kingdom and the hijackers, describing such claims as “false and malicious.” The document was declassified on the 20th anniversary of the deadliest terror attacks on US soil - almost 3,000 people were killed after four planes were hijacked - and is the first of several expected to be released. Some victims’ families had put pressure on President Joe Biden to declassify the documents, saying he should not attend Saturday’s commemoration ceremonies in New York if he was not prepared to release them.

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

CITYSTRINGS

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LASEPA's War against Environmental Hazards Chiemelie Ezeobi reports that the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, in line with its watchdog role, recently uncovered an illegal scrap yard in Ikorodu that was a gateway for nefarious activities such as storage of unwholesome processed foods, repackaging of drugs and juice drinks, improper destruction of expired drugs, chemicals, recycling of metals as well as dismantling of electrical and electronics waste

Some of the unwholesome items at the scrapyard

he Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) is saddled with the job of ensuring the state and its residents adhere to environmental laws, all targeted at protecting the environment. On a recent mission to fulfill this, the agency recently unearthed an illegal scrapyard in Ikorodu where nefarious activities such as storage of unwholesome processed foods, repackaging of drugs and juice drinks, improper destruction of expired drugs, chemicals, recycling of metals as well as dismantling of electrical and electronics waste, were carried out within a residential area and without relevant state permits or environmental controls.

Initial Discovery After the initial discovery at the scrapyard, LASEPA General Manager, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, while warning property owners to desist from letting out their facilities for illegal activities contrary to personal use, said the agency received anonymous call from concerned residents about the unfriendly environmental activities taking place at Salvation Avenue, off Owode Onirin, Ikorodu, and negative attendants on the lives of residents if not timely curbed. She said:" Our team, on first visit were refused entry and could not access the property due to strong resistance from the security guards who claimed the premise was a private property and unavailability of occupants at time of visit. "Our conducts are guided by world best practices and thus, posted an abatement notice, to invite the property owner or concerned person, which was flagrantly ignored. "We however discovered during our second visit, that the building, which sits atop an expanse four plots of land with unknown address, housed an illegal scrap yard that engages in nefarious activities such as storage of unwholesome processed foods, repackaging of drugs and juice drinks, improper destruction of expired drugs, chemicals, recycling of metals as well as dismantling of electrical and electronics waste within the premise. "It's worrisome to note that people operate unlawfully in a residential environment unchallenged by neighbours. Individual selfish interests must not be allowed to supercede communal benefits. We must be mindful of who we are allowing into our neighbourhood and consequences of our actions on the society." What the Law States The LASEPA boss added that it was pertinent to note that all expired drugs, chemicals as well as e -waste materials must be treated and recycled in a sustainable environment before disposal into the environment "to protect our earth, from man-made disaster, report all unlawful conducts to the authority for timely intervention". According to her, the Lagos State Environmental Management and Protection Law of 2017. Section VI, sub sections 181, 182,183 185 prohibits individual or group from

Dr Fasawe and others during the second visit to shut down the illegal scrapyard discharging into the environment any untreated waste or chemical substances listed in any Federal and State law in force, except by regulations made under this law and Federal law. The LASEPA boss added that the law empowers the agency to use the provision of the law on flagrant polluters, even as she enjoined all e-waste recycling operators to ensure they are registered and accredited by her agency as there would be no hidden place for illegal operators in the state. More Toxic Waste Uncovered In a follow up raid, the agency in collaboration with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) apprehended four persons for tampering with evidence. This is just as they sealed off the scrapyard. The joint raid further unearthed more toxic waste as they promptly halted all activities on the site by placing a LASEPA stop work order. Of the four persons arrested, two were those previously stationed as security men of the yard. They had attempted to destroy previ-

ously established evidence by gaining access to the sealed site illegally (over the fence). They further attempted to destroy evidence by arson. The facility Manager, FC Afara, and Alhaji Kolawole Hamzat, the alleged owner of the expired drugs (paracetamol, ginseng multivitamin cleansers) were taken into custody by NAFDAC for further questioning. The joint operation which had Mrs. Adedayo Adedayo, Director E- waste, (LASEPA) and Mr. Ado Kabiri, Principal Regulatory Officer, NAFDAC as team heads respectively, also discovered two scrap yards and three 40-feet containers, with two containing used medical consumables, while the other contained metal and E-waste materials. According to LASEPA CPAO, Bola Ajao, the government officials combed through the facility and found large quantities of artificial sweeteners and flavors, biohazardous waste including used needles, syringes, nose masks disposable hand gloves and apparels amidst the squalor. Reacting to the incident, LASEPA

LASEPA aims to guide and regulate all business activities in the state to consider the people, planet, and profit collectively and as a mutually inclusive requirement, prior commencing any business activity or service

LASEPA GM, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe GM described the exercise as a purposeful collaboration between sister agencies and commended the investigative team for exhibiting high level of professionalism in the management of the case. She said “The two agencies involved are both saddled with the responsibilities of safeguarding public health and promoting quality of life in a sustainable environment. These activities affect all of us, we all breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat food from the same soil. If these activities go on unchecked, the state would be in a huge environmental and food safety crisis." She further lamented that it is indeed disheartening to note that the Lagos State residents, the security men in question, scaled the fence of a government sealed property and set on fire the evidence unmindful or unaware of the potential and profound environmental effects such a release to air, land and water from such a fire would lead to or the potential for a large fire outbreak and resultant loss of life and property. “Any such operation stopped reduces the state’s mortality toll of 11,200 annually attributable to poor air and environmental quality. Therefore, the aim of this exercise is not to witch hunt or hamper any business activities, rather LASEPA aims to guide and regulate all business activities in the state to consider the people, planet, and profit collectively and as a mutually inclusive requirement, prior commencing any business activity or service." Harping that the state would be swift and decisive in safeguarding and upholding the rights of all Lagosians over and above perceived economic gain, the LASEPA boss sounded a stern warning to other illegal operations in and around residential areas to desist.

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CRIME&SECURITY

Honour for Gallant Troops

CRIME SITUATION REPORTS

COMPLIMENTARY SECURITIES:

5IF 8FTUFSO /BWBM $PNNBOE PG UIF /JHFSJBO /BWZ SFDFOUMZ HOW EFFECTIVE IN FACE OF organised a reception to honour gallant troops who had EMERGING SECURITY CHALLENGES DPNQMFUFE UIFJS UPVS PG EVUZ JO UIF .BSJUJNF $PNQPOFOU AND WAY FORWARD (PART 3) PG 0QFSBUJPO 4"7& )"7&/ Chiemelie Ezeobi reports Gbolahan Samuel Moronfolu

M E R I T S O F P R I VAT E G UA R D Some private security firms also have liaison with the police. It’s fas t er f or a p rof es s i on al s e c u r i t y g u a rd t o g e t the attention of a police o ff i c e r t o re s p o n d t o a p o t e n t i a l t h re a t t h a n i t i s f o r a m e re s - g u a rd . T h i s i s b e c a u s e t h e y a re legally recognized as fell o w p ro t e c t i o n o ff i c e r s . T h e s e a re a l l a b s e n t i n t h e c a s e o f a n o rd i n a r y gateman.

Troops boarding the C-130 after the duty tour in Operation SAVE HAVEN

IF 8FTUFSO /BWBM $PNNBOE 8/$ PG UIF /JHFSJBO /BWZ // recently welcomed gallant troops who had completed their tour of duty in the .BSJUJNF $PNQPOFOU PG 0QFSBUJPO 4"7& )"7&/ B NJMJUBSZ task force established in 2010 to NBJOUBJO QFBDF JO 1MBUFBV 4UBUF With its operational command JO +PT UIF NVMUJ KPJOU UBTL GPSDF is in charge of security of lives BOE QSPQFSUJFT JO 1MBUFBV #BVDIJ and parts of Southern Kaduna. While welcoming gallant troops who had completed their duty UPVS 8/$ 'MBH 0GGJDFS $PNNBOEJOH '0$ 3FBS "ENJSBM +BTPO Gbassa, said the troops would be integrated to their respective units after post conflict stress management lecture, amongst others. "U UIF SFDFQUJPO DFSFNPOZ JO honour of the personnel, the '0$ PO CFIBMG PG UIF $IJFG PG UIF /BWBM 4UBGG 7JDF "ENJSBM "XXBM (BNCP DPNNFOEFE UIF troops for exhibiting exceptional CNS, Vice Admiral Gambo gallantry in the course of their duties during the internal security operations. post-traumatic stress manage)F TBJE i#FDBVTF ZPV EJTment programme that will charged your duties responsibly, take you for a week and the navy today is organising thereafter you will be given a befitting reception in your a disembarkation leave for honour", adding that the troops two weeks to reunite with were exposed to different scenario your loved ones and then be where their lives were threatened deployed for another national for the past six months, yet they assignment”. delivered on the mandate to Gbassa also advised the protect lives and properties. personnel to maintain the Whilst conveying the appreciahigh standard of discipline in the course of duty as they UJPO PG UIF $/4 GPS UIFJS TBDSJàDF have exhibited in the past dedication to duty and loyalty, EFQMPZNFOU KVTU BT IF VSHFE 3FBS "ENJSBM (CBTTB OPUFE UIBU /JHFSJBOT OPU UP EJTTFNJOBUF iUIF FYQFSJFODFT PG UIF QFSTPOnel in line of duties cannot be spoken in words but what you sacrificed for the nation is highly appreciated and that is why this reception is being organised in your honour. "DSPTT UIF OBUJPO XF BSF facing some security challenges which requires everybody’s commitment to eradicate the insecurity in the country. You have done your bit regarding operation 4"7& )"7&/ UIFSFGPSF JU JT expected that you undergo a

negative narrative about the TJUVBUJPO JO /JHFSJB BT JU XJMM exacerbate the situation. "QQFBMJOH UP /JHFSJBOT UP open their hearts devoid of any sentiment and give the security agencies maximum cooperation in the fight against insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other sundry crimes, he also used the opportunity to observe a minute silence to remember the fallen heroes across the country who lost their lives in the line of duty.

The experiences of the personnel in line of duties cannot be spoken in words but what you sacrificed for the nation is highly appreciated and that is why this reception is being organised in your honour

guise) defend against ins u rg e n c y, t h e y a re a l s o actively part of insurgent p ro c e s s e s .

GENERAL FEATURES OF VIGILANTE/VIGILANTISM r .PTU WJHJMBOUF HSPVQT i n v o k e n o t i o n s o f t h e ms e l v e s a s t h e p ro t e c t o r s of a ‘moral community’. r 7J H J M B O U J T N G P S N T part of a quest for modes of citizenship beyond t h a t o f t h e n a t i o n – re l i gious or ethnic forms of belonging, for example. Vi g i l a n t e w o r k i s a re s o u rc e f o r p o o r, u n DEMERITS OF employed youth, and P R I VAT E S E C U R I T Y a m e a n s b y w h i c h t h e G UA R D S marginalized may insert Modern live video sur- them within the state apv e i l l a n c e s y s t e m s o ff e r p a r a t u s . many of the same advanr $MBJNT PG FYUSBKVtages—without the large d i c i a l e x e c u t i o n s a n d re t a i n e r o r p a y c h e c k . t o r t u re c a r r i e d o u t b y Security guards expose v i g i l a n t e g ro u p s h a v e e m p l o y e r s t o g re a t e r l i - l e d t o a t t e m p t s a t p ro ability and insurance hibition by the federal costs government and ongoing S e c u r i t y g u a rd s p a s - c o n t e s t s w i t h l o c a l a u s i v e l y m o n i t o r p ro p - thorities over the right to e r t y, a n d a re p ro n e t o KVEHF BOE QVOJTI DSJNFT r 5IF JOTUJUVUJPOBMJ[Bboredom-related failure. 3. VIGILANTE tion of shari’a implemenVi g i l a n t e i s a f o r m o f tation and state co-option the word vigilant, which of the Bakassi Boys were means "keeping a watch- both introduced by state ful or close eye on events governors, part of a range and people." Sometimes a o f t a c t i c s b y w h i c h g o vvigilante will make news ernors have exploited the f o r c a t c h i n g a c r i m i n a l , room for manoeuvre that and sometimes vigilante now exists between state g ro u p s f o r m t o t a rg e t a n d f e d e r a t i o n . crimes in a bad neighr ) P X E P U S B K F D U P S J F T of social mobilization b o rh o o d . contemporary Vigilante, member of a s h a p e s e l f - a p p o i n t e d g ro u p o f vigilantism, and how do c i t i z e n s w h o u n d e r t a k e local cultural repertoires law enforcement in their h e l p u s u n d e r s t a n d t h e community without legal i m p e r a t i v e t o p ro t e c t and punish? Vigilantism a u t h o r i t y. is influenced by localVIGILANTISM ized conceptions of the Vi g i l a n t i s m i s t h e a c t ethnic, religious or crimio f e n f o rc e m e n t , i n v e s - n a l ‘ o t h e r ’ , a n d re l a t e d t i g a t i o n o r p u n i s h m e n t d i s c o u r s e s o f r i s k , f e a r, o f p e rc e i v e d o ff e n s e s p ro t e c t i o n a n d p u n i s h w i t h o u t l e g a l a u t h o r i t y. m e n t . Vi g i l a n t e i s a f o r m o f r $POUFNQPSBSZ /JHFSJthe word vigilant, which an vigilantism represents means "keeping a watch- the articulation of claims ful or close eye on events to a set of rights based on and people." Sometimes a t h e h i s t o r i c a l a n d s p i r i vigilante will make news tual legitimacy of young f o r c a t c h i n g a c r i m i n a l , powerful men defending and sometimes vigilante the community under log ro u p s f o r m t o t a rg e t D B M SF M J H J P V T J O K V O D U J P O c r i m e s i n a b a d n e i g h - a n d p ro t e c t i o n . Vi g i l a n t e s p ro t e c t n o t o n l y b o rh o o d . The aims and objectives t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s b u t of the vigilante groups as also themselves, drawing d e f i n e d i n A r t i c l e ( 4 ) o f on cultural repertoires of the Constitution include: p e r s o n a l p ro t e c t i o n – o f r 5P B T T J T U U I F 1 P M J D F c h a r m s , s h a p e - s h i f t i n g a n d l a w e n f o rc e m e n t a n d s e c re c y. agencies to curb crime - M o ro n f o l u i s a s e a r 5P Q SP U F D U B O E Q SF soned security consuls e r v e p u b l i c p ro p e r t y r " T T J T U U I F 1 P M J D F J O t a n t w i t h m a n y y e a r s c ro w d c o n t ro l of security and policing F E L L O W, r .BJOUFOBODF PG QFBDF e x p e r i e n c e . at public functions where F o u r t h E s t a t e P ro f e s the need arises sional Society (FFPS), Nigerian vigilante he has also partaken in m o v e m e n t s h a v e a n peace keeping operations ambiguous re l a t i o n - w i t h i n a n d o u t s i d e t h e s h i p w i t h t h e s t a t e . country and has flair for While they sometimes general security educa(in their state-sponsored t i o n .

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Vetiva, CGF Bourse, IC Securities Unveil 17 Stocks on W’Africa Equities Index Darasimi Adebisi CGF Bourse, IC Securities and Vetiva Capital have co-created the VCI West African Equity Index, which is intended to serve as an investable benchmark for the performance of equity investments across West Africa. The head of Sub-Saharan Equities Coverage at Vetiva Capital, Mr. Luke Ofojebe in a statement said: “The VCI West African Equity Index captures and represents the most capitalised and liquid stocks across West Africa’s equity markets and comprises 17 stocks selected from the Nigeria Exchange Group (NGX), the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) - the regional stock exchange serving member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).” According to him, the compo-

nents of the index account for 47 per cent of the market capitalisation of the three exchanges and represent a diversity of sectors. Speaking on the index composition, Investment & Corporate Advisory Director at CGF Bourse, Cheikh Mboup, said: “The index comprises eight stocks from the NGX, four from BRVM and five from the Ghana Stock Exchange, with their prices all referenced in United States Dollars, with the selection criteria including capitalisation; liquidity; and diversified sector representation.” Mboup explained that the index will be reviewed semi annually, in March and September each year, with first review date being September 2022. Although the VCI West African Equity Index was launched on September 2, 2021, back-testing was used to evaluate the performance of the index prior to its launch date.

According to Executive Director, Global Markets at IC Securities, Randy Ackah-Mensah, “The results of the back-testing revealed that the index gained 0.76 per cent in 2019, while it was down 7.89 per cent in 2020, which was not surprising as the pandemic weighed on global equities last year.” “Meanwhile, in the first half of 2021, the index returned 10.77 per cent, largely driven by economic recoveries across the West African region, ”Ackah-Mensah said. “The VCI West African Equity Index shows a diversified sector representation. For instance, the telecommunications sector makes up 29 per cent of the index as at the base date, while banking, consumer goods and industrial goods sectors account for 27 per cent, 17 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, with other sectors accounting for the remaining 15 per cent, “he added.

‘Policy Somersaults in Tech-ecosystem Hindrance to Nigeria’s Job Creation’ Oluchi Chibuzor As Nigeria adjusts to the economic fallout of COVID-19, experts in the tech-ecosystem have urged the government to maintain a consistent policy in the sector to sustain the various job creation initiatives gained across the nation. This, according to them, would continue to increase the risk aversion of the growing sector, operators, investors and the intellectual prowess of the technological competence of the young demographic in the country. In an exclusive interview with THISDAY, the founder, Simply Exponential Consult Limited, Mrs. Fayo Williams, decried that the various incessant policy instability in the sector if not contained would undermine the job creation efforts across the country within the tech space and its resultant multiplier’s

effect on the overall economy. She stated that job creation in the sector remains one of the fastest ways an economy can empower its citizens to alleviate poverty and improve means of livelihood. According to her, “We believe we are having a big challenge right now because Nigeria has not provided the enabling environment for the technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem to thrive. “We wake up to different kinds of rule and policy and contradictions in positions of various fines and so on and so forth. The main issue is that, without a conducive existence for these technology ecosystems, job creation and employability will suffer and we cannot keep going this way. “As Capital importation into Nigeria in Q2 2021 declined 54.1 per cent Q/Q to $0.88billion, the lowest since Q1 2016 and with FDI slumping to its lowest

level in 11 years, There is a big disincentive when it comes FDI from the way that we see these policies been rolled out and there is a big disincentives to the startup founders because of all this instability.” Meanwhile, fDi Intelligence report, a specialist division of the Financial Times, has revealed that Nigeria has the highest number of tech startups, as most of them operate within the fintech industry. The report noted that despite the Lagos metropolis being renowned for its start-up ecosystem; it still suffers from chronically poor infrastructure and education, recurring political instability, and security issues. “More so, inflation, unemployment, ease of doing business to socio-economic factors such as banditry, kidnapping, and insurgency, remains deciding factors in the mind of foreign investors towards the economy, “it added.

Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Bullish on Future Performance Goddy Egene The Chairman, Board of Directors of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc, Mr. Obinna Ekezie, has said the years ahead are indeed bright for the company and its stakeholders because the company would leverage on its continued expansion as a one -stop insurance and other financial services provider through its subsidiaries. Okezie, who spoke at the annual general meeting (AGM) held Lagos, recently, said CHI Plc would not relent in boosting working capital while awaiting developments in the recapitalisation journey of the insurance industry. Ekezie said that the local insurance operating environment was characterised by activities of operators geared towards meeting the recapitalisation thresholds set

by the industry regulator The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) the previous year. According to him, He said that the first phase of the recapitalisation exercise required that operators meet a minimum of 50 per cent of the new requirement by December, 2020 and the balance to be met in September, 2021. Although the recapitalization exercise is put on hold due to court action, Ekezie said CHI Plc proactively continued with the raising of additional capital, with a successful Rights Issue where 2,032,500,000 shares were offered and fully subscribed notwithstanding the limitations imposed by the pandemic. “We thank you for your immense support which culminated in the success of the capital raise and shall not relent in taking further steps to boost our working capital as we await further

developments on recapitalisation from the industry regulator. “The next phase of our fund drive shall be conveyed to you, distinguished shareholders, as we take definite steps towards meeting the N10 billion threshold, subject to further developments in the industry,” he said. Speaking on the performance of the company for the 2020 financial year ended December 30, 2020, Ekezie said that amid challenges in the global and local economy owing to the COVID-19 pandemic among others, the company recorded significant growth in key performance indices. “With the benefit of hindsight, we are quite optimistic that future operating results would be significantly improved upon as the Macro Economic Environment and Global Outlook presents brighter pictures in the years ahead.

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $71.82 a barrel on Thursday, compared with $71.17 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), Djeno (Congo), Zaﬁro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

Fidelity Bank Reports 72.4% Increase in PBT To N20.6bn Darasimi Adebisi Fidelity Bank Plc has announced a profit before tax of N20.6billion for half year ended June 31, 2021 as against the N12billion in reported in half year ended June 30, 2020. The audited results at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed a 6.2 per cent increase in Gross Earnings to N112.3billion on account of 27.8 per cent growth in Non-Interest

Revenue (NIR) to N23.8billio from N18.1billion in H1 2020. Non-Interest Revenue was driven by strong growth in Commission on Banking Services (57.7 per cent), Account Maintenance Charges (50.6 per cent), Digital Banking Income (49.4 per cent) and Trade Income (33.7 per cent) etc. as total customer induced transactions across all distribution channels increased by 58 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY). The Bank showed a good

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

appetite in funding the real sector with Net Loans and Advances increasing by 15.8 per cent YTD to N1,535 billion from N1,326 billion in 2020FY. However, the actual growth was 14.7 per cent while the impact of the currency adjustment (2020FY: N400.3/$ - H1 2021: N410.6/$) accounted for a 1.1per cent YTD growth in the loan book. Cost of risk came in at 0.3 per cent and the NPL ratio (Stage 3

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

Loans) dropped to 2.8 per cent from 3.8per cent in 2020FY. Other regulatory ratios remain well above the minimum requirement: CAR at 18.8per cent from 18.2 per cent in 2020FY. Total Deposits increased by 16.5per cent YTD to N1,980 billion from N1,699 bn in 2020FY, driven by increased deposit mobilization across all deposits types. Foreign currency deposits increased by 23.1 per cent YTD ($149million) and now accounts for 18.5per

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

cent of total deposits from 17.5 per cent in 2020FY, as the bank continues to harness the benefits of its renewed drive in the diaspora banking space. Speaking on the Bank’s performance, MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank , Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe in a statement said: “We sustained our impressive financial performance with double-digit growth in profit as increased customer transactions drove non-interest revenue while

O F

improved operational efficiency continued to moderate cost - to - serve. “This resulted in 72.4per cent increase in profit before tax to N20.6billion from N12billion in H1 2020.Digital Banking gained further traction as we now have 55.1 per cent of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and 89.3 per cent of customer-induced transactions were done on digital platforms, ”Onyeali-Ikpe.

1 0 / 0 9 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021• T H I S DAY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager. Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return. An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg. Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 09Sept-2021, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors. Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return. NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 160.61 161.95 -0.80% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 6.15% Nigeria International Debt Fund 324.76 324.76 -15.98% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 109.83 109.83 -1.88% 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 N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.67% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.31 3.47 -2.67% info@anchoriaam.com ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 7.16% Anchoria Equity Fund 133.04 134.69 0.03% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.15 1.15 -13.70% 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 19.52 20.11 7.63% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 431.69 444.71 7.82% ARM Ethical Fund 38.18 39.33 13.25% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.09 1.10 -0.57% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.98 0.98 -6.99% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.41% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 106.15 106.15 4.37% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,032.49 1,032.49 3.25% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.04 2.04 -7.30% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.13 2.17 -6.65% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund N/A N/A N/A CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.56% Paramount Equity Fund 16.51 16.81 3.22% Women's Investment Fund 136.48 138.05 2.55% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.23% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 118.67 119.43 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 108.19 108.19 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.95% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.21 1.22 0.66% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.44 1.44 -9.14% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 8.01% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 5.47% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,160.35 1,177.53 0.74% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,414.23 1,414.23 11.45% FBN Balanced Fund 191.88 193.13 2.24% FBN Halal Fund 112.59 112.59 9.80% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.86% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Coral Balanced Fund Coral Income Fund Coral Money Market Fund

127.07 158.15

127.07 3.61% 160.18 4.61% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.97 1.59 1.19

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 5.90% 3.97 2.62% 1.62 4.40% 1.19 4.50% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price N/A N/A N/A

Offer Price N/A N/A N/A

Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A

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 N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 100.00 100.00 7.63% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.79 2.85 -2.39% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 152.99 153.27 -1.61% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.28 1.32 1.38% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.10 1.10 3.89% 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 1.42 1.44 4.17% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,149.43 1,149.43 5.84% 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 11.46 11.50 9.38% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 9.23% 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 1.68 1.70 7.10% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.59 11.58 -4.73% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 5.57% PACAM Equity Fund 1.66 1.67 4.65% PACAM EuroBond Fund 113.21 115.13 3.09% 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 131.53 134.11 8.75% 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 1.05 1.05 10.05% 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 N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.31 1.33 2.20% United Capital Bond Fund 1.92 1.92 4.61% United Capital Equity Fund 0.87 0.89 9.30% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.07% United Capital Eurobond Fund 120.18 120.18 4.99% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.06 1.08 4.12% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.06 1.06 6.19% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.84 12.95 8.18% Zenith Ethical Fund 14.31 14.46 17.26% Zenith Income Fund 24.35 24.35 1.52% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 5.98%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 53.10

10.62% 5.15%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.30

13.40

0.63%

121.41 96.63 17.20 18.19

124.43 98.74 17.30 18.29

0.97% -2.61%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

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 Money Market 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 5.46 17.37 1.00 19.49 158.11

3.92 5.54 17.47 1.00 19.69 160.11

2.87% -4.01% 7.02% 7.94% -4.98% -28.12%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.40

13.11%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

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.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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MONDAY, ͹ͻ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

CJN Refers Judge who Issued Criminal Summon on Soludo to Disciplinary Committee Alex Enumah in Abuja In his determined efforts to call erring judicial officers to order, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad,

has ordered the Judicial Service Committee (JSC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to commence disciplinary action against the Upper Area Court Judge, who issued Direct Criminal Summons

against a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo. The judge, whose name was withheld had recently issued criminal charges against Soludo,

candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State, over alleged serial abuse of office and breach of Code of Conduct for public

Elumelu Charges Okowa to Run for President in 2023 Says Delta gov can rescue Nigeria from APC’s misrule Udora Orizu in Abuja The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, has appealed to the Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, to contest for President of the country, come 2023, saying he was endowed with the capacity and proficiencies to rescue the nation from the misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and reposition her to the path of peace, unity and economic prosperity. Elumelu, who stated this at the weekend during the installation of Rotary Club’s 2nd President for 2021/2022 Rotary Club Year (Club of Asaba Downtown District 9141), lamented that the nation has been wrecked by the incompetent, divisive and blatantly corrupt APC administration. The lawmaker blamed the current administration for the mass killings, terrorism, banditry, infrastructure decay, poverty and excruciating economic hardship plaguing the nation. He was of the view that Okowa should serve as the President of the nation so that he

couldreplicate his achievements in massive infrastructure and human capital development in Delta State, at the national level. Elumelu said: "It has never been this bad in our national history. I, therefore, beckon on all Nigerians to join hands in the collective democratic efforts to rescue our nation from the stranglehold of the APC. This is more so because there is no way our country can survive if APC is allowed to stay in office a day beyond May 29, 2023. I must commend Governor Okowa for his selfless service and sacrifices that have led to unprecedented massive infrastructural development in our dear state as well as a better living standard for our people. "Okowa is a rare gift not only to Delta State, but also to our nation Nigeria, at large. I firmly hold that he is endowed with the capacity and proficiencies to serve our nation at the topmost level so that he can replicate the successes recorded in our state at the national level. I sincerely call on him to make himself available to serve the nation again. He

Osinbajo: Churches Have Key Role to Play in Nigeria's Travails Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has tasked the churches and religious leaders in the country to take up the challenge of driving people towards the pursuit of truth and justice. He said, "the Church is a place to deliver people from fear and oppression and eternal damnation, a place of succor, joy and encouragement." Osinbajo spoke on Sunday at the dedication ceremony of the All Saints Anglican Church, Wuse Zone 5 in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory FCT, the first Anglican church parish established 35 years ago. "The church is a place to deliver people from fear and oppression and eternal damnation, a place of succor, joy and encouragement. We must continue to build churches and places of worship knowing that everywhere we plant a church, we establish the light and power of the gospel of the love of Jesus Christ, is the answer to darkness, pain and misery of our world. "The forces of evil and hate are more virulent than ever, the battle between light and darkness is more intense than ever but the Church will prevail," he said. The Vice President described the church building as breathtaking architectural achievement with a beautiful finishing and state of the art design. Primate of the Anglican Church in Nigeria, Most Rev. Henry Ndukauba, who spoke to journalists shortly after the commissioning of the church building, said the greatest weapon mankind has against anarchy and the work of darkness is the power of God and the word of God, urging Nigerians and the political

class to unite and ensure that the right thing is done always. "We need to unite. We call on politicians, religious and traditional leaders and all in authority, to do the right thing. We will overcome only if we are united. A situation in which we see infractions in our security, compromise and betrayal within our system is unacceptable. We call on the military and politicians to be true. "Nothing brings down a nation than deceit. Deceit in leadership can compromise the security and integrity of a nation. This compromise must stop. If we love Nigeria, let us live as patriots. God will arise for this nation one day," he said Ndukauba said the Anglican church was dedicating the new church building and celebrating God's faithfulness at a challenging time in the country's life, adding that with determination, the country could still achieve great milestone. "We need to encourage people not to give up. We have security, economic and other challenges confronting us, but we want to encourage everybody, because the church is also part of the society. We are not separate from what is happening around us, if anything, we are also suffering it but we want to encourage everybody not to give up, because God has not given up on us. We are trusting God that Nigeria will rise again. "The role of the Church should be to pray and teach the word of God. The greatest weapon we have against anarchy and the work of darkness is the power of God and the word of God. He has never failed, so, let us live through to our faith; let us trust God and work with others, wherever necessary; let us help people around us," he said.

deserves to be the president of this country, come 2023." While reminding the newly installed Rotary Club President, Rtn Odinigwe Odigie, that the

task before him was an onerous one, Elumelu expressed optimism that he would succeed, given the solid pedestal already established by Okowa.

officers while in office between May 29, 2004 and May 29, 2009. According to the summon, Soludo was to appear before the court and answer to charges bordering on perjury, corruption and false assets declaration, which was completely outside the jurisdiction of the Upper Area Court. Trial on criminal charges on false declaration of assets is exclusively vested in the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) but the Upper Area Court Judge assumed jurisdiction contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution. THISDAY learnt that "from all indications, the CJN seems

determined to put an end to impunity and misconduct in the Judiciary". The CJN had recently met with the Chief Judges of FCT, Rivers, Kebbi, Cross Rivers, Jigawa, Anambra and Imo States and directed them to admonish the Judges in their jurisdictions on the danger of granting conflicting ex parte injunctions, especially by courts of coordinate jurisdiction. The Acting Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf, who is the Chairman of the FCT Judicial Service Committee, was expected to submit his findings to the CJN within 21 days.

SOUVENIR FOR THE MINISTER... Founder, Nigeria and Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours (NESH), Emeka Ugwu-Oju (left), presenting a souvenir to the Ministerr of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunab Adeniyi Adebayo, during a visit to the minister in Abuja... at the weekend

CAN Accuses Govt of Abandoning Remaining 31 Abducted Baptist Students Parents hold special prayers John Shiklam in Kaduna The Chairman of Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Joseph Hayab, has accused the government for allegedly abandoning the remaining 31 abducted students of the Baptist High School, Damishi, Kaduna. In a statement on Sunday, Hayab said the silence of government over the 31 students still being held in captivity by bandits was condemnable. On July 5, 2021, bandits invaded the school located about six kilometres away from theKaduna metropolis and abducted 121 students. Some of the students were released by the bandits in batches while others escaped from captivity. So far, a total of 90 of the students had been released after a ransom, totalling over N200m was reportedly paid to the bandits by the parents. Hayap said when schools were closed down by the Kaduna State government to pave the way for military operations against the criminals, hopes were high that the students would be rescued. He noted that the state government had announced that schools should resume on Monday without bringing back the students, who have been in captivity for 67 days. Hayab said, “The silence about the 31 Baptist High School children still in the hands of their captors is bad and condemnable. These

children were taken away from their school on 5th July 2021. It is 67 days today and our leaders are silent as if all is well when truly all is not well. “How can it be well when parents of these 31 children have not known sleep for these 67 days? Any caring leader will also not sleep. These children should be released or rescued without delay. “Kaduna State government closed down schools for over a month, claiming that the military will go after bandits and have again asked all schools to reopen without bringing back our children. “What happened with the military exercise that led to the closure of schools? Was it just another drama to divert the attention of parents and those sympathising with the parents

from the real situation?” He, however, said, “The church in Kaduna state will never keep quiet till all our children and everyone in captivity is released and return home”. CAN has also provided a facility at its secretariat in Kaduna to be used as temporary classrooms for the students of Baptist High School to enable them continue with their studies pending when the management of the school put up a security architecture to protect the school. Efforts to get the reaction of the commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, was unsuccessful as he did not respond to a text message sent to his mobile phone. Meanwhile, parents of the remaining 31 students on Sunday

held a special prayer session for the release of their children. Journalists were however bared from covering the prayer session which held on the school premises. A man, who identified himself as a “security personnel,” said he was directed by the authorities of the Baptist Conference in Kaduna not to allow journalists to cover the event or speak to any of the parents. “The parents are in pains, so, I have been directed not to allow the media to cover this event. We also don’t want any media person to talk to parents,” he said. The prayer session, which was attended by parents, relations and sympathisers, was presided over by the president of the Kaduna Baptist Conference, Rev. Ishaya Jangado.

PRESIDENTIAL VISITATION INDICTS UNILAG VC, OGUNDIPE, MGT of fair hearing were adhered to during his indictment. The visitation panel also found that the removal of Ogundipe by the then council was consistent with the University Act, stating that the interpretation placed on the statutes by Babalakin is plausible. Even the management led by Ogundpe was aware that the interpretation was convincing and sought an amendment of the law, the panel noted. It added, “The current wording of S3(8) seems to suggest that it is Council that determines or

could determine the identity of the two senate members of the Joint Committee of Council and Senate. There is arguably an imprecision of language which does not augur well for good governance.” The visitation panel further stated that it did not know the rationale for the conclusion of the Federal Ministry of Education that the appointment of an acting Vice Chancellor by the Babalakin-led Council was wrong. The panel said it was at a loss as to how anyone could have come

to the conclusion that Ogundipe was not given fair hearing or that the Babalakin-led Council breached any provisions of the law. In the words of the panel, “This panel has not seen the report of the previous panel and, therefore, does not know the basis for the conclusion that ‘the process adopted by the Council in the appointment of Professor Omololu Soyombo as Acting Vice Chancellor of the university was inconsistent with the provisions of law relating to the appointment of the Acting Vice- Chancellor.”

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

NEWS

Abia Urges Parents to Release Children to Write WASCE Exams Wants markets open for business

Goddy Egene The Abia State Government has urged parents to ensure that their children go to examination centres to write the compulsory English examination of the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) today (Monday), September 13, and Tuesday, September,14, 2021. The state made the call in special announcement titled, “WASCE: We Must not Jeopardise our Children’s Future”, signed by the Honourable Commissioner for Information, Chief John Okiyi Kalu yesterday. According to the commissioner, their attention had been drawn to the lingering sit-at-home order with its negative impact, stressing that is unacceptable to allow any individual or group to instill fear in their people to the extent of negatively impacting the education of their innocent school children who are billed to write the compulsory English examination of the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) and on the rights of other law abiding citizens. “In the light of the above, government wishes to advise parents to ensure that their children

go to the examination centres for their papers while teachers and examination supervisors are to ensure the protection of the

children before, during and after the examinations. Other citizens are also encouraged to go about their normal duties without fear of

molestation as necessary measures have been put in place to protect them. Our people are also hereby advised to promptly report any

individual or group that attempts to harass, molest, intimidate or stop law abiding citizens, especially our school children, from exercising

their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement to the police through the following numbers: 08035415405,

THANKSGIVING FOR PA ABIODUN…

L-R: Wife of late Pa Emmanuel Adesanya Abiodun and mother of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Victoria Olaitan Abiodun; Governor Dapo Abiodun, and his wife, Bamidele, during the Thanksgiving service for the burial of the late father of the governor, Pa Abiodun at St. James Anglican Church, Iperu Remo, Ogun State…yesterday

SERAP Urges Buhari to End Wike Blames FG for Delay of BonnyCommunications Shutdown Bodo Road Project in Zamfara, Katsina Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Udora Orizu in Abuja Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to immediately reverse the “apparently unjustified” suspension of internet and telecommunication networks in Zamfara State and 13 local government areas of Katsina State. NCC recently ordered telecoms operators to suspend all telecommunications networks in Zamfara State, and 13 local government areas of Katsina State purportedly to check banditry and other security challenges, including terrorism. SERAP in an open letter dated September 11, 2021, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole

Oluwadare, said the suspension, without any legal justification, is inconsistent with the principles of necessity, proportionality and a form of collective punishment of Nigerians resident in those states. According to SERAP, while the authorities have a legal responsibility to protect and secure the rights to life and property, any such responsibility ought to be discharged in conformity with constitutional and international human rights standards. The letter read in part: “Shutdowns generate a wide variety of harms to human rights, economic activity, public safety and emergency services that outweigh the purported benefits. The suspension has the potential to affect millions of internet and telecommunication users in these states, and those on the margins of the society are most impacted by it.

Police Arrest Fake Soldier in Ogun James Sowole in Abeokuta Men of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested one Segun Ogundeji, who claimed to be a soldier, but was later discovered to be a fake one. The arrest of the suspect was disclosed by the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement. Ogundeji, who was also discovered to be an ex-convict, was arrested when he went to Sango Ota Divisional Police headquarters fully dressed in army camouflage uniform to solicit for the release of a suspect. The suspect was arrested on September 8, 2021, at about 7:30

p.m. Narrating what led to the arrest of the suspect, Oyeyemi said Ogundeji was nabbed when arguments ensued between him and a genuine officer of Nigeria Air Force. He said: “On getting to the station, he met another Air Force officer, one Cpl John Temitope, who accused the suspect of failure to give him official compliment, as a result of which quarrel ensued between them. “It was the quarrel that led the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Sango police statation, Mr. Godwin Idehai, to interrogate them. It was during the interrogation that the police discovered that Ogundeji is not a military man.

The Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has said the completion of the construction of the Bonny-Bodo Road is being delayed by the inability of the federal government to pay its N60 billion counterpart funding for the N120 billion project. Wike stated this at the send-off ceremony of former Managing

Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Mr. Tony Attah, which was held at the company’s corporate headquarters in Port Harcourt, noting that all fund expended so far on the road project was provided by the NLNG. He said: “The Bonny-Bodo Road is not funded between the federal government and the NLNG. I don’t agree.

With due respect, it is funded between NLNG, all the states of the federation and the Ffederal government. “If this country is a country that all of us belong to and all of us mean well for ourselves, that is one project that ought to have been completed by now, because of the economic interest that will benefit all of us.” He praised Attah for the convivial relationship the NLNG

under his watch maintained with the government and people of Rivers State. The governor said Attah would be remembered for overseeing the commencement and completion of NLNG corporate headquarters building in Port Harcourt and for ensuring that all fabrication works for the company’s $10 billion Train 7 were done in Rivers State.

Okechukwu: FG’s Integrated Farm Estate’ll Close Bandit’s Market Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr. Osita Okechukwu, has urged the people of Enugu State to embrace the federal government’s ongoing Integrated Farm Estate Project, saying iy would close the market for banditry. The federal government

had announced recently that it would establish Integrated Farm Estates across the 109 Senatorial districts of the State. But the plan has been faced with mixed feelings, as some felt it was an indirect way of reintroducing the controversial RUGA project. However, in a statement, Okechukwu appealed to Enugu communities to

participate fully in the project, because the farm projects would be managed by the communities themselves not Fulani, adding that, it would be community-based. He reiterated that the FG programme meant for the 109 Senatorial districts, was a presidential mandate to close bandits’ market, provide employment and

food security. Okechukwu explained that he was making the passionate appeal “because our people are embarrassingly missing billions of Naira budget from the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), unlike other geopolitical zones, in one of the key projects in the Buhari Agrarian Revolution value chain.

Benue Leaders Challenge Buhari on Security George Okoh In Makurdi Leaders of Benue extraction known as the MINDA strategic contact group, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up to his mandate as president and protect Nigerians. The group also condemned the Minister for Special Duties

and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, for his statement against the Governor of Benue State, Mr. Samuel Ortom. The leader of the MINDA, Dr. Tivlumum Nyitse, said that the group viewed the negligence by President Buhari and Senator Akume to the plight of Benue

people over insecurity as sad and shameful. Nyitse called on Buhari to rise up to his duties to protect all Nigerians and Benue people in particular from the hands of killer armed herdsmen in the country. He also urged Akume to contribute his quote in

addressing herdsmen killings in the state. Addressing the media in Makurdi at the weekend, Nyitse aligned the group with Governor Ortom on his persistent outcry over the alleged murderous activities of herdsmen in the state and his call for equity, fairness and justice in the country.

Why Navy Relocated Naval Bases to Abia, Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Kogi Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Nigerian Navy weekend explained why newly established naval bases were relocated. There were criticisms over the relocation of some of the bases to the north, a non-maritime environment. A statement issued by Naval Headquarters said the movement

of the bases was designed to decongest its presence in Lagos area by expanding to other locations other than Lagos, Calabar, Warri and Port Harcourt “The Navy Board recently approved the establishment of three new naval bases in Lekki, Oguta and Kano. Out of these three locations, the decision to site a base in Kano has elicited

debates and commentaries in the public. Some commentators have queried the decision to site a naval base in Kano. “It is pertinent to state here that all naval establishments and units are called bases notwithstanding their physical location,” it explained, adding, “Depending on their responsibilities, naval bases

could be for operations, training, logistics or administration. In the Navy, these bases are called stone frigates. “While naval operations bases should typically have a waterfront or be located in a maritime environment, some naval bases do not necessarily need to have a waterfront”, it said.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

NEWS XTRA

NDLEA Intercepts 24, 311kg Heroin, Codeine in Lagos Drugged cookies, others seized in raids across Abuja, Edo, Kaduna, Taraba, others

Barely a week after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted N6 billion worth of Amphetamine, popularly known as jihadists’ drug, at the Apapa port in Lagos, operatives of the agency have seized over 24, 311 kilogrammes of heroin, codeine as well as Arizona and Colorado variants of cannabis in fresh drug busts at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, and the Tincan seaport, Apapa, Lagos. Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, in a statement yesterday, said the first seizure came on Friday, September 3, 2021, at the SAHCO export shed of the MMIA, where two consignments containing 10.350kg heroin and 25.2kg cannabis from South Africa were intercepted. It revealed that in series of sting operations between September 4 and September 6, in different parts of Lagos, four suspects were arrested. The statement said, “At the Tincan seaport, Apapa, narcotic officers intercepted a 40ft container loaded with 22,590 kilogramsme of Barcadin

Codeine syrup on Monday September 6th, following intelligence received from international partners on the container since May 2021.

“The container was also found to include 4,020.03kg of analgesic tablets and 47 cartons of insulated hot pots used to conceal the illicit drugs,

all imported from India. “Equally, on Friday September 10th, a consignment of Colorado weighing 17.5kg and hidden inside a Grand Caravan

Dodge vehicle shipped in a 40ft container from Montreal, Canada, was also intercepted and seized at the Tincan port.”

It also revealed that a 20-yearold graduate, Miss Bee Okoro, was arrested in Abuja, for producing and selling drugged candies and cookies.

OUR SCORECARD…

L-R: Group Chief Financial Oﬃcer, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Anders Kristianssion; Company Secretary, Mr. Joseph Umolu; Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. John Coumantaros; Group Managing Director, Mr. Omoboyede Olusanya, and Non-Executive Director, Dr. Salamatu Hussanini Suleiman, during the company’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos…recently

Osun Alerts Residents H1: Fidelity Bank Grows Profit before Tax by 72% to N21bn on Flood Prevention, Management Peter Uzoho

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Osun State Government has charged the residents of the state to exhibit high sense of responsibilities towards the prevention and management of flood in the state. This was just as it reassured the state that the current administration would not renege in its efforts to avert environmental disaster which might be caused by heavy flooding. These were disclosed during the inauguration of another round of rivers dredging and waterways by the state Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, in Iwo Local Government Area of the state. Speaking at the inauguration, the Special Adviser on Environment and Sanitation to the governor, Hon Rufus

Oyegbile, said the state government has responded to the warning of Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency (NIHSA) and the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), which forecasted Osun as high probable flood risk state, by embarking on intensive flood control and management system to protect the lives and property of our citizens. He said: “We must have it on record that in the last two years, the government has done a lot on dredging of rivers and waterways in areas across the state which include Osin, Sheusheu, Maaye, Arungbo, Odo-Ori, Aganga, Olobedu Akintokun, Ijetu, Awesin-Elentere AlagbadunArioyun, Aketi-Osin-Amuni Atile Esinmirin, Agbara-Opa rivers and lake 264, among others.

Fidelity Bank Plc has announced a profit before tax (PBT) of N20.6 billion for the half-year (H1) ended 30 June 2021, up by 72 per cent from N12.0 billion it posted in H1 2020. The tier-2 lending bank said the N20.6 billion PBT was achieved on the back of increased customer transactions and improved operational efficiency. The bank posted a profit after

tax (PAT) of N19.306 billion, indicating a growth of 70 per cent compared to N11.303 billion in the corresponding period of 2020. Speaking on the bank’s performance, the Managing Executive Director/Chief Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said: “We sustained our impressive financial performance with double-digit growth in profit as increased customer transactions

drove non-interest revenue while improved operational efficiency continued to moderate cost to - serve. This resulted in 72.4 per cent increase in profit before tax to N20.6 billion from N12.0 billion in H1 2020”. A review of the financial result for the period indicated that the bank’s gross earnings increased by 6.2 per cent to N112.3 billion on account of 27.8 per cent growth in non-interest revenue (NIR) to N23.8 billion

from N18.1 billion in H1 2020. NIR was driven by strong growth in commission on banking services (57.7 per cent), account maintenance charges (50.6 per cent), digital banking income (49.4 per cent) and trade income (33.7 per cent). The report also indicated that total customer induced transactions across all distribution channels increased by 58.0 per cent year-on-year and 21.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

N’Delta Group Wants Buhari to Inaugurate NDDC Board Deji Elumoye in Abuja The 21st century youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience (21st CYNDAC) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to without further delay inaugurate a substantive board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The group in a statement yesterday by its leader, Izon Ebi, while thanking

the president for instituting a holistic probe and audit of the NDDC which unraveled mindboggling atrocities committed by politicians, said the delay in the inauguration of the new board is giving a fertile ground for ineptitude, subterfuge and corruption that will erode the gains of the forensic audit report submitted to the president by the auditors. According to them, the

new appointees screened and confirmed by the Senate are seasoned technocrats and people with proven track records who can raise the bar in the management of the interventionist agency. The group said, “The 21st century youths of Niger Delta and Agitators with Conscience and other genuine Agitators and civil society are of the opinion that the delay in the inauguration

of the new board that was appointed by Mr. President, screened and confirmed by the Senate of the Federal Republic will jeopardise the gains and report of the just submitted report of the forensic audit of the commission. “The screened and confirmed board with zero baggage will be able to implement the recommendations of the auditors with optimum commitment.

AbdulRazaq Vows to Make Kwara Food Basket of Nigeria NIHSA DG Attributes commended President received the Executive Secretary Represented by the state Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Muhammadu Buhari for the of the National Agricultural Commissioner for Agriculture Causes of Flood to Kwara State Governor, Alhaji initiative and his ‘untiring efforts’ Land Development Authority and Rural Development, AbdulRazaq, has to revive the country’s glory in (NALDA), Prince Paul Ikonne, Hon. Saba Issa Gideon, Inadequate Dams in Nigeria AbdulRahman reiterated his administration focus the agriculture sector, adding who was in the state for the governor called on the Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Director-General of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Clement Onyeaso Nze, has attributed the cause of constant flooding incidents in the country to inadequate dam system. Nze, while speaking with journalists in Abuja at the weekend, stated that 400 dams are not adequate for a country like Nigeria, adding that the importance of dams can never be over-emphasised. He stated that flood, which is a natural disaster could be of great economic importance to the country if properly managed

and channeled to the agriculture sector and hydropower plants creation. Nze said water that is supposed to be a blessing is becoming a curse to Nigeria, stating that: “Nigeria is tremendously blessed with huge amount of both surface and ground water, but the challenge had been the proper management of this resource, and not until we see water as an economic resource, we will continue like this.” According to him, after each cycle of flooding, “the agriculturists will tell you that the nutrients capacity of the soil had highly improved and they experienced bomber harvest.”

to make the state the food basket of Nigeria, and also create jobs for women and youths through large-scale farming. AbdulRazaq, however,

that the project aligns with his government’s vision to support mechanised farming and address hunger in the country. The governor stated these in Ilorin at the weekend when he

inspection of one of the sites for the integrated farm estate, a federal government agricultural project, in Agbeyangi, Ilorin East Local Government Area of the state.

Agbeyangi community and other communities benefiting from the project to see it as an opportunity to change their economic status for better and learn modern farming techniques.

Isoko South By-election: Okowa Congratulates Evivie, PDP Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has congratulated Mr. Ovuakpoye Evivie on his victory in Saturday’s by-election for the Isoko-South Constituency 1 seat in the House of Assembly. The governor also congratulated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the outcome of the election in which its member, Evivie emerged

victorious Okowa’s felicitations was conveyed in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Olisa Ifeajika, yesterday in Asaba. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had announced that Evivie scored 6,957 votes to win the election. Also, Dr. Ogaga Ifowodo of All Progressives Congress (APC),

got 1,301 votes while Mr. Michael Emumena of Social Democratic Party (SDP) polled 1,291 votes to emerge second and third respectively at the election. The governor described the victory of Evivie and PDP as “well deserved and a confirmation of PDP’s dominance in Delta”. He said that the people of Isoko-South Constituency 1

across the five wards in the area through the ballots, spoke very lucidly of the choice of Evivie as their representative in the state’s parliament. The governor, who led members of PDP in the Wardto-Ward rally prior to the election, remarked that Isoko- South people had once again proven their loyalty and commitment to PDP.

T H I S D AY • MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

NEWS XTRA

Lamido Visits Obasanjo, Says Nigeria is Bleeding James Sowole in Abeokuta Former Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, at the weekend, expressed concerns over worsening security challenges in the country, declaring that Nigeria was bleeding. Lamido made the declaration in Abeokuta, Ogun State, after meeting with former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, at his Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta. The former governor’s concern was revealed in a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the former president, Mr. Kehinde Akinyemi. Lamido said: “How do we remain safe is the biggest and current challenge in this country, because as it seems, nobody is safe anymore. Imagine that if they could kidnap three workers of Baba, a former president of the country? Who is now safe?” However, he said Obasanjo has reinforced his faith in the country despite the appalling situation. Lamido stated that Obasanjo was still committed to ensuring that Nigeria is out of the doldrum, adding that his meeting with Obasanjo has

reinforced his faith in the country. The former governor, who disclosed that he had come to visit his ‘father’ (Obasanjo) “my

The federal government through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has approved new safety threshold charges for services rendered by the ground handling companies, commencing from October 1, 2021, for international carriers and January 1, 2022 for domestic operators. This was disclosed by the Chairman of Aviation Ground Handling Association of Nigeria (AGHAN), Olaniyi Adigun, who stated that the approval of new charges was coming 35 years after the last amendment to the handing rates by handlers, carried out in 1986. The association noted that with this approval, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO), the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO), Precision Aviation Handling Company (PAHCOL) and Swissport Handling Company

now ageing, and I responded that he’s not because we still need him in this country. And he said Sule: ‘I will do anything for Nigeria’, and that is very

inspiring. That is why I like him, as this has reinforced my faith in Nigeria. “We discussed a number of issues, particularly on

Nigeria, that he loves so much. Honestly, no matter how down we go, we’ll rise again. But, obviously it is bleeding now. It is bleeding!”

CSR IN ACTION…

L-R: Compound Matron, Garki Hospital Abuja, Mrs. Gloria Okeke; Team Leader, Christian Social Responsibility, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Jesus House Abuja Parish, Mrs. Ogechi Anusionwu; and member of the team, Mrs. Ona Peters, during their Visit to Patients at the Garki Hospital Abuja...yesterday

FG Approves New Charges for Ground Handling Companies Chinedu Eze

leader and my everything after a very long time, and I met him in a very high spirit and good health. “But, he told me that he’s

could now charge the same handling rates as their counterparts in the sub-African countries. Adigun disclosed that the NCAA approved between $1,500 and $5,000 (passenger and cargo flights) for handlers for a narrow and wide body aircraft, respectively, while domestic operators would now pay between N25, 000 and N70, 000, depending on the aircraft type. Narrow body aircraft include Boeing B737, Airbus A320, ER 135 and ATR, while wide body aircraft are B767, A330, B777, B747 and B787. THISDAY learnt that another circular signed by NCAA Director General, Captain Musa Nuhu, dated September 6, 2021, with reference number: NCAA/DG/ AIR/11/16/315, addressed to all Airlines And Ground Handling Companies (foreign and local), drew the attention of Accountable Managers/Country Managers of both domestic and international operators.

Banditry: DHQ Denies Existence of Mass Graves in Zamfara Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Defence Headquarters (DHQ), weekend, denied any link with a viral video circulating on social media suggesting the existence of mass graves of victims of military operations in Zamfara State. It said, in a statement, that “a trending picture with caption “Alhamdulillah. ZamfaraMustSecure” and several

other viral gory pictures and videos of dumping into mass grave of persons purported to have been killed in the ongoing military operations in the North-west and North-central geographical zones of the country. “It is pertinent to state that the allegation is false and malicious and has no link whatsoever with the operations being conducted by troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN)”.

While admitting that AFN is presently conducting a successful military operations against bandits and kidnappers in line with its constitutional roles, it said the operations were conducted in strict compliance with the rules of armed conflicts, utmost professional manner, strict adherence to rules of engagement and respect for fundamental human rights and dignity. “The viral pictures being

circulated have nothing in common with the ongoing operations. This callous action of linking ongoing operations with falsehood is deliberate and thus, seeks to tarnish the good image and reputation of the AFN. “For the record, the AFN conducts a fortnightly defence media operations brief in where pictures of the operations are displayed to complement achievements in the ongoing operations.

NSCDC Arrests Man for Alleged Sexual Crime with Mother in Kwara Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Operatives of the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have arrested an immigrant from Benin Republic in the state, Adamu Sabi Sime, for allegedly having carnal knowledge of his biological

mother. A statement issued in Ilorin, the state capital, which was signed by the Command Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Mr. Babawale Zaid Afolabi, and made available to journalists stated that: “Already, Adamu’s mother has given birth to three children for her son.”

The statement continued: “On September 9, 2021, one Mallam Bandede, the district head of Mosne community in Kaima, reported the incestuous act committed by one Adamu Sabi Sime and his mother, Fati Sime, of the same community. “Men from the intelligence unit and NSCDC operatives

in Kaima swung into action and the outcome of the investigations established the fact that the mother (Fati) has three children for her biological son. “Further check revealed that the younger brother of the accused, who was also confirmed to be sleeping with the mother, is now at large.”

NIDCOM, Nigerian Community Condemn Ikpeazu Moves to Reconstitute Envoy, investigation into the killing of alleged killing of Amenze by authorities for the arrest of Michael Olugbode in Abuja a Nigerian, Ms. Rita Amenze, her husband for filing a divorce the husband. Cabinet, Nominates 27 suit was quite unfortunate The Nigerian Ambassador, Nigeria’s Ambassador to in Italy. Dabiri-Erewa stated that and sad. Mfawa Omini Abam, who Italy, Ambassador Mfawa Commissioner Similarly, the President of has been informed about Omini Abam, the Chairman/ her estranged husband, Mr. Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia The Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, yesterday named 27 persons as commissioner nominees in a move aimed at reconstituting his cabinet, which was dissolved over seven months ago. The list of commissioner nominees was contained in a statement that was issued by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Chris Ezem, who disclosed that Ikpeazu had already submitted the list of the commissioner nominees to the State House of Assembly

for screening and confirmation. Ikpeazu had dissolved his second term cabinet on January 23, 202I without giving reasons, retaining the trio of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Uche Ihediwa, Commissioner for Information, Mr. John Okiyi Kalu and Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joe Osuji while the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Aham Uko, was later recalled. Since then, Ikpeazu has been running his government with these four commissioners and permanent secretaries holding sway in the ministries without commissioners.

CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, as well as the Nigerian Community in Italy, have demanded a full

Pierangelo Pellizzar, has been arrested. In a statement that was issued in Abuja yesterday, Dabiri-Erewa said that the

National Union of Nigerian Associations in Italy (NUNAI), Mr. Rowland Ndukuba, also condemned the killing and commended the Italian police

the pathetic death of the Nigerian, has promised that the embassy would ensure that proper investigation is carried out.

18-year-old Girl Killed by Police in Lagos An 18-year-old girl, identified as Monsurat Ojuade, has been killed during a raid by police officers at Ijesha axis of Surulere in Lagos. The girl was said to have been shot, when she and her elder sister ran into the premises of their house on Friday night. Tosin Ojuade, one of deceased’s sisters, said Monsurat and her

sister were about to close their mother’s provision shop, which is close to the house, when they saw people running helter-skelter. She said the sisters ran into the house, and while their mother who was washing clothes in the compound wanted to close the gate, a police officer tried to force the gate open from outside. She said the mother heard a

gunshot, and the bullet pierced through the deceased’s thighs. Tosin also disclosed that the deceased celebrated her 18th birthday on August 11, and was processing admission to a tertiary institution. A resident said he was in his room when he heard the gunshot and that on getting outside, he saw the deceased in a pool of

blood. He said the deceased was taken to a private hospital in the area but was not attended to because doctors were not around. According to the resident said the deceased was later taken to Randle Hospital, Surulere, where she was briefly treated and referred to Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital.

MONDAY, ͹ͻ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

MONDAYSPORTS

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

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

CAFCL: Rivers Utd, Akwa Utd in Narrow Wins

Nigeria’s representatives in the CAF Champions League, Rivers United and Akwa United both secured lone goal wins in their respective first round first leg matches in the elite club tournament yesterday. While Rivers United seem to be on the front foot into the next round following away win at Young Africans of Tanzania,

Akwa United had to dig deep till the last minute before they could get the valuable goal win against CR Belouzidada of Algeria at the Nest of Champions in Uyo. For Rivers United, it was drama before the away match in Dar es Salaam as their camp was rocked with Coronavirus test after three players and two officials were confirmed with

positive result which was against the one conducted before the team’s departure. But Moses Omodumuke netted the only goal of the game in the 51st minute and Nigeria did enough to secure a valuable away win. The second leg is slated to come up at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port-Harcourt next

weekend. In Uyo, Akwa United also started the competition on a winning note with a narrow 1-0 win over visiting Algeria champions, CR Belouzidada. The game lived up to the expectations as both team were current champions of their leagues and were able to size up each other.

The end to end game with host Akwa United dominating the game at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium but the backline of the away side was able to withstand all the pressure. The second half witnessed the same display but the Promise Keepers continued to press for a much-needed goal but the away side continued to frustrate their

efforts. The goal finally arrived in the 87th minute through a cool finish from Ubong Friday and all the efforts of Belouzidad to come back proved abortive. Belouzidad will host Akwa United in the second leg of the preliminary round needing a two goals to progress while any draw will qualify the Nigeria side.

Ibrahimovic Back from Four-month Injury Lay-off with a Bang! AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored from a d on his hi return t f four-month injury layoff as they beat Lazio 2-0 at San Siro on Sunday to continue their perfect start to the Serie A season. The 39-year-old, who had not featured since sustaining a knee injury against Juventus in May, tapped in Milan’s second after 67 minutes, seven minutes after he came off the bench. It capped an impressive performance by Stefano Pioli’s side, who went in front through a Rafael Leao strike just ahead of the break, shortly before Franck Kessie’s penalty struck the bar. The result put the Rossoneri top of the table with nine points, ahead of Napoli on goal difference, while Lazio are sixth with six points after three games. Both sides had started the season with back-to-back wins but the hosts were soon on top as Alessio Romagnoli drew a save from Pepe Reina and Fikayo Tomori headed over

ITALIAN SERIE A in the opening five minutes. uttes es. A strong first-half Milan Miilan il n performance was eventually ua ally y rewarded when Leao drovee into into o the Lazio half, exchanged passes assses sses with Ante Rebic and found d thee bottom corner with a calm finish fin nissh after 45 minutes. It could have got even ev ven n better for the hosts when Ciro Ciro Immobile kicked Kessie’ss foot foo oott and conceded a penalty, but the Ivorian midfielder struck the bar from the spot deep in first-half stoppage time. The home fans roared with approval when Ibrahimovic stepped onto the pitch for the first time since May and the Swede quickly made his mark when Rebic’s cross put the ball on a plate for him to score. Tensions boiled over at the full-time whistle as opposing players and staff came together on the touchline, leading to a red card for Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri.

Aisha Buhari Cup: Ghana, Mali, Morocco Land in Lagos Ghana’s Black Queens, the Female Eagles of Mali and the Atlas Lionesses of Morocco will all jet into the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport early today for the maiden edition of the Aisha Buhari Invitational Women’s Football Tournament taking place in the City of Lagos. While the Queens and Eagles are arriving in Nigeria aboard a chartered flight, the Lionesses are coming into town aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight. Organizers announced yesterday that all the six matches of the international showpiece in honour of the name and Office of the First Lady of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria will now hold at the remodelled and upgraded Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan. While Morocco and Mali are in the same Group A with Nigeria, Ghana’s Black Queens, two-time runners-up of the Women Africa Cup of Nations, tackle Cameroon and South Africa in Group B. Nine-time African champions Nigeria will also move into the team hotel today as organizers, teams and officials look forward with so much expectation to Wednesday’s opening ceremony that will see the Super Falcons taking on the Female Eagles of Mali as from 4pm.

THE FIXTURES

Zlatan Ibrahimovic...back from four-month lay-oﬀ with a goal

NigerTornadoes RuleNNLas3SC,Remo Stars, Gombe Utd Return to Topflight Femi Solaja

Niger Tornadoes of Minna yesterday emerged as the champions of the Nigeria National League (NNL) after a hard earned 3-2 win against Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan in the final match of the Super 8 Playoff at the Nnamdi Azikwe Stadium, Enugu. Aside the win on the final day, the entire tournament marked the return of some traditional teams like Shooting Stars, Gombe United and Remo Stars of Ikenne back to the elite division. They will now replace Jigawa Golden Stars, Warri Wolves, FC IfeanyiUbah United and Adamawa United who got demoted in the 2020-21 campaign. Although it could have been a complete circle but ‘Old Horse’ Bendel Insurance FC of Benin lost out to Remo Stars in the Southern Conference of the mini-tournament as the final day 2-2 draw was not enough to see the Edo team through. Interestingly, Niger Tornadoes (then in Group A) and Gombe United (Group B), were relegated from the NPFL together with Remo Stars in 2019. The three of them are now back in the elite division. Bendel Insurance and ElKanemi Warriors, who were also relegated in same season, however failed in the bid to return and will have another day with destiny. In a related development, the Football Club Owners Association

NPFL of Nigeria has congratulated the four clubs from the NNL who gained promotion to the Nigeria Professional Football League NPFL via the just concluded Super 8 Playoff. Club owners said the four clubs showcased high level display of soccer artistry worthy to play in the top flight domestic league, the NPFL. " We are happy to welcome you to the top flight league as worthy winners and assure you

of our cooperation in the NPFL, " Club owners said in a statement in Enugu jointly signed by the Chairman, Barr. Isaac Danladi and the Executive Secretary, Chief Alloy Chukwuemeka who were in Enugu to observe the Super 8 playoff. The Association urged the newly promoted clubs to speedy up their preparations cum licensing requirements in order to have a smooth take off in the Nigeria Professional Football League expected to kick off soon. Club Owners also

congratulated the leadership of the Nigeria National League NNL for a successful conclusion of the season just as it praised the government and good people of Enugu for being a good host of the Super 8 play-off.

Teams Promoted Niger Tornadoes Gombe United Shooting Stars Remo Stars

Nwankwo, Atshimene Hail Eunisell for Inspiring NPFL Stars Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) stars, Silas Nwankwo and Charles Atshimene, have hailed Eunisell for instituting the Eunisell Boot award to inspire and celebrate players. Both players were recently named joint winners of the award by Eunisell following their neck-and-neck goal race last term that produced 19 goals each. With each goal scored valued at N200,000 by Eunisell, the duo will receive N3.8million each and the prestigious Eunisell Boot. The award highlights Eunisell's commitment to the growth of football in Nigeria. Nasarawa United's Nwankwo said: "I couldn't sleep when I

E U N I S E L L B O OT AWA R D was told of the award. "Thanks to Eunisell for making our league stars see a big reason to put in their best during the season. This honour is special and one of a kind. "It's a pleasure to win the Eunisell Boot as this is great motivation for me to achieve more in this career I have chosen." Nwankwo also achieved a club record as the first Nasarawa United player to score 19 goals in the top flight. Joint winner, Akwa United's Charles Atshimene, equally applauded Eunisell for the initiative.

"I really commend Eunisell for the Eunisell Boot which will bring more publicity to the league. I hope more organizations could actually join up to do what Eunisell is doing to the league. "I feel happy and overwhelmed because it's a great feeling being honoured with the Eunisell Boot award. I thank God for making this happen", he stated Atshimene scored 19 goals in just his first season with the Uyo side. Conceived by Eunisell, the Eunisell Boot aims to bring more attention to the NPFL and raise its profile.

MONDAY, ͹ͻ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

SPORTS

THE MONEY BALL ust as the Super Eagles prepared to tackle Liberia in the World Cup qualifiers in Lagos, it was announced that Nigeria’s telecommunication giants MTN had signed a N1.5 billion sponsorship deal with the Nigeria Football Federation over three-year period. Similarly, aviation giants added an additional annual revenue of N300m to the kitty of the Federation. It was a financial coup by very ambitious NFF President, Amaju Pinnick. He proudly announced the deal with the acknowledgement of finally achieving one of his campaign promises to make Nigerian football financially independent from the government. However while the applause is still loud, it brings to bare more responsibilities to the NFF in their task to develop football in Nigeria. While the discussion is still on, it should be noted that the NFF has a lot to do in order to please an expectant populace and funding has always been key to this. The Federation, compared to other sporting federations in the country is well funded. The Federal Government allocated N1, 234,390,243 (over one billion, two hundred million naira) to the NFF in the 2021 budget. Between 2019 and 2020, FIFA, the world football governing body has disbursed over 93 per cent of the USD 2,120,000 (two million, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars) which is over one billion one hundred and

Super Eagles...the brand attracting all the sponsorship to NFF fifty million Naira with current conversions. The Nigeria Football Federation also has a N500 million a year deal with AITEO group and is enjoying a kit sponsoring deal with NIKE. The details of that contract and bonuses are not public. FIFA recently also announced a COVID-19 relief fund for all member federations of one million dollars each and Nigeria benefitted from the World Cup prize funds. So where does all this money go to and how does the NFF utilize them? The sheer size of

its purse makes Pinnick the most powerful man in Nigerian sports. The scrutiny from the public is virtually non-existent as long as the darling Super Eagles perform on the pitch. But still, there are responsibilities that the NFF need to do. The development of the game in the country is a primary responsibility and making sure every part of the country enjoys football growth is essential. The running of the NFF secretariat, funding of all national teams, payment of coaches and travel for qualifying matches are some

high expenditure activities. However, observers would still tell you that the income of the NFF is not sufficient to totally follow up on its mandate. To make concrete plans the NFF needs more sustainable income. From the information made public, the NFF major sources of income are the government, FIFA grants and sponsorship. Of these three, only the FIFA funds is risk free and plannable but insufficient on its own. The funds from government is embroiled a lot of times in politics and

bureaucratic approvals while noting that they have specific budgetary line allocations by law. So for sustainability, the NFF must still get more sources of funding. What really is a working budget for the NFF and what do they need the money for? When we consider that during the 2019-20 season, the English FA generated a total turnover of £335m (almost N234.5 Billion) (2018-19: £466m) with an operating profit of £9.8m (2018-19: £62.8m) we have a long way to go. But to actually arise at a budget for the federation, the NFF have to get a strategy. The strategy should be youth based. Investing in infrastructure for football development at the grassroots level all over the country. The NFF can make football more influential in our day to day lives. The power of football can help social change and justice in the country. The NFF can use football as a vehicle for peace, unity and social justice just as it is done in England where the ‘Kick out racism” is driven by the English FA. The NFF should also improve on its property, the FA Cup. Making it more attractive in presentation and packaging

can improve its excitement. One key factor here is broadcasting and another is match day experience. These are great sources of revenue. The English FA's main commercial asset is its ownership of the rights to England internationals and the FA Cup. Broadcasting income remains the FA's largest revenue stream with both domestic and international broadcasting rights for England fixtures and the FA Cup tied up until at least 2021. Nigeria should follow this blueprint too. We should negotiate our ownership of Super Eagles international matches and improve on the FA cup. The reality on the ground is that while the new sponsors of the NFF are a welcome development for our football, the money available is totally insufficient for the kind of development we require, though in part this need would arise from a clear and definitive strategy from our football administrators. Sponsorship is key in getting these funds, but given the volatile nature of businesses and politics in this clime, it is not the most sustainable way to generate revenue. For now, as long as the Super Eagles keep on winning, the money may keep rolling in.

The Drama of the NNL Super 8 Playoff in Enugu MONDAY Report By DURO IKHAZUAGBE The Nigerian National League Super 8 ended yesterday in Enugu with Niger Tornadoes emerging champions of the second tier football league in the country. Tornadoes defeated Shooting Stars of Ibadan 3-2 to emerge winners as well as bagged the bragging rights to the topflight Nigerian league from where the Minna team got relegated in 2019. It is familiar ground for all the four teams. From the Southern Conference, Shooting Stars and Remo Stars picked the tickets while Gombe United and Tornadoes are from the Northern Conference. However, before yesterday’s final game between Tornadoes and 3SC, the playoff witnessed the most bizarre infractions never ever seen in the domestic football scene here. And the clubs in the centre of it all were Remo Stars and Bendel Insurance. First, lets refresh

with the details of what led to the high-wire last game of the Group B of the playoff between the two teams. In the regular 2020/21 NNL season, both Insurance and Remo had been involved in a fracas that got the intervention of the NFF to resolve. It bothered on hooliganism witnessed during the Benin team’s away trip to Remo. And so when the Super 8 Playoff paired both teams in Group B in Enugu, many ball watchers anticipated what played. With Insurance losing their first game to 3SC and conceding a last minute penalty to Ekiti United to tie the game one-all and having just one point from a possible six, it was obvious that the last Group match was going to determine who takes the last ticket into the NPFL. And so began the drama.

Niger Tornadoes defeated 3SC 3-2 yesterday to emerge champions of the NNL 2020/2021 season With NNL posting the same officials that were perceived to have ‘worked’ against Insurance in the clash with Ekiti once more for the battle with Remo, officials of the Benin team raised objections and wanted them changed. For a game scheduled for 3pm, Insurance officials remained adamant not to leave their bench to play the game. After waiting for two hours, the NFF and NNL leadership had to accede to the request of Insurance by changing the match officials. Chairman of the NNL, Senator Obinna Ogba who had earlier

warned all the teams to play fair, used his veto to ensure the match officials are removed. Was this a justification for earlier claims by both parties that some match officials had compromised and were out to work against one of the teams in Group B? Anyway, Centre Referee Ahmed Rabiu was changed with female referee, Peace Ndidi Madu called to take charge of this volatile game at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. By the time the issue of referee was sorted out with 3SC securing one of the tickets with a 6-0 defeat

of Ekiti United, it was now obvious that there was all to play for in this clash between Insurance and Remo Stars. Of course, all that the Ikenne team needed to progress was a point from this game while Insurance with just one point from two games needed 3-0 defeat of Remo to cause an upset. With the referee matter sorted, both Insurance and Remo took to the pitch to sort out the matter in the full glare of all football aficionados. After 90 minutes, Remo Stars secured a 2-2 victory to finish five points like 3SC and

returned to the topflight from where they drop in 2019. For Insurance, it is another season in the second tier league. They failed to achieve the desire of Deputy Governor Phillip Shaibu to get back into the topflight. Despite the good backing the Benin Arsenal enjoy from the government, the quality displayed in the playoff in Enugu didn’t reflect that they were ready to join the big boys of the domestic club football. Insurance need those versed in the domestic league as managers to shake off this current lethargy.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 • T H I S D AY

Monday, September 13, 2021

UT H

& RE A SO

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MISSILE

PANDEF to Buhari

“When you create a naval base in Kano, we hope that they will move all the vessels and the warships and protect the territorial deserts of Nigeria with the war vessels, and perhaps mitigate the activities of bandits and terrorists. This government is a funny government. This country is so funny” ––Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) spokesman, Ken Robinson, situating the planned naval base in Kano on nepotism and unnecessary.

ALEXOTTI OUTSIDE THE BOX

alex.otti@thisdaylive.com

Can Renewables Change the Future of Gas? “We rushed into renewable energy without any thought. The schemes are largely hopelessly inefficient and unpleasant. I personally can’t stand windmills at any price” -James Lovelock. “So the conservative who resists change is as valuable as the radical who proposes it -- perhaps as much more as the roots are more vital than grafts. It is good that new ideas should be heard, for the sake of the few that can be used; but it is also good that new ideas should be compelled to go through the mill of objection, opposition, and contumely; this is the trial heat which innovations must survive before being allowed to enter the human race. It is good that the old should resist the young, and that the young should prod the old; out of this tension, as out of the strife of the sexes and the classes, comes a creative tensile strength, a stimulated development, a secret and basic unity and movement of the whole.” Will Surant – Author of ‘The Lessons of History”.

cross the world, there is renewed drive towards the phasing out of nonrenewable energy sources in favour of renewable energy. Renewables refer to energy sources that do not get depleted with use. Non- renewables, on the hand, are those sources that get exhausted with use. Examples of non-renewables would include coal, oil, gas and nuclear energy. Save for nuclear, the rest are also called fossil fuels. They are so called for the simple reason that they are formed from dead animals and plants in underground layers of rock and sediment in the earth deposited over millions of years. Scientific studies suggest that the combination of pressure and heat transforms the remains of animals and plants into oil and coal. While crude oil is cracked for products like gasoline and diesel for vehicles and plants, plastics and other products for manufacturing, natural gas is used for cooking, heating, cooling, and firing gas engines. Natural gas is pumped through wells just like crude oil and is found near oil deposits underneath the earth surface. Coal, on the other hand, is a solid fossil fuel that could be used for heating homes and powering generators, turbines and other machines. It is also buried below the earth’s surface and the process of extracting it is by mining, quite unlike other types of fossil fuel. Nuclear energy comes from uranium, a radioactive element which is extracted, again from mining like coal. The mined uranium is further refined into fuel. Nuclear energy has a more sinister and dangerous use as a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ remember that terminology? Nuclear energy, quite unlike fossil fuel, produces zero emission and therefore is adjudged to be a relatively clean source of energy. Power is generated through fission. Fission simply refers to the process of splitting uranium atoms which generates heat which in turn creates steam that powers turbine engines for production of electricity. Renewable energy on the other hand, refers to naturally replenishing sources of energy which have the added advantage of being clean with negligible carbon emission. Renewable energy sources would include solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal and biomass. They are clean and more sustainable energy sources but face the challenge of relative high cost and inefficiency. With time, these gaps are being bridged through advancement in technology and, in the wake, renewable energy is being embraced the world over. The universal adoption of renewable energy could spell doom for countries like Nigeria whose economies are heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva Many high energy consuming countries have set deadlines for phasing out internal combustion engines in favour of electric vehicles. This transition could deal a big blow to crude oil producing countries. The timetable for phasing out hydrocarbon fired vehicles are pretty tight with the following notables: 2025 for Norway, 2025 for India, 2030 for Germany and France and 2040 for the UK. Countries with unstable electricity supply would find it difficult to embrace electric vehicles since charging would remain a challenge. Statistics, however, shows that renewable energy now accounts for about 20% of the global energy supply. While the push to take that number up continues, it is an incontrovertible fact that the world still has a long way to go in the displacement of fossil fuels as the choice for mainstream energy usage. In fact, a few years ago, the mantra for the world was that we were entering the world of gas. It was touted everywhere as the fuel for the future. It is with this in mind that we intend to take a look at Nigeria’s gas utilisation and make recommendations on what should be done to take advantage of the massive reserves while the party lasts. Nigeria’s proven gas reserves currently stands at 206.53 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) as at 2019, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). This places the country as the seventh largest in the world in terms of gas reserves. But that seems to be where the strength ends. Having humongous reserves which, by the way, we did not prospect but found accidentally as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Silva, was quoted to have disclosed recently, can only translate to a strength if we are able to utilise same. Out of these reserves, an estimated 50% is associated gas while the other half is non associated gas. We are known to mindlessly flare associated gas which comes out with crude oil during production. Statistics shows that currently, over 60% of associated gas is flared, making Nigeria one of the least utilisers of gas it produces. There is general agreement that something drastic ought to be done to redress the situation. Nigeria’s gas flare out programme continues to sound like a ballroom dance, one step forward, several steps backward. The first serious effort

made in extraction and utilisation of gas is the Liquified Natural Gas Project in Bonny which came on stream in 1999 with the rollout of the first two trains. Having taken the final investment decision for the seventh train, and awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract to a consortium of Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo last year at a cost of $10billion, it is expected that the production capacity of NLNG would increase from the current 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million when completed. It is important to add that Nigeria has other similar projects like the Oso Gas to Liquid Project, Escravos Gas Project, Ekpe Gas Compression Project, Belema Gas Injection Project, Obigbo Node Associated Gas Gathering Project, Cawthrone Channel Gas Injection Project, the Odidi Associated Gas Gathering Project, the West African Gas Pipeline Project, following the NLNG project. In all these projects, the primary objective is to eliminate flaring and not necessarily to utilise natural gas finds. While we were battling with flaring and its negative effects on the environment, the rest of the world was investing in gas as alternative energy to power industrial and residential needs. As global warming and environmental issues take centre stage in energy discourse, a principled stand has been taken by global investors to go green and gradually phase out funding for gas projects in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere ostensibly in order to decarbonize the universe. In pursuit of decarbonization, The World Bank, for instance, has increased its allocation to climate change initiatives by 35%. This has had a direct negative impact, as financing for new gas projects particularly in Africa has reduced. Meanwhile, prior to this time, there was a clear understanding that gas fired power solutions were but a transitional solution to the global clean and green power initiative. The world’s biggest multilateral financial institution European Investment Bank has set a deadline of December this year as when it will stop funding non-renewable energy projects, particularly fossil fuel energy projects. These developments are happening when back home, we are dealing with major energy deficiency challenges. Should the world wait for us to catch up before continuing its journey towards decarbonization? The answer is no. Should we jump into the fray of renewable energy with the rest of the world given that that is the way of the future, while pretending that our problems are not there? Again, the answer is No. According to the World bank, Nigeria has the largest energy deficit in the world. Over 85m people representing over 43% of the population do not have access to grid electricity. This, the World Bank continues, costs the country about $29b in annual economic loses which also translates to over 2% of GDP. All these are missed opportunities in productivity, slowing down industrialisation and economic growth. Breaking this further down, Nigeria has a total installed generation capacity of 12,552 megawatts of electricity, mainly from hydro and gas sources. Of this number, an average of 4,000 megawatts gets to the final consumers. The balance is lost as a result of inefficient transmission and distribution, and other bottlenecks in the value chain. That we are exporting electricity to other African countries like Benin Republic, Chad, Niger and Togo is not a matter for today’s discourse. That we are also supplying gas to Ghana under some agreement referred to as the West African Pool is also not within the contemplation of this essay. There is no doubt that Nigeria’s inability to light up the country is largely responsible for the massive poverty, intolerable unemployment rate and near collapse of the economy. According to the Electricity Consumption and

Economic Growth, 2021, a 1% rise in electricity consumption leads to a 1.72% rise in economic growth. What this means is that the country can double its GDP growth rate by simply moving transmitted electricity from the present 4,000MW to 6,000MW which can happen without increasing the installed capacity. In its editorial on July 8, 2021, THISDAY Newspaper lamented the lack of an integrated approach to electrification of the country, where about 50% of the population has no access to electricity. Even those that have access hardly have power for more than 50% of the time. This column strongly believes that the government should declare an emergency on electricity and move single mindedly to significantly improve the delivery of electricity to homes and industrial complexes. Secondly, we believe that the focus should not necessarily be renewables immediately but gas, which we have in abundance. It is either it is massively deployed in cylinders for homes or piped to homes and commercial locations for massive adoption. We know many people would argue that we have significant amount of sunlight, and that solar energy is the best for massive deployment. While we do not disagree, we believe that this source of energy may not be the low hanging fruit that people want us to believe for the simple reason of cost and efficiency. As more improvements are made and as research supports the production of silicon in Nigeria to bring down the cost of solar panels we shall go back to this debate. The country sits on a huge reserve of gas but produces and consumes very little gas. In 30 years, the country has only doubled its gas utilisation capacity from a very low base of 200 to 1.2mcf of gas daily, according to DPR. Other uses of natural gas including heating, cooling, transportation cannot be overemphasised. We are not unaware of the funds spent on improving electricity supply by previous governments which are reported to have gone down the drain. While efforts at recovering the funds should continue, the country should not let that deter it from making further investments. The country should decentralise and deregulate the electricity industry completely. The 27 generating companies for over 200m people is grossly inadequate. There should be incentive for more Nigerians to join this business. Above all, any thought about foreign capital investment in this sector should be perished. From the stance of the World Bank and other multilateral agencies, it is clear that this sector would soon be starved of funds. Other foreign investors would follow the lead of the multilateral agencies. This is understandable as no one wants to end up with stranded assets in a foreign land. This is where local capital should come into significant play. The technology is available locally, local capital should logically locate it. Conclusively, while we agree that the way of the future is renewable energy and also concur that Nigeria is blessed with abundant sun, hydro and wind, to some extent, to make renewables the dominant source of energy, we hasten to add that the country and indeed the rest of the world is not there yet. Between now and the time the global community will be ready, it would be better and cheaper for us to consolidate on gas which we have in abundance and provide stable electricity for our people and economy while waiting for the transition. It is therefore on this note that we join Carlo Rubbia in arguing that “a distinction between renewable and not renewable energy is academic”. Our position can change in future, by then we should have been able to connect 80% of our people to grid electricity, providing them with affordable power, at least 80% of the time.

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