FRIDAY 14TH JANUARY 2022

Emefiele: Pan-African Settlement Platform Will Reduce Dollar, Other FX Usage in Africa New payment system to save continent $5bn annual forex outflow launched The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele has said the

newly launched Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) will simplify

cross-border trade and reduce the heavy dependence on the US dollars, Pounds and Euro

intra-African trade.

Emefiele said this yesterday in Accra, Ghana, during the launch

of PAPSS. PAPSS is a cross-border financial market infrastructure

enabling payment transactions Continued on page 10

Dele Momodu Notifies PDP of Presidential Intention, Says Ambition Aimed at Reconciliation, Healing... Page 36 Friday 14 January, 2022 Vol 26. No 9775. Price: N250

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We're Tackling Mutant Polio Virus Type2 Outbreak, Says FG Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The federal government yesterday said it was working with development partners to L-R: Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun; President Muhammadu Buhari; Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; his Ondo address cases of circulating and Yobe state counterparts, Rotimi Akeredolu and Mai Mala Buni, respectively, during the one-day working visit and inauguration of projects in Abeokuta … yesterday Continued on page 10

Buhari: Abiodun Worthy Example of Promises Made, Promises Kept Reveals Lagos-Ibadan, Sagamu-Benin Expressways for completion this year Feels nostalgia for the past as young infantry officer at Lafenwa Barracks Deji Elumoye in Abuja and James Sowole in Abeokuta President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday in Ogun State that he had found in Governor Dapo Abiodun a politician who lived by the dictum, promise made and promise kept. Buhari stated this during a visit to the state, where he inaugurated some landmark projects. It was his first official visit to a state in the new year.

Addressing the people during the inauguration of the five strategic projects, Buhari said he was proud of the governor, who also completed

two federal roads in his state.

He said Abiodun exemplified constructive engagement and collaboration between the federal and state governments.

Buhari said the scenes at the reception ceremony organised for him and the large crowd of residents that came out to welcome him triggered in him a wave of nostalgia for his days as a young infantry officer at the Nigerian Army barracks at Lafenwa in Abeokuta, not long after independence.

He praised Abiodun for delivering visionary projects Continued on page 10

Cautious Optimism Trails Research Finding on Efficacy of Cannabis against COVID-19... Page 6

Publisher of Ovation Magazine and Boss Newspaper, Chief Dele Momodu (left) and National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, during Momodu’s visit to the Party’s secretariat in Abuja, to present a letter of intent to seek the nomination of the party for the 2023 presidential election… yesterday

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

AYADE APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF SERVICE… Cross River State Governor, Sir Ben Ayade (right) with the new Head of Service of Cross River State Civil Service, Mr. Timothy Ogbang Akwaji, during Ogbang’s swearing-in at the state executive council chambers in Calabar...yesterday

Finance Act: ICAN, FIRS, Others Call for Support to Boost FG’s Revenue Dike Onwuamaeze Leading tax administrators in the country have urged stakeholders in the country to collaborate with the federal government in finding solutions to Nigeria’s perennial low public revenue challenge.

The tax experts also said the time had come to evolve strategies that would hold public officials accountable and checkmate wasteful and unjustifiable public expenditure in the country.

They made the call during a webinar with the theme: “Finance Act 2021: Fiscal Imperatives and Sustainable Development,” that was organised by the Joint Minds International (JMI), recently.

President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mrs. Comfort Olajumoke Eyitayo, said the current revenue challenge facing the country made it an imperative that all stakeholders should work with the government to address the recurring issue.

Eyitayo said: “The Finance Act introduced with the budget process in the country over two years ago is aimed at developing strategies to shore up capital (public revenue) for the economy. This is a step that had to be taken by the government to enhance the income-generating potentials of the country.”

She, however, added that as, “we focus on modalities for revenue generation, the country must not lose sight of the expenditure side, develop strategies to guide against wasteful and unjustifiable spending.

“In essence, all stakeholders must continue to advocate for a public sector where value for

money needs to be entrenched and officeholders will be held accountable, and transparency in public financial management promoted.”

Eyitayo also revealed that ICAN was championing the promotion of best practices in public financial management (PFM) in the country through the evolution of The ICAN Accountability Index “ICANAI.” She said: “This is the first of its kind for assessing public governance practices across the three tiers of the Nigerian public sector. I assure you that we would not relent in this public service until the country is returned to the part of transparent and accountable leadership across all tiers.”

The Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad Nami, in his contribution, commended the ICAN’s president for the roles the institute played in the Finance Reforms Committee (FRC), which made it possible for the country to engender a seamless tax administration through the application of digital technology for tax filing, tax holding function, taxpayer education, to issues surrounding handling litigations in court.

Nami said technology had played a major role in improving the operation of the FIRS and its ability to exchange information with other jurisdictions.

He explained: “Without that power to automate the tax administration process we will not be able to have access to taxpayers’ information and data we need to be able to police them for purpose of tax revenue mobilisation for the three tiers of government.

“The FRC is a small

committee, but one of the most strategic in Nigeria.

What they did in the area of powers given to the FIRS to deploy technology for tax administration and mobilising revenue from all sectors of the economy,” adding that with the aid of technology, “we have launched our contact center.

People no longer have to visit

us physically to ask questions or make inquiries on what we do.”

Professor Godwin Emmanuel Oyedokun, who was the guest speaker during the webinar, urged accountants not to entertain any fear that technology would take their job from them.

He, rather, challenged them

to perceive technology as a handmaid that would enable them to do their job better.

He said: “Accountants have been hearing that digital world would take over their work, I used to say ‘no!’ It cannot because you’ll be needed at all times to separate, to distill and to work this out. The computer will not do this for you. You

have to initiate a computer to help you do it.”

The Lead Doyen and Chairman of JMI Council, Mr. Tobi Abiola, said that the JMI took it upon itself in 2019, with the re-introduction of the Finance Act, to hold the Annual Finance Act Seminar as part of its cardinal programs in January every year.

FG Defends Cordial Relationship Between Executive, N'Assembly Says it doesn't portend sign of weakness

Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has applauded the Ninth National Assembly under the leadership of Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, saying its cooperation with the executive should never be regarded as a sign of weakness but strength.

The President stated this in a message delivered by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at a birthday gettogether hosted Wednesday night by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in honour of Lawan who clocked 63.

According to him, contrary to assumption that the role of the legislature was to oppose government, the National Assembly just like the judiciary are to work in a complimentary manner with the executive arm.

He said: "Some people assumed that the role of the legislative arm of government is to oppose government. That is not the

president's understanding.

The National Assembly is an arm of government just as the executive is, just as the judiciary is.

“That means the three arms of government are to work in a complimentary manner.

Therefore, Mr. President views the kind of flare, the commitment, the passion, the constructive engagement with the executive under his leadership, the cooperation with the executive as a sign, not of weakness, but strength.

"It is easy to be critical, it is easy to be negative, but it is a lot more difficult and more challenging to have a constructive engagement and cooperation with the executive.

But the beneficiary of such constructive engagement and cooperation is the nation.

“One of the achievements is that we now have a budget that runs from January to December and Mr. President has just signed the Finance Bill and budget for 2022.

So the president really commends the way in which he handles the affairs of the

National Assembly and looks forward to many more periods of cooperation with your leadership."

Also speaking, the Senate President appealed to politicians irrespective of their affiliations to work towards building consensus on critical national issues.

According to him, regardless of the party any politician belongs to, there are certain things they cannot afford to do, warning that they can't be politicians unless there is a country.

Lawan said, "Politicians across board must learn to arrive and achieve and sustain consensus on issues.

Our country first. You can't be President, you can't be Senator, you can't be member of House of Representatives, you can't be Governor, you can't be anything unless there is a country.

“So we must build and sustain a consensus on certain fundamental issues about our country, irreduceable minimum below which nobody should go. Whether

you are PDP or APC or APGA or whatever you are, because that will infringe on the very fabric of our country. So it is very important that we achieve that. Democratic countries elsewhere that are successful have largely achieved those kind of consensus.

"I'm taking the opportunity today to appeal to all of us, politicians across the country, across board, to work for our country to achieve consensus on certain fundamental issues.

Our people look up to us.

They do what we give them education to do.

“Sometimes they go beyond what we think they will do.

At times, it becomes much more costly to deal with the consequences or repercussions.

I advise that we should build consensus.

“In the Senate, we have been able to achieve some kind of formidable unity and consensus on what we must do for our country. We believe that this country can only be better if political leaders decide to do the right thing,” he added.

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BUHARI VISITS SHONEKAN'S FAMILY IN IKOYI...

R-L: President Muhammadu Buhari; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni and Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, during a condolence visit to the family of the Former Head of the Interim National Government, Late Chief Ernest Shonekan at his Ikoyi residence ... yesterday

Cautious Optimism Trails Research Finding on Efficacy of Cannabis against COVID-19 Onyebuchi Ezigbo with agency reports Medical experts have advised that more time should be given for evaluation of the research study which identified cannabis compounds as a therapeutic agent to prevent COVID-19.

The new study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Natural Products by researchers from Oregon State University and Oregon Health & Sciences University, stated that the use of cannabis compounds as a therapeutic agent could prevent

COVID-19 by blocking the virus from entering human cells.

But when THISDAY contacted the Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Gen. Muhammad Buba Marwa, for his reaction on the development, he described it as, “false,” saying “they should go to New England Journal of Medicine.”

The new report quoted a statement by Oregon State University in the United

States as having revealed that the findings pointed to the cannabis compounds as, “virus neutralising” capable of blocking the entry of coronavirus in high concentrations that the researchers note are, “high but might be clinically achievable.”

Just like Marwa, some medical experts have advised on the need to trade with caution over the outcome of the study, saying that it requires further cross checking.

A former President of the National Association of

Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi said it was too early to celebrate the breakthrough.

"Sincerely I am just hearing of this for the first time. But I am quite sure many studies are presently going on. I do advice we wait for a universally acceptable study than jump into this for the side effects also," he said.

Similarly, a Medical Consultant at the National Hospital, Abuja, Dr. Akanimo Ebong said that the research study would need to be

Buhari Appoints Another Non-executive Director for NSIA as Chioke Steps Down President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Dr. Ogechi Paschal-Ejiogu to the Board of Directors of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

The appointment which became effective on January 6th, 2022, according to a statement yesterday, followed the decision of the former appointee for the south-east region and Group Managing Director of Afrinvest West Africa Limited, Mr. Ike Chioke, to step down from the board.

It explained that Chioke, following his appointment in 2021, had respectfully requested to be relieved of Board duty at the NSIA as his firm was appointed to support government in another role.

“Dr. Paschal-Ejiogu’s brings nearly two decades of cognate experience spanning the social services and healthcare industry to the Board of NSIA. “A Doctoral-level academic, she possesses in-depth knowledge of complex economic concepts, and is adept at applying theories and ideas to real-world situations.

“She also possesses a strong understanding of business finance, econometric modeling, data analysis, planning,

and interpretation and has, over the last two decades, contributed significantly to the social services and healthcare industry both in Nigeria and in the United States of America,” it stated.

She obtained a Doctorate Degree in Economics, with distinction from the prestigious Howard University (USA) in Washington DC, specialising in Public Policy and Development.

Prior to this, Dr. PaschalEjiogu graduated from the University of Reading, UK with a Masters in Development Economics and Policy, having also earned her first degree from the Imo State University where she bagged a BSc. in Economics.

It noted that Paschal-Ejiogu brings a unique set of skills, exposure, and expertise to the Board of the NSIA, which complements the existing array of board-level talents.

Speaking on the appointment, Chairman, Board of Directors, NSIA, Mr. Farouk Gumel said: "We are pleased to welcome Dr. Ogechi Paschal-Ejiogu to the Board.

We thank His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for prioritizing NSIA’s Board appointments and also

for the choice of Dr. PaschalEjiogu who brings invaluable international experience to the Board.”

In his comment, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji said: “Dr. PaschalEjiogu’s academic pedigree and deep experience in the social services and healthcare

industry makes her a unique addition to the Board.

“Her wealth of experience will, contribute towards the attainment of the Authority’s long-term strategic goals.

We are pleased with the appointment and look forward to working with Dr. Ogechi Paschal-Ejiogu and the Board”

subjected to further scientific processes before it can be universally accepted.

Ebong who spoke to THISDAY, said that apart from subjecting the study to global scrutiny, the research product must be reproducible in various parts of the world.

Reacting to the new study on cannabis the physician said: "Like everything that has scientific basis, other people will have to go through it and what the result of study is and it has to be reproducible in various parts of the world.

“For instance, this new study, the world will have to know which compound from the cannabis they are talking about and what is the method of intake of cannabis. Is it by injecting it or is it by taken it orally as a pill?

"We know there are some compounds of cannabis used for cancer treatment and we also know that there are some compounds of cannabis used in encouraging hair growth.

So it is not a new thing in science as some compounds of cannabis have been used in one healthcare or the other,"

BDCs Seek to Compete for $20bn Forex Inflow The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to remove restrictions that makes it difficult for Bureaux De Change (BDCs) to compete for the $20 billion inflow in the unofficial forex market.

Also, the association has lamented the rising import bill of the country and called on the federal government (FG) to deploy measures to tackle the challenge given its grave implication for the naira exchange rate.

The association stated this in its Quarterly Economic Review Report for the fourth quarter of 2021 (Q4’21), noting that the stoppage of dollar sales to BDCs by the CBN had triggered a period of reformation and

realisation of the potential of its members.

These potential, ABCON noted, included the estimated $20 billion annual inflow in the unofficial forex market, which far exceeded the annual dollar cash sales to BDCs by CBN. Another potential for BDCs, ABCON added, was the gap created by the stoppage of forex funding of BDCs by CBN, adding that the gap was obvious as many medium and small scale users of foreign exchange for imports have experienced untold hardship in processing form ‘M’ in deposit banks.

“These and more opportunities are open to the BDC sub sector to research and evolve operational strategies and techniques without recourse to funding from CBN,” ABCON stated.

The association however called on the CBN to withdraw all restrictive and handcuffing controls which may hinder the ingenuity of the BDCs and thus their ability to explore the potentials highlighted above.

On the other hand ABCON called on the federal government to tackle the factors driving the rising trend in the nation’s import bill which it noted is heightens pressure on the external reserves and the naira exchange rate.

It stated: “Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that Nigeria’s import bill rose by 51.1 per cent year-on-year to N8.15 trillion in Q3 2021. For as long as imports are increasing without matching equivalents in exports or foreign exchange inflows, the currency must depreciate.

he added.

Ebong said what was left now was for other people to cross check what had been done and how it would be used.

"We are always when new research findings come out but we are only concern that it will not result in any adverse effects to the patient," he said.

According to the study report, the scientists were looking for a biological compound that could bind with the spike protein of the SARS-COV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19.

The study’s authors stated that widespread use of the compounds from pot plants and a vaccination regime could help to fight the virus’s spread and the disease it causes in people who get infected. The researchers from Oregon State University and Oregon Health & Sciences University used a technique called affinityselection mass spectrometry (used to quickly assess a large volume of compounds) on cannabis, which they honed in on three compounds: cannabigerolic acid, or CBG-A; tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or THC-A; and cannabidiolic acid, or CBD-A. However, the report stated that the researchers could not get a controlled substance, they needed to assess its effects and focused on the others.

The research team had incubated the live virus with cannabis compounds as well as a control and, after 24 hours, injected them into human epithelial cells; they found that cells that had been treated with CBD-A and CBG-A lacked SARS-COV-2 RNA. The report stated that they performed the same procedure on live alpha and beta variants, first detected in the UK and South Africa, respectively, and found that the compounds had the same effect in both cases.

They expressed optimism that these compounds can be effective against other variants, too.

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I FEEL YOUR PAIN...

L-R: Zamfara State Governor, Bello Muhammad Matawalle; former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Senator Kashim Shettima, during Tinubu's visit to Zamfara to sympathise with the governor over the recent killing of over 200 people in the state by bandits ... yesterday

President Visits Shonekan's Family in Lagos Segun James President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday visited the Lagos residence of the Head of the Interim National Government during the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief Ernest Shonekan, to commiserate with the deceased family.

A statement yesterday, disclosed that the president was accompanied to the Lugard

Avenue, Ikoyi's residence of the late Shonekan by Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; his Ogun and Yobe State counterparts, Prince Dapo Abiodun and Mai Mala Buni.

Buhari and his entourage, who arrived at Shonekan's house around 4:40pm were received by members of the late Shonekan family.

Buhari, who was on a one-day presidential visit to Ogun State to commission some projects

FG Constitutes EFCC Board, Warns against Corrupt Practices Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The federal government has warned the reconstituted governing board of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against being involved in corruption.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha gave the warning yesterday at the inauguration of the board.

He urged the members to carry out their duty with responsibility, saying the federal government would not hesitate to sanction all infractions.

The SGF also decried the effects of financial crimes on the image of the country, saying it had prevented the country from attracting foreign investments.

“The unfortunate thing is that what we have battled with this internally and in-country, we have successfully exported it out of this country.

“So, your job and your role would extend beyond the borders of this nation. Because it does hurt our image as a country, it has deprived us of even direct foreign investment.

“It has created a doubt as to the sincerity of people doing business with us, outside the shores of our country, so we must do everything and you are the ones that are pivoted, assigned the responsibility of creating a new image for Nigeria, and your actions and activities will in no small measure help Nigeria redeem its image,” Mustapha said.

The Senate had on October 5, 2021, confirmed the nominations of Secretary of the Commission and Board Members of the EFCC as sent

by President Muhammadu Buhari in accordance with the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.

The board headed by the EFCC Executive Chairman, AbdulRasheed Bawa has as members who are representatives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

In his remarks, Bawa expressed delight at the constitution of the board given that the EFCC had been without a board for six years arising from a series of events.

He thanked the president for entrusting on them the responsibility of fighting corruption in the country.

"We are happy for this day.

And I want to assure the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that we are not unfamiliar with the daunting task before us. We have been doing well.

“Last year was a difficult year with COVID-19. But the EFCC has managed to, set a new record in terms of recoveries as well as you know, convictions.

"Last year alone, Your Excellency will recollect 2,220 convictions, which was the highest ever recorded within one calendar year by the EFCC. The closest to that was in 2019 when the EFCC recorded only 1,280 convictions. Looking at also the figure of cases that we have lost within the same calendar, we lost 37 cases. And we won 2,220.

If you do the maths, you will understand that we had 98.54 per cent success rate in court," Bawa said.

He assured that with the inauguration, the board would draw from its wealth of experience and will be able to execute the daunting task before it.

by Abiodun’s administration, stopped in Lagos on his way to Abuja and spent some time to commiserate with the late Shonekan's family.

He sympathised with the family over the demise of the former Head of the Interim National Government, who died in Lagos on Tuesday at

the age of 85.

Shonekan was at the helm of affairs in Nigeria between August 26 and November 17, 1993, after General Babangida stepped aside as military president.

Sanwo-Olu, in a condolence message issued on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, had described

the late Shonekan, as a renowned technocrat, seasoned administrator and passionate leader who served his country meritoriously as a public servant during his short tenure as Number One Citizen in Nigeria.

He had said the late elder statesman did his best for the country in contributing to the

growth and development of Nigeria.

The governor had also praised Shonekan’s contribution to the economy of Nigeria as boardroom guru and employer of labour, especially during his tenure as the Chairman and Managing Director of the United Africa Company.

Soyinka: Those Saying I Endorsed Tinubu Are Illiterate Interlopers

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, yesterday denied throwing his weight behind the presidential ambition of a former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, describing those pushing the narrative as “illiterate interlopers.”

A viral online quote had claimed that the renowned playwright vowed to campaign for Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.

Purportedly describing the politician as his friend, the fake statement had quoted Soyinka as saying that although he had never involved himself in politics, he was ready to pull

his weight to ensure that his, “long time friend in the 1993 NADECO struggle” becomes the next Nigerian leader.”

But Soyinka’s denied the statement credited to him after a similar pushback by the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, who was wrongly credited with a fraudulent statement endorsing Tinubu.

Tinubu informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his intention to vie for the Presidency in 202, on Monday, January 10.

However, Soyinka a statement said the viral social media endorsement was fake news, stressing that the originators were public interlopers.

Soyinka added that the thought of 2023 had not even crossed his mind, noting that those who hacked his email to announce his (Soyinka’s) death, were capable of doing anything.

According to the Nobel laureate, the badly written piece, smacked of the same footprints of the person who carried out the last, advising whoever was behind it to find something worthwhile.

“Here we go again. The same boring illiterate public interlopers who lack the courage of their conviction and must steal the identities of their betters.

“One can only hope that the public has learnt to identify fake news and join in the urgent task of exposing and disgracing these despicable touts.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I have not even thought of 2023 much less inserted candidates into coveted positions. The signature of this latest moron is familiar - he or she does not even know the difference between ‘Laureate and Laurel," Soyinka said.

According to him, the viral message was an ancient forgery being recycled for the umpteenth time.

“Those who pass it round do themselves and their recipients a disservice. Find something worthwhile to occupy your time.

“In any case, we have no business with politics in the land of the dead and the most recent information I have on me is that I died some time last year.

Poor Nations Reject COVID-19 Vaccines over Short Shelf-life Africa begins talks for supply of anti-virus pills FG moves to document data on COVID-19 intervention

Onyebuchi Ezigbo and Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency report

Poorer nations last month rejected more than 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by the global programme COVAX, mainly due to their rapid expiry date, a UNICEF official disclosed yesterday.

The big figure showed the difficulties of vaccinating the world despite growing supplies of shots, with COVAX getting closer to delivering one billion doses to a total of nearly 150 countries, the official stressed.

"More than a 100 million have been rejected just in December alone," Reuters quoted the Director of Supply Division at UN agency, UNICEF, Etleva Kadilli, to have told lawmakers at the European

Parliament. The main reason for rejection was the delivery of doses with a short shelf-life, she said.

In Nigeria, the federal government last month destroyed expired AstraZeneca COVID-19 injections totalling 1,066,214 doses.

Addressing journalists shortly before setting out to destroy the vaccines at the Idu Dump site in the Federal Capital Territory, the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) Dr. Faisal Shuaib, had said notwithstanding the destruction of the vaccines, the country was able to save about $40 million by accepting the donated short shelf-live vaccines from donor countries.

He had also explained that the government took the action to destroy the expired vaccines not only to safeguard the health of

Nigerians, but to also engender trust in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.

Shuaib had said there were about two million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that were due for expiration as of last month, but that the agency was able to utilise over 60 per cent of the supplies before the expiry date.

Furthermore, Kadilli disclosed that poorer nations have also been forced to delay supplies because they have insufficient storage facilities, including a lack of fridges for vaccines.

Many countries also face high levels of vaccine hesitancy and have overburdened healthcare systems.

It stated that UNICEF did not immediately reply to a query about how many doses had been rejected so far in total.

Many others had been stored waiting to be used in poorer nations, the report disclosed.

UNICEF's data on supplies and use of delivered vaccines showed that 681 million shipped doses are currently stored in about 90 poorer nations, according to CARE, a charity, which extracted the figures from a public database.

More than 30 poorer nations, including big states such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria, have used fewer than half of the doses they received, CARE said.

A spokesperson for Gavi, a vaccine alliance which comanages COVAX, said that the high storage level was due to a surge in deliveries in the last quarter, especially in December.

Continued on page 10

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PAGE TEN W E ' R E TAC K L I N G M U TA N T P O L I O V I R U S T Y P E 2 O U T B R E A K , SAYS F G mutant polio virus Type2 (cMPV2) found in some parts of the country. It blamed the cases of polio outbreak on disruptions to routine immunisation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement signed by Executive Director of the National Primary HealthCare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, the agency stated that it had already acquired new tools and resources to ensure the outbreak of polio was contained through robust outbreak responses using the novel Oral Polio Vaccine (nOPV2).

He said the vaccine had been shown to be effective in halting the spread of the cMPV2.

The statement said, "All 36 states and FCT have completed at least one nOPV2 Outbreak Response (OBR). Several other rounds of the OBR as well as other campaigns to improve the mucosal immunity of children aged o-5 years old using Injectable Polio Vaccine (IPV) have also been planned for this year. Efforts are also being ramped up to increase routine immunisation coverage beyond pre-COVID values," he said.

Shuaib who said the attention of NPHCDA and development partners was drawn to some media reports, (not THISDAY) claiming that there was an outbreak of a new polio virus in some states.

He said, "For the avoidance of doubt, no case of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) has been reported anywhere in the country since the last case in 2016. We currently have 395 cases of Circulating Mutant Poliovirus Type 2 (cMPV2) across 27 states and the FCT. "Nigeria and the African region were certified Wild Polio Virus (WPV) free in 2020, following a rigorous verification and certification process by the African Regional Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (ARCC) which spanned three years of no detection of WPV. Till date, there has been no case of WPV anywhere in the country."

Shuaib said the cMPV2 outbreaks were caused by immunity gaps in children due to several reasons, including low routine immunisation coverage, and missing children during immunisation campaigns.

He further said the suspension of several polio campaigns and other health programmes in 2020, as well as disruptions to routine immunisation because

of the COVID-19 pandemic, created further immunity gaps which led to new and wider outbreaks, and further increased transmission of the circulating mutant poliovirus both globally and within Nigeria.

Shuaib added that the virus thrived in areas with poor

sanitation, open defecation, and inadequate access to clean drinking water.

According to him, these condition allows the virus to be easily transmitted from one person to another through contaminated water and poor sewage disposal.

The NPHCDA boss said malnutrition occasioned by increasing poverty was also a predisposing factor in exposed children.

He then, "These non-wild polio viruses which originated because of normal changes in the reproduction of viruses

in the environment are not as virulent as WPV and are also being reported in many other countries.

"NPHCDA assures Nigerians that the agency and partners will continue to conduct surveillance and vaccination campaigns to prevent and

BUHARI: ABIODUN WORTHY EXAMPLE OF PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT in the state, even in the midst of challenging circumstances occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Describing Abiodun as the “Performing Governor of Nigeria’s Gateway State,” the president maintained that the governor was a worthy example of promise made, promises kept.

Buhari told Abiodun, “Your Excellency, well done! I am proud of what you have done for your state and your people.

You have made our great party, the APC, proud, too.

“You are a worthy example of promises made, promises kept. These lofty projects could not have materialised without your huge investment and commitment to security of lives and property.”

The projects, which the president came to inaugurate, included the Gateway City Gate, the 42-kilometre Sagamu

Interchange-Abeokuta Road, 14-kilometre Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway, and two housing estates for low, medium and high income earners at Kobape and Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta.

“This has made Ogun State one of the safest and most peaceful states in the country and investors’ destination of choice,” Buhari stated. He also told the governor, “You have justified the mandate of the people of Ogun State. You have represented our party very well."

Buhari expressed delight that the 14-kilometre Ijebu OdeMojoda-Epe Road commissioned by him had been reconstructed into a modern expressway by the state government, stating that the road would complement the Sagamu-Benin Expressway that the federal government is currently reconstructing.

The president said, “Just across the road is the 42-kilometre

Sagamu-Interchange-Abeokuta Road, which the state government has reconstructed and equipped with street lights.

That road enjoys a direct linkage with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that the federal government is rebuilding and due for completion later this year.

“I am particularly impressed by the quality and standard of your road projects, and the creative way you have deployed resources to reconstruct and rehabilitate them. It is significant to note that the two road projects being commissioned today are federal roads.

“This is an example of constructive engagement, cooperation and collaboration between the states and federal government. These roads also fit well into our rail transportation masterplan that connects Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, to Kano, with Ogun State, having

more rail stations, along the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor.”

Buhari announced that the federal government would consider extending tax credit as funding option for the reconstruction of these roads, as done for the 100-kilometre Sagamu Interchange-PapalantoIlaro Road. He also promised to consider the approval of the reconstruction of Sagamu-Ogijo Road by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited under the tax credit scheme.

On the housing programme of the state government, the president commended its inclusiveness, saying it is equally heart-warming that it cuts across different social strata, capturing the low, medium and high-income earners.

Admiring the Gateway City Gate Project, Buhari said, “It is not just a park beautification

POOR NATIONS REJECT COVID-19 VACCINES OVER SHORT SHELF-LIFE Gavi added that most vaccines recently shipped by COVAX had a long shelf life, and therefore were unlikely to go wasted.

COVAX, which is co-led by the World Health Organisation, had so far delivered 987 million COVID-19 vaccines to 144 countries, according to data from Gavi.

COVAX is the main supplier of doses to dozens of poorer nations, but is not the only one. Some countries buy doses on their own or use other regional vaccine procurement programmes.

Supplies to poorer nations have long been very limited because of lack of vaccines, as wealthier states secured most of the doses initially available from December 2020.

But in the last quarter, shipments have exponentially increased thanks to donations from rich countries that have vaccinated the majority of their populations.

In January, 67 per cent of the population in richer nations had been fully vaccinated, whereas only eight per cent in poorer nations have received their first dose, WHO figures show.

Increased supply caught many

receiving countries unprepared.

"We have countries that are pushing doses that are currently available towards quarter two of 2022," Kadilli said.

Of the 15 million doses from the EU that have been refused, three-quarters were AstraZeneca shots with a shelf life of less than 10 weeks upon arrival, according to a UNICEF slide.

Wealthy countries donating vaccines with a relatively short shelf life had been a "major problem" for COVAX, a WHO senior official said last month.

"You want to have adequate time to move vaccines from depots," Kenya's health ministry spokesperson Mburugu Gikunda said, noting doses close to expiry would go wasted if accepted.

In a related development, Africa's top public health body has said it is in talks with Pfizer about securing supplies of its antiviral COVID-19 pills for the continent, the latest to join the race for a drug seen as a potential game changer in fighting the virus.

The Paxlovid medication was nearly 90 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations and

deaths, and data suggested it retains its effectiveness against the Omicron variant, Pfizer has said.

"We are in really close discussions with Pfizer to see what can be done to make the drugs available on the continent and accessible on the continent, that is, the Paxlovid drugs," said the Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong.

Governments around the world are scrambling to buy Paxlovid, while Merck's Molnupiravir has faced setbacks after disappointing trial data.

Nkengasong said obtaining supplies of COVID-19 drugs was one of three key strategies for combating the pandemic in Africa in 2022, along with scaling up vaccinations and testing.

Such drugs would be crucial if another highly transmissible variant were to emerge and public health systems become overwhelmed, he said.

"The only way to relieve that will be if we have drugs like Paxlovid where people can take that drug and stay home

and get relief, and that way the burden and the constraints on the health system will be limited," Nkengasong told an online news briefing.

While wealthy countries, including the United States and Britain, have secured deals to buy the pills, concerns have grown that low-income countries would lag in this effort due to tight supplies, as was the case in the scramble for vaccines.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a non-governmental organisation, Society Committee Against COVID-19 (SOSOCOVID) to document strategies and interventions deployed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire who was represented by the Director, Health System Strengthening Division, Mr. Okwudili Okechukwu, explained that the project would apart from enlightening Nigerians on issues of the COVID-19, would help preserve such experiences for future reference.

EMEFIELE: PAN-AFRICAN SETTLEMENT PLATFORM WILL REDUCE DOLLAR, OTHER FX USAGE IN AFRICA across Africa, bridging trade challenges in a continent with over 41 known currencies. It is expected to boost intra-African trade by transforming and facilitating payment, clearing and settlement for cross-border trade across Africa.

PAPSS provides the solution to the disconnected and fragmented nature of payment and settlement systems that had long impeded intra-African trade.

The Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with African Union (AU) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), officially launched the platform for commercial use.

The CBN governor described the PAPPS as a breakthrough achievement for the continent, saying it would help facilitate trade and enhance payment gateway across West Africa.

According to Emefiele, the new payment solution would contribute towards formalising trade in the continent, adding that it would be beneficial to households, firms and financial institutions in the continent.

He estimated that intra-African trade would increase to 35 per cent, from 15 per cent in the next

contain any possible importation of the Wild Polio Virus into the country.

"We use this opportunity to reiterate the importance of parents and caregivers bringing their children for routine immunisation against vaccine preventable diseases."

five years with infrastructure provided by PAPSS. He also pointed out that with growing pace of digitalisation in financial services, the PAPSS could serve as a viable platform for supporting e-commerce in the continent.

“Businesses can be assured of an efficient and reliable payment gateway that supports the instant flow of funds and relatively the use of safe payment channels that usually comes at a high cost to households and businesses.

“Prior to the launch of PAPSS, settlements for intra Africa trade required a third currency and a non-African correspondent bank.

This resulted in an estimated loss of close to $5 billion annually and undermined trade in Africa countries.

“The launch of PAPPS gives the fresh opportunity and aspiration for the African continent. It will simplify crossborder transactions, reduce third currencies for intra-African transactions and remove the need for correspondent banks and ultimately amplify intra trade significantly.

“CBN will ensure the financial institutions under its jurisdiction accept PAPSS and recommend it to businesses across Nigeria,”

Emefiele said.

Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, who was represented by the country’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia hosted and presided over the commercial launch of the PAPSS, saying that the platform would save Africa more than $5 billion annually in payment transaction costs, while it plays an increasingly significant role in accelerating the continent’s transactions underpinning the operationalisation of the AfCFTA. Akufo-Addo complimented Afreximbank and AfCFTA Secretariat for establishing the payment system, citing PAPSS as a major leap in releasing the continent from overdependence on external players and factors in achieving a long yearned-for acceleration in intra-continental trade and investment.

“This launch is a result of many months of hard work, resolve and commitment towards achieving set objectives for the growth of the continent in trade.

All Central Banks in Africa must now join up and ensure seamless transfer of funds deploying this most practical and important African solution to an African problem,” he added.

In his comment, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah said: “We are eager to build upon the African Continental Free Trade Area’s creation of a single market throughout Africa, and PAPSS provides the state-of-theart financial market infrastructure connecting African markets to each other thereby enabling instant cross-border payments in respective local African currencies for cross-border trade. “Afreximbank as the main Settlement Agent for PAPSS, provides settlement guarantees on the payment system and overdraft facilities to all settlement agents, in partnership with Africa’s participating Central Banks. “PAPSS will effectively eliminate Africa’s financial borders, formalise and integrate Africa’s payment systems, and play a major role in facilitating and accelerating the huge AfCFTA-induced growth curve in intra-African trade.”

The event was graced by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria and Chairman of the IAFTA Advisory Council, and Mahamadou Issoufou – former

President of Republic of Niger who is acknowledged as a champion in driving the establishment of the AfCTA Initiative.

In his presentation, PAPSS CEO Mr. Mike Ogbalu emphasised that the payment system was not designed to compete with or replace existing payment systems, but to facilitate the connectivity level that brings all payments systems together into one network that is interoperable, efficient and affordable.

“PAPSS is designed to make our currencies regain value to domesticate intra-Africa payments in this journey towards African prosperity, while providing the superhighway which connects others to reach every part of this continent as we seek to create the Africa that We Want.”

On his part, the AfCFTA Secretary General H.E Wamkele Mene appreciated the role and commitment of the Continent’s Heads of States and Governments through the African Union, saying their strong political will continue to be the bedrock of progress towards a full implementation of AfCFTA.

project. It depicts that something new is happening in Ogun State, a welcoming entrance into the state capital at the centre point of the state.”

Responding to requests by the governor to give priority to the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta and the Sango Otta-Idiroko roads, the president assured the people of Ogun State that the roads would receive the federal government’s attention.

The federal government had previously approved the reconstruction of the 100 kilometres Sagamu InterchangePapalanto-Ilaro Road to be handled by the Dangote Group.

The president thanked Ogun residents for the warm reception accorded him and his entourage in the state, which was his first visit to any state in the New Year.

He said, “The traditional hospitality of the people of this state has not waned a bit.

Today, I am ‘Omowale’ and very happy at this homecoming to meet my brothers and sisters, whose goodwill I have always enjoyed.”

Buhari said the people of Ogun State were blessed to have such a focused, deliberate and inclusive administration under the watch of Abiodun.

The president said, “The reward for success is more hard work to meet the increasing expectations of the people. When state governments deliver impactful projects, in consultations with stakeholders, like we have witnessed in Ogun State, the trajectory of our national development will be enhanced.”

Buhari, who was bestowed with “honourary indigeneship” of the state, said, “It is also with a sense of responsibility that I receive and cherish the honourary indigeneship bestowed on me as symbolised by the presentation of the key to the Gateway State by Governor Abiodun.

“I will leave Ogun State with fond memories and look forward to enjoying the privilege of my honourary indigeneship.”

In his own remarks, the governor noted that the state had the highest number of federal roads in Nigeria. He called for the federal government’s intervention to fix the roads, which he described as strategic.

Earlier, Abiodun had highlighted some of the projects executed by his administration under the acronym "ISEYA" and requested that the president, would before the end of the year, beinvited to the state to inaugurate more projects.

Reiterating that Ogun had highest number of federal roads in the country, Abiodun further requested that the state be accorded a Special Status for Federal Government Infrastructural Funding, especially, on roads.

The president was received

by Abiodun and five other governors, namely, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos; Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Osun State Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, and the representative of Oyo State Governor, Mr. Rauf Olaniyan.

At the reception also were Alhaji Aliko Dangote and former governors of the state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Otunba Gbenga Daniel and Chief Segun Osoba.

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

COMMENT

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

TINUBU’S PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE AT THE VILLA Tinubu’s presidential aspiration declaration at the seat of power appears a pre-emptive strike, writes Bolaji Adebiyi

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he serene but powerful ambience of the presidential villa, Abuja was the location Bola Tinubu chose to release his intention to take power in 2023. “Yes, I have informed the president of my intention,” he told State House correspondents on Monday, explaining, however, that President Muhammadu Buhari being a democrat gave no objection or support to it.

As if it was a novelty of sorts, tongues have been wagging about his action. Expectedly, the reactions have been mixed among political foes and allies. The foes immediately took to the internet to rehash weatherbeaten and unproven allegations of improper conduct against him in an apparent attempt to water down the impact of the declaration. The allies, not necessarily responding to this, chorused his constitutional entitlement to his ambition to be the number one public officer of the federation. From what we have seen so far, it promises to be a long haul.

One intriguing thing though is Tinubu’s choice of Aso Rock for the release of his intention. For months, the media wave had been agog with speculations of his intention to run. Support groups had sprouted all over the place. One called South-West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) had even gone around the geo-political zone mobilising traditional rulers’ support, culminating in a carnival-like rally in Lagos a couple of months ago. The former governor of Lagos State too had held court with many support groups asking him to throw his heart into the ring.

So, his adversaries asked, what the show at the villa was for? Should he not have taken the declaration to either of his Asokoro or Ikoyi residences?

This, for the politically uninitiated, might be naïve and moot questions but as the Yoruba would say, there is a clear understanding of the situation between a wailing child and the mother that is pacifying it.

Those denigrating Tinubu’s use of Aso Rock as the locus of declaration, suggesting it’s an abuse of privilege no doubt speak out of a clear understanding of the political implication of his action. And the Jagaban of Borgu that took the action knew the message he was sending too.

Months before the declaration at the villa a web of controversy had been woven around two seemingly innocuous issues: an alleged gentleman agreement on the zoning of the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress; and the recommender of Yemi Osinbajo, silk and professor of Law, for his present position of vice-president in 2014. While party bigwigs from the South claimed that there was an unwritten agreement to cede the presidential ticket to the region after Buhari’s two terms, the ones from the North deny, contending that the APC constitution makes no such provision.

Even as this dispute raged and southern politicians launched a debate over which of the sub-regions, East or West, the ticket should be allotted, political actors of the West made a further claim that the agreement was in fact more specific. According to them, Buhari and Tinubu in the difficult process of the alliance that birthed the APC agreed on succession, the first leg of which was to be the latter’s nomination as vice-presidential running mate. Controversial as all of these turned out to be, what remained undisputed was the key role the former governor

TINUBU’S MEETING WITH BUHARI AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS BID IN THE VILLA ON MONDAY, WAS LIKE TAKING THE BATTLE TO THE ENEMY IN A CLEAR DEMONSTRATION OF HIS STAYING POWER IN WHAT PROMISES TO BE A HIGH-STAKES POWER GAME THAT MAY MAKE OR MAR THE RULING PARTY IN MONTHS TO COME

of Lagos State played in the emergence of APC as a virile opposition party and Buhari as the president.

For the Tinubu camp, therefore, the controversies were being played up by his foes, particularly at the villa, to downplay his contributions to the emergence of the party, and weaken his bid for the coveted seat. Without a doubt, efforts to clip his wings began immediately after victory was achieved in 2015. With no visible influence on the emergent cabinet and the boards of big parastatals, and virtually cut off from the seat of power, the Jagaban went back to Lagos to bid his time, occasionally allowed to visit the villa at the president’s instance. This was the situation until the need arose, three years later, for Buhari to run for a second term.

Not really wanted but needed, Tinubu was recalled to the villa and virtually handed the party machinery for the necessary revamp to engage the presidential electioneering that promised to be an epic battle given the underperformance of the APC. Led by his ally, Adams Oshiomhole, the party trounced the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party at the 2019 general elections. If Jagaban thought with the second victory the foes at the villa would turn a new leaf, subsequent events would show that he was mistaken as the honeymoon did not last.

A few months after Buhari’s inauguration for the second term of four years, permutations for the 2023 contest began in earnest. Power brokers at the villa knew that Tinubu would have to be cut off again and fast enough if they would not be done in. Their first move was to wrest the party machinery from him, then put him at arm’s length from the seat of power. The first they achieved was in June 2020 when they showed Oshiomhole and his colleagues in the National Working Committee the door and replaced them with a caretaker committee, which was to organise a special convention within six months. The six months tenure has since become indefinite as the committee led

by Mai Mala Buni, erstwhile party scribe-turned governor of Yobe State, has stayed put at the party headquarters. It did more. It tactically collapsed all the party’s machinery, suspending, as it were, all its organs’ activity.

With the party machinery completely out of his hands, and belonging to no effective decision-making organs of the APC, his adversaries must have felt that they have him where they want him to be: A weakened political warlord with no internal party arsenal or reach to launch an effective bid.

Tinubu’s meeting with Buhari and the announcement of his bid in the villa on Monday, therefore, was like taking the battle to the enemy in a clear demonstration of his staying power in what promises to be a high-stakes power game that may make or mar the ruling party in months to come. More than a show of courtesy to the president, the Aso Rock declaration may as well be a pre-emptive strike against Vice-President Osinbajo’s speculated presidential ambition too. Should Buhari have given his word to Tinubu, what would Osinbajo do now?

Go against the run of play and be ready to be damned? It would be interesting to see how this works out in the days ahead.

Adebiyi, the managing editor of THISDAY Newspapers, writes from bolaji.adebiyi@thisdaylive.com

ECONOMICS AND THE NEW NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Jeremy Gaines argues that the NDP enterprise is flawed

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n 22 December, almost by way of a Christmas gift to the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari presented the administration’s five-year National Development Plan (NDP) from 2021 to 2025 – it is said to be the successor to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), 2017- 2020, which lapsed in December 2020.

Two things seemed strange in this regard. First, no comment was made on whether the ERGP has been successful or not, let alone an assessment of the economy given on which the NDP is to be anchored. Second, it seems somehow odd to launch a five-year plan one year into the timeframe covered by it. However, what probably most struck the eye of the Christmas shoppers, or rather those Nigerians who were able to beat inflation and unemployment and still afford to shop, was the price tag for the plan: President Buhari stated that Nigeria requires an investment of N348.1 trillion to achieve the NDP’s targets – or US$842 billion (CBN rate of N413 = US$1).

THISDAY Newspaper reported the figures as follows: “The projected investment portfolio would be contributed by the government which would source for 14.3 percent (N49.78 trillion) of the amount, while the balance of 85.7 percent (N298.32 trillion) would come from the private sector.”

Let us stop for a moment and consider these figures. One year has already passed, so we can assume the figures will be spread across the next four years. The Federal Government (FG) thus proposes investing N12.44 trillion each year for the next four years – compare this with the approved budget of N16.39 trillion for 2022, for which a substantial

volume of new debt had to be taken up. The first question the NDP prompts is therefore: How will FG be financing its ‘share’? Will it seek the National Assembly’s approval for a massive annual increase in borrowing, because one thing is clear to us all: With oil revenues dwindling, that N12.44 trillion is not simply lying around in the treasury, and the current budget involved a significant and not uncontroversial volume of foreign loans. An ethical argument can be made that in order to make a world for our grandchildren, we need to accumulate debt that our children will still be repaying.

There is nothing wrong with borrowing and debt per se. What is important is to use the sums judiciously. As long as the loans are invested wisely and the returns on them for the country is great enough. The government’s intended debt take-up as stated in the NDP was reported in the press as follows: N39.59tn debt stock for 2021, N46.63tn for 2022, N50.22tn for 2023, N50.53tn for 2024, and N45.96tn by 2025.

Put differently, if the FG plan relies on taking up debt in excess of N50 trillion by the year 2024 (when it is no longer in power), the justified expectation must be that the borrowings will go into enterprises that generate returns higher than servicing just the debt and confer social benefits on the nation. It stands to reason that government must have done extensive work – there must be a model for revenue generation on which the proposed borrowings are premised and justified. The granularity of the model must be detailed enough to show and justify the borrowings and investment. It would be interesting to see and scrutinise the revenue model of FG. Going by the media reports, no mention was made at the NDP presentation of what revenue the government expects to garner. Imagine a private-

sector company going to its bankers and asking for a loan because it wishes to invest – and not presenting the business plan showing its return on investment or revenue model. It would promptly be shown the door.

In other words, federal borrowings need to be linked clearly to the positive cashflows associated with each proposed asset/infrastructure, generating sufficient surplus to meet the debt service obligations. To this end, a clear and unambiguous repayment plan must be in place such that the debt burden is not placed on taxpayers or on the treasury.

Sadly, the anecdotal evidence on past borrowings, such as those that went into the development of rail transportation, suggests the assets do not generate sufficient revenue to meet the debt service obligation.

The federal government says it intends to borrow a further N7tn next year, but not how it will repay it. Yet a serious repayment plan is needed if only for the sake of continuity. After all, the present government’s tenure ends in 2023, meaning it is imperative that a solid continuity plan is in place and guaranteed. Otherwise, we will, no doubt, see a repetition of projects left incomplete and abandoned with all the attendant dire fiscal outcomes.

Last but not least it stands to reason that construction periods will exceed 24 months when developing major physical infrastructure. It would be interesting to see the project development and delivery plans, and the types of moratoria expected to be in place, and how government intends to service the debt during the construction period. The way the plan is presented suggests that the projects will start generating positive cashflows from the onset. This is not possible.

To return to the announcement of the NDP,

President Buhari is reported to have continued as follows: “…the overall target of the plan was to achieve a broad-based real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of five percent on average during the Plan period; generate 21 million full-time jobs; and through an inclusive growth, lift 35 million people out of poverty”.

He added that this would set the stage for achieving the government’s target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, under the National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS). This implies that successful implementation of the Plan will require a strong partnership between the public and private sectors.”

This all seems very worthy and commendable.

However, it rests on the assumption that any future administration will buy into the current poverty reduction strategy, meaning concur with its premises.

Given that again no assessment of its success to date was offered, it is uncertain whether this will be the case, as to date no national consensus has been established on the validity of the strategy.

Be that as it may, let us simply take the above numbers at face value and crunch them. Firstly, if we assume that the objective of the US$842 billion is economic growth for job creation, and that 21 million full-time jobs will be created, the implication is that as proposed by FG, it will cost approximately US$40,000 per job (N16.52 million) or US$24,000 to lift one person out of poverty. That would spell US$2.405 trillion to lift the 100 million people out of poverty. Does it really cost the private sector on average N16.5 million to create a full-time job (a factor of 550 on the minimum wage of 30k)?

Gaines is on the staff The African Politiea Institute, Abuja

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T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

EDITORIAL AGAIN, RAVAGES OF LASSA FEVER More could be done to contain the viral disease

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mid the crisis of Covid-19 pandemic, Lassa fever, another viral disease, has again resurfaced. Last Monday, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) warned that the disease is ravaging many communities across the country. The gravity of the current health emergency was driven home by the large number of fatalities.

At the last count, more than 4,600 patients had been infected with more than 100 deaths. Ondo State is leading the pack with 47 deaths, Edo, 15, while Bauchi and Taraba recorded 12 deaths each.

The recurrence of the epidemic is perhaps a reminder that the disease is not being given adequate attention. It is perhaps a disease of the poor since many of the reported cases are in rural areas.

Even so, it had claimed the lives of many health workers, including doctors. Indeed, no fewer than 40 health workers had died of the ITS SYMPTOMS INCLUDE disease in Ebonyi FEVER, HEADACHE, SORE State alone in the THROAT, GENERAL BODY past few years.

WEAKNESS, COUGH, Since the last NAUSEA, VOMITING, outbreak in 2016, DIARRHEA, MUSCLE PAINS there has been AND IN SEVERE CASES, an upsurge in BLEEDING FROM EARS, the number of EYES, NOSE OR MOUTH cases. In 2019, for instance, the centre recorded 796 cases while the number increased to 1,165 in 2020.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by Lassa fever. The disease has been a serious challenge for Nigeria’s health authorities since it was first diagnosed in Lassa (the village for which it was named) in Borno State in 1969.

Despite the fact that there have been efforts in the past to contain the scourge, it is unfortunate that

Letters to the Editor

we have been witnessing frequent outbreaks in recent years.

Humans are infected with the virus through exposure to food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected rats. Its symptoms, according to the NCDC, include fever, headache, sore throat, general body weakness, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pains and in severe cases, bleeding from ears, eyes, nose or mouth. “The time between an infection and appearance of symptoms of the disease is six to 21 days,” said the NCDC. “Early diagnosis and treatment increase the chances of survival.”

I T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITORS 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 D AY 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 OGEDENGBE 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 TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

t is unfortunate that despite the fact that it is now a national epidemic, there is little public awareness of how the disease could be prevented. But there are recommended preventive measure such as avoiding contact with rats (dead or alive), keeping the house and surroundings clean, clearing all bushes around the house to avoid breeding sites for rats as well as putting refuse into covered dustbins and disposing appropriately. However, because the symptoms of Lassa fever are so varied and non-specific, clinical diagnosis could be difficult, especially early in the course of the disease. For this reason, steps should be taken by the government to direct all health facilities in the country to emphasise routine infection prevention and control measures. In its latest advisory, the NCDC said health workers should “maintain a high index suspicion for Lassa fever. Any illness that has not responded to 48 hours use of anti-malaria or antibiotics should raise an index suspicion for Lassa fever.”

While we believe that with effective coordination, the disease could be contained quickly before it becomes another public health emergency with dire implications for the lives of our people, the real challenge is to work towards its total eradication from our country. That is a task for the health authorities at all levels of government.

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

WHY APC RISKS LOSING OSUN STATE

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he ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) risks losing one of its key strongholds in the South West to the rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Osun State which is seen as a political fortress of the APC might be lost due to the protracted war of attrition between two major groups contending for the soul of party.

At the centre of the major crisis rocking the party is the incumbent state governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola and his immediate predecessor in office, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.

While governor Oyetola is the leader of a group, Ileri Oluwa Movement, Aregbesola who is the current Minister of the Interior leads The Osun Progressives (TOP).

The electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had last year fixed governorship poll for July 16 this year but all indications points to a party in disarray few months to the poll.

Currently, the two factions have their structures well erected in the wards, local governments and the state with each laying claims to legitimacy and supremacy of the party.

Efforts by the National Headquarters of the party to douse raging tension within the party has not yielded any fruit as one of the factions is said to be not too well disposed to resolving the logjam.

The efforts of the Abdullahi Adamu-led National Reconciliation Committee of the party who made stopover in Osogbo, the state capital to bring the warring factions together also came to naught.

While the Aregbesola group expressed readiness for peace, the Ileri Oluwa group on the other hand gave a cold shoulder to the committee.

The leadership of TOP in a well thought out document articulated its position as regards the crisis to the committee.

On the other hand, rather than welcoming the Abdullahi committee members, the

Ileri Oluwa group congregated at the Government House in Osogbo to hurl abuses on leaders of the other side.

Most members of the APC within and outside the state have begun to express worries as regards what the development portends for the fortune of the party in July election.

Another worrisome development is the lacklustre performance of governor Oyetola administration in the last three years in the state.

It’s on record that all the progressive steps taken by the administration of Aregbesola was abandoned leaving the state without a clear direction.

“All well-meaning members of our party should be worried that few months to the forthcoming governorship election, we are still divided while the opposition is very much united, especially with governor Oyetola as candidate,” Babatunde Aluko, a member of the APC in Osogbo said.

Another member, Isiaka Oyewole took his worries a notch further when he stated that “We won the last election by mere 353 votes when we were united. What will happen now when we are divided?”

A top chieftain of the party who pleaded not to be mentioned urged the feuding members to consider the interest of the APC by closing ranks. “I am using this opportunity to tell our members to consider the overall interest of the party to come together. Apart from the need to come together, there are serious yet salient issues staring us in the face with the electorate that we need to address and we don’t seem to have time anymore,” the chieftain said. He also urged the governor to demonstrate some leadership quality by reaching out to the leadership of the other faction, adding that “Oyetola stands to lose more than Aregbesola if this was to continue.

“I keep wondering how he (the governor) tends to go it all alone without members of the other side. Everyone, let alone Aregbesola, is very important in the party.”

Abdulmalik Suleiman, abdulmaliks10@gmail.com

ONLINE

EDUCATION IS NOT REAL

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et another year and the return to Colleges and Universities is actually a return to the bedroom and back online. This really is just a computer simulation of the real education experience. There will be no boring, old lecturer with a PowerPoint from the 90’s - actually that won’t change. There won’t be a food court to waste time discussing how you will change the world for the better. There won’t be 100 people to chat to/chat up as Zoom isn’t that private.

Online learning is like a Western movie without John Wayne, it’s just not as good. Good luck with the screen work and hope that the lecturer doesn’t always use the mute button.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 • T H I S D AY

RIGHT OF REPLY

Jonathan

By Louis Achi Democracy would lose its defining egalitarianism if it foreclosed the free expression of viewpoints by its adherents - including often unreasoned perspectives by forces that seek to diminish and divide. Against this backdrop, public communicators who through discipline and intellectual honesty have achieved that delicate, firm balance between viewpoints that enlighten and lift society and contrived commentary that distorts, diminishes and stunts, should be appreciated.

Last week, in his respected weekly column ENGAGEMENTS, in THISDAY, Dr. Chidi Amuta turned his focus on former President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan in an essay titled - “The Staying Power of Mrs. Jonathan.” Deploying his customary power of language and inimitable Tennyson-like imageries, Dr. Amuta, with unusual subliminal ruthlessness, put the former president and his spouse to the sword. If there was some afterthought of taking prisoners in this particular decapitating literary excursion, Amuta betrayed none.

A master of speech writing himself, Amuta wrote off Jonathan’s speeches while in office: “His speeches read more like apprentice campus seminar papers than lofty presidential pronouncements,” suggesting, “The consensus is that he had neither an agenda of power nor a mission in office.”

More like rhapsodizing over what he felt were the former president’s limitations, Amuta saw Jonathan as “A man who hardly found shoes to wear till rather suddenly found himself struggling to fit into the oversized shoes of Africa’s most powerful presidency.”

Further according to the well-known academic and public communications guru, “Very few Nigerians remember any quotable utterances by former President Goodluck Jonathan.” Haba!

Even Amuta’s existential situation could not have been the same under Jonathan the target - and currently.

Perhaps saving the unkindest cut for the former First Lady, Amuta dismissed her as unschooled in elegance and lacking cultural sophistication. Hear him: “But to the elite, she (Mrs. Jonathan) was a demeaning departure from the common run of schooled elegance and cultural sophistication.”

In what Amuta may have felt was a humorous ‘Nollywoodisation’ of the former First Lady’s tenancy of Aso Rock, he shredded her carriage, off-the-cuff speeches, street appeal, “unvarnished and unwashed witticism,” needlessly contrasting her style with the “delectable glamour of a Mrs. Aisha Buhari.”

Like a good sniper schooled in the deadly art of delivering sudden death, Amuta struck the former First Spouses with high-calibre literary-political bullets meant to end a perceived new journey.

Unlike a skulking sniper who shoots from hiding, Amuta shot from the open space and a top-draw platform. But at a fundamental level, this puzzling hockery-pokery project is not suited to vintage Amuta, an idealistic academic of the Marxist bent fired by altruism - who has considerably positively impacted his milieu.

For many who may not know, Dr. Amuta is a foremost Nigerian journalist, author, internationally acclaimed intellectual and public communicator and former senior lecturer in literature and communications at the Obafemi Awolowo University and University of Port Harcourt. He was also visiting Fellow, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Boston USA. A founding Editorial Board member, The Guardian, Group Editorial Adviser and Chairman Editorial Board of the Daily Times, Amuta is currently member of the Editorial Board of THISDAY. The depth and sweep of his contributions to social ferment bespeak the eloquence of old school restraint, commitment and panache.

Unfortunately, these ingredients that define professionalism, for some reasons, are largely missing in current journalistic discourse. Has Amuta lost his chutzpah?

Not many would contemplate this. Then what gives?

At a critical juncture in the convoluted socio-political evolution of the Nigerian state, what should be the focus of the nation’s intellectual class? Amidst contrived chaos, economic nightmare, unending bloodletting, human misery and extreme governance deficits that continue to define Nigeria’s democracy, many are wont to lose faith in the polity. This may be understandable.

But history shows that mere loss of faith, a pathway to surrender is taking the easy course.

The path of courage is to interrogate the policies, concepts, leadership vision or visionlessness and socio-political triggers that generate regression using reasoned, temperate logic and candour.

Next is to offer alternative vision of sustainable strategies to resolve extant human development and socio-economic challenges. This is the path Amuta should have kept to.

Contemptuously thrashing a former First Lady and her spouse and comparing her with the “delectable glamour of a Mrs. Aisha Buhari,” does not represent the best of Amuta or validate his hard-earned reputation. According to Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, incidentally, a former US First Lady, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." Former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan certainly believed and believes in the beauty of her dreams. She brought an earthy, folksy charm and total lack of affectation to her ‘tour of duty’.

This scenario throws up legitimate posers. In crafting his last week’s column or better still - blitzkrieg - what was Amuta’s motive? Could it have been the Biblical voice of Jacob and hand of Esau scenario?

Amuta himself perhaps unwittingly supplies the smoking gun. Hear him: “A return to Goodluck Jonathan beyond the ritual of professional peace missionary or envoy of the incumbent president does not look like an object of much interest.

It is a dream path littered with fields

of mines and shrapnel.” Whether as a warning or free advisory, this adroitly veiled allegation essentially suggests that Dr. Jonathan is contemplating a return to active politics ahead of 2023 and some interested parties are already buying some powerful pens to demonise him!

In the face of the trending narratives that former President Jonathan may succumb to the alleged courtship of the ruling Northern political intelligentsia to fly their party’s presidential ticket in 2023, several political calculations are being spawned. Perhaps more potently, this scenario is understandably generating some fear in several political quarters.

At the time of this response, Jonathan, a scientist who has morphed into a respected national and international statesman has not given an indication of whether he will bite the alleged Northern bait. He has even formally debunked such course. But this has not calmed the jitters - understandably.

From Jonathan’s South-South region, several powerful Turks are eyeing the presidency and a successful enlistment of Jonathan, who would be constitutionally limited to a single four-year term, by the North, would effectively destroy such ambitions. Ditto for the South-East and South-West!

In the literary turf, Amuta has taken on bards of kindred plumage. He is the author of “Towards a Sociology of the African Novel” (1986) and “The Theory of African Literature” (1989).

He used these works to adroitly take on intellectuals like Chinweizu, Onwuchekwa Jemie, Ihechukwu Madubuike, Charles Nnolim, Sunday Anozie and Wole Soyinka. Like a great boxer, a great writer should not have a glass jaw or he could be knocked out easily in the fray. But boxing in the political fray comes with collateral dangers - especially if it is anchored on jejune instead of genuine conviction.

After all, according to Dennis Brutus the South African protest poet, “Writers must not live a lie.”

FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022

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POLITICS

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG Email: nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com 08114495324 SMS ONLY

How Sanwo-Olu Demonstrated Leadership Over Magodo Fiasco Gboyega Akosile applauds the tact and maturity with which Governor Babahide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State handled the recent controversial ‘Magodo episode’

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have read a lot reactions and media reports on the engagement between the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the residents/property owners in Magodo Phase II Estate and a certain Chief Superintendent of Police, who was sent from Abuja to lead the supposed execution/enforcement of the Supreme Court Judgment on the embattled plots of land.

First, we must appreciate the leadership style of the present Governor, as a man who listens. A man of peace, down-to-earth and one who takes all shades of opinion before making decisions on any matter. Secondly, Mr. Sanwo-Olu, apart from building structures and keeping his promise across his administration’s THEMES agenda, always prioritises peace and security in the State above many other interests. He recognises that, it is in the atmosphere of peace and security that sustainable development can be achieved. Furthermore, this Governor cares about the welfare of all the residents of Lagos, irrespective of their social status, age or gender. This is why you see him engaging publicly with residents in Ajah over the menace of Okada riders who ride against the traffic. He has also had several other interactions with market men and women in Yaba, Oyingbo, Ikorodu, Badagry and other areas over plans of the Government. This action is only easy for humble and people-oriented leaders, who would not just sit back in their palatial offices to issue instructions. Governor Sanwo-Olu goes out to get the job done, even if it entails meeting with the people in their various areas of residence.

The Magodo issue is a bit knotty as it is legal. But, regardless of the circumstances that led to the current situation, the Governor, under whose watch the seeming crisis happened, must rise up to the occasion to address it frontally. Afterall, you inherit both assets and liabilities when one is elected into an office. This, my principal knows and understands very well and in line with the oath he swore to, that he will protect the lives and property of every citizen, he had to wade into the Magodo land issue before it degenerates into a full-blown crisis.

A few opinion writers had rushed to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to paint a picture of what appeared like a “weak” Governor. In fact, I saw some laughable comparison of Governor Sanwo-Olu with Nyesom Wike, his River State counterpart.

Pray, what would the latter have done under such circumstances? Would he have slapped the CSP for answering his question, however condescending, or ordered his arrest? Which arm of the security would carry out the instruction? Does River State, like Lagos State, have its own Police, DSS, or the Army?

The writer that did this comparison needs to be reminded that all security apparatus is controlled by the Federal Government in Abuja and their officers are not answerable to any State Governments. What we have had in Nigeria is collaboration between the State and Federal Government. The structure is weak, lopsided and not in the best interest of the Federal system of Government that we practice in Nigeria. For emphasis, Governor Sanwo-Olu is not weak.

He is a democrat, a gentleman, who will follow the due process in every situation and what happened between him and the CSP at Magodo should be a good reason why well-meaning Nigerians need to increase the tempo the call for true federalism, where all the Federating units will have their security arrangements and would not need the Federal Police to carry out a lot of duties in their domains.

Some argued that the Governor should have worked behind the scenes and should not necessarily have visited Magodo. This

intervention of the Governor for those police officers to stand down the following day.

He did not have to visit Magodo before the situation was brought under control. He has continued to engage with the law enforcers in Abuja over the matter up till Tuesday morning when another round of crisis occurred. This time, the Governor could not and would not sit back in his office and watch some persons disturb the peace that is being enjoyed in his State to be threatened.

That to me, is leadership.

I sympathise with those who shared the above opinions especially those who feel strongly about the Governor’s engagement with the police officer. I understand their plight and rightly so because Nigerians are not used to civil engagements between elected officials, who are usually Lords and their citizens. We are sorry to disappoint you as Governor Sanwo-Olu will continue to engage the citizens, who he considers as the major stakeholders in his bid to take Lagos to her Eldorado.

line of thought is at its best funny. Do you go to sleep when your roof is on fire? I believe no one will do that. Refer to the “invasion” of Magodo by mean-looking, gun-wielding

police officers in large numbers, who laid siege to the estate on December 21, creating chaos in the area and fear among the landlords and residents. It took the

Time to Redraw the Map of Biafra Mikky Attah challenges the notion that the Soutth-states may be inexplicably drawn into the agitation for Biafra

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ince the Nigerian civil war, it had appeared that the status quo was acceptable to the Igbos, thus it came as a shock to Nigeria when a separatist group, The Movement for the Actualisation of Biafra (MASSOB ) was later born in 1999.

It is a sad telling on the Nigerian nation that over half a century after the civil war was fought against Biafra, none of the issues raised has been addressed and the Igbos are still targets of attack; even though currently, the killings are no longer specifically targeted at them.

The Nigerian government has never been accepting of separatists groups, and clamped down on MASSOB, throwing its founder, Ralph Uwazuruike into an underground SSS cell.

There he was kept for three years, until in 2007 when Justice Binta Nyako granted him a three-month bail- just to let him go and bury his mother who had died while he was locked up.

The only thing that came out of MASSOB for the Igbos was suffering, arbitrary arrests and greater hopelessness.

Therefore it was just a matter of time before another Igbo separatist group was formed. This time, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). It has not adopted the Mahatma Gandhi Philosophy of MASSOB; it has also been registered under the United Nations, and other international bodies, as a recognised entity of a body of people.

The Federal Government wasted no time in declaring IPOB a terrorist group, and characteristically, threw the IPOB founder, Nnamdi Kanu in jail.

However, in the midst of repeated military invasions of the country home of Nnamdi Kanu, with repeated military operations in his hometown; Kanu, when he was eventually given it; jumped bail and fled the country.

Nnamdi Kanu, who is a British citizen, has since been re-arrested and repatriated to a Nigerian jail, where he remains till date.

Now, the demands of the Igbos remain valid. They are also legitimate. I personally believe firmly in anything that will bring about self- actualisation, and as a writer, I was fully in support of Brexit, and was glad when it passed.

However, there is the matter of the actual composition of Biafra, which today has

become a thorny issue; leading to a call by IPOB for a referendum.

But before the referendum, the original map of Biafra has to be examined, with a view to tinkering with it, wherever necessary.

Going back to history, (a subject the Federal Government has expunged from the educational curriculum); it would be discovered that the original map of Biafra comprises all the Igbo states , as well all the Niger Delta states except what is today known as Delta State.

It is not in doubt that so far, it is only the Igbo people who have been agitating for Biafra.

For the rest of the Niger Delta, that is, the South-south states, there has been no resistance or condemnation for IPOB, or for Biafra.

This is in direct contrast to the position of northern Nigeria, in which several groups have stridently condemned the IPOB movement.

On the other hand, however, the Niger Delta region does not appear to be seeking to remain in Biafra any longer. I say this not as a spokesperson for the region, but as an informed resident of the region ( I just moved from Cross River to Akwa Ibom State); and as one who is constantly feeling the pulse of the people.

-Attah is a radio presenter NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

South West Governors’ Forum position The Governors of South West of Nigeria have spoken loudly. They know that an injury to one, is an injury to all. No one is safe until everybody is safe.

In a statement signed by the Forum’s Chairman, His Excellency Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), apart from their condemnation of the exchange between Governor Sanwo-Olu and the police officer, the Forum made it abundantly clear that the present structure where the State Governors, who are elected representatives of the people, will have to seek help and approval from an appointed Federal officer in some matters relating to security in their individual domains.

He said: “The content of the video is very disconcerting, and this is being charitable.

The utter disrespect, which underlines the response of the officer to the Governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened “Federalism”. An arrangement, which compels the Governor of a State to seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons, is a sure recipe for anarchy” “We condemn, very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IG to explain the justification for this intrusion.

This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism” “We condemn, in very clear terms, the role of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami SAN in this act of gross moral turpitude. “ In all, with his intervention in many life-threatening situations, Lagosians have started applauding their Governor. They have confirmed his genuine love and care for the people he is governing. Magodo residents can now go to sleep with their eyes closed. The judgement creditors are also happy with Mr. Governor’s leadership approach and Abuja can be assured that, again, Lagos under Governor Sanwo-Olu will continue to rise above every challenge.

Clearly, however, what Nigerians need to clamour for is genuine Federalism. A system where there will be mutually agreeable terms on Exclusive and Concurrent List between the Federating units and the Federal government on matters of internal security, especially the Police.

-Akosile is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022

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PERSPECTIVE

What 2022 Portends for Ogun

Why Does Martin Luther King Matter?

It is King’s holiday in the United States of America and Chido Nwangwu uses the epochal event to celebrate the late civil rights advocate, Dr. Martin Luther King

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he simple but substantial question remains: why does Martin Luther King Jr matter?

As a continental African in America, as a recent immigrant and citizen of the United States of America who has been blessed by the graciousness, business opportunities, global possibilities and hospitality of Americans, I have cause to be thankful for benefiting from the vision, personal sacrifice and peaceful soldiering of the late Martin Luther King.

He will always be remembered as the champion for a society which fosters harmony and acceptance of all our unique talents, ethnic and racial origins.

He fought hard for the right of AfricanAmericans to vote In American elections; secured in 1964.

On a broader scale, MLK stood for the rights of all people to the civic rights to vote and to live a better life….

That’s how on July 15, 1994, I visited the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, Georgia—for the first time —- as a member of a committee of some African ambassadors, African-American professionals and a handful of continental Africans assembled by the late Rev. Leon Sullivan, longtime advocate for equal rights for South African and American Blacks, to plan aspects of the 1995 African and African-American summit in Dakar, Senegal.

This truly great man was born on January 15, 1929.

As we honour him during this week of the post-humous celebration of his birthday, I believe that the existing global alliance of all humankind, representing the full tapestry of ethnic/racial origins as Caucasians, Blacks, Jews, Asians, and a multitude of other backgrounds should continue to advance Dr. King’s vision and efforts.

This is very important because of the codes and road blocks being enacted and put in place to make it more difficult to cast votes during elections.

Those who uphold Dr. King’s “dream” should do more by utilizing technological tools, networking, boosting religious and communal structures to fight forms of sophisticated discriminations which seek to minimize full participation and technically disenfranchise people from voting freely in 2023-2024!

Dr. King saw the iniquities of his time, but it did not stop him from rising to the challenge of the day and charting a moral, progressive, inclusive and visionary road map for the future.

Amidst all the technological revolution in the United States and other dizzying changes in the ways we all live our lives as apart of

an inter-connected world, the challenges and burden of overcoming the raw emanations of racial bigotry, gender hostility and religious hatreds have followed mankind into every new ‘civilization.’

To be sure, very significant progress has been made on almost all fronts of human endeavor.

Like I have stated on this and other public policy platforms in Africa and here in the United States, we should remember that although King and his colleagues fought and died to enhance the cause of racial harmony and peaceful resolution of conflicts, there are other forms of iniquities which diminish our collective dignity as God’s children.

Also, in the course of political fights in Washington DC and other places, we have, sometimes, listened to impassioned partisan drivel that Dr. King fought for a “color-blind society.” No! Permit me to note that from my researching King’s view on this issue and having discussed the same question with one of his sons, Martin Luther King III, the claim that the late but revered King worked and died for the emergence of a “color-blind society” amounts to nothing more than grandiose distortion and arrant nonsense.

Practically, it is sociological misleading since multi-ethnic and multi-racial societies will have their “color” components. Therefore, the ideologically misleading mantra pretending to establish a “color-blind society” merely serves as a wedge issue and fundraising code for contortionists of King’s vision and works.

I think Dr. King specifically sought the respect and recognition of our diversity, backgrounds and our racial origins. He specifically demanded that we neither be judged nor discriminated against because of the color of our skin.

He beseeched that we rather be judged by the content of our character.

-Dr. Nwangwu is the Publisher of the first African-owned newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com

Dr. King saw the iniquities of his time, but it did not stop him from rising to the challenge of the day and charting a moral, progressive, inclusive and visionary road map for the future. Amidst all the technological revolution in the United States and other dizzying changes in the ways we all live our lives as apart of an inter-connected world, the challenges and burden of overcoming the raw emanations of racial bigotry, gender hostility and religious hatreds have followed mankind into every new ‘civilization.’

Kunle Somorin expresses optimism that Ogun State will continue on the path of progress established since the beginning of the Governor Dapo Abiodun administration

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hile signing the State 2022 Appropriation Bill into law on December 29, 2021, Governor Dapo Abiodun, referenced the axiom of the late political sage and former Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo that “after the rain comes sunshine; after darkness comes the glorious dawn. There is no sorrow without its alloy of joy; there is no joy without its admixture of sorrow. Behind the ugly mask of misfortune lies the beautiful, soothing countenance of prosperity.”

His locus was to the preceding years – 2020 and 2021 – bedeviled by the disruptions and destructions of monumental proportions across the world - occasioned by, COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s conviction that 2022 will be a much better year.

He admitted that the pandemic had slowed down the pace of the implementation of the government programmes, constrained revenues, impose huge and unplanned expenditures on the state.

However, he enthused that efforts were made to safeguard public health, welfare and “we marched on with an unwavering commitment to initiate and complete but could not commission them due to the COVID-19 protocols that restricted the size of social gatherings.”

Some of the projects being referred to include the Gateway City Projects, over 1000 housing units - more housing projects than the past administrations in the state - and about 600 kilometres of roads that were either rehabilitated or reconstructed in the intervening season of anomie. Notwithstanding the misnomer, Abiodun said Ogun State still recorded landmarks other successes in socio economic development and won several awards in education, housing, agriculture, information communication technology ICT. For him, COVID-19 is a passing phase and his optimism for 2022 is premised upon the fact that the mutations of the pandemic have now been better understood, new management protocols identified and vaccines developed. What’s more, the virus capacity to spread and the severity of the infection has been largely reduced for those who have been vaccinated and the state has the enviable record of being the Best Performing State in the ongoing Mass Vaccination Campaign against COVID-19, according to the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA).

To take the state to the next level, the governor said his administration will be leveraging on its methodical approach to governance and the solid foundation laid for the implementation of its programmes and projects even before the advent of the pandemic. No wonder, the 2022 Appropriation Bill he signed is aptly christened “Budget of Restoration.” The kernel of the sobriquet is that Administration’s first full year budget, prepared in line with our own vision for a life more abundant for the good people of Ogun State in 2020 will come on stream in full throttle.

The N350.735bn Budget of Restoration bill had earlier been presented to the Ogun State House of Assembly on November 30, 2021, where the governor urged assemblymen to speedily but thoroughly consider the bill.

To underscore the synergy between the State Legislature and the Executive, the only adjustment made to the bill before being passed by the lawmakers was the reduction of the recurrent expenditure from the initial N172.997bn to N153.180bn, resulting in N19.816bn decrease, while capital expenditure was increased from N177.737bn to N197.554bn, giving an increment of N19.816bn.

In his New Year’s Day address to the people of Ogun a few days after signing the 2022 budget into law, Governor Abiodun confidently expressed optimism that Ogun would continue on the path of growth and

development it had set for itself since 2019 when he assumed office. “In my first New Year Address on January 1, 2020, I provided a highlight of our deliberate, focused and methodical approach to the implementation of the Building Our Future Together Agenda of our administration, and how this would be implemented in the five Development Pillars – I.S.E.Y.A. “The hope for a much better year 2022 is rooted in our faith in God and several achievements that your government, our administration, has recorded since you entrusted us with your mandate in 2019. The steady progression is verifiable with visible projects across our dear State,” Abiodun said in his live broadcast on New Year day.

Indeed, the people of Ogun have a legitimate reason to be optimistic about 2022. Since Abiodun became governor in 2019, there has been a paradigm shift in and approach to governance. The Dapo Abiodun administration’s systematic approach to governance, which saw him lay a solid foundation for the implementation of deliberate policies, programmes and projects within the first six months in office, has led to predictable yet unprecedented success in the socio-economic transformation of the state.

Recall that the governor, while making a similar broadcast in 2020, highlighted a clear template and deliberate action plan on how he intended to transform the state by implementing the “Building Our Future Together” agenda, hinged on the five developmental columns of I-S-E-Y-A: Infrastructure; Social Development and Wellbeing; Education; Youth Development, and; Agriculture and Food Security.

The understanding of the governor, then and now, is that socio-economic development cannot occur without revenue mobilisation, massive infrastructural development and security. In terms of investment opportunities, Prince Dapo Abiodun was keen on exploring the prospect presented by Ogun’s unique geographical location. To Governor Abiodun, the state’s proximity to Lagos and its gateway status to the West African market through Benin Republic should propel the state into economic prosperity.

While Ogun has been buoyed by the sheer investment in road construction and rehabilitation under Abiodun, the governor is also ensuring that investment in infrastructure is not limited to road construction alone. Technology, human capital and strong structural institutions are also areas receiving heavy investment as part of the socio-economic transformation value chain.

It is worthy to note that, within Prince Abiodun’s first year in office, Ogun investment drive was already technology-driven, with tech and ICT hubs and incubation centres providing the necessary know-how to catalyse economic growth.

-Somorin is Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ogun State NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022 •T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

J A N U A R Y

S & P INDEX

1 3 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

9.00%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

564.02%

1/4 TO DATE

5.82%

N413.03/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

10.75%

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

–0.17%

YEAR TO DATE

– 15.85%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.19%

Stakeholders Decry Influx of Foreign Airlines in Nigeria, Say It Will Stifle Growth of Domestic Airlines

Chinedu Eze Operators and other stakeholders in the aviation industry have cried out against the continued designation of international airlines to multiple airports in Nigeria, saying that it will stifle the growth of domestic carriers.

Many foreign carriers fly to more than one international airport in Nigeria and industry analysts believe the development is injurious to growth of Nigerian airlines and advised the federal government to introduce a policy that would make it compulsory for foreign airlines to

partner with local airlines to take the passengers brought into the country farther.

The stakeholders argued that in the last two years more airlines have joined the market and they would want to expand their operations to regional and international destinations, but may not be able to compete if government approve foreign operators to serve more than one airport in the country.

The stakeholders also said that other countries in Africa and elsewhere make it as condition for operation; that foreign airlines must partner with local airlines.

The stakeholders were reacting to the report that the federal government granted Doha based Qatar airways two more destinations in Nigeria, which means that the airline would operate to Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

On its official social media handle, Qatar Airways said it has been given approval by the Nigerian government to fly into Port Harcourt and Kano airports.

“We welcome Kano and Port Harcourt in Nigeria to our growing African network, with flights starting early March 2022, via Abuja to Doha and onwards to over 140

destinations.”

Lufthansa, Air France, British Airways and others operate to more than one airport in Nigerian.

The Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan told THISDAY that it was surprising that government could at this time designate foreign airlines to many airports in the country, when there is collective determination to grow domestic airlines.

“I cannot situate within Nigeria’s aviation development program the grant of entry to Qatar airways into Kano and Port Harcourt in addition

to existing flight frequencies into Abuja and Lagos. I have read and heard from the Minister and the Director General of NCAA that Nigeria wants to grow Nigerian domestic operators, which will encourage investment in the sector.

This decision will not help the growth of domestic operators; I therefore, do not foresee the benefits to our domestic operators.

“Instead, it will expand the business and grow the economy of Qatar Airways in Nigeria. This will in turn put pressure on demand for foreign exchange because of demand to repatriate funds. Except

for Doha, how many other airports in Qatar can Air Peace or Azman Air be designated into? We really need to focus on actions to develop our aviation industry. We should readdress our bilateral air services agreements. We should encourage domestic operators to distribute within Nigeria for international operators,” Akpan said.

He also remarked that the excuse that Nigerian domestic operators cannot synchronize with international operations is false because most airlines in Nigeria Continued on page 24

L a g o s To p s a s F o r e i g n C a p i t a l Importation Increases to $1.73bn in Q3 James Emejo in Abuja The total value of capital imported into the country in the third quarter of last year (Q3, 2021) stood at $1.73 billion, representing 97.73 per cent increase compared to the $875.62 million recorded in the preceding quarter.

According to the Nigerian Capital Importation Q3 2021

report, which was released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), capital importation further increased by 18.47 per cent when compared to the $1.46 billion posted in Q3 2020.

Portfolio investment accounted for the largest capital importation type with $1.21 billion or 70.30 per cent of total capital inflow, followed by other investment,

which accounted for $406.35 million or 23.47 per cent.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounted to $107.81 million or 6.23 per cent of total capital imported in Q3.

According to the NBS, by sectors, capital importation into financing had the highest inflow of $469.17 million amounting to 27.10 per cent of total capital

imported in Q3, closely followed by the banking sector with $460.39 million or 26.59 per cent and production sector $323.83 million or 18.70 per cent.

The United Kingdom ranked as top source of capital imported into the country in the period under review with $709.8 million accounting or 40.99 per cent of total inflows.

This was followed by South Africa and United States of America with $389.54 million 22.50 per cent and $257.12 million or 14.85 per cent respectively.

This is as Lagos State topped the destination of capital investment with $1.48 billion or 85.57 per cent of capital inflows in the period under review.

This was followed by

investment into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) valued at $249.19 million or 14.39 per cent.

By bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc ranked highest with $537.92 million or 31.07 per cent of total capital investment in Nigeria, followed by Standard Chartered Bank 18.83 per cent and Citibank Nigeria Limited with 14.34 per cent.

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 2 2 FGN BONDS DESCRIPTION 12.75 27-APR2023 14.20 14-MAR2024 13.53 23-MAR2025 12.50 22-JAN2026 16.2884 17MAR-2027

Price

Yield

BILLS Change (%)

MATURITY NTB 13-Jan2022 NTB 10-Feb2022 NTB 10-Mar2022 NTB 28-Apr2022 NTB 12-May2022

106.31

7.56

0.13

109.84

9.11

-0.01

107.93

10.54 0.00

103.15

11.50 0.00

115.05

12.27 0.00

OTC FX F U T U R E S

Discount Yield

Change (%)

CONTRACT TENOR (MONTH) 1

Contract

Current Rate ($/₦)

C Ps MATURITY

Discount Yield

Change (%)

9.19

9.27

0.00

9.50

9.79

0.00

16.71

17.83 0.00

9.42

9.77

0.00

.

.

.

3.69

3.69

0.00

4.00

4.02

0.00

2

NGUS FEB 23 2022 422.61

2.98

3.00

0.00

3

NGUS MAR 30 2022 424.04

4.50

4.56

0.00

4

NGUS APR 27 2022 425.46

MREP CP XXXVI 11-FEB-22 UNCP CP VI 2-MAY-22 NEVE CP I 24MAY-22 DANC CP II 25MAY-22

4.00

4.06

0.00

5

NGUS MAY 25 2022 426.89

.

NGUS JAN 26 2022 421.18

22

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

IATA Fears Omicron Will Slow Improvement in Passenger Traffic A I R Chinedu Eze The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the recovery in air travel continued in November 2021, prior to the emergence of Omicron, but feared the COVID-19 variant would curtail further passenger traffic growth.

IATA said international demand sustained its steady upward trend as more markets reopened. Domestic traffic, however, weakened, largely owing to strengthened travel restrictions in China.

“Because comparisons between 2021 and 2020 monthly results are distorted by the extraordinary impact of COVID-19, unless otherwise noted all comparisons are to November 2019, which followed a normal demand pattern.

“Total demand for air travel in November 2021 (measured in

revenue passenger-kilometers or RPKs) was down 47.0% compared to November 2019. This marked an uptick compared to October’s 48.9% contraction from October 2019,” IATA said.

It disclosed that domestic air travel deteriorated slightly in November after two consecutive monthly improvements. Domestic RPKs fell by 24.9% versus 2019 compared with a 21.3% decline in October.

Primarily this was driven by China, where traffic fell 50.9% compared to 2019, after several cities introduced stricter travel restrictions to contain (pre-Omicron) COVID outbreaks.

International passenger demand in November was 60.5% below November 2019, bettering the 64.8% decline recorded in October.

“The recovery in air traffic continued in November.

Unfortunately, governments

over-reacted to the emergence of the Omicron variant at the close of the month and resorted to the tried-and-failed methods of border closures, excessive testing of travelers and quarantine to slow the spread.

Not surprisingly, international ticket sales made in December and early January fell sharply compared to 2019, suggesting a more difficult first quarter than had been expected. If the experience of the last 22 months has shown anything, it is that there is little to no correlation between the introduction of travel restrictions and preventing transmission of the virus across borders. And these measures place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.

If experience is the best teacher, let us hope that governments pay more attention as we begin the New Year, ” said IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh.

WATCH Domestic Carriers Brace for Competitive Fares as Low Season Comes After Yuletide

Ethiopian Airlines Cargo Introduces Online Booking Platform Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services has launched a new feature that enables customers to make online reservations for their cargo.

The platform enables customers check flight schedules, space availability, loadability of freight and make real-time booking of their shipment in single and convenient way.

Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services said it is rolling out the online booking following the introduction

of the mobile application to heighten its customer’s experience.

The Mobile App, which is available for Android and IOS, brings convenience to customers with a real-time update through a range of self-service features.

On the Mobile App, customers can check flight schedule, submit enquiry, receive notifications when the shipment is ready, book charter flights, and track shipments.

Ethiopian provides its customers with fully automated cargo service using the latest technologies for data, information and market intelligence with 100% e-AWB from its main hub in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Airlines has transformed its cargo operations and provides fully automated cargo service with one of the latest Cargo IT systems by adopting the latest aviation systems and technologies.

Qatar to Begin Kano-Port Harcourt Flight Service Qatar Airways has announced that it is boosting its service to Nigeria with the launch of four weekly flights to Kano (KAN) on March 2, 2022, and three weekly flights to Port Harcourt (PHC) on March 3, 2022, both operating via the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

The airline currently operates two daily flights to Lagos and four times a week to Abuja, which will expand to a daily service in March. Kano and Port Harcourt would become the seventh and eight new African gateways launched by Qatar Airways since the start of the pandemic. Both routes would be served by the stateof-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “The airline was one of the few to keep operating to many African destinations throughout the pandemic and, as restrictions

are lifted, is continuing to expand its network on the continent. As home to the largest economy and population in the region, we see tremendous growth potential for travel and trade in Nigeria. It is a key market and an important part of our African growth strategy; the expansion of our presence across two new gateways is a testament to our continuous commitment to Nigeria.

“We anticipate good reciprocal demand between Port Harcourt, UK, USA and destinations across Asia.

For Kano we see the opportunity to grow traffic to and from markets such as KSA and India, as well as strong cargo prospects.”

The airline said as travel restrictions ease, Qatar Airways would restoreits services to all its African destinations.

“When Kano and Port Harcourt flights start operating, the airline will provide 188 weekly flights to 28

destinations in Africa. Qatar Airways African customers will also benefit from generous baggage allowances, which provide for up to 46kg in Economy Class split over two pieces and 64kg split over two pieces in Business Class,” it stated.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently announced as the ‘Airline of the Year’ at the 2021 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation, Skytrax. It was also named ‘World’s Best Business Class’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Airline Seat’, ‘World’s Best Business Class Onboard Catering’ and ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’. The airline added that it continues to stand alone at the top of the industry having won the main prize for an unprecedented sixth time (2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021).

Sophos Launches Switch Series to Enhance Connectivity at Access Layer Emma Okonji

Sophos, a global leader in nextgeneration cybersecurity, has unveiled the Sophos Switch Series, featuring a range of network access layer switches to connect, power and control device access within a Local Area Network (LAN).

The new offering adds another component to Sophos’ secure access portfolio, which also includes Sophos Firewall and Sophos Wireless.

Announcing the new product, the Chief Technology Officer at Sophos, Joe Levy, said: “Sophos Switch seamlessly integrates with the Sophos adaptive cybersecurity ecosystem to extend connectivity across office Lans.

“We are removing the complexities of multi-vendor deployments by

providing organisations and channel partners with a single source of management, monitoring and troubleshooting.”

Switches are remotely managed in the cloud-based Sophos Central platform. This enables partners to oversee all customer installations, respond to alerts, and track licenses and upcoming renewal dates via a single, intuitive interface.

The Chief Technology Officer at Avanet, Patrizio Perret, said: “Sophos Switch perfectly complements the existing Sophos portfolio – it was the missing piece in our IT security offering, and now gives our business even more clout. We were already very successful with Sophos Firewall, and thanks to Sophos Switch we are now able to unleash the full power of Sophos’

products and services. Our experience from the early access program proved that Sophos Switch is a game changer for us, and we were very positively surprised at how well the product worked from day one.”

Perret added: “While a switch is pretty much a commodity these days, Sophos is adding the necessary spice to the hardware with the software capabilities. Sophos’ adaptive cybersecurity ecosystem is the magic ingredient that will make Sophos Switch something really special by enabling companies to integrate it with other Sophos security components in their network.”

Switches with eight, 24 and 48 ports are available for immediate purchase exclusively through Sophos’ global channel of partners and managed service providers (MSPs).

Chinedu Eze Today makes it two weeks into the new year.

That’s exactly the time the low season begins in domestic flight operations in Nigeria. After the hustle and bustle that characterised the Christmas holiday: the surging crowd of passengers at the airport terminals, the busy airspace hosting aircraft crisscrossing to land at various runways in the country, mid January becomes a denouement of the busiest season in Nigeria’s air travel calendar.

During the holiday, almost all the airlines recorded high passenger traffic with almost 100 per cent load factor, but henceforth airlines will be glad when they break eve with 70 per cent load factor, while they look forward to April.

Industry pundits posit that airfares would now come down from average of N60, 000 during the high seasons to average of N28, 000, as competition becomes rife.

But there are contrary views to this position by others who insist that as long as cost of aviation fuel is high and the Naira is still low against major currencies of the world, especially the dollar, airfares would still be higher than what was obtained by this time last year.

Travel expert and consultant, Ikechi Uko, told THISDAY that on the international aviation environment, cost of aviation is a big factor, but on domestic operations, airlines find a way through it.

Uko noted that now that the airports would no more be saturated with travellers like last month, the airlines that would survive the lean revenue would be those that operate small body aircraft that could break even with not many passengers on board. For example, Embraer ERJ 145 that airlifted about 35 passengers to a destination has broken even for the airline. That would not be the same experience with airlines that operate largely bigger planes.

The organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market also observed that last year, many airlines leased big aircraft and with the low season they would face the challenge of filling those planes and meeting the targets with their lessor. But he added that Nigerian airlines have learnt to return their leased aircraft when market forces make it unviable.

Uko said, recognising that the roads are deemed not safe yet; many Nigerians who can afford it would still stick to travelling by air.

“There will be major problem with load factor with airlines with big planes but those with small body aircraft can still break even. Most Nigerian airlines have learnt that when things are low you can give up your lease. But considering that the roads are still considered dangerous, Nigerians will still travel by air. And you have to note also that when people have flown they keep on flying.

Uko also observed that viable destinations, which are largely in the Southern part of the country, would continue to record passenger traffic. These airports include Benin, Osubi, Asaba, Calabar, Enugu, Owerri, Uyo, Anambra, Port Harcourt and Owerri. This is in addition to the ever-busy Lagos and Abuja airports.

“The roads are not safe in terms of security and there are still traffic gridlock due to bad roads so flying remains the best option,” he said.

THISDAY investigation revealed that in addition to existing aircraft, including leased ones, airlines would bring in more aircraft from maintenance checks and others already ordered would also arrive the country; so there is high possibility that Nigerian carriers would have the capacity that would match passenger demand and this would drive the fares down.

But as the Director of Engineering, Lukeman Animaseun noted, fares are not likely to go down to pre-COVID-19 era because of many factors, including high cost of forex, cost of aviation fuel and cost of spares and maintenance.

But low season leads to aircraft underutilisation and less revenue for airlines.

Recently data analyst and Aviation Business Developer, Shadrach-SwanteKambai, explained in an article that there is generally gross underutilisation of aircraft capacity, which has great negative implication on the profitability of airlines in Nigeria.

He stated that the number of seats occupied in a commercial flight is directly related to the profitability of that flight.

“With the addition of four new airlines, competition for passengers is inevitable therefore the need for airlines to ensure effective utilisation of their capacity cannot be over emphasised because the unusual increase in demand for seats in December will meet adequate supply but what will now happen in January when demand will drop sharply while operating cost remain the same?” he asked.

Kambai therefore recommended proactive operational intelligence measures by airlines such as increasing their number of flights by 15 per cent in December to take advantage of the unutilised seat capacity while maintaining average price of tickets and reducing their number of flights by 15 per cent in January to avoid incurring losses due operating cost without reciprocal increase in passengers; instead of crashing down ticket price to a ridiculous amount.

He also recommended effective collaboration and interlining by airlines, noting that to sell services to customers that are provided by another airline would help airlines reduce cost by merging passengers in one flight instead operating two flights with 45 seats occupied each.

He said one flight could accommodate 90 passengers at once like the partnership signed recently between Dana Airlines Limited and Ibom Air. Kambai recommended aircraft type’s variation and leasing, remarking that these would help significantly, explaining that an airline operating smaller planes could lease bigger planes to use only in the peak period like in this case from late November to December.

“Now as an Aviation Business Developer, I will advise Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Operating Officers (COOs) of airlines in Nigeria that instead of crashing the price of tickets in January, I will rather increase my frequency by 15 per cent in December at an average market price because I will reduce operational cost in January by reducing frequency seeing that increasing flights in January does not translate to increase in profit,” he said.

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

23

BUSINESSWORLD

MARITIME

Dead End for INTELS Pilotage Contract?

Eromosele Abiodun posits that the battle by INTELS Nigeria Limited to retain its service boat contract, which expired on August 8, 2020, has met a dead end with President Buhari’s cancellation of the January 2021 directive to restore the contract

Amaechi

O

Bala-Usman

n October 11, 2017, THISDAY exclusively reported that the federal government has directed the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to void the boats pilotage agreement it had with Integrated Logistics Services (INTELS). INTELS, a logistics and facilities services provider in the maritime and oil and gas sectors, was co-founded by Gabriele Volpi, an Italian national, and Atiku Abubakar, former vice president of Nigeria.

According to the report, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, said the contract was void ab inito.

Malami had relayed the government’s decision to the Managing Director of the NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman, in a letter dated September 27, 2017.

The letter was entitled, ‘Request for Clarification of Conflict Between Executed Agreement and Federal Government Treasury Single Account Policy’.

Malami said the agreement, which had allowed INTELS to receive revenue on behalf of NPA for 17 years, violates sections 80(1) and 162(1) and (10) of the constitution.

The AGF wondered if the management of the NPA and INTELS did not take cognizance of the relevant provisions when negotiating the agreement in 2010.

Facing the reality of losing several millions of dollars in commissions for the pilotage services it handles on behalf of NPA on Nigerian coastal waters, Volpi, founder of INTELS apologised to the federal government over the dispute that resulted in the termination of his company’s pilotage agreement with the NPA. Reacting to the incident, Volpi had said INTELS would “comply with the directive of government” and transfer all the revenue collected from the boats monitoring and supervision services in Nigerian maritime waters to the TSA. Two years after the purported apology, INTELS and Volpi never fulfilled their promise to the federal government.

Consequently, after about two years of bickering, the NPA gave a notice of termination of its boats pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement with INTELS. In a letter dated March 27, 2019, addressed to Bala-Usman, NPA’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mohammed Bello-Koko, had accused INTELS of non-compliance with the presidential directive and circular on implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Article 4.1 of the executed supplemental agreement by refusing to remit the sum of $145, 849,309.33 being outstanding service boat revenue generated from November 1, 2017 to October 31, 2018.

company complied with the Policy. A supplemental agreement was signed to recognise the compliance to TSA and the notice of termination was accordingly withdrawn. In compliance with the Public Procurement Act, the NPA in December 2019 initiated a public tender process in anticipation of the expiration of the contract in August 2020.

The tender was for the appointment a contractor to provide the service for NPA for which INTELS charges the NPA 28 per cent service charge.

EXPIRATION OF CONTRACT

Following advice from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Director General Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), and Acting Director-General, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), that unanimously advised the president against the restoration of the contract, President Muhammadu Buhari cancelled the restoration of the contract.

According to industry sources, the development was seen as major victory for the suspended Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala-Usman whose alleged sin was failing to honour a presidential directive on the said contract.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had listed failure to honour a presidential directive on the restoration of INTELS pilotage contract as terms of reference for the panel of enquiry set up to probe the NPA. This was despite Bala-Usman’s explanation that the president had withdrawn the directive pending

Early 2020, THISDAY exclusively reported that the NPA and INTELS settled out of court wit the understanding that the contract was going to expire in August that year hence the need not to spend government resource in legal services.

Contrary to claims in a section of the media, there was no court order existing at the time of the expiration of the boat pilotage contract between the NPA and INTELS by on August 8, 2020.

INTELS was engaged as Managing Agents of the NPA for oil industry related activities in the compulsory pilotage district within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria. The contract commenced in June 2007 with a review of an extension of 10 years in 2011 to culminate in August 2020. As stated above, the NPA had in 2017, served INTELS with a notice of termination for its refusal to comply with the Treasury Single Account policy of the federal government.

Following the receipt of the termination notice, the

INTELS DISQUALIFIED

However, INTELS was disqualified because it violated one of the criteria advertised for the tender process. THISDAY checks revealed that INTELS, alongside other companies submitted bids to qualify for the tender in line with the criteria spelled out in the public advert.

INTELS, it was learnt, violated one of the criteria advertised for the tender process and was accordingly disqualified.

“The tender process proceeded accordingly and the companies that scored the highest were prequalified. The outcome of the transparent tender process was forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Transportation for onward transmission to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for its consideration.

“Upon disqualification from the tender process, INTELS initiated a court action to prevent the Authority from proceeding with the tender process citing a debt owed one of one their sister companies, Deep Offshore Nigerian Ltd for the development of Onne 4B,” a source at the NPA told THISDAY.

AMAECHI’S INTERVENTION

However, early February 2021, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi acting on a purported presidential directive ordered the NPA to restore the contract to INTELS. However, according to a THISDAY report, a source at the Transport Ministry had volunteered that Buhari actually withdrew his approval for the reinstatement of INTELS’ contract after Bala-Usman wrote to President’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, to explain NPA’s position.

Gambari, the source said, forwarded her response to Malami, for a legal opinion.

The source said Malami wrote to the president to state that the NPA was right and that no contracts were terminated or violated.

BUHARI CANCELS CONTRACT

Gabriel Volpi further advice from the Attorney- General of the Federation and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The terms of reference read: “Examine and investigate issues leading to the termination of pilotage other contracts of NPA and confirm compliance with the terms of the respective contracts, court ruling and presidential directive.”

However, in a letter addressed to the AGF and the Minister of Transportation, with reference number: SH/COS/23/A/229, dated January 7, 2022, and singed by the Chief of Staff (COS) to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, seen by THISDAY, the president directed that the procurement process initiated by the procuring entity, NPA, that was submitted to the Federal Ministry of Transportation be forwarded immediately to the BPP for action.

The COS in the letter stated: “The president has also directed that upon receipt of the Noobjection approval from the BPP, a memorandum be presented by the Ministry of Transportation to the Federal Executive Council for consideration, that the Ministry of Transportation should ensure that the process is concluded within 60 days of the president’s directive to avoid further loss of revenue by the federal government.

“That NPA should ensure that the sanctity of the agreements with respect to Onne 4 (Berths 9, 10 & 11) be maintained, as there is no subsisting contract with INTELS for their utilisation.”

Buhari also directed the AGF to ensure quick determination of the cases in court in view of their economic importance, stressing that the above set of directives prior approval dated January 22, 2021 granted on the matter.

THISDAY learnt that Buhari decided to act after reading the submissions of both the AGF and BPP who expressly warned of the danger of further litigations if the pilotage contract is restored.

AGF, BPP WRITES BUHARI

The AGF had two months ago written to the president after a review of submissions by the NPA and INTELS. In the letter dated November 18, 2021, with reference MJ/DSD/23/VII, seen by THISDAY, the AGF had stated that the NPA neither suspended nor terminated any of its contracts with INTELS, “which therefore obviates the need for any restoration.”

According to him, “There is certainty in the duration of the contract and the position of the law remains clear that a written contract freely entered into by the parties is binding on them.

“Accordingly, the contract for Managing Agent awarded to Messrs INTELS in 2007 validly came to an end and extinguished pursuant to the terms of agreement between the parties, which specified an end date of August 2020. The agreement did not provide for any further extension of the contract in favour of INTELS. “It is also to be noted that NPA pursuant to the expiration of the contract, kick-started the procurement process to appoint another managing agent in order to forestall any break in the service being rendered.

“NPA submitted that it concluded the tender/ bidding process and forwarded the result to the Minister of Transportation for same to be presented for FEC’s approval.”

INTELS, the AGF added, resorted to litigation to frustrate the conclusion of the procurement process

based on its grievance on a different subject-matter.

The development, the AGF added, had created a vacuum in the provision of this critical service in the maritime sector with its attendant loss of revenue from service boat operation to the federal government.

The AGF also stressed that the approval granted by the president in January last year, which Bala-Usman was said to have disobeyed, was based on insufficient information at the time.

The purported termination, he concluded, could not have occurred since the contract came to an end in 2020 based on the agreement by the parties.

In the same vein, the BPP denounced claims by the Ministry of Transportation and urged the president not to restore the contract to avoid further litigation.

The BPP in a letter addressed to the COS to the president, with reference, BPP/DG/2021/007, dated March 9, 2021, had stated that the decision by the NPA to initiate a procurement process in anticipation of the expiration of the contract for boat operation managing agent was in order.

The BPP in the letter signed by its Director General, Mamman Ahmadu, concluded that, “There is a compelling need to ensure that contractors and service providers do not take undue advantage of government agencies and do not obtain contracts from government agencies through the court rooms.

“The correct procedure is that contracts should be won through a proper procurement process that complies with the provisions of the PPA, 2007. Furthermore, there is need to avoid the kind of monopoly currently enjoyed by Messrs INTELS which has cascaded into entitlement mentality being demonstrated by the firm.

“Also, monopoly will inevitably result in charging a higher price to the consumer/client than what is obtainable from a competitive market, thereby eroding value for money.”

The NPA and INTELS have since 2020 disagreed over the renewal of the pilotage or boat service contract.

The NPA insisted that the 10 years contract with INTELS expired on August 8, 2020, after which it initiated procurement processes for the contract.

The NPA thereafter submitted the outcome of the procurement process, which the Authority says INTELS participated in, to Amaechi who, rather than forward same to BPP, sought the approval of the President to restore the contract to INTELS. This situation has brought the boat pilotage service operations to a standstill for about 16 months, with attendant revenue losses to the nation.

INTELS REPLIES FG

Meanwhile, INTELS doesn’t look like it wants to give up the battle to retain its service boat contract in the pilotage district of Lagos, Warri, Bonny, Port-Harcourt and Calabar, which expired on August 8, 2020.

In a strongly worded statement in reaction to THISDAY exclusive report, which revealed that Buhari has cancelled the restoration of its service boat contract with the NPA, the company stated that it has received no communication from any quarters on the matter.

INTELS said it does not consider the process of awarding the Pilotage contract at all closed.

INLTELS argued the service boat contract has been carried out by it for over a decade with excellent results both in terms of the service rendered and the revenue generated in favour of the NPA and by extension, Nigeria.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

24

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

WhyareRegulatedInstitutionsStillnotGetting Their Fraud, AML Due Diligence Right?

Clive Gungudoo

M

anaging financial crime risk continues to remain a major priority for regulated institutions, with millions of dollars being invested every year into upgrading systems and processes around prevention, detection, investigation and reporting of such crimes.

Despite these massive investments and strategy refreshes, financial Institutions, and now real estate companies, law firms, the gaming industry and casinos are still not winning the face off with criminals to outsmart each other, and fraud, cybercrimes and fines for AML breaches are increasing year on year over recent decades.

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Insurers are investing heavily in fraud prevention mechanisms, leveraging the newest technologies to perform deep analysis and to identify patterns of fraudulent behaviour.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

STAKEHOLDERS DECRY INFLUX OF FOREIGN AIRLINES IN NIGERIA, SAY IT WILL STIFLE GROWTH OF DOMESTIC AIRLINES have satisfactorily undergone the *"5" PQFSBUJPOT TQFDJàDBUJPOT BVEJU *04" SFRVJSFE BT XPSME TUBOEBSE for operators by the International $JWJM "WJBUJPO 0SHBOJTBUJPO *$"0

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0WFS UIF ZFBST BWJBUJPO JOEVTUSZ stakeholders have campaigned against multiple designation because it gives foreign airlines the opportunity to operate into many airports in the country and thereby deny local carriers the opportunity to airlift passengers from different airports to one or two airports designated only for international operations.

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selling ticket for the foreign carrier and exchanging technical personnel and training. )PXFWFS UIF .JOJTUFS PG "WJBUJPO 4FOBUPS )BEJ 4JSJLB IBE TBJE BU UIF beginning of his tenure as Minister that he believes that every region in the country should have an international airport so that travel lers would spend less amount of money travelling to Lagos or Abuja UP DPOOFDU áJHIU UP UIFJS JOUFSOBUJPOBM destinations. i8F DIPTF UP NBLF &OVHV 1PSU )BSDPVSU BOE ,BOP BJSQPSUT JOUFS OBUJPOBM BJSQPSUT 5IF TUBLFIPMEFST wanted us to only make Abuja and Lagos airport international airports and use smaller aircraft to take the passengers and ferry them to their locations. I am a policy maker and I MPPL BU UIF IBWFT BOE UIF IBWF OPUT It will cost an average business man about one thousand dollars to book IPUFM BOE CPBSE áJHIUT UP DPNF EPXO to these airports from Lagos and Abuja. We will serve you where ZPV BSF u 4JSJLB IBE TBJE U

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NEWS METRO THISLIFE ART WEEKEND ENTERTAINMENT Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com 07010510430

Rev. Esther Ajayi:

DEDICATED TO GIVING

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͲ, 2022

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Rev. Esther Ajayi: Dedicated to Giving Some of the things that stand Reverend Esther Ajayi, founder of the Love of Christ Generation Church, Cherubim and Seraphim, Worldwide, out are her contagious smile and dancing steps. Although a lot of unanswered questions abound about the clergy woman, one factor is constant; her love for giving cushioned through acts of philanthropy shines forth. Recently, she dedicated one of the biggest religious edifices in Nigeria and in this interview with Ayodeji Ake, she touched on the source of her wealth, how to combat the disturbing insecurity situation of Nigeria spiritually and divine message for Nigerians With your newly built church, you are sending a message to the world that Nigeria is a better place to live, what’s the worth of this mighty edifice? e can’t estimate what the Lord has done. It was during the era of COVID-19, we know the worth of oxygen. Nobody can quantify the goodness of God. But we thank Almighty God, He has done what He wants to do and the prayer is what He has done should be an everlasting thing.

Months ago you said the C&S mission is moving to the 21 century, is this mighty edifice part of the big idea?

The C&S mission is not divided nor is the entire Christian mission divided. The Holy Book says we are one in Christ. My spiritual father, Pastor Enoch Adeboye came to a C&S church to preach. It simply means we are together. Before now, no one will ever believe that a white garment church can put up this structure which also means God is working. It is a process and we will definitely get there.

One important thing I want to also say is that we don’t stop. A lot of people have been praying and dreaming that this is just the beginning of amazing grace and the Lord is about to start with me. I have given to Jesus this edifice and I know He will multiply it and so I am expecting.

W

At the time Nigerians are trying to migrate, you came and built this mighty edifice, is there something Nigerians do not understand about where they are migrating to?

Ignorance has made Nigerians migrate to developed countries. We have to be very careful on how we educate our people. After I left for 15 years, I realised that I can’t live anywhere except Africa because at some time those who had left the country regret their actions. It’s a bit very difficult to correct their mistakes but at some point we need to believe that developing countries also have their ups and downs.

I believe very soon Nigeria will get there.

The difference is just that the white people do not have the mentality of keeping billions in their account. I could remember when we were abroad we were paying 650,000 pounds for rent.

When my husband was working over there, the tax was about 60,000 pounds per annum. A lot of Nigerians do not know how difficult it is outside. As a Nigerian, if you have 100,000 naira every month after necessary bills as savings then you can survive.

In England where I live, at the end of the month it’s even hard to have 40 pounds left for saving and that’s how their society is.

Those that make some money are those in the health sector. It’s better to stay here and live your life. Let’s learn skills and develop ourselves.

We don’t have to wait for the government to do everything for us. Where we are missing it is that a lot of people are waiting for the government. The world is developing that with a smartphone you can start a business and you won’t pay rent. I pray God will help us.

Have you ever received any message for Nigeria?

Yes, I am a dreamer and a visioner. At some point I see Nigerians running and also at some point I see myself telling some people that things will get better and there won’t be war. I will wake from my sleep and will pray for Nigeria that there won’t be war and God will take us out of where we are at the moment. The Holy Book says, there is time for everything. We will face another regime and I’m very sure that God will help us.

Are you finally in Nigeria now?

I will be travelling abroad because I have a church in England and Osun State but I will be here because there is nowhere like home. It’s just like someone running from the village to Lagos but it’s not as easy as they thought. They always feel they pick money on the streets of Lagos but it doesn’t happen like that. By the time they leave Nigeria they will be able to come back.

I know a woman who wants to save money for a ticket to come home. She couldn’t make it but when I came into her life we both discussed it and she was worried that not only the ticket but also will need money to buy things for people in Nigeria she already left for years. Ignorance is taking a lot of people abroad.

In Nigeria, all you need to do is to cut your coat according to your cloth and not your size. If you are obese you have to lose weight to ensure the cloth sizes you (laughs).

At the moment Nigerians are going through a lot and over the years we have had motivational speakers and clerics chip in their advice but it seems the situation is beyond motivation.

What do you have for Nigerians differently that can give them the succour they desire?

It’s obvious you are always ready and available to work for God. What inspires you to spend more on God’s work?

In the United Kingdom I became bold on the streets of London while my husband was on the hospital bed. From childhood I have been a giver. The story of my life is like forever. One day I saw a woman under the sun selling oranges and I was moved to help her which I did. I discovered the more I give, the more God gives me the space to do more and I will still go back to the Holy Book that says, give and it shall be given unto you. As you give, God will give you.

You seem to have a good relationship with church leaders, so which of them is your spiritual mentor?

All of them (laughs). Like the head of Cherubim and Seraphim all over the world, Solomon Adegboyega, is from a Muslim background. He was campaigning when he used his wife’s garment to sew pillow case and now the head. Pastor Adeboye of Redeem Christ Church of God, the camp then used to be a forest and now a city, and same to Bishop Oydepo, Pastor Olukoya and the rest of them. And I sit back and wonder how they managed to transform a wilderness into a city. People like that, I look up to them.

I also have international church leaders I look up to. Often I use their names to pray that if God can use them He can use me too.

Rev. Esther Ajayi and husband In England there are still people that are homeless. Charitable activities have been my thing and I know what people go through on a daily basis. You will see citizens with passports sleeping on the street in England. Which simply means that no government of any country can give perfection, it is not going to happen.

The government that will give you perfection is in heaven. In Africa, all we need is divine intervention. Some leaders will take our money outside the country and use it to develop their country. We want God to touch the mind of our leaders to make them become selfless.

What will somebody be doing with millions of dollars in his or her house, that’s madness. Going to the grave to keep money there is also madness. We need to pray that God should touch their heart to remember the poor.

The big concern is that the poor people are far more than the rich. The developed countries put the poor people first before the rich but in Nigeria reverse is that case. They put the rich first before the

poor people. We will continue to pray that God should touch our leaders.

It’s no more news that insecurity has been a major challenge in Nigeria at the moment, what is your charge to Nigerians?

You can’t use the devil to battle the devil. What’s happening in Nigeria now as regards insecurity can be likened to a marriage. For a marriage to work patience is needed if not the marriage will hit the rock.

We can’t use violence to curtail violence.

At some point, God will intervene and will never leave.

In the Holy Book, God said He is with us till the end of our days and I’m very certain I repeat that He will never leave us. If we start to fight back, it will definitely lead to war and we don’t want war in Nigeria. Our story is different from Afghanistan. The COVID-19 have sent a message to the world. A lot of countries have recorded very high mortality rates and still God kept us. How God did that still remains a mystery. I’m very sure that

by God’s grace we will get there.

“I discovered the more I give, the more God gives me the space to do more and I will still go back to the Holy Book that says, give and it shall be given unto you. As you give, God will give you”

How do you determine who to help?

Yes, my team does a lot on that. We don’t attend to all because we have seen scenarios where people lie to get money.

My team investigates and ensures we are actually helping the right people. It’s impossible to finish the problems of this world unless you want to finish yourself.

I have travelled to Madagascar for charity.

I saw they needed intervention and we empowered the citizens. We bought sewing machines, boats for the fishermen and a lot more.

People said you are rich, are you?

I am rich in Jesus Christ. Once you have Jesus Christ then you are a rich person.

Once you accept Him as your personal Lord and Saviour and have a personal relationship with Him, you are a rich person. By every standard, I can’t thank my creator enough. Except I want to be a hypocrite, if I say I’m poor then I will be lying to you (laughs).

Where is the money coming from?

The money is coming from Jesus. Give and it shall be given unto you.

If opportune to meet with the president today, what would you tell him?

I will kneel with my two legs, call him daddy and tell him to help appeal for peace. The truth is, no man is an island.

It is because he is the one leading is why we chorus his name often. If we choose to understand the affairs happening and be honest, you will understand it’s not easy to run Nigeria. There are too many big people.

Only God will help us.

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Adequate Attention for Housing, Panacea for Economic Development Stories by Mary Nnah Areal estate expert and Managing Director, Keshab Properties and Investment Limited, Abiodun FausatAbdul has said the nation`s economy cannot be fully developed without the housing sector being functional.

She therefore said if the government wants to develop the economy, adequate attention must be given to the housing sector.

Abdul said this during her company’s end of the year programme basically aimed at acknowledging the realtors, who have worked hard during the last year and also to come together and thank God on the journey so far.

She said the real estate sector needs government support, adding that “first of all, government should give enabling environment to the real estate companies in terms of title, possessing, the timing and the cost because when these real estate companies get the properties cheaper and easier, they would also give it to the public at a cheaper rate.

“When the process is so tedious, they pass it to the public, which are the people.

So when the government supports real estate companies, the government is supporting the individuals in the economy indirectly. “If the government wants to develop the economy, they must give the housing sector a very good attention by providing an enabling environment for the real estate companies and also to provide finances for genuine real estate companies that are ready to use that fund to better the lives of the people,” she noted further.

Managing Director, Keshab Properties and Investment Limited, Abiodun Fausat Abdul; MD/Founder, Hexavia Consulting, Eizu Uwaoma, and Olaolu Michael aka Super MC during the Keshab Properties` end of the year programme held in Lagos recently Apart from the end of the year gathering to appreciate the realtors, she said her company also gives trainings to them and also incentives for sales they have made.

“Today, a lot of people who have made sales of properties worth N1million and above are going home with some gifts to encourage them and at times instead of giving them just

five per cent commission, we increase it a bit just to encourage them to do more.

“People usually run away from selling properties because it is difficult to do. But what we do is that we train people to sell.

“That is one of my core areas; I am a real estate investment trainer, so I put them through the process of being a sort after realtor,” she added.

She advised Nigerians that as the year begins, they should be on the lookout for genuine companies like Keshab Properties and Investment Limited through which they can own their own home, adding, “we are in business not just to make money but to solve problems of housing for people.

“That is why we deal on properties that are not so

expensive and then we still put them on payment plans.

“So Nigerians should be on the lookout for companies that are offering genuine solutions to housing problems in Nigeria and they should learn to save and not spend all the money they make.

“They should save towards investing in real estate investment because that is what most

people fall back to after many years of meritorious service.` A highly reputable firm established to meet the increasing needs of home ownership for individuals, Keshab Properties is a real estate firm offering genuine, affordable properties in choice locations to individuals and corporate entities in Nigeria, Dubai, UK, US and so on.

Otu Osisioma Age Grade Launches Education Scholarship Trust Fund vacation jobs, we will also find spaces for jobs for them once they graduate thereby adding values to their lives,” he added.

Brain Surgery: Compassionate Appeal to Support Crime Reporter’s Spouse Rebecca Ejifoma

Otu Osisioma age grade Oguta, Education scholarship Trust Fund launch committee members Otu Osisioma Age Grade Aguata, a socio-cultural association of Oguta sons and daughter has launched an educational trust fund for indigene students.

Speaking at the end of the year programme / launch of Otu Osisioma Education Scholarship Trust Fund for Oguta, Imo State Indigents on why this scholarship is coming at this time, a member of Board of Trustees and Chairman, Launching Committee, Odera Nnadi said aside sustaining

the educational legacy of their forefathers, as an age grade, it felt that within the Oguta Community, there were some indigent students whose parents lack the academic resources and so the need for the education trust fund.

“What we are trying to do is to bring our friends together who have the wherewithal to raise funds that can be used to train these children”, Nandi said.

Chairman of Otu Osisioma Age Grade, Sir Emmanuel

Uzokwe said the planning committee are people of integrity who have excelled in various walks of life and as such, assured that the fund raised will be spent judiciously.

Speaking also, a female member of the Age Grade, Mrs. Lolo Idu Okeahialem, said while she was living in U.S, she was running the Oguta Association Scholarship Fund in U.S having realised the importance of education.

She noted further that in Oguta Community, there were so many children in need of the fund and so the group decided to launch it in Nigeria.

To ensure that the fund get the right people, “We have the intention of going to Oguta community and pay for students cannot afford their WAEC fee and fund their education through universities,” Okeahialem added.

Another member of the education trust fund committee, Pastor Chuks Nduka Kingsley

said the initiative aims to effectively restore confidence in the education sector.

“We know that to do proper re-engineering, education is critical. If you change the orientation of young people and position them properly, they will compete favourably with their counterparts globally,” he said.

The project, Kingsley said, is a yearly one and it is not limited to education, “there will also be long vacation orientation, attachment to

Mr. Moses Omorogieva, a Crime Correspondent with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), is seeking financial support for his wife, Mrs Chidinma Igie-Ogieva, who has Brain Tumor.

Presently, this ailment has resulted to frequent seizure, and the doctors have described the seizures as life threatening.

To give her a second shot at life, she needs N2.5 million to undergo brain surgery at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

Donations for the surgery can paid to the following account details: Moses, Omorogieva, Access Bank Account number 0690488531.

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T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

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KIZZ DANIEL’S BIG MOVE

The temptation to own and manage one’s music career is often too strong for most artists to resist. Once they can find a footing in the music industry, the next step is to take control of their career by floating a recording/ management label. This move often stems from mistrust. Oftentimes, news about artists defrauded by their managers make headlines.

So it’s somehow understandable when artists decide to own their careers.

However, as lofty as the idea is, it doesn’t always pave out well for many. If not properly managed, the artist can fade into obscurity.

The reason for such an outcome is not farfetched: balancing creativity and business takes a special skill which, unfortunately, not all artists are born with.

Therefore, when Kizz Daniel earlier in the week signed an exclusive management deal with Paul Okoye’s One Africa Global Management, not a few lauded the ‘Yeba’ crooner for making the right move.

Arguably, Kizz Daniel is considered one of Nigeria’s biggest artists. His music career took flight in 2014 when he released the catchy single ‘Woju’. Following the rave reviews the song received, the artist released his debut studio album New Era in 2016 to more critical acclaim.

But a dispute with his record label G-World Entertainment in 2017 saw Kizz Daniel floating hisownimprintFLYBOYI.N.C. andproceededto change his name from Kiss Daniel to Kizz Daniel.

He also has a distribution deal with Empire Records in the United States. His latest album ‘Barnabas’ was distributed under the label.

Agame-changer in the music scene, Okoye is expected to bring some magic in Daniel’s career which many believe should have soared higher than its current level. With his versed experience in talent management, Daniel is expected to reach beyond the horizon.

AMAA Calls for Submissions for 2022 Edition Stories by Vanessa Obioha The Africa Film Academy is now accepting submissions for the 18th edition of its prestigious film awards Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAAs). Interested filmmakers are urged to submit their feature, short, animation and documentary work for consideration in nearly 30 film categories of the awards.

This submission is officially open to only films produced and released between May 1, 2021, and April 31, 2022 (the last day of submission).

The call for entry is coming nearly two months after the award held its 17th edi-

tion at the Lagos Marriott Hotels, Ikeja.

The glamorous event was attended by filmmakers, executives and government officials including the Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The organisers also clarified that all entries for the 18th AMAAs will be made via Filmfreeway and will not accept any film that exceeds the 120-minute run as a feature or a short film that is longer than 40 minutes.

AMAA awards two major categories of short films and animation. The proposed date of the nomination’s gala night for the 18th AMAAs is Friday, August 26, while the main ceremony will run from Wednesday, October 26 to Sunday, October 30, 2022.

PRETTY MIKE, JAMES BROWN STORM PAPAYA EX’S BIRTHDAY SOIRÉE AS SHE REVEALS PLANS FOR NOLLYWOOD Iyke Bede Actress and brand influencer, Raheem Abike Halimah, famed as Papaya Ex, recently marked her birthday in style.

Graced by the likes of controversial socialite Pretty Mike, skit comedian Jame Brown, and Denrele Edun, the birthday soiree was an influencers’ haven, so much so, their collective social media prominence transformed the bash into a trending topic across various social media, with fans and well-wishers expressing kind gestures.

Donning a bridal inspired gown and a long train to go with, Papaya Ex made a grand entrance into the royally decorated hall of The Canyons Lekki Halls and Events Centre.

Although Papaya Ex stole the show that evening with her dance moves, with friends showering her with gifts, James Brown recorded an impressive entry taking notes from Pretty Mike’s page. Brown arrived late flanked by two young men costumed as traditionalists.

While she remained grateful for their support throughout her climb to fame, she made firm her gratitude to the Supreme One. “Nothing is special,” she noted of this year’s anniversary. “I just decided to switch up the game by having it in a hall as opposed to previous ones held in clubs. This is already successful. Who knows? The next time might be in Dubai.”

As far as growth goes, the ‘Two Way Street’ actress revealed her plans to become a regular figure in Nollywood movies.

“When I got into the influencing game, it was not a career, it was not a job. It was more of a freestyle just as most people do, however, this year, I’ll be going into doing movies full time.”

Sanwo-Olu and AMAA 2021 hosts Chigul and Funnybone

Kizz Daniel

‘WE RISE: THE DAVIDO STORY’ PREMIERES THIS SUNDAY

A new documentary that captures the story of Nigeria’s music superstar Davido will be premiering on Sunday, January 15, 2022.

Centred on the artist’s decade-long music career which he celebrated last year, the documentary examines the ingenious transformation of the artist from a brighteyed teenager to a role model of success for many young Nigerians and up-andcoming artists.

‘We Rise: The Davido Story’ also captures the artist’s controversies with the media, his support for rising music stars and people around him, as well as his recent globally-acclaimed fundraiser in celebration of his 29th birthday.

Produced by Netng and ID Africa, the documentary is the first feature on the award-winning artiste.

“Davido’s remarkable story is one that needs to be told, and this is just one of many that will come from Netng and ID Africa’s The Bang Studio. At ID Africa, our goal is to use digital media for capturing and sharing the stories of people, places, and events that matter to young Africans,” says Femi Falodun, the CEO of ID Africa.

The project which took over eight months to make features original interviews with leading entertainment industry figures such as founder and CEO of Storm 360, Obi Asika and legendary DJ, Jimmy Jatt, media personalities, Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Eromo Egbejule, and Tosin Ajibade, as well as Davido’s music lecturer at Babcock University, Dr. Olusegun Ojuola.

The 25-minute documentary will premiere

on January 15, 2022, on a dedicated page on Netng (thenet.ng/davido) and be available to stream on Netng’s YouTube channel.

Davido

PAPAYA

Episodic Lab and Development ExecutiveTraineeship Extends Submission Deadline Precious Ugwuzor Due to a surge of interest from filmmakers from Africa and the Diaspora, the Realness Institute, in partnership with Netflix, has announced an extension for submissions for the 2022 Episodic Lab and Development Executive Traineeship (DET) programmes.

Applicants will now have until 21 January 2022 to apply.

The Episodic Lab is aimed at developing story concepts by screenwriters from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria; while the DET offers African producers an opportunity to hone their story development skills. These programmes are designed for television and film professionals at an intermediate level.

Both programmes are intimately supervised and mentored by highly skilled and experienced Story Experts and Creative

Producers, whilst also drawing expertise and advice from the Netflix team.

The 2022 Episodic Lab and DET take place online from 1 May to 31 July 2022.

Each of the twelve selected participants (six per programme) will receive a monthly stipend of USD 2 000 for this period to cover living expenses, which will allow them to focus on the development of their story concept.

Exciting news for these programmes is that Thandeka Zwana, a DET participant from the inaugural 2021 edition, has joined the mentoring team as a Story Consultant.

Working in the film industry on the continent since 2004, Thandeka has experience along the whole film-making value chain as a producer, line producer, script editor, and as development and production executive for numerous films and organisations.

Thandeka Zwana says “The programme

was basically a course in brain gymnastics!

It gave us the opportunity to open our minds to new ways of thinking and approaching development. From psychology to the history of storytelling, we were given tools to enhance the process and make development a lot more fun for both the executives and the writers that we work with.

As African storytellers, we have a great responsibility to tell our stories in the best way possible and this course – the mentors and the guest speakers – did so much in helping us understand this responsibility and use it to make our craft better. It is a huge honour to be included in the team for 2022 and I look forward to cultivating stronger writers and stories.”

“We are thrilled to have received so many new proposals, with many requests from filmmakers to extend the deadline due to

the proximity to the festive season and so many holidays,” says Elias Ribeiro, Executive Director of the Realness Institute.

“So, we encourage all interested to get their proposals in soon. We are also honoured to have Thandeka Zwana joining the mentoring team, who comes with a wealth of experience in development, production and distribution. We look forward to working with her to support the projects and writers to excel with their work.”

Realness Institute is a non-profit organisation that aims to empower Africans to tell their stories from their own point of view. For information on eligibility and the application process please visit the following: Episodic Lab: https://www. realness.institute/episodic-lab and Development Executive Traineeship: https:// www.realness.institute/det

29

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͲ, 2022

ART WEEKEND

…For pure art enthusiasts

New Frontiers for Promoting Arts, Tourism A Lekki-based cultural hub, LVI Art Gallery & Cultural Nexus is pushing the boundaries of promoting arts, culture and tourism in Nigeria, says Yinka Olatunbosun

V

isitors at the Lekki-based LVI Art Gallery have multiple options: view new artworks, play traditional game board and art-themed ludo and pose for photographs inside the in-house photo studio. Before the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the gallery’s schedule included anniversary exhibition and expansion.

At a recent gathering to host arts and tourism journalists in Lagos, the MD/CEO, LVI Art Gallery, Julius Iyoghiojie revealed the plans for the year.

“The gallery is now two years old. By April 2022, we would be celebrating our third anniversary. The first anniversary could not hold because of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

The second one in 2021 was still hampered by the restriction on large gathering. We hope to celebrate our third birthday with an exhibition,’’ he disclosed.

Leaning on the nation’s wealth in human and natural resources, the gallery is promoting culture by incorporating cultural facts in the ludo game which is open to the public. An engineer by training, Iyoghiojie approaches the art with a deep sensitivity to its potential energy.

“Nigerians must know about the tourist sites. We would use our ludo here to show the tourist sites and destinations in Nigeria.

Our stories are the most interesting in the whole world. Our Nollywood is big. We have multiple lakes, warm springs, rocks and mountains, deserts, rainforest. We just lack co-ordination,’’ he said.

No fewer than 30 artists have works at LVI gallery in Lagos. There are plans to taken some of these works to international exhibitions. For him, it is important to guard our cultural heritage and create more diverse cultural experience.

“We need to have more artificial tourist sites here in Nigeria. Galleries are tourist destinations. We organize art and craft lessons.

A view of works at LVI Gallery

In terms of service delivery and clients’ satisfaction, sometimes our clients like the works but not the frames. And for you to replace it, you may lose a day or too. So, we decided

to have an in-house carpentry workshop so that the frame will not be a limitation to the purchase. Also, we are digital. All our works are available online. We have a photography

studio which we started it in March 2021.’’

Apart from the thrill of on-site visitors, the LVI gallery online is very accessible, paraded all works at the gallery.

Finetunz Entertainment to Sue Vicki D for Breach of Contract Yinka Olatunbosun Finetunz Entertainment, an independent record label, has threatened to sue singer, Francis Victor Adams a.k.a Vicki D (Kpoki) for allegedly breaching their contract agreement.

The record label in a statement alleged that the singer who was signed in 2019 breached the contract by signing with another record label.

“As part of our mandate of lifting talents from obscurity to recognition and ensuring that there is continuous maintenance of their brand from inception to the heights where their value is glaring and evident to all, the company signed Francis Victor Adams a.k.a Vicki D (Kpoki) in 2019.

Consequently, he successfully recorded and shot videos for his smashing hit songs including ‘Aanu’ and ‘Easy.’

However, in a swift turn Vicki

Vicki D

D proceeded to ignore the existing contract for another with a different record label,” it stated.

The company disclosed that

it was reliably informed that the artiste had put in a record deal agreement with “More Success Music Ltd,” a UK based

record label, in furtherance of his musical career, whereas he had an agreement via music relation for five (5) years with

Finetunez Entertainment.

“However in the course of time, the relationship between the artiste and the company

will span within the period of the tenet of the agreement both signed. With the present state of affairs, our company with the consent of the board of directors has stated the implications of the termination of the agreement both signed.

“The Copyright Act Cap C28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 which is the primary federal statute on copyright recognise and indeed guarantees the rights of owners of intellectual properties. It is in the light of the above that our company has instructed Vicki D to refrain from any act of duplicating an agreement that was duly signed from the said music firm as a mark of respect for the relationship which hitherto existed between your humble self and our company and which you have benefitted immensely,” the company stated.

‘Sao and The Muse 5’, An Inspiring Showcase of Art Sunday Ehigiator Offering countless options to experience art, Lagos has no shortage of creativity as most evident at Sao and the Muse 5, held recently at the Sao Café, a lively casual-dining restaurant located in the heart of Lekki, in Lagos State.

The organisers of the annual avant-

garde event, the 5th edition, decided to turn pain and passion into art, using the theme ‘The Rebirth’ as a catalyst for boundary-pushing storytelling.

This idea according to a statement from the organisers was inspired “after Sao Café was gutted by a devastating fire earlier this year.”

They enlisted the help of a multihyphenate and creative consultant,

Bella Adeleke, who curated an eclectic mix of celebrated artists to redefine the art experience.

Guests were treated to immersive installations and exhibitions from sounds to visuals, including an experiential solo exhibition showcased by the resident muse, British-Nigerian multi-disciplinary performance artist Sadiq Ajibola Williams where

the power of music was expressed through the lens of creativity.

It was accompanied by a jawdropping, vibrant graffiti piece by visual artist and expressionist Dricky Stickman depicting the image of a phoenix brought to life.

A striking outdoor bar area was customised by Osa-7 in collaboration with Absolut Vodka, while a stun-

ning nude photography exhibition

by Dara Banjo showed dynamic and provocative pieces which evoked raw emotions centred around body image and self-reflection.

Finally, Henna by Jumai interpreted the theme beautifully, continuing with the phoenix motif. DJ Ayizan also took everyone on a magical journey with her unique playlist.

30

T H I S D AY ˾ ͯͲ, 2022

POLSCOPE

áÓÞÒ ÎÎã ÎÓàáÜÓ ÏÎÎã˛ÙÎÓàáÜÓ̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙט ͸΀͸ͽ ͻ͸; ΁ͻͽ;

Tinubu, Presidency and the River Between fter what looked like a lengthy merry go-round, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, last Monday announced what nearly everybody had always known: that he is interested in contesting for the presidency of Nigeria. While he didn’t say anything really new, he was candid in saying that it has been a life-long ambition.

That explains why he was emphatic in his desired transition from being a king maker to being a king himself. But has he really been making kings? At the dawn of this democracy, that is the third republic, he was not part of the crowning of Olusegun Obasanjo as President. He was not party to the ascension of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, nor did he contribute to the emergence of former President Goodluck Jonathan, essentially because all three former Presidents were in a rival political party: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

There is however no denial that the collaboration of Bola Tinubu and now President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, resulted in the victory of Buhari, who until that collaboration had continued to suffer electoral defeat in four previous presidential polls.

Until recently, many had also credited the choice of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Tinubu, who was the former’s boss, as Governor of Lagos State. Osinbajo had served as Tinubu’s Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General.

Latter day revelations have however shown that Osinbajo was not quite a nominee of Bola Tinubu. He (Tinubu) had indeed wanted to be the Vice Presidential candidate to Buhari but for the fact that they (Buhari and Tinubu) are both Muslims.

Former senate President Bukola Saraki had strongly opposed a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015, a reason Saraki and Tinubu never really got to swim together politically. So, how many ‘presidential kings’ has Tinubu really made to be tagged a King-maker?

Yes, he’s been a political bulwark bone in the South West, in a way that he is famed (albeit exaggeratedly) to have a regional control of the political dynamics of the South West region. Out of the six states in the region, he effectively controls just two: Lagos and Osun. Not more. In fact, one of the states in the region (Oyo) is governed by a PDP governor, just as two of the states (Ogun, Ekiti and even Ondo ) are not exactly lackeys of the Jagaban.

Yet, in all of these, Tinubu is believed to have a trans-territorial political influence in Nigeria. Many aspirants and candidates across regional boundaries practically covet his endorsement, as if to suggest that whoever he endorses has already won, regardless of the electoral worth and value of the contestant. It is remarkable that the last governorship election in Edo State foiled that belief, as the Tinubu-endorsed Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu failed to win the polls.

So, now that the ‘King-maker’ wants to be the King himself, who and who will make him king? Tinubu, in his “categorical declaration” last Monday, said he has informed President Buhari about his

A

Tinubu

ambition, and that he is still consulting many people across board. Indeed, more than a year before now, his political lieutenants had besieged the political space struggling to mobilise various sets and groups of persons towards the Tinubu presidential agenda. The leading group—South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) had been in the fore front of canvassing support for the former Lagos State governor. But truth is that the Asiwaju will have many rivers to cross if he must become president It is noteworthy that by going to inform Mr President of his ambition, it means that both Tinubu and Buhari are not on the same page on this matter. So, the question is: would Mr President support Asiwaju as his successor? This is crucial! Yes, Mr President would not have more than just a vote, but whoever he supports is bound to enjoy immeasurable support network.

Tinubu makes a casual reference to this hiatus when he said, “Mr President is a democrat, he did not ask me not to run…” Yes, Buhari cannot stop him from running, but did he ask him to run?

As it has shown, many more people would have to come inform Mr President of their ambition. A day after Tinubu informed the President, Dave Umahi, governor of Ebonyi State did the same thing. Already, the plan to do so by Senators Orji kalu and even Rochas Okorocha, are loading.

A lot more will show up. No doubt, some will want to be merely listed as one of the also-rans The ring will surely be full.

Perhaps the first river Tinubu will have to cross is the issue of zoning. Will the APC, in all consciousness zone the presidency to the South west, from where Tinubu comes? Having produced former President Olusegun Obasanjo for eight years, and now Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for another eight years (by 2023), would the South West be deserving of the presidency, just yet?

The principle of power rotation may not be

Moniedafe

constitutional in the APC, but there is an understanding of power orbit rotating between the northern and southern regions of the country. In the APC, only the north has ruled for eight years as President with the Vice President coming from the South West. So, if the presidency comes down to the South, would it be fair and equitable for the region which produced the Vice President be allowed to retain the office of the President to the neglect of the South South or the South East? And the concern will be whether Tinubu will remain faithful and loyal to the party if he does not get the presidential ticket.

The other river would be that of health and strength. Tinubu, in recent years has been undergoing regular health-strengthening voyages to foreign countries, especially to the United Kingdom and France. Not long ago, a viral video of him with quaking hands circulated round the social media. Although he appears fit, given his middle-weight frame, those who know him closer say he does not have that much energy and fitness required of a president coming to salvage a gasping nation.

What’s more, insiders say that Tinubu is much older than the age 69 he claims, describing 69 as a “mere official age”, as many of his contemporaries have long celebrated their 75th birthday. With the experiences of the recent past, Nigerians would be wary of any leader who is not exactly sure of his health status. The early years of the Buhari administration were dulled heavily because of health challenges, just as the Yar’adua presidency suffered huge draw back and confusion as a result of his prolonged sickness and eventual death while in office. Age is not on Tinubu’s side. That perhaps explains why he appears determined, if not desperate, to fulfil this ‘lifetime ambition’; because after now, Tinubu would have become manifestly too old,

by the time the presidential pendulum swings back to South west.

Politically, Tinubu will have many deep rivers to cross. As it stands today, he is not in control of the national structure of the party, neither is the structure loyal to him. Try as he may, he has not been able to take control of the levers of control within the party. It would have been a lot easier for Tinubu to manoeuvre the party’s ethos and system if Adams Oshiomhole was still the national Chairman. But with Mai Mala Buni, as Interim Chairman, Bola Tinubu is neither here nor there, regardless of the bogus epithet of National Leader he tags himself with. The idea of providing a level playing field by a political leader is usually utopian. It rarely is. The leaders are not usually interest-free. So, where is Mai Mala Buni’s interest? Is it towards Tinubu or somebody else?

But one thing that will keep him afloat in this swimming contest will be the enormous goodwill he has. He is large hearted and believed to be very generous. Although his critics believe that he has used his political grit in Lagos to maximally over-reach himself in the acquisition of many material things, his fan-base is large. He had empowered thousands if not millions of people across religious and ethnic divides and who have become die-hard fanatics of Tinubu. They have become a large colony of devotees, many of whom will be willing to lay down their lives for the Tinubu presidential project. The months ahead will be quite telling both for the life of the APC and the fortune or future of Tinubu’s life ambition.

NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Sylvester Oromoni: Was Justice Served?

Early December last year, the story of the death of a young lad, Sylvester Nyerovwo Oromoni , aged 12, broke. It was heavy and troubling. The parents of the young boy said the boy before dying, had complained of bullying and heavy body pain, having been beaten by his some of his school mates at Dowen College, Lagos over the intent to forcefully initiate him into a cult in the school. The names of the accused students were mentioned. Right from that time, there has been some fire works of some sorts. The school was promptly shut by the Lagos State government which ordered a probe into the sad incident. Some of the accused students and some teachers in the school were arrested.

A fortnight ago, the result of the autopsy was released. The result claimed that Sylvester had no evidence of having been beaten or bullied and concluded that he died of “natural causes”.

The Lagos State police commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu who read the so-called autopsy report was literally chewing his mouth as he struggled to pronounce the heavy medical jargons—( Septicaemia, lobar pneumonia with acute pyelonephritis and pyomyositis of the right ankle) that was loaded into the report

as cause of death.

Arising from that report, the arrested persons have not only been released, the school has

Sylvester Oromoni

been cleared to resume classes. It rankled many.

Many people did not believe the report and argue that the resort to medical jargons is essentially to hide the believed cause of death.

But what superior facts do we have to challenge what science is said to have shown? So why did the late Sylvester mention the names he gave? Why did the school first claim Sylvester had injuries when he went playing football?

Suddenly, all the clues became dead ends?

Did Sylvester have any medical history of Pneumonia? Is there any cult in the college?

Are there cases of bullying in the college? Many are the questions but the answers are shrouded in medical jargons.

Sylvester’s dad, dissatisfied with the autopsy report has called for a second autopsy and has vowed not to bury his son until he gets justice, even if it takes him 30 years.

Sylvester’s mother has been releasing curses from the heart of an anguished mother on those who killed her son. The family lawyer , Femi Falana, has alleged “massive cover-up” in the death of Sylvester. So, who were the pathologists who conducted the test? Did they compromise their findings or were they true to their calling? As Patience Jonathan would

say, “there is God -o!”

I had suffered a similar experience in 2009. A primary school classmate, then Queen Iwemah was arrested by the Police in Ikorodu, and taken to the Ikorodu police station where she was beaten and tortured to death by policemen. Upon her death, her body was merely dumped outside and his family called up to come carry the body of the lady. The family members noticed massive bruises , blood clotting, all over her body including her lips and around her neck.

Her body was taken to the morgue. I insisted that an autopsy be carried out.

Retired DIG Marvel Akpoyibo was then Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, while Frank Mbah was the PPRO in the Lagos command. The latter argued that Queen died of natural causes. I disagreed.

After weeks of back and forth, the police ordered an autopsy which result claimed that she died of natural causes. Ever since then, I lost faith in the phrase “natural causes”, especially when it comes from arranged “medical experts” under the supervision of the police. May the soul of the young lad rest in Peace.

FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022 • T H I S D AY

31

s, nd

32

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ JANUARY 14, 2022

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Branch Closure Will not Affect Any Staff in 2022, Says Standard Chartered Nume Ekeghe Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria has stated that the plan closure of some of its branches will not prompt downsizing in the bank this year.

The bank further noted that the reduction in branches was an exercise it embarked few years back in a bid to tilt more towards digitisation and the rising demands of their customer base.

The Head, Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Ms. Dayo Aderugbo in a statement stated: “The branch closures are part of the digitization journey we

embarked a few years ago towards optimizing our processes, operating channels, products and service solutions to suit the demands of our clients.

“Our digital banking proposition is designed to enhance the experience of our customers who are progressively exploring and demanding simpler, faster, efficient, and more convenient ways of banking at the touch of a button from the convenience of the mobile devices.”

Aderugbo added that the closures are also driven in response to changes in customer transaction behaviour.

“We have also witnessed

a significant adoption of our digital banking services by customers as most of them continue to prioritize convenient banking over the need to visit any of our physical locations to access our products and services.”

“The Bank prides itself in a forward-looking People Strategy where we proactively plan our workforce needs to fulfill our Business Strategy.

We have continued to retrain and redeploy staff who are impacted by the closure of the Branches in Lagos and Abuja.

This closure will not impact any staff in 2022.”

Adeboye, Ogunnowo Co-Chair Ronchess Board Of Directors Kayode Tokede Following a successful listing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Ronchess Global Resources Plc has notified the Exchange on the restructuring of its board.

In a statement, Ronchess said its Board of Directors is now led by Mr. Adeolu Adeboye - a graduate of Software Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire United Kingdom.

“He practiced in this field for 10 years in the the United Kingdom before moving back to Nigeria.

A seasoned entrepreneur who has created many businesses.

His Areas of expertise include

Insurance, Retail, Power, and Construction. Adeolu Adeboye is an entrepreneur with experience in running diverse business interests successfully.

“The board is co-chaired by the eminently qualified flight Captain Niyi Ogunnowo with over 2 decades of experience spanning Information Technology and the transportation industry across Nigeria and the United States of America. Captain Niyi graduated with Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) in Computer Information Systems from Rutgers University Newark, NJ USA and Master of Science in Business and Information Systems from New

Jersey University of Technology Newark New Jersey United States of America. He further holds high profile certifications and licenses such as the Airline Transport Pilot License, B-737 (CLASSIC) TRI EASA Certification, Oracle Certified Professional, Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Small and Medium Business Specialist.

“Ronchess Executive Management is ably led by Mr. Jackson Ukuevo, an Harvard trained professional from the Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Boston Massachusetts United States of America.

Frisson Introduces Power Black Energy Drink with Iconic Hygienic Cover Oluchi Chibuzor Frisson Nigeria Limited, has launched power black energy drink into the Nigerian market with an iconic hygienic cover.

The Power Black Energy drink is a Turkey made energy drink with a presence in over thirty-five countries across Europe, Asia, Africa and Middle East prior to its introduction in the country.

Unveiling the brand to journal-

ists in Lagos recently, the Marketing Manager of Frisson Nigeria Limited and sole distributor of Power Black Energy Drink in Nigeria, Mr. Ojotobor Samuel said Power Black Energy Drink is a premium energy drink that offer Nigerians needed power to achieve their goals with class and finesse. Samuel also said as the first and only energy drink with hygienic cover in Nigeria, Power Black seeks to encourage

healthy consumption of energy drink among Nigerians.

According to him, “the consumers do not have to finish the can of drink at a go as it can be preserved with the hygienic cover all day long. Power Black Energy Drink is made with clean water, sugar glucose syrup, carbon dioxide, acidity regulator with Citric acid & Sodium citrate, Taurine, Vitamins B2, B3, B5 and B6.”

M

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS 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

Hollandia Offers Right Nourishment to Start the Year With a new year upon us, many are putting aside the indulgence and habits of the old year aside and making conscious efforts to start on a healthy note.

This conscious mindset is needed now more than ever, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us, and current events have proven just how fragile our immune function system can be.

The need to maintain good health cannot be over-emphasized at this time, and fortunately, including milk in our diet can help with this goal.

Leading evaporated milk brand, Hollandia Evap Milk,

is urging consumers to start the new year right with the required nourishment needed to stay healthy during this time and beyond.

So whether you want to accomplish a fitness goal or focus on healthy eating for the year, the time to start is now, and Hollandia Evap Milk will be available to provide the nourishment and healthy choices that fit with your lifestyle, personal needs and preferences.

Starting the year with the right nourishment from Hollandia Evap Milk will also help propel you with the energy to achieve

your goals throughout the year.

As you begin your year with Hollandia Evap Milk, you can be assured of the smart choices in terms of quality, quantity, convenience, strong whitening power and value for money packaging it offers especially in its 120g and 190g pack sizes.

In addition to building and maintaining strong bones, teeth & muscles, Hollandia Evap Milk helps to keep you healthy and facilitates normal immune system function. This is because Hollandia Evap Milk contains Vitamin B, D and Calcium.

Danbatta to Deliver Fountain University’s Convocation Lecture

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021

˾ 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

Emma Okonji The authority of the Fountain University, Osogbo (FUO), Osun State, has selected the Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, to deliver its10th and 11th Convocation Lecture of the university.

The choice of Danbatta is spurred by the vision and successes of policies, progranmmes and projects instituted by the NCC to bridge the digital divide and encourage the youth to harness derivable benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), The combined Convocation Lecture, titled: “Empowering the Nigeria

Youth Through Information and Communication Technology” will take place on January 13, 2022 at NASFAT Eti-Osa Lecture Theatre in the university.

Eminent personalities from government, industry and the academia are expected at the event scheduled at the heart of the week-long convocation ceremony.

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7

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).

L D B p

33

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͯͲ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

Zenith Bank Outpace GTCO In Stock Price on NGX Kayode Tokede For the first time in many years, the stock price of Zenith Bank Plc on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has outpaced that of Guaranty Trust Holdings Plc (GTCO).

According to capital market analysts, the stock price of Zenith Bank in the last 10 years has not outpaced GTCO. The stock price of Zenith

Bank since the beginning of 2022 maintained a positive trajectory, gaining 1.39per cent in 7-day active trading on the bourse to close yesterday at N25.50 from N25.15 it opened for trading.

On the flipside, GTCO has depreciated by 2.1per cent to close yesterday at N25.45 from N26 the stock market price opened this year.

The stock price of GTCO over the years was trading

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R

DEALS

higher than Zenith Bank on the bourse.

According to capital market analysts, the anticipation of a robust dividend for 2021 financial year and fundamentals of Zenith Bank attracted foreign investors, stressing that investors are losing confidence in GTCO over the management’s adoption of Holdings structure, among others.

The vice chairman, Vice

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

president, Mr. David Adnori said investors are losing confidence in GTCO stock over the lender ’s legal tussle with Chairman of Innoson Group, Innocent Chukwuma.

According to him: “It should be around 2005/2006 Zenith Bank stock outpaced GTCO. It means investors are losing confidence in the stock of GTCO- It is a very serious matter!

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

“The reasons are the bank’s court case with Innoson Group and the company is not growing in profit as anticipated by foreign investors.

The Holdings structure should have been advantageous but it is no longer serving as advantage to the bank because of the negative influence of the above issues.”

A capital market analyst,

O F

Mr. Rotimi Fakeyejo said the GTCO’s reported weak nine months unaudited result and accounts for September 30, 2021, stressing that investors are anticipating weaker earnings in 2021 financial year.

According to him: “Records in the last five years have shown that Pension Fund Administrators and foreign investors are always skeptical about investing in Holdings structure.”

1 3 / 1 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

Friday, January 14, 2022 Thisday Afrinvest by 4bps 14bps Thisday Afrinvest40 40Index Indexfell rose The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ ϭϰďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index appreciated by 4bps to

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

at 1,674.89 points points due to due sell-pressure ZENITH (-0.6%), close at 1,838.31 to buyingoninterests in ZENWAPCO (-1.3%), and UBA and (-0.7%).

These (+4.0%). stocks cumulaITH ;нϬ͘ϮйͿ͕ ETI (+0.6%), INTBREW These

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϭϯ͘Ϯй͘ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϴ͘ϵй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

ASI up 11bps as DANGCEM Gains 3.3% ŽŵĞƐƟĐ ŽƵƌƐĞ ZĞĐŽƌĚƐ DŝůĚ >ŽƐƐ͘​͘​͘ ^/ ĚŽǁŶ ϭďƉ

WƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƉƌŝĐĞ ƵƉƟĐŬ ,KEz&>KhZ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ĚĂLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ďŽƵƌƐĞ ŝŶ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŵŝůĚ (+9.8%), E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͕ & E,ĨĞůů (+0.7%) loss ƚŽĚĂLJ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ E'y ĂŶĚ ^/ ϭďƉ bolƚŽ stered ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽŶ the localinbourse as the All44,604.74 points following sell-ŽīƐ CUSTODIAN (Share

index

9.5%),

STANBIC

(-0.7%),

rose

and

UBN

by

(-

11bps to 39,550.36 points. ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ zd ůŽƐƐ ŝŵͲ

1.8%). ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϰ͘ϰϮй proved to -1.8% while ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ

(previously: 4.43%) while ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƐŚĞĚ േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ

േϮ͘ϮďŶ ƚŽ േϮϰ͘ϬƚŶ͘ sŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϮϬ͘ϴй ƚŽ

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,838.31

0.04%

1,050.50

0.0%

190.00 68.50 25.45

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 3 BUA Cement Plc 4 Guaranty Trust Holding Co PLC 5 Zenith Bank PLC 6 Dangote Cement PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC 8 FBN Holdings Plc 9 Lafarge Africa PLC 10 Access Bank PLC 11 United Bank for Africa PLC 12 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ Ϯϭ͘ϲй ƚŽ ϭϭϬ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ value

13 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 14 SEPLAT Energy PLC

ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϴϴ͘ϱй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭďŶ͘ The most traded stocks

15 Ecobank Transnational Inc 16 International Brew eries PLC

ϯϮϭ͘ϳŵ units ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐůŝĚ ϰ͘ϰй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϳďŶ͘ TRANSCORP (104.6m units), JAIZBANK (66.7m units),

by volume were dZ E^ KZW ;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ & E, (11.1m

Price Previous Current Change Price Weighting YTD Change

Ticker

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

5.2x

P/BV

-0.9%

83.8%

15.0%

3.5%

35.0%

10.0%

10.0%

14.7%

5.2%

0.0%

8.2%

-3.6%

-3.6%

179.2%

14.1%

13.7x

20.8x

0.0%

7.2%

2.2%

2.2%

19.1%

11.2%

32.9x

6.2x

0.0%

6.6%

-2.1%

-2.1%

24.8%

3.9%

3.9x

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

0.8x

5.4%

16.7%

1.7% 5.5%

7.3%

1.0x

11.8%

26.0% 28.9%

3.0%

25.50

0.2%

6.3%

1.4%

1.4%

20.9%

2.8%

3.5x

0.7x

11.8%

275.00

0.0%

4.9%

7.0%

7.0%

40.4%

16.7%

13.7x

5.3x

5.9%

7.3%

1,435.00

0.0%

3.4%

-7.8%

-7.8%

106.8%

15.6%

27.8x

32.8x

4.2%

3.6%

12.00

0.0%

3.7%

5.3%

5.3%

8.4%

0.8%

7.1x

0.6x

3.7%

14.1%

25.80

0.0%

3.7%

7.7%

7.7%

11.6%

8.4%

9.6x

1.1x

3.9%

10.4%

9.50

0.0%

2.9%

2.2%

2.2%

17.0%

1.4%

2.7x

0.4x

8.9%

37.5%

8.20

0.0%

2.3%

1.9%

1.9%

19.5%

1.8%

2.1x

0.4x

6.7%

48.5%

37.00

-0.8%

1.8%

2.8%

2.8%

15.4%

2.0%

8.5x

1.4x

11.0%

11.8%

45.50

0.0%

1.5%

-9.0%

-9.0%

5.3%

1.9%

41.9x

2.2x

2.4%

2.4%

690.00

0.0%

1.7%

6.2%

6.2%

3.4%

1.9%

15.9x

0.6x

6.0%

6.3%

8.65

0.6%

1.4%

-0.6%

-0.6%

14.8%

0.9%

2.4x

5.15

4.0%

1.2%

4.0%

4.0%

-10.3%

-3.9%

142.00

0.0%

1.1%

0.0%

0.0%

38.8%

25.2%

9.7x

3.4x

5.2%

10.3%

28.30

0.0%

1.0%

-0.2%

-0.2%

16.4%

5.1%

4.4x

0.7x

5.8%

22.9%

0.3x

42.1%

1.0x

-11.1%

and MBENEFIT (13.7m units) led by volume while

17 Okomu Oil Palm PLC 18 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

2.58

0.0%

SEPLAT

19 Fidelity Bank PLC 20 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

0.7%

1.2%

1.2%

12.0%

1.1%

2.3x

0.3x

8.5%

43.8%

2.31

0.0%

0.6%

-0.4%

-0.4%

9.7%

3.0%

6.2x

0.7x

9.5%

16.2%

21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 22 FCMB Group Plc

17.00

0.0%

0.5%

-2.3%

-2.3%

15.3%

6.3%

11.1x

1.7x

8.8%

9.0%

3.05

0.0%

0.5%

2.0%

2.0%

10.0%

1.0%

0.3x

4.9%

ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ E ^d> ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕

;േϵϮϬ͘ϲŵͿ͕

MTNN

;േϱϵϬ͘ϴŵͿ͕

ĂŶĚ

E' D ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

GTCO ;േϮϳϳ͘ϵŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

23 United Capital PLC 24 Guinness Nigeria PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

Bearish Sector Performance

Mixed Sector Performance Across sectors under our coverage, performance was

Across sectors within our coverage, performance was

bearish as 4 indices lost, 1 index gained ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &Z-/ d

mixed ĂƐ Ϯ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ͕ ϭ ůŽƐƚ ǁŚŝůĞ the Industrial ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ

26 NEM Insurance PLC 27 Presco PLC

10.90

-0.9%

0.4%

10.1%

10.1%

2.4x

6.4%

42.20

0.0%

0.4%

8.2%

8.2%

8.1%

3.8%

15.0x

1.2x

1.1%

6.7%

1.13

9.7%

0.4%

17.7%

17.7%

11.1%

2.3%

6.0x

0.6x

0.9%

16.7%

35.6%

18.5%

3.9x

1.0x

4.5%

25.3%

2.1x

1.2% 3.1%

8.1%

3.96

-10.0%

0.3%

-12.0%

-12.0%

87.80

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

28 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 29 AIICO Insurance PLC

13.10

0.0%

0.3%

-0.8%

-0.8%

21.3%

6.9%

12.3x

2.5x

0.80

2.6%

0.3%

14.3%

14.3%

7.2%

1.1%

444.4x

0.8x

30 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 31 Custodian and Allied Insurance

221.90

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

46.2%

9.3%

5.0x

2.0x

1.8%

19.8%

0.2%

7.15

-9.5%

0.2%

-9.5%

-9.5%

24.7%

7.5%

3.5x

0.8x

7.6%

28.4%

32 Vitafoam Nigeria PLC 33 Unilever Nigeria PLC

21.00

0.0%

0.2%

-6.7%

-6.7%

36.8%

14.7%

6.1x

2.1x

7.1%

16.5%

13.20

-1.5%

0.2%

-9.0%

-9.0%

-1.3%

-0.8%

22.00

0.0%

16bps 7bps ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ 9.1%), and hE/> s Z (-3.5%), ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ >/E< ^^hZ (-6.4%),

34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

0.2%

-1.6%

-1.6%

20.7%

2.5%

3.8x

0.7x

1.8%

26.1%

5.55

-1.8%

0.1%

-5.9%

-5.9%

7.1%

0.8%

6.3x

0.6x

4.3%

16.0%

ŝŶ ;нϰ͘ϬйͿ͕ E/d, ;нϬ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ d/ ;нϬ͘ϲйͿ͘ and/Ed Z t D E^ Z (-Ϯ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ

36 Oando PLC 37 Wema Bank PLC

4.73

0.0%

0.0%

7.0%

7.0%

14.5%

2.6%

2.0x

0.3x

0.89

0.0%

0.2%

23.6%

23.6%

13.7%

0.8%

4.2x

0.5x

4.5%

38 Sterling Bank PLC 39 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

1.52

0.7%

0.1%

0.7%

0.7%

10.1%

0.9%

3.3x

0.3x

3.3%

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-41.3%

-9.2%

5.38

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

'ŽŽĚƐ͕ Oil & Gas, and AFR-ICT ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘

er 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Insurance indices, down 4.6% and

The Consumer Goods and ĂŶŬŝŶŐ indices gained ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚ-ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> (-

KŶ ƚŚĞ ŽƚŚĞƌ ŚĂŶĚ͕ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ h^dK / E ;-9.5%) and ing indices fell by Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůE D ;-10.0%) Insurance index 0.9% lower. ŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K pulled (-0.8%),the E/d, (-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͘ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ er,

up

1.8%

driven

by

Investor ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĂŶĞƐ

price

apprecia-

ƟŽŶ in E' D (+3.3%).

;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϵdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϲdž ĂƐ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

14

stocks

gained

against

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ 15 laggards.

TRANSCORP (+9.7%), CHIPLC (+7.9%), and ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ Ăƚ 1.6x

REGALINS

(+7.1%)

led

gainers

while

NEM

(-

ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ stocks

10.0%), CUSTODIAN (-9.5%), and h E

(-ϱ͘ϮйͿ

-1.1%

49.1%

2.3x

23.8% 30.3% -20.3%

0.9x T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

T o p 10 G a i n e r s P ric e

P ric e C hg %

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

1.13

9.7%

T R A N SC OR P

104.6

9.7%

C H IP LC

0.68

7.9%

J A IZ B A N K

66.7

6.1%

R EGA LIN S

0.45

7.1%

M B EN EF IT

13.7

-3.4%

J A IZ B A N K

0.70

6.1%

FB NH

12.6

0.0% 0.0%

T ic k er T R A N SC OR P

Investor ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ

1.2x

T ic k er

IN T B R EW

5.15

4.0%

GT C O

10.9

F ID SON

6.84

3.6%

A IIC O

9.2

2.6%

C OUR T VILLE

0.37

2.8%

A C C ESS

8.9

0.0%

A IIC O

0.80

2.6%

ST A N B IC

7.0

-0.8%

C UT IX

2.65

1.1%

F ID ELIT YB K

6.3

0.0%

M A YB A KER

4.30

0.9%

WEM A B A N K

6.1

0.0%

advanced while 15 stocks declined. MRS (+9.9%), MAY-

led ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ tĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ Ă ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƚŽŵŽƌͲ

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s

BAKER (+9.8%), and HONYFLOUR (+9.8%) led gainers

row as investors hunt for bargains.

while ABCTRANS (-8.3%), LASACO (-6.7%), and LIVESTOCK (-4.8%) led losers. Previous day, we expect the ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ŵŝdžĞĚ͕ ĂƐ earnings season gradually winds up.

T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

SEP LA T

920.6

0.0% 0.0%

N EM

3.96

-10.0%

C UST OD IA N

7.15

-9.5%

M TNN

590.8

UA C N

9.10

-5.2%

GT C O

277.9

0.0%

F T N C OC OA

0.37

-5.1%

NB

274.6

0.0% -0.8%

J A P A ULGOLD

0.43

-4.4%

ST A N B IC

257.2

SOVR EN IN S

0.25

-3.8%

D A N GC EM

210.8

0.0%

M B EN EF IT

0.28

-3.4%

FB NH

151.3

0.0%

H ON YF LOUR

3.32

-2.4%

T R A N SC OR P

115.2

9.7%

114.2

0.2%

85.3

0.5%

WA P IC

0.48

-2.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

UB N

5.55

-1.8%

N GXGR OUP

35

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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 12Jan-2022, 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 167.39 168.87 0.42% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 9.03% Nigeria International Debt Fund 320.19 320.19 2.60% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 99.97 99.97 0.26% 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 9.80% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.38 3.44 -4.44% 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 N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Anchoria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 20.45 21.06 0.80% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 457.58 471.38 1.42% ARM Ethical Fund 39.43 40.62 1.23% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.07 1.07 -0.92% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.02 -0.12% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.50% 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 108.21 108.21 0.25% AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund 1,071.43 1,071.43 0.35% 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 2.06 2.06 5.04% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.21 2.25 52.53% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com

Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund Paramount Equity Fund Women's Investment Fund CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Cordros Money Market Fund Cordros Milestone Fund 2023

Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Bid Price 100.00 16.97 139.82

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 100.00 9.70% 17.28 0.85% 141.42 0.55% assetmgtteam@cordros.com

Bid Price 100.00 133.93

Offer Price 100.00 134.79

Yield / T-Rtn 9.31% 14.03%

110.62 110.62 6.07% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 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 8.22% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.26 1.27 0.91% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.41 1.41 -1.11% 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 7.47% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 7.81% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,152.18 1,152.94 -1.59% EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-asset-management-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Bond Market 1.00 1.00 8.74% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.05 1.05 2.85% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.12 1.12 0.52% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 104.68 104.68 0.06% 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 1,396.77 1,396.77 11.33% FBN Balanced Fund 175.98 177.20 0.41% FBN Halal Fund 115.97 115.97 9.35% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.09% 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

122.41 149.97

122.41 3.82% 151.71 -0.08% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price N/A N/A N/A N/A

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 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

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 N/A N/A N/A Vantage Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) N/A N/A N/A Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 11.89 11.99 0.92% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.28% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) N/A N/A N/A Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) N/A N/A N/A 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 1.56 1.59 13.32% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.19 11.17 12.78% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.70% PACAM Equity Fund 1.45 1.47 16.39% PACAM EuroBond Fund 114.34 116.68 1.70% 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 129.00 SCM Capital Frontier Fund 131.42 5.85% 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 1.08 1.08 10.03% 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 3,427.82 3,462.08 -0.49% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 236.00 236.00 0.11% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.27 1.29 -1.54% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 313.82 313.82 0.15% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 239.07 242.55 -1.27% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.34% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 11,020.79 11,178.42 -0.78% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.29 1.29 0.12% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 117.07 117.07 0.09% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 106.72 106.72 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 0.94 0.96 0.70% United Capital Bond Fund 1.38 1.38 -0.42% United Capital Equity Fund 1.10 1.11 0.86% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.08 1.08 0.28% United Capital Eurobond Fund 1.96 1.96 0.22% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 122.5469 122.55 0.17% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.00 1.00 8.94% 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 Balanced Strategy Fund 13.21 13.33 0.14% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 14.77 14.93 1.07% Zenith Income Fund 24.92 24.92 0.16% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.22%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 54.65

10.62% 8.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.33 129.90 103.11 18.06 21.58

13.43 133.14 105.38 18.16 21.68

3.67% -1.31% -0.49% 0.00% 0.00%

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

4.06 5.52 17.84 1.00 20.97 158.20

4.16 5.62 18.04 1.00 21.17 160.20

7.87% 8.33% 3.82% 8.43% 8.09% 0.27%

I N F R A ST R U C T U R E F U N D

Fund Name NAV Per Share Yield / T-Rtn Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund 107.28 10.80% 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.

36

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022 • T H I S D AY

NEWSXTRA

WE AIM TO BUILD MORE INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS...

L-R: The Rector, Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Prof. Austin Nweze; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State; Chairman, IMT Governing Council, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo; Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Edward Ubosi; and Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Education, Hon. James Akadu, during the inauguration of one of the multiple infrastructural projects executed by his administration in IMT, Enugu…yesterday

Dele Momodu Notifies PDP of Presidential Intention, Says Ambition Aimed at Reconciliation, Healing Ohuabunwa too as Ayu declares party has no preferred candidate Chuks Okocha in Abuja Publisher of Ovation International Magazine, Bashorun Dele Momodu, yesterday, notified the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of his intention to vie for the nation’s top job, saying his decision was aimed at national reconciliation and healing.

At the same time, a pharmacist and PDP member, Sam Ohuabunwa, has also hinted of his presidential run, even as the

National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyiorcha Ayu, has assured them of level playing field, saying the party had no preferred candidate.

Momodu, while speaking, commended the PDP national chairman for finding time to receive him at a short notice, which he said was evidence of Ayu's demonstration of his intellectual discipline, simplicity and cosmopolitan worldview.

He was of the view that the party was fortunate to have such a serious academic and patriot

Ex-AGF, Agabi, Writes Malami, Others against Compromising Former NIA DG, Dauda's Case Alex Enumah in Abuja A former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, has written to the incumbent, Abubakar Malami and warned against actions that could compromise the hearing of alleged unlawful dismissal from office of a formal Acting Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Dauda, pending at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

Agabi, in a letter to Malami, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and the Department of State Service (DSS), alleged that the government's security agency, which was the defendant/ appellant in the case planned to compromise the liberty of his client while the matter was still in court.

The former AGF, who is the counsel to Dauda, in the letter dated January 11, 2022, noted that Dauda had, following his removal from office and subsequent dismissal from service,challenged same action at the National Industrial Court, Abuja.

The letter, a copy of which was sent to the Inspector General of Police (IG) and DG, NIA, recalled that the National Industrial Court had on October 15, 2020, adjudged the plaintiffs dismissal from office as unlawful and ordered his immediate reinstatement into the service.

According to Agabi, the NIA

and its present DG, not satisfied with the judgment, appealed to the Court of Appeal, Abuja division in Appeal No. CA/A/1009/2020.

"In prosecution of this appeal, the appellants filed their brief of argument in response to which our client filed a respondent's brief.

Issues have now been joined in the appeal and same ripe for hearing.

"Prior to the determination of the substantive suit at the Industrial Court, the appellants had earlier appealed against the interlocutory decision of the court, refusing to dismiss the case of our client in appeal number CA/A/1037M/2018, and briefs have also been filed and exchanged in respect thereto.

"In the circumstance, there are two appeals initiated against our client by the agency both of which are still pending," the letter stated.

Agabi, while arguing that the mere filing of an appeal did not amount to a stay of execution, stressed that the judgment of the Industrial Court was valid and subsisting and all authorities were required by law to give effect to it.

The letter read: "There is no application for stay of execution but even if such an application were pending, it would not operate to our client in a position worse than he was before the delivery of the judgment in his favour.

"Despite the two appeals at the instance of the NIA, the Nigerian media space is consistently awash with news reports suggestive of attempts by NIA to compromise the personal liberty of our client on account of this appeals and or matters connected thereto.

as national chairman at this momentous period in the life of its troubled country, praying God to lead the party from glory to glory.

His words: "The time has come for full reconciliation and forgiveness and a closure of our ugly past. Nigeria urgently requires a reset and a total redirection. With this letter, Sir, I wish to humbly put the speculations to rest by coming to you with every sense of purpose and responsibility.

"In the last few days, there have been widespread speculations about my presidential bid for a second time. I have been greatly humbled by the excitement already generated, which reminds me of how it was 29 years ago, when your good friend and my own adopted father, Chief Moshood Abiola, threw his hat in the ring.

"It is very obvious that Nigerians are eager to restore that promise of hope and the accompanying peace and joy that we lost," Momodu stated.

He, therefore said, "After due consultations with my family, friends and some stakeholders, I have arrived at the decision to contest the 2023 Presidential election on the platform of our great party, PDP. If selected as the party's candidate, I hasten to add that this is my personal decision, although I have received advice, encouragement and support from

diverse quarters since I started my consultations.

"I, therefore, offer myself to the PDP as the best aspirant to turn the fortunes of our esteemed party and our well endowed country around. In this regard, and with a deep sense of humility and profound respect, I urge the party not to consider picking its candidate based on the usual considerations, which had spectacularly failed our country in the past. The mood of the teeming youths, and indeed every patriotic Nigerian, who we need to come out en masse to vote for our party, aligns with this view.

"It is for this reason, that I invite our great party, PDP, to accept that it must search for a veritable flag bearer with the requisite leadership and visionary qualities that Nigerians now carnestly year for "I'm convinced that the time has come to seriously challenge and dislodge those politicians,who have held our country to ransom by kidnapping, hijacking and destroying the future of our younger generation and generations yet unborn. I'm better prepared now than at the time of my first foray into the fray in 2011, and I am fully ready and certainly capable for the onerous tasks and responsibilities ahead.

"I wish to place on record, my firm promise and commitment not to be harassed, bullied or

intimidated by anyone, who feels he or she can buy the whole of Nigeria with loads of cash fraudulently and illegally filched and taken from the Nigerian people.

"I'm proud to follow in the best traditions of my heroic mentor, Chief Moshood Abiola, who had wanted to banish poverty in our land, but was disastrously disallowed from achieving this laudable objective. Nigeria has paid heavy price and penalty in the last 29 years and suffered untold agony and indignity as result of that tragic misadventure, "Nigeria deserves much better than where we are now, and my appeal to fellow Nigerians is that we should collectively rescue our dear country from the suffocating claws of slave masters, overlords and tyrants – vociferously and vehemently reject any suggestion that Nigeria should continue to tread this dangerous path. The die is cast, and we must regain and take back our country. I fully and unequivocally commit and dedicate myself to this cause," he stated.

Ohuabunwa, while intimating Ayu of his intention to contest for the presidential ticket of the party, said he was coming on board with his wealth of experience as an industrialist and entrepreneurs per excellence "So I am coming to lay the foundation for proper unity of our nation to create a level playing

ground, where every child born in every part of this country will have the same opportunity like the other child to achieve his potential the way it happens the United States of America.

"Secondly, the issues in the Southeast are national issues.

There's nothing unique about the Southeast. What is happening in the northwest, what is happening in the south, North East, what is happening in the middle belt – they are all symptomatic of the same problem – foundational issues with Nigeria. And all we need to do is to look at them as national problems, when you look at them as ethnic animal problem, we miss it; they are national problems.

"We need to sit there and say, this was not the way our country was run by the founding fathers of this country. They organised this country in a manner that allowed for mutually satisfying relationship. A relationship that is normal, actually satisfying, including the marriage is starting to break down. So, don't pretend about it," he said.

In response, Ayu assured them that, "There will be a level playing field for all candidates. We don't have any special candidate; we don't have a preferred candidate.

It is the party members, who will decide and if at the end of the day, the party members vote for you that you are the one they want, we will queue behind you.

Zenith Bank’s Share Price Makes History, Outperforms GTCO on NGX Kayode Tokede For the first time in many years, the stock price of Zenith Bank Plc on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) has overtaken that of Guaranty Trust Holdings Plc (GTCO).

According to capital market analysts, the stock price of Zenith Bank in the last 10 years has never outpaced GTCO. The stock price of Zenith Bank since the beginning of 2022 maintained a positive trajectory, gaining 1.39per cent in 7-day active trading on the bourse to close yesterday

at N25.50 from the N25.15 it opened for trading.

On the other hand, GTCO depreciated by 2.1 per cent to close yesterday at N25.45, from the N26 the stock market price opened this year.

The stock price of GTCO over the years traded higher than GTCO on the bourse.

According to capital market analysts, the anticipation of a robust dividend for 2021 financial year and the strong fundamentals of Zenith Bank had been attracting investors.

The Vice Chairman, Vice president, Mr. David Adnori

said investors were losing confidence in GTCO stock over the lender’s legal tussle with Chairman of Innoson Group, Innocent Chukwuma.

A capital market analyst, Mr. Rotimi Fakeyejo said the GTCO’s reported weak nine months unaudited result and accounts for September 30, 2021.

According to him: “Records in the last five years have shown that Pension Fund Administrators and foreign investors are always sceptical about investing in Holdings structure.”

Zenith Bank’s total market

capitalisation stood at N789.622 billion as at December 31, 2021, as it led the banking sector on the NGX. The bank’s share price gained one per cent to close 2021 at N25.15 in 2021. Zenith Bank in its unaudited results for the nine months period ended September 30, 2021, posted a profit before tax (PBT) of N180 billion. This represented a one per cent growth over the N177 billion recorded in the same period the previous year, amidst a challenging macroeconomic environment exacerbated by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

37

NEWS

FG Warns Police against Misuse of N8bn Equipment Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The federal government yesterday warned that it would not condone any act of abuse and mishandling of equipment and facilities provided to tackle security threats in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari handed down the warning at the inauguration of 200 Buffalo branded operational vehicles, bulletproof vests, protective helmets, drugs, and medical equipment to the Nigeria Police to aid policing in the country.

The president, who spoke at the Louis Edet Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, expressed optimism that the Inspector-General of Police (IG) and his management team, would commit officers and men of the Nigerian Police to reciprocate government’s efforts through judicious and effective use of the facilities for improvement of Nigerian security architecture.

“I am convinced that the IG and his management team, will commit officers and men of the Nigerian

Police Force to reciprocate government’s efforts through judicious and effective use of this facility for improvement of Nigerian security architecture as the government will not condone any act of abuse and mal-handling of the facilities provided from very limited resources.

Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Dingyadi, tasked officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force to continue to show commitment in the discharge of their duties and to adopt a holistic internal security mechanism in the country so as to ensure the provision of conducive environment needed to boost operations of the Nigeria Police Force and by extension emplace a more peaceful and safe country for economic buoyancy, and improved livelihood for the citizenry.

He noted that the recent federal executive council’s approval of an enhanced salaries packages and other allowances for the Nigeria

Police further affirms his administration’s commitment to enhance policing and deserved commendations from wellmeaning Nigerians.

“I congratulate the board of trustee, management and staff of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund for meticulously and meritoriously completing

the execution of this projects, marking commencement of commissioning of numerous interventions, through equipping, training and

modernisation of policing infrastructure in line with this administrations’ mandates to deepen security and safety nationwide.

WE APPRECIATE YOU…

L-R:Group Managing Director, Tripple Gee & Company Plc, Mrs. Adebimpe Giwa, and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Kunle Fasanu, at the send forth ceremony for Fasanu who retired from the company after 21 meritorious years of service in Lagos...recently

Pan-Yoruba Groups Identify Wike Clampdowns on Illegal Oil Refineries Ethnic Conflict, Violence as in Rivers Communities Threat to Peaceful Poll Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Deborah Orefale

Several pan-Yoruba groups have again met in Lagos with a vow to ensure that the South-west determines the future of elections in the region. The group, in a statement signed by the General Secretary, Mr. Popoola Ajayi, adopted the name Alliance of Pan Yoruba Democratic Movements (APYDM) and saying ethnic conflict, violence and the national question are critical issues that must be resolved if elections have to be meaningful and impactful in Nigeria.

The group said it would soon launch an opinion poll across the

South-west including Kwara and Kogi States to feel the purse of the people on presidential aspirants in the context of the future of democracy and elections in the region.

The group condemned the attacks on Yoruba territories by armed groups the latest being the violence visited on Molege and Arimogija in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State by armed herdsmen.

“The 57 pan-Yoruba and Civil Society groups earlier met in Lagos last week when it resolved that any election in Yoruba territory should be about the resolution of the national question and nothing more.

PDP Faults Akeredolu’s Response to Allegation of Looting Fidelis David inAkure The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Ondo State yesterday faulted the response of the Director General of the state Performance and Project Monitoring Implementation Unit (PPMIU) and son of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Mr. Babajide Akeredolu, to allegation of looting as false.

The party had on 5th of January, released the names and details of eight companies owned by Akeredolu’s family, alleging that the family was using to siphon

the state funds.

But PDP in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Kennedy Peretei, said Akeredolu, should have resigned as governor of Ondo State, if in a more civilized clime, for abuse of his office and made to explain to the people what he knows about all the companies his son registered after being elected as Governor.

“While not denying his ownership or affiliation to the exposed companies and details, topical in Babajide’s response was his claim that most of them have no bank accounts”.

Buhari Flays Recent Killings in Plateau, Says Subsisting Peace Deal Must Not Collapse Deji ElumoyeinAbuja President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the fresh killings in Bassa Local Government area of Plateau State.

The President, in a statement issued on yesterday by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, stressed that the recent ugly incident is at variance with the principles of the peace agreements reached between the Irigwe and the Fulani in the area.

He, therefore, emphasised the need for parties to the agreements to ensure that the pact did not collapse.

President Buhari urged the various communities in the area, and particularly the Plateau State Interreligious Council to do everything possible to commit to the peace agreement and prevent it from falling apart.

“Every group taking the law into their hands claims to be retaliating.

As a society, there is no place for this sort of violence. This is unacceptable”.

To match his words with action, the Rivers State Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike yesterday, stormed the forests of Ogbodo community in Ikwerre Local Government Area and Ibaa community in Emohua Local Government Area where he uncovered some crude oil illegal refining sites.

The governor has therefore, vowed not to spare anyone involved in the illegal bunkering

and artisanal refinery activities that have caused the soot pandemic in the State.

Wike maintained that his administration would not succumb to any form of blackmail or sentiment that will be stirred by perpetrators in an attempt to frustrate efforts at curbing such hazardous business.

The governor said: “They can’t be doing this and be killing my people. No reasonable government will allow that. And I can tell you with all due respect,

we will take this matter very seriously.”

“Look at how, everyday, in your house, you see the soot. I mean, how can you allow that?

So, this one that we can solve, we will solve it.

“We have assured the people of Rivers State, we will fight this matter to the last until I leave office.”

Wike noted that confronting cartel in the illegal crude oil business will not be easy. But vowed to consider it as a war

like situation and fight it from the standpoint of the law.

According to the governor, no matter how highly placed the perpetrators may be, they will not be spared, but confronted, apprehended and be made to face the full force of the law.

Wike directed the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Zacchaeus Adangor, SAN, to take over the case files of illegal crude oil refinery operators arrested by the police.

ICPC Secures Interim Forfeiture of N110.4m Traced to Primary School Teacher, Accomplices Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the interim forfeiture of N110.4 million traced to the bank accounts of one Mr. James Erebuoye and seven other suspects by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly being proceeds of crime.

In an ex-parte motion filed by Raheem Adessina on behalf of ICPC before Justice D. Okorowa, the commission further prayed for an order of interim forfeiture of a Toyota Lexus Jeep and a Toyota Venza car, including an Ipad device.

The properties were seized by the commission from Mr. Erebuoye and his accomplices, who were alleged to have benefitted from over N500

million illicit funds stashed in the account of a primary school teacher, Mrs. Roseline Uche Egbuha.

A statement issued by ICPC said the commission found that N110,364,592.4 was surreptitiously moved sometime in 2020, from the bank account of the primary school teacher, who was being investigated for money laundering and other fraud into different accounts

owned by Erebuoye and eight other persons including two companies.

The money to be forfeited includes N17.4 million that was transferred to the bank account of Erebuoye, N14.2 million to an account owned by one Ojo Alonge, N16.4 million to a company called DY Bako and Sons Ltd and N30.8 million to another company known as Dorason Construction Ltd.

Plateau Varsity SSANU Vows to Continue Strike over Minimum Wage Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Plateau State University (PLASU) chapter has vowed to continue their strike action indefinitely following the refusal of the state government to pay minimum wage and earned allowances owed its members.

Chairman of the association, Timnan Rimdap, in a statement explained that since the

association embarked on a total and indefinite strike to demand payment of arrears of over N300 million earned allowances and ,minimum wage owed members, government has not engaged it in a dialogue with a view to resolving the issues.

He expressed disappointment over the position of the state government in which it decided to ignore the association, adding that it was unbecoming of a supposedly worker friendly

government.

Secretary of SSANU, Mr. Fom Dakwak said: “Members of the public will recall that the Plateau State University Branch of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) had, on Tuesday 21st December 2021, embarked on a total and indefinite strike action to register its displeasure on a range of issues, one of which is the failure of the Governor Lalong’s administration to pay arrears of

earned allowances and minimum wage owed its members.

“Having painstakingly followed all due processes and secured all the necessary approvals for the payment of its own share of the earned allowances, SSANU made numerous demands on the Lalong’s administration to release its own share which amounted to a total sum of over N310 million for the period 2010 to 2020, but nothing came out.

Military Task Force Rescues Kidnapped Plateau Polytechnic Students Seriki Adinoyi in Jos Military Task Force (Operation Safe Haven) in charge of security in Plateau State, has rescued the three students of Plateau State Polytechnic kidnapped on Wednesday from the Barking Ladi campus of the institution.

Information officer of the task force, Major Ishaku Takwa disclosure in a statement

yesterday.

He said the feat was achieved when the troops deployed at Nding Sesut, a remote community in Barikin Ladi, noticed an unusual movement of persons during patrols, adding that “Troops immediately conducted cordon and search in the general area that led to rescue of the three students at an abandoned poultry farm.

“The victims have since been united with their families.

Manhunt to apprehend the suspects is still ongoing.

Commending the vigilance and efforts of the troops, the Commander, of the task force, Major General Ibrahim Ali appreciated law abiding citizens who provided credible information to the security agencies.

He reiterated his resolve to make

Plateau state a difficult terrain for criminals to operate.

Three students of the Plateau State Polytechnic were on Wednesday night abducted by gunmen suspected to be bandits.

THISDAY gathered that the gun men reportedly scaled the fence into the school at about 8pm, fired gunshots into the air to scare other students away before taking their victims away.

FRIDAY JANUARY 14, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

38

WORLD OF ISLAM

NEWSEXTRA

Amotekun Nabs 17 Northerners with 34 Dogs, Guns, Cutlasses, Questions in the Grave: Charms in Ondo

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Fidelis David in Akure

Men of the Ondo State Security Network Agency codenamed ‘Amotekun’ have arrested 17 men of Northern extraction with 34 dogs, guns, charms, cutlasses, swords, catapults.

Amotekun also arrested two armed robbers after robbing 18 travelers of their belongings at Isu-Akoko while on transit to Abuja.

The state Commander of the Amotekun Corps , Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who disclosed this while

parading the suspects in Akure said the suspects were arrested in Okitipupa Local Government Areas of Ondo State.

He said: “The residents raised the alarm that they suddenly found a number of people who claimed to come from the northern part of the country with guns, charms, cutlasses, swords, catapults. Upon interrogation, they said they were invited to Okitipupa by somebody and that they are actually working for the person, but all attempt to reach the person they claimed they

work for proved abortive.

“We have 34 dogs, among able body men who don’t even know where they are going to. They claimed they were dropped in Okitipupa by a vehicle and the vehicle had left which calls for very serious concern, looking at the security situation in the country.

He said investigation into who brought them, their real mission is still ongoing but warned residents to be vigilant and call on security agencies once they see what he described as mysterious things.

Scores Killed in Shiroro Communities Attack, Niger Govt Confirms Laleye Dipo in Minna The Niger State Government has countered the state police command in its claim over the death toll in the bandits’ attacks on two communities in the Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.

While the police in its account of the incident contained in a statement by its Public Relations Officer DSP Wasiu Abiodun claimed 13 people were killed, the government in its statement said “scores of villagers” were killed in the incident.

The government position was

contained in a statement signed on behalf of Governor Abubakar Sani Bello by his Chief Press Secretary Mrs. Mary Noel Berje.

Giving the government’s account of the incident the statement said: “Governor Abubakar Sani Bello describes the recent attacks in some communities of Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State by a terrorist group, that left scores of villagers dead, as insane and unacceptable “The attacks led to the killing of many, houses and food barns were also burnt” the statement said.

Governor Bello said he shared in the pains and grief of the villagers

and promised that more decisive actions would be taken to guarantee the lives of the inhabitants of the communities.

Bello also described the act “as barbaric and inhumane” adding that efforts would be intensified by government and security agencies to ensure that desperate terrorists, who are on the run, are captured and brought to justice “We are worried by the nefarious activities of these terrorists, desperation has been noticed amongst them as a result of the onslaught of security agents which has made them to target unsuspecting rural inhabitants.

Don’t Allow IPOB to Destabilise Nigeria, Group Tells FG Francis Sardauna in Katsina A civil society organisation, Partnership for Peace and Community Development (PPCD), has urged the federal government not to allow what it termed ‘unlawful activities’ of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to destabilise the unity and stability of Nigeria.

The group said the government should not be deterred by the activities of the IPOB and their “faceless collaborators,” whom they said were out to malign and

distract innocent Nigerians from discharging their lawful businesses and constitutional rights.

The Convener of the PPCD, Muhammad Abbah Sada, disclosed this last Wednesday at a press conference held at the Katsina NUJ secretariat while reacting to recent call by the IPOB to ban National Anthem and cow meat in the southern region of the country.

He explained that the recent “childish, reckless and unintelligent” threat of banning the Nigerian National Anthem as well as selling

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of cow meat in the Southeast by IPOB was an attempt to set the country on fire.

Sada, however, urged Nigeria youths residing in the northern region of the country to remain calm irrespective of the activities of the IPOB for the interest of peace, unity and stability of the country.

According to him, “After a holistic appraisal of the issues and the pros and cons of the threat, PPCD has come to the conclusion that it is either IPOB is a fifth columnist that is out there to set the country on fire or is against the interest of the majority of the Igbo people residing in other parts of the country.

“If not, why will you embark on an agenda that will threaten and endanger over 20 million Igbo people living and cohabitating with their brothers in the northern part of the country peacefully for a very long time.

Ayade Swears in Journalist as Head of Service The Cross River State Governor, Mr. Ben Ayade, yesterday swore in a journalist, Mr. Timothy Ogbang Akwaji, as the state’s new Head of Service. He is the first journalist to be so appointed.

Akwaji was variously editor and managing director of the state-owned newspaper, the Chronicle.

A consummate journalist, he was Vice President, East, Nigerian Guild of Editors and also its financial secretary.

Until his appointment as Head of Service, Akwaji was Permanent Secretary, Cross River State Ministry of Climate Change and International Development Corporation ( MIDC) respectively.

Ayade, who spoke at the swearing-in ceremony that was held at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Calabar, commended the new Head of Service for a

harmonious working relationship with Commissioners of the various Ministries, especially, Dr Inyang Asibong, Commissioner for MIDC, where he served as Permanent Secretary.

He said: “I want this to be a lesson to all the Permanent Secretaries that this is what the relationship between a permanent secretary and commissioners should be.

“Within the short period of their working together, they have bonded to the point that she could cite his citation without almost reading it.”

Ayade noted that “it shows clearly that the cleavage that divides us is far seen than the ones that unite us. It shows that a commissioner who has a good attitude and conduct can bring his or her Permanent Secretary so close that they become one.”

Mother of All Exams (3)

By: Spahic Omer/IslamiCity (continued from last week) Believers will answer to the effect of reading, believing in and affirming the Qur’an, even though, on the face of it, different answers might be given. This additionally shows the worth of the Qur’an. For Muslims, to have the Qur’an as the constitution and the primary source of law – yet of their whole existence - is not a choice but a must. In its exceptional way, the Qur’an is indispensable, just as Allah, Islam and the Prophet are in their own ways.

Finally, inasmuch as this last question and its answer issue from, and are premised on, the first three questions and their answers, the same could be a reason why some hadith accounts did not mention the final (fourth) question at all. As if its quintessence was already implied or covered.

The Case of Nonbelievers A nonbeliever will be asked only three questions: “Who is your Lord?”, “What is your religion?” and “Who is this man who was sent among you?” His response to all of them will be: “Oh, oh, I don’t know” (Sunan Abi Dawud).

A nonbeliever will not be asked the last question because doing so will be unnecessary – and Allah knows best. If he is asked, the same answer will have been forthcoming. Doing so will be rather meaningless and time-wasting, while the exam in the grave is only truth and substance-oriented. The answer per se will be expected, in that it is predicated on the first three questions and a person’s answers to them.

Why to ask a person about his deeds and their sources, as well as about his knowledge, if he did not take Allah as his God and Lord, Islam as his religion and the way of life, and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as his teacher and exemplar. In this regard, a person’s relationship with all his deeds, by default, are bound to be inadequate as well.

It is remarkable that a nonbeliever will reply to the three questions simply that he does not know. He will not state who his lord (god) in lieu of Allah was, what his religion (a way of life) instead of Islam was, and who his teacher and role model instead of the Prophet was.

The reason for that is whatever a nonbeliever’s tenets and life-patterns in this world were, they were wrong. They were furthermore bogus and functioned only as a mirage. A person lived a life deceived and captivated by them.

Thus, as soon as he departed from this world, he realized what he lived for was fake and illusory. Now in the world of the ubiquitous truth and compelling actual realities, all those things commanded no sense or import whatsoever, let alone any status or authority. They did not deserve to be even mentioned.

A person suddenly found himself in the presence of the Absolute Truth and Reality, about which however he knew nothing. Everything was completely foreign to him, making him feel lost, betrayed and left in the lurch. His life ideals failed him completely, becoming mere shadows and nullities. Such a person’s answer to the mentioned questions that he does not know represents at once a statement of truth and an expression of bitter distress and guilt.

Implications of the Exam in the Grave The implications of the mother of all exams are many. To begin with, people are not to live for momentary things and ideas. Rather, these are to be used for securing that which is truly real, authentic and everlasting. The bliss of the Hereafter is not to be traded for the short-term gains of this world.

People should not live for something that may simply anytime – upon their inevitable and eternally unexpected deaths – become meaningless and vain. People must not strive their entire lives to become somebodies only in the end to turn into de facto nothings and nobodies. Their existential legacies must not become ones of utter failure and ruin.

Surely, people are created to be way better and bigger than that. The greatest pain on the Day of Judgment will be the realization that one has wasted the only opportunity he had, and that he for that very purpose has abused all the gifts and potentials his Creator had bestowed upon him. The physical suffering notwithstanding,

the most hurtful will be unending regrets and feelings of guilt. Equally hurtful will be the realization that one is everlastingly rejected, ignored, forgotten and abandoned, just as he while in this world rejected, ignored, forgot and abandoned that which he was supposed to wholeheartedly accept, obey, love and cherish.

Moreover, all stages of one’s earthly journey, and all exams, need somehow or other to give emphasis to the importance of the mother of all exams and to gradually prepare a person for it. They all should realign themselves.

This means that especially educational systems – albeit without discounting the roles of other socio-political and economic systems - should not nurture merely superficial professionals and with that, unsophisticated citizens, who are most likely to be at odds with the quintessence of the approaching supreme exam. Rather, they should nurture universally good men and women, who will not only be prepared for the said exam, but also function as sources of genuine goodness and productivity in every given circumstance.

For Muslims, in no way can a knowledge and educational system be regarded as good if they keep a person ignorant about, and away from, his Creator and Master, his Islam and his Prophet. No life paradigm can be deemed successful if it alienates one from the revealed knowledge, Almighty Allah’s only path, and all the heavenly moral standards.

The Malaise of Today’s Muslims It is truly shocking to discover to what extent many Muslims today are misguided on this.

They hope to be of the successful but remain, to varying degrees, strangers to the Qur’an and its content, to the core principles and values of Islam, and to the spirit of the Prophet’s life example.

Hence, many of the Muslim politicians and leaders are inept and downright corrupt; many intellectuals are misguided and arrogant; many business leaders are selfish, greedy and unscrupulous; many performers and entertainers are ill-advised, disingenuous and deluding; many media personnel are gullible and puppets, yet at the same time big-headed and avaricious; whereas a great many common people, lost, confused and starved of sincere consideration, righteousness and integrity, endlessly oscillate between the impact of the compass of one group and that of another. Not many stay completely immune to what is going on. Yet fewer succeed in preserving fully their Islamic purity, uprightness and zeal.

It seems that an array of feigned authorities and masters are more important than Allah, that countless fake heroes and exemplars are more flattering than the Prophet, that endless one-dimensional philosophies and ideologies are more fulfilling than Islam, and that biased deeds and accomplishments, which people pursue to satisfy their vain desires, are more gratifying than doing things in order to please Allah alone.

Apparently for many people the much-treasured Information Age is becoming a curse. They read ever-more and are exposed to an endless supply of information and knowledge. However, all they end up consuming is second-rate scraps and utter junk. That resulted in people becoming more and more estranged from what is actual, right and essential. They became alienated from nature, their very selves, and from each other.

Needless to say that it is only Allah’s Shari’ah (immutable divine law), Islamic teachings and values, and the example of the Prophet that should serve to Muslims as a framework and point of reference in every cultural and civilizational undertaking of theirs. Only this will ensure the sustainability of their legacy and so, their happiness in both worlds. Only this furthermore will ensure that they will pass all the exams that lie ahead, in particular the mother of all exams in the grave.

History is the witness that there cannot be an option that can even come close to what Islam offers to its peoples. Following the painful colonization era, most Muslim societies experimented with all the available socio-politico-economic preferences, often more earnestly than their creators. However, nothing really worked. Muslims are still at the crossroads – and defeated. Hopefully soon they will realize that Islam is the only solution and the only way forward. Hopefully soon we will all stop asking: “Will we ever learn”?

39

FRIDAY, ͹ͼ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

FRIDAYSPORTS

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

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Eguavoen Focused on Winning against Sudan Tomorrow Duro Ikhazuagbe After executing his first game of the tournament with maximum result against a crack opponents as the Pharaohs of Egypt, Interim Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen is firmly focused on tomorrow’s AFCON 2021 Group D clash with Sudan.

“I am focused on winning against Sudan for now; I don’t want to think about any record or how we go about our third

RESULTS Cameroon 4-1 Ethiopia Cape Verde 0-1 B’Faso

(FRI Jan 14) Senegal v Guinea (2pm) Malawi v Zimbabwe (5pm) Morocco v Comoros (5pm) Gabon v Ghana (8pm)

(SAT Jan 15) Nigeria v Sudan (5pm) G’Bissau v Egypt (8pm)

(SUN Jan 16) Gambia v Mali (2pm) Ivory Coast v S’Leone (5pm) Tunisia v Mauritania (5pm) Algeria v E’Guinea (8pm)

match. Sudan is in focus now and we have to deal with that, squarely,” Eguavoen fondly called Cerezo in his playing days told NFFTV in Cameroon Apart from the 4-0 win over the Eagles in 1963 in Accra, Sudan’s 1-0 defeat of Nigeria in an AFCON qualifier in Khartoum in October 2014 was one of the principal reasons for the absence of the green-and-white in the 30th edition of the tournament in Equatorial Guinea seven years ago.

Now, Eguavoen does not want another such upset to happen again. Not after Super Eagles kicked off their campaign with 1-0 defeat of seven-time champions Egypt.

“I am happy with our output against Egypt and especially the way the boys set up and approached the game (against Egypt) the way we agreed was best. Everything worked,” revealed Eguavoen of the game plan that Nigeria executed against the Egyptians.

He admitted to have moved on in his characteristic manner of taking every game as they come.

“We have shifted our focus completely to the next match and it is another day and another team and a different approach. I am happy with the playing personnel that we have got and the way they are ready to give their all,” Eguavoen further stressed.

Cerezo featured for the Nigerian

A F R I CA C U P O F N AT I O N S senior team for 11 years between 1987 and 1998, during which he lifted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994, held aloft the Afro-Asian Cup the following year, played in three AFCON finals (it could have been six but he missed the 1990 finals in Algeria; Nigeria withdrew from the 1996 finals and; was barred from the 1998 competition) and featured at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals. He won a total of 51 senior caps.

As coach, Eguavoen was assistant to another former captain Christian Chukwu when Nigeria finished third at the 2004 finals in Tunisia, then led the team to

win another bronze in Egypt two years later.

He is one of only 15 indigenous coaches to have taken charge of the Senior Men National Team of Nigeria, and also one of the 15 African coaches at these finals in Cameroon.

As Head Coach, the hardas-nails defender has the most win-record with the Super Eagles, winning nine of his 12 matches in charge between 2005 and 2007, and is one of only three coaches to have steered an African country to the top 10 of the FIFA rankings (the other two being Clemens Westerhof and Egypt’s Hassan Shehata).

Augustine Eguavoen...steering Super Eagles brilliantly in Cameroon

TIT BITS (MATCH DAY-6) *A Milestone Involving Nigeria against Sudan

*Auba Returns for Black Stars Challenge

Qualification for the knockout phase beckons as Super Eagles play Sudan in their second Group D match in Garoua tomorrow.

Another three points after the three collected from the victory over Egypt will put Nigeria on top of the standings on six points and the ticket to the Round of 16 in the bag.

Both sides are not new to each other haven met in most of the notable international competitions but the most striking when both teams met in Port Harcourt in a World Cup qualifying match to the 2002 tournament. Victor Agali scored two of Super Eagles three goal-win. But more significantly, Agali’s second goal was Nigeria’s 100th goal in World Cup qualifying history!

After their late minute defeat against Atlas Lions of Morocco, Ghana’s Black Stars appear set to bounce back with a win tonight when they play Gabon. But Gabon’s inspirational Captain, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is back to the team after his initial Covid-19 saga. This will be the first encounter between Gabon and Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Gabonese are looking forward to a consecutive win in the tournament for the first time since a run of three in January 2012.

*The Enigma Called Sadio Mane With one penalty goal against Zimbabwe added to his International goals, Sadio Mané, before now has been directly involved in five of Senegal’s last six goals in the Africa Cup of Nations (four goals, one assist).

Indeed, since his debut in the competition in January 2015, Mané has been directly involved in more goals at the Africa Cup of Nations than any other Senegalese player (six goals, one assist).

This afternoon, Senegal will be up against fellow West African nation, Guinea.

*Vincent Aboubakar Sets the Tone of Goals with Host With tournament looking like a low scoring range, Cameroon’s captain and forward, Vincent Aboubakar yesterday broke the jinx as the host country secured a resounding 4-1 win over hapless Ethiopia who incidentally scored the opening goal. Indomitable Lions made a feast out of the side. It was the first time any match will end with more than two goal-margin. Aboubakar is now the leading scorer of this edition on four points..

*Senegal Renew Rivalry with Guinea Senegal and Guinea are meeting for the third time at the Africa Cup of Nations, with Senegal winning the first two encounters: 2-1 in the 1994 group stage and 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the 2006 tournament. In both matches, Guinea opened the scoring before eventually finishing as the losing side.

-Compiled by Femi Solaja

Akram Tawfik (left) chasing after Moses Simon before he got injured during the Nigeria versus Egypt clash in Garoua last Tuesday.

Simon Wishes Injured Egypt’s Tawfik Quick Recovery Super Eagles winger, Simon Moses who was the tormentorin- chief during Nigeria versus Egypt last Tuesday, has extended his get-well message to injured Egyptian player, Akram Tawfik, in the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Speaking with NFFTVyesterday morning, Simon, prayed for the quick recovery of Tawfik.

“My name is Moses Simon.

I am a Super Eagles player. I want to use this medium to wish Egyptian player, Akram Tawfik, all the best and quick recovery.

Please be strong,” stressed the Nantes player in the French Ligue 1.

Tawfik got injured in the 11th minutes of the Pharaoh Group D match against the Super Eagles while trying to ward off the challenge of Moses Simon.

He was instantly replaced by defender Mohamed Abdelmoneim.

However, news from the Egyptian camp confirmed

yesterday that Tawfik has been ruled out for the rest of the football season, including the ongoing AFCON 2021.

Tawfik, a defensive midfielder plays his club football with Egyptian premier league side, Al Ahly.

Prudential Announces AFCON 2021 Sponsorship Deal with CAF Prudential Africa has signed a sponsorship agreement with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to become the official insurance partner of the ongoing 33rd edition of Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon.

At a press conference to announce the sponsorship, Eric Mboma, Chief Representative Officer, Prudential Northern Africa Region, said the sponsorship underscored Prudential’s commitment to the African continent.

“As we grow our business in Africa, we also want to support the passion and talent of its people.

Africans share a common love for football and we are honored to be part of a tournament that unites the continent and brings together the brightest talents of African football,” he said.

Commenting on the sponsorship, CAF’s General Secretary, Mr. Véron Mosengo-Omba, said, “We are excited and pleased to have on board Prudential as a partner. We

share a common purpose in our commitment to developing local talent as well as driving prosperity for the people of Africa.

“Through sports, Prudential wants to encourage people to stay active and lead more healthy lifestyles. As a life insurer, we believe that health and wellness are important for people to live fulfilling lives.”

AFCON 2021 started on January 9 and will run till February 6in the cities of Cameroon.

Runsewe Commends Organisers of Oba Ewuare’s Golf Tournament The President of Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has commended the Nigerian golf community for setting aside two days to celebrate the revered Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare with a golf tournament.

Runsewe said that the two-day tournament slated to hold at the Benin Golf Club which would involve 100 amateur golfers and invited professionals from the

South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria is to honour Oba as father of golf in Nigeria and renowned traditional ruler in Africa.

Runsewe, who is a decorated Ambassador of Golf by Oba Ewuare promised to ensure that a tournament befitting of the status, personality and royalty of the Oba is held annually in honour of Oba Ewuare II in Benin City.

He added that in view of the

high respect the Oba of Benin commands among the golfing community and in the world at large, golf tournament in his honour shall subsequently be full blown Pro-Am, adding that he will give his full support as the president of the Nigeria Golf Federation.

“In my capacity as the president of NGF, I shall ensure that a yearly tournament in honor of

Oba Ewuare II is a five-star event that could boost golf development in Nigeria and Africa,” Runsewe who is also the Director General of the National Council for Arts and Culture said.

“The name of the Oba is huge enough to attract huge sponsorship,” he pointed out, adding that he will use his wealth of knowledge and position to ensure enhanced organizations.

Friday, January 14, 2022

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MISSILE Yoruba Council of Elders to Buhari

“I am surprised that Mr. President believes that State Police is not an option. There is no federalism anywhere in the world where the police system is centralised.

There is none, particularly in a country as vast as Nigeria. Nigeria is a very big country, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sahara desert. It is a vast country and a heterogeneous country”-YCE Secretary- General, Dr. Kunle Olajide, faulting the president’s warped stance on State Police.

CHIDI ANSELMODINKALU GUEST COLUMNIST

The Court that Killed Accountability “If everything is for sale, including the courts and the police, trust evaporates, credit vanishes and business withers” – Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, p 257 (2016)

I

t is no longer news that Nigeria’s courts have normalised corruption and abuse of power. They have also put the corruption of courts and judges beyond the realm of accountability. Having developed into a country incapable of generating indignation for these perversions of high judicial office, Nigerians nevertheless wonder why the country has descended into an orgy of violent self-help.

What follows is a recent timeline of how.

In 2007, former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo and his hand-picked electoral umpire, Maurice Iwu, presided over the most venal elections in Nigeria’s history. 86.35% of the offices contested and called in that election ended up before the judges who ultimately decided the winners and losers. Unsurprisingly, the judges were under considerable pressure of different kinds.

One of the contests that ended up in court concerned the governorship of Osun State in South West Nigeria. Presiding over the tribunal in that contest in 2007 was a judge of the Plateau State High Court, Thomas Naron. In this capacity, Justice Naron got into intimate telephone exchanges over the case with Kunle Kalejaiye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), representing the then Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, in whose favour the tribunal eventually decided. These allegations eventually ended up before the National Judicial Council (NJC) in a petition against Justice Naron. In February 2013, the NJC found that Justice Naron had violated his judicial oath in his dalliance with Kunle Kalejaiye and terminated his judicial career.

Separately, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) took up a complaint against Kunle Kalejaiye for violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) in the legal profession. On 21 May, 2015, the LPDC found Kalejaiye guilty of multiple violations of the RPC and disbarred him. Mr. Kalejaiye appealed against his disbarment ultimately to the Supreme Court. On 15 March, 2019, the Supreme Court decided that his right to fair hearing had been violated because a member of the LPDC who had failed to sit in the proceedings of the Committee had nevertheless participated in its final decision. So, the Supreme Court voided the decision of the LPDC and gave Mr. Kalejaiye a clean bill of health without clearing him of the allegation of corrupting judges. The NJC fired the judge whom Mr. Kalejaiye corrupted but the Supreme Court saw nothing wrong with corrupting him.

This decision was a curious departure from over four decades of Supreme Court decisions. In September 1971, the Public Service Commission of Rivers State determined that Athanasius Hart, then Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Works, Land and Transport, was guilty of serious charges of abuse of office and official corruption. Instead of taking

Obasanjo action against Mr. Hart, the Commission transmitted its recommendations to the then Military Governor, Alfred Diette-Spiff, who ordered that Mr. Hart be summarily retired.

Mr. Hart challenged the governor’s decision.

He lost in the High Court and appealed to the Supreme Court, which found that the power to discipline the Permanent Secretary belonged not to the Governor but to the Public Service Commission. As a result, the Supreme Court set aside the Governor’s decision but, rather than reinstate Mr. Hart, it ordered on 19 November, 1976, that the case be remitted to the Public Service Commission “so that the Commission can exercise its powers….as it may deem fit.”

When it decided the case of Kunle Kalejaiye, the Supreme Court did not appear to remember the case of Athanasius Hart from 43 years before. Two years after, on 16 June 2021, the Supreme Court equally forgot what it did in Mr. Kalejaiye’s case. The case this time involved three lawyers, Mamman Waziri, Olayori Muideen and Osaretin George Izegbuwa, disbarred by the LPDC for serious professional misconduct. As with Mr. Kalejaiye, the Supreme Court found that there had been a violation of fair hearing because a member who had not participated in the proceedings voted on the final decision of the LPDC. However, unlike in the case of Mr. Kalejaiye, rather than give these more junior lawyers a clean bill of health, the court ordered the retrial of the lawyers by a new panel of the LPDC. The court made no effort to justify why it decided these cases differently.

This tendency to invent law on a whim has characterized decisions of the highest courts in Nigeria on matters of judicial integrity. On 23 June, 2017, the High Court of Lagos State delivered a ruling asserting competence to try Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, a judge of the Federal High Court, for unlawful enrichment (another name for judicial graft). Nganjiwa appealed to the Court of Appeal claiming that he could not be prosecuted for such a crime without first having been disciplined by the NJC. Five months later, on 11 December, 2017, the Court of Appeal

agreed with him that he could not be prosecuted except after the NJC had decided on a petition against the judge. Interestingly, when the NJC earlier this month disciplined three judges for issuing “black market” ex parte orders, it did not await nor did it receive any petitions.

Nganjiwa is back judging. Justifying itself, the Court of Appeal observed: “if a judicial officer commits theft, fraud, murder or manslaughter, arson and the likes, which are crimes committed outside the scope of the performance of his official functions, he may be arrested, interrogated and prosecuted accordingly by the State directly without recourse to the NJC.” With these words, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal says collecting bribes is within the scope of a judge’s official functions? By the way, if the Court of Appeal had bothered to read Nigeria’s Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, it would have found that Rule 1(1) of the Code requires all judicial officers to “respect and comply with the laws of the land….” In effect, the distinction that the court seeks to draw between judicial corruption on the one hand and other crimes on the other, such as murder, manslaughter or arson, does not exist because the crimes in the latter category also violate of the Judicial Code of Conduct. On this kind of jurisprudence, Justice Donald Ikomi would not have been exonerated after trial on a charge of killing of his Police Orderly because the judicial fraternity would have invented some technicality to peclude that from happening and condemned him to a lifetime of living with indelible reputational

No one wants to invest in a country in which judges lack the capacity for indignation over credible charges of judicial corruption.This is why Nigeria bleeds investments and even those who end up investing in Nigeria don’t choose it as the place for resolving their investment disputes.They think Nigerian judges are bought and sold on the open market and the Supreme Court is unwilling to face this down. Rather, it emits high tolerance for corrupting jurisprudence and a jurisprudence of corruption which is as unfair to honest judges as it is damaging to hardworking lawyers

blot as a killer.

Following the decision of the Court of Appeal in Justice Nganjiwa’s case, in January 2021, the High Court of Lagos discharged Mohammed Yinusa, another judge of the Federal High Court, on charges of having received unlawful payments from senior lawyers who were conducting cases before him. He was not acquitted. Thereafter, the NJC reinstated him as a judge. How lawyers can appear before him and call him “My Lord” knowing that he is forever tarnished is another matter. Similarly, on 21 November, 2021, the Federal High Court in Lagos discharged Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, another judge of the Federal High Court, from charges of money laundering again on a technicality.

In an icing on this bazaar of judicial whim, the Supreme Court on 20 December, 2021 reversed the conviction of Joseph Nwobike, another SAN, on charges of perverting of the course of justice. Mr. Nwobike reportedly specialized in “inducing court registrars to ensure that his cases were assigned to his preferred judges so he could obtain favourable judgments.”

Nwobike, the charges read, also offered bribes to Mohammed Yinusa and Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, both judges of the Federal High Court. In a startling perversion, if ever there was one, the Supreme Court claimed that it was not “safe to regard the offence of attempt to pervert the course of justice which [Nwobike] was convicted for, where it has not been shown that it was committed with the objective of earning wealth…. as an economic and financial crime.” With clear evidence that Nwobike went about buying up judges and court registrars, the Supreme Court still wanted proof that his name was not OXFAM? The decision of the Supreme Court purporting to clear Joseph Nwobike and reinstating him as a senior lawyer seals its reputation as the venue where accountability meets the judicial Guillotine. Tragically, in this one decision, the court inflicts eternal injustice on Nwobike, who, like Kunle Kalejaiye, will never be able to clear his name of the stain of buying judges and suborning courts. Simultaneously, it afflicts the Nigerian legal profession with indelible reputational damage.

No one wants to invest in a country in which judges lack the capacity for indignation over credible charges of judicial corruption. This is why Nigeria bleeds investments and even those who end up investing in Nigeria don’t choose it as the place for resolving their investment disputes.

They think Nigerian judges are bought and sold on the open market and the Supreme Court is unwilling to face this down. Rather, it emits high tolerance for corrupting jurisprudence and a jurisprudence of corruption which is as unfair to honest judges as it is damaging to hardworking lawyers. So, Nigeria and its professionals lose jobs and earnings to professionals from more dependable jurisdictions and even those seen as doing well are mere bag carriers for their peers or inferiors from those places. As far as judicial cuts go, it is difficult to find any more unkind or less supreme.

•A lawyer & teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

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