FRIDAY 4TH MARCH 2022

INEC: We are Not Registering New Parties Because They Won’t Participate in 2023 Elections EU observer mission meets parties, stakeholders ahead of next year’s polls

Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),

yesterday, dashed the hope and plans of many people, when it declared it would not register any new political parties,

because they would not be able to participate in the 2023 general election by law.

INEC, which claimed that

the reason was because the new Electoral Act barred the registration of new political parties to participate in any

general election twelve months before, added also that the same new electoral law, allowed for the merger of political parties,

only nine months to the general elections.

Continued on page 5

2023: World’s Eyes are on Nigeria, Says US Ambassador...

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Nigeria Customs Pledges to Generate N3.019trn in 2022...Page 6

FG Green-lights DCP Kyari’s Extradition to United States NDLEA to arraign suspended ‘super cop,’ four IRT members on eight counts of drug trafficking Alex Enumah in Abuja The federal government has commenced moves to extradite the suspended Deputy

Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, to the United States of America to face fraud allegations.

Few hours after the extradition

process commenced, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), which currently has Kyari in its custody following his arrest for alleged illicit drug

dealing, also initiated a court process against him. By this development, Kyari, four of his colleagues in the Inspector General of Police Special

Intelligence Response Team (IRT), and two others would be arraigned any moment on drug-related charges.

NDLEA filed an eight-count

criminal charge against the defendants at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

Continued on page 5

NNPC Seeks to ‘Pre-empt Mobil on Asset Sale to Seplat’ But oil multinational sold all its shares, not JV assets to Seplat NOC's action opens up possible legal tussle Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited may have created a wedge in the highly acclaimed transaction that would have seen Seplat Energy, an indigenous oil firm, buy over oil shares belonging to ExxonMobil, THISDAY has learnt.

The deal between ExxonMobil’s Nigerian unit, Mobil Oil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), the first since the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in August last year, had attracted plaudits from industry leaders.

The Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire the entire share capital of MPNU, THISDAY had reported, was

for a purchase price of $1.283 billion, plus up to $300 million contingent consideration.

However, a report by Platforms Africa, a news, business and leadership medium, stated that the state-owned oil giant had opted to exercise its Right of First Refusal (RFR) on the sale of the assets.

The RFR is reportedly contained in the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) of the Joint Venture (JV), which represents NNPC's position on the planned sale of the shares to Seplat Energy Plc. Efforts to get NNPC to speak on the matter were not immediately fruitful, but a top source in the Continued on page 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PA ADEBOYE...

L-R: Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Secretary to Ogun State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi and the Governor's Chief of Staff, Alhaji Salisu Shuaib, sharing the joy of the 80th birthday of the renowned cleric at the Redemption Camp on Lagos-Ibadan expressway… on Wednesday

Evacuation of Nigerians Delayed After Flight Exceeded Allotted Duty Hours... Page 12

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PAGE FIVE N N P C S E E KS TO ‘ P R E - E M P T M O B I L O N AS S E T SA L E TO S E P L AT ’ oil firm told THISDAY, “We will address it at the appropriate time.”

But an industry source who preferred to remain anonymous told THISDAY last night that NNPC’s action could lead to legal tussle between Seplat and the national oil company. The source stressed that NNPC did not have the power to halt the acquisition of the multinational oil company’s shares by Seplat.

According to the source, “Seplat bought ExxonMobil’s shares, not assets. Whereas NNPC has right of pre-emption over the sale of assets, it does not have right over sale of shares.”

Furthermore, the source explained that with its present structure, NNPC was now a commercial entity and no longer a regulator, as it used to be in the past, “so, it is the regulator that can interfere in the matter.”

The source added, “However, they have to check the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) because if they say they are taking over ExxonMobil, that means they are taking over staff, pensions and liabilities and not assets.”

It was gathered that NNPC had already notified Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited of its intention to exercise the right of pre-emption on ExxonMobil’s planned sale of its entire asset in Nigeria’s onshore and shallow waters.

However, a reliable source told THISDAY that the politics underlying the stoppage of the deal could markedly derail the new verve the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was expected to bring to the industry.

It was learnt that NNPC was intending to have a special arrangement with a company belonging to a northerner operating in the oil and gas industry, under a “strategic management contract.”

Industry sources said that the state-owned oil firm, which is the major shareholder in the JV with ExxonMobil, might have exercised its right of first refusal on the assets as part of a new era, which will focus solely on building the long-term profitability of the

NNPC Limited.

The Mele Kyari-led company had previously conveyed its decision to exercise its rights and match any offer by interested parties for the assets following ExxonMobil’s decision to receive bids for their share of the JV, the platform reported.

Seplat Energy subsequently put forward a winning bid for the assets and reached an agreement with ExxonMobil.

Right of pre-emption is a legal right to parties in a joint venture to be the first to be considered for any planned sale or takeover of assets in the JVs if either party choose to trade them off.

A letter sighted by Platforms Africa, signed by the Group Managing Director, Kyari, and addressed to ExxonMobil, quoted NNPC as reiterating its resolve to take over the company’s share of the assets.

“We are aware that you reached an agreement to divest from onshore and shallow waters JVs,” the letter read, adding, “Clearly we are interested.”

Announcing the agreement, ExxonMobil had earlier said that the deals were subject to approval and the new position of NNPC, meaning that the whole process of sale and purchase agreement between ExxonMobil and Seplat Energy has to be discontinued.

Seplat Energy, the company that made the winning bid, had staked over $1.2 billion for the deal to acquire the entire share capital of MPNU plus contingent consideration and was waiting for the minister’s consent before the latest development.

This meant that the state-owned oil firm must not, based on its exercise of right of first refusal, pay below the $1.2 billion mark.

According to the letter, NNPC also reiterated that it had already transformed from being a corporation to being a profit driven company and it now had the capacity to buy over the share of ExxonMobil in the Joint venture.

The NNPC had recently

announced a funding agreement with Afreximbank for up to $5 billion to grow its investment in new and existing upstream assets.

Recently, the publishers of Africa Oil and Gas Report raised the alarm over the attempt by the national oil company to crowd out private investors, saying that enough space should be created for some level of diversity in investment. That alarm has now proved to be a wakeup call on

increasingly seemingly grab all posture.

Commenting on the preemption rights as expressed by NNPC, Publisher of the magazine, Toyin Akinosho, who had spoke on Arise News Channel, urged NNPC to free the space for entrepreneurs to come in, insisting that the company already has a lot in its basket and was even finding it difficult to cope.

Akinosho maintained, “NNPC is

in JV with companies that produce at least 45 per cent of our crude.

That’s a lot of material for them already. The assets they operate are the least optimised of all the assets in the industry.”

While accusing NNPC of grabbing assets all over the country, he wondered why the national oil company was allegedly stifling investment in the sector.

According to him, the kind of partners that NNPC may hand

over the assets to are always not the most experienced in the space, adding that the whole idea is “gift” it to a third party.

“It would not manage the assets, so any excuse about ‘this being taken over in the interest of the state' is untrue. In the last three years, it has implemented Finance and Technical Service Agreements (FTSAs), with companies that it chooses to work the assets,” he added.

INEC: WE ARE NOT REGISTERING NEW PARTIES BECAUSE THEY WON’T PARTICIPATE IN 2023 ELECTIONS There are currently 18 registered political parties in the country.

However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, called on INEC to be truly independent in the conduct of subsequent elections and not allow itself to be manipulated as was the case in 2019, which its National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, claimed the opposition party won but was denied.

The PDP also called on all security agencies not to allow themselves to be used to subvert electoral processes as was done during the Federal Capital Territory and other elections in Imo and Plateau States recently.

At the same time, the European Union (EU) Election Observation Follow-up Mission, led by the Head of EU Observation Mission, Mrs Maria Arena, yesterday, hinted that it has held talks with political parties and other stakeholders ahead of next elections and would give a report of its meetings soon.

Speaking at a town hall meeting organised by the Nigeria Guild of Editors, INEC national commissioner in charge of Publicity and Chairman Voters Education, Festus Okoye, reiterated that, "The Act also provides that new political association must apply for registration not later than 12 months before a general election while applications for merger must be filed not later than 9 months before election."

While noting that registration

and their participation were already time barred, Okoye said, INEC has already released the timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of the 2023 general election, fixing Presidential and National Assembly elections to hold on the 25th of February 2023 and Governorship and State Assembly Elections to hold on the 11th of March 2023.

He said the law provided that the election funds due to the Commission for any general elections were to be released to the Commission not later than one year before the election.

Okoye explained that Nigeria was entering a critical and challenging phase in its electoral process as there were new, creative and progressive provisions and innovations in the new law, adding: "The law has tight timelines that must be carefully managed.

Under the new law, the Commission shall issue the Notice of Election not later than 360 days before the date fixed for the conduct of elections.

Political parties must submit the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates not later than 180 days before the election."

The INEC national commissioner said the new law contained such new provisions relating to ballot boxes and voting devices, accreditation of voters, determination of over-voting, visually impaired and incapacitated voters, post-

election procedure and collation of election results.

According to Okoye, "It also contains power of the Commission to review declared results, nomination of candidates, limitation of election expenses and the jurisdiction of courts in pre-election matters among other provisions."

He called on the media to isolate and analyse these provisions and thereafter treat the entire law as a compound package for the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

Accordingly, he said a good knowledge of the law and its provisions would assist in crafting good editorials and holding the Commission and the Political Parties accountable to their implementation.

He continued, "The 2023 general election will come with challenges and the Commission is determined to surmount these challenges and conduct free, fair, credible and inclusive election.

Growing insecurity in several parts of the country and the increasing number of internally displaced persons will pose challenges to the conduct of the 2023 general election.

"So many of the internally displaced persons are in the houses of friends and relatives and have lost their Permanent Voters Cards and it is next to impossibility to recreate their constituencies and polling units.

“This is because section 47(1) of the Electoral Act clearly provides that a person

intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.

"Some of these persons are no longer in their constituencies and can no longer access their polling units and so many of them have lost their Permanent Voters Cards. While it is easy to recreate constituencies and polling units in clustered camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP camps), it is next to impossibility to do so for persons staying in scattered locations," he stated In view of this, Okoye said, "For the internally displaced, the Commission will print new Permanent Voters Cards for them and recreate their polling units in their camps and they will be eligible to vote in some of the elections depending on their location and their proximity to their State and Federal Constituencies.

"This is in accord with section 24(1) of the Electoral Act, which provides that, ‘In the event of an emergency affecting an election, the Commission shall, as far as practicable, ensure that persons displaced as a result of the emergency are not disenfranchised.

"Based on this, the Commission developed regulations and guidelines on IDP voting and will implement the intendment

and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Count two read, "That you DCP Abba Kyari, ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu, all male, Adult on or about the 19th to 25th January 2022, at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court dealt in 17.55kilogrammes of cocaine without lawful authority and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 11(c) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

In count three, the prosecution alleged, “That you DCP Abba Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu, all male, all male, Adult on or about JanuaryJl 19 to 25, 2022, within the office of the Inspector-General of (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Court conspired amongst yourselves and with ASP John Umoru (now at large) to unlawfully tamper with 21.35 kilogramames of cocaine seized from Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwannne in the custody of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), by removing and disposing 17.55 kilogrammes of the cocaine and by substituting same with some other substance and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ACT CAP N30 Laws of the Federation 2004."

Count four was, “That you DCP Abba Kyari, ACP Sunday Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu, all male Adult on or about January 19 to 25, 2022, within the office of the InspectorGeneral of (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable unlawfully tampered with 21.35 kilogramames of cocaine seized from Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwannne in the custody of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), by removing and disposing 17.55 kilogrammes of the cocaine and substituting same with some other substance and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 16 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ACT CAP N30 Laws of the Federation 2004.”

Count five was, “That you Chibunna Umeibe, male adult and Emeka Ezenwanne, male adult on or about the 19th January 2022 at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu Nigeria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court without lawful authority imported 21.35kilogrammes of cocaine and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 14(b) of the National Drug Law enforcement Agency ACT CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Count six read, “That you Chibunna Patrick Umeibe, male, adult; and you Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, male adult on or about the 25th January 2022 at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court without lawful authority imported

21.35kilogrammes of cocaine and thereby committed an offence contrary to an punishable under section 11(a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ACT CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Seven also read, “That you Chibunna Patrick Umeibe, male, adult; and you Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, male adult and one IK, now at large, on the 25th January 2022, at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court knowingly possessed 21.35 kilogrammes of cocaine and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 11(d) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

Finally, the eight count was, “That you DCP Abba Kyari, on or about 25th January 2022, at a restaurant on Port Harcourt Crescent, Area 11, Garki Abuja, within the jurisdiction of the court, attempted to obstruct the Agency and its authorised officers in the exercise of their duties by offering the sum of $61,400.00 USD (sixty-one thousand, four hundred United States of America Dollars) to a senior officer of the Agency as inducement to prevent the testing of the 17.55kilogrammes of substance used to replace the cocaine seized from Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 23 and punishable under section 49 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act Cap N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.”

No date has yet been fixed for arraignment of the defendants.

Continued on page 36

FG GREEN-LIGHTS DCP KYARI’S EXTRADITION TO UNITED STATES The implication of the NDLEA court action against Kyari is that he cannot be extradited to the US, even though the federal government has commenced the extradition process.

Section 3 (f) of the Extradition Act says, "A fugitive criminal- (a) who has been charged with an offence under the law of Nigeria or any part thereof, not being the offence for which his surrender is sought; or (b) who is serving a sentence imposed in respect of any such offence by a court in Nigeria, shall not be surrendered until such a time as he has been discharged whether by acquittal or on the expiration of his sentence or otherwise."

Kyari, a once celebrated officer of the Nigeria Police, is currently enmeshed in various criminal allegations in connection with cases for which the “super cop” had previously won accolades for fighting.

Following the arrest and imprisonment of Abass Ramon, a.k.a Hushpuppi, over a $1.1 million wire fraud and Ramon's alleged implication of Kyari, who was then Commander of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), the United States had requested the extradition of Kyari to explain his alleged involvement in the crime.

Months after the extradition request, yesterday, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), disclosed that the federal government had filed an application for the extradition of Kyari before the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Malami stated that the application, which followed a request by the diplomatic representative of the American embassy in Abuja, was filed

under the Extradition Act and marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/249/2022.

Only recently, the AGF, while speaking during a television programme, assured that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration would extradite Kyari to the US to answer to the fraud charge filed against him, Hushpuppi, and four others if the government felt convinced to do so.

Speaking on the extradition application, the minister said it was “for the surrender of Abba Kyari, who is a subject in a superseding three counts indictment.” He said the offence for which Kyari’s extradition was being made was not political or trivial.

Malami added that the request for the surrender of Kyari was not made to persecute or punish him on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions, but in good faith and the interest of justice.

The minister stated that if surrendered, Kyari would not be victimised at his trial and will not be punished, detained or have his personal liberty restricted due to race, nationality or political opinions.”

Malami explained that having regard to all the circumstances in which the offence was committed, it would not be unjust or oppressive, or too severe a punishment, to surrender him. He noted that there was no criminal proceeding pending against Kyari in Nigeria for the same offence.

NDLEA to Arraign Kyari, Four IRT Members on Eightcount Drug Charge The federal government would any time from now arraign Kyari,

four of his colleagues in the IRT, and two others on drug related offences.

Kyari and his co-accused were arrested on February 14 and handed over to the police for investigation over allegations bordering on illicit drug dealing.

The charge, filed yesterday and marked FHC/ABJ/CR/57/2022, was signed by NDLEA's Director, Prosecution and Legal Services, Mr. Joseph Sunday.

Before yesterday’s suit, the anti-drug agency had obtained a court order to detain Kyari and others for another 14 days to enable it conclude its investigation and then charge them to court.

Others listed in the charge included Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Sunday Ubua; Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Bawa James; Inspector Simon Agirigba; Inspector John Nuhu; Chibuinna Patrick Umeibe; and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne.

In count one, Kyari, ACP Ubua, ASP James, Inspector Agirigba, and Inspector Nuhu, all of Intelligence Response Team were said to have between January 19 and 25, dealt in 17.

55 kilogrammes of cocaine and committed and offence contrary to and punishable under section 14 (b) of the Natural Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, CAP 30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Count one read, "That you DCP Abba Kyari, ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba and Inspector John Nuhu, all male, on or about January 19 to 25, 2022, at the office of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abuja conspired amongst themselves with ASP John Umoru (now at large) to deal in 17.55kilogrammes of cocaine

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NEWS

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

LAUNCHING HORTINIGERIA...

L-R: Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture, Hon Dandutse Mohammed; President, International Fertilizer Development Centre, Alvin Hubscher ; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar; Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry Van Dijk and Kano State Deputy Governor, Dr. Nasiru Yussuf Gawuna, during the launching of HortiNigeria held in Abuja ...yesterday

Nigeria Customs Pledges to Generate N3.019trn in 2022 House Committee urges CBN, NCS to harmonise e-Invoice policy

Sunday Aborisade and Juliet Akoje in Abuja The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday assured members of the Senate that it would generate N3.019trn into the Federation Account this year.

This is just as the House of Representatives yesterday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCS to harmonise their positions on the electronic invoice policy and report back to it on March 17, 2022, for further action.

The Comptroller General of the NCS, Colonel Hameed Ali (retd.) gave the assurance when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff.

Ali said the NCS targets included N2.019 trillion from the Federation; N253.23 billion from non- federation and N746.96 billion from import Value Added Tax (VAT).

The National Assembly had this year set a revenue target of N1.465 trillion for the revenue generating agencies of the federal government.

The Customs boss who appeared before the Senate panel to present and defend the 2022 Budget of the NCS, said when compared with the 2021 revenue target, the 2022 revenue target was higher by N965.42 billion or 31.98 per cent.

Ali said the Service proposed a budget expenditure of N369.14 billion for the 2022 fiscal year which would be sourced from the seven per cent cost of collection for 2022 estimated at N151.84 billion.

He also said the agency hoped to rake in N60.12 billion being 60 per cent CISS. He said the two per cent VAT share of NCS would amount to N14 94 billion, while he put the retained Income at N114.3 billion.

He put the agency's share of the excess target (2021) at N27.85 billion.

The NCS had proposed a budget expenditure of N242.45 billion for the 2021 fiscal year.

Ali explained that the expected income included personnel cost, which was N108.85 billion, representing 29.49 per cent and overhead cost of N45.89 billion,

representing 12.43 per cent.

He also said the agency proposed N214.30 billion as capital cost, representing 58.08 per cent with a grand total of N369.04 billion representing 100.00 per cent.

When asked if the targeted revenue could be pushed beyond N3.1trillion, the NCS boss advised against what he described as over ambitious targeting against the backdrop that the one set for 2022 was already on the high side in order not to cripple the economy.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, Senator Francis Alimikhena, took a swipe at the continued complaints of the non-functioning of scanners by the Customs. He warned that the excuses must be urgently addressed in order to enhance the revenue drive for the country, adding that national assets must not be allowed to waste away.

Alimikhena urged the NCS boss to ensure that the 2023 budget of the revenue generating agency gets to the National Assembly latest end of October 2022.

He said this would enable his panel to facilitate early passage before the end of December 2022.

He added: "The Nigeria budget circle is January to December.

Customs should key into this circle, late submission of budget will no longer be entertained.

"The 2023 budget should reach the National Assembly latest end of October 2022 so as to facilitate early passage before the end of December 2022.

House Committee Urges CBN, Customs to Harmonise e-Invoice Policy The House of Representatives has directed the CBN and the NCS to harmonise their positions on the electronic invoice policy.

The lawmakers gave the directive through their Committees on Customs and Excise as well as Banking and Currency, during a meeting with the both agencies and other stakeholders to address issues arising from the introduction of the

new system by the CBN, yesterday.

The CBN had issued a circular that the new system would kick off on February 1, 2022, but the House had on January 27, 2022, announced its suspension and had directed the apex bank to adopt a 90-day timeline for the implementation of policy in order

to avoid destabilising effects on the economy.

The resolutions followed a motion moved by Chairman of the Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide Abejide during the meeting said the policy remained suspended until they conclude on the matter.

Director, Trade and Exchange

of the CBN, Dr. Ozoemena Nnaji, said the new system was seamless and integrated with the import and export process in a manner that does not hamper any of the stakeholders.

She said the price of goods involved in a trade transaction used to be manipulated sometimes by those wishing to launder the

proceeds through the financial system, adding that some regulators had suggested that a simple way to identify such activities was by banks implementing a price check on all trade transactions.

This, she said was the goal of the new system that the CBN in collaboration with other MDAs introduced.

Report: Nigeria Earned $2.29bn through Beer Sales in 2019 Minister assures producers of government’s support Dike Onwuamaeze A study by the Oxford Economics for the Worldwide Brewing Alliance (WBA) which was released yesterday has revealed that Nigeria earned $2.294 billion through the sale of beer in 2019.

Also, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo, yesterday expressed the readiness of the federal government to support beer producers to keep them in business in the face of daunting challenges.

Nigeria was also ranked 30 out of 70 top global beer markets that were covered by the report, which was put together by Oxford Economics in January 2022, titled “Beer’s Global Economic Footprint.” The report obtained yesterday, revealed that 70 countries controlled 89 per cent of global beer sales.

The report which was described as the first-ever worldwide report to assess the beer industry’s global economic impact, found that one in every 110 jobs in the world was linked through direct, indirect, or induced impact channels to the beer sector.

It stated that the beer sector contributed $555 billion of gross value added (GVA) to global Gross Domestic Product in 2019, and

helped governments around the world to generate $262 billion in tax revenue in the 70 countries it studied. This, it stated, accounted for 89 per cent of beer sold worldwide and supported an estimated 23.1 million jobs.

The Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Economics, Mr. Adrian Cooper, who presented the report during a webinar, said the beer sector was primed to contribute to post COVID global economic recovery as its economic significance is larger in faster-growing economies and is triggering substantial economic activities in the agriculture, distributive trade, and hospitality industry.

Oxford Economics asserted that the beer sector was important to economies all over the world and impacted all aspects of the beer value chain, from brewers, distributors, retailers, and the hospitality industry, to the suppliers each relied on.

Oxford Economics stated that, “the study relied “on 2019 data (instead of 2020). We demonstrate this because of the distortions caused by COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic mean that 2019 is more representative of a normal year for the beer sector.”

It added that, “while making

and delivering the beer people love, the activities of the beer sector sustain considerable amounts of GDP, jobs, and government revenue in economies around the globe.

“Brewers and beer’s downstream value chain make important direct contributions, deliver substantial indirect impacts by buying goods and services from their suppliers, and induce further economic activity by paying wages and supporting wages along the supply chain.

“Based on our detailed analysis across 70 countries, we estimate that, in 2019, the beer sector’s total economic impact amounted to $555 billion gross value added (GVA) contribution to global GDP, supporting 23 million jobs. In total, the beer sector supported 0.8 per cent of GDP across the 70 countries or $1 for every $131 of GDP generated in these economies in 2019.

“To put that in context, the beer sector’s GVA contribution to global GDP is comparable with Belgium’s economy in 2019 ($533 billion) and the number of jobs supported is equal to the entire Italian labour force (23 million people).”

The report stated that it was important to note that the economic significance of the beer sector was larger for lower-income countries.

It added: “While in high-income countries the beer sector contributed an average 0.9 per cent to national GDP, in low-income economies the equivalent figure is 1.6 per cent.

Similarly, the beer sector supports a proportionally larger number of jobs in lower-income than in high-income countries (1.4 per cent vs. 1.1 per cent of national employment). The beer sector also supports significant tax payments for global governments.

“Combined, we estimate that brewers and their downstream value chain made and supported $262 billion in tax payments to governments around the world.

Of the total tax contribution, $109 billion are made up of VAT and excise duties paid on beer sales.”

The President and Chief Executive Officer of the WBA, Mr. Justin Kissinger said: “While many previous studies exist for individual countries, none have ever attempted a rigorous, coherent estimate of the global impact with the same metrics at the same moment, nor have they fully considered elements of international trade like the importance of barley and hops from certain countries. What is apparent from the report is the positive role that beer plays in the economy.”

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PRESIDENTIAL BRIEFING ON POWER...

L-R: Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu; Minister of State for Power, Goddy Agba and Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, during the presidential communication team’s weekly briefing at Abuja ...yesterday

FG: Nigeria's Installed Electricity Capacity Stands at 18,000mw, Generates 8,000mw Daily Blames erratic power supply nationwide on low water level in hydro dams Vows to deal with meter racketeers Deji Elumoye in Abuja The federal government yesterday put the country’s total installed electricity capacity at 18, 000 megawatts while it generates 8,000 megawatts daily for consumers’ consumption.

This is just as it attributed the current erratic power supply across the country to the low water level in hydro dams in the country.

Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, who spoke while featuring at a weekly news briefing organised by the Presidential Media Team at the State House, Abuja, declared that the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI)

had been delivering grid, captive, and embedded power to the tune of almost 8,000mw, as against the speculated 4,000mw.

He stressed that the nation has an installed capacity of almost 18,000mw saying “I’d like you also to take away that we deliver 8,000mw of electricity daily through a combination of Grid, Embedded and Industrial Captive supply of Electricity (not 4,000MW as is frequently reported), much of this capacity added during the life of this administration.

These are not my figures; this was an industry study conducted

by KPMG recently.”

We Have Sufficient Funds to Pay Distressed Banks’ Depositors, Says NDIC John Shiklam in Kaduna The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said it has sufficient funds to pay depositors whose monies were trapped in 23 distressed banks across the country.

Managing Director, NDIC, Bello Hassan, disclosed this in an address yesterday, during the “NDIC Day,” at the ongoing 43rd Kaduna International Trade Fair.

Represented by the Director of Communication and Public Affairs, Bashir Nuhu, the NDIC boss said the corporation, “has realised enough to pay all depositors of the concerned 23 DMBs 100 percent of their money trapped in those banks.”

Hassan added that “the corporation has since moved on to commence payment of liquidation dividends to creditors and shareholders of some of the banks, indicating that their depositors can access their full payment whenever they file their claims.”

He called on, “depositors of banks in-liquidation to avail themselves of the Corporation’s physical and online platforms for claiming their trapped deposits.”

He said the online claim verification platform had been incorporated into the Claim Page on the corporation’s website to facilitate processing of claims from the comfort of depositors houses and offices.

According to him, the primary public policy objectives of the corporations was to contribute to financial system stability by making incidences of bank runs less likely, while also protecting depositors by providing an orderly means of resolution and reimbursement in the event of bank failures.

He said the corporation provides deposit insurance cover to Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Non-Interest Banks (NIBs), Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), subscribers of Mobile Money Operators (MMOs) and also to the recently licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs).

“Presently each depositor of DMBs, NIBs, PMBs and subscribers of MMOs are insured up to the maximum limit of N500,000.00 per bank in the event of failure; while the maximum insured coverage for depositors of MFBs is N200,000.00 per bank.

Aliyu said much of the improvement to 8,000mw occurred under the Buhari’s administration, “through positive industrial policies driving captive industrial power investment and improved grid stability although we continue and must continue to work to improve the performance of the grid.”

The minister explained that these come from 28 grid power plants with installed capacity of 13,000mw and operational daily capacities of around 5,000mw, with the plants located at Egbin, Ughelli, Geregu, Kainji.

“We have 266 captive power plants (mainly industrial > 1MW) with installed capacities of 4,000mw and daily operational capacities of around 2,500mw. These include

the Dangote Cement Capacities in Obajana Ibese (400MW), and NLNG’s Bonny Island Power Plant (240MW) amongst others.

“These are never captured in the statistics but are part of the NESI and form our industrial load for jobs. In the future many of these plants will integrate to the grid, in fact some of them supply power to communities they occupy.

“There are also 16 embedded power plants with 549mw of installed capacities and 190mw of daily operational capacity.

“From the KPMG rebasing analysis above it is clear that the NESI needs to make better utilisation of particularly the grid based power plants. The only way this can happen is through the improvement of the grid. The

federal government has many key grid initiatives with more than N125.2 billion budgeted between 2015 to 2021 for TCN and development."

He said the federal government had secured and was executing up to $4 billion in investments in grid to ensure improved power supply.

Aliyu, however, assured that the government was working on more gas supply contracts for the power sector.

The minister who blamed the erratic power supply currently being experienced in Abuja and some states on low water level in the hydro dams, said the government was doing everything possible to ensure optimum supply of gas to ensure quick restoration

of power.

On the national metering programme, he said the metering gaps were being reduced with the roll out of one million meters in the first phase of the initiative while awaiting four million others under the second phase.

He, however, cautioned distribution companies (Discos) involved in selling metres to desist from such act, pointing out that meter procurement was free.

The minister while speaking on the metering policy of the government emphasises that, “meters are provided free”.

“We have said this times without numbers that these meters are free. They are instruments for generating money, how can we be selling meter,” he added.

Osinbajo: Resilience of Nigerians Spurring Nation to Greater Heights Deji Elumoye in Abuja The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said Nigeria was programmed for greater heights due to the resilience of its citizens as well as their great potential.

He also stressed that the federal government understands the critical role the private sector plays in delivering value to the Nigerian economy and was focused on leveraging collaboration opportunities to usher the nation into a more prosperous new decade.

The vice president who spoke at the official inauguration of the Bankers House of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja, emphasised that Nigeria was set for great heights, not only because, “it is a nation of great dreamers and great doers,” but also for the resilience of its people and their great potential.

“With a population constituting the largest market on the continent, a swelling demography of ambitious, tech-savvy young people, accelerating regional

integration and connection to new markets, Nigeria has been presented with an unprecedented opportunity to launch the country into a new decade of sustained prosperity.

“An opportunity we are fully committed, as a government, to translating into lived realities for millions of Nigerians across the country.

"Every time Nigeria has been expected to sink, we have soared and risen beyond our troubles.

We have drawn joy from the depths of despair and found the courage to keep going, even in the most daunting of challenges. The Nigerian spirit remains unfazed and persistently bankable,” he added.

He observed that, “the realisation of the country’s potential, at this crucial moment, will require the careful choreography of government policies that remove every impediment in the way of those determined to pursue their dreams and build businesses.”

Osinbajo highlighted the impact of government policies in this regard, including the work of the Presidential Enabling

Business Environment Council (PEBEC) towards improving Nigeria’s business environment and economy.

The vice president noted that in the past six years, the Buhari administration, through PEBEC, had, “aggressively pursued the creation of an environment that allows Nigerian businesses, at every level, operate without the bottlenecks and drawbacks that have come to characterise their interface with agencies and regulators.”

He added that government was also, “building on the progress of these reforms and aggregating lessons from some of the setbacks in its implementation,” with the launch of PEBEC’s 7th 60-day National Action Plan (NAP 7.0) on the Ease of Doing Business.

The NAP 7.0, which started on February 7, was programmed to run until the 7th of April, 2022.

“We will consolidate on the achievements in removal of regulatory constraints around agro-exports, driving electronic filing of taxes and working closely with the States to make their own business environments friendlier,”

he added.

He further restated the administration’s commitment to follow through on its economic policies to better the lives of Nigerians.

According to him, “this largely informs the zeal that has attended the ongoing implementation of our new National Development Plan, 2021-2025, a medium-term agenda that seeks to, among other things, generate 21 million full-time jobs and lift 35 million people out of poverty by 2025.”

Underscoring the importance of, “a conscious reliance on private enterprise and initiative,” in the successful implementation of the plan, the vice president said, “the plan commits the government, at all levels, to an investment of about N49.7 trillion, and envisages private sector investment of N298 trillion, making a total of N348 trillion.”

“The implementation of the plan is expected to be supported by a range of fiscal, monetary and trade measures, including more intentionally promoting productivity and value addition,” he added.

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NEWS

AT THE LAGOS STATE EMPLOYMENT SUMMIT...

L-R: Country Director, Nigeria & ECOWAS, GIZ, Ms. Ina Hommers; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria Limited & Board Chairman LSETF, Mrs. Bola Adesola; Senior Country Manager for Nigeria, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mr. Kalim Shah; Executive Secretary, LSETF, Tejumola Abisoye and Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, during the state’s employment summit held in Lagos…yesterday

Governors Doubt NNPC’s N287bn Profit, Call for More Transparency Bemoan oil firm's inability to contribute to Federation Account in January Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) yesterday questioned the veracity of the profit recently declared by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, insisting that there

was some opacity in the way the figure was arrived at.

Speaking on the last day of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) 2022 in Abuja, during a session tagged : “Governors Forum on Natural Resources, Energy, Oil and Gas”,

FG Raises Concern as Mining Contribution to GDP Declines to 0.33% Nigeria moves to halt illegal gold export Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The federal government has expressed concern over the significant decline in the contribution of the mining sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which fell from about 5.6 per cent it used to be 42 years ago to the current 0.33 per cent.

Speaking at a workshop titled: “Improving Fiscal Transparency In Nigeria’s Mining Sector,” in Abuja, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, stated that the government was doing everything to diversify the economy.

According to him, by so doing, the government aspires to capture economic linkages, create jobs and increase revenues.

“Unfortunately in Nigeria, despite the country's resource potential and its past experience as a significant mineral producer of tin, columbite, and coal, the sector today has one of the lowest outputs in the Nigerian economy.

“The mining sector's contribution to GDP had steadily declined from 5.6 per cent in 1980 to about 0.33 per cent, which is significantly lower than other mineral rich countries in the region,” he noted.

Adegbite posited that the country continues to struggle to become a significant player in most of the core global mining commodities. According to him, productivity from the Nigerian mining sector was still insufficient to meet local demands for key inputs from mining.

He listed insufficient geo-data and geological knowledge, weak

governance, in particular weak capacity to implement and enforce the existing mining law and regulations and a very large, poorly regulated sector as some of the challenges.

The minister stressed that efforts were ongoing to make sure that the illegal exportation of Nigeria’s gold to Dubai was curbed.

“We do feel because all these are illegal activities, you cannot measure those things. Yes, our gold go out illegally. We're making a lot of efforts to stop that, because our border is so vast,” he added.

He said Nigeria was working with other countries to strengthen regulation of stolen gold, explaining that the country must add value to its resources before exporting them, reason the ministry is training 45 persons to make jewellery.

Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Federal Matters, Mr. Makinde Araoye, explained that one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria was the operation of illegal miners.

Quoting reports, he pointed out that the Nigerian government may have lost trillions in revenue, owing to illegal practices and corrupt activities of companies operating in the mining sector in Nigeria.

“Many schemes through which some companies or miners have defrauded the Nigerian government include non-remittance of revenues, unlicensed mining and evasion of taxes, illegal practices, and incessant smuggling of solid minerals out of the country,” Fayemi stated.

the governors further noted that there’s currently an “ambiguous” relationship between oil prices and its impact on Nigerians.

Represented by their Chairman, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the leaders of the sub-nationals, maintained that it did not add up for the National Oil Company (NOC) to declare profits when it failed to meet its obligations to its stakeholders, including to the federation.

The NNPC which had consistently made losses in the past 44 years of its existence, had in 2021, declared a N287 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year 2020, drawing accolades from President Muhammadu Buhari, at the time.

It came a year after the group published its first audited statement for 2018, indicating that the corporation incurred losses close to N1 trillion, but was reduced in 2019 to N1.7 billion.

Describing the sector as critical, the governors explained that although they are desirous of an industry that is sustainable over the long term, there are areasof concern that should be addressed, particularly around transparency and accountability.

Fayemi stated that a situation where the NNPC was unable to remit a kobo to the joint account at a time that oil prices are soaring, remain inconceivable.

“We've just had Federation Allocation Accounts Committee (FAAC) meeting a couple of days ago, and the NNPC contributed zero to the Federation account this month .

“And this is not the first month that the NNPC is contributing zero.

Over the last couple of months, we've been having these challenges.

Of course, we know why.

“Even though oil prices in the international market is going up, maybe $110 today or more, the more it goes up, it would appear that the more we suffer locally now.

“So there's an ambiguous relationship of sorts between what is happening in the international market and what we're experiencing here in Nigeria and as critical stakeholders in the Nigerian Federation, states are naturally concerned about this.

“They are concerned about how to grow this industry and ensure that this industry is sustained over the long term in a manner that it can benefit those who are stakeholders in the industry,” he stated.

According to him, Nigeria continues to occupy a very unenviable position in terms of transparency in the governance of its natural resources.

“When you look at the statistics, transparency is central to the

challenge this sector faces. On my way here, I was looking at the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI) reports and Nigeria is not doing very well.

“We rank 40 out of 58 natural resource countries on the transparency index, because we are still believed to run a largely opaque industry and we see it ourselves “NNPC declares profits, yet it cannot meet its obligations. My simple knowledge of economics teaches me that it is only after you've met all your obligations, that you then start talking about making profits.

“So if your obligation to the Federation Account has not been met, how can you then talk about profit making?” he questioned.

Fayemi stated that although the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has just been passed into law, the governors still have some issues against it, but noted that this is being worked on by the implementation committee.

He urged stakeholders to grow a sustainable institution that would not only respond to the yearnings of the industry, but also the general concerns of the Nigerian public.

He posited that while in principle, the governors understand why the industry in

the exclusive list, they also feel the need to strengthen ownership across states and local authorities , if they have the wherewithal to key in.

“One of the things that states are interested in, is how institutions, companies that they've created themselves or established as private sector entities either in joint venture partnership with other private sector entities or exclusively as a special purpose vehicle to warehouse state interests, should be able to participate actively in the oil and gas industry,” he argued.

However, he singled out the local content part of the industry which he said has been growing, describing it as a positive development.

He added that the states were looking forward to a situation where at some point , the NNPC will run like the Nigeria LNG “So that at the end of the day there's greater transparency, there's greater accountability and the governance framework is really built on efficiency of the industry.”

Earlier in one of the sessions, Minister of State, Petroleum, Mr Timipre Sylva, had said that Nigeria’s gas potential remains enormous, with natural gas reserves having risen to 206.53tcf, and another 600tcf possible untapped gas.

Lawmakers Reject Bill to Repeal NSIA, Sovereign Wealth Fund Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives at plenary yesterday rejected a bill that sought to repeal the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Act 2011 and the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) and transfer the assets and liabilities to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated.

The proposed legislation titled: "A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority Act and Transfer the Assets and Liabilities to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated; and for Related Matters was sponsored

by Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Hon. Wole Oke. Leading the debate on its general principles, Oke argued that all funds currently in the custody of the NSIA (hereinafter be referred to as the Authority) be transferred to the federation account and all investments made by the Authority be managed by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated established pursuant to the Ministry of Finance

Incorporated Act. Listing what he felt were lapses with the NSIA Act, the lawmaker making reference to the provisions of Section 162(1) of the constitution, which states that payments of all revenues of the federation should be paid into the federation account, held that passage of the NSIA Act was first a breach of the provision of the constitution.

He also pointed out that the NSIA had always failed and refused to submit its spending to the appropriation powers of the National Assembly.

According to him, a number of times, the various House Committees on Finance had engaged with the NSIA management on the need to submit their accounts, which he said they had always refused.

He therefore urged his colleagues to allow the bill scale through second reading for them to carry out comprehensive work, invite members of the public to

speak on whether NSIA doesn’t contravene section 162 of the 1999 constitution.

Oke said, "The provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear as to the procedure for withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Revenue Funds and the condition precedent that appropriation must be made before any fund is released.

“Notwithstanding the provisions of Part III of the NSIA Act, particular Sections 29 to 34 of the NSIA, which makes statutory prescriptions as to the ownership and revenue sharing principles to be followed in distribution of proceeds from the Fund, the management of the NSIA has been arbitral in their disbursement and distribution of funds and often times, do not even allocate and disburse funds to the state, local governments and the area council.”

Shortly after his debate, while few lawmakers supported the bill, several others opposed it,

calling for sanctions and increased oversight instead of repealing the Act. In his contribution, Hon. Henry Nwawuba was of the view that the SWF has its benefits which should be considered before a decision would be taken.

Also, Hon. Ayokunle Isiaka opined that the lawmakers should find out if the SWF was living up to expectations rather than repeal or merge it with another ministry.

On her part, Hon. Lynda Ikpeazu faulted the assertion by the sponsor of the bill that it contravened Section 162 of the constitution.

Also, Hon. Chris Azubogu urged the sponsor of the bill to step it down, warning that it was in the greater interest of the nation not to project and portray Nigerians in a light that’s not acceptable internationally.

When put to a voice vote by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase who presided over the session, majority of the lawmakers voted against the bill.

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NEWS

REVIVING OKOMU NATIONAL PARK...

L-R: State Coordinator, Edo Security Network, Mr. Yusuf Haruna; Executive Director, ANI Foundation, Tunde Morakinyo; Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, during a visit to the Okomu National Park, in Udo Community, Ovia South-West Local Government Area of the state…yesterday

Evacuation of Nigerians Delayed After Flight Exceeded Allotted Duty Hours First batch expected to arrive today Ukraine says talks with Russia agreed on humanitarian corridors Chinedu Eze and Dike Onwuamaeze The authorities of Chopin Airport, Warsaw, yesterday cancelled the evacuation flight that was expected to bring in from Poland the first batch of Nigerians that escaped the on-going conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The plane was to take off from that airport.

In continuing reactions to the conflict, particularly by Western countries and institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group yesterday declared support for the people of Ukraine and decried the war raging in the country that has caused devastating human and economic consequences.

The US White House yesterday announced new sanctions on Russian oligarchs in President Joe Biden's latest attempt to squeeze Russian President Vladimir Putin as the invasion of Ukraine advanced.

The flight meant to evacuate stranded Nigerians was cancelled because the aircraft overstayed its allotted duty hours. The crew that operated the Air Peace flight from Nigeria to Poland had spent their allotted hours of duty and, according to international standards, they could

not exceed the allotted hours.

Flight and Duty Time Limitations (FTL) recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is the rule, which ensures that aircrew fatigue does not decrease flight safety.

Since most aviation incidents and accidents are result of human factors, fatigue is taken into account as a major factor, which also contributes to the human error. Therefore, fatigue of crewmembers has been an issue in civil aviation since the 1944 Chicago Convention.

The Nigerian evacuation flight was shifted to early today morning and it was expected to arrive the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, later today.

Ambassador Bolaji Akinremi, who arrived Poland with the Air Peace flight, disclosed this.

Akinremi explained to ARISE TV, “The reality is that the flight has been rescheduled to tomorrow (Friday).

The main reason is because of the delay during the check in because they have to gather them together from different hotels and by the time we would be ready after the check in, the crew that had been waiting since 9:00 am overshot their duty hour, which is allocated to them.

“They have waited from 9am to 2pm. It means they have already

BPE Kicks as Stakeholders Back Senate Bill to Repeal ICRC Act Sunday Aborisade, Abuja Stakeholders in public-private partnership yesterday supported moves by the Senate to rename the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) through an Act of parliament.

It is now to be named the Public Private Partnership Regulatory Commission.

The Senate Committee on Works held a public hearing on the issue where critical stakeholders, apart from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) backed the action of the red chamber.

The bill sought to repeal the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act 2005 and enact the Public Private Partnership Regulatory Commission Act 2022.

Critical stakeholders like the Acting Director - General of ICRC, Michael Omani; Office of the Attorney - General of the Federation; the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele; and the representative of the Council for

the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Chukuma Katchchy, among others, supported the bill, but the BPE kicked against it.

The BPE said the move would lead to the duplication of functions between the envisioned agency and BPE. Specifically, Ohiani told the panel that the proposed bill would put to rest, the inter-agency rivalry between ICRC and BPE as far as regulation of PPP was concerned.

He said the ICRC had significantly contributed to the overall economic development of the country.

He said between 2010 to 2020 under the regulatory guidance of the federal government approved over $19 billion Private Public Partnership projects.

He said, "We have been given certificate of compliance in respect of 142 projects and Full Business Case certificate .The objective of the bill is well spelt out by putting to rest the seemingly jurisdictional conflict between ICRC and BPE.

waited five hours and they are going to have nine hours flight. That is already more than the standard allowed. So the authorities of the airport said they won’t allow us to go.

“So we have to come down.

But arrangement has been made to ensure that we all stay together in the same hotel and we will leave very early tomorrow, 4am with the bus so that we can join the flight early.”

The Nigerian Ambassador to Poland, Christian Ugwu, who was visibly worried over the postponement of the flight, attributed the delay to the unruly behaviour of some Nigerians who could not prepare quickly to board the flight, but also expressed optimism that the flight would take off today.

“I am very sure by tomorrow morning the flight will take off,” Ugwu said.

THISDAY gathered that before the flight was cancelled, passengers had been allowed to board and they had all been stamped after passing through security. They were already in the aircraft before the airport authorities announced

the cancellation, so the evacuees had to de-board.

However, about 1,500 Nigerians may be missing as out of the 2,222 that were received only about 600 could be accounted for.

ARISE News reported, "Nigerian authorities, the Nigerian embassy here in Poland, said they only had a count of 600. But it seems at this point, there are more than 1,500 Nigerians, who are missing.”

On Wednesday, President Muhammed Buhari announced the approval of $8.5 million for the evacuation of about 5, 000 Nigerians who had moved from Ukraine to neighbouring countries where they were expected to be evacuated from.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had arranged the evacuation of Nigerians from Ukraine’s neighbouring countries.

The chartered flights were initially arranged to depart on Wednesday, to bring the first batch of Nigerians home on Thursday.

The following Nigerians, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs records indicated that evacuees received by Nigerian embassies at Hungary were 650 persons, Poland

350 persons, Romania 940 persons and Slovakia 150 persons.

The Ministry arranged that Max Air would airlift Nigerians from Romania (560 persons), Air Peace to Poland (364 persons), and Air Peace to Poland (360) persons.

The first batch of evacuees was expected to arrive Nigeria on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

IMF, World Bank Declare Support for Ukraine, Mobilise $5.2bn The IMF and the World Bank Group declared support for the people of Ukraine and decried the war raging in the country that has caused devastating human and economic toll.

The Brent Wood institutions made their views known about the war that was provoked by Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine in a joint statement signed by Managing Director of IMF, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, and the President of World Bank Group, Mr. David Malpass.

The statement reads in part, “We

are deeply shocked and saddened by the devastating human and economic toll brought by the war in Ukraine.

People are being killed, injured, and forced to flee, and massive damage is caused to the country’s physical infrastructure.

“We stand with the Ukrainian people through these horrifying developments.”

Georgieva and Malpass noted that the war was also creating significant spill overs to other countries while commodity prices were being driven higher at the risk of further fuelling inflation that hit the poor the hardest.

They said, “Disruptions in financial markets will continue to worsen should the conflict persist.

The sanctions announced over the last few days will also have a significant economic impact. We are assessing the situation and discussing appropriate policy responses with our international partners.

“Our institutions are working together to support Ukraine on the financing and policy fronts and are urgently increasing that support. We have been in daily contact with the authorities on crisis measures.

Hayatu-deen: I'll Bring About Radical, Transformational Changes to Nigeria Adedayo Akinwale, Kingsley Nweseh in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos An economist and technocrat, Mr. Mohammed Hayatu-deen has said the reason he decided to join the 2023 presidential race was to bring about radical and transformational changes to the country.

Hayatu-deen said this yesterday, while featuring on ‘The Morning Show' on ARISE News Channel.

He had declared his intention to vie for presidency under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, on Wednesday.

According to him, "the task of seeking the exalted office of the president of Nigeria is a serious business. It requires very deep and profound thinking and over the last six months, I have been giving considerable thought as to how to offer my services to this country.

"Secondly, I have been gauging the political and social temperature

in the country and clearly came to a decision that the best way which I can offer to the nation is to offer my services to bring about radical and transformational changes in the country."

Asked about his health status, Hayatu-deen said he had never had challenge with his physical fitness, adding that aside from malaria or typhoid his mental acumen was second to none.

According to him, “I personally feel and understand the demands of the job; I'm going to roll up my sleeves and execute this function with clarity precision and nomination most importantly.”

The economist stressed that there are three things critically important for the job, which he listed to include skills, experience and character.

He added: "Looking back at my life, there are a couple of things that actually fortified me for this job. Number one is that I am an economist. The crucial

set of issues facing this country today are fundamental, economic and social in nature.

"So, theoretically and practically, I am fully equipped to actually understand the dynamics of the Nigerian ecosystem from both an economic and social standpoint.

"Two, is the fact that I believe that I'm a really good student of strategy. Strategy is about defining a long-term strategic outlook of a country. And my experience will suggest that over the last 30 years, I've been involved in a number of strategic planning exercises, both at work, at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) where I was Group Managing Director and also at FSB international."

Hayatu-deen insisted that he was fully equipped to discharge the responsibility of the president of Nigeria.

He said he understood the challenges and opportunities facing the country, saying he clearly

understood what it would require to proffer solutions that would bring about long-term economic development to the country.

Hayatu-deen explained that the security situation facing the country was difficult and complex.

The presidential hopeful stressed that there were a number of difficulties preventing the military from bringing the security challenges facing the country to a logical end, especially because the war was not a conventional warfare where the enemies are known.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain said stamping out insecurity completely was difficult, saying its underlying causes were social and economic in nature To achieve his presidential aspiration, he disclosed that he would visit former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, former Chief of Army Staff, Theophilus Danjuma, traditional rulers among others.

FRIDAY MARCH 4, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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COMMENT

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

RULING FROM ABROAD

Buhari’s power transmission policy change defeats the purpose of the First Amendment, argues Bolaji Adebiyi

P

resident Muhammadu Buhari left the country for Kenya on Tuesday for an official engagement. A statement by his media aide, Femi Adesina, said the president would proceed from there to London to attend to his health for two weeks. The disclosure on the medical tourism aspect of his trip is interesting given the state he left the country.

Somehow, the news also came that the president’s wife was abroad, somewhere in Dubai. There was no disclosure about what she was doing there. But a viral video later showed governors’ wives bearing flowers and a cake congratulating her on her 51st birthday. They danced joyously towards her even as she wrapped her arms around them one after the other.

The two incidents immediately sparked off a public conversation, particularly on social media. Happening at a time Nigerians were looking for fuel to go about their businesses, and when university lecturers were on a warning strike, some people thought these smacked of insensitivity. But this, no doubt, is a weather-beaten conversation.

Nigerians have been through it many times in the past.

On the president’s frequent medical trips abroad, they were told that it was a pre-presidency thing. It is where his doctors have always been, his officials always say. As for his wife’s recurring presence in Dubai, officials say that one is not a public official and owes no one any explanation.

On the face of it, the government officials may be right. After all, the president is both a private and public personality. His health is private to him and his public status should not deny him of his right to Medicare of his choice. However, there is a public policy issue involved.

Should a public officer who has the responsibility to provide adequate public health infrastructure but fails to do so be allowed to use public resources to access medical care abroad?

There have been conversations around this too with many public analysts proposing legislation that would bar public officers from accessing social services abroad for themselves and their families.

Without a doubt, this would abridge the rights of the affected public officers. Perhaps the way to deal with that is for it to be enshrined in the constitution so it becomes one of the exceptions to the constitutional rights rules. This is worth revisiting in this season of amendments.

But that is if the constitution would be followed and not twisted to suit their whims as it is being currently done by the president who is currently on a two-week medical trip without handing power over to the vice president as stipulated in section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as altered. This is not a new development though. It has been his practice since 2018.

Yet in the beginning, the president was faithful to the letter and spirit of the constitution. Between February 2016 and August 2018, Buhari handed over to his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, five times, largely during his medical tours to London. During these early travels, the president in his letters to the Senate and the House of Representatives said he was handing over in compliance with section 145 (1) of the constitution. But from April 2019 he stopped transmitting power. So, what changed?

As usual, the president did not consider it appropriate to explain either his change of attitude to his deputy or his interpretation of sections 145 (1) & (2) of the constitution, leaving the public to conjecture.

The general suspicion is that Buhari changed his policy after the August 7, 2018 sack of Lawal Daura, his internal security spy chief, by Osinbajo, who exercised his power as the acting president. It was speculated that

HAPPENING AT A TIME NIGERIANS WERE LOOKING FOR FUEL TO GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESSES, AND WHEN UNIVERSITY LECTURERS WERE ON A WARNING STRIKE, SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT THESE SMACKED OF INSENSITIVITY. BUT THIS, NO DOUBT, IS A WEATHER-BEATEN CONVERSATION

the vice president did this without sounding out his boss, raising fears among the power brokers at Aso Rock that given further opportunities he might rock the boat.

For five months the speculation persisted without any clarification from the presidency until Inibehe Effiong, a public interest lawyer approached the court for the interpretation of section 145 (1) of the constitution, asking whether the president’s habit of not handing over to the vice president while on vacation was not a breach of the grundnorm. That was in September 2019.

The response of Malami, Buhari’s attorney-general and minister of Justice, was quite interesting. The president, he told the court, was not in breach of the constitution because under section 145 (2) Buhari has 21 days within which to hand over power when on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the function of his office.

Any foundation student of Constitutional Law would find this argument to be puerile. Section 145 (2) referred to by Malami, a senior advocate of Nigeria, is contingent on the main section 145 (1), meaning it is when the latter does not happen that the former kicks in.

Section 145 (1) states, “Whenever the President is proceeding on vacation or is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, he shall transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to that effect, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, the Vice-President shall perform the functions of the President as Acting President.” (Emphasis mine.)

The operative words here are “whenever” and “shall,” meaning the moment the president proceeds on vacation, he must transmit a written letter to the National Assembly for the purpose of handing over power to the vice president. But if this does not happen, then section 145 (2) kicks in.

It states, “In the event that the President is unable or fails to transmit the written declaration mentioned in subsection (1) of this section within 21 days, the National Assembly shall, by a resolution made by a simple majority of the vote of each House of the National Assembly, mandate the Vice-President to perform the functions of the office of the President as Acting President until the President transmits a letter to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives that he is now available to resume his functions as President.”

This section was part of the First Amendment in 2010, which arose from the failure of President Umaru Yar’Adua to transmit power in writing to Vice President Goodluck Jonathan when he proceeded on a medical trip in November 2009. Under the principal section, the operative word was “may” which gave the president discretion. Following that experience, the legislature strengthened the section by substituting “may” with “shall,” which in law means “must” and added subsection 2 in case the president is unable to comply with subsection 1.

The purpose of the First Amendment was to cure the mischief of a president abusing the discretion donated to him by the constitution.

Malami’s argument clearly negates this and ought to be repudiated.

Unfortunately, A. O. Faji, the Federal High Court judge sitting in Lagos, who presided over the matter upheld the attorney-general of the federation’s submission, saying it was constitutional for the president to go on holiday without transmitting power, provided the vacation does not exceed 21 days.

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

APC AND PARTY DEFECTIONS IN GOMBE Moses Kyari writes that in spite of the defections, APC is still in charge

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very political season comes with its series of political happenings where politicians and their followers align, realign and de-align all in an attempt to pursue their political interests.

This is the scenario playing out in Gombe State, like every other state. Therefore, the recent resignations by some political appointees under the Gombe government did not come to many of us as a surprise.

But issues must be placed in proper perspective for unsuspecting Nigerians to know and appreciate where all the so-called resignations and the main actors are coming from.

Gombe is a peculiar place, politically speaking.

Since the return of democracy in 1999 when Gombe first had its elected governor, most politicians were exposed to patronage of all kinds, including during the immediate past administration and the one before it. But this time around, it’s all about the people first.

A recent piece by the enemies of Gombe State, who sponsor all sorts of trash against the peopleoriented government of Governor Inuwa Yahaya suggested that the resignations by some politically paper weight appointees in the state would cost the APC victory come 2023. However, this is not the case.

Those that resigned their appointments as political aides in Gombe State did so for some reasons, which are basically political and pecuniary.

And to say that Governor Inuwa Yahaya would

not win election next year if he picks the APC ticket unless he has the backing of the likes of Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje is to tell lies in broad daylight.

First, when Inuwa Yahaya indicated interest to contest the Governorship election in 2011, Goje did not support his aspiration. Rather, the ticket was ‘traded’ to Ibrahim Dankwambo, who immediately turned his back against Goje after becoming governor-elect. He did that because Goje was gradually becoming an unbearable burden on him.

Again, in 2015, Inuwa Yahaya once again indicated interest in gunning for the governorship seat, but Goje did what he did to scuttle that ambition.

But when 2019 came, Inuwa Yahaya, against all odds, including Goje’s apparent dislike, went for the APC ticket and picked it. Recall that in the build up to the primaries, Goje had a preferred candidate in another person. He, however, surrendered after Inuwa Yahaya’s emergence and supported him, though not wholeheartedly but in order to use the platform and popularity of Inuwa Yahaya to also win his senatorial seat.

Those that do not know the history of the political power play in Gombe State should avail themselves all this.

Like it is said in Nigerian parlance, those who have ears should listen: come 2023, whether Goje and his ‘loyalists’ support Governor Yahaya or not, the governor will win his seat hands down and deliver the APC in Gombe State much to the

chagrin of his traducers. The governor has the support of the masses and people of goodwill on account of his superlative performance and sterling leadership.

Coming to the issue of those leaving the APC in Gombe State, it is clear that a number of the so-called ‘bigwigs’, including Jamilu Gwamna, left the party only to pursue their political ambition and not because someone offended them in the APC. Let’s face it. The four aides to governor Inuwa that resigned from his administration, namely Dijatu Bappa, Alhaji Garba Jijji Gadam, Hamza Adamu Soye and Yushau Yakubu Danauta are nothing in the political equation of Gombe State.

Therefore, because they left, the Gombe State Government would not be rattled in any way.

In any case, the APC, and by extension Gombe State Government, has also gained some entrants from other political parties. We recently witnessed the defections of former federal and state lawmakers, former commissioner, special advisers, prominent PDP stalwarts and thousands of their supporters into the APC fold. But the naysayers are not talking about it.

Governor Yahaya has earned his name over the years through both private and public services.

He is unlike those entrusted with big corporate bodies, but as a result of their mess, even their staff embark on strike on account of non-payment of salaries and poor management.

Truth is, the Gombe people are not fools. They know what they are doing and are well aware of

those that love them genuinely.

Since coming on board, Governor Inuwa Yahaya has focused his attention on making Gombe a better place for all through various infrastructural projects, which the Gombe people appreciate.

Shamelessly, Inuwa Yahaya’s enemies themselves admitted that “Governor Inuwa has performed well in the state and the progress of the party.”

They only said the obvious, and the Gombe people know this too well. The people are ready to rally round their governor at the right time, no matter the blackmail and propaganda.

Also, painting a picture that Governor Yahaya “needs to reconcile with the aggrieved members of the party” as if he did not make that move is most unfortunate.

The governor has made himself available for that. He attended two meetings, first in Gombe with the APC national reconciliation committee, and second in Abuja with the party’s national leadership.

It was in the process of that reconciliation move that Goje somewhat ‘backed out” when he used one of his aides to say that the reconciliation was an Islamic one and that the political reconciliation was still pending, as if he was fighting an Islamic fight in the first place.

Stop the campaign of calumny. The Gombe people are watching, and they are solidly behind their governor.

Amb. Kyari is APC State Publicity Secretary, Gombe State

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EDITORIAL CURBING INCEST IN THE HOMES Incest is a crime. The authorities should well by enforcing the law

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ncest in Nigeria, from reports, is becoming an uncontrollable rash, occurring between father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister, uncles, nephews, and nieces, while even minors are not spared. Incest is human sexual activity between family members or blood relatives; it is a crime of having sexual intercourse with a parent, child, sibling, or grandchild.

There were recent reports of a father who raped and impregnated his daughter and expelled her from their home, a five-year-old stepdaughter who was brutally raped, and a woman whose son fathered her three children. These bizarre stories pour in daily, inundating law enforcement personnel, who are not equipped to prosecute or are frustrated by the slow processes of the nation’s courts. Most of these cases, even when reported, are settled out of court, which may account for the paucity of SECTION 33 OF THE data on cases of MARRIAGE ACT FORBIDS incest.

SEXUAL RELATIONS AND Yet, there are MARRIAGE AMONG PEOPLE scientific reasons WHO ARE RELATED BY why incest is BLOOD. IT IS CAPTURED AS prohibited. It is to avoid inbreeding: a ‘PROHIBITED DEGREE OF collection of genetic CONSANGUINITY’ disorders suffered by the children of parents with a close genetic relationship. Such children are at greater risk for congenital disorders, death, and developmental and physical disability, and that risk is proportional to how close their parents are. Victims of incest suffer gravely and sometimes throughout their lifetime. They are left damaged mentally and emotionally for years. Many must deal with feelings of guilt, shame, and sadness, ending up having anger management problems and distrust.

Some victims have been known to be suicidal and others have taken their own lives.

While some people blame the prevalence of incest in Nigeria on broken homes and substance abuse, this is a red line most families hardly want to cross or

Letters to the Editor

discuss because of the discomfort and trauma associated with it. The bigger challenge is that only very few professionals venture to investigate incest. Also, because incest is horrendous and could bring a huge amount of shame and stigma on the family, incidences go unreported to the authorities for criminal prosecution. Regardless, in most Nigerian societies, incest is one of the most widespread of all cultural taboos, both in the present and in the past, according to sociologists and psychiatrists. Most modern societies have laws regarding incest.

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

ncest is a crime in Nigeria by virtue of Section 3, subsection 1, sub-sub section b of the Matrimonial Causes Act. Also, Section 33 of the Marriage Act forbids sexual relations and marriage among people who are related by blood. It is captured as “Prohibited degree of consanguinity.” Incestuous relationships or marriages are further prohibited in the 1st Schedule (Section 3) of the Matrimonial Causes Act, Cap 220, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 1990, where it lists the prohibited degree of consanguinity to include that between father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister, uncle and aunt, niece, and nephew. In addition, Section 214 (3) of the Criminal Code Act (a criminal law that is applicable in and covers all parts of Nigeria), Caption 77, Law of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) prescribes a minimum of 14 years’ imprisonment for those found guilty of incestuous liaison, which it referred to as “offence against morality.”

The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP Act) 2015 explains that any form of sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related to marry each other (with or without) consent is incest and is liable to a minimum conviction of 10 years without an option of fine. Few, if any, convictions have been recorded in Nigeria.

There has been a clarion call from rights activists on government to pass the Sexual Offences Act (Amendment) Bill 2019 to protect minors and underage against sexual exploitation and for states government to domesticate laws that criminalise incest.

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.

POWER WORDS AND POWER WOES

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n Nigeria, there are many power words with just as many power woes. Lengthened conversations about electricity abound even as darkness deepens; electric excitement by politicians about an improved power sector is followed by pitifully poor results. As charade has replaced charade in the circus of failed promises, many small businesses have packed up as the Giant of Africa has borne witness to how $16 billion was reportedly once sunk into the power sector with embarrassingly little to show for it.

It has become a banter among Nigerians that while neighbouring countries which get power from Nigeria can boast of steady power supply, the supplier remains like the physician that cannot heal himself.

Visiting Nigerian citizens born in other countries find Nigeria`s epileptic power supply amusing at first, bemusing as the experience continues, then utterly unbearable with the passage of time.

In a country embarrassed with riches but burdened with grave challenges, Nigerians, Nigerian policymakers and the Nigerian elite find common ground in the indubitable conclusion that unless Nigeria acts decisively to fix its power woes, the foundation of the Giant of Africa will remain creaky and leaky with devastating consequences.

With the Electricity Bill 2022 recently considered at a public hearing by the Senate Committee on Power at the National Assembly, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) together with other critical stakeholders in Nigeria recently rejected the

continued stranglehold of the federal government on electricity matters in the country.

The governors were unequivocal that it would do a great disservice to Nigeria`s federalism for the Senate to consider and pass a bill that would continue to treat the federation as one single electricity jurisdiction. The governors said a situation where the maturity of states in electricity matters continues to be overlooked is no longer viable with the current realities on ground.

Leading the stance against the Electricity Bill 2022 was the Chairman of the NGF and the Ekiti State Governor Mr. Kayode Fayemi who was armed with some particularly scathing statistics. He said, “After 71 years of sole and unchallenged central control of the electricity sector, we live with an electricity sector divided into two parts. One part is the FG-controlled and regulated national electricity market that today is insolvent, bankrupt and delivers no more than approximately 4,000MW/96,000MWh daily to 220 million Nigerians, or an average of 18w/432watt-hours daily, barely enough to power two 10-watt light bulbs a day.

“The other part of Nigeria`s electricity sector is the alternative/back-up market whose estimated capacity is approximately 40,000MW so much so that Nigerian citizens are their own electricity providers in their homes, factories, schools, hospitals and places of worship.”

As usual, it appears that the federation is the problem along with the bureaucracy which has all the time and the space to

be as brutal as it can be. The core of the conversation may be electricity but it is not difficult to see the struggles and even outright failure of Nigeria`s federal structure where it should guarantee steady power supply as opposed to the current epileptic supply. And as with the conversation about state police, questions about Nigeria`s single electricity market is more than valid.

The saying goes that the only constant thing in life is change.

It is out of the necessity of constancy that change brings that wisdom is found in changing what does not work and trying out new things until a winning formula is found. Why then is it that the federal government has continued to enjoy monopoly over the Nigerian electricity market in spite of the presence of 35 other states that should provide stiff but healthy competition if Nigeria`s federal democracy is to work seamlessly? The validity of this question is accentuated by the cataclysmic failure of the federal government to bequeath to Nigerians a power sector that is resilient and reliable.

If the federal government has been continuously failing at it, why has it continued to tenaciously hang on to its grip, and why is the National Assembly prepared to pass another law that will see that its death-grip on the power sector is only strengthened in spite of the dead wood it brings in?

The answer to these questions may just be the difference between light and darkness, life and death for millions of Nigerians and Nigerian businesses.

Kene Obiezu, keneobiezu@gmail.com

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POLITICS

South Africa Betrays Mandela

by Refusal to Vote against Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Chido Nwangwu bemoans the stance of South Africa in the on-going aggression by Russia against Ukraine

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he United Nations resolution on Wednesday March 2, 2022 passed with a very wide gap-141 votes for it and only five votes against, 35 countries abstained.

It simply demands Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

Significantly, Nigeria voted for the resolution to condemn the atrocities and extraordinary imposition of violence and bombs and wanton destruction of Ukraine. It’s a war of exponential bombing and shellings to shatter the pysche and the courageous will of the Ukrainians! Alongside Nigeria were Benin, Djibouti, Egypt, Zambia and Ghana.

I am trying to understand the South African national interest which practically incapacitated its moral worthiness that it was unable to vote for or against. South Africa folded into the puny corner of abstaining rather than speak up!! Even the Jihadists from land of the Talibans, Afghanistan, did not abstain. They stood up to be counted —as they voted.

Among the African countries that abstained were Algeria, the Central African Republic, Mali, Namibia, and Sudan.

Is South Africa’s government and leadership unaware of or conveniently dismissed Nelson Mandela’s maxim that “Freedom is indivisible”? You either support freedom of people to chart their own future and direction of their own country or you do not!

Would Mandela have kept quite and looked the other way?

Would Mandela have meandered through the window of technicality while Mr. Putin’s war machine cannibalizes the geography, borders, infrastructure and psyche of the brave but controversial Ukraine?

No; I believe Mandela would have voted against Russia regardless of their support during the anti-apartheid struggle and liberation movement.

Why would the African National Congress (ANC) leadership betray Mandela’s legacy, again and again, this way?

They are the “privileged inheritors of Mandela’s sacrifices, works and goodwill who seem fixated on squandering as much of those as they can” — as I characterized some of them in my summer 2022 book titled ‘MLK, Mandela and Achebe: Power Leadership & Identity.’ MLKMandelaAchebe.com -Nwangwu is the Founder and Publisher of Houston-based USAfrica multimedia networks, first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the internet USAfricaonline.com NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

Nigerian Youths Awake to Vote Mohammed Kolo Mohammed makes a clarion call to Nigerian youths to be alive to their civic responsibility to determine the type of leaders they want by taking active part in the political process; first by registering as voters

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igeria youths are yet to regain recognition to participate fully into the Nigeria political system. Nigeria became a democracy again in 1999 after several years of military dictatorship. Expectations were high from citizens at the beginning but about 15 years after, both scholars and citizens are questioning the validity of claims of democratic success in the face of flawed processes and policies. Although certain level of macro-economic achievements appear to have been made, it seems that crisis in citizens’ welfare and insecurity in the country, especially in North-central, North-east and Niger-delta region of the country have thrown up issues of the quality of democracy where good governance, accountability and transparency count. In short poverty, unemployment, insurgency, banditry, killings, kidnapping of expatriate workers, intercommunity violence and general state of insecurity have gradually become the conspicuous features of Nigeria. It then appears that democracy is rare for most of Africa, especially Nigeria.

In any good sense of the word “democracy” in terms of its ability to bring changes to the living conditions of citizens, it is a form of governance that holds the truth that the people are the most important in a society. This implies that both civic engagement of citizens and responsiveness of the state to citizen’s involvement and

demands are key ingredients in any democratic setting. It furthermore seeks to examine, based on direct observation and grand narratives found in literature, the missing link in the actualization of citizens’ aspirations in the claimed democratic states of Africa, focusing on Nigeria. The question is, are the youths ready to take the future of Nigeria’s democracy?

Will the new political leaders and table shakers sponsor the youth and encourage them to participate fully into the political system of the country? Henceforth, democracy is not transparent. Good governance generally refers to the manner in which power is exercised.

Sometimes, such responsibility may be secured through elections, appointments and so on. On the other, governance is viewed as the steering or controlling of state affairs. Fundamentally, governance is the process of decision making or procedure by which decision is taken by those who govern and are willing to improve the living conditions of citizens. Governance is distinguished from government, which means an institution made up of instruments through which the state governs itself by means of laws, rules and regulations implemented by the state apparatus.

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

Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 is Valid, Not Ultra Vires the Constitution Kayode Ajulo makes a submission on who the Nigerian Constitution describes as a Public Servant

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t is no more news that President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, 25th February, 2022 signed the Electoral Act, 2022 into law. It suffices to recall that the said Bill was signed into law after it has suffered protracted delay and setbacks both from the Presidency and the National Assembly, particularly on the provision of the Bill which relates to mandatory direct primaries.

It is pertinent to recall that during the ceremony, Mr. President voiced his reservation with respect of the provision of Section 84(12) of the new Law. According to the statement credited to Mr. President, he noted that the said provision is in conflict with extant constitutional provisions.

He further noted that Section 84(12) constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at Conventions or Congresses of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in case where it holds earlier that 30 days to the National Election.

The above reservations credited to the President has forthwith generated reactions, reprimands and diatribe from political pundits, lackeys and constitutional legal minds.

It is on the above premises that it is imperative to pensively consider the provisions of Section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act viz-a-viz relevant provisions of the Constitution in the bid to ascertain the legality or otherwise of the provision of the Act. *What Does Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 Provide?

Section 84(12) “No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegates or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election”.

A literal interpretation of the above provision is that an appointee of the Executive should not, and must not, be a delegate in primary elections while still in office, just as an appointee must not be contesting as a delegate while still in office at the Convention or Congress of any political party.

Is the provision of Section 84(12) is in contravention with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) Firstly, it must be noted that the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act derives its validity from the Constitution and same does not contravene the provision of the Constitution.

By the provision of *Section 228 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) the National Assembly has the power to provide guidelines and rules to ensure internal democracy within political parties, including making laws for the conduct of the party primaries, party congresses and party convention.

Suffices to also note that varying provisions of the Constitution provide for the disqualification of persons from vying for the post of the senate or House of Representatives if he is a person employed in the public service of the federation or of any State and has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment, thirty days before the date of election. *See Section 66(1),(f) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). See also Section 107(1), (f) of the Constitution* with respect to disqualification of a public servant from vying for the position of member of House of Assembly.

It is also instructive to note that a public servant is also disqualified from contesting the position of President, Vice President, Governor and Deputy Governor respectively if same has not resigned from that position within a period of 30 days before the date of election. *See Section 137(1) (g), 182(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Having stated the above, the perdurable question to ask is whether a political office holder is a public servant under the provisions of the Constitution.

By virtue of Section 318(1) of the 1999 Constitution, public service of the Federation means the service of the federation in any capacity in respect of the Government of the Federation and includes:

a. Clerk of other staff of the National Assembly or of each House of the National Assembly; b Member of staff of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or other courts established for the Federation by this Constitution and by an Act of the National Assembly; c. Member of staff of any commission or authority established for the Federation by this Constitution or by anAct of the NationalAssembly; d. Staff of any area Council e. Staff of any statutory Corporation established by an Act of the National Assembly; f. Staff of any educational institution established or financed principally by the Government of the Federation; g. Staff of any company or enterprise in which the Government of the Federation or its agency owns controlling shares or interest; and h. Members or officers of the armed forces of the Federation or the Nigeria Police Force or other government security agencies established by law; The Section also makes similar provisions for public service of the State.

One can argue that the reason for the requirement of resignation of a public servant before election is to ensure neutrality of persons in the Executive Administration of the Government at all levels and to prevent partisan politics in the civil service. Notably the Public Service Rules prohibits a Civil Servant from being involved in partisan politic. So if you want to be involved in partisan politics, you must resign.

Section 4 article 030402(g) of the Public Service Rules* categorically states that “Engaging in partisan political activities” is one of the significant examples of serious misconduct. See also the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of *Independent National Electoral Commission v Musa & Ors. (2003) 3 NWLR Pt. 806 pg. 72.

It is quite succinct to state that by the dint of the provisions of Section 318(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as highlighted above, a political office holder is not a public servant or in the public service. See the case of OJONYE V. ONU & ORS(2018) LPELR-44223(CA) where the Court held that political appointees hold office at the pleasure of the Chief Executive and they are not public servants as provided for under the Constitution.

It is apposite to note that the position of the law is that the express mention of one thing in a statutory provision or schedule, excludes the other. See *Udoh V OMHB (1993) 7 SCNJ (Pt. 2) 436, 444.* Since the Constitution expressly states that a public servant must resign within a period of 30 days before the conduct of the election, the said section does not include political office holders. Hence, political office holders cannot take coverage under these provisions of the Constitution.

-Dr. Ajulo is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK and Managing Partner, Castle of Law, Nigeria NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

REPO

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

08056356325

M A R C H

S & P INDEX

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%

How Visa Facilitators Scramble, Mop Up Appointments Online to Swindle Nigerians

Chinedu Eze

around the embassies in Lagos to woo visa applicants who patronise them sometimes out of ignorance or desperation.

THISDAY spoke to many of the facilitators who said all they do is to stay online 24 hours a day and grab visa application dates made available by the US Consulate.

Recently the US Country Consular Coordinator, Susan Tuller accused these facilitators and travel agents of illegally manipulating visa appointments in Lagos and extorting Nigerians who are made to pay

Illegal visa facilitators who provide Nigerians US visa interview appointment dates at exorbitant fees spend days browsing the internet to mop up available dates, book and sell same to applicants seeking to obtain visa interview appointments with the US embassy, THISDAY investigation has revealed.

Although illegal, the venture has become a source of livelihood for many, especially young Nigerians who secure makeshift locations

outrageous fees for visa interview appointment dates.

According to Tuller, “One of the problems that we have with being able to increase the visa appointments is that our visa appointment system is manipulated by the visa facilitators that function here especially in Lagos.

So unfortunately visa facilitators, travel agents and some others manipulate our visa appointment system for their own financial gain. And even though in Lagos they operate in the parking lot next door to our consular operations, we

really have little control over that, because they are not operating on our property and we can’t police them ourselves.

“Unfortunately the visa facilitators here operate with impunity, they operate for financial gain, and as long as they are allowed to do that and as long as Nigerians continue to pay the very high fees to them to get an appointment, that will likely continue and it makes it very hard for us to really control the number of visa appointments that we make available. So before we talk about

the specifics, I really want to reiterate that there is no reason to pay any additional fees to a visa facilitator or a travel agent.

“Right now there are thousands of appointments available for this new interview renewal programme.

They are available online right now and as long as you meet the criteria and follow the procedures, there is no reason to pay somebody to get that appointment. One of the real challenges with paying somebody or the appointment is that the visa facilitators use fake information to

book these appointments. So then when you buy an appointment from them, you don’t know what information they have put in the system. Once the information is entered into this system, this system is part of your consular.”

The facilitators in their makeshift locations at the car parks and adjoining buildings around the US Consulate at Walter Carrington Crescent, told THISDAY that they charge applicants between N250, 000 Continued on page 26

Agents Reject VIN, Say Policy Contravenes C u s t o m s Excise Management A c t Gilbert Ekugbe

The agents in a petition to president Muhammadu Buhari said over 12,000 cars have been trapped at various ports across the country since the introduction of VIN. President of National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), the umbrella body of customs agents in Nigeria, Lucky Amiwero in

Customs agents in the country have kicked against the introduction of Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) stressing that the policy contravenes with the Customs and Excise Management Act’ 20 of 2003 based on transaction value method.

the petition described policy as a stumbling block to doing business in the country while also calling for an outright suspension of the policy.

Amiwero who was a Member Presidential Task Force for the Reform of Nigerian Custom Service said the introduction of VIN is at the disadvantage of many Nigerians who do not have the buying power

to purchase new vehicles based on the harsh economic situation of the country.

He added that most of the Nigerian population depends hugely on imported second hand vehicles.

Amiwero explained that as the Chairman sub-committee of the Reconstituted Presidential Task Force on the Reform of Nigeria Customs

service, on the treatment of valuation of vehicles, it was observed by the committee that the present ex -factory price is a component of Brussels Definition of Value(BDV), which is not in agreement with the provision of customs and excise management (amendment) Act 20 of 2003, that is supposed to be based on Purchase price (negotiated price with a buyer

and seller of motor vehicles to have transaction element.

He said the present ex-factory price has no negotiated component as purchase price, which is the transaction value by importer and lacks legal process in the criteria as contained in the treatment of Continued on page 26

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT T H U R S D AY, M A R C H 3 , 2 0 2 2 BILLS

FGN BONDS DESCRIPTION 12.75 27-APR2023 14.20 14-MAR2024 13.53 23-MAR2025 12.50 22-JAN2026 16.2884 17MAR-2027

Price 106.8

Yield 6.52

111.08 8.17 113.86 8.3 108.26 9.88 124.22 10.04

Change Updated Time (%) 2, -0.01 March 2022 2, -0.01 March 2022 March 2, 0.00 2022 2, -0.17 March 2022 2, -0.41 March 2022

MATURITY

Discount

CPs

Yield Change Updated Time (%)

NTB 10Mar-22 NTB 28-Apr22 NTB 12May-22 NTB 9-Jun22

2.87

2.87

0.00

March 2, 2022

3.07

3.08

0.00

March 2, 2022

3.12

3.14

0.00

March 2, 2022

3.24

3.27

0.00

March 2, 2022

NTB 14-Jul22

3.38

3.43

0.00

March 2, 2022

OTC FX F U T U R E S

MATURITY

Discount Yield

Change Updated Time (%)

UNCP CP VI 2-MAY-22 NEVE CP I 24-MAY-22 DANC CP II 25-MAY-22 TRBH CP V 26-JUL-22 TRBH CP V 26-JUL-22

8.77

8.90

0.00

March 2, 2022

16.29

16.91 0.00

March 2, 2022

8.68

8.86

0.00

March 2, 2022

11.47

8.86

0.00

March 2, 2022

8.17

8.86

0.00

March 2, 2022

CONTRACT TENOR (MONTH) 1 2 3 4 5

Contract NGUS MAR 30 2022 NGUS APR 27 2022 NGUS MAY 25 2022 NGUS JUN 29 2022 NGUS JUL 27 2022

Current Rate ($/₦)

Updated Time

427.24

March 2, 2022 March 2, 2022 March 2, 2022 March 2, 2022 March 2, 2022

428.93 430.63 432.32 434.02

24

T H I S D AY ˾ FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

AIR WATCH

Green Africa Unveils Training A I R Programme for Nigerian Pilots, Others WATCH Chinedu Eze

Green Africa Airways (GAA), a Nigerian start-up airline, based in Lagos, has launched training programme, known as ‘Future initiative’, as part of efforts at training and re-training Nigerian aviation professionals.

Launching the initiative on Tuesday in Lagos, Managing Director/ CEO of the company, Babawande Afolabi, said the airline plans to ‘use the power of aviation to create a better future in the sector’, adding that it is a deliberate plan to develop talents.

Unveiling the package of the initiative, he said in the next one decade, the company would have produced over 200 pilots, 145 flight dispatchers, 500-cabin crew, 100 engineers and about 500 other professionals for the sector.

The GAA boss, who disclosed that the airline airlifted over 150,000 passengers on 11 routes

since inauguration on August 12, 2021, said part of the plans is to sponsor pilots for training on type-rating in other to help young professionals who are unable to get jobs. ‘’We plan to send four young pilots to the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria every months, we want to infuse a new generation young vibrant Africans into the system, we are very keen on this, we recognize that there is a gap and we are ready to contribute our quota to filling it, eight young officers will start in NCAT by March 9, they will be through with type-rating afterwards. ‘’There is poaching and there is shortage of professionals but the more people we train, the better for our company and the sector, the fear of poaching should not stop the vison, I have been there before, the regulator also has a role to play, above all, Nigeria has

a leading role to play in Africa aviation’’, he added.

Earlier, representative of the Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Kayode Ajiboye, Director of Airworthiness Standards, commended the airline for the vision, urging it to employ more Nigerians and create incentives to aid retention of workforce. ‘’What you make of your resources depends on your vision; the people that will care about and be proud of Green Africa are Nigerians and not foreigners. We have this challenge in NCAA, we train people and they go, if you don’t have incentives to retain them, they will leave and you will start all over again. It is a good thing to know that we have somebody who believes in this but it is not going to be easy but you need to provide incentives that will attract them, “he said.

Airports Concession to Be Completed in Q2, Says Sirika Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has hinted that the process for the concession of Nigeria’s four major international airports will be completed in the second quarter of the year 2022.

Sirika also announced that the requests for proposal on the establishment of a national carrier would be out on Monday.

He disclosed this while playing host to the Executive Committee members of the Abuja Transport and Aviation Correspondents Association in his office in Abuja.

Government, Sirika said has been making efforts to concession Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.

According to him, “The transaction advisers for the

concession have finished the Outline Business Case and had got the Request for Qualification.

We’ve pre-qualified the people and they’ve been issued Request for Proposal.

“They’ve turned the proposals in and we are analysing them to announce the successful bidders and this will be soon.

Our timetable is for the first quarter of this year.”

He further said: “Well, I can see that it is still happening, let’s be very ambitious, but certainly it will end in second quarter and all the (identified) airports will be concessioned. Many airports have been established since the current administration took over government in 2015.”

Continuing, he disclosed: “there are more airports today than when we came in 2015. There’s Anambra

and Lafia airports; there is Ekiti airport, going on; Makurdi airport, going on; Yobe airport, Ebonyi airport and many other airports.

“We have about 12 new airports added since we came and this is growth. And we have the same in other aspects of the sectors, as more runways are being added, more capacities for the airports are being delivered.”

Sirika said the government was diligently implementing the key components of the aviation sector roadmap, adding that, “we are very sure that before the end of the term of Mr. President, these things will be achieved and realised.”

The minister also revealed plans to begin the issuing of requests for proposal to intending investors for the establishment of the national carrier on March 8, 2022.

Xejet Takes Delivery of ERJ145 from ACIA Aero Leasing Nigeria’s Xejet Aviation has taken delivery of an Embraer ERJ145 recently from ACIA Aero Leasing (ACIA), a leading provider of regional aircraft leasing and lease management services.

ACIA made the announcement of the delivery of ‘a single Embraer ERJ145 on lease to Xejet Aviation (“Xejet”), a fast-growing, start-up airline based in Lagos, Nigeria.’

The aircraft, ACIA Aero said, is to support Business Class Only carrier’s vision to be Nigeria’s go-to airline for smart and cost-effective premium air travel The airline recently received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to commence premium services soon. The aircraft with registration number 5N-BZN has since arrived the Murtala Muhammed Airport Lagos.

The regional jet, configured with

50 seats in a single-class layout, was delivered joining the carrier’s fleet that currently consists of one additional ERJ145 alongside a Boeing B737-500. The ERJ145 will support the airline’s growth strategy by operating charter and non-scheduled flights in Nigeria’s underserved domestic markets, beginning the first week of March.

“We are thrilled to welcome Xejet as a new airline to ACIA’s expanding customer family and look forward to our ongoing collaboration to leverage market opportunities for the airline’s continued growth,” said ACIA Aero Leasing’s Senior Vice President, Leasing & Customer Relations, Elze Le Roux.

“Xejet has developed a market niche that will serve them well in executing on the vision to become an airline of choice for the premium air travel segment in the country,” he added.

Xejet’s Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Iza emphasized that “ACIA is a strong leasing partner that understands Africa and offers a diverse portfolio of aircraft.

Our focus as an operator is to be cost-effective and efficient, which is why we chose to work with ACIA. We are very happy with their market knowledge and corresponding flexibility as a new lessor to our operation. The ACIA team has been very supportive of our needs, and we look forward to leasing more aircraft from them in the future.”

ACIA’s commercial team has been on the lookout for opportunities to support promising, start-up airlines, which strive to economize on the opportunity to sustainably enter service, scale, and be well-positioned to serve air passengers in a rapidly recovering, post-pandemic environment.

NiRA Commends FG on National Policy for Domain Name Adoption Emma Okonji Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has applauded the Federal Executive Council (FEC), following the approval of the National Policy on the Nigerian Government Second-Level Domains during one of its recent FEC meetings.

The approval was granted by FEC following a presentation by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami.

The Policy was developed to strengthen public confidence in the use of digital technologies and participation in the digital

economy.

The Master Plan has the vision to create a world-class open and digitalized government that connects with people to drive efficiencies in public administration, the responsiveness of civil services, and transparency in governance leading to improvement of the quality of life of Nigerians.

Responding to the development, NiRA President, Mr. Muhammed Rudman, described Pantami as a ‘Digital Economy Crusader’ who has shown understanding of the need to intensify the adoption of Nigeria country code top-level domain (ccTLD), .ng within and outside the government circle.

NIRA a multi - stakeholder-led organisation, is the Registry for the .ng domain name and maintains the database of names registered in the .ng country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) namespace in the interest of Nigerians and the global Internet community.

Rudman said that the need to switch over to .ng is no longer negotiable in view of the significant role it plays in the country’s digital economy agenda.

He said NiRA would support the Minister in his efforts to promote transparency in governance, protecting the Nigerian cyberspace, and promotion of the Digital Nigeria agenda.

Reinvigorating Fight against Drug Trafficking Chinedu Eze Reports have confirmed that since Brigadier General Mohammed Buba Marwa took over as Chairman and CEO of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on January 18, 2021, significant changes have taken place in that organisation.

Some of these changes are internal and they have to do with the welfare of the NDLEA personnel and some of the changes have to do with the new vigour in agency’s mode of operation.

Some of the workers who spoke to THISDAY said that the agency has spread its tentacles farther in the fight against drug trafficking and usage by Nigerians.

Reports have indicated that NDLEA under Marwa has rejuvenated its operations across the country and the number of arrests and high calibrecases also show that the agency is digging deeper than in the past in the anti-drugs fight.

On the workers’ welfare, THISDAY learnt that many of the agency’s staff who were not promoted in the last 10 years received their promotion under Marwa.

Death benefits for those who died in line of duty that were abandoned over the years was revived and the relatives of those who lost their loved ones in the agency had been compensated by the current administration.

Based on the increased use of drugs

by Nigerians and also the increase in the number of traffickers, it is projected that in the next 10 years if drug use is not drastically curbed it would destroy the majority of Nigerian youths; so Marwa has introduced elaborate sensitisationawareness creation in different parts of the country, down to rural communities.

That was an offshoot of anti-drug abuse campaign that was launched by President Mohammadu Buhari on June 26, 2021.

THISDAY learnt that Marwa had met with traditional rulers, National Assembly members, community leaders and others and stated that for NDLEA to effectively undertake the Herculean task of arresting the moral decay and damage drug abuse is wrecking on Nigerian youths, it needs more funding; a request that is receiving positive result from government.

Last year, NDLEA recruited about 5000 Nigerians and deployed them to different areas in Nigeria and they have kicked off grassroots campaign against drug use and trafficking.

Recently, NDLEA intercepted 649,300 capsules of Tramadol 225mg and 809,850 Euros cash from Pakistan, Austria and Italy at the MurtalaMuhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja Lagos.

The agency also blocked various quantities of Heroin and other illicit drugs from being exported to the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, disclosed these recently and attributed it to the new approach the agency has adopted under Marwa, which is yielding very good results.

Babafemi also disclosed that at the Skyway Aviation Handling Company cargo warehouse at the Lagos airport, anti-narcotic officers seized 649,300 capsules of Tramadol 225mg weighing 460.95kg imported from Pakistan via Addis Ababa through Ethiopian Airline on Wednesday February 16, 2022.

He said the above seizure took place four days after another lady, Precious Idahagbon was arrested with 740,000 Euros cash hidden in her luggage and undeclared upon her arrival at the airport from Vienna, Austria via Istanbul, Turkey.

Babafemi said both cash seizures were under investigation to establish if they

Marwa were proceeds of drug business.

“At the NAHCO export shed of the airport, operatives seized a consignment of 131 parcels of Cannabis concealed in packages of black soap (Dudu-Osun), during outward clearance of cargo going to the UK. This is as another consignment presented for export to Dubai, UAE at SAHCO shed was also recovered after 30 parcels of cannabis hidden in cartons of cornflakes were discovered in it.

“Not less than 6.5kg of Heroin, Khat and Oxycodone packaged for export to USA, and Canada were seized at a major courier company in Lagos by operatives of the Directorate of Operation and General Investigations, DOGI. The drugs were concealed in shoes, and carton walls.

With improved welfare and regular promotion, the NDLEA workforce has been gingered to work with more dedication and courage; unlike in the past when its morale was sagged due to lack of motivation,” Babafemi said.

He disclosed recently that 75 per cent of the workforce was promoted at once in June 2021, which is the highest in any single exercise since the establishment of the anti-narcotics body over three decades ago.

“It is an established norm that promotions are not only based on qualifications but also on vacancies. No law enforcement organisationcan elevate all its staff at a go considering such criteria as rank, structure that is based on vacancies; only a specific number can be promoted to some vacant positions even if all are qualified and that’s why there can only be one State Commander in a State Command.

“At the highest level in the agency, where we have nine Deputy Commanders General of Narcotics (DCGN) and 25 Assistant Commanders General of Narcotics (ACGN) these positions were not only spread along geo zonal considerations but religious balance”, he further explained.

He said that at the due time, every one deserving of promotion and other benefits would be considered based on available vacancies and resources.

“This is in addition to other incentives such as the provision of barracks for officers and men; life and injury insurance cover as well as working tools for drug demand control and drug supply reduction activities, all made possible by the current leadership of the agency,” he added.

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

25

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Fatogbe: Risk Management Can Become Economic Development Enabler The Chairman of Risk Management Association of Nigeria, Folakemi Fatogbe in this interview speaks on the necessities of embedding risk management practices in corporate and the government sphere citing it as essentially important to mitigating economic downturns and enabling economic development. Nume Ekeghe presents excepts: out tops. I have had no cause to reconsider my position given the manner in which the Association conducts itself, the quality of the Board of Trustees and ExCo as well as its mission and vision.

RIMAN’s track record of risk leadership, collaboration and, capacity building is well known.

Could you introduce yourself and speak to your career antecedents? am the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The De-Risking Lab and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN).

My career antecedents and professional experience span over thirty years in central, development and commercial banking, consulting, strategy implementation and entrepreneurship. I recently came to the end of my tenure as the pioneer director of risk management at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) where I also served as a special adviser, banking reforms and risk management to the then CBN Governor, Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in the heat of the 2008/9 Global Financial Crisis.

Prior to joining the CBN, I worked extensively in the United Kingdom, in organizations such as: The Bank of England/ The FSA where I supervised euraope Middle East and Africa (EMEA) banks: The Natwest Group as a Corporate Banking Strategist; Lloyds TSB Financial Markets as a Basel II Risk Consultant, NCR Teradata as a Programme Director for Banking and, the Royal Bank of Scotland as a Risk Consultant. I also gleaned entrepreneurial experience from working in Property Development and Business Consulting.

In addition to RIMAN I also serve on a number not-for-profit boards as permitted by Public Service rules including, Fountain Holdings the investment arm of the Ekiti State Government, Hampton Preparatory School, Lagos and Ileri Foundation.

I hold an MBA in Finance & International Business from Cardiff Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from the University of Ibadan.

I

Not many people, including economists, would typically associate economic development with Risk Management, you suggest that there is a linkage between the two; could you explain the nature of this linkage?

Having worked across continents in two different central banks, a number of commercial banks as well as an entrepreneur, I have come to appreciate the critical role that risk management can play in economic development. Hence, I am a strong advocate of risk management for economic development. I therefore constantly seek ways to leverage my varied work experience beyond traditional risk management into risk and opportunity management as a means of achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth. I see significant scope in using this uniquely progressive, albeit less well known, take on risk management to help attract capital to Nigeria and the rest of Africa thereby aiding job creation, poverty alleviation and economic development.

It is this link with opportunity management that serves as one of the primary means through which risk management can become an economic development enabler. They say nothing good comes easy, no gain without pain and therefore, no development without risk. Embedding efficient and responsible risk management practices enhances a country’s ability to withstand adverse events and better exploit economic opportunities. It is for this reason that in the aftermath of the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that the UK government is considering the recommendations of experts from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge contained in a report titled “Future Proof” regarding the appointment of a chief risk officer (CRO) and the adoption of a risk management “three lines of defence” model to improve the country’s co-ordination and management of extreme risks and resilience.

An organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study found that central governments in the six countries under study have each undertaken a more systematic approach to country risk management featuring concepts familiar to the private sector ‘s risk management culture.

Given the multitude of issues that Nigeria faces at the moment, including holding the unfortunate sobriquet of being “the poverty capital of the world”, it is clear to me that embedding risk management in the centre of government would complement the great risk management work already being done in the private sector and in some parts of the public sector. Ultimately this would be to the benefit of the already stretched public purse as well as the people.

Could you also tell us a bit about RIMAN including what it stands for and what it does?

RIMAN was founded on 29th March 2000 to

Why do you think that Risk Management has become more prominent in the last decade or two?

The profession of risk management has gained in its prominence in the last decade or two for a number of reasons. In my view, based on my own career antecedents, risk management truly came into its own and went mainstream during the Basel II global regulatory event. This saw the beginning of Risk Management’s move from being just a back-office cost centre to gaining a seat in the C-Suite table. Basel II gave banks clear line of sight to the financial benefits that would be derived from having robust risk managements systems, staff and governance.

The benefits and advantages enjoyed by banks became noticeable to other sectors, this is why risk management has also made significant inroads into other industries most noticeably in energy, telecommunications, insurance, manufacturing and now even government.

Fatogbe promote best practices and advocacy in risk management in Nigeria. RIMAN is the foremost non-profit professional Association for risk management Practitioners in Nigeria. It was established by Nigerian banks as a means of addressing the risks inherent in the financial services industry.

RIMAN is the pioneer and largest risk management association in Nigeria. Since its inception RIMAN has remained at the forefront of risk management in Nigeria, assisting its members, operators and regulators in the financial and non-financial services sectors to develop critical risk management skills to build capacity and thereby strengthen resilience across the various sectors of the economy. RIMAN partners with all stakeholders, both within and outside the country. It has institutional, individual and student members.

In furtherance of its professionalisation of Risk Management in Nigeria objective, the Association runs a professional Risk Management certification examination for Risk Management professionals. RIMAN also partners with regulators to ensure smooth implementation of government policies to enhance effective management of first, the financial sector and now, other sectors of the economy, RIMAN currently In advancing best practice risk management over the years RIMAN collaborated with the CBN to see to the establishment of Credit Bureau in Nigeria.

Currently membership of the Association has gone beyond deposit money banks as pioneers to other Non-Financial Institutions, regulatory bodies, manufacturing / Real sectors as well as public sector in appreciation of the existence of risk management in every facet of our business and personal activities.

Undoubtedly, RIMAN has in over the last twenty years helped strengthen the financial institutions to avoid the avoidable collapse that happened before and after the banking sector consolidation.

Having been the pioneer Director of Risk Management at the Central Bank of Nigeria what guided your decision to join RIMAN and not any of the other Risk Management bodies/associations?

It really was a no-contest. I did some research both within and outside the risk community to ascertain which risk management association was not just the most prominent but more importantly which was the most professional in its service to its members and the wider financial services community. RIMAN came

Given the clarity that you have just highlighted in respect of the positive correlation between Risk Management and Economic Development, how best do you think that a country like Nigeria should best leverage Risk Management to accelerate Economic Development for Her citizens?

Risk Management is not just about building risk defences and resilience; it is also about achieving prosperity by maximizing the benefits to be had from pursuing opportunities. The management of risk is an important part of being able to take advantage of economic opportunities. Research has shown that people in developing countries like Nigeria are not deriving the full benefit of economic opportunities.

The path to economic development is paved with risks and opportunities. Opportunities come with risk; the idea is to minimise risks in order to leverage innovation opportunities.

Data shows that Nigeria has the highest number of people living in poverty in the world, this means that millions of Nigerians need to be enabled to pursue opportunities in a way that does not unduly expose them to risks.

Risk management can be applied to address a number of our current issues such as governance, risk management comes with strong governance models that allow for accountability, transparency, monitoring, rules, standards, reporting and consequences.

Diversification as Nigeria has a long-standing unresolved issue regarding the need for FX revenue diversification. Risk Management seeks to address diversification issues backed by governance structures to ensure that diversification targets are met.

Threat and Crisis Management, which risk management has a role to play in the maintenance of National Security. Key Risk Indicators had flagged as far back as 2007 in the north-east region red flags in the areas of youth restiveness, unemployment, poor school enrolment rates etc. as early warnings to the security issues that we are seeing today.

Risk Management seeks to ensure that risk data is translated into concrete policy actions.

I listened to a very insightful interview by Mr Rotimi Sankore over the weekend that confirmed my view in this regard.

Infrastructure investment is integral to poverty alleviation. Applying risk management to the way and manner contractors are selected and monitored will ensure higher success rates of national projects. Risk practitioners are uniquely placed to assist in closing the long-term infrastructure financing gap. By helping to identify and de-risk areas of market failure in order to bring in the private sector.

Long-term finance has a fundamental role to play in generating higher economic growth/ development and welfare.

A lack of infrastructure comes at an enormous economic and social cost

Opportunity exploitation embedded risk management will also put Nigeria in a better position to tap into innovation and opportunities in a de-risked manner. The inability to manage risk properly poses significant obstacles to poverty alleviation and shared prosperity. Various reports like that of the World Bank show that effective Risk Management can be a “powerful instrument for development” in that it can help save lies, unleash opportunities and prevent or lessen financial losses.

Risk management helps corporate to effectively hedge against volatility and these lessons can be more widely adopted.

Experts have maintained that governance risk and risk culture have remained key challenges in the public and private sectors of Nigerian economy. What are your thoughts on this?

Having already considered and confirmed the linkages between risk management and economic development, it is clear to me that embedding effective and responsible risk management within government and more widely across the public and private sectors will go a long way in creating the type of risk and accountability culture that will facilitate a more judicious and therefore a more inclusive spread of our economic resources thereby helping to reduce poverty.

Embedding risk culture will also be beneficial in our ability to use data as early warnings to prevent some of the other socio-economic shocks by linking dots between different issues e.g. out of school children, high teacher student ratios, unemployment, radicalization, poverty and insecurity.

What in your view are the key Risk Management lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has even made it clearer that to survive in the new normal, countries and organizations need Risk management more than ever before. For example, the Pandemic accelerated digitization and created new business models i.e., remote working. The speed of change and innovation brought about by the Pandemic came with their own risks – one of the most noticeable ones being the heightened cybersecurity risks that arose from the widespread accelerated digitization and remote working which involved huge numbers of staff connecting to office systems from offsite locations.

In consideration of the emerging risks, the RIMAN 2021 conference was focused on Risk Management in a Digital Era. We deliberated on the proactive steps that risk practitioners need to take in order to mitigate the emerging risks to their businesses. The recommendations that came out of the conference included: The need for the CRO to be a member of the crisis response/ business continuity team, the need for risk functions to develop IT and digital skills The need for realistic and tested business continuity and disaster recovery plans, the need to convert business processes to digital processes where possible and the need to give more consideration to rare and extreme risks aka Black Swans.

Also, there is need to revise strategic plans with current realities with risk management central to the discussion train the first line of defense to be able to identify risks in their activities especially for those remotely working and design policies for extended remote working At RIMAN we have adapted to the then ‘new’ normal by adhering to many of the outcomes of the conference and allowing for more flexibility in the way and manner with which we conduct business with and communicate with our various touch points.

What is your view about risk uncertainty and investment decision making in the current climate?

Since the Pandemic, the acronym “VUCA” is often used to describe the current investment/ risk management climate. We often hear or read about “Investing in a VUCA World” or about “Leadership in a VUCA World.” VUCA is an acronym that stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity The four terms are related and clearly illustrate the need for deep risk: return expertise and analyses given by investors as a result of the prevailing high-risk VUCA environment. However, with high risks come the potential for either high returns or high losses. The key thing that investors need to bear in mind in the current VUCA environment is the need to understand individual and/or corporate risk appetites and hence be comfortable with the risk return trade off of whatever investment they decide to make.

26

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

HOW VISA FACILITATORS SCRAMBLE, MOP UP APPOINTMENTS ONLINE TO SWINDLE NIGERIANS to N500, 000 fee for B1, B2 (tourist) US visa category.

Pretending to be an applicant, THISDAY requested for a date from one of the facilitators who identified himself as Joseph. “I will charge you only N250, 000. Before the drop box (US interview waiver programme) opened we collect N500, 000. The reason is that we follow the same process with B1, B2, just as you came.

But this one I can accept N250, 000 from you because of the main fact that you are a little bit worried. We don’t collect any money from you unless we get that date. So when we secure the date for you and you see it, then you can pay us. If you don’t pay us, we cancel it,” he said.

Another facilitator told THISDAY that what they are doing was not

illegal and said that it does not hurt US in anyway; “if I did, the US would not allow it.”

The facilitator also denied that Nigerians who work in the US Embassy help them, insisting that no one can penetrate US Server; that every visa appointment date they have access to are made available on the internet by the Consular office.

“Nigerians who work in the embassy don’t engage in such practices because they are well paid.

Before one month they can collect up to N6 million. So how much are you going to give to them? People that work there, majority of them are Nigerians because they have an agreement with the Nigerian government. They cannot just come and employ their people

alone, but in the customer’s section, the visa section and the consular sections are manned by Americans,” he said.

The facilitator also explained the process they use to obtain and sell visa application interview dates.

“For you to get a date, you have to pay your visa fee. It is the visa fee receipt number and your data page (your international passport) and the bar code of the application form that you have filled online, that is the one that we will to create a profile, user name and password.

That is what we will use to book a date for you, so that the date in your appointment and the barcode number in your GS160 form will tally. If it does not tally they will not allow you to enter,” he explained.

AGENTS REJECT VIN, SAY POLICY CONTRAVENES CUSTOMS EXCISE MANAGEMENT ACT Motor vehicle of Paragraph 1-6 of the Customs and excise Management (amendment) act 20 of 2003 and cannot be used but reviewed to contain features of the elements of transaction/purchase pricing on motor vehicles He noted that the internet price is not a negotiated price and not admissible as transaction price or purchase price, which has no negotiating capability, as there is no buyer and seller to attract the element of transaction, which negates the doctrine of transaction value and can not be used aading, “this is clearly illegal and not acceptable as transaction value.”

He stated that the adoption of the agreement on the implementation of Articles VII of the introduction of General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) establishes a positive system of customs valuation, based on price actually paid or payable for imported goods, the valuation

method provides for fair, neutral system of valuation, conforming to commercial realities and outlaws the used of arbitrary or fictitious value method system of valuation, the BDV. He pointed out that the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement (CVA) is based on a positive principle, which is opposed to a “normative” principle, stressing that the positive “principle” Transaction Value is based on the actual price/value of the goods, rather than the “normative” principle (BDV).

He added: “The GATT Article VII, Agreement on implementation of Articles VII of the general agreement of Tariff and Trade was domesticated by an Act passed by the National assembly in line with section 12 of Nigerian Constitution, as Customs and Excise Management (amendment) Act 20 of 2003, the act is the only legal instruments for the treatment, procedure and the application of

Value for imported goods in Nigeria.” He said the application of GATT Articles VII must be treated and implemented without penalty, stressing that the Act clearly states that, “the legislation of each party shall provide to determine customs’ value for right of appeal, without penalty, to importer or any person liable for payment of duty while also adding that initial right of appeal without penalty may be to an authority independent body.”

He highlighted that the present trend on uplifting and imposing value

by Nigeria Customs on pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) and other valuation treatment that contravenes the Customs and Excise Management (amendment) Act 20 of 2003, clearly lays down legal procedures to be followed, which conferred right to the importer and shift the burden of proof of the importer/licensed Customs Agents and not the service.

THIS WEEKEND TR

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WEEKLY MAGAZINE

PRINCESS FOLAJI FASANYA-OMOYENI:

A Widow’s Passion for Empowering Women

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

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ, 2022

28

COVER

Princess Folaji Fasanya-Omoyeni: A Widow’s Passion for Empowering Women Multiple awards winning fashion designer, Princess Folaji Fasanya-Omoyeni, is an IT consultant, a creative entrepreneur and social entrepreneur and Chief Executive Officer / Creative Director of a UK-based clothing line, Ffolaji London. Fasanya-Omoyeni, who also founded a non-profit organisation, Women in Creative Enterprise, which promotes creativity, digital skills and leadership in young women and girls, is the convener of African Wonder WoAmen Organisation, a non-profit initiative she launched in June 2021, following the loss of her husband at the onset of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Through AWW, she aims to redefine widowhood and encourage women to speak up against the stigma, stereotypes and biases experienced by African widows both in Africa and in diaspora. With an IT career spanning across many public and private establishments including the education, public service, security, advertising, marketing, manufacturing, automobile and consulting sectors, she shared her passion for empowering women and girls in this interview with MARY NNAH You run initiatives that are female-based. What’s the driving force behind the organisations and why do you focus so much on women? irst and foremost I am a woman, and secondly I recognise that there are so many disadvantages around issues on women and girls globally. As a result of this, the United Nations have identified women as being at a lesser advantage, which is why they have focused on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that benefit the female gender.

These sustainable development goals form the basis of our vision for both of my initiatives. We want equality for women, so we are speaking against gender-based and advocating for financial freedom for women. Sustainable Development Goals like SDG1, SDG5, SDG8, SDG10, and SDG17; which support improvement of quality of life for the girl child and women are our main focus.

Being a woman, I have experienced a lot of biases in my time on earth, so my business, Ffolaji London, is one that I set up to make women feel stylish and more confident , so they represent themselves in a way that they look good and stand out. I’ve had a lot of feedback from my clients about how confident they feel when they wear my clothes, which has encouraged me to do more.

On the back of my business, I also started Women in Creative Enterprise, an initiative that encourages women and girls to explore their creativity and supports the development of digital and leadership skills. This initiative focuses on women for the same reasons as I mentioned before. We are making sure that women are not left out, because women are natural leaders and are naturally creative human beings.

Also, as an IT consultant, I have always operated in an environment dominated by men, but with Women in Creative Enterprise we are changing the narrative, one awareness at a time by encouraging women to include digital skills in their creativity. I aim to encourage women to feel connected, supported, courageous, fulfilled and inspired.

I strongly believe that we are all born with unique talents and creative gifts that creativity is everywhere, is linked to everything we do and is the power that lies within. Through creativity, arts and culture, I hope that women can be dedicated to a continuous journey of self-confidence, personal growth and success. Also, we encourage women to take their creativity to the next level and make it an enterprise if they so desire. By doing so, we are helping them attain independence and financial freedom. I believe that by attaining financial freedom, women begin to have a voice and they are able to contribute to the development of their community, they are able to contribute to the family financially also it gives them the confidence to contribute to decisions concerning themselves and their children. Furthermore, they are able to support their husbands, cater for themselves, and look after extended families where necessary. We recognise that when women are creative, it transcends income; it affects all of their existence positively and improves work and relationships. Creativity is not only about having products, it’s about the whole mindset, it is about being creative in your thinking.

All of these and more have been the basis for starting Women in Creative enterprise.

As for African Wonder Women, again, that was on the back of my personal experience as a woman.

It is an initiative that I formed while grieving the loss of my husband during the pandemic. On the back of that experience, the biases, the stigmas, the stereotypes that I personally went through, I realised that being able to express myself and my feelings empowered me. While grieving the loss of my husband, I connected with other widows who also talked about their own losses and how my ability to express myself had inspired them. So it occurred to me that we need to do more of

I would choose my own clothes and style myself.

Growing up, my mother had a hand-operated sewing machine, which I explored so much so that I ended up inheriting it. I used to make all sorts of things. My earliest memory is of me making chair backs to put on our sofas; the ones you decorate with lace and trimmings. I would sew them as a 13-year-old and adorn our sofas and guests who came to the house became interested, so I started selling them. Family friends would pay me to make chair backs for them and consequently, I started learning to make outfits. I started with the Iro and Buba, which are very simple to make, then I learnt sewing and needlework in school.

At one point, my friend’s mom taught my friend and I how to use dress patterns and to alter them to suit simple designs which opened up a whole new world that got me so excited. I used to spend my pocket money on fashion magazines which offered free patterns. That was how I started making outfits for myself and my siblings and even carried some of the outfits I made at home to sell at the university. It grew so much that I started making good money, enough to travel abroad at times and that was how my journey into the business side of fashion began. When I graduated I set up a small fashion business making bespoke outfits, then I travelled abroad and soon started making simple ready-to-wear pieces. One day, in the late 90s or early 2000s, I walked into a high street shop and saw something that looked like Ankara fabric (also known as African print or wax prints) and it had been designed into a nice, well-tailored, corporate outfit. I thought to myself, ‘this is my vision for my African inspired business and I am going to do this’ and that was the birth of Ffolaji London.

F

Fasanya-Omoyeni this talking, we need to encourage African widows to express our feelings and let the world know the treatment African widows face because what we experience following the loss of our husbands and partners is totally different to what other widows around the world experience. I am based in the UK, but I still experienced stigma and biases even whilst living in the diaspora.

Growing up in Africa, I know from what I read and from what people talk about that widows living in Africa experience these biases but I never actually imagined that residing in diaspora, widows would also experience these degrading treatments. I formed African Wonder Women, with the aim of redefining widowhood and giving African widows a voice all over the world, not just in Africa but also in diaspora and our focus is on African widows because what we experience is highly degrading and needs to stop.

Well, every widow’s experience is different but the bottom line is, we experience biases in one form or another regardless of our status, education, or whether we’re in diaspora or Africa. The biases we experience vary, but they are still degrading, they are still an infringement on our rights, beliefs, persons and finances. The little distinction might be that there are laws in diaspora that prevent your deceased spouse’s relatives from coveting what you both worked for. The legal system in diaspora even goes further to state clearly the percentage of any estate left behind that goes to the living spouse. As an African widow, your social status means nothing to those who are out to deprive you of your rights. They look past your status and still believe you deserve nothing. The injustice they perpetrate puts every widow in a box, you are a widow and as such, when it comes to ‘inheritance’, you are not worthy of consideration, regardless.

Do you think the experiences widows face around the world are based on social status?

Tell us your journey into the fashion world?

I have always loved fashion and have always been interested in looking good. Even as a child,

“I plan to share what others and I learnt in our darkest moments to support, educate and give others, especially widows, hope.

To equip that widow who is going through that significant, emotional event and whose heart is heavy, the tools and knowledge they may require to begin expressing themselves, learn skills of self rediscovery”

How would you say your brand has evolved over the years?

My brand has evolved in the way I do my business. When I started, social media was not widely used and the Internet wasn’t used the way it is now. I do not despise the days of small beginnings. I started my brand from our family dining room and although it is not where I would want yet, it has grown from a dining room business and is still growing. My focus as well has grown from simple pieces like shawls, wraps and tops into elaborate pieces like formal and corporate wears, red carpet and party outfits and so on. I’ve been able to collaborate with other brands to empower artisans, widows, young women and girls in Nigeria. A few years ago, I was selected to showcase my collection on a platform for up and coming fashion brands during London Fashion Week and the feedback I received was very encouraging. This also opened up a lot of opportunities and my confidence grew.

Women in Creative Enterprise, where I support, mentor, train and teach others what I have learnt, is one of my major achievements and this is on the back of the exposure I received on this platform and there is more to come. Today, I am honoured to have received 14 awards and recognitions for my contributions to African fashion and culture in the diaspora and I am grateful.

What can we expect from you in this New Year?

Due to the double bereavement I have suffered, I had to take time out to look after myself, but am beginning to engage again. In this New Year, I am looking to launch my new pieces. My fashion brand is in collaboration with a Nigerian organisation that supports local artisans in Nigeria by empowering widows in creative skills.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ, 2022

NEWS

Simba Unveils TVS King Deluxe Plus iTouch 3Wheeler in Enugu, Asaba t#SJOHT QBUFOUFE J5PVDI UFDIOPMPHZ UP UIF /JHFSJB NBSLFU Chiamaka Ozulumba Simba TVS, the leading tricycle (Keke) distributor in Nigeria, has unveiled the TVS King Deluxe Plus iTouch, the latest version of its innovative three-wheeler vehicles at two impressive launch ceremonies in Enugu and Asaba.

These latest launches come on the heels of a very successful national launch held in Lagos in December last year and is in furtherance of the organisation’s efforts to enhance lastmile commute for Nigerians and boost earnings of keke operators.

Speaking at the ceremony in Enugu, Rana Sandeep, Regional Business Manager, South-East at Simba Group, revealed that “PLUS” means more convenience, more comfort, more earnings and more security, stressing that the TVS King Deluxe Plus iTouch will ensure operators maximise

their earning with more than 10 additional features added to the keke such as the iTouch start for smooth silent staring of the keke, strengthened chassis, longer and more convenient driver seats, triple filter and so much more.

According to him, “The TVS Deluxe Plus iTouch comes with the patented Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) Technology, the very first time in the 3 wheeler segment.

The ISG or iTouch has several benefits such as: the feathertouch start and stop which is noiseless and smooth, fewer parts to worry about with the removal of the starter motor which reduces cost of maintenance, next gen technology for fuel savings especially when starting and stopping multiple times in traffic.”

On how ISG improves battery life, he explained that unlike the conventional starter motor system, the ISG gives

power directly to the magneto which then rotates the crankshaft making the start instantaneous and requiring much less battery power, which, according to him, results in about 30 percent increase in the battery life.

Also speaking at the event, the Divisional Head of Marketing for Simba TVS, Mr. Taiwo Akinpelu, in his welcome address, said Simba TVS has remained committed to bridging the gap of last mile transportation for passengers and goods in Nigeria adding that three-wheelers play a tremendous role in the mass transit scheme as they fill the last-mile gap, taking passengers and goods from major bus stops to their final residence.

Speaking during the unveil in Asaba, Akinpelu noted that the comfort of the driver is of great concern whether he is driving or resting. The TVS King Deluxe Plus iTouch, he

said, offers comfort to the rider’s back, relaxing both arms during each trip along with the thoughtfully designed split seat which is foldable to allow the rider to operates the emergency backup hand starter when required.

He revealed that the TVS King Deluxe Plus iTouch comes with thicker and stronger B & C Pillar tubes making the vehicle look and feel solid and sturdy.

The B & C Pillars are now 60 per cent thicker, bend resistant, rugged, and supportive for passengers to get in and alight from the keke.

“As an organisation, we are committed to supporting Nigeria’s socio-economic growth aspirations. This latest effort underscores our resolve to continually contribute to the promotion and attainment of improved transportation system, trade, commerce and commercial activities in the country,” said Akinpelu.

LAGOS STATE, CONTENT WAREHOUSE EMPOWER YOUTHS In a bid to harness the potentials in students of Higher Institutions in Lagos State, the State Ministry of Tourism, Art and Culture in partnership with Content Warehouse has unveiled “Kampus Stars”, a reality TV Show for higher institutions in Lagos State.

The competition, which registration is totally free and strictly for higher institutions in Lagos State, has a star prize of N10 Million Naira is up for grasp along with a brand new car while there will be consolation prizes for other contestants. Registration is totally free.

Kampus Stars, an initiative to further give Lagos undergraduates the opportunity to showcase their talents in entertainment to the world in addition to their academic learning, is an eight-week creativity challenge, which is part of the government’s plans to productively engage the youths and redirect their attention into profitable activities.

The initiative, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, during the event said will produce musical stars and will further build on the inherent creativity of the youths while also creating an economy that provides more jobs and opportunities for its young population.

She noted further that apart from the star prize winner, other valuable prizes would be given to contestants with impressive performances as determined by the panel of judges.

Explaining the rationale behind the Kampus Stars project, the Head of the Technical Team for the show, Ace Film Director and Producer, Mr. Tade Ogidan revealed that the contestants for the Kampus Star reality show would be tasked to promote the aesthetic splendour of Lagos State through the use of music as an art.

He said the participants would have the opportunity to interact with veterans in the field of film production and also draw inspiration from their wealth of experience.

The Kampus Stars project leader, Ralph Nwadike, expressed gratitude to the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for his outstanding support, the interest shown, and as well helping the youths to push their dreams.

He charged the participants to be resolute in their career progression as this initiative will go long way in exposing them to the world and making them compete better without fear.

THE ORÍKÌ WELLNESS BAR EXPERIENCE TO ENTICE LIFESTYLE CULTURE

L-R:Taiwo Akinpelu, Divisional Head of Marketing at Simba TVS; Amit Seth, Sales Head South-East at Simba TVS; John Bull Osakwe, TVS distributor; Rana Sandeep, Regional Business Manager South East Simba TVS; and Hassan Taiye, Regional Sales Lead at Simba TVS during the recent launch of the TVS King Deluxe +iTouch in Asaba, Delta State, recently

Akeredolu Empowers Entrepreneurs in Ondo State Mary Nnah It is good tiding for Ondo State Entrepreneurs as Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu recently embarked on an empowerment scheme to set entrepreneurs in the state up with the needed support to scale up their businesses.

The Ondo State government through the Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) has been on a mission to educate and empower entrepreneurs in the state as part of the eight-point agenda of the governor.

The government has launched a couple of schemes through its newly created agency, one of which is the Entrepreneurship Development Training (EDT) programme.

In 2021, 3,495 entrepreneurs were trained. As a follow-up to the programme the agency has commenced

Akeredolu empowering successful participants of the programme with the necessary support

in form of tools and equipment for their businesses.

Special Adviser to the

Governor on Entrepreneurship Development, Dr. Summy Smart Francis explained that the government is committed to seeing small businesses thrive as they are seen as employers of labour and important stakeholders in the state economy when it comes to revenue generation and economic development.

Qualified beneficiaries are excited about this initiative because it clearly shows that the Government is not relenting in its effort to encourage and equip job makers within the state with all the needed support.

The equipment grants vary from top range basic equipment to, block making machines, industrial sewing machines, industrial ovens, generators, pumping machines, laptops, etc.

This empowerment programme and equipment grant started in the early weeks of January 2022 and will run for three consecutive months.

Wellness has moved from just being a trend to a lifestyle. It is rapidly becoming an important culture for individuals and even organisations.

ORÍKÌ, a wellness spa chain and a farm-to-skin product range created to bring out access to luxurious pampering, is dedicated to wellness and to the total rejuvenation of the body and mind. It is in light of this that the firm is unveiling, The Wellness Bar by ORÍKÌ.

The Wellness Bar by Oriki situated along Kusenla Road, Ikate-Elegushi, Lekki, Lagos, will offer customers a consultation with an ORÍKÌ therapist, thereby allowing the customers to create their own personalised massage oils based on their concern and how they are feeling, the type of skin they have and any ailments that they would like to treat.

After customers receive their personalised blend, they go on to experience their selected massage service using the blend and take the remainder home.

With the introduction of the Wellness Bar, clients are assured of personal blends that will work optimally to focus on rejuvenation, restoration, and wholeness as the firm puts clients’ wellness as its priority.

Founder of ORÍKÌ, Joycee Awosika, emphasised the importance of wellness. “Now more than ever it is very important to take care of your health and wellness, especially with the hustle and bustle of Lagos.

“This is why we have brought the ORÍKÌ Wellness Bar to you. It is a safe haven where you can feel relaxed and rejuvenated”, she noted.

Speaking on the firm’s collection of carrier oils, she noted, “we have a wide range of carrier oils that will form the base for the personal blend of massage oils.

They include Bergamot oil, Lavender oil, Geranium oil, Frankincense oil, Eucalyptus oil.”

She explained further that customers should note that essential oils and aromatherapy are highly individualised and would require the advice of a skincare professional, adding, “allergy information is also important during skin consultation. For example, nut-based oil cannot be recommended or used on a customer that is allergic to nuts.

“At The Wellness Bar by ORÍKÌ, we have studied the rich histories of these “super oils” and we are using them in innovative ways to get the best out of them.

These oils have a wealth of skincare benefits and adding these to our service offerings and to your skincare routine gives a holistic and long-lasting result.

“If you are ready to boost your overall wellbeing and reach your optimal health, come to The Wellness Bar by ORÍKÌ, we’ve got the perfect blend for you”.

Wellness Bar can also be reached through it social media handles, which include Instagram - @orikigroup; Facebook - ORIKI Group; Twitter - @ORIKIgroup and Website - www. orikigroup.com With multiple spa locations across Lagos and plans of more to come across the continent and the world, the sky is only the starting point for ORÍKÌ, which will be launching its farm-to-skin product range on Amazon for the global clientele this quarter.

30

T H I S D AY ˾ Ͳ, 2022

POLSCOPE

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

Fuel Scarcity and the 2023: Who Will the Cap Fit? Darkening Cloud H Canticles…. ave you followed the developments at the National Assembly in the past few days?

There is nothing exciting about the National Assembly. I have decided to ignore those elite clowns and carry my own cross as a citizen

But they have made very valuable improvements on the constitution of the federal republic. Shouldn’t that cheer you up?

Did you say, ‘very valuable improvements’? How does the rejection of all the proposed amendments in favour of women translate to very valuable improvements? Can’t you see that these lawmakers have not shaken off the shackles of pristine politics from their mindsets? Can’t you see that they believe women are lesser entities who must be used and dumped? How can they reasonably vote against all the amendments being pushed for by the women folk? Not even the coming of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari to the National Assembly the other day, followed up by the wife of the Vice President, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, cut any ice with these chauvinists called lawmakers.

Timipre Sylva

ne of the things Nigerians have against the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is its “goslow” approach in dealing with issues of national and urgent importance. As my people would say, what is crawling on your skin and what is biting your skin cannot be given the same type of attention.

For the fourth week running, Nigerians have been returned to the order of groaning and gnashing of their teeth, no thanks to the lingering fuel scarcity. What is hurting Nigerians should be of concern to Mr President.

But that is not what we see,or so it seems.

If it is otherwise, we should have seen actions being taken by agencies of government to relieve Nigerians of the crushing pain, hardship and difficulty being experienced. Last Tuesday, Mr President flew out of the country to Kenya for an official engagement, and will proceed therefrom to the United Kingdom for a two-week medical check up. The unspoken message seems to be something like: ‘if you people like, suffer and die, I have to attend to my own issues first’.

He is the substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources. Nigerians cannot be spending days in filling stations and being grounded, and Mr President jets out for some inconsequential meetings outside the country. The fuel scarcity had started from alleged importation of a million litres of contaminated fuel. The NNPC and marketers traded blames here and there. Weeks after, is it the so-calledwithdrawal of a million litres that has held us down in this agony of continued scarcity?

The NNPC plus the House of Representatives swore to investigate the source and importers of the bad fuel. Till today, nothing has happened.

Nobody has resigned, nobody has been fired. But if that was not bad enough, the fuel issue has lingered with greater and harsher severity. Days have run into weeks and Nigerians are practically sleeping at filling stations so they can have fuel to drive their vehicles.

The Minister of State for Petroleum, MrTimipre Sylva and the GMD, NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari do not seem to know what to say. They have not said anything meaningful or helpful to Nigerians. Their promises of restoring normalcy have all fallen through again and again. We roast, they rest.

Do they realise that Nigerians are suffering needlessly?

Are they indifferent to our pains because they do not share in it? I am aware there are huge and deep fuel

O

Mele Kyari

dumps in the Presidential Villa and in some ministries, especially the NNPC. So, they do not understand the colour of our agony. They do not understand what it means to stay on the very long queues all day and all night long and still not get fuel. They do not understand how access to public transport system is either hampered or the cost becomes unbearable. They do not understand how transport cost affects just everything about the economy, including cost of food items. They do not understand how it all dampens the business morale and operations. They do not understand how it makes mockery of the ease of doing business campaign in Nigeria.

They do not understand how it ultimately crashes our GDP. They do not understand how it makes life bitter and brutish.

TheNNPC had been the sole importer of petroleum products.

So, what is the reason for this prolonged scarcity? It is bad enough that Nigeria has embraced the importation of what we have in our soil, yet it is worse that we cannot even handle the importation anymore. If we can’t refine the crude we need, can’t we also import refined products? Does it require great skills to do that?

Why are we being subjected to this harrowing experience?

The Buhari administration was already being hailed for saving Nigerians from the periodic agony of fuel scarcity and all its concomitant consequences. This fledging legacy is being destroyed by the poor handling of the malaise of this fuel scarcity.

As if the fuel situation is not crushing enough, the electricity supply situation just got even worse. Many DISCOs are not able to distribute electricity. The electricity issue has clearly become an enigmathat defies solutions, not because it is intractable, but because the vested interests involved conspire to frustrate every genuine effort government introduces to solve the problem. Government after government wrings its hands in pretencious and vexatious helplessness. No heads of saboteurs have ever rolled. Why won’t the cartel fester and boom?

The so-called unbundling of NEPA simply unbundled our woes. Nothing has improved, If anything, we are regressing and getting more frustrated, even at a

higher cost. Even common supply of pre-paid meter is far-fetched and a complex mirage in many towns and cities, more than ten years after the idea was introduced.

Buhari inherited the electricity problem and it is looking certain that he is going to bequeath it to his successor. And the beat goes on and on. And as the late afrobeat maestro,Fela Anikulapo Kuti, would say, we continue in “suffering and smiling”.

What the pall of darkness and the arising heat and discomfort means is that people would have to fall back on their dependable ally: their generators, even if it is the “I-betterpass-neighbour”. Yet, there is no petrol to power these generators.

The result is that people would sleep and wake in darkness. And as if there is a conspiracy of even cosmic elements, the heat wave this period is like a furnace is opened unto Nigerians. Gradually and steadily, we are being nudged into Thomas Hobbes’s world of shortness and nastiness. The trigger of the famous Arab Spring was not as severe.

The clouds are darkening. Only insensitive leaders will not see it.

But in the face of this prolonged scarcity, is the boom of the Black Market. While the product is scarce in the filing stations, the adjoining black markets have petrol at cutthroat prices.

Some of the filling stations choose to dispense fuel from just one pump, thus lengthening the queues and prolonging the service time. No regulatory control from government agencies is visible. Many Nigerians have been groaning across board.

The story is the same everywhere.

Last Wednesday, Mele Kyari was threatening that filling stations selling above official pump price would be dealt with. Really?

I dare say it is an empty threat.

They never get dealt with. It is practice that is as old as the malaise itself. They should be ashamed of themselves. The withdrawal of One million litres of contaminated fuel is not enough to pass Nigerians through this harrowing experience.

Nothing explains or justifies this agony. Who has been punished or prosecuted for the importation of the contaminated fuel? That should be the starting point of re-assuring Nigerians that the NNPC is not in hands in gloves with those inflicting this pain on Nigerians. It should not be that we pray for them and they prey on us.

But you are being sentimental.

It is democracy. Democracy has nothing to do with gender suasion.

The women folk probably did not do enough groundwork of canvassing support for the positions they were concerned about or craved for. So, those proposed amendments simply failed to pass the democracy test of popularity. The lawmakers were not sufficiently convinced about the propriety of what the women wanted. How can it be legislated, for instance, that a certain number of seats be reserved for women in the National Assembly? Do they think the National Assembly is FIDA or NAWOJ? Did they understand the democratic complexity of what they were asking for?

But you forget that these same women are the ones who will turn out enmass to vote for these menfolks either in the rain or in the sun. How come now, that these same selfish male folks cannot even spare a thought for the feelings and concerns of these same supportive and faithful voters?

Again, you are being sentimental.

The motion to support these prowomen amendments simply failed on the floor of both chambers. It has nothing to do with whether they stood in the rain or withstood Hurricane Catherina for the interest of the menfolks.

I think what should be of concern to the womenfolk, now that they have seen that the National Assembly route will not lead them to the promised land, is how they can support a President that will be more disposed to favouring women.

That is the issue. When the time comes now, all the presidential candidates will be running after the women folks, forming women wing of their campaign organisations, to get their votes, knowing that they constitute the largest chunk of faithful voters.

And when they get into office, the women will be treated like rags that must be tucked away after being used to clean up a public surface.

Well, the women now should be wiserin discerning those who will be disposed to them.They have seen how many of the lawmakers, citing religious and ethnic reasons, voted against the emancipation of the womenfolk.They should apply the wisdom therefrom in voting for a candidate whom the cap will fit.

So, who will the cap fit?

That’s a million dollar question!

Prof Yakubu (INEC Chairman)

I think the race is basically between the ruling APC and the opposition PDP, struggling to regain a lost paradise But don’t forget that part of the constitutional amendment gives room for independentcandidacy Yes, we have to grow in that culture.

It cannot be automatically imbibed.

Look, the sun shines first on those standing before it shines on those kneeling. On this matter, those running on the platform of political parties are those standing, while those going to run as independent candidates will be those either kneeling or even squatting. What the independent candidacy can achieve for now, is broadening the democratic space and base.

The PDP does not believe that there is any character in the entire south who can win the presidential race for it. And that is why the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Gov Aminu Tambuwal and Gov Bala Mohammed have raised their political notches against all odds.

What do you mean by that? Are you saying that Gov Nyesom Wike, for instance, is not a presidential material?

You said so.

But talking more seriously, the women and indeed all Nigerian voters should screen the religious and ethnic content of some of these aspirant and know those who will rather see and not hear the women in the public space.

Are you trying to say that the PDP does not have women-friendly aspirants and that it is only in the APC that we shall find one whom the cap will fit?

By no means. I have not said so at all, except if you believe so.

The point I am making is that the man or woman whom the cap will fit must be one who will not be constrained by religious, ethnic or cultural reasons to trample the women folk under the carpet.

You can see however that the APC parades men and even women who are liberal and receptive on such matters of pristine boundaries.

Aha, now I can get the drift of your argument.

You are better be sure. The summation of my argument is that whomever the cap will fit shall be one who will not only be prowomen liberation and supportive of the affirmative demands, but also, and more importantly, one who is deeply concerned about changing for the better, the fortunes of all Nigerians. We have wandered long enough in the wilderness; we should now have a leader who will not only save us from endless thralldom, but also knows the shortest route that can lead us to the promised land. We are not a cursed people.

31

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

Friday, March 4, 2022

Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Extends Losses by Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index fell by 14bps 32bps The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ďLJ ϭϰďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

at 1,674.89 points due to sell-pressure on ZENITH (-0.6%), The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ ĨĞůů ϯϮďƉƐ ƚŽ Ϯ͕ϬϮϯ͘ϲϯ WAPCO (-1.3%), and UBA (-0.7%). These stocks cumula-

index points due to sell-pressure on GTCO (-

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

ƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϭϯ͘Ϯй͘

1.1%), ZENITH (-0.9%), and FBNH (-0.5%). Togeth-

Current Price

Ticker

er, these stocks account for 15.3% of the index.

ASI up 11bps as DANGCEM Gains 3.3% WƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ

ĚĂLJ͕

ƉƌŝĐĞ

ƵƉƟĐŬ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

ŝŶ

,KEz&>KhZ

Local Bourse Extends Losses... ASI falls 0.1%

stered ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽŶ the local bourse as the All-

zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ĚŽŵĞƐƟĐ ďŽƵƌƐĞ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ůŽǁĞƌ ĨŽƌ Ă Share index rose by

5 Zenith Bank PLC 6 Dangote Cement PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC 8 FBN Holdings Plc 9 Lafarge Africa PLC

second session sell pressurezd on ůŽƐƐ GTCO 11bps tostraight 39,550.36 points.as ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ŝŵͲ േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ

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

proved to -1.8% (-0.9%), while ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ (-1.1%), ZENITH and INTBREW (-4.9)

weighed on market performance indices. Thus,

ƚŚĞ E'y ůů-^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ĂŶĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ

ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϮϱ͘ϱƚŶ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ƚƌŝŵŵĞĚ ƚŽ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ E ^d> ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕

17 Okomu Oil Palm PLC 18 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

E' D ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ϭϬ͘ϳй͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƚƌĂĚͲ

19 Fidelity Bank PLC 20 AXA Mansard Insurance PLC 21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

ĞĚ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭϳ͘ϯй ƚŽ Ϯϯϭ͘ϳŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ ǀĂůƵĞ

22 FCMB Group Plc 23 United Capital PLC

Bearish Sector Performance ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϲϯ͘ϯй ƚŽ േϲ͘ϴďŶ͘

24 Guinness Nigeria PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was

Bearish Performance bearish asSector 4 indices lost, 1 index gained ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &Z-/ d ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ Across our coverage sectors, performance was

1,260.00

3 BUA Cement Plc 4 Guaranty Trust Holding Co PLC

(+9.8%), E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ & E, (+0.7%) bol-

ĨĞůů Ϭ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ േϯϰ͘ϵďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ƚŽ ϰϳ͕Ϯϵϲ͘Ϭϳ by volume were dZ E^ KZW ;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ & E, (11.1m

2023.63

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC

26 NEM Insurance PLC 27 Presco PLC

Price Previous Price Current Change Price Change Weighting Index to Change YTD Date

-0.32% 0.0%

ROE

9.1% 102.4% 38.2%

31.9%

15.0%

ROA

P/E

3.5%

5.3x

31.9%

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

P/BV

0.8x

5.7%

ot Applicable

1.5%

17.1%

5.2%

7.2%

204.00

0.5%

8.0%

3.6%

3.6%

134.7%

14.1%

13.9x

21.4x

70.75

0.0%

6.8%

5.5%

5.5%

19.1%

11.2%

34.0x

6.4x

26.35

-1.1%

6.2%

1.3%

1.3%

24.8%

3.9%

4.0x

1.0x

11.4%

25.1% 29.1%

2.9%

26.70

-0.9%

6.0%

6.2%

6.2%

20.4%

2.7%

3.4x

0.7x

11.6%

273.50

0.0%

4.4%

6.4%

6.4%

40.4%

16.7%

13.6x

5.3x

7.3%

7.4%

1,435.00

0.0%

3.1%

-7.8%

-7.8%

106.8%

15.6%

27.8x

32.8x

3.6%

3.6%

11.05

-0.5%

3.1%

-3.1%

-3.1%

8.4%

0.8%

6.5x

0.5x

4.1%

15.3%

24.00

0.0%

3.1%

0.2%

0.2%

11.6%

8.4%

9.0x

1.0x

8.3%

11.1%

10.15

-0.5%

2.8%

9.1%

9.1%

17.0%

1.4%

2.8x

0.5x

8.4%

35.1%

8.35

-0.6%

2.1%

3.7%

3.7%

19.5%

1.8%

2.1x

0.4x

6.6%

47.6%

35.00

0.0%

1.5%

-2.8%

-2.8%

15.1%

2.1%

7.9x

1.2x

11.7%

12.7%

48.00

0.0%

1.4%

-4.0%

-4.0%

7.6%

2.7%

30.1x

2.2x

3.3%

3.3%

1,034.00

0.0%

2.4%

59.1%

59.1%

3.4%

1.9%

10.3x

0.9x

4.0%

11.00

-0.5%

1.6%

26.4%

26.4%

2.5x

9.7% 39.5%

4.85

-4.9%

1.0%

-2.0%

-2.0%

-10.3%

-3.9%

135.00

0.0%

1.0%

-4.9%

-4.9%

36.5%

23.3%

9.2x

3.0x

32.00

0.0%

1.1%

12.9%

12.9%

15.9%

4.5%

4.9x

0.7x

0.9x

-11.7% 10.9% 5.3%

20.4%

2.87

0.7%

0.7%

12.5%

12.5%

13.3%

1.3%

2.2x

0.3x

7.7%

45.8%

2.36

0.0%

0.6%

1.7%

1.7%

9.3%

3.0%

7.3x

0.7x

9.3%

13.8%

10.3x

9.7%

15.70

0.6%

0.4%

-9.8%

-9.8%

15.3%

6.3%

3.30

-4.6%

0.5%

10.4%

10.4%

10.3%

1.1%

1.5x

6.4%

0.3x

4.5%

2.9x

11.4%

13.20

0.8%

0.5%

33.3%

33.3%

65.00

-4.4%

0.6%

66.7%

66.7%

13.3%

6.0%

13.7x

1.7x

0.7%

7.3%

1.07

-2.7%

0.3%

11.5%

11.5%

11.1%

2.3%

5.7x

0.6x

0.9%

17.6%

35.6%

18.5%

6.2x

1.0x

4.6%

16.2%

2.2x

1.0% 3.0%

8.1%

3.95

-4.6%

0.3%

-12.2%

-12.2%

102.50

-1.4%

0.3%

16.7%

16.7%

28 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 29 AIICO Insurance PLC

13.20

-8.3%

0.3%

0.0%

0.0%

21.3%

6.9%

12.4x

2.5x

0.70

-1.4%

0.2%

0.0%

0.0%

7.2%

1.1%

388.9x

0.7x

30 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 31 Custodian and Allied Insurance

264.90

0.0%

0.3%

19.4%

19.4%

48.0%

9.5%

5.4x

2.2x

1.6%

18.6%

0.3%

7.20

0.0%

0.2%

-8.9%

-8.9%

19.5%

5.5%

4.2x

0.8x

7.6%

23.6%

32 Vitafoam Nigeria PLC 33 Unilever Nigeria PLC

21.30

0.0%

0.2%

-5.3%

-5.3%

38.7%

16.0%

5.5x

2.0x

7.1%

18.3%

14.50

1.4%

0.2%

0.0%

0.0%

7.8%

4.9%

32.2x

1.3x

ICT ŝŶĚĞdž ǁŚŝĐŚ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Ϭ͘Ϯй ŽŶ ďƵLJŝŶŐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶ

34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

26.50

0.0%

0.2%

18.6%

18.6%

18.9%

2.4%

4.0x

0.8x

1.5%

25.0%

6.25

-0.8%

0.1%

5.9%

5.9%

7.1%

0.8%

7.0x

0.7x

4.0%

DdEE ;нϬ͘ϱйͿ͘ >ĞĂĚŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͕ ƚŚĞ Insur-

36 Oando PLC 37 Wema Bank PLC

4.80

0.0%

0.0%

8.6%

8.6%

14.5%

2.6%

2.1x

0.3x

ance ŝŶĚĞdž ƐŚĞĚ ϭ͘ϰй ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďLJ // K ;-1.4%) ing indices fell by Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůů-

38 Sterling Bank PLC 39 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd

ŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K (-0.8%), E/d, (-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;-Ϭ͘ϮйͿ͘ ĂŶĚ t W/ ;-ϰ͘ϮйͿ͘ dƌĂŝůŝŶŐ͕ ƚŚĞ Consumer Goods

40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

er 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚindices Insurance indices, 4.6%AFRand bearish as all closed in red,down save the ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚ-ƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> (9.1%),

hE/> s Z

(-3.5%),

>/E< ^^hZ

(-6.4%),

and D E^ Z (-Ϯ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ

ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ and ĂŶŬŝŶŐ indices lost 0.7% and 0.6% respecer,

up

1.8%

driven

by

price

apprecia-

ƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ŝŶ /Ed Z t ;-4.9), ƟŽŶ in E' D (+3.3%).

'h/EE ^^ ;-ϰ͘ϰйͿ͕ E/d, ;-Ϭ͘ϵйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ h ;Ϭ͘ϲйͿ͘ ůƐŽ͕ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ ŽŶ Z Ks ;-4.0%) and /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

W ;-10.0%) pulled the Oil & Gas and Industrial

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ

Goods ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ Ϭ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϯďƉƐ ůŽǁĞƌ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ Ăƚ 1.6x ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ stocks

Outlook advanced while 15 stocks declined. MRS (+9.9%), MAY-

STOCK (-4.8%) led losers. Previous day, we expect the

ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ͕ ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ůŽƐƚ ǁŚŝůĞ ϲϯ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘

ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ŵŝdžĞĚ͕ ĂƐ earnings season

0.0%

0.1%

31.9%

31.9%

14.1%

0.8%

4.1x

0.6x

4.2%

24.2%

0.0%

0.1%

2.6%

2.6%

9.4%

0.9%

2.0x

0.3x

3.2%

49.4%

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-28.3%

-6.1%

5.38

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg % -2.7%

9.4%

T R A N SC OR P

28.2

1.13

7.6%

M TNN

22.7

0.5%

J A IZ B A N K

0.74

5.7%

N GXGR OUP

22.1

-10.0%

A F R IP R UD

6.75

3.8%

FB NH

14.0

-0.5%

12.8

-7.0%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.54

3.8%

UP D C

J A P A ULGOLD

0.36

2.9%

J A P A ULGOLD

12.7

2.9%

12.2

0.0%

UN IT YB N K

0.50

2.0%

C OUR T VILLE

UN ILEVER

14.50

1.4%

Z EN IT H B A N K

11.9

-0.9%

A C C ESS

10.2

-0.5%

7.8

-0.6%

UC A P

13.20

0.8%

F ID ELIT YB K

2.87

0.7%

UB A

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 T ic k er CA P

P ric e 17.55

P ric e C hg % -10.0%

R T B R ISC OE

0.63

-10.0%

N GXGR OUP

20.80

-10.0%

R ED ST A R EX

3.32

-9.8%

R OYA LEX

1.49

-9.7%

ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƉĞƌƐŝƐƚ͘

LEA R N A F R C A N A SC ON LIVEST OC K

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

-13.8% 13.0%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

/Ŷ ƚŚĞ ĮŶĂů ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ gradually winds up.

2.4x 0.9x

0.35

LA SA C O

BAKER (+9.8%), and HONYFLOUR (+9.8%) led gainers /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ while ABCTRANS (-8.3%), LASACO (-6.7%), and LIVEbreadth, weakened to -0.35x from -Ϭ͘ϯϮdž ĂƐ ϭϮ

0.95

P ric e

A B CTRA NS

1.98

-9.6%

13.20

-8.3%

1.70

-7.6%

N IGER IN S

0.25

-7.4%

R EGA LIN S

0.39

-7.1%

Brokerage

T ic k er

Value

M TNN

4653.5

N GXGR OUP

463.1

P ric e C hg % 0.5% -10.0%

Z EN IT H B A N K

316.7

-0.9%

FB NH

154.6

-0.5%

SEP LA T

137.1

0.0%

P R ESC O

132.0

-1.4%

A C C ESS

103.7

-0.5%

T OT A L

103.5

0.0%

UC A P

95.6

0.8%

GT C O

86.6

-1.1%

Asset Management

Investment Research

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com

14.2% 48.4%

1.55

T o p 10 G a in e r s T ic k er

3.1%

Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

Damilare Asimiyu| dasimiyu@afrinvest.com

32

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͳ˜ 2022

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

NSCDC Highlight Sectors Critical to Actualising FG’s National Development Plan Gilbert Ekugbe The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has highlighted sectors that are critical to actualising the federal government’s 2021-2025 national development plan, noting that these sectors require urgent intervention by economic managers.

The Commandant General, NSCDC, Ahmed Abubakar Audi, explained the urgent need for all hands to be on deck to intervene in the social sector which deals wi th poverty and its eradication as well as environmental and gender issues, stressing that the

social sector is a critical driver for achieving an all inclusive economic development.

Audi who was represented by the Assistant Commandant General, in charge of Zone A, Lagos State Command, NSCDC, Solomon Adesupo, at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) 2022 Security Meets Business Dialogue Series in Lagos, added that the manufacturing industry which he described as the productive sector must be active and fully protected from unfair competitions, aggression of outlaws and enemies of the State, maintaining that the sector is

vital to creating job opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths.

“As we all know, Nigeria’s National Development Plan 2021-2025 succeeded the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020). The government of President Muhammadu Buhari had to re-formulate the economic and development plan of the country against the backdrop of several subsisting developmental challenges.The country had been confronted with low and fragile economic growth, insecurity, weak institutions, insufficient public,” he said.

Fidelity Bank Presents N10m to Winners of 3rd Monthly Draw Reaffirming its commitment to enriching the lives of its customers, leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has presented cash prizes to winners of the February draw of the Get Alerts in Millions season 5 promo (GAIM 5). The prize presentation event was held at the Fidelity Bank branch Suru Alaba, Lagos and several branches across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria.

Winners in the February draw are: Aliu Usman Sunday, Abdullahi Abu SaibuNwankwo okoro David, Hadiza Sindama Nuhu, Douglas Monday, Goodness Chiamaka Basil, Idemudia Gracious Eghosa, Ndiana Monday

James, Kolade Jacob Elujoba and Obinna Williams Samuel.

Speaking at the prize presentation event in Lagos, the Promo Chairperson and Executive Director, Lagos and South-West, Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr. Ken Opara, said, “At the heart of all our operations is an overriding desire to make life easier for our customers while empowering them to live fuller and richer lives. As a bank, we take pride in transforming and improving the lives of our customers. Over time, we have seen Nigerians climb the socioeconomic ladder monthly simply because they maintain

a minimum of N2,000 in their Fidelity Bank accounts.”

“Today, we would be presenting the sum of N1million to Aliu Usman Sunday and Abdullahi Abu Saibu who emerged winners in the third GAIM 5 monthly draw held last week. Apart from Sunday and Saibu, eight other customers of Fidelity Bank would receive their cash prizes of N1million at similar events at their branches across the country today. This is in continuation of promise to give out a total of N125million to customers in the GAIM 5 promo between November 2021 and July 2022.”

ArcromRide Offers Cab Hailers Safer Ride at Cheaper Rate Dike Onwuamaeze ArcromRide, a new ride/cab service app that offers prospective users a more secured ride at a reduced rate, was launched into the Nigerian market last weekend.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ArcromRide, Mr. Obi Oriaku, said that ArcromRide would commence its operation in Lagos and later expand to Abuja and Port Harcourt, and other interior Nigerian cities, even to the rest of West Africa.

Oriaku also told journalists during a virtual press conference that ArcromRide would introduce competition into the ride hailing market in Nigeria that would strengthen and build a stronger market, provide job opportunities and create innovative models for delivering better quality of service to customers.

Oriaku said: “ArcromRide is excited to announce the official launch of its operations in Nigeria.

ArcromRide is a technologically innovative, optimised ride/cab service app. Our product has been designed to disrupt the ride app industry by delivering benefits that have never been seen before to both drivers and customers.”

Some of these benefits, according to him, include the introduction of a security system that would integrate users’ National Identification Number (NIM), security features that would enable drivers and passengers to see themselves and an alarm system that would enable occupants in the cab to alert the police whenever anyone in the vehicle felt threatened.

He said that ArcomRide “is set to become a household brand name across Nigeria, Africa,

and the global west. Our strategic rider app model is designed to cut customer costs yet put more money in the pockets of drivers.”

Oriaku said that some of the unique features of ArcromRide include “prioritising driver and customer safety by embedding NIN verification into the app registration process” and a system that would allow “clients and drivers to see photos of each other before a ride commences.”

Other features, according to him, include “high-quality customer service support for drivers and customers that will resolve queries in real-time; a mobile-first, cloud-first solution that is scalable and reliable as well as data processing time significantly reduced by up to 50 per cent, all achieved by building new cloud data infrastructure, leading to more timely insights.”

South Shore Reassures Patients of Quality Health Care Services at 10 South Shore Women’s and Children’s Hospital-a specialist health care facility located in Victoria Island and Ikeja GRA, has reassured its teeming and prospective patients that after 10 years in operations, the hospital is better positioned to deliver on its core mandate; which is provision of quality health care services for women and children in Nigeria based on the best current international practices.

Whilst thanking patients and partners of the business for their patronage, The Chief Executive Officer of the hospital Dr Olajuwon Alabi highlighted some of its major milestones, “We set up SSWC, Victoria Island in 2012. In

2017, the first stage of the clinic’s expansion commenced with the introduction of Pediatrics services.

In 2018, the Ikeja branch was launched to give access to our mainland patients. We expanded our frontiers in 2019, with the introduction breast care service, fertility services, telemedicine and oncology services”.

Speaking further on the mission of the company, Dr. Alabi stated that they aim to provide women and children with the same advanced treatment procedures offered abroad (Minimal and non-Minimal invasive treatment options) thereby substantially reducing the need to travel abroad for

medical care.

In the last decade, SSWCH’s numbers have proven to exceed the quality and patient-centered care with a rise in our patient base to over 6000 who have accessed care at our facilities.

The hospital has carried out over 32000 consultations and performed over 2428 surgeries.

As a part of our corporate social responsibility, we have partnered with various foundations by giving free fibroid surgeries to women, contributed to professional development in the medical community furthermore, and recently partnered with Steer for Change Mother and NewBorn.

L -R: Representative of the Regional Bank Head, Apapa, Martins Izuogbe (Omobolaji Odubanjo); Divisional Head, Product Development, Osita Ede (both of Fidelity Bank Plc); Representative of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Onifade Abideen; N1 million cash prize winners, Abdullahi Abu Saibu; and Aliu Usman Sunday; Representative of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Arimoro Adewale Alani; Head, Savings and Sales, Ukpai Ibe and Branch Leader, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Marian Aniekwena (both of Fidelity Bank Plc) at the 3rd monthly prize presentation event of the Get Alert in Millions Season 5 Promo (GAIM 5) in Lagos on Tuesday, 1 March 2022

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT THURSDAY, 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).

33

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ Ͳ˜ ͰͮͰͰ

Dangote Cement Record 44.2% Increase in PBT, Declares N20 Dividend Kayode Tokede Dangote Cement Plc has announced 44.2 per cent increase in profit before tax to N538.4billion in 2021 audited result and accounts for period ended December 31, 2021 from N373.3billion reported in 2020.

The cement manufacturing company in its financials for 2021 disclosed that the group sales volume stood at 29.3Mt, with Nigeria accounting for 18.61Mt

while operations in other countries did 10.86Mt. Group revenue was N1.38 trillion for the full year, made up of N993.34 billion from Nigeria while revenue from across African plants was N397.32 billion, in contrast to the group revenue of N1,034.20 billion in 2020 which constituted of N719.95 billion from Nigeria and N318.68 billion from other African operations.

Dangote Cement recorded a gross profit of N538.37 billion and

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

after-tax profit of N364.44 billion.

The directors have proposed a dividend of N20.00 per share.

The cement manufacturing company sustained its position as a leading contributor to Nigeria’s economy with a tax charge of N173.93 billion in 2021, an increase of 78.7 per cent over N97.24 billion in 2020.

Dangote Cement recorded a gross profit of N538.37 billion and after-tax profit of N364.44 billion while earnings

S E C U R I T I E S MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

per share (EPS) rose to N21.24 from N16.14.

The directors have proposed a dividend of N20.00 per share.

Speaking on the results, Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Cement Michel Puchercos in a statement said: “We are pleased to report a solid set of the results for the full year 2021.

“Group volumes for the year were up 13.8 per cent and Group EBITDA was up 43.2 per cent, to N684.6 billion at a 49.5 percent

T R A D E D

VALUE TRADED ( N )

MAIN BOARD

A S

margin. I am delighted to report that Dangote Cement experienced its strongest year across all line items, with a record PAT of N364.4 billion up 32.0 per cent.

“Our business model remains robust, thanks to the prudent and flexible approach we have taken across our operations. Due to an increased focus on efficiency while meeting double-digit market growth and maintaining costs under control, Dangote Cement has and will consistently deliver

O F

0 3

superior profitability and returns to its shareholders,” he added.

Dangote Cement became the first Nigerian listed company to report its financial results using XBRL format with the IFRS taxonomy. Adopting XBRL reporting format will strongly benefit Dangote Cement’s existing and potential investors. It represents another step in continuing efforts to modernize and enhance transparency of, and access to, companies’ disclosures.

/ 0 3 / 2 0 2 2 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 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 02Mar-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 N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Plutus Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria International Debt Fund N/A N/A N/A Afrinvest Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 8.02% Anchoria Equity Fund 146.20 147.98 3.73% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.21 1.21 5.98% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com info@anchoriaam.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 21.21 21.85 4.55% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 477.90 492.31 5.93% ARM Ethical Fund 39.73 40.93 1.99% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.06 1.07 -1.69% ARM Fixed Income Fund 1.02 1.03 1.12% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.82% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com; Tel 08069294653 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 108.78 108.78 6.95% AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Naira 1,081.62 1,081.62 8.16% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.08 2.08 9.33% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.27 2.32 17.57% CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.02 1.02 1.12% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.43% Paramount Equity Fund 18.66 18.99 10.87% Women's Investment Fund 146.96 148.54 5.65% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Cordros Milestone Fund N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) N/A N/A N/A CORONATION ASSETS MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com, Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B N/A N/A N/A EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A 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 Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.73% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.02 1.02 5.35% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.04 1.04 14.41% Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 101.42 101.42 3.36% FBNQUEST ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED 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 1,420.08 1,420.08 10.87% FBN Balanced Fund 183.86 185.24 4.91% FBN Halal Fund 117.35 117.35 8.70% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.40% 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 FSDH Dollar Fund

122.91 153.91

122.91 3.94% 156.03 2.21% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com

Bid Price 1.00 3.99 1.80 1.22

Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn 1.00 7.39% 3.99 -0.42% 1.84 3.61% 1.22 0.73% coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com

Bid Price 3,979.78 3,504.63 100.00

Offer Price 4,040.47 3,504.63 100.00

1.09

1.09

Yield / T-Rtn 2.24% 1.05% 6.18%

3.38%

INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.18% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.92 2.98 2.09% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 142.75 142.80 -8.27% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.28 1.33 1.82% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.08 1.08 4.07% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.56 1.59 3.79% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,160.16 1,160.16 2.04% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 12.68 12.75 7.47% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 8.56% 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) 101.51 101.52 9.07% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.47% 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 1.62 1.64 0.42% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.61 11.61 3.76% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.94% PACAM Equity Fund 1.48 1.49 2.58% PACAM EuroBond Fund 114.42 116.89 -0.68% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 131.30 133.48 8.35% 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 N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Equity Fund 0.97 1.00 3.96% United Capital Balanced Fund 1.41 1.43 3.34% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.14 1.16 5.81% United Capital Sukuk Fund 1.09 1.09 1.26% United Capital Fixed Income Fund 1.98 1.98 1.18% United Capital Eurobond Fund 123.42 123.42 0.89% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.71% 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 13.37 13.50 1.40% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 15.18 15.35 3.90% Zenith Income Fund 22.31 22.31 1.42% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.38%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 54.65

10.62% 8.10%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

14.08 136.05 107.11 20.26 22.94

14.18 139.46 109.47 20.36 23.04

0.84% 3.37% 3.37% 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

4.39 5.74 18.61 N/A 21.07 167.28

4.49 5.84 18.81 N/A 21.27 169.28

16.59% 12.74% 8.27% N/A 8.64% 5.99%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.28

10.80%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

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

35

T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

NEWSXTRA

ETLS COURTSEY VISIT TO TRADE MINISTER...

L-R: Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commissioner for Trade, Konzi Tei; Chairman, ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) Task Force, Mohamed Ibn Chambas and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, during the visit of the ETLS Task Force to the Minister in Abuja ... yesterday

2023: World’s Eyes are On Nigeria, Says US Ambassador Tasks Nigerian editors, CSOs in promoting democracy Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard, yesterday, said the eyes of the world would be on Nigeria this year and early next year, as the country prepares to choose a new president and transition to a new government.

She, however, noted that the Nigerian Guild of Editors and members of civil society groups, have a role and responsibility in promoting democracy.

The Ambassador, who spoke at a Town Hall Meeting titled, “Agenda Setting for Sustainable Democratic Culture” organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), with support

Alleged N26.6bn Fraud: Court Remands Ex-Bank PHB Director, Adenmosun in Ikoyi Prison Wale Igbintade Justice Daniel Osiagor of the federal high court in Lagos, yesterday ordered the remand of a former director of Bank PHB (now Keystone), Funmi Adenmosun at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre following his inability to perfect his bail conditions.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) had on January 21, arraigned Adenmosun, before the court over alleged N26.6 billion money laundering.

He was arraigned alongside his company, Home Trust Savings and Loan limited and a private company, Rare Properties and Development Limited. He was subsequently granted bail in the sum of N250 million with two sureties.

However, when the trial commenced yesterday, Adenmosun who was initially in the custody of the EFCC, however requested to be remanded in Ikoyi Correctional Centre until he meets his bail conditions. The request was granted by Justice Osiagor.

During the trial, EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Sulaiman I. Sulaiman informed the court that the verification of documents presented by the sureties was still ongoing.

He told the court that he was ready to commence trial and that one of his witnesses was in court.

But, Justice Osiagor wondered

why the prosecution was taking too long on the verification of documents submitted by the sureties.

The judge observed that the anti-graft agency imposed conditions that were not in the original order made by the court.

Therefore, the court stopped the EFCC from carrying out the verification of the sureties adding only the court will carry out the exercise.

Meanwhile, the prosecution called its first witness, Mr. Segun Adesomoju, the Compliance Officer, City Monument Bank Ltd (FCMB), who told the court that the bank received a letter from the EFCC requesting for account details of the defendants.

However, an attempt by the EFCC prosecutor to tender some of the account statements hit a brick wall as the defence lawyer, Mr. Wale Adesokan objected to their admissibility.

Following the objection, EFCC lawyer, Sulaiman urged the court to adjourn the case to enable him to do what was needed.

The case was adjourned till today for the continuation of trial.

The defendants were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on conspiracy, money laundering and fraudulent conversion of the proceeds of private placement raised from the public in the name of Investments & Allied Assurance Plc.

from US Embassy in Nigeria, said Nigeria’s commitment to democracy and opposition to authoritarianism remained sound.

“Your leaders have been consistent in calling for the respect of presidential term limits, for example, and they have been quick to condemn military coups in West Africa and the rest of the continent,” she said According to her, beyond public pledges supporting freedom and democracy, the editors and members of the civil society groups have a responsibility to delve deeper into underlying factors that erode faith in democracy.

She explained that patronage politics, corruption, inequality, and the failure of many democratic governments to deliver for their citizens, fuelled public and media doubts about the democratic model, causing them to lose hope and cynically accept the status quo as inevitable and normal.

“One way to restore public confidence in democracy is through free and fair elections. The eyes of the world will, therefore, be on Nigeria this year and early next year as you prepare to choose a new president and transition to a new government.

“We were pleased that, last week, President Muhammadu Buhari signed Nigeria’s long-awaited Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, ensuring adoption of a number of long sought-after reforms to the electoral process, including the electronic transmission of election results from polling places.

“Editors like yourselves are in fact critical gatekeepers. Your actions and decisions level the playing field. You determine whose voices are heard, and what news topics receive in-depth coverage.

In a digital age, when the 24/7 news cycle is unrelenting and often bewildering, you help weed out the trivial to focus on the essential,”

she said.

While tasking editors on their professional duty, Leonard explained that access to accurate, unbiased information was critical to any democracy in the world.

“There is a significant positive multiplier effect whenever journalists do the right thing or take a welldocumented, pioneering approach.

When free and independent media publish previously unknown facts, write principled editorials or take a stand to defend and protect other courageous journalists, the public takes note and trust is built and re-built.

“On the other hand, we know that not everyone is principled and well-meaning in your field or any other field. Trust cannot be nurtured, when media houses play favourites and charge varying rates, for example, to politicians and candidates for the same level of broadcast time or publicity.

“Trust is diminished, when media

accept money from self-interested players or malign actors to publish favourable or unfavourable stories.

Brown envelope journalism undermines the public’s trust in the media, erodes journalistic integrity, and defeats the media’s ability to play a transparent oversight role over government actions,” she added.

She, therefore, urged editors to serve as catalysts to build a democracy that was accountable to people, saying when the citizenry’s belief in democracy, good governance, and elections were restored, invariably they would want to be a part of that system and would defend it.

Her words: “Right now, the world is at an inflection point between those, who tolerate autocracy and those who know democracy can deliver for the people. Democracy, as President Biden said, doesn’t happen by accident. We have to defend it, fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.

Adoke Writes Malami, Says Alleged Complicity in JP Morgan’s Case Baseless Alex Enumah in Abuja The immediate past Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke ((SAN), has written the incumbent, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), absolving himself of any complicity in a case instituted by the federal government against American Bank, JP Morgan Chase.

In a letter written by his lawyers, Paul Erekoro (SAN), among others, Adoke said that the federal government’s argument that he contacted JP Morgan repeatedly and sent an email using the mail of Aliyu Abubakar’s shell company, was false.

Adoke noted that allowing unverified information to be presented before the court, to wit that he and a former Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete committed the offence of “money laundering by facilitating the payment of the

funds to Etete and Malabu Oil & Gas Limited through the Deposit Account,” remained baseless.

The ex-top Nigerian law officer lamented that Malami allowed those instructions to be given, or allowed those “facts” to be presented in a court of law, when he was fully aware that they were not true.

The senior lawyer reminded Malami that he (Malami) had written the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), indicating that “evidence does not appear to have clearly revealed the case of fraud against the parties in view of their claimed acting in their official capacities.”

“In your letter to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria dated 15th September 15, 2017, you had also advised the President that:…EFCC investigation does not appear to have clearly revealed the case of fraud against the parties

who claimed to have acted in their official capacities with the approval of three consecutive presidents at the time,” he said.

He recalled that even Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources had also appraised the resolution agreements and in his letter to the chief of staff alerted to the potential negative view of Nigeria that may follow should international arbitration ensue from the matter.

Relying on Malami’s legal advise, Adoke stated that the former petroleum minister also came to the reasoned conclusion that it was in the national interest to allow all the contending issues to be laid to rest so that Block 245 could be operated for the benefit of the government.

He further quoted the Federal High Court in its judgment dated 07/04/2018, delivered by Justice B.F.M Nyako, which said that the involvement of the plaintiff

in the negotiations leading to the implementation of a settlement agreement was in furtherance of the lawful directives of the president.

“The plaintiff cannot be held personally liable for carrying out the lawful /approvals of the president while he served as a minister of the government of the federation,” Adoke quoted the court as saying.

He explained that the government did not appeal that judgment, the legal implication being that the judgment represented the truth of the matters that it decided, for all time.

“Unfortunately, and contrary to your own legal advice and in defiance of the un-appealed, binding declarations made by the Federal High Court, your office filed charges in another court of coordinate jurisdiction against the parties to the settlement agreements, with our client as one of the defendants.

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NEWSXTRA

OATH OF OFFICE… Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (left) inaugurating the newly elected Chairmen of the 17 Local Government Areas of the State (right), at the Michael Okpara Square, Independence Layout, Enugu, yesterday.

Tinubu: Our Democracy is Unstable, Buffeted by Insecurity, Hopelessness Says he’s contesting for president to fix things Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti A former Lagos State Governor and presidential hopeful, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, said Nigeria’s democracy has remained unstable, because it was buffeted by insecurity, hopelessness, lack of education and general suffering in the land.

He, however, said the reason he decided to join the race for president in 2023, was because he wanted to fix things by ushering hope and real change into the country.

Tinubu told all Nigerian patriots that, the country needed a competent leader at this present time of its journey, who could unite the people, tackle insecurity and rejig the debilitating economy for the benefit of the masses.

He spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti

State capital, in continuation of his consultations with members of the Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers in furtherance of his 2023 presidential aspiration.

The former Lagos State governor was accompanied to the venue of the meeting held at the Traditional Council Chambers, by the Deputy Governor, Bisi Egbeyemi and top brass of the Southwest Agenda 2023, led by Senator Dayo Adeyeye.

Addressing the Council, presided over by the Chairman, Council and Onisan of Isan Ekiti, Oba Gabriel Adejumo, Tinubu averred that he was in the state to consult the traditional rulers that he would be contesting the 2023 presidency, so that he could get their prayers and support.

"We have struggled for democracy and today, we have

Diri: By Signing Electoral Bill, Buhari Wants Democracy to Thrive Advises aspiring appointees in his govt to resign or get sacked Olusegun Samuel The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the amended Electoral Act bill into law, saying the signing of the bill was a demonstration that the President wanted democracy to thrive in Nigeria.

The governor gave the commendation yesterday during the state executive council meeting at the Government House, Yenagoa, the state capital.

He stated that the days of ballot box snatching, rigging, political thuggery and violence were gone as the electoral law has made provisions on how modern elections should be conducted.

He advised politicians eyeing elective offices not to heat up the polity but quietly embark on consultation with their political leaders.

While acknowledging the right of appointees in his administration to aspire for elective positions, he restated his call on them to resign their positions or be sacked in order not to neglect their responsibilities and make governance suffer.

The governor stressed that the peace being experienced in the state should be sustained by

all, adding that members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would work together to ensure that those, who are destined by God, emerge as its flag bearers through primaries.

He thanked his cabinet members for their commitment in ensuring that government policies and programmes were realised, saying their actions proved that their appointment was not a mistake.

The Bayelsa helmsman also thanked Bayelsans for their support for his administration as demonstrated during the recent second anniversary celebration.

His words: "I like to use today’s Executive Council meeting to acknowledge Mr President and thank him for signing the Electoral Act bill into law.

"That has been the bane of our democracy. Elections are the basis of having good governance, of selecting good leaders, and Mr President has demonstrated that he wants democracy to thrive in Nigeria by signing the bill.

"So, on behalf of the Deputy Governor and indeed Bayelsa State, we appreciate Mr President for assenting to that bill. If there is one gift that Mr President has given to Nigeria in his whole eight years, this is it.

democracy, but we are not stable yet. There is insecurity, hopelessness, lack of education, and suffering in the land. By now, we should have a good farming system and opportunities to produce for other nations to buy.

"We are here to answer the call of our children by educating them the right way, so that we can leave a Nigeria that is united, prosperous and abundant for them. We chose democracy and we must not fail in this task.

"I'm contesting this race to renew the hope and make the future great for our children.

For Nigeria to stand united and develop, we require patience and wisdom. We have to be united,

that is the only way we can be great.

"That was why we formed APC based on principles. I want to tell you that Nigeria needs serious change. I knew how Lagos was when I took over and we had never failed any election. There must be continuity in governance for progress to be attained.

"I was the first governor in Nigeria to start paying the WAEC fees of secondary school students.

I shall do it again as a President," he said, adding that he decided to consult the traditional rulers before declaring, because of the enormous respect he placed on culture and tradition.

His words: "I have been on

Nigeria's project since the 70's. I was with MKO Abiola in SDP. I was a senator before he came out. I was the youngest senator of that era. I was about becoming Director of Finance of ExxonMobil, but I rejected it.

“I said I wanted to serve Nigeria. They gave me a leave of absence to go and do politics for four years and come back, but I only spent two years as a senator, when military came and terminated our tenure.

“But I have an option, which was to either go back and enjoy at ExxonMobil, but I decided that I will fight for Nigeria instead of going back to enjoy. We believed that there must be democracy in

Nigeria, there must be freedom and there must be opportunities.

"We joined hands with Soyinka, Enahoro and others. Governor Kayode Fayemi was in University of London then, brilliant and he joined the struggle. He worked so hard, in fact, he is an excellent man. So, looking at all these, we should all know that this democracy must not fail.

"We have to collaborate, unite and promote ourselves instead of fighting. We all see what is happening in Ukraine today, we don't need such experience here. We must elevate our technology and make use of available opportunities to develop Nigeria and that is what we are coming to do."

INEC: WE ARE NOT REGISTERING NEW PARTIES BECAUSE THEY WON’T PARTICIPATE IN 2023 ELECTIONS of the law and the Regulations and Guidelines," he disclosed Okoye hinted that the Commission was currently at the terminal phase of its Continuous Voters Registration Exercise (CVR), as there were so many communities that were still inaccessible to INEC registration officers.

His words: "In the next few weeks, the Commission will roll out modalities for the further devolution and rotation of the CVR to our registration areas and the security of our personnel and the registrants are fundamental to the success of the exercise.

"We are determined to register all eligible registrants but will not expose our staff to unnecessary danger. We will roll out and roll back depending on the security situation in different parts of the country."

He stated said that it was important for the media to continue to highlight and analyse the causes and possible solutions to the security challenges in the country and continue to hold government accountable.

He equally explained that the various security agencies must try as much as possible to degrade if not neutralise the security threats and challenges in different parts of the country, adding that voting and the exercise of democratic mandate might not be the priority of persons enveloped in a climate and atmosphere of fear and anxiety.

On the innovations in the

Commission, he said. "As some of you are aware, the Commission has introduced new and creative changes in the enumeration of voters, the party nomination processes and the conduct of elections.

The Commission is currently conducting the Continuous Voters Registration Exercise (CVR) both physically and online using the new INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED).

"The Commission has introduced an online nomination portal through which Political Parties upload the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates. The Commission has also introduced an online portal through which international and domestic observers and the media apply for accreditation.

“The Commission has also introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for voter accreditation and authentication. The Commission introduced the INEC Result Viewing Portal (iRev) through which polling unit level results are uploaded to a result-viewing portal in real time.

"The Commission is firmly of the view that greater use of technology in the electoral process will, to a large extent, reduce human interference in the voting, counting and collation process."

However, Okoye said the Commission was conscious of the fact that technology did not operate itself and that the human element is ever present,

but added, that the Commission would continue to learn from issues and challenges that arise from the deployment of technology as well as innovate and improve on them.

Meanwhile, Ayu, who spoke yesterday when the EU Observation Mission visited, maintained that the party had evidence that security agencies were used to subvert the electoral processes in the recent bye-election in some states, while charging its members to henceforth rise up and defend their votes.

Speaking at the PDP national secretariat, Ayu charged INEC to be genuinely independent to enable democracy to thrive in Nigeria.

According to him, the PDP was not making flimsy excuses of the security agencies being used to subvert the electoral processes, adding, "We have the hard core evidence and we have submitted same to INEC." He said the PDP would mobilise and sensitise the voters as well as asked them to defend their votes when the need arises "We have seen a decline in those things, which were promoted as a political party, including the establishments or creating of certain institutions that will strengthen democracy in this country. And, therefore, we are very worried that those, instead of strengthening the democratic process, which will see democracy sustained, we see a sustained decline in those

democratic practices," he said.

He identified such things like the conduct of elections, use of security services to attack judges, to attack citizens, instead of protecting them to survive the electoral process.

“We have evidence; I will stand by our position. We are happy that these are not just empty pronouncements, even you. You have shown to me in 2019 report, which you have read – shows clearly some of those problems that we’re complaining – we’ll keep complaining as long as these practices are sustained," Ayu stated .

The PDP National Chairman explained that the party had evidence that it won the 2019 general election, and lamented that justice was not done.

According to him, it would not be good to allow such injustice to continue as was the case in the last FCT elections, where it was awarded three local governments of Abuja Municipal Area, Kuje and Bwari area councils, whereas it won 44 councillors and the APC won only 18 councillors.

He insisted that the electoral processes were subverted, because Abaji, Kwali and Gwagwalada area councils were in the rural areas of the FCT The Head, EU Observation Mission, Arena, said the mission had been in the country meeting political parties, stakeholders and media in the last five days and would make its findings known to the public soon.

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NEWS

Police Arrest 38 Terrorists, 50 Kidnappers, 110 Robbery Suspects Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Inspector-General of Police(IG) Usman Alkali Baba, said yesterday that police arrested 38 terrorists and armed bandits during operations conducted across the country.

Speaking in Abuja, the IG, who met with Assistant Inspectors-General (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs), disclosed that between January and March, 2022, 38 terrorists and armed bandits were arrested while police operations aided the arrest of 150 cultists, 50 kidnappers, 110 robbery suspects and 78 murders suspects.

Within the period under review, he said, 155 firearms and 1, 561 ammunition were recovered.

He listed other items recovered to include 32 AK-47 rifles, one Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher, 1,412) 7.62mm live ammunition, 1,200 rounds of live ammunition, one locally fabricated revolver pistol and three motor vehicles.

Others include: two motorcycles, 10 cartons of Pentazocine BP 30 injections, cash sum of N800,000.00 and t three pairs of army camouflage uniform.

He said the arrests and recoveries were the outcome of crime-fighting strategies initiated by the police.

“I am to note that this trend has been informed not only by your individual and collective sacrifices, professionalism and enhanced operational efficiency, but also reflective of the efficacy of our current strategies.

“It is indeed in furtherance to this that we launched ‘Operation Sahara Storm’ in Sokoto State with the sole aim of rooting out identified bandits’ camps at Gudugudu, Tarke Forest, Luguhuru through Hurra and Markira, Goronyo, Wurno

and Heli in Rabbah Local Government and Zangon-Isu forest in Goronyo LGA of the State,”he said.

Meanwhile, the IG warned the senior officers against the abuse of the stop and search crime strategy of the police.

“I want to re-emphasise that while stop and search strategy could occasionally be an invaluable anti-crime tactic, such should not be done without requisite approval and must not be a permanent strategy.

“It must equally be conducted

with extant police protocols which emphasises civility to members of the public and must be laced with highest level of professional decorum.

Such must not also be turned into an avenue for extortion,” he said.

GIVING E-PASSPORT A BOOST…

L-R: Representative of Enugu State Governor, Simon Ortuanya; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and acting Comptroller General of Immigration, Isah Idris, during the unveiling of the enhanced e-passport and inauguration of the passport production centre in Enugu…recently

Unite to Help Buhari Produce Successor, Akpabio Tasks Group

Fuel Crisis: APC Has Lost Control of Governance, Says PDP

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday charged Nigerians to brace up and support one another in the face of abandonment by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration as all critical indicators show that the ruling party has abdicated its constitutional duty to guarantee the security and welfare of the people.

The party, in a statement by its

The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and National Coordinator of the Presidential Support Committee (PSC), Senator Godswill Akpabio, has tasked members of the committee to remain united in order to assist President Muhamadu Buhari to produce his successor from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023.

Akpabio gave the charge while receiving state chairmen and leaders of the committee in Abuja, a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Jackson Udom said.

Expressing excitement while receiving the leaders, Akpabio said: “I am most delighted to receive you my brothers today.

I am always available for your

suggestions and advice on how to move this group forward and by extension our great party.

“Let us, after this meeting, look for all our members across the country because in unity, we are stronger. While it is your right to support any candidate of your choice in 2023, but after the primaries and candidates emerge, we must close ranks, forget individual differences and work for the unity of the party to ensure our victory at the polls.”

The minister, who recalled the events that led to his appointment as the national coordinator of the PSC by President Muhamadu Buhari shortly after flagging off his second term campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, noted that as the national coordinator, he inherited nothing.

Chuks OkochainAbuja

National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said that the prevailing chaotic situation in the country with widespread uncertainties, unabating fuel crisis, piercing economic hardship, sectional agitations, heated industrial unrests, infrastructural stagnation, kidnapping, daily bloodletting and escalated insecurity with gangsters now taking over the streets of major cities further confirm that the APC administration is now on autopilot

with its central command structure in disarray.

The PDP said that the decision

by President Muhammadu Buhari to jet out to the United Kingdom (where leaders are committed) for yet another “routine medical check-up” after his administration has wrecked our healthcare system and when the nation which he leads is in crisis, underscores the insensitivity of the APC which by nature and outlook has never

been ready for governance since inception.

“While other world leaders are solving problems in their countries, President Buhari, who promised to fix our refineries, abandoned Nigerians to the excruciating fuel crisis caused by the corruption perpetrated by APC leaders in the helm of affairs in the petroleum sector, which has now crippled economic activities in the country,” he said.

ASUU: FG Constitutes 7-Man Committee to Renegotiate 2009 Agreement Francis Sardauna in Katsina and Kuni Tyessi in Abuja As parts of efforts to end the lingering strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the federal government, yesterday, reconstituted a 7-man team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement it had with the union.

But the students’ wing of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), has said the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, lacked the capacity to resolve the crisis and therefore urged him to resign.

In the same vein, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has also demanded Adamu’s resignation and to

further tender unreserved apology to the nation for abusing and walking out on Nigerian students, who went to his office to plead for his intervention to end the on-going strike by lecturers in public universities in the country.

University lecturers had suspended academic activities nationwide on February 14, 2022, for what they referred to

as government’s lackadaisical attitude and dishonest disposition over the agreement it signed with the union in 2009.

The industrial action, according to ASUU, allegedly followed the failure of the federal government to fully implement the Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) and the Memorandum of Action (MoA).

for Wards and Children of Nigerian Public Officers, to Strengthen Indigenous Institutions, Provide Efficient Educational Services for National Development; and for Related Matters (HB. 448),” was sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun (PDP, Edo).

Leading the debate on its general principles, Ogun

explained that the bill was regulatory not discriminatory and was proposed against the background of fallen standards in our educational system and the need to bring the sector up to speed with global best standards.

He lamented that as a result of the inability of government to provide quality education in its

public educational institutions, Nigerians have resorted to private schools and foreign schools for their education.

The trouble with this, he said was that most of those who patronise private owned educational institutions or those who travel abroad to study are children and wards of Nigerian public officers.

N’ Assembly Redeploys Lawmakers Reject Bill to Stop Public Officers from House Clerk, Six Others Using Govt Funds to Train their Children Abroad as Secretary to the Directorate of UdoraOrizuinAbuja National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) has approved the appointment and redeployment of some top management officers in the National Assembly.

In a letter dated March 3, 2022 and signed by its Executive Chairman, Ahmed KadiAmshi, the commission announced the appointment of Chinedu Akubueze as the new Clerk of the Senate from his former position of Clerk, House of Representatives.

Others are Yahaya H. Danzariya, Acting Clerk (House of Representatives), Fatai Jimoh, Acting Deputy Clerk, Legislative (House of Representatives); Kamoru Ogunlana, Acting Secretary, (Legal Services) and Bashir Aminu Yero, Acting Secretary (Directorate of Estate and Works).

On the other hand, Henrietta Aimua-Ehikioya was redeployed

Special Dunes from Legal Services Directorate, while the former Secretary of Procurement, Estate and Works, Liman Baba Sanda is now the Secretary of the newly created Directorate of Procurement and Supplies.

The letter read in part: “Rising from its 549 meeting held on Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd of March, 2022, the commission announced the appointment of Chinedu F.Akubueze as the new Clerk of the Senate from his former position of Clerk, House of Representatives. Others are:Yahaya H. Danzariya, Acting Clerk (House of Representatives), Fatai O. Jimoh, Acting Deputy Clerk, Legislative (House of Representatives), Kamoru Ogunlana Esq,Acting Secretary, (Legal Services) and Bashir Aminu Yero, Acting Secretary (Directorate of Estate and Works).

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives yesterday rejected a bill seeking to restrict public officers from diverting public funds to sponsor their children or wards education abroad.

The proposed legislation titled, “A Bill for an Act to Regulate International Studies

2022 UTME: JAMB Targets 1.5 Millon Candidates KuniTyessi in Abuja The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has, so far, registered over 500,000 candidates for the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq

Oloyede, who disclosed this while monitoring the registration exercise in Bwari, Abuja, yesterday said the board’s target is to register a total of 1.5 million candidates before the March 26, 2022 deadline.

Oloyede said the board also plans to register at least 50,000 candidates per day and has

succeeded in registering about 70,000 two days ago, adding that the exercise has been mostly successful and 99 per cent of problems encountered by candidates were self-inflicted because they played into the hands of fraudsters.

While appealing to non-

candidates to keep off registration centres, the JAMB czar urged parents to allow their children to read the registration instructions and follow, warning candidates not to divulge their codes to third parties as fraudsters could use them to manipulate their profiles to their own detriment.

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Police Brutality: Victims Demand N3bn Compensation

for RightsViolation Michael Olugbode inAbuja Compensation of N3 billion has been demanded against the police for brutality of tricycle riders and seizure of 150 tricycles in Delta State.

A witness, Comrade Godwin Ikolo yesterday pleaded with the Independent Investigation Panel on Human Rights Violations by the defunct SARS and other units of the Nigerian Police Force to order N3 billion compensation against the Police in favour of the National Commercial Tricycle and

Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association (NCTMORA), Delta state chapter, following alleged brutality and seizures of over 150 tricycles and motorcycles belonging to the association.

Testifying before the panel, the witness alleged that a task force comprising some police officers, Delta State Ministry of Transport and the state Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) had at various times arrested, brutalised, detained their members for no justifiable reason.

According to the witness, who is also the National Public

Relations Officer NCTMORA, the harassment and intimidation of their members by the Delta state task force led to the extra- judicial killing of Joseph Ovedje.

He also stated before the panel presided over by Dr. Garba Tetengi on behalf of the Chairman, Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd) that the Delta state task force, working with the police and other agencies of government in the state, had impounded over 150 tricycles and motorcycles belonging to his association and had refused to release them till date.

2023: Uyo PDP Delegates Endorse Pastor Umo Eno As the race to Akwa Ibom State Government House gathers momentum, People Democratic Party (PDP)’s delegates of of Uyo Senatorial District, yesterday endorsed a frontline

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gubernatorial aspirant, Pastor Umo Eno. The endorsement was made when the governorship hopeful consulted the delegates at the Ibom Hall, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Speaking at the gathering, the political leader of Uyo Senatorial District, Senator Effiong Bob, was quoted in statement as saying that Uyo stands for the truth and peace and cannot be intimidated to do what is not right.

Senator Bob assured the aspirant that all the statutory delegates from the senatorial

district are unanimous in their decision to adopt Pastor Umo Eno and also support him to emerge the party’s standard bearer as well as stand by him to win the forthcoming governorship election in 2023.

Addressing the cheering crowd, the leading PDP aspirant, Pastor Eno noted that his aspiration is in order as a bonafide Uyo Senatorial District indigene, adding that he is in the race to further peace and prosperity by consolidating achievements of past governors of Akwa Ibom State.

Kwakwaso Destined to Take Nigeria out of Economic Quagmire, Says Osun NNPP Chair Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo To deliver Nigeria from the web of corruption and economic quagmire, Nigerians has been urged to vote for former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, as the president of Nigeria in the forthcoming general election.

This call was made by the Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Osun State chapter, Dr. Tosin Odeyemi, yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital.

Odeyemi noted that the untold hardship Nigerians are subjected to under by the present administration poses a serious concern to the future of the country.

He stressed that nobody

must fall for the deceit of the All Progressives Congress (APC) again by voting for any presidential candidate the party present in 2023 as their best has been seen under President Muhammed Buhari.

According to him, “APC under Buhari has failed Nigerians. None of their promises has been fulfilled and unfortunately, many of those that vouched for him during their electioneering are now showing interest to take over from him.

“They want to taking over the hardship corner he has pushed Nigerians to, as well as the fuel scarcity and economic quagmire, unemployment, insecurity, nepotism, sectionalism among others.

Police Drag Diri’s Aide to Court over Dud Cheque Olusegun Samuel The Bayelsa State Police Command has dragged the Special Representative of the Bayelsa State Governor in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Hon. Obuma Ayaye, to court over alleged involvement in the issuance of dud cheque to offset a N2.5million loan secured since 2021.

According to the prosecuting officer of the Police, S.C Njoku, in charge number YMC/82c/2022 before the Magistrate Court 12 in Yenagoa Magisterial district, requested for the remand of Ayaye, 45, claiming that it is reasonably suspected to have committed the offence of issuing dud cheques and fraud from July, 2021 to October, 2021. The police, in the grounds of claims, argued that though the investigation into the case is still ongoing, “the

offence for which the defendant is arrested is a serious offence triable at the State High Court by virtue of the dishonored Cheques Act, 2004 and there is a reasonable and probable cause to remand the defendant for a period of 30days by which time information will be filed.

“That the defendant fraudulently defrauded Mr. Ken Tonkmor, of the sum of N2.510 billion and issued dud cheques, which were dishonored on presentation at the bank. That the grant of the application is in the interest of justice.”

But the Magistrate, AkataMicheal Rachael Gwadei, declined to issue the order to remand him due to his status and the defendant present employment with the state government. She granted him bail but the police are preparing to file the case at the State High Court.

WORLD OF ISLAM

Edited by: MJO Mustapha Email deji.mustapha@thisdaylive.com

Islam and Science 3 By: Bruno Abd Al Haqq Guiderdoni/University of St. Andrews/IslamiCity (Continued from two weeks ago)

A

ccording to the constant teaching of the Islamic tradition, and because of the specific status of the Holy Text of Islam as the fundamental axis of revelation, faith is intimately linked to knowledge.

A famous Koranic verse prescribes: “worship your Lord till certainty” (Koran 15:99), and many Prophetic sayings strongly recommend the pursuit of knowledge as a religious duty “incumbent to all Muslims”. The Prophet himself used to say: “My Lord, increase my knowledge”. Of course, this knowledge consists in knowing God through revelation. But it is clear too that all sorts of knowledge that can be in some way connected to God, and that help the religious and mundane life of society, are good and have to be pursued.

Clearly, when the Prophet recommended that his companions search for knowledge as far as China, he did not alluded primarily to religious knowledge.

Human beings have a “faculty of knowing” that is described in the Koran according to a three-fold aspect: “And it is God who brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs, and He appointed you for hearing, sight, and inner vision” (Koran 16:78). Hearing is our faculty of accepting and obeying the textual indication, that is the Koran and the Prophetic tradition which are the two primary sources of religious knowledge; sight is our ability to ponder and reflect upon the phenomena, and is closely related to the rational pursuit of knowledge; and the inner vision symbolically located in the heart is the possibility of receiving knowledge directly from God, through spiritual unveiling. As a consequence of these three facets, the nature of knowledge is also three fold: It is religious through the study of the Holy Scriptures and the submission to their prescriptions and prohibitions, rational through the investigation of the world and reflection upon it, and mystical through inner enlightenment directly granted by God to whomever He wishes among His servants.

Moreover, there is a well-known story about the independence of natural rules with respect to religious teaching. Farmers who used to grow date palms asked the Prophet whether it was necessary to graft these date palms. The Prophet answered “no”, and they followed his advice.

They then complained that the date crops were very bad. The Prophet answered that he was only a human like them. He said “You are more knowledgeable than I in the best interests of this world of yours”. This is a very important story.

There is a domain in which religion simply has nothing to say, a domain that is neutral with respect to the ritual end ethical teachings of revelation.

However, because Islam does not separate the intellectual aspects of life from ethical concerns, the only knowledge that should be avoided is useless knowledge, which, in this Islamic prospect, is this type of knowledge that closes our eyes to the treasures of our own spiritual vocation.

To summarize, the descent of the Koran, in which God unveils His transcendence and His immanence, provides the Muslims with a way to celebrate God’s mystery as well as to approach His intelligibility. This intelligibility requires the use of reason encapsulated in a broader perspective of knowledge. Through His explanations and promises, God chooses to be partly bound by the categories of reason, out of His Mercy and Love for the world. But reason itself is unable to approach all the Truth, because Truth is not only conceptual. It also involves all the being. In the Islamic perspective, the “intellect” precisely includes the practice of reason, and the lucidity to understand where reason ceases to be efficient in this quest. The question of the exact extension of the domain of reason has been debated, and I will now try to illustrate the type of debates that took place in Islamic thinking.

Islamic perspectives on faith and reason After the extension of the Islamic empire, during the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, the Islamic thought met Greek science and philosophy.

At that time, it became necessary to define more accurately the place of rational knowledge in the religious pursuit, by marking the field that we can validly explore with our own reason. The great thinker al-Ghazali (1058—1111), known in the West as Algazel, examined the relation between science and philosophy on the one hand, religion on the other. As all his predecessors, he had the strong belief that there is only one truth, and that well-guided reason cannot be in contradiction with textual indications given

by the Koran and Prophetic tradition. In his intellectual and spiritual autobiography “The Deliverer from Error” (al-Munqidh min al-dalâl), he enumerated the list of sciences practiced by Islamic philosophers (al-alâsafah) in the wake of Plato’s and Aristotle’s works. Among these sciences, “arithmetic, geometry and astronomy have no relationship whatsoever, positive or negative, with religious matters. They rather deal with issues submitted to proof, which cannot be refuted once they are known and understood.” However, al-Ghazali writes, there is a “double risk” in their practice. On the one hand, because these scientists are too proud with themselves, they often adventure beyond the field where reason can validly apply, and they make metaphysical or theological statements about God and religious issues that happen to contradict textual indications. On the other hand, the common believers, after seeing the excesses of these scientists, are led to reject all sciences indiscriminately. Al-Ghazali condemned “those who believe they defend Islam by rejecting the philosophical sciences”, and “actually cause much damage to it.” Now, providing there is only one Truth, how to deal with possible contradictions between science and Koranic verses? The situation is clear: Wherever science apparently contradicts textual indications, it is the fault of the scientists who surely have made errors in their scientific works, as far as they have been led to conclusions which are at odd with revealed truth. In his book “The Incoherence of the Philosophers” (Tahâfut al-falâsafah), alGhazali attempted to revisit the proofs given by philosophers, and to demonstrate logically and scientifically where their errors come from.

In his book “The Decisive Treatise which establishes the Connection between Religion and Wisdom” (Kitâb fasli-l-maqâl wa taqrîr ma bayna-sh-sharî’ah wa’hikmah mina-l-ittisâl), Ibn Rushd (1026-1098), known in the West as Averroes, examines again the issue addressed by al-Ghazali. Ibn Rushd was a judge (qâdî) and his text is indeed a juridical pronouncement (fatwa) to establish “whether the study of Philosophy and Logic is allowed by the revealed Law, or condemned by it, or prescribed, either as recommended or as mandatory.” Ibn Rushd quoted some of the many Koranic verses that prompt the reader to ponder upon Creation: “Will they not ponder upon the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all that God created?” As the enforcement of the revealed Law requires the use of the juridical syllogism (qiyâs shar’î ) in Islamic jurisprudence, knowing Creation and meditating upon it require the use of the rational syllogism (qiyâs ‘aqlî ), that is, the philosophers’ works. Now, Ibn Rushd wrote, “since this revelation [i.e. the Koran] is true and prompts to practicing rational examination (nazhar) which leads to the knowledge of truth, we Muslims know with certainty that rational examination will never contradict the teachings of the revealed text: because truth cannot contradict truth, but agrees with it and supports it.” As a consequence, Ibn Rushd explains that wherever the results of rational examination contradict the textual indications, this contradiction is only apparent and the text has to be submitted to allegorical interpretation (ta’wîl).

The Islamic world met modern science during the 19th century, as a double challenge, a material one and an intellectual one. The defense of the Ottoman empire in front of the military invasion brought by Western countries, and the success of colonization, have made the acquisition of Western technology necessary, and also of Western science which is the foundation of the latter. The West appears as the model of progress that has to be reached, or at least followed, by a constant effort of training engineers and technicians, and by transferring the technology that is required to develop third-world countries. But the encounter between Islam and modern science also gave birth to a reflection, and even a controversy, the nature of which is philosophical and doctrinal.

To cut a long story short, the Islamic world now has a great interest for science, but a lot of disagreement about what science is, or has to be, to be fully incorporated in Islamic societies by being made “Islamic”. For the modernist stream, “Islamic science” is only universal science practiced by scientists who happen to be Muslims. For the reconstruction stream, “Islamic science” has to be “rebuilt” from Islamic principles, in the prospect of the needs of Islamic societies. For the traditional stream, “Islamic science” is the ancient, symbolic science that has to be recovered, in a prospect that is more respectful of nature and of the spiritual pursuit of the scientists.

To Be Continued

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

Nigeria’s D’Tigress Avoid Holders USAin Group Draw 2022 FIBA WORLD CUP Femi Solaja with agency report Three-time African champions Nigeria’s D’Tigress have avoided holders United States in the group stage draw for the FIBA Women's World Cup scheduled to hold later this year in Sydney, Australia.

D'Tigress, who have won the past consecutive African titles, were drawn alongside hosts Australia, Canada, France, Japan and Serbia in Group B. The USA, bidding for their fourth consecutive Women's World Cup, will face Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, China, South Korea and one other side yet to be decided in Group A in Sydney.

Russia had qualified for the tournament, but world governing body FIBA has excluded Russian teams and officials from its competitionsfollowing the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

As a result, the final team to compete is yet to be determined, with a decision expected on 25 March when FIBA's central board holds its next meeting.

The top four teams in each group will proceed to the quarter-finals at the tournament, which will be held from 22 September to 1 October.

The Americans, ranked number one in the world, swept past Japan to clinch

FA Cup: Boro to Play Chelsea in Q’Final Championship side Middlesbrough will welcome Chelsea to the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Last season's runners up are the reward for Boro, who have beaten Manchester United and Tottenham in the previous two rounds.

Non-league Boreham Wood will travel to Crystal Palace if they can overcome Everton in the fifth round.

Southampton face Manchester City and Nottingham Forest or Huddersfield will host Liverpool.

a seventh straight Olympic Games gold last August and have won a record 10 World Cups.

In his reaction to the FIBA World Cup draw, President of NBBF, Amadu Musa Kida said, “In the last four years, we have continued to shock the world and other teams are now paying some serious attention to us. To continue on that path, we have to work extra hard to sustain the tempo”.

He stressed that it was important for Nigeria to present her best team in Sydney.

Kida insisted that in line with NBBF’s continued resolve to give its national teams the best preparation as allowed by resources at its disposal, the Otis Hughley led team will play some Grade A friendlies while in camp.

“This is where the Federal Government comes in through funding. Early approval and release of funds is at the core of all our proposed plans. “Preparing for such an important tournament costs money and we will be banking on the Federal Government”, Kida said.

The NBBF boss reiterated that D’Tigress were not just any team from Africa.

“We are no longer referred to as just another team from Africa. We are now being addressed as Nigeria based on what we have achieved in the last four years which saw us winning three Afrobasket titles, back-to-back World Cup qualification and Olympic Games participation”.

Currently the lowest ranked team in the group, D’Tigress are unmindful of the task ahead as the sole representative of Africa at the global level and a quest to pick one of the four available quarter finals tickets.

Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress avoided world champions USA in the draw for the FIBA Women’s World Cup scheduled to hold in September in Sydney, Australia

Okpekpe Race Organisers Mourn Late Ojeagbase Pamodzi Sports Marketing, organisers of the historic Okpekpe international 10km road race have expressed shock over the death of Dr. Emmanuel Sunny Ojeagbase,

founder and executive chairman of Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sportsnewspapers, SuccessDigestand other online publications.

Chief Executive Officer of Pamodzi, Mike Itemuagbor, said yesterday in a statement that the sporting media in Nigeria has lost a trailblazer, a humanist and

Coach Hails Edo Queens for Victory over Adamawa Queens to Lead Group A Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City Assistant Coach of Edo Queens, John Niyi, has praised the girls for playing to instructions which gave them the 2-0 victory over Adamawa Queens.

The victory over the Adamawa team at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City last Wednesday ensured that the Edo Queens climbed back to the top of the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Group A on 17 points.

Coach Niyi noted that "We

NWFL are just coming back from the break, and during the mid season we registered our players in the gym and they are now stronger with good stamina. You could see they were more in control and were not going down easily.

“We thank God for the two goals and three points. We will prepare hard to ensure we pick maximum three points in our next game against Naija Ratels in Abuja, because when they

came here we made a lot of mistakes and drew 2-2.

On his part, Adamawa Queens Technical Adviser, Jacob Vandi admitted his side lost against a good team.

"Edo Queens have quality players and their organisation is standard. They scored two good goals and you can not fault the team or the officiating in any way.”

Edo Queens started the game on second position of the NWFL Group A with 14 points while Nasarawa Amazons had 15

points.

Adaobi Okah gave Edo Queens an early lead in the 7th minute with a brilliant header from a Suliat Abideen corner kick, before Abideen turned scorer in the 24th minute to put Edo Queens two goals up before the half time break.

Both teams endured the heavy down pour of the second half with several missed opportunities.

Edo Queens will play their next match away in Abuja against Niaja Ratel.

a truly man of God. He also said that Edo State has lost a real man of vision who exemplified the entrepreneurship of an average indigene of the state.

“The death of Pastor (Dr) Ojeagbase came as a shock. We know we are all going to pay the supreme price one day but we never thought a trailblazer like him will go at 71,” said Itemuagbor. ''He created and facilitated breakthrough opportunities and jobs for young journalists and contemporaries alike. His generosity and philanthropy was limitless.''

Like Okpekpe road race did as the first road running event in Nigeria nay West Africa to get a World Athletics label rating, Dr Ojeagbase also pioneered the establishment of a sports newspaper in Nigeria, Sports Souvenirin 1984.

“Dr. Ojeagbase was a detribalised Nigerian and a

proud Edo man. Edo State is seen as the heartbeat of the nation and many Edo citizens like Dr Ojeagbase through his remarkable and trailblazing achievements kept the flame of hard work, gamesmanship, honesty and fear of God, as Edo State is known for, burning,” said Itemuagbor.

“Our thoughts are with the family and staff of Complete Communications Limited and we pray for God's guidance as they prepare to live without the visionary Dr Ojeagbase.

“I also commiserate with the government and people of Edo State led by His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki over the passing of an illustrious son of the state and a pacesetter,” stressed Itemuagbor.

Dr Ojeagbase who hailed from Uzebba, Iuleha in Owan West Local Government Area of Edo State, died last Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, USA after a brief illness.

Friday March 4, 2022

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& RE A SO

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Price: N250

MISSILE Jega to Federal Government

“’While Nigeria may not have totally collapsed, it is in the process of collapsing, as reckless elites in control of governance are blindly running the country aground. And the 2023 general elections may be the ‘make or break’ epochal moment. These myopic ‘elected’ so called ‘leaders’ and their collaborators, have devastated the Nigerian economy…” – Former INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega, blaming political leaders for their ineptitude.

AKINOSUNTOKUN DIALOGUE WITH NIGERIA

akinosuntokun@thisdaylive.com

A Reintroduction to History F ollowing from our preceeding outing a fortnight ago, the task with which I have saddled myself is a reintroduction to history.

Understood as the theory or practice of revising one’s attitude to a previously accepted situation or point of view what I have embarked upon is better cited as historical revisionism shorn of the perjorative characterization. And it borders on the need to reexamine received wisdom on the pre and post colonial histriography of Nigeria as it concerns the wherewithal of the incorporation of the Yoruba into the Nigerian state specifically and of other comprising subnational groups generally.

It is a task that is prescribed by the cyclical sociopolitical trauma Nigeria routinely visits on Nigerians since the 1914 amalgamation.

If we have a flawed understanding of where we are coming from and we are not sure of where we are then we are fated to the logic of the ‘garbage in, garbage out’ cliche. It is therefore time, once again, to go back to the drawing board to discern what we might have missed out in the continuous interrogation of our past and present with a view to remedial action.

For the Yoruba, the favourite nodal point of historical retrospection is the tragic 19th century sociopolitical implosion and the theme of self-betrayal to the ‘Fulani’ enemy.

The tendency has been to exaggerate the definition of the encounter as that of a Yoruba penchant for treachery sans an all wise, all conquering adversary. In this perspective, the Yoruba commander in chief was the arch villain in whose DNA the gene of treachery was uniquely seeded. Afonja was a villain quite alright but only as the most prominent of many rebellious warlords who had little consciousness or notion of the Yoruba national unity that we now presume and take for granted. To begin with, it is true that Yorubaland was Oyo empire writ large but both geopolitical identities were not coterminous. I am not happy to say so but Peter Ekeh was substantially right in the opinion that ‘by 1820 an Ekiti man would have been astounded if he were called a ‘Yoruba man’ whom he understood, if he was so knowledgeable, as a man from Oyo. In any case, an Ekiti would probably need an interpreter in order to communicate effectively with a Yoruba man in 1820’.

The historical archetype of the Afonja corporate identity is limited to the Oyo empire. He was notoriously guilty of violating the political order and stability of the empire but little is said on the pertinent mitigation that his agent provocateur role was substantially provoked by a fellow rogue political sovereign, Alaafin Aole Arogangan-who spent the better part of his crown prince occupation to prove how he was a thorough misfit for his destiny as Alaafin. He died as he lived-the embodiment of a plague to the wellbeing and corporate integrity of his people. He, of the infamy of the Aole curse. On account of being

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe

outwitted by an equally villainous field marshall in a devious machination to get rid of the latter, he took to pronouncing curse on the whole of Yoruba heritage. If I am going to be thwarted and vanquished in my evil ways then let the whole community be damned and burn to hell he reasoned.

“My curse be on ye for your disloyalty and disobedience, so let your children disobey you. If you send them on errand, let them never return to bring you word again.To all the points I shot my arrows will ye be carried as slaves. My curse will carry you to the sea and beyond the sea, slaves will rule over you and you their master will become slaves” What a tragic coincidence these two constituted for the history of the Oyo empire.

In the choice of military and political allies the rebellious empire warlords were politically blind mercenaries who were amoral rather than immoral. Afonja did not seek the support of the Fulani cleric, Alimi, to help him fight the Alaafin. He had prevailed over the latter before meeting and courting his nemesis. What has been historically interpreted as treachery was an unintended consequence of a self-destructive violation of the political order. He apparently did not anticipate the short term consequences of his action let alone the ensuing long term ramifications. Given the nature of military alliances that were contracted by Yoruba warlords in the 19th century, they did not categorically perceive the Fulani as a corporate enemy-with the ulterior objective of subverting and incorporating the totality of the Yoruba society into the Sokoto caliphate. In their liberation struggles against Ibadan imperialism, the Ekiti parapo confederacy, for instance, often saw the Ilorin/Fulani army as allies, not enemies.

Not being proximate citizens of the Oyo empire, the Yoruba Eastern districts of Ekiti, Ijesha and Ondo were impervious and insensitive to the Fulani conquest and

destruction of Oyo Ile and the assimilation of Ilorin into the Sokoto caliphate. Indicative instances of the ambivalent attitude of the Yoruba towards the Fulani were routinely on display within the remnants of the Oyo empire.This ambivalent consciousness was facilitated by the brotherhood of the Islamic religion as embodied in the theocratic order of the Sokoto caliphate. Although the Oyo empire had been sensitized to Islam (by evangelists from Mali) long before the encounter with the Fulani, it became intensified with the incursion of the latter into the Yoruba territory and fostered a sense of religious commonality of purpose between Yoruba Islam adherents and the Sokoto caliphate.

Against the backdrop of this ambiguous historical relationship it took the Obafemi Awolowo versus Ladoke Akintola supremacist crisis to serve as the deux ex machina for the definition of the contemporary Yoruba/Fulani relationship.

I would argue that the persistent tendency thereafter of Southern intellectuals to idealise the caliphate as particularly gifted in Nigerian power politics is borne of mental fixation on the Shehu Usman Dan Fodio leadership exemplar. Up to the end of the precolonial phase of the Sokoto caliphate and the Ahmadu Bello leadership era, I would rate the Fulani oligarchy as a worthy adversary. But thus far, no further. As a matter of fact if we take the Mohammadu Buhari presidency as representative, it is safe to suggest that Dan Fodio would be turning in his grave. Since 1966 what is discernable is a progressive decline in the quality of Fulani spearded Northern machinations (or lack of it) in the arena of realpolitik. Northern hegemony per se is not the problem of Nigeria, the problem is the double jeopardy of the self-destructive mismanagement of the hegemony-the nadir of what we are presently grappling with in the Buhari leadership model. If the hegemony has persisted, it has done so by the default and omission of three factors.

First is the self-inflicted injuries and blunders of their fellow competitors for power. Second is the inhibition of modernisation which had precluded the competitors from the winner takes all scorched earth proclivities of the oligarchy they contend with. This is a virtue which the Nigerian context has turned into a vice. The vice turned virtue of open rebellion against modernisation was the thesis propounded

by Hakeem Baba Hamed the other day to the effect that the North can live with ‘their’ poverty but not with the accountability demands of modern civilisation. Third is the subterranean open ended tutelage of the British and maybe the devil’s luck. Rather than seize the initiative, they have mostly reacted to developments and challenges initiated by others.

The (howsoever conceived) lapse into the balance of terror military-hooliganism-

politics-which then became a decades long political norm was initiated by a gang of pervasively Igbo military officer corps who made a spectacular hash of it. And the Northern gang reacted with crude and untrammelled bloody counter terrorism.

Befuddled by the bloody mess they created, they were set on the dissolution of Nigeria before the countervailing intervention of the guardian angel (namely the British) who piloted them through the jungle dispensation of the civil war.

For a supposedly dexterous power politics player, the choice of the otherwise noble but diffident bungler, Shehu Shagari, as President by the clique was a howler. At the other end was Obafemi Awolowo who contested the 1979 presidential election in order to lose it. No better alibi for failure could be better procured than the presidential ticket composition of Awolowo (from South-West) and Phillip Umeadi from the South East.

After the military assisted crash of the second republic, doubling down on the Fulani spec Mohammadu Buhari proved to be another dumb choice. Given to arrogance of ignorance he lasted all of twenty months in office.

And then there was Ibrahim Babangida who conspicuously bungled a transition that would have rebounded to his glory and that of the oligarchy he was fronting. In the place of glory he sentenced Nigeria to the reign of the unpretentious rogue coupist Sani Abacha and the ruinous 1993-1998 annulment crisis. Given his recurring and menacing presence in organised political violence in Nigeria, it can be assumed that he, too, fronts for the oligarchy as well. The question then arises how does an agent of Abacha’s description bespeak of sophisticated political survival instincts of this dominant political pressure? How does churning out misfits and dysfunctional leaders amount to unique ability for power politics statecraft?

Most telling of all is the Buhari revelation.

Here was one in a million gifted opportunity to seal the myth of Fulani political talent permanently.This was a known Fulani irredentist whom Nigeria was not only prepared to tolerate but were so much eager to celebrate. If he had merely kept the low leadership standard bar he met in 2015, Nigeria would have found a way to spin it as a situation of a messiah being frustrated and overwhelmed by the extant and prevalent Nigerian context of evil. But because God was not yet done with Nigeria, he disrobed and revealed Buhari and what he represents in all its nakedness. What was it that the great Usman Dan Fodio said? “A kingdom can endure with unbelief but not with injustice”. Before he became President, Buhari was once asked what would be his most basic requirements if he found himself isolated from society. His response was typically deceptive and hypocritical “clean water and the holy Koran”. Power, according to Barack Obama (I think) does not change you but reveals who you are.

To be continued, sort of.

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