SUNDAY 20TH MARCH 2022

CSO Accuses Desperate Politicians of $1 Million Smear Campaign Plot against Buhari, Emefiele Northern group rallies support for CBN gov’s presidency Chiemelie Ezeobi, Uzoma Mba in Lagos and Igbawase Ukumba in Lafia A civil society organisation,

Save Nigeria Project (SNP), has alleged that desperate politicians have approached it and other credible groups to launch a

million-dollar smear campaign against President Muhammadu Buhari; his economic agenda, as well as the Governor of the

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele and his monetary policies.

This is coming as the Unified

Northern Nigeria Youth Forum (UNNYF) yesterday stormed Nasarawa State in continuation of its consultations with relevant

stakeholders in the northern states to put pressure on Emefiele Continued on page 12

FG Vows to Sanction Depot Owners Selling Petrol Above Official Price... Page 5 Sunday 20 March, 2022 Vol 27. No 9840

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Atiku,Tambuwal, Gana, Others Intensify Moves against Power Shift to the South Former VP obtains nomination form, to formally declare Wednesday Chuks Okocha in Abuja Despite the popular clamour for power shift to the South in 2023, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Sokoto State, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal;

former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, and some other chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have intensified moves to ensure that the party throws open its presidential ticket, THISDAY

has learnt.

Though the PDP has set up a 37-man committee to consider the issue of zoning of the presidential ticket, Atiku, Tambuwal, and others with presidential ambition have

lobbied the various stakeholders to abandon the issue of zoning the ticket to any particular region.

While Tambuwal had embarked on consultation over his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election, Atiku will

make a public declaration on Wednesday.

The former vice president had also spoken against zoning, urging the PDP to be guided by the spirit of fairness and equity in determining its presidential

candidate in 2023 rather than zoning the ticket along ethnic consideration.

On his part, Gana has told members of the National Continued on page 5

Ahead of National Convention, APC Begins Screening of Aspirants Today Adamu, Akume, five other chairmanship aspirants to be screened Monday We will provide adequate security, logistics for convention, says Lalong Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Seriki Adinoyi in Jos The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will today begin the screening of some aspirants for various positions in the National Working Committee

Yari

(NWC), ahead of the March 26 National Convention. APC 2022 National Convention Screening Committee headed by the Kastina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari had earlier scheduled to conduct the screening exercise in two batches yesterday and today.

Akume

THISDAY however gathered that the exercise did not start yesterday as scheduled apparently due to the late submission of forms by the aspirants. Though the party gave no reason for not commencing the exercise as scheduled, it was learnt that the aspirants were

Al-Makura

Mustapha

still returning their forms as of 7 p.m. last night.

With the delay in the commencement of the screening, the seven chairmanship aspirants are expected to be screened on Monday.

This is coming as the Chairman of Venue, Decoration,

Adamu

and Site Servicing Committee for the National Convention and Plateau State Governor, Mr. Simon Lalong has promised adequate security and logistics for the event.

Chairmanship aspirants who beat the deadline for the submission of nomination forms

Musa

were two former governors of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and Senator Umar Tanko Al-Makura; Mallam Saliu Mustapha; Senator Sani Mohammed Musa; former Governor of Benue State and Continued on page 12

Mohammed

Gunmen Raze Ohanaeze Ndigbo President’s Home, Police Station in Imo... Page 6

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WHO’S WHO IN ZAMFARA… L-R: Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum; Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; the groom, Dr. A. Kazaure; and Zamfara State Governor, Mr. Bello Matawalle, at the wedding fatiha of Kazaure and Dr. Zulaiha Hassan Nasiha, the daughter of the Zamfara State Deputy Governor, Senator Gusau Hassan, in Gusau…yesterday

FG Vows to Sanction Depot Owners Selling Petrol Above Official Price Says rising diesel price hinders movement of tankers Truck owners direct members to resume full operations FG commences implementation of 25% freight rate Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Timipre Sylva, at the weekend vowed that the federal government would sanction petrol depot operators selling the product above the approved prices. He warned the operators to desist from flouting the federal government's directive on strict adherence to the official prices of the product in their facilities.

Sylva, who spoke in Abuja, against the backdrop of concerns that the downstream sector operators had begun hiking prices, without approval, declared that the federal government would not hesitate to deal decisively with any depot owner caught selling the product above the approved prices.

The minister said the trucks that move petroleum products around the country, which themselves run on diesel were impacted by the rising prices.

This is coming as the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), at the weekend called on its members to resume full operations, following the commencement of implementation of the 25 per cent freight rate by the federal government.

Speaking on efforts to resolve the issue of fuel scarcity in the country, Sylva urged the public to report anyone who tries to take advantage of the situation for punishment as required by the law.

“If any depot owner increases price or any fuel station tries to take advantage of the situation, the public should report immediately.

If we do not get the report, we cannot know what is going on or sanction them,” he said.

He stated that the warning had become necessary since the ministry, as well as President Muhammadu Buhari, had information that some depot owners were taking advantage of the situation by increasing the ex-depot price.

“I can assure you that there will be sanctions for any of those depots that continue to increase the ex-depot price as approved.

We are going to deal decisively with anyone who tries to take advantage of this situation.

“It’s been difficult weeks. A few weeks ago, we had the issue of petroleum product shortage.

I have already addressed that matter which coincided with the geopolitical tension in Ukraine and Russia.

“Prices of crude oil went up exponentially beyond levels expected. As you all know, when crude oil prices rise to that level, they can also affect the derivatives of crude oil.

“Nigerians are suffering because of the high diesel prices, including everywhere else globally. This is not peculiar to us at all. Diesel is a deregulated product and

therefore when the prices go up internationally it affects the price also in Nigeria,” he said.

The minister said the trucks that move petroleum products around the country, which themselves run on diesel were impacted by the rising prices.

He stressed that although the products were available in the depots, the trucks could not move them around because of the high cost of transportation, which he said, had brought in another dimension to the current crisis.

According to him, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), had been working

hard to ensure a seamless supply of the needed fuels across the country.

Sylva said that supply was being increased across the country, especially in Abuja. “We are not resting; we share the pains of Nigerians.

“We will continue to ensure that the situation is controlled. Queues are coming down in Lagos and other parts of the country. Very soon, this will be a thing of the past,” he said.

Truck Owners Direct Members to Resume Full Operations Meanwhile, truck owners under

the aegis of NARTO have called on their members to resume full operations, following the commencement of implementation of the 25 per cent freight rate recently hiked by the federal government.

Some members of the association had suspended their services because of the high cost of operations and had been agitating for the implementation of a promised increase in the rate.

A press statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the National President of the organisation, Mr. Yusuf Othman, confirmed that the federal government had approved and commenced the implementation of the new rate for the members of NARTO.

Othman urged members to resume full operation to alleviate the current petrol scarcity nationwide, assuring them that the group is working hard on how to get diesel “palliatives” from the government.

"I am calling on our members (transporters) to get back to full operation now that 25 per cent has been implemented.

"I can confirm that the 25 per cent has been approved and implemented. So, I am calling on members to get back to operations to reduce the suffering of the general public.

“In addition, we are trying to look into how to get AGO (diesel) palliatives from the government," he explained.

ATIKU, TAMBUWAL, GANA, OTHERS INTENSIFY MOVES AGAINST POWER SHIFT TO THE SOUTH Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP that the party should not zone its presidential ticket to any region due to exigencies of time.

THISDAY gathered that at the first meeting of the 37-member committee held immediately after the NEC meeting on Thursday, the 19 northern states opted for an open contest in line with Gana’s recommendation at the meeting.

It was gathered that Cross River, Imo, and Edo states also threw their weight behind the open contest, bringing the number of states clamouring for an open contest to 22 states out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The party also went ahead to commence the sale of forms to all interested presidential aspirants on March 17, fuelling speculations that the presidential ticket would not be zoned.

A source at the PDP national secretariat told THISDAY that the action of the party is like putting the cart before the horse.

“What is the essence of the 37-man committee when everyone interested in the contest is allowed to pick the presidential ticket," he queried.

The presidential nomination form is sold at N35 million and the expression of interest forms cost N5 million.

He said the sale of the nomination form to Atiku is a

clear confirmation that the party will not zone the ticket.

"Those agitating for zoning to Southern Nigeria should now get ready to face other parts of the country in the forthcoming May 28, 2022, PDP Special National Convention to elect a presidential candidate."

He added that the sale of forms commenced March 17 and would end on April 1, while the 37-man committee was given 14 days to conclude its work. According to him, the essence of the committee was basically to douse tension at the NEC meeting.

He noted that the last date for the submission of completed forms is April 15.

Atiku will publicly declare his presidential ambition in Abuja on Wednesday, according to a letter signed by Chief Raymond Dokpesi, dated March 18.

Atiku was Vice President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo on the platform of PDP. He ran as Governor of Adamawa State in 1990, 1997 and later, in 1998, elected before becoming Obasanjo's running mate during the 1999 presidential election and re-elected in 2003.

In 2007, he resigned from the PDP and contested presidential election on the platform of the Action Congress (AC) and lost to late President Umaru Musa

Yar’Adua and later defected to the PDP where in 2011 he contested against President Goodluck Jonathan and lost again.

In 2015, he defected to the newly merged All Progressives Congress (APC) and lost to the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari. In 2018, he defected to the PDP and contested for the presidential election and lost. He is contesting again for the presidency on the platform of the PDP. He picked the presidential nomination form last week preparatory for the 2023 presidential election.

His decision to contest again is generating uproar from PDP members from the South who believe that it is their turn to produce the next president, after President Buhari as the presidency is expected to rotate between North and South.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Benue State, Mr. Benson Abounu has obtained the PDP nomination form to succeed Governor Samuel Ortom. He came to public limelight when he contested for governorship on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and thereafter served as special adviser to Governor Moses Adasu from 1992 to 1993.

Abounu was appointed as commissioner from 1999 to 2005. He chaired the board of the Nigerian Television Authority

between 2009 and 2011.

Abounu contested the 2015 general election as running mate to the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom successfully. Consequently, He was inaugurated as the deputy governor of Benue State on 29 May 29, 2015. In 2018 he moved with Governor Ortom to the PDP and both were re-elected in March 2019.

In a related development, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Oladipupo Olatunde Adebutu, has also obtained PDP nomination form to contest for Ogun State governorship.

At the Age of 30, he won his seat in the National Assembly in 1992 where he represented the Remo Federal Constituency on the platform of the now defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).

He ran for Senate on the platform the United National Congress Party (UNCP) in 1998 and the National Assembly in 2003, 2007 and 2011 as a member of the PDP. In 2015, during the general election, Adebutu was elected into the National Assembly to represent the interests of the Remo, Sagamu and Ikenne constituency.

Anyim to Obtain PDP

Nomination Form Tuesday Meanwhile, a former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, is expected to purchase his presidential nomination form on Tuesday.

A source at Anyim’s presidential campaign office told THISDAY that over 340 members of Anyim’s presidential support group would purchase the form.

Anyim’s presidential bid received a big boost yesterday as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter executives of the PDP endorsed his aspiration.

The endorsement was announced when the FCT PDP executives met with the presidential aspirant in Abuja as part of his consultations.

Receiving the politicians in his campaign office, the former President of the Senate said he was fully aware of the social, political, and developmental needs of the FCT. According to the PDP presidential aspirant, he had lived all his working life in the FCT since 1989.

"FCT is the landlord of Nigeria and I am one of you. When I completed my NYSC in Sokoto State in 1989, I moved down to Abuja and I have remained here till date,” he explained.

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NEWS

BOOK PRESENTATION… L-R: Onipokia of Ipokia, Oba Yisa Olaniyan; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Isiaka Amao; Author of the book, Prophet Damilola Ogunseye; his wife, Olusola; and Executive Director, Wema Bank, Mr. Oluwole Akinleye, at the public presentation of the book: ‘The Amazing Life’ in Lagos…recently

Gunmen Raze Ohanaeze Ndigbo President’s Home, Police Station in Imo Uzodimma blames politicians for attack on Obiozor’s home

Amby Uneze in Owerri and Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The country home of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Professor George Obiozor, in Imo State was yesterday morning set ablaze by gunmen.

The attack on Obiozor’s home came the same night the Umuguma Divisional Police Headquarters in the Owerri West LGA of the state was burnt with two police constabularies killed and cars burnt.

The incident happened in Awo-Omamma, the hometown of Obiozor, in the Oru East Local Government Area of the state Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma and Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, have condemned the attack on Obiozor’s home by those he described as political bandits.

The gunmen, it was gathered, used Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) to destroy the building.

Residents of the area said the gunmen drove into the compound at about 6:15 a.m., shot indiscriminately for over 15 minutes before they set the house ablaze.

It was also learnt that Obiozor’s brother’s houses were also set ablaze by the gang members.

Properties and valuables worth millions of naira were destroyed in the attack.

“They used explosive devices and petrol gallons to put fire in the building. We entered the building, some parts of the building were still burning, and the properties were burnt to ashes.

“The roofs of the buildings were blown off and scattered around the compound,” a resident of the area said.

Police spokesperson in Imo State, Mr. Michael Abattam, confirmed the attack but said no life was lost.

“There was an attack on Obiozor’s house early this morning. Officially, no report of lives lost,” Abattam said.

Meanwhile, gunmen also killed two officers yesterday during a deadly attack on a police facility in Umuguma, Owerri West council area of Imo State.

The attack happened at the Umuguma Police station in the Owerri West council area of the state.

The gunmen came in two Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks and attacked the police station with an explosive device, according to a witness who narrated the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The incident which happened at about 4:45 am yesterday witnessed heavy bombardment at the station leading to properties worth millions of naira being destroyed.

According to eyewitnesses, the cross-exchange of gunshots sent residents of the area scampering for safety.

The attackers also allegedly killed two police constabularies who were on duty.

Though a resident of the area who pleaded not to be mentioned for fear of being attacked said two police constabularies by the name Ifeanyi and Iyke were killed, the state police command said no life was lost.

The attack came a few hours after the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 9, Umuahia, Isaac Akinmoyede, left the state after a one-day working visit.

However, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Abattam, said there was no casualty recorded during the attack.

When THISDAY visited the scene, no fewer than 12 vehicles parked at the police station, and the roof of the station were burnt by the explosives used in attacking the station.

The police spokesperson in Imo State, Abattam, confirmed the incident but said the gunmen

were repelled by the officers on guard.

“I can confirm that there was an attack on the Umuguma police station, but the hoodlums were immediately repelled,” Abattam said.

Uzodimma Blames Politicians for Attack on Obiozor's Home Meanwhile, the Imo State Governor, Uzodimma has condemned the attack on Obiozor’s home by those he described as political bandits.

In a statement he signed, the governor regretted that desperate politician who believes in violence were yet to sheathe their swords despite repeated appeals to that

effect.

Uzodimma described the attack on the country home of Obiozor as cowardly and a height of desperation.

He vowed that the government was already working in concert with security agencies to identify and punish the perpetrators.

He bemoaned the incessant resort to violence in settling political differences by some politicians in the state and warned that the government would no longer condone such banditry.

He warned that the time of those who unleash this kind of mayhem in the state is over.

“We shall hunt them down to face the full weight of the law," he added.

Uzodimma wondered why the

bandits should attack the home of a man who is not a politician but a statesman working for the good of the entire Igbo race.

Abaribe Describes Action as Despicable, Horrendous Also, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abaribe, has described the attack on Obiozor’s country home as despicable and horrendous.

Abaribe in a statement by his Media Adviser, Uchenna Awom, in Abuja yesterday, said the unwarranted attack on the foremost scholar and Nigerian patriot depicts a dangerous slide to a state of anarchy that must be arrested immediately.

The attack and others before it he said, has left a sour taste in the mouth of a hapless people haunted daily by fear of the unknown.

The Minority Leader therefore urged the security agencies to carry out an indepth investigation on the incident and apprehend the erpetrators.

He said: "The attack said to have come on the heels of another attack on a Police Station in Umuguma, Owerri same day, calls for concern and deep introspection by Ndigbo and all men of good will. We cannot continue this way and it stands condemned in the strongest terms."

Abaribe however consoled Obiozor and the Ohanaeze Ndigbo family.

Broadcast Stations Gasping for Breath, BON Cries Out Alex Enumah in Abuja The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), a body representing broadcast stations in Nigeria, has cried out over the skyrocketing costs of operation following the high cost of petrol and diesel, saying broadcast stations are “gasping for breath.”

The BON said the broadcast stations, which it described as a “stabilising factor in maintaining political stability, security and peace of the country,” are under serious threat due to the harsh economic environment.

Executive Secretary of BON, Dr Yemisi Bamgbose, in a statement said if nothing is done urgently to arrest the current trend, the stations might shut down. He noted that this would pave the way for the media space to be littered with fake news.

According to the organisation, “there are ominous signs that danger of high magnitude is looming in Nigeria as the conventional media, which has

been the stabilising factor in maintaining political stability, security and peace of the country is under serious threat due to the harsh economic environment.”

It noted that even before the announcement of the total collapse of the national electricity grid, public power supply had been epileptic, at best, while the bills for the non-available power supply kept and keeps rising unabated.

The group decried the lingering scarcity of petroleum products, stressing that diesel, which fuels the generating sets of these organisations, has more than doubled in price over the last four months.

“The value of the naira has tumbled so badly while remaining very scarce affecting the repairs and replacement of broadcast equipment, all of which are imported.

“The National Broadcasting Commission’s levy of 2.5 per cent on turnover (not profit) outside of station license fees, federal statutory taxes, state

and local government taxes and Levies combine to impose a huge burden on the retained revenues of broadcast licensees.

“All broadcast stations (radio and television, private and public) are supported by the same pool of advertisers and while broadcast stations are increasing in number, the advertising spend has been reducing over the last ten years, owing to the dwindling economy, and this has adversely affected the income of broadcast organisations even as operating costs are increasing daily.

“Radio and television stations typically need approximately N500,000 to N700,000 and N700,000 to N1,000,000 daily to run generators, which have become their main sources of power supply, to maintain their transmissions and keep the equipment at the optimal temperatures necessary for the efficient performance and sustaining the projected lifespan of their equipment.

“Broadcast media, being

the source that e public turn to for authenticating breaking news, must gather information, produce programmes and transmit same to keep the public informed and entertained. With diesel costs averaging more than N700 per litre and having to resort to buying petrol, from the black market, at more than N2,000 per litre, broadcast organisations are recording such huge deficits that have resulted in staff salaries being delayed.

“These issues have to be addressed urgently to avoid the total shutdown of operations by broadcast organisations, most of whom have resorted to reducing transmission hours.

“Broadcast organisations that are, and have been for a while now, struggling to keep their stations on-air are doing so to ensure unfettered access to verified and authentic information, which helps to avoid the chaos that could arise from fake news, which could lead to public disorder.

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DSS Raises the Alarm over Plot by Groups to Stoke Violence in the North Says on trail of planners Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday raised the alarm over an alleged plot by unnamed sponsors to stoke violence in the North.

It said the aim is to ignite ethno-religious violence in some parts of the North in order to heat up the polity.

A statement signed by the spokesman of DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya, said the planners had mobilised foot soldiers and held several meetings.

It said the ring leaders planned to use striking university students, teachers, labour unions and exploit the global energy situation to create a protest like #ENDSARS, stating that it was on the trail of the planners.

DSS warned the ring leaders to desist from acts capable of

breakdown of law and order.

"The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby alerts the public of a sinister plan by some elements to stoke violence in parts of the country particularly the North-central.

"The aim is to cause ethnoreligious crisis, ignite reprisals and heat up the polity. In a bid to achieve this, the sponsors have mobilised foot soldiers and held several meetings in and outside the target areas", it said.

"The service is also aware of a plot to use students, striking university teachers, labour unions, disgruntled individuals and strategic groups as well as exploit the global energy situation to carry out a mass protest like the #ENDSARS. This is despite ongoing efforts by government to address the

issues.

"While the service views the machination as unpatriotic, it is on the trail of the agents of destabilisation, who are desirous of using violence to achieve ulterior goals," it said.

DSS said: "Though it has emplaced measures to disrupt these tendencies, it warns the ring leaders and their cohorts to desist from acts capable of causing a breakdown of law and order.

"The public should be rest assured that the service will, in conjunction with other security agencies, go after the sponsors of this scheme and ensure the law takes its course.

"Citizens are advised not only

After Nationwide System Collapses, FG Plans to Ramp up 2,150MW of Electricity Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Following last week’s collapse of the power grid twice within 24 hours, the federal government said yesterday that it had begun the restoration of a number of the country’s power assets to recover 2,150 megawatts of

electricity.

The Minister of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, in a statement he signed, stated that while the Okpai Power Plant had resumed electricity generation, contributing an average of 300 megawatts, other plants were being fixed to ameliorate to address the

DIPLOMATIC VISIT… L-R: Nigeria High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. Mohammad Haruna Manta; Managing Director, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Karl Toriola; and Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, during Manta’s visit to MTN Group’s Headquarters in South Africa…recently

nationwide blackout.

Nigeria’s national power grid experienced another downtime on Tuesday, barely 24 hours after it witnessed a similar system collapse, throwing the nation into darkness.

The grid generation dropped massively from 3,000 megawatts earlier to 1,758 megawatts, leaving just 12 Generation Companies (Gencos) in operation, according to the hourly data supplied by the System Operations (SO), an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The national power grid had earlier collapsed on Monday, causing a nationwide outage after the loss of 1,100 megawatts from a 3,700MW peak generation earlier recorded.

Following the incident, Aliyu had summoned an emergency meeting to resolve all the outstanding issues with the stakeholders in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as a result of the worsening power supply situation.

The Gencos under the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) had stated that the power supply situation in the country worsened because the generation companies were being owed over N1.6 trillion since 2013.

APGC's Executive Secretary, Dr. Joy Ogaji, said the power generators were owed N1.644 trillion, adding that they had exhausted their borrowing capacities as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had allegedly asked Nigerian financial institutions to desist from lending money to them.

However, in an update, Aliyu stated that the federal government had taken several initiatives to recover considerable megawatts of power lost in the last few weeks as a result of a dip in water levels at the hydropower plants, vandalism, simultaneous plant maintenance, among others.

Aliyu pointed out that the update had become necessary following the emergency meeting

Falana, Adegboruwa Fault Court on Deletion of Section 84 (12) from Electoral Act Gboyega Akinsanmi Two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Mr. Femi Falana and Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, have faulted the decision of a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, ordering the deletion of Section 84 (12) of the amended Electoral Act. In separate statements issued yesterday, the senior lawyers raised pertinent questions about the judgment, noting that the decision of the court was a great error.

The presiding judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike had on Friday held that the section

was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever and cannot stand, as it is in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.

Anyadike had, consequently, ordered the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami to immediately delete Section 84 (12) of the amended Electoral Act. Responding to the decision of the court yesterday, Falana argued that the learned trial judge fell into a great error.

Falana, a former President of West African Bar Association (WABA), pointed out that sections 66 (1) (f), 107(1) (f),137

to engage according to rules but should resist persuasions to be used to destroy their own country. Those who may wish to go contrary to the law will, however, face the consequences," it explained.

(1) (f) and 182 (1) (f) of the Constitution relied upon by his lordship required persons employed in the public service of either the federal government or state governments.

Specifically, the senior advocate said: “Each of the aforesaid sections provides that no person shall be qualified for election into the Senate or House of Reps if: (f) 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 30 days before the date of election.”

Falana argued that by virtue of Section 318 of the

1999 Constitution, political appointees “are not included in the list of persons employed in the public service. To that extent, Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act was annulled on a very faulty ground.

“No doubt, the judge would have dismissed the case if his attention had been drawn to the cases of Dada v. Adeyeye (2005) 6 NWLR (Pt. 920) 1 at 19 ASOGWA v. Chukwu (2003) 4 NWLR (Pt. 811) 540 Ojonye V. Onu & ORS (2018) LPELR-44223) where the appellate courts have held that political appointees or political office holders are not public servants as provided

for under the Constitution,” Falana said.

Supporting Falana’s position, Adegboruwa argued that the Electoral Act “is an Act of the National Assembly. How can you nullify an Act without joining the institution that made the Act, so that they can be heard concerning what they did?

“When a defendant (federal government) rejoices over a judgment delivered against it as a party, then you know there is a problem in Nigeria. Let the National Assembly, the political parties and NGOs appeal against the judgment as interested parties,” Adegboruwa said.

convened by him on March 14, 2022, towards the restoration of the normal supply of electricity nationwide.

According to him, during the meeting, a framework for sustainable improvement of supply was developed.

The minister expressed pleasure that some challenges in the sector were being addressed.

“The Nigerian public may please recall that the national grid lost about 1,100MW generation capacity as a consequence of simultaneous disruptions in gas supply to the Okpai, Calabar and the Afam VI power plants.

“The available generation capacity was exacerbated by the ongoing water management regime at the Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro power plants. The progress so far made includes, amongst many other initiatives, the following.

“The gas pipeline affected by acts of vandalism has been restored and the Okpai power plant has resumed power generation and currently contributing an average of 300mw.

“The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc has been directed to enter into fast-tracked negotiation with Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on an interim energy sales agreement to bring the new Okpai II power plant on the grid, thereby contributing additional 400mw of generation capacity,” he added.

Furthermore, the minister stated that the ‘pigging’ of the gas pipeline supplying gas to the Odukpani Power Plant is scheduled for completion on March 21, 2022, thus ramping up generation by about 400mw.

To optimise the capacity utilisation of the power plants owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd. (NDPHC), Aliyu explained that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved a special gas pricing for emergency contracting of gas from the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Ltd (NGMC).

“We expect an on-grid improvement of about 800mw generation capacity from the NDPHC plants,” he said.

However, in the mediumterm, he noted that the federal government has agreed with the Nigerian Gas and Power Investment Company (NGPIC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, on the framework for the overhaul of the Okoloma gas processing plant.

According to him, this new development will restore the full capacity of the 650MW Afam VI combined cycle power plant.

He stated that while the recent spate of system collapses was regrettable, it was a direct consequence of a snap on a 330kV transmission line.

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ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

NEWS AHEAD OF NATIONAL CONVENTION, APC BEGINS SCREENING OF ASPIRANTS TODAY Minister of Special Duties and Bolaji Repete, are jostling for the NATIONAL SECRETARY ASPIRANTS Inter-Governmental Affairs, position of the National Vice Senator George Akume; former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; and the youngest aspirant, Mr. Etsu Mohammed.

Yari, who is from the Northwest, is the only aspirant that is not from the North-central, which is expected to produce the party’s national chairmanship, according to the zoning arrangement.

Yari Yari was a two-term Governor of Zamfara State and a one-time Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), a position that gave him a lot of influence and respect among his former colleagues and some serving governors. He has the resources and political experience.

If antecedents are anything to go by, then it would be difficult for Yari to realise his ambition. The way Yari managed the 2018 primaries before the 2019 elections caused all the APC candidates in the state to lose the elections to the PDP. Also, his inability to curtail bandits during his tenure as the governor of Zamfara State was a disaster. Today, bandits have almost crippled not only the state but the nation. The defection of the current Governor Bello Matawalle to the ruling APC is seen by political watchers as a threat to his aspirations.

Matawalle is reportedly not on the same page with Yari. The zoning arrangement of APC is also not in his favour.

Saliu Mustapha He is the Turaki of Ilorin. Mallam Saliu Mustapha is the founder of Saliu Mustapha Foundation (SMF) which is involved in huge philanthropic services.

A die-hard Buharist, Mustapha paid his dues in political party administration. He was once a national deputy chairman of the defunct CPC, one of the legacy parties that formed the APC. His membership of the defunct CPC gave him an edge as both ACN and ANPP blocs have had their slots; it is the turn of the CPC bloc to produce the next national chairman.

His weakness is that he lacks leadership experience as he has

Omisore never held any other political appointment apart from the deputy chairman of the defunct CPC.

George Akume Akume was a two-term governor of Benue State, former senator, and a serving Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs. With these positions, he has acquired enough leadership experience to manage the diverse interests of the ruling party.

As a cabinet member, he can also galvanise the support of some of his colleagues to realise his ambition. He also has the intellectual and mental capacity required to battle for the national chairmanship seat. His major weak point was the loss of APC in the state to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tanko Al-Makura Al-Makura is also a former Nasarawa State Governor.

The 69-year-old businessmanturned-politician is also keen on becoming the next APC chairman. As a former governor and serving Senator, Al-Makura has the required resources, experience, and network to become the next national chairman.

Al-Makura has running battles with the EFCC. Last year, he visited the EFCC headquarters a couple of times to answer questions on money laundering running into billions of naira. The former governor,

Shittu however, said he was only invited by the EFCC but was never detained.

Abdullahi Adamu Adamu was the pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the current senator representing Nasarawa West senatorial district in the National Assembly.

Adamu was governor of Nasarawa State from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007.

He is believed to have been anointed as the consensus national chairman but the other contestants have refused to accept his nomination.

As a third-term senator and former governor, he has the enormous experience to pilot the affairs of the ruling party.

At 75, some party leaders believe Adamu is too old to be in the race, taking into cognisance the complex nature of the job.

Sani Mohammed Musa The 54-year-old member of the upper chamber of the National Assembly represents Niger East senatorial district. He has a good relationship with party members. Two governors were said to have recommended him to President Muhammadu Buhari as a consensus candidate.

However, he does not have the necessary experience as a party administrator.

Oyedele

Etsu Mohammed At just 37, Mohammed is the youngest of all the aspirants.

He is an aide to Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State and a former youth leader of the defunct ANPP. Not much is known about him politically.

Iyiola Omisore For the position of the National Secretary of the party, zoned to the South-west, a former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore has also submitted his nomination form. Omisore was a senator from 2003 to 2011. A former Minister for Communication, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu, and an Executive Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr. Ife Oyedele are also in the race but it was not clear if they had submitted their forms as of last night.

Adebayo Shittu A former Minister for Communication, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu is the first person to indicate interest in the office of APC National Secretary. However, Shittu’s aspiration did not garner the support of the APC governors in the South-west. That did not deter him from pursuing his aspiration, leveraging on his goodwill with Buhari’s political allies.

Shittu, a member of the

2005 National Political Reform Conference, has been an ally of Buhari.

Ife Oyedele Executive Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr. Ife Oyedele, is another aspirant for the office of APC National Secretary. Before he was appointed NDPHC’s executive director in charge of Engineering &Technical Services, little was known about Oyedele.

Like Shittu, he has been close to the political family of the president since the time of the defunct CPC. He was among the key persons that promoted Buhari’s presidential aspiration in 2011. At its formation, Oyedele served on the CPC Constitution Drafting Committee and also represented the party during the alliance talk in 2011 and merger talks that produced the APC in 2013. He also contested the governorship election in Ondo State in 2016 and 2020.

The position of the Deputy National Chairman (North) is being contested by Mr. Sunny Monidafe, and Senator Abubakar Girei, while the National Vice Chairman (South-south) is being contested by Mr. Yekini Nabena, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC. Mr. Ismaeel Ahmed and Abubakar Fakai are contesting for the post of National Organising Secretary, while Mr. Isaacs Kekemeke and Afeez

CSO ACCUSES DESPERATE POLITICIANS OF $1 MILLION SMEAR CAMPAIGN PLOT AGAINST BUHARI, EMEFIELE of Mr Godwin Emefiele and his trajectory and recovery for the vision, as well as the landmark Northern Group policies in the CBN. economy. legacy of Buhari, adding that a Rallies Support for "We have outrightly rejected "Through the various Social thorough professional of Igbo the offer. Nigerians should note Intervention Programmes now extraction should succeed the Emefiele's Presidency

to contest for the President of Nigeria come 2023.

SNP disclosed the alleged smear campaign plot yesterday at a World Press Conference on 2023 and the State of the Nation, held in Lagos, which had in attendance, representatives from Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, All Progressives Congress (APC) Young Professionals Movement, and Niger Delta Youth Vanguard.

Others include the Yoruba Council of Youths, Igbo Youth Movement, Middle Belt Youth Movement, South East Youth Assembly and Lawyers in Defence of Democracy.

SNP Convener, Mr Peter Abang, said they alerted the public to disregard the smear campaigns once they kicked off.

He said: "The Save Nigeria Project will also take advantage of this briefing to alert the world on the activities of desperate politicians ahead of the 2023 general election.

"We have been approached and we believe, many other credible groups have also been approached by some desperate politicians of questionable character with a pool of funds of up to one million Dollars to be allegedly shared by consenting groups for a massive smear campaign against the person of President Buhari, his economic agenda, the person and office

that once this condemnable project starts, they should disregard it and treat them with the disdain they deserve," he explained.

He said part of the plan by those behind the plot was to clone and impersonate credible groups to churn out lies and misrepresentation of facts.

Passing a vote of confidence on President Buhari, SNP said the country has been on a steady march towards development since 2015, adding that more infrastructural growth has been recorded than at any other time.

"The unprecedented revolution in the agricultural sector cannot be overemphasised in discussing the state of the nation today.

"Until President Buhari came to power, no Nigerian had ever seen massive pyramids built with only rice paddy.

"Nigeria was never rated as a global producer of rice before 2015 but now it is a super force in global rice production and no longer a dumping ground for spoilt unhealthy rice from Asia and other parts of the world.

"On the economic front, we note that the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show that inflation is going down. This shows a positive

domiciled in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the federal government has lifted millions out of penury and joblessness into economic productivity and prosperity.

"The economy has also expanded and fortified against global shocks in record time, beating the projection of financial experts, the country has exited recession. Available data also show economic growth which is more than the projections.

"It is given this favourable assessment of our country's leadership and the state of the nation this first quarter of 2022 that we as a civil society organisation pass a vote of confidence on President Muhammadu Buhari, his economic agenda and the monetary policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria ably led by Mr Godwin Ifeanyichukwu Emefiele".

The group commended APC for "zoning power to the South in the interest of peace and inclusiveness," urging other political parties to do the same.

It said the country should have a president that would continue to consolidate and expand the

president next year.

SNP also called on Buhari to support a candidate who embodies a winnable personality and ticks all the numerous boxes, adding that it should be someone he would be proud of.

"It is after a very rigorous search that we have come to the unequivocal and emphatic conclusion that only one man fits this description and we make bold to present to Mr President for his endorsement and to Nigerians for their massive support, Mr Godwin, Ifeanyichukwu Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for President, 2023. Emefiele has shown unprecedented sagacity as Governor of the country's central bank.

"His initiatives for small, medium and large scale enterprises have been unprecedented. In manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, trade and commerce, the signature of the CBN Governor has been very clear and precise.

"The numerous interventions of the bank under high standard supervision is second to none.

Rice farmers in our country have never had it so good in our entire history," the group added.

In a related development, a northern group, UNNYF yesterday stormed Nasarawa State in continuation of its consultations with relevant stakeholders in the northern states to put pressure on Emefiele to contest for the President of Nigeria come 2023.

Addressing stakeholders in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, the spokesperson of the youth group, Mr Aliyu Muhammad Sani, said the forum has been going around some states in the North for consultations with relevant stakeholders.

Sani explained that the youth group embarked on the consultation to produce a credible, competent, and economicallyendowed leader that would consolidate on rapid economic growth that the CBN governor had already started in his current position.

"I stand to be corrected, but I dare boldly to say that, Mr Godwin Emefiele's achievements have reflected in all states of the country and are there for history and posterity to judge.

"It never came easy; it was not done at his comfort zone, rather, it took a lot of courage, foresight, perseverance, determination, and hard work to overcome the numerous challenges scavenging

Chairman (South-west) For the position of the National Women Leader, Mary Eta and Hellen Effiong are in the race for the job.

The position of the Zonal Organising Secretary (South-west) is being contested by Mr. Femi Egbedeyi, while Mr. Olusegun Dada and Rinsola Abiola are in the race for the position of the National Youth Leader.

The Deputy National Youth Leader is being contested by Jamal Kabiru, while the Zonal Organising Secretary (NorthWest) is being contested by Salihu Uba. Halima Ibrahim is contesting for the position of the Deputy National Women Leader of the APC. This list is however not exhausting as more aspirants were still returning their forms last night.

We Will Provide Adequate Security, Logistics for Convention, Says Lalong Meanwhile, the Chairman of Venue, Decoration and Site Servicing committee, and Plateau State Governor, Lalong has promised a hitch-free convention.

A statement by Lalong’s director of press, Simon Macham quoted the governor as saying, “We are working closely with the committees on security, protocol, and others to ensure that there is a synergy which will lead to the conduct of a hitch-free exercise.”

Lalong had led members of the committee to Eagle Square Abuja, the venue of the proposed convention to inspect the facility and also interface with the management.

He said the Committee would have started making arrangements at the venue before now, but for the Science and Technology Expo which just ended at the same venue.

Lalong however said he had been meeting and engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure that the plans for the venue and associated services are put in place for the comfort of delegates and officials during the APC convention.

on the fragile economy of our dear nation," Sani said.

He concluded that Emefiele had contained and dealt with a 60 per cent decline in the price of crude oil.

In a remark, the Nasarawa State Coordinator for UNNYF for Emefiele 2023, Mr Faruk Mohammed Ofoku, said the Lafia consultation became necessary considering the youthful inclusion of Nasarawa youth in the decision-making process in the state.

"The good people of Nasarawa State benefited so much from the good stewardship of the current CBN Governor.

Nasarawa is the home of solid minerals; Mr Emefiele's policies of diversification invested so much in solid mineral resources and agriculture.

"Looking at all these economic and life-saving interventions of the CBN Governor in Nasarawa State and all other northern states, we the progressive Northern Nigerian Youth of Nasarawa State joined the National leadership of our Coalition and strongly call on Mr Godwin Emefiele to please, as matter of urgency, declare to run for the President of Nigeria in 2023," Ofoku explained.

Ofoku said their call was timely because the Nasarawa youths wanted their economy, especially mining and agriculture, to be rejuvenated.

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NEWS

News Editor: Gboyega Akinsanmi E-mail: gboyega.akinsanmi@thisdaylive.com,08152359253

Gambari: Nigeria Must Promote National Interest to Be Globally Accepted Michael Olugbode in Abuja The Chief of Staff to the President Muhammadu Buhari, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, has lamented that the nation’s foreign policy does not showcase Nigeria’s worldview, national interest and values.

He expressed this concern in Abuja yesterday at the presentation of a Nigerian Former Ambassador, Mohammed Ibrahim titled “With Heart and Might: 33 Years In the Nigerian

Diplomatic Service.”

The book, a memoir of Ibrahim’s life as a Foreign Service Officer highlights some of the challenges in the Foreign Service, Nigeria’s Foreign policies with recommendations for improvements.

Gambari, a former Minister of External Affairs and Nigeria’s Representative in the United Nations, said Nigeria should promote its national interest positively to be accepted globally.

He commended the author

for the initiative, urging foreign policy experts to articulate Nigeria’s Foreign Policy to promote the country’s interests, stands on global issues which must be in tandem with national policies.

“Foreign policy is not just about theories, but an external projection of the values we have as a nation, it is also a promotion of our national interest and our world views.

“Therefore, we need to continue to struggle to build a national consensus behind the articulation design, defence of our national interest in the new millennium.

“Which is based on the promotion of peace and security, sustainable development as well as the development and democratisation at home and abroad.

“In this regard, Nigeria must

continue to establish both in principle and in practice that it is no longer enough to see what the country can do for others. “But what we can do together with others in the pursuit of our common interest.

“It is our duty at diplomacy to persuade others that it is in their own interest to try to support us with what we promote and propose as our

national interest.

“If you do not agree with this, just look at what Israel has managed to do with the United States, they made their interest the interest of the United States in the articulation and promotion.

“Because you are adding to your prestige when other countries adopt as their interest what you decide.

Bandits Kill Five, Kidnap 22 in Kaduna Communities John Shiklam in Kaduna

Bandits have reportedly killed five and kidnapped four others in Dogon Dawa, Layin Mahuta and Tabanni, in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The kidnappers, within the week, also abducted 17 others.

Chairman, Birnin-Gwari Vanguard for Security and Good Governance, Ibrahim Abubakar Nagari disclosed this in a statement yesterday.

He said: “on March 15, Haruna Tanko Dogon Dawa and two others were cruelly murdered in the Eastern part of Birnin-Gwari by armed bandits along with Dogon Dawa- Zaria.

“Eight other people were abducted on the same route. At Layin Mahuta (Tabanni), one Abdullahi Abubakar, a schoolteacher was killed by bandits along Layin Lasan-Tabanni road on March 16.

“While on March 17, 2022, a seventy-year-old man was killed and seven women abducted at Layin Mahuta Tabanni. Two other people were abducted by the bandits at old Tabanni.”

While appreciating the efforts of security agencies and the Kaduna State Government, the statement urged security personnel to always respond to distressed calls around Dogon Dawa, Kuyello, Tabanni and Kutemeshi wards in Birnin-Gwari.

Explosion Kills Three at BUA Cement Factory Onuminya Innocent In Sokoto Three staff members of BUA Cement Company, Sokoto lost their lives due to diesel explosion from the tank within the premises of the newly commissioned plant In a statement by its Head of Administration and Corporate Affairs, Sada Suleiman, BUA said the incident happened when some staff members were carrying out maintenance on one of the storage tanks.

He explained that immediately the Emergency and Mitigation Department of the factory was alerted they swung into action to avoid further escalation.

He maintained that the state fire service and fire department of the company are working assiduously to put off the fire.

He stated that the company had not ascertained the cause of the inferno, stressing the disruption of production after the incident had resumed.

He said the management commiserated with the families of those who lost their lives as

a result of the incident. At the time of filing this report, fire is still burning in the factory.

The fire, according to THISDAY inquiries, has damaged some equipment and other valuable items of the factory.

A source, however, said three persons died and many others sustained injuries as result of the incident, which lasted for hours until combined teams of federal and state fire service officers came to the company rescue.

One of the sources also said the inferno was suspected to be caused by a tanker off loading fuel, where a worker was repairing the stationed tank when the explosion ignited.

When contacted the Prevention Officer of Sokoto State Fire Service, Nuhu Lawal confirmed the incident noting that the service mobilised teams as well as moved fire-fighting equipment to the scene.

Lawal declined further comments, but said the combined teams of the state and federal fire services are still making efforts to stop the ravaging fire.

I-WOW Global Summit to Unleash Women’s Potential The Inspired Women of Worth (I-WOW) has concluded an arrangement to convene an array of seasoned experts and business leaders to engage women with a view to igniting their potential and empowering them to assume influential positions in Nigeria and globally.

I-WOW, which was founded by the CEO of Fine & Country West Africa Ltd, Mrs. Udo Okonjo, in Johannesburg, South Africa and has touched the lives of several thousands of women, is now set for this year’s edition of its Global Possibilities

Summit on March 26.

An initiative that started as a group of just about 26 women, I-WOW has now grown to become a force to be reckoned with, having directly impacted the lives of more than 14,000 women over the course of 11 years.

Astatement noted that the I-WOW Global Summit, scheduled for London and which will also hold virtually, planned to ignite the power within women by unlocking their personal, financial, and entrepreneurial excellence for success mindset in a post-lockdown world.

RENDERING ACCOUNTS OF STEWARDSHIP …

L-R: Special Adviser on Constituency Matters to the Senator, Dr Saheed Ibikunle; Chairman, Senate Committee on Industries, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru; TACT Brand Manager, Mr. Bosun Odeyemi; and Media Aide to the Senator, Mr. Enitan Olukotun at a media parley with editors in Ikorodu, Lagos… yesterday

Abiru: In 14 Months, I Sponsored 12 Bills, Four Motions Gboyega Akinsanmi The Chairman, Senate Committee on Industries, Senator Tokunbo Abiru yesterday said he had sponsored 12 bills and four motions within 14 months he had been representing Lagos East in the Senate.

Abiru, a former Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Polaris Bank Limited, disclosed that he had facilitated a N300 million constituency intervention

revolving loan scheme, which would be unveiled next month.

He made this disclosure at a session with journalists in Lagos yesterday, pointing out diverse interventions he had been promoting since December 15, 2020 he assumed office to provide effective representation in Lagos East.

Resigned from Polaris Bank on August 31, 2020, Abiru won the senatorial contest on the platform of All Progressives

Congress (APC) on December 6, 2020 and was sworn in as the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on December 15, 2020.

At the session yesterday, Abiru observed that he assumed office at a critical period in the history of Nigeria, a time the country was slowly coming out of recession, which was also worsened by the COVID-19.

Despite these challenges, he

added that he had sponsored many bills and motions covering different sectors such as banking and financial services, the economy, copyright, health, infrastructure and the provision of the legal framework for the reduction of the cost of governance.

Under 14 months in the saddle, according to the lawmaker, I have sponsored 12 bills currently at different stages before the Senate and four motions.

Senator Defends Bill Seeking to Curb Illicit Wealth Acquisition among Civil Servants Sunday Aborisade in Abuja The Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Ayo Akinyelure yesterday defended a new bill seeking to curb wealth acquisition among civil servants through illegal means, when passed into law.

Akinyelure, representing Ondo Central in the Senate, said the Senate Committee on Establishment had started working on the proposed legislation titled,

“A bill for an Act to establish the National Agency for Ethics, Values and Integrity Compliance and for related matters.”

In an exclusive interview with THISDAY in Abuja yesterday, the lawmaker said the bill, which passed second reading last week, enjoyed the overwhelming support of his fellow senators.

He explained the objective of the proposed legislation, which according to him, was designed to curb abuse of power favouritism and other unethical behaviours

in the workplace.

The senator said: “The bill will check all forms of abuse of power, lack of accountability, poor attitudes to work, and unruly behaviours while at work. “ It will prescribe compliance to basic ethos, citizens reorientation, code of professional conduct, cohesion, and corruption prevention. It will end all forms of favouritism and illicit wealth acquisition among civil servants.

“If you just acquire wealth illegally, it will fish you out. Some people are earning N2.5m per

annum in the civil service, yet they are acquiring properties worth billions of naira in choice areas across the country.

“They are still there in the civil service now. The law will address all the illegal wealth they had acquired and the ones they are acquiring now. It will no longer be business as usual.”

Akinyelure said the argument by his colleagues that the proposed agency would duplicate the duties of the National Orientation Agency, was not correct.

Eni Lifts Force Majeure on 25,000 bpd Brass Terminal Olusegun Osahon in Yenagoa Eni, the parent company of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has said it has lifted a force majeure at its Brass terminal in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Force majeure is a clause that allows a company to skip contractual obligations following issues beyond its control.

On Monday, Eni announced that it had cut oil and gas exports from its Brass export terminal following an incident caused

by a blast.

Eni said the blast, which occurred March 5, resulted from an attack on the facility.

On Tuesday, the oil company had said it had completed repairs on the Ogoda/Brass 24 oil pipeline at Okparatubo.

According to a statement made available to TheCable on Friday, Eni said the pipeline had been restored, and the terminal could run at its full capacity.

“Following the restoration of the Ogoda/Brass 24 oil pipeline

at Okparatubo (Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State), which was hit by blast on March 5 caused by a third-party interference, force majeure has been lifted at Brass terminal, Bonny NLNG and Okpai Power Plant today,” the statement said.

The high rate of pipeline vandalisation and illegal oil bunkering continue to erode oil gains for Nigeria.

Earlier in the month, oil producers had lamented the negative impact of illegal oil bunkering on its activities

and asked the federal governmentto ensuremaximum security at facilities.

On Thursday, Tony Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, also decries the quantity of crude oil lost to oil theft.

“Businesses are suffering. How can we be losing over 95% of oil production to thieves,” he had said.

Amid dwindling production capacity, Nigeria’s oil production dropped in February to an average of 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.39 million the previous month.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

BUSINESS Nigeria’s Companies Thrive in Corporate Earnings amid Challenges

Editor: Festus Akanbi

08038588469 Email:festus.akanbi@thisdaylive.com

Kayode Tokede e[amines the 2021 Ànancial results oI some quoted Àrms in the banking, Iast-moving companies· goods, industrial and oil gas sectors, given the numerous challenges that each sector had to pass through in the post-C29,D-19 era

C

ompanies in the banking, industrial, FMCG and oil and gas operating in Nigeria have overcome the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic as highlighted in the 2021 Ànancial \ear Ior the period ended December 31, 2021.

The pandemic had an outsized socio-economic impact on Nigeria, Zhich has one oI the highest rates oI multidimensionalit\ poor individuals in the world.

However, despite the overwhelming economic crises unleashed b\ the disruptions oI the Covid era, Nigerian quoted companies appear to be staging a come back to proÀtabilit\ given the anal\sis oI the 2021 perIormances oI these companies.

Banking Sector Performance in 2021 6o Iar, onl\ three banks have released the audited result and account Ior the period ended December 31, 2021. The three banks are Zenith %ank 3lc, Guarant\ Trust Holding Compan\ 3lc GTC2 , and 8nited %ank Ior $Irica 8%$ . ([cept Ior GTC2 that reported a decline in proÀt and dividend unchanged Ior the second consecutive \ear, Zenith %ank and 8%$reported impressive growth in top-bottom line perIormance that impacted on dividend pa\out to shareholders.

Take, Ior instance, Zenith %ank in its 2021 result and accounts Ior the period ended December 31, 2021,achieved3roÀt%eIoreTa[thatgrewb\10per cent Irom N2 .9 billion in 2020 to N2 0. billion in the current \ear. The increase was due to growth in the top-line and ver\ strong management oI our treasur\ portIolio that increased e΀cienc\, resulting in a drop in interest e[pense b\ 12per cent Irom N121.1 billion in 2020 to N10 . billion in the current \ear.

The bank also achieved growth in gross earnings oI 10per cent Irom N 9 . billion reported in the previous \ear to N . billion. This was on the back oI 23per cent growth in non-interest income Irom N2 1. billion to N309billion and a two per cent growth in interest income Irom N 20. billion to N 2 . billion. Zenith bank·s total assets increased b\ 11per cent, growing Irom N . trillion in 2020 to N9. trillion in 2021, mainl\ driven b\ growth in customers· deposits.

Zenith %ank has proposed a N9 .32 billion total dividend Ior the Ànancial \ear 2021, translating to N3.01 per share, aIter getting shareholders to agree to a dividend pa\out oI N .91 billion Ior the second halI oI the \ear, which translates to N2. 0 per share. The bank had earlier paid an interim dividend oI N0.30 per share totalling N9. billion Ior the Àrst halI oI the \ear. ,t paid shareholders N3.0 per share, summing up to N9 .19 billion in 2020.

Despite the huge challenging business and slow economic recover\ in most oI its countries oI operations,8%$·sproÀtbeIoreta[wasimpressive with a 20.3 per cent growth to N1 3.1 billion in 2021, compared to N12 .3 billion in the 2020 Ànancial \ear while 3roÀt$Iter Ta[ rose grew b\ . per cent to N11 . billion in 2021, compared to N109.2 billion recorded the previous \ear. Total assets grew b\ 11 per cent to an unprecedented N . trillion in the \ear under review, up Irom N . trillion in 2020, thus marking the Àrst time the bank·s assets will cross the N trillion mark.

The management oI 8%$ proposed a Ànal dividend oI N0. 0 per share in the 2021 Ànancial \ear Irom N0.3 proposed in 2020.

The proposed Ànal dividend and the N0.20 per share interim dividend paid in September 2021, brings the lender·s total dividend Ior the \ear to N1.00, amounting to a pa\-out ratio oI

NGX’s building in Lagos

29 per cent Irom 1 per cent and a \ield oI 12. per cent.

For GTC2, The Group·s balance sheet remained well structured and resilient with total assets and shareholders· Iunds closing F< 2021 at N . trillion and N 3.2billion, respectivel\.

The Group posted a 3roÀt %eIore Ta[ oI N221. billion, representing a dip oI seven per cent Irom N23 .1billion recorded in December 2020. ,n the same period, the Group·s loan book net increased b\ . per cent Irom N1. trillion while deposit liabilities grew b\ 1 . per cent Irom N3. 1trillionto N .13trillion.

Meanwhile, the management oI GTC2 recommended a Ànal dividend per share oI N2. 0 per share, coupled with the earlier paid interim dividend oI N0.30 kobo in Ma\ 2021, hence bringing the total dividend Ior the Ànancial \ear to N3.00kobo, same as what was paid in 2020 but a seven per cent increase Irom the total dividend paid in 2019.

Cement Sector Dangote Cement with about N3 . billion proÀt in 2021 Irom N2 .0 billion proposed a dividend oI N3 0. 1billion in 2021 Irom N2 2. billion proposed in 2020.

The cement manuIacturing compan\ in 2021 proposed a dividend oI N20 per unit oI 0 kobo ordinar\ share Irom N1 .00 per unit proposed in 2020. /aIarge $Irica·s net income, thus grew b\ . per cent to N 1billion in 2021 Irom N30. billion in 2020, driven b\ the net sales that gained 2 .1 per cent to N293.09billion in 2021 Irom N230. billion reported in 2020.

The management oI /aIarge Cement proposed N2.00 total dividend in 2021 Irom N1.00 proposed in 2020, representing N32.22billion dividend in 2021 Irom N1 .11billion in 2020.

Oil & Gas Seplat (nerg\ announced its audited results Ior the Iull \ear ended December 31, 2021, with a 321.1 per cent increase in proÀt beIore ta[ to N 1.03billion as against N2 . billion loss reported in the Iull \ear ended December 31, 2020.

The Ioremost indigenous energ\ compan\

also announced a 3 .2per cent rise in its 2021 Iull-\ear revenue to N293. billion in 2021 Irom N190.92billion reported in 2020.

During the \ear, the Directors recommended and paid to members quarterl\ interim dividends oI 8S2. cents per share declared in $pril, -ul\ and October in line with the revised dividend distribution timetable. ,n addition to this, the %oard oI Seplat is recommending a Ànal dividend oI 8S2. cents per share.

For TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc, it reported a proÀt aIter ta[ oI N1 . billion in the 2021 Ànancial \ear, a clear eight times rise Irom the closing proÀt oI N2 billion in the preceding \ear.

The compan\·s unaudited Ànancial report Ior the 2021 Iull \ear shows a big rebound Ior the energ\ marketing compan\ Irom the worst perIormance in \ears in 2020 to register new peaks in revenue and proÀt in 2021.

The transIormation was powered largel\ b\ rebuilding sales revenue Irom a drop oI 30 per cent in the prior Àscal \ear to a growth oI . per cent in 2021. The compan\·s closing proÀt oI N1 . billion at Iull \ear has beaten Ior the Àrst time its peak proÀt oI N1 . billion posted in 201 . Shareholders can hope Ior a decent dividend when the audited accounts are issued.

Others :ith about N29 . billion proÀt in 2021 Irom N20 billion in 2020, MTN Nigeria Ior the 2021 Ànancial \ear proposed a dividend oI N212. billion Irom N133billion proposed to investors Ior the 2020 Ànancial \ear.

The telecommunication giant in 2021 proposed an N . interim dividend 2020 N3. 0 kobo per share and a Ànal dividend oI N . kobo per 2 kobo ordinar\ share, bringing the total dividend Ior 2021 Ànancial \ear to N13.12 kobo Irom N9. kobo total dividend paid to shareholders in 2020.

Nigerian %reweries has announced a Ànal dividend oI N1.20 per share aIter recording N 3 billion revenue Ior 2021, a 30 per cent increase over the previous \ear·s sales Àgure.

That brings its total dividend declared Ior the \ear to N1. 0 per share, summing up to a pa\out oI N12.9 billion, 2 per cent higher than what it

paid shareholders the previous \ear.

Analysts Commend Impressive Corporate Earnings Speaking with TH,SD$<, the Managing Director CEO$PT Securities and Funds /imited, Mr Garba .urÀ commended listed companies Ior posting impressive results and accounts Ior 2021, expressing concerns that the declared dividend b\ these companies did not reÁect in the traMector\ oI the stock market. $ccording to him ´These companies have declared impressive dividend pa\out to investors but , do not know wh\ the stock market did not respond to dividend pa\out b\ Dangote Cement, Zenith %ank, among others.$lthough the likes oI GTCO and 8%$released their audited accounts aIter the close oI trading last week, , am \et to see stock price appreciation. ´Take, Ior instance, /aIarge$Irica last \ear was trading at N31 and declared N1.00 per ordinar\ but this \ear, the compan\ declared N2.00 and trading at N2 .00 per share. The dividend b\ these companies has not reÁected in our domestic market.”

The CEO, :\oming Capital Partners, Mr TaMudeen Ola\inka, urged investors to investigate iI these companies were pa\ing Irom the reserve or current earnings reported on the NGX. ´For those companies that have proposed dividend, we praise their eͿort. ,I a compan\ is pa\ing Irom current earnings, it shows eͿective management despite the challenges. What some oI these companies are pa\ing as dividend is substantial which is good Ior their stock prices.”

He added that ´,t is excessive iI a compan\ is pa\ing over 10per cent \ield on its dividend to shareholders and it means these companies are operating at a higher cost per capita.” ´When \ou have a Iunctional market where companies are doing well, , don·t expect a compan\ to pa\ more than Àve per cent \ield on the dividend to shareholders. ´That was the level our domestic market was in 200 beIore the global economic meltdown. ,I a compan\ can pa\ at least Àve per cent \ield, it means the\ will be able to raise mone\ at a low level per capital.”

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

18

ECONOMY

100,000 Access Closa Agents Take Banking to Grassroots With its Closa agents hitting the 100,000 thresholds, Access Bank Plc, has left no one in doubt about its determination to avail itself of the opportunity created by the Central Bank of Nigeria·s Agent Banking policy to extend its tentacles to all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria, reports Festus Akanbi

B

y every standard, Access Bank Plc has done well for its investors andotherstakeholders.Thebank which is at the forefront of the mission to ensure easier and safer access to Ànancial services for every Nigerian has not disappointed its investors and its customers.

Last week, it declared N160, 215 billion for its 2021 performance, a sharp improvement from N106,009 billion in the previous year, while its total assets moved from N8,679 billion to N11,731 billion for the same period.

5ecently, the bank conÀrmed that the number of its Closa agents (operators arranged to take banking services beyond mortals and bricks) had hit 100,000. ,ndustry aͿairs watchers described the bank·s commitmentasabigplusfortheÀnancialinclusion programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Taking Banks to Nooks and Crannies ,n its quest to take Ànancial services to every corner of the country, the apex bank had promoted the idea of agent banking, a development, which analysts said is still redeÀning banking in Nigeria up till now.

Agent Banking Agency banking is a model that takes Ànancial services to the last mile using human agent networks or merchants, equipped with point-of-sale (POS) machines. They·re like human ATMs. Essentially, agency banking brings the point at which customers can carry out Ànancial transactions closer to them. While most people in cities like Lagos go to bank branches orATMs, in most rural areas, people can Ànd an agent much closer than they can a branch or ATM. For instance, Nigeria has about four bank branches and 15 ATMs for every 100,000 adults. But, as it stands, there are over 400 POS machines for the same rate.Agency banking enables customers to access Ànancial services conveniently at the last mile.

Empowerment To reach all the regions of the country and to deliver banking services to at least one in every two Nigerians,Access Bank is said to have empowered and deployed 100,000 Access Closa agents to diͿerent parts of the country. The programme, according to an insider source, is to provide more than banking services to both existing and new customers across the nation.

A report published by an online medium, Nairametrics said with the current number of Access Closa Agents spread across the 774 local government areas in the country, the bank has signiÀcantly grown access to Ànance and banking services to millions of previously un(der) banked Nigerians while providing alternate streams of income for MSMEs, promoting Ànancial literacy, and also advancing its ambition to bank one in every two Nigerians by 2025. ,t quoted Executive Director, 5etail Banking, Access Bank Plc, Mr 9ictor Etuokwu as saying that the exponential growth ofAccess Bank·s agent network is in fulÀlment of the Bank·s promise to ensure easier and safer access to Ànancial services for every Nigerian. “As a bank driven by innovation, we must deliver better outcomes for customers in terms of speed, security, and service to enhance the customer experience in all the locations that we operate.

“With the recent achievement of hitting a 100,000 milestone ofAccess ClosaAgents, customers and non-customers of the Bank who are travelling for business, events, or to visit loved ones in any location in Nigeria will continue to enjoy uninterrupted banking services as our Closa agents are available in several rural and semi-urban locations across the country”.

Commitment Speaking in the same vein, Senior Advisor, 5etail Banking,Access Bank Plc, Mr 5obert Giles,

explained that “TheAccess Closa network is a bespoke channel through which the bank expresses her passion and commitment to broadening the opportunities and access to Ànancial services for every Nigerian and African, irrespective of the location they might be. Customers can locate a Closa agent near them by simply searching for ¶Access Closa Agent· on Google Maps on their phone instead of walking long distances in search of a branch.”

According to information on its website, Access Bank said its Closa agents provide access to Ànancial services right within the neighbourhood. “Our authorised agents process transactions quickly and easily via platforms such as Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals or Mobile Phones. With Access CLOSA, you have the opportunity to carry out transactions without visiting a branch. These transactions, according to the bank include Cash Deposits, Cash Withdrawals, Funds Transfer, Bill Payments, Airtime Purchase and Account Opening.

It also listed categories of prospective agents to include unregistered businesses – individuals, registered businesses – limited liability companies, sole proprietorships, partnerships, cooperative societies and corporates with retail chains / large distribution networks.

Giles explained further “With over 100,000 agent locations spread across every neighbourhood in the country, we are making sure our existing customers and potential customers can enjoy seamless banking services close to where they live and work, safely and conveniently. By oͿering basic Ànancial services such as account opening, cash withdrawal, cash deposit, and bill payments. Our continuously growing agent network is increasingly making the need to visit a bank branch unnecessary for everyone. We are committed to being at the forefront of providing digital Ànancial services in Nigeria.”

The bank expressed its commitment to delivering more than banking solutions to its customers leveraging the power of technology. “The geographical location tagging of Access Closa agents on Google Maps through internet-connected devices is one more way the Bank is living up to its brand promise as it will assist customers and non-customers of the Bank locate and accessing Closa agents within

banks grew to N2.72 trillion to appreciate by 1.90% during the period under review.

Access Bank Plc·s share price appreciated by 4.55% to close the month at N10.35 from N9.90 at the end of January, while the market capitalisation stood at N367.89 billion, gaining a whooping N16 billion at the end of the month.

Access Bank Plc is yet to Àle its Audited 2021 F< Ànancial statement. However, its 43 2021 Ànancial result revealed a decline in net interest income by 3.43% to N67.66 billion, while proÀt after tax dropped by 9.11%, from N38.46 billion in September 2020 to N34.95 billion in September 2021.

GMD, Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe

their communities, truly bringing Ànancial services closer to the people,” a statement on its website said.

According to the statement, “Access Bank, over the years, has leveraged technology including advanced analytics, cloud computing, artiÀcial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics process automation to reform business operations and drive performance to improve customer experience.

Leading the Pack It is interesting to note that the bank has continued to reap bountifully from its innovations in terms of proÀtability and service oͿering to its customers and shareholders.

For instance, Access Bank led a pack of the top Àve banks, otherwise referred to as the Tier-1 banks or F8GAZ, which had their combined market capitalisation appreciate by 1.90% to close at N2.72 trillion, as investors in these banks gained a total of N50.67 billion at the end of February 2022.

After a total of 20 trading days for February, 3 out of the 5 tier-1 Nigerian banks enjoyed some rallying and positive market sentiments, with Access Bank Plc leading the gainers· chart.

According to data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the market capitalisation of the top Àve

Agent Banking to the Rescue According to reports, With around 8,000 bank branches – most of them in big cities – in a country of 200 million people, formal banking services remain out of the reach of most Nigerians.

Agency banking is said to have seen signiÀcant growth, driven by a group of Àntech startups, including OPay, TeamApt, and Paga, that dominate the landscape as well as big telco players like MTN. The development is said to be forcing commercial banks to have to rethink their retail strategies with more focus on agent networks as a distribution channel, rather than the costly branch model.

A report which quoted 5enaissance Capital·s Director, Frontier And SSA Banks 5esearch Analyst, Adesoji Solanke explained that “for a Ànancial institution, using agent networks is the right strategy given the current market conditions, compared to say digital-only or internet banking. “The majority of Nigeria·s population remains o΁ine, with mobile phone penetration at about 50% while smartphone penetration is at 15%. In addition, even though a signiÀcant number of people use internet banking, small businesses and merchants don·t have digital ways of accepting payments.

“This means that most people rely on withdrawing cash for transactions. If you operate a digital bank in the country and try to scale outside of the already banked populace, you need to think of an o΁ine strategy like agent networks as part of your proposition. With digital banking, there·s a portion of the Nigerian populace that you can·t reach.”

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

19

POWER

As Power Sector Falters, TCN Trudges On That the power sector has been problematic for decades would be an understatement.

But recently, despite the general challenges besetting the sector, there appears to be a glimmer of hope from the transmission segment, writes Emmanuel Addeh

T

he Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has in the last few months experienced a major decline in the distribution of electricity to consumers, leading to a corresponding increase in production cost of locally manufactured products and causing untold hardship to consumers.

Although as a unit, it is di΀cult for one segment of the sector to signiÀcantly make progress, without being pulled back by others, the transmission part of the power network has been silently upgrading its human and infrastructural assets in the last few months.

A Brief Background Handled by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), responsible for evacuating electric power generated by the Generating Companies (Gencos) and wheeling it to Distribution Companies (Discos), this ‘middleman’ in the grid, provides the vital transmission infrastructure between the generators and distributors.

Its job entails maintaining a network of power transmission infrastructure, through its three business units, namely the Transmission Service Provider (TSP), System Operator (SO) and Market Operator (MO).

As a background, the TCN emerged from the defunct National Electric PowerAuthority (NEPA) as a product of the merger of the transmission and operations sectors on April 1, 2004, and was incorporated in November 2005.

Being one of the 18 unbundled business units under the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), TCN was issued a transmission License on 1st July 2006, with the mission to transmit electricity most e΀ciently and eͿectively.

Its major activities include operating, expanding and upgrading transmission facilities for e΀cient and eͿective wheeling of generated electricity as well as building the transmission grid.

As part of its responsibilities, the company also pursues inter-connection with neighbouring countries for power exchange with associated cost savings from the sharing of reserve capacity and energy resources.

Pushing Despite Challenges In January this year, President Muhammadu Buhari during a presidential media chat on one of Nigeria’s national televisions, declared publicly that the distribution remains a cause for concern in the sector.

According to him, this sub-segment of the industry cannot deliver on its mandate. He went further to say that at the time they were sold, the assets were given out as mere outlets for political favours.

On that same platform, the president had commended the performance of the TCN, saying the system had recognised the strength and technical capacity embedded in the government-owned company, further pledging to ensure the company operates at its best.

Again, at the weekly ministerial press brieÀng, at thepresidentialvilla,recently,theMinisterofPower, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, stated that the government will continue to improve overall power supply levels as investments have improved stability of the grid through the eͿorts of the System Operator under the TCN. Aliyu stated that to this end, under the current administration, grid stability had drastically improved, stressing that in 2021, the nation only had two adverse grid events (partial or full collapses of the grid). This is in comparison to a peak of 42 events in 2010 and greater than10 events every year before 2020.

Although a lot of work remains to be done, without doubt, despite the challenges in the sector, the transmission segment has always been singled out for commendations by the authorities.

TCN Explains Load Shedding It is believed that the functions of the TCN are sometimes muddled up with the other players in the value chain.

To explain the issues, in a recent statement

presently they are all generating below capacity.

“It is important to note that except cumulative power generation increases considerably for TCN to transmit to distribution companies nationwide, TCN will be left with no choice than to continue to shed load,” it said.

However, it stated that the company will continue to work hard to ensure the e΀cient allocation of the total load generated by the power generating stations into the grid, bearing in mind the need to ensure that the national grid is stable despite the challenges posed by the insu΀cient load on the transmission grid.

Acting MD, TCN, Sule Abdulaziz

signed by the General Manager Public AͿairs Division TCN, Ndidi Mba, the TCN explained that the issue of load shedding leading to the inadequate supply of power was a result of very low power generation by the Generation Companies (Gencos) for TCN to wheel through the transmission grid to distribution companies nationwide. ‘‘For clarity, TCN does not generate electricity and therefore can only transport cumulative generation from all the generation companies nationwide to distribution load centres.

“The distribution companies are responsible for end-user consumption. TCN allocates power to distribution companies based on an approved percentage (formula approved by NERC), of the total generation available per hour or on the day-ahead nomination,’’ it explained.

According to the TCN, generation companies have attributed the current challenge to several factors, including poor gas supply, fault in generating units of generating companies, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, all of which have caused most power generating companies to limit their generation, and sometimes not generate at all.

Indeed, this position may not be easily faulted.

AsummaryofthepowergeneratingproÀlesinthe last two months, for instance, clearly shows that 14 gas-powered generating stations were either not generating at all or had limited generation at various times within the period.

This further depleted the quantum of power generation available for transmission into the grid daily.

Power generating stations in this category include; Omotosho units 5 & 6, Olorunsogo units 3, 4 & 6, Omoku units 3 & 6, Omotosho NIPP units 3 & 4, Delta units 15, 17, and 18, Afam VI units 11 & 12, Olorunsogo NIPP unit 3, Ihovbor NIPP unit 2, Sapele Steam unit 3, Sapele NIPP unit 1, Odukpani NIPP units 1 & 3, and Okpai units 11, 12 & 18.

Also, within the same period, Jebba Hydro and Shiroro Power Generating Stations were either out or had limited generation.

This caused an additional loss of 232MW from the grid, while other power generating plants such as Omotosho units 3&4, Olorunsogo

units 1, Delta units 10 &20, Afam VI unit 13, Ihovbor NIPP units 4, Geregu NIPP units 22&23 and Odukpani NIPP units 2, 4 & 5, had also been out either due to a fault or for scheduled maintenance, causing a further loss of about 3,180MW from the grid.

The combination of these scenarios, TCN stated has persisted with the total eͿect on the grid being persistent low generation, which TCN operators have had to strive to dispatch in a way that will not jeopardise the stability of the grid.

Continuous Generation Shortfall More recently, from the 1st to the 4th of March, 2022, TCN insisted that there was a generation shortfall due to water management in Shiroro and Jebba hydro with the loss of 307MW and 125MW respectively from both stations.

Within the same period, there were fault and technical problems in Egbin, causing 514MW shortfall and in Geregu causing 230MW shortfall, while reported fault at Alaoji NIPP reduced generation from the substation by 263MW. Gas constraint alone in Olorunsogo gas generating plant was also said to have reduced generation from the station by 104MW while in the same vein, Omotosho gas lost 102MW and Sapele NIPP lost 263MW. In Omotosho NIPP, there was a generation shortfall of 233MW and in Omoku a shortfall of 112MW. Two units in Okpai had limited generation due to technical problems causing a 204MW drop in generation and Afam VI 511MW drop in generation.

In addition, gas constraint and fault in Olorunsogo NIPP reduced generation by 240MW, GereguNIPPby435MW,andIhovborby142MW. Also, due to gas pipeline pigging, it was learnt that Odukpani NIPP was shut down which caused a reduction of generation by 575MW. In defending itself, TCN further reiterated that a combination of issues ranging from gas constraints, fault, and technical problems within generating plants caused persistent low generation and consequently low load allocation to distribution companies nationwide, saying that the fault was not theirs.

“This is based on the fact that TCN can only transmit what is being generated by Gencos and

Reinforcing Transmission Lines The TCN has been carrying out a series of reinforcements of transmission lines across the country as well as a complete overhaul of its sub-stations to boost energy transmission and use.

On diͿerent occasions, the Acting Managing Director, TCN and Chairman WestAfrican Power Pool (WAPP), Sule Abdulaziz, has declared that the company remains fundamentally committed to ensuringthatthetransmissionof power isscaled up and strengthened to serve consumers better.

In this connection, the federal government has many key grid initiatives with more than N125.2 billion budgeted between 2015 to 2021 for TCN and development Ànance funding.

It is also to Abdulaziz’s credit that the human resource element in the power supply chain, especially those working at the TCN are being trained and retrained for the task ahead.

Ramping Up Funding Some of these interventions are through the likes of the World Bank, theAfrican Development Bank (AFDB) Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and others, to the tune of of up to $1.7 billion.

In addition, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is also providing funding of $250 million for the rehabilitation of critical interfaces between transmission and distribution to increase and stabilise power delivery.

Also, through the Siemens Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) the sector is expected to bring in an additional $2.0 billion transmission grid, going up to almost $4 billion secured by this administration to augment the grid.

Many of these funds, it was learnt, are being actively spent and the results will be felt over time as the TCN works tirelessly to ensure that all of the investments translate to incremental delivered power.

Currently, there are 135 ongoing projects for transmission lines, substations and other associated grid infrastructure. The TCN has completed 30 key substation projects and 12 important transmission lines.

Some of the critical grid interventions across the NESI include the resuscitation of the second Egbin-Ajah Transmission Line and the recently commissioned NDPHC LaÀa 2X150 MVA & 2X60 /132/33/330 .V transmission substation.

Other ongoing interventions include 330kV Quad Lines in Alaoji to Onitsha, Delta Power Station to Benin as well as the .ano to .atsina 330kV line.

There is also the important Lagos/Ogun transmission infrastructure project under JICA funding, plus the commencement of the implementation of the Siemens PPI with the purchase of 10 Mobitra transformers and 10 Substations.

The pre-engineering segment of the PPI contract, it was learnt, is already complete and the contract oͿers on 127 transmission and distribution projects (brownÀeld and greenÀeld) from Siemens is also ongoing.

Added to that, recently through the CBN intervention for transmission-distribution interfaces, the company has also awarded more than 30 substation rehabilitations and 1,570MVA transformer capacity upgrades with 34 critical transformers to be installed or replaced.

While all these are commendable, the hope is that they should translate to more e΀cient and reliable power for Nigerians soon, with the expectation that other parts of the value chain will also rise to the occasion.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

20

AVIATION

$YLDWLRQ )XHO &RQXQGUXP 6RDULQJ $LUIDUHV DQG 1DWLRQ·V (FRQRP\ Air travel is a catalyst to the economic growth of any nation, so when airfares rose a few weeks ago and continue to rise in response to hike in the price of aviation fuel, there were fears that the intermix of aviation fuel scarcity, high pump price and hike in Áight tickets would constrict the nation’s economy. &KLQHGX (]H writes that these forces may keep domestic Áights out of the airspace unless urgent action is taken to address the situation

T

he major challenge Nigeria is having now is how to tame the soaring prices of petroleum products, especially the ones that are deregulated, which include diesel and aviation fuel, known as Jet A-1. To keep the price of petrol at the o΀cial rate of N165 per litre, the federal government has to heavily subsidise it, a decision that has burrowed holes in the Ànances of the government.

For aviation fuel and diesel, their rising costs have given rise to panic because of their impact on the economy. What will happen if airlines stop operating, as the Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has threatened to do? What if fuel trucks and articulated vehicles stopped moving essential goods and services from one part of the country to another? What if manufacturing companies and other businesses shut down their operation due to the high price of diesel, which they use to power their generators?

There are key factors responsible for the high cost of aviation fuel. The major challenge is that aviation fuel along with other petroleum products are imported. So they yield to the undulating international market forces and pricing. The naira has signiÀcantly depreciated. Most importers are buying dollars at N600/$1 at the parallel market and that is outrageous. Now the price of crude oil has gone up in the international market, the cost of the reÀned product has also risen, so with such an increase and also the increase in the cost of ancillary services, it is expected that the cost of the product would be high.

Middlemen There are suggestions that a lot of proÀteering is taking place in the import and distribution of aviation fuel, hence the high cost of the product which is already deregulated. People import and sell at their prices. THISDAY investigation also revealed since the rapid increase in the cost of aviation fuel, known oil marketers that sell the product to airlines like Sahara Energy, Oando, Conoil, MRS and others have stopped stocking the product because they cannot buy, but new companies have sprung up to sell the product.

ThiswasconÀrmedbyAONduringthemeeting the body held with NationalAssembly last week.

“Yesterday I travelled to Maiduguri, I bought aviationfuelatN675perlitre.Itwassoldbyanother company; I didn’t even know their name. The major ones that we know, and I have an account with them, are Sahara Energy, MRS, Oando and Conoil. Those I have an account with. They said they don’t have fuel and then we see new companies coming in. For the last 10 years or so we have been paying for aviation fuel, N180, N170, N140 per litre. But today we are paying N680 per litre,” one of the operators stated at the meeting.

'LͿFXOW\ LQ 3URGXFW 6RXUFLQJ Also, the Managing Director of Clean Serve Energy Limited, Chris Ndulue, explained the challenge the aviation fuel marketers are facing.

“There are three basic things: the cost of crude oil in the international market and the price of the dollar. We have failed to reÀne fuel locally so we have to import. The price of crude oil has been rising and the price of the dollar has been rising.

Supply of the product has been facing disruptions because there is war in Europe. There is scarcity because people have not been producing so the price is rising. We need to start producing reÀned product here,” he said.

On the issue of middlemen, he said that there were suppliers who were not selling directly to the airlines. They sell to the marketers who in turn sell to the airlines.

“But recently the Nigerian National Petroleum

An aircraft fuelling…

Cooperation(NNPC)intervened.Theyshould start selling to marketers who directly sell to the airlines. In doing so the proÀt made by the middlemen will be abrogated so airlines can buy the product at a cheaper rate. But the majorproblemisthatNigeriaisnotreÀningthe product. We have the raw material, which is crude oil. If it becomes a locally manufactured product the price will go down. There is no justiÀcation for the shutting down of the reÀneries for 20 years,” he said.

THISDAYÀndingsshowthatairlinesspend huge operating funds for the purchase of aviationfueltooperatetwomajoraircrafttypes in use by Nigerian airlines, which include Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 among others.

While Boeing 737 consumes about 2, 300, 2, 500 and 3409.57 litres of aviation fuel for one hour Áight, depending on the conÀguration, AirbusA320-200 consumes about 3, 125 litres of aviation fuel or 2,500kg per hour.

AON said globally while fuel is about 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the cost of operation, it is about 70 per cent in Nigeria.

3URÀWHHULQJ Industry sources alleged the prevalence of fraudulent activities in the importation and distribution of petroleum products, especially on the part of some highly placed public ofÀcers who use proxies to make fraudulent gains from the crisis.

In the interview he granted to national television last Sunday, the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki expressed strong doubt that Nigeria is consuming up to 70 million litres of fuel daily, as stated by NNPC and insisted that it won’t be more than 30 million litres daily. He strengthened his argument by observing that during the lockdown government o΀cials said Nigeria was consuming about 50 million litres of fuel when most people were at home and the gov-

ernment allowed only essential movement.

In his veriÀed Twitter handle, the former governor of Kwara state further said, “I want to address the cost of diesel and jet fuel at the moment. We have seen prices of diesel and prices of airfare go up as well. This has impacted the cost of food and transportation.

I want to ask a question. Why has the cost of diesel and fuel gone up from N300 to almost N900 and the cost of jet fuel also has doubled when those products must have clearly been ordered, paid for and shipped before this Ukraine war started?”

During a meeting between members of the House of Representatives, o΀cials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and AON last Monday, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase wanted to know the cost of the imported aviation fuel per litre but he did not get any response from the NNPC o΀cials.

Speaking on behalf of AON, the Chairman and CEO of Air Peace who is also the Vice President of AON said, “I have the mandate of every airline in this country to announce that if they (NNPC) cannot come down from their rooftops, we have only three more days to be able to Áy. We are not threatening this country because we have been subsiding on what we are doing. The rate as of today (Monday, 14, 2022) is between N630 and N640.

“We have an aircraft going to Kano and that one has about 7000 litres of fuel on it. If you multiply it by N630, the unit cost per seat already is about N70, 000 per seat. We have not talked about very static insurance.

All the insurance companies in Nigeria put together cannot even insure one aircraft, so, you have to go abroad to insure and they slam us with heavy premiums. What Nigerian airlines use in insuring one plane is what the legacy airlines use in insuring three planes,

so domestic airlines are dead on arrival.

“Yet, the fuel cost which was supposed to be about 30 to 40 per cent of operating costs in every clime in the world, is about 70 per cent in Nigeria even before now. So, you can now see the mortality rate of airlines in this country. They have refused to answer the question. Whether you got money from CBN or from the black market, how much is the unit cost of your acquisition (fuel import) so that we would know if the airlines are cheating you or you are cheating the airlines, or if you formed a cartel to increase your prices overnight.

“From what is happening, if we continue this way, the least ticket anyone would expect from airlines would be N120, 000 for the economy and we don’t want to do that because it would not help the ordinary man. I have the mandate of the AON to demand that we should be given a license to import fuel. If we can buy jets that cost millions of dollars, we can also aͿord to import fuel. NNPC should give us the right to import fuel and we won’t complain,” Onyema said. ([SHFWDWLRQV Managing Director of Flights and Logistics Solutions Limited, Amos Akpan said that to ensure uninterrupted supply and good pricing of aviation fuel, the Nigerian government reÀne its product, improve its forex earning capacity, reduce the channels of distribution by piping into dumps and use rail for long-distance deliveries into depots.

“Government and its agencies should supply fuel to airlines, take voucher of fuel supplied to the banks, then banks should pay the supplier to stop cash payment.

“AON should keep the pressure on the government and maintain the current status of bringing information to the public daily on the issue. This helps their image. Those that are following cannot accuse them of taking advantage of the situation to proÀteer,” Akpan said.

21

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

INTERVIEW DAPO ABIODUN:

Ogun Attracting the Largest Investments in Nigeria Ogun State Governor, Mr. Dapo Abiodun, in this interview with journalists, spoke on sundry issues including huge investment in infrastructure and various policies put in place by his administration to boost the industrial development and revenue base of the state. Ugo Aliogo was there. Excerpts:

W

hat guided your administration’s philosophy on development and did anything prepare you for the initial actions taken when the UHDOLWLHV RI RͿFH GDZQHG RQ \RX XSRQ DVVXPSWLRQ RI RͿFH" When we assumed o΀ce, we were faced with the realities of what Ogun State lacked.

We started appreciating the audio development that preceded our coming. We saw the need to intervene expeditiously in what we saw as a yawning gap in infrastructure facilities across the state. Immediately, in the course of our transition, we deÀned our vision, which is to provide focused and qualitative governance while creating an enabling environment for public private sector partnership, believing that is very fundamental to the economic growth of the state and the individual prosperity of our people.

This vision was arrived at because of our comparative and competitive advantage. We are the Gateway State. We also call ourselves the Gateway to Nigeria’s Prosperity because we are the only state that borders Lagos State. You cannot go to Lagos or out of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, from any part of the country without driving or Áying through our state. So, knowing that this is our advantage over other states, we decided that we must Ànd all means to ensure that we further facilitated the ability for people to come and live and work in our state. We also bore in our minds that it would be nice, right, fair and proper for people to live in our state and work in adjacent states or to just come and do business in our state.

We appreciated the fact that, yes we have the industrial hubs that earned us the respectable status of being the industrial capital of this country. But sadly, by the time we assumed o΀ce, companies were beginning to leave that industrial corridor to go to Lekki (in Lagos) and even neighbouring countries because of the parlous state of infrastructure leading to that industrial hub. Ditto for the road that goes from Sagamu to Ikorodu, which also passes through another industrial corridor and also the road that goes from Lekki to Ijebu-Ode. We decided that these roads must be Àxed.

Were you only concerned about the roads OHDGLQJ WR WKH LQGXVWULDO DUHDV" :KDW DERXW WRZQVKLS DQG LQWUD FLW\ URXWHV" We also identiÀed the roads within our major towns and cities. For instance, we have done justice to the road that goes from the Sagamu Interchange into Abeokuta. We sat down and thought that this were very important interstate roads and indeed if we wanted to create an enabling environment for people to come here, we must be able to facilitate their driving into Ogun State and make it as pleasurable and hazard-free as much as possible. We have always been guided by our ISEYAmantra and all we do is to give a better lease of life to our people through infrastructure development, social welfare and the wellbeing of our people; education of our future leaders and youth empowerment, as well as agriculture. Our goal is to ensure food security and employment. That is everything that ISEYA encapsulates. This, to us, was very important in our quest to increase the ranking

with Peter Emil, the Chief Business Development O΀cer – Éfrtkj for Wadi Degla Holding, a Cairo-based multi-business conglomerate that is into real estate, telecoms and sports services.

While the meeting lasted, we discussed some key investment opportunities available in the areas of creative arts, entertainment and sports development. Already, a Dutch Àrm, Danone Company, signed a partnership agreement with us to establish its Áagship dairy farm at the Odeda Farm Institute in the Odeda Local Government Area. The partnership, an alliance with the state, is to introduce global standards in dairy farming, empower local communities and reduce unemployment rates. It signiÀes Fan Milk’s commitment to enhancing the impact of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s backward integration programme and reinforce the federal government’s initiative to achieve food self-su΀ciency in the country. We are going into ranching and the cumulative eͿect of this on our food security agenda is huge. We are poised to be the nation’s food basket.

Abi d Abiodun

of the state on the ease of doing business index, which we have been able to successfully do.

We called it changing the push factor from Lagos to what we call the pull factor. So, all these things are what they made us arrive at our ISEYA pillars and our mantra is Building Our Future Together because we appreciate the fact that we can only do this by joining hands with everyone and it is only by doing that that we would be able to achieve any success.

You went on an investment drive to Egypt and Ethiopia recently. How would you say WKDW KDV EHQHÀWWHG WKH VWDWH" Let me remind you that the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission has rated us as the state attracting the largest investments in the country. According to their report, Ogun received 30 per cent of the announcement with a prospective $500 million investment. For us, accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa’s trading position in the global market is a priority. We can only do that by strengthening African countries’ ability to do business with one another. So, we are committed to boosting the industrial development and revenue base of our state by trading and doing businesses with other counties in the continent. The determination to ensure industrial development of the state is

embedded in the mantra of collectivism, driven by public-private partnership initiatives. That trip was not our Àrst. We had gone to Europe and South Africa and North America to invite investor to come to Ogun State and they are coming. We think African countries need to do more. Some of these genuine investment initiatives have started yielding positive results and they have better repositioned the state as the foremost investors’ destination of choice.

Do not forget my background as a private sector player. Like I told you, I was displeased with the way and manner businesses started relocating from our State and I had to take the bull by the horn.

This last trip we had interfaces with Afreximbank’s President, Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah, and private sectors operatives in the two countries. I can report that signiÀcant investment opportunities across Africa and Europe are already berthing. Elsewedy’s investments are coming to Ogun State. They are a global leader in healthcare, industrial park development, real estate, intelligent transport systems network and management, tolling systems and in power sector. Indeed, the group is the largest producer of prepaid meters in the world. The President & CEO Elsewedy Group, Ahmed El Sewedy, was on ground to receive us. Our team also met

But without security, all of this would have come to naught. What did you do in that regard because there’s usually a nexus between VHFXULW\ DQG GHYHORSPHQW" When we assumed o΀ce, we hit the ground running. We rolled up our sleeves. We looked at the area of security. We felt that all our lofty ideas would not be achievable if there was no peace and security. We strengthened and repositioned our Security Trust Fund. We made it private sector-led. We appointed the Chairman of Lafarge as the chairman of the Trust Fund. We funded it more generously with counterpart funding. We provided vehicles and communication equipment for the police and other security agencies. Today, Ogun State is noted as probably the safest state in the country.

The President and Commander-in-Chief said so. The Inspector General of Police and his immediate predecessors attested to that. We also looked at the issue of unemployment and we immediately created a job portal that allowed us to document how many people we had in the state who were unemployed or underemployed.

That has been very successful as well because what you need to do is go to that job portal, put in your name, address, local government, your skill sets and we will begin to match you with potential employers in the state because we also made it mandatory for them to advertise on that job portal for job availabilities.

On the part of the government, we began diͿerent projects in infrastructure, including housing infrastructure which is geared towards providing aͿordable housing to our people. To date, we’ve built over 1,100 aͿordable housing units across the length and breadth of the state. And we beat our chest to say that that is more houses than all our predecessors in o΀ce combined built. Not only are we building these houses, these houses are being bought faster than we are building them. When we assumed o΀ce, we met houses that were not purchased by those they were intended for. But these ones that we are building now, we can’t even build fast enough. But the good thing and important part of building the houses, besides turning tenants into landlords, is the fact that it allowed us to harvest people from our job portal and begin to oͿer them employment.

Read full interview online - www.thisdaylive.com

22

ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

CONVERSATION WITH MY BILLIONAIRE FRIEND ayo.arowolo@thisdaylive.com 08086447494 (SMS only) PERSONAL FINANCE SAVINGS BUDGETING COMMODITIES

AYO AROWOLO

GOLD

INVESTING

WEALTH CAPSULE 7

To Build Enduring Wealth, You Must Imbibe the Habits of Wealthy People I focused on developing the habit of being as generous as possible. In just three weeks, I retrained my brain and heart to allow generosity to take full effect in my life. Jayson Linford For countless people, New Year’s Eve is the re-start of many old habits. Millions of people will voice New Year’s resolutions in one night, and within the week, over 75% will have broken them. Sumner M. Davenport It takes time and patience, but if you develop the habit of using forceful, positive Self-Talk rebuttals to your negative Mind Chatter, you will soon see a shift in your Mind Chatter, how you feel and what you do. Mark Snyder Good habits can be developed through repetition.

By incorporating behaviours, tasks and attitudes into the regular routines, they usually become a habit, thus becoming natural and virtually effortless.

Kellie Sullivan

A

“While journeying through life and climbing corporate ladders, one can begin to build wealth by deploying one’s active incomes into multiple passive investments and, in so doing, progressively build wealth by regularly focusing on using one’s savings from active incomes into building passive incomes”.

“This habit is generally recommended to employees to build wealth through committed regular and consistent savings from their active incomes in their life employment journeys. This calls for setting aside and regularly adhering to some predetermined percentages of active employment incomes for regular savings into building wealth.

I consistently decided to use 20% of my active employment income to grow my wealth. This is different from the generally recommended percentage of 10% of active incomes and as contained in the “ Richest Man in Babylon of George Clarkson, who planted this habit in me from 19 years of age”.

“This might appear difficult to achieve, but what it takes is determination and living frugally, as of habit, towards building wealth. The wealthy also employs this habit to sustain their wealth and not necessarily, only for wealth builders. Towards this end, wealth-builders must closely watch their spending habits regularly, control and keep track of their daily/monthly expenditures. They must regularly keep adjusting their budgets to eliminate wasteful and consumptive expenditures, monitor and pay attention to inflationary pressures and minimise ego-driven lifestyles. Once such wealth builders notice that their expenditures are becoming unsustainable, vis-à-vis their incomes, they must promptly adjust to ensure that spending as of habit is kept in check and 20% below the incomes earned, as with me. In doing this, wealth-builders must regularly lookup and uncover bad spending habits. Again, they must choose their friends to ensure the elimination of negative peer group pressures, whose lifestyles could hinder their wealth-building goal. Their spending, savings, and investment behaviours must be properly planned to ensure their goal. This is because nobody ever earns enough to satisfy his needs appetite. Indeed this is a basic maxim in economics, which provides that “man’s needs are unlimited, while means are limited”.

“Bearing this in mind, wealth-builders must ensure that their spending is kept minimal and as practicable possible by limiting their tastes, lifestyles and needs to only those things that are necessary. This is a very common habit with successful wealth-builders and that of the wealthy.

A living legend of this habit is Warren Buffet. This 90-year old very wealthy man is still in the same house he built in 1967, and drives himself in his old but refurbished car while continuing to enjoy sustaining his wealth, having committed 99% of his wealth to charity.”

s usual, I was at my Billionaire Friend’s Artist Impression of my Billionaire Friend place at the appointed time. I was ushered into his garden, his version of Eden, where animals and trees are “My boss, it would surprise in perfect harmony. Amazingly, I was you if I disclosed that wealthy not aware my Friend had walked in.

“My boss, how are you? What could have made people do the same things you so engrossed that you did not even know when ordinary people do but just I walked into the garden?’

“I was just observing the scenery of the garden. that they do them differently.

It’s nothing to worry about. Why can’t human For instance, while ordinary coexistence be this beautiful?”

“Well, there is so much to learn in nature if we people spend on impulse, observe well. Remember, the Bible asks us to study the ants, and we would be wise. That is true, but wealthy people spend their we hardly study nature and behaviours, which is expenses on the last penny why we make terrible mistakes at times.”

“By the way, I want to suggest that we have and discipline themselves not covered more than enough grounds to lay a solid to spend outside the budget” foundation for building lasting wealth, and we should ordinarily proceed to the next stage. But I want us with to-do lists. They ensure they use the lists to to quickly deal with another fundamental issue that advance what God has called them to do daily. can hinder wealth-building if we don’t address it. I Two, they reduce their timeslot to naira and want us to talk about how to build enduring wealth kobo. This gives them a sense of value for time. by copying the positive habits of wealthy people Here is how to do it. Take your annual income and while eliminating the disempowering habits that divide it by the number of hours in the year. That can sabotage our wealth building endeavours. “ is how much you are worth per hour. You will We quickly agreed on the subject for the week: then determine who is worthy of your attention.

TO BUILD ENDURING WEALTH, YOU MUST A better way of doing it is to use your estimated IMPLEMENT THE HABITS OF WEALTHY PEOPLE future income.

We also agreed that because of the weight of During our session, my Billionaire Friend shared the subject matter, we should deal with the issue ten habits that wealthy people cultivate that anyone in two or three sessions, and we shall be good to aspiring to build wealth should also cultivate. He proceed to the next phase of the wealth-building proceeded with the discussion this way: stage. So we shall run the first part this week and “Habits are those human, regular and settled possibly conclude in the next session. behavioural patterns, which are most often difficult When I first started going to my Billionaire’s to give up. They become one’s recurrent behavioural Friend’s place, I used to wonder quietly how he patterns, which are predictable referential. On 2. INFORMED WEALTH BUILDERS MUST, acquired so much wealth. I used to think that my being studied, they can greatly help improve the AS OF HABIT, ORGANISE THEIR FINANCES. Friend and other wealthy people carry different lives of others.

“Generally, wealth building requires proper DNAs that make them generate wealth so easily.

“Our topic this week is about building enduring One evening, I uttered my thoughts and asked wealth, from using the habits of wealthy people. financial budgeting, planning and organisation.

Systematically creating wealth requires regular him: do you people (wealthy people) know some Generally, there are some habitual traits in wealthy financial planning and monitoring of possible things that other people don’t know? people, which can be implemented for the building deviations from set personal budgets, placements His reply surprised me: “My boss, it would surprise and sustenance of wealth on the close study. and investment returns. This is absolutely necessary. you if I disclosed that wealthy people do the same We shall be looking at a few of them in this Hence, financial maps must regularly be drawn things ordinary people do but just that they do them edition”. to ensure that expenditures and savings are kept differently. For instance, while ordinary people spend on impulse, wealthy people spend their expenses 1. INFORMED WEALTH BUILDERS BUILD in line with the goal of building wealth. Financial on the last penny and discipline themselves not to WEALTH BY SAVINGS FROM ACTIVE maps must be regularly drawn to guide spending habits from deviations away from set financial and spend outside the budget”.

INCOMES INTO PASSIVE INVESTMENTS. budgetary plans at building wealth. As of habit, ‘Truly so. In the past seven years, I have embarked on a project involving interviewing successful people asking them the same questions: what do they do “It is commonly stated that“time waits for no one”. For wealth that ordinary people do not do? I have done over 40 such interviews. Their answers surprised me building, time is of the essence since wealth-builders are but corroborated what my Billionaire Friend shared mere mortals, who would eventually die, no matter how long with me during our last session. Here is a summary of my observations: it may take. Hence, wealth-builders must optimize their time One, successful people load their days with management to avoid unnecessary time-wasting activities.Time value-added activities.

They ensure that their to-do lists contain one thing wasting activities should be curbed for the habit of gathering they must achieve that day concerning their visions knowledge, reading, learning and relating with mentors to and their assignments on earth, and they do this assist them in building wealth” when they are at the peak of their energy, usually in the early part of the day. They don’t just come

my set wealth-building goals are mapped, ahead of every year, towards guiding me and keeping my eyes on the ball during the year. This is important for wealth builders to keep them in check from budgetary and financial deviations. It has greatly worked for me”.

3. WEALTH BUILDERS WEIGH EVERY INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY THAT COMES THEIR WAY BEFORE PLUNGING IN. “It is necessary to always weigh the opportunity cost of every investment decision. For wealth builders, this ensures that costs are properly weighed in terms of expected possible returns and their associated costs vis a vis other available investments.

Opportunity costs must be weighed with every wealth-building decision for minimising investment losses arising from poor investment decisions in the continuous utilisation of every savings made from active incomes into building wealth”.

4. WEALTH BUILDERS PLACE GREAT VALUE ON THEIR TIME. “It is commonly stated that “time waits for no one”. For wealth building, time is of the essence since wealth-builders are mere mortals, who would eventually die, no matter how long it may take.

Hence, wealth-builders must optimise their time management to avoid unnecessary time-wasting activities. Time wasting activities should be curbed for the habit of gathering knowledge, reading, learning and relating with mentors to assist them in building wealth. Wealth builders need to form the habit of placing premium value on their time management because the same finite time is available to everybody but gives the best results to those who optimally utilise the value of time. As of habit, it is those who use their time wisely that from its use”.

5. WEALTH BUILDERS AUGMENT FAILURES IN THEIR INVESTMENTS WITH CUTS IN EXPENDITURES. “We all fail many times with some of our decisions.

No human is perfect. However, wealth-builders must regularly augment their investment failures with sacrifices of cuts in their expenditures. Investment failures would occur, but wealth builders must adjust to regularly augment such accrued losses with discovering spending that would augment such losses and use such discoveries to cover for the investment losses. It is also important for wealth builders to always prepare against the worst with their investments. Wealth builders must identify possible problems/failures that may arise and plan ahead against such failures. In doing this, wealth-builders must take up insurance policies to cover such possible losses/failures. This is very vital. They must anticipate the worst when building wealth. Towards this end, wealth-builders must obtain insurance covers for their health, property accidents, fire, etc. Appropriate insurance covers must be taken regularly to protect wealth builders against the worst that could happen and which usually happen. They must organise their finances regularly to provide insurance that will protect them against foreseeable failures. All possible mishaps must be identified and anticipated, with preparations made against them, by taking up insurance policies, putting in place many required protections and making necessary decisions to protect their accumulating and build wealth. While in paid employment, I started with fire insurance cover, over even the contents of my rented accommodation but have since graduated my insurance cover over many necessary others”.

“Let us stop here today, and we shall continue our next session”.

My Billionaire Friend suggested we review the feedback from those who responded to the prompts we inserted in the last edition of the conversation.

We both agreed that the articles were hitting the targets, but we also decided to go ahead and implement the suggestions made by a few of those who responded to our request for feedback.

After we had sipped our cups of freshly squeezed orange juice, we parted ways.

I am eager to catch up with you next week.

Yours Moneywisely

SUNDAY MARCH 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

23

24

SUNDAY MARCH 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

2 22

T H I S D AY SUNDAY MARCH 20, 2022

IKE OKONTA canvasses the zoning of the 2023 presidency to the Southeast to help their sense of belonging

THE CASE FOR AN IGBO PRESIDENT 2Q WKH PRUQLQJ RI -DQXDU\ ÀYH majors, mainly Igbo, mounted a coup and ended the life of the First Republic. Their complaints, as enunciated by Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, leader of the coup in the Northern Region, were legion: the politicians were corrupt; they were incompetent; they made Nigeria look big in the eyes of the international community while in fact they did everything in their power inside the country to hobble her.

These complaints are legitimate; but the manner with which the majors executed the coup was wrong-headed. They killed Ahmadu Bello, premier of the north; Ladoke Akintola, premier of the West; and Tafawa Balewa, prime minister of the country. Several senior PLOLWDU\ R΀FHUV PDLQO\ RI QRUWKHUQ H[WUDFWLRQ were also killed. The pattern of the killings ² ,JER PLOLWDU\ R΀FHUV DQG SROLWLFLDQV ZHUH spared – created the impression that the coup was a classic power grab by the Igbo. This ZDV WKH DUJXPHQW RͿHUHG E\ 0DMRU 0XUWDOD Mohammed and Captain Theophilus Danjuma ZKHQ WKH\ OHG RWKHU QRUWKHUQ R΀FHUV DQG PHQ to stage a revenge coup in July 1966.

But Murtala Muhammed and his party did not stop at killing Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi, an Igbo major general who had taken over as Head of State following the botched January 1966 coup. Ordinary Igbo living in the north were targeted and slaughtered like chicken.

This pogrom was to trigger a chain of events leading to the secession of the Eastern Region, going by the new name of Biafra, from Nigeria.

Col. Yakubu Gowon, a northerner who had assumed power following the death of Ironsi, refused to let Biafra go. He invaded the new republic with Federal troops in May 1967 and

The Igbo should not be shy and should come out in public forums and declare that it is their turn to give Nigeria a President civil war raged between the two entities for 30 PRQWKV %LDIUDQ R΀FHUV VXUUHQGHUHG LQ -DQXDU\ 1970 and the Igbo and other easterners were forcibly returned to Nigeria.

Recall that at independence in October 1960, Nigeria rested on an unstable tripod.

The Hausa-Fulani dominated the north; the Yoruba ruled the roost in the west; while the Igbo determined events in the east. All three met in Lagos, the capital, to thrash out a federal system of government with Tafawa Balewa, a QRUWKHUQHU DV SULPH PLQLVWHU Á\LQJ WKH ÁDJ RI the Northern Peoples Congress. But the civil war upended this arrangement. The HausaFulani and the Yoruba had collaborated to prosecute the war against Biafra. And they did so in a most brutal fashion. They deployed starvation as a weapon of war, depriving millions of Igbo children of food. Kwashiokor killed more people in Biafra than the bullets ÀUHG E\ )HGHUDO WURRSV ,W LV LQ VKRUW D JHQRFLGH The war over, the winning parties began to share out the booty among themselves. Oil, mainly obtained from the Niger Delta, was the glittering prize in the 1970s and 1980s.

Several decrees were enacted by the federal government nationalizing this oil and sharing the proceeds mainly between the Hausa-Fulani and Yoruba elites. It was not discussed openly, but the unstated policy of these two groups

was to ensure that the Igbo remained secondclass citizens in Nigeria. The post-war policy RI FRQÀVFDWLQJ WKH EDQN DFFRXQWV RI WKH ,JER SDOPLQJ WKHP RͿ ZLWK D GHULVRU\ SRXQGV per account holder; the indigenization of businesses in 1973 when a war-devastated Igbo business elite was in no position to participate; and the creation of state in such a way that the Igbo ended up with the least of the three power blocs, all say clearly that they, the Igbo, would FRQWLQXH WR SD\ IRU WKHLU ¶HͿURQWHU\· GHFODULQJ Biafra.

With the return of partisan politics in 1979, the Igbo mainly backed the Nnamdi Azikiweled Nigeria Peoples Party. One of their own, Dr Alexander Ekwueme, was to emerge Vice President on the platform of the northerndominated National Party of Nigeria. Perhaps Ekwueme would have succeeded Shehu Shagari as President in 1987 if the armed forces led by General Muhammadu Buhari had not intervened through a coup in December 1983.

This was the closest the Igbo have been to clinching the number one position in Nigeria in a democratic dispensation. Alexander Ekwueme tried again during the convention of the Peoples Democratic Party in 1998, but the overwhelming consensus was that the Yoruba be given the Presidency following the death of Moshood Abiola, a Yoruba who had won the 1993 presidential election which was subsequently annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida.

We can see from the preceding statement WKDW UHVHUYLQJ WKH SUHVLGHQF\ IRU D VSHFLÀF ethnic group because of injustice done to it in the past is not a new practice. Olusegun Obasanjo emerged president in 1999 because of this consideration.

The other two power-blocs – the Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani - have had their turn as President DQG LW LV QRZ FOHDU WKDW WKH SUHVLGHQF\ should go to the Igbo. But it should not be allFRPHUV DͿDLU ,JER OHDGHUV RI WKRXJKW VKRXOG dig deep and search out an Igbo with towering intellectual and moral credentials who will not only do credit to the ethnic group as president but pull Nigeria out of the morass in which she has been trapped since independence in 1960.

I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of ethnic preferment in politics. But Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country. Secondly, it is still a relatively young country and its sociocultural institutions are yet to meld fully into a truly united nation. The forces of secession are still powerful, and those of us who are desirous of a united Nigeria will continue to insist that only a truly federal arrangement wherein the various ethnic groups, grouped in states that are relatively autonomous, is the way to go.

Arranging our politics in such a manner that DOO VLJQLÀFDQW HWKQLF JURXSV DUH DOORZHG WR WDVWH power in the centre periodically is part and parcel of this complex ethno-federal balancing.

Thus, the Igbo should not be shy and should come out in public forums and declare that it is their turn to give Nigeria a President. My hope and prayer is that the day will come when ethnic balancing will be discarded and ordinary Nigerians allowed to vote for candidates simply because they are Nigerian.

Dr Okonta was until recently Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics at the University of Oxford. He presently lives in Abuja

A hero does that which is wise and politically expedient in order to protect his people, argues FEMI FANI-KAYODE

IS ZELENSKY A HERO OR IS HE DELUDED? I deplore and condemn the barbaric killings and vicious barbarism that has been unleashed against a mainly defenceless and helpless civilian population in the Ukraine.

Yet the bitter truth is that all that President Volodymyr Zelensky has to do to stop the relentless slaughter of his people is to state clearly and categorically that the Ukraine will NEVER join NATO, that the Ukraine will NEVER allow foreign military bases on her soil and that the Ukraine will MAINTAIN her neutrality like Sweden and Finland.

He also has to allow the Russian-speaking people of Donesk and Eastern Ukraine to exercise their right of self-determination and either form their own independent country or become part of Russia.

Finally he has to renounce the Ukraine’s claim to the Crimea and accept the fact that this strategically-placed seaport and region is now, and will always be, part and parcel of Russia. ,QVWHDG RI RͿHULQJ WKHVH JXDUDQWHHV DQG WDNLQJ WKHVH VWHSV KH LV JLYLQJ ÀQH VSHHFKHV to western Parliaments whilst his people are being slaughtered and butchered in WKHLU FKXUFKHV R΀FHV KRPHV DQG KRXVHV and whilst his villages, towns and cities are being bombed, burnt, bombarded and utterly destroyed.

I am constrained to ask, what type of man is this? Is he delusional or does he just pretend to be?

I cannot possibly describe him as a hero.

I say this because a hero HELPS his people, does what is in their BEST interest and does all that is REASONABLE and NECESSARY to guarantee their comfort, well-being, safety and security.

A hero does not goad and provoke the Russian bear or spit in its face in a reckless DQG GDQJHURXV GLVSOD\ RI RSHQ GHÀDQFH and contempt.

A hero does that which is wise and politically expedient in order to secure and protect his people and to defend his nation’s borders.

A hero does not allow neo-colonial foreigners and greedy imperialists, disciples and architects of the New World Order, bellicose and expansionist Western PLOLWDU\ DOOLDQFHV DQG SHUÀGLRXV DQG cowardly Western Governments to fool, FDMROH DQG SXVK KLV SHRSOH LQWR ÀJKWLQJ a war that they cannot possibly win or to LQGXOJH LQ DQ XQQHFHVVDU\ FRQÁLFW ZLWK a neighbour that has a massive and all powerful conventional army and more nuclear weapons than any other nation in the world. $ KHUR GRHV QRW VDFULÀFH KLV SHRSOH RQ WKH DOWHU RI HJR RU DV DQ RͿHULQJ WR WKH Western powers.

I blame Zelensky and his Western allies and friends for this unfolding tragedy, for every drop of Ukrainian blood that is being spilt and for the untold hardship DQG VXͿHULQJ WKDW WKH JUHDW SHRSOH RI WKH Ukraine are being subjected to.

The only heroes here are the Ukrainian people themselves who have been saddled with an irresponsible, weak, egotistical, blind, reckless, stubborn and vainglorious 3UHVLGHQW WKDW FDQQRW GLͿHUHQWLDWH EHWZHHQ being an actor/comedian on the stage and

being the President of a great and noble nation of 40 million people who are depending on him to keep them safe DQG ZKR ORRN XS WR KLP WR ÀJKW IRU their collective interest.

Despite all the western propaganda, in this respect Zelensky has failed woefully and miserably because at

the end of the day the Ukraine will be brought to her knees and utterly crushed, shattered and broken.

All this could have been avoided if her President had displayed a little humility and restraint from the outset and if he had not opted to dance to the tune of Joe Biden, Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron and all his other western friends who later deserted him.

What a shame!

Never trust a man or woman that urges you to go into a war or to keep ÀJKWLQJ D ZDU WKDW \RX FDQQRW SRVVLEO\ win.

Trust only those that seek the path of peace and that urge you to make the reasonable compromises and necessary concessions.

Can someone kindly whisper this wise counsel into the tiny ears of Volodymyr Zelensky who appears to have fallen in love with the applause and praises of the West and who refuses to do that which needs to be done to save his people from untold hardship DQG VXͿHULQJ Chief Fani-Kayode is a former Minister of Aviation

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OBI EBUKA ONOCHIE urges the governor to deal with the tax and levies’ collection syndicates

TASK BEFORE CHUKWUMA SOLUDO It was George Bernard Shaw who said that “we must reform society before we can reform ourselves.” This statement is the much needed reality in Nigeria particularly Anambra State that just elected an erudite and fearless reformist as the governor. Anambra since after the charade administration of Gov. Mbadinuju in 2003 has been on an ascending trajectory in the quality of leadership they produce as governors. However, the state needs drastic steps that will address many problems hobbling its development.

Without question, Anambra needs an institutionalized reforms and Prof. Soludo who Anambra voters rightly chose is the best man with reforming experience to be elected at the moment. Anambra was created from old Anambra State which comprised of present Enugu and Anambra States. Enugu State was created inheriting the capital city and the institutions of old Anambra State while present Anambra kept the name. This means Anambra State started from the scratch in 1991 when it was created by the military government of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. The experimental military diarchy by the Babangida administration produced Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife as the governor of the state before Nigeria returned to full military government by Gen. Abacha until the return to democracy in 1999. From 1999 to 2003 Anambra State was enveloped in billows of darkness under the administration of Dr. Chinwoke 0EDGLQXMX ,W ZDV IURP 'U &KULV 1JLJH·V administration which the Supreme Court later sacked having been illegally declared

If the governor wants to bring the formidable positive impact he is expected to, he has to win this battle from inside APGA as a party

WKH ZLQQHU E\ WKH ,1(& WKDW $QDPEUD·V WXUQDURXQG EHJDQ 0U 3HWHU 2EL·V government really laid the foundation of the modern state and was the bridge between the putrid past of the state and its future. *RY 2ELDQR·V DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ LV VLJQHG RͿ on the 17th of March 2022 to give way for Governor Prof. Charles Soludo.

Among many problems assaulting any form of development in Anambra State, revenue syndicates take the cake.

Overcoming these entrenched parasitical bugs bleeding Anambra State to death will go a long way to giving the new administration a much needed oxygen to succeed. The cabals behind the touts harassing and almost robbing Ndi Anambra in the name of tax and levies collection are entrenched members of APGA, the ruling party. If the governor wants to bring the formidable positive impact he is expected to, he has to win this battle from inside APGA as a party. He has to be ruthless about it if need be and that will send a very strong non-verbal message to everybody and all vested parasitic interest groups in the state. I was happy when I

read on Punch Newspaper of 23rd January 2022 that he would terminate all revenue FRQWUDFWV RQ DVVXPSWLRQ RI R΀FH :H DUH looking forward to that and will welcome a streamlined electronic collection of state government taxes, levies and duties. This revenue reform will not successfully be implemented without the revenue cabals ÀJKWLQJ EDFN EXW , EHOLHYH WKH JRYHUQRU KDV been a long time reformer, so I believe he is ready and prepared to combat them.

Security is another area that requires immediate and consistent action. Many past governors of the state started well with securing Anambra but loosen-up after sometime and it usually gets worse when insecurity returns. Anambra security situation is multi-faceted, very lethal and has taken away some valuable individuals from the state. Dr. Chike Akunnyili, Chief Gab Ofoma, Prof. Obidinma Onyemelukwe, and so many others including numerous ordinary residents of the state. The unknown gunmen murdering people at will are not one group, but all the gunscarrying none state actors killing people at ZLOO , EHOLHYH WKDW WKH ÀUVW VWHS WR WDNLQJ grip of the security situation is to restore Nigerian Police to work but the unnecessary roadblocks causing movement hardship and sometimes death should be discarded. The rebuilding of burnt police stations should be initiated by the government in conjunction with community development unions.

There is need to revolutionize the placing of close-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in every nook and cranny of the state by both the government and the individuals. Inside various markets in the state, the traders have adopted it as form of check on criminal activities around their vicinities of trading DQG LW·V SD\LQJ RͿ ,I WKH SHRSOH DUH HQMRLQHG to deploy CCTV in around their properties and the state government covers the public spaces, crime rate will drop and the chances of criminals being caught will increase monumentally.

Development of Infrastructure is one of the areas people are expecting a massive attention as most roads in Anambra are in terrible shape and there are many abandoned road projects that should be À[HG $QDPEUD XVHG WR KDYH WKH EHVW URDG network and a much secured environment with investments coming in continuously, but all of that have evaporated in the face of security challenge. The whole of Okpoko area in Ogbaru Local Government Area was originally mapped out as part of Harbour Industrial Layout but the government over the years especially the military era did not follow up with its development and people turned it into a slum dwelling. Harbor industrial layout was planned to feed the activities of Onitsha River port from where their products will be shipped to the rest of Nigeria and world at large.

The Abada market at the foot of River Nigeria Bridge should be moved to hinterland to create more space for the activities of Onitsha River port. Both Okpoko layout and the Abada market land should be recovered for their original purposes which will triple the GDP of Anambra State.

How it will be done and where they will be relocated are some of the reasons we elected Prof. Charles Soludo (Nwamgbafor) as the governor.

Obiebuka369@gmail.com

Nigerians must demand a law prohibiting public officers from enrolling their children in foreign institutions, writes UGOCHUKWU EJINKEONYE

BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND ASUU I have always had this lingering suspicion that apart from representing the deep-seated contempt WKDW KDV FRPH WR GHÀQH JRYHUQPHQW·V DWWLWXGH WR the welfare of public sector workers, its shoddy, RIWHQ GLVGDLQIXO WUHDWPHQW RI WKH $FDGHPLF 6WDͿ Union of Universities (ASUU) and its demands for improved working conditions might have been carefully conceived as a long-term project to continue provoking ASUU to embark on industrial actions until it fatally hurts its case before Nigerians.

The expectation, it would seem, is that as students continue to spend several months at home due to prolonged strikes, which might sometimes lengthen the duration of their academic programmes, parents and other stakeholders who bear the brunt of these constant disruptions will gradually review their sympathy for the teachers and begin to confront them as the problem instead of the government whose continuous reneging on agreements it freely entered into with ASUU FUHDWHG WKH PHVV LQ WKH ÀUVW SODFH As this new impression gathers steam, it PLJKW HYHQ UHFHLYH VLJQLÀFDQW ERRVW IURP VRPH other people nursing personal issues with ASUU who will hastily grab the opportunity to deploy cleverly crafted, but mostly specious arguments, WR ZHDNHQ $688·V SRVLWLRQ ZKLOH SUHVHQWLQJ themselves as former ASUU members or friends of the teachers.

If indeed there was such a plot, it will be better to admit right away that it has already achieved considerable success. Given the opinions variously expressed even by people who ought to be better informed since it became clear that ASUU would go on strike, there is no doubt that government may already be wallowing in the illusion that it has become the owner of the game.

It would be very sad if a nation that has often been showered with universal acclaim for being home to an array of very intelligent people would HDVLO\ EH RYHUZKHOPHG E\ JRYHUQPHQW·V GXOO attempt to distort a clear narrative and launder what is so evidently a leadership failure. Indeed, it will always remain impossible to puncture the insistence that the Nigerian government can comfortably fund the educational sector if it considers it important or cares about national development whose foundation sound education helps to lay and solidify.

1RZ OHW·V FRQIURQW WKH HOHSKDQW LQ WKH URRP Education is criminally neglected in Nigeria EHFDXVH PDQ\ SXEOLF R΀FHUV KDYH VLQFH ORVW IDLWK in the sector and allowed a stubborn unwillingness to revamp it entrench itself in them. Having given up any hope or plans of ever reviving the FRXQWU\·V SXEOLF HGXFDWLRQDO LQVWLWXWLRQV WKH\ have settled for the easy and odious shortcut of laboring to accumulate whatever funds they could either earn or steal from the public treasury to send their children and wards abroad to receive quality education which is pitilessly denied many other Nigerians at home.

But the solution is simple: the people of Nigeria must now demand with one strong voice that a ODZ VKRXOG EH PDGH SURKLELWLQJ SXEOLF R΀FHUV from enrolling their children in foreign or local private institutions. Once such a law comes into place today, Nigerians will see how easily our public schools and colleges will receive amazing transformations.

How can we be inundated daily with dizzying stories of how billions of naira are remorselessly VTXDQGHUHG E\ SXEOLF R΀FHUV ZKRVH contributions to national development remain far below average, yet two key sectors, health and education, are callously neglected and allowed to sink into unspeakable depths? Until we stop SXEOLF R΀FHUV IURP GHSOR\LQJ SXEOLF ZHDOWK WR

secure their own health and educational needs from better managed foreign lands, not a ÀQJHU ZLOO EH OLIWHG WR HQVXUH WKH UHFODPDWLRQ of these very critical sectors in Nigeria.

Recently the news was all over the place that President Buhari donated one million dollars to Afghanistan! The president just returned from London where some doctors must have been rewarded with another haul of hard currency for attending to his health.

And this is because, after spending about VHYHQ \HDUV LQ R΀FH KH IDLOHG SDWKHWLFDOO\ WR build a hospital that he and other top public R΀FHUV FDQ FRQÀGHQWO\ SDWURQL]H $OVR DW various times, Nigerians have been served ZLWK EHDXWLIXO SLFWXUHV RI %XKDUL·V KDSS\ children and those of other top government functionaries, graduating from expensive UK and American universities. It would seem too that his wife has found in Dubai a permanent luxury home from where she occasionally visits a horribly rundown Nigeria.

So, with these essentials so securely available to the president other members of WKH XOWUD VHOÀVK SROLWLFDO HOLWH ZK\ VKRXOG the fact that ASUU is on a strike, cost him any sleep? Why would the egregious fact that public hospitals have become extensions of mortuaries worry him?

The Nigerian people always appear so exasperatingly helpless in the face of abysmal misgovernance which seems to have become a norm in their country, but this should not be.

They must now determine to regain the power they have so naively relinquished to public R΀FHUV DQG UHYLYH WKHLU DELOLW\ WR LQÁXHQFH public policies for the good of all.

This is how: the legislature is a very strategic arm in a democracy and when its powers are judiciously and patriotically deployed, it can greatly uplift a country and its systems. But a misguided assembly can watch the country sink to the lowest depths DQG QRW OLIW D ÀQJHU WR FRPSHO WKH H[HFXWLYH to arrest the decay. Nigerians, however, possess the power to rouse the lawmakers to action by demonstrating clearly that they can reactivate their constitutional right to recall DQ\ ODZPDNHU ZKR FKRRVHV IRU VRPH VHOÀVK reasons, to passively watch the executive ride roughshod on the people. This is even PRUH HͿHFWLYH WKDQ WKH SRZHU WR YRWH WKHP in because of the humiliation that goes with a ODZPDNHU·V UHFDOO Ejinkeonye is a journalist and writer

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T H I S D AY SUNDAY MARCH 20, 2022

EDITORIAL

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

WHY APC MUST GET ACT TOGETHER Tight electoral schedule leaves ruling party no time for rancour

T

he past few weeks have been troubling for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as it grapples with the challenge of leadership succession. Although 26th March (this coming 6DWXUGD\ KDG ORQJ EHHQ À[HG IRU LWV H[WUD ordinary national convention to elect the 1DWLRQDO :RUNLQJ &RPPLWWHH 1:& PHPEHUV FRPSOH[ intrigues continue to threaten the cohesion of the Caretaker/ ([WUD RUGLQDU\ &RQYHQWLRQ 3ODQQLQJ &RPPLWWHH &(&3& Established in June 2020 after the dissolution of the Adams 2VKLRPKROH OHG 1:& WKH &(&3& FKDLUHG E\ *RYHUQRU 0DL 0DOD %XQL RI <REH 6WDWH ZDV JLYHQ VL[ PRQWKV WR complete its assignment.

Inability to do so has led to serious disruptions within WKH SDUW\ DQG E\ H[WHQVLRQ the polity.

As President Muhammadu Buhari rightly warned in his letter to the $3& *RYHUQRUV )RUXP LW is important for the ruling party to learn lessons from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At a point in recent history, PDP controlled more than 60 per cent of the National Assembly membership as well as at least 23 of the 36 states of the federation. Unfortunately, the PDP JRW HQPHVKHG LQ VHOI LQÁLFWHG FULVHV DULVLQJ IURP WKH YLUWXDO overthrow of its constitution by a cult of governors and other power brokers. That habitual impunity ultimately led to the party’s defeat in 2015 and APC seems to be heading in the same direction if care is not taken. )RU PRVW RI ODVW ZHHN VKDUSO\ GLYLGHG $3& JRYHUQRUV were embroiled in an epic battle to wrest control of the planning committee from Buni whose removal was claimed to have been ordered by President Buhari and was UHSODFHG E\ *RYHUQRU 6DQL %HOOR RI 1LJHU 6WDWH 7KH SRZHU VWUXJJOH ÁDUHG XS WHQVLRQ UDLVLQJ IHDUV WKDW WKH FRQYHQWLRQ might be postponed once again. The midweek presidential intervention restoring Buni’s leadership and pacifying his opposing colleagues would seem to have engendered a delicate calm. The party has also been able to get the court to vacate the order that threatened the convention.

Yet, the president’s caution to all contending interests to KROG ÀUH LV LPSRUWDQW ,W FHUWDLQO\ GRHV QRW VSHDN ZHOO RI

internal cohesion and organisational capacity that more than 20 months after dissolving the working committee, APC has been unable to elect a new set of leaders despite the clear stipulation of its own constitution. Meanwhile, EH\RQG WKH QHHG WR VKRZ H[DPSOH ZLWK D OHDGHUVKLS WKDW accords with its constitution, ahead of the APC is another equally daunting task of organising primaries for the upcoming 2023 general election. And given the tight electoral timetable reeled out by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which prescribes 3rd June as the deadline for the submission of candidates, the party has little or no more time for internal political games that could circumscribe its ability to meet the target date.

Already, the APC leadership succession challenge would appear to have distracted the ruling party from focusing on the prevailing governance LVVXHV )URP WKH HGXFDWLRQDO sector where the Academic 6WDͿ 8QLRQ RI 8QLYHUVLWLHV (ASUU) members are on strike to worsening economic indices, Nigerians are groaning. To this must be added the security challenge that is not abating even if it has been submerged by the persisting energy FULVLV 7R OHDYH WKHVH H[LVWHQWLDO SUREOHPV XQDWWHQGHG WR a few months to electioneering would be tantamount to political suicide. Herein lies President Buhari’s caution to warring parties within the APC to sheath their sword and get on with the business of organising the convention without further rancour and delay.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to suggest that the PDP is more organised. In any case, aside from the soundbites and HPSW\ VORJDQV WKHUH LV QRWKLQJ WR GLͿHUHQWLDWH EHWZHHQ WKH WZR SROLWLFDO SDUWLHV DQG WKDW H[SODLQV ZK\ PHPEHUV crisscross from one to the other. And for them to be taken seriously, they must begin to play the politics of ideas, platforms, and programmes. That is the only way to sustain this democracy. But for now, APC has a responsibility to his members regarding national leadership. Buni and his colleagues in the CECPC therefore need to put their act together, avoid further political intrigues and seek the calm engendered by the presidential intervention to deliver a successful convention on Saturday.

Already, the APC leadership succession challenge would appear to have distracted the ruling party from focusing on the prevailing governance issues. From the educational sector where the Academic Staff Union of Universities members are on strike to worsening economic indices, Nigerians are groaning T H I S D AY EDITOR DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN DEPUTY EDITORS FESTUS AKANBI, EJIOFOR ALIKE 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

Letters to the Editor Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-300 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 (750- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with photograph, email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LETTERS SOLUDO STARTS ON A GREAT NOTE Prof. Charles Soludo gave a spirited speech at his inauguration where he touched on the general welfare of Anambra State. The gov ernor in a long speech journeyed through the SDVW H[DPLQHV WKH SUHVHQW DQG SURMHFWHG LQWR the future of possibilities in Anambra State.

In a well worded speech, he charted a course for his administration around economic pros perity of his people and security saying, “this is not yet time to celebrate”. He said the road will be long and he will work for all and sun dry, but he was quick to say that all motor park WD[ RU OHY\ FROOHFWRUV PXVW VWRS , DP VXUH WKDW part of the speech will not go down well with SHRSOH WKDW ÁHHFH WKH VWDWH LQ UHYHQXH FROOHF tions. I am sure with that Soludo will face a ÀJKW EDFN , PXVW VWDWH LW RQO\ PDNHV FRPPRQ VHQVH WR VWRS LOOHJDO WD[ FROOHFWRUV DV DOO WKH\ GR LV WR ÁHHFH WKH VWDWH IRU WKHLU RZQ SROLWLFDO gains. The governor must be supported to rid the state of all sorts of political juggernauts

that will disrupt his administration. The gov ernor also started the debate on insecurity and IPOB; he called the stakeholders to the round WDEOH WR GLVFXVV VWDWLQJ WKDW KH VXͿHUHG ORVVHV in the Biafra war and only peace and dialogue can help the state. He appealed for an end to disruption of business activities and killings of innocent people. This must be welcomed, DV , KDYH DOZD\V ZRQGHUHG DV D VLW DW KRPH disrupts businesses when we should uplift WKH ORQJ VXͿHULQJ SHRSOH RI WKH (DVW , ZLOO encourage the stakeholders to dialogue and ensure peace returns to Ndi Anambra. I must also say Soludo scores all the right points by GULYLQJ LQ D 0DGH LQ $QDPEUD FDU 7KLV LV great signalling the growth of private enter prise in the state. I can’t wait to write another UHYLHZ DIWHU KLV ÀUVW GD\V LQ R΀FH Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

ND’IGBO BEST SHOT AT THE PRESIDENCY +RXUV DIWHU OHDYLQJ R΀FH DV JRYHUQRU of Anambra State, Willie Obiano was HQVQDUHG E\ WKH ()&& DQG WUDSSHG XS LQ custody. This sort of embarrassment isn’t H[DFWO\ WKH UHFHSWLRQ WKH ,JER WULEDO JURXS RI 1LJHULD ZDQWV IURP WKH ()&& ,32% ZDQWV D EUHDNLQJ DZD\ VROXWLRQ FRPSOHWH H[FLVH IURP WKH ERG\ SROLWLF RI 1LJHULD EXW amongst the ranks of the corpus of Igbo (that is, Nd’Igbo), the Ohaneze faction desires a union with Nigeria. There could be a compromise, though. Methinks all the Nd’Igbo factions should unite and press for a Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo’s YLFH SUHVLGHQWLDO WLFNHW DV D SROLWLFDO compromise here, on the Atiku Abubakar PDP ballot. The Southeast of Nigeria will have nothing to lose if it backs Atiku wholly DW WKH SROOV LQ $Q $WLNX 6ROXGR WLFNHW ZLOO EH D UHDO WHVW D ÀUVW D WUXO\ YHULWDEOH marriage of convenience but it is workable.

This idea is good for the continued unity of Nigeria. Apparently, the secessionist IPOB

JURXS WUXVWV WKH SROLWLFDO SDUW\ D΀OLDWLRQ RI WKH $3*$ ERG\ WKDW 6ROXGR EHORQJV to. Prof. Soludo as Veep should focus intense energy on building arterial road QHWZRUNV ZLGH ERGLHG DQG PRGHUQ WR WKH 6RXWKHDVW GRPDLQ RI 1G·,JER $EXMD 2QLWVKD /DJRV 2QLWVKD $EXMD (QXJX .DQR .DGXQD (QXJX HWF $QG IRU WKH automobile industry? Prof. Soludo as Veep should support Innoson Motors at Nnewi WR H[SDQG 7UXO\ 1LJHULDQV ORYH FDUV DQG what better way to ensure that Nigerians get their SUVs than by encouraging Innoson 0RWRUV WR H[SDQG SURGXFWLRQ FDSDFLWLHV DQG DFFHVV FUHGLW ZLWK VRPH VRUW RI FRPSHWLWLRQ protection thrown in the midst. Me, I’d love to own an Innoson SUV too. Let’s give this line of action a trial.

Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State

A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

20.3.2022

H

MAZI SAM OHUABUNWA

On the March from Corporate Cliff to Aso Rock Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, former Chief Executive Officer of Neimeth Pharmaceuticals is a corporate titan with a Midas touch. The former president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria is exceptional in thoughts and moves. A visionary boardroom guru at the helm of a conglomerate for 18 years, Ohuabunwa understands the burden of being a leader. The business executive cum politician has always craved for a better Nigeria, hence, his decision to join politics. He is a member of People’s Democratic Party and currently the convener of New Nigeria Group, a political movement which believes in Nigeria’s vision of prosperity, stability and security for all. The Abia State-born presidential hopeful tells Funke Olaode about his penchant for politics, his mission and vision for Nigeria and why he is the best candidate for the number one job.

e boasts of an impressive resume as one of the foremost pharmacists in Nigeria who through dint of hard work climbed the ladder of success.

The name Mazi Samuel Iheanyichukwu Ohuabunwa echoes with his image as an accomplished pharmacist, a boardroom guru, policy advocate and the list is endless.

A visionary and competent man, his leadership and grasp on administration reached the peak in 1997 as managing director of Pfizer during a buyout of Pfizer which he successfully concluded. The foreign company left. The country witnessed the arrival of a competent hand who not only turned the fortune of the company but nurtured it to an enviable height.

Born on August 16, 1950, Ohuabunwa first graced the corporate carpet at the age of 27 having graduated from the foremost Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State in 1976 where he studied Pharmacy. By the time he retired voluntarily from Neimeth which he founded, the Abia State born business executive cum politician has ticked all the boxes by achieving many of his set goals throughout his career.

Looking dapper in his black suits and matching tie, Ohuabunwa doesn’t look like a man who is a few months away from turning 72. His green fez cap with bold inscription “MSO for President 2023” also seals his youthful looks. He has travelled country-wide, doing the footwork of consultations on his latest ambition to be the president of Nigeria under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Ohuabunwa may not have held political office, but he has been active in pressure groups and politics. During the period of his stewardship as CEO, he got involved in a lot of economic advocacy initiatives. He was the foundation President of the West African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, former chairman of the Manufacturer Association of Nigeria. He was also the chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group with the sole aim to get Nigeria to be globally competitive. Today, he is the Convener of the New Nigeria Group and a presidential hopeful for the office of the president in 2023.

What is the New Nigeria Group all about?

He explained: “It is a political movement that has a life of its own. And in the group we have people from all sides of the political equation, left and right, even non-political people, but they believe in the New Nigeria vision. Those who are in PDP are supporting us. Those who are also not in PDP are also giving us their support. They believe that there is Nigeria that is possible, that is different from what we are seeing, and that it will be a globally competitive nation and a country that will work for everybody. NNG is a support group even as I move into PDP.” With many aspects of his career life thriving in the pharmaceutical industry, Ohuabunwa was also conscious of the political space. And like a true patriot, he was taking notes and waiting for the right time. His ambition to join politics dates back to 1986 while with Pfizer.

“I went to the United States of America as Group Sales Manager for Pfizer. And there were 106 managers and sales directors that came to that meeting. At the end of the conference I was nominated as the best participating sales manager. Immediately the announcement was made, I became everybody’s friend. People started coming around to greet and congratulate me. And then some questions were asked. Where did you go to school? I said I went to the University of Ife. Where is that one? I said in Nigeria. They said, wow, do you have good universities in Nigeria? I said many things. ABU, UNN, UI, UNILAG, UNIBEN, I started mentioning

ASSISTANT EDITOR OLUFUNKE OLAODE/victoria.olaode@thisdaylive.com.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 20, 2022

COVER WHY I DESIRE A NIGERIA’SVISION OF PROSPERITY, STABILITY AND SECURITY universities that were existing then. They said then it means you must have very smart people in your country like you. I said I have millions of smart people, even smarter than I. An elderly man said, ‘why is your country the way it is?’ I was able to answer the first two questions but the third one, I began to scratch my head. I could not find an answer. He said with all the good schools, all smart people like you, why is your country continuously in the news for the bad reason? I could not answer. This was in 1986.”

Jolted by the US scenario he decided not to sit on the fence but to get involved after fulfilling his mission and vision in his professional calling. “So, I began to tell myself, ‘Sam, you must do something.

What did I think I needed to do? I was to do advocacy, to go and persuade the government, provide strategies, to do mission statements, to do summits and conferences. I have been involved in vision 2010 and Nigeria Political Reformed Conference, my country is not moving forward. They are not achieving that globally competitiveness I have always wished for. I came to the point and a conviction that rather than continue to write, in fact sometime, I will be a journalist.

I was writing three newspaper columns a week. I wrote on Monday for Guardian, Tuesday for Business Day, Wednesday for Vanguard for seven years, 2012 to 2019, communicating this same vision. I said the time has come to do something, that is why I have come out,” he said.

With hindsight in corporate management, Ohuabunwa understands perfectly well the burden of being a leader.

The business executive cum politician has always craved for a better Nigeria. “I am coming to change Nigeria’s narrative. Just as you are tired, I am tired. Many Nigerians are tired. Those in the Diaspora are tired.

Those in Nigeria are tired of hearing the same story given the same excuses. The principal problem of Nigeria is leadership.

Nigeria has a chronic leadership deficit at the political level. People come to office either unprepared, they come with no vision, incompetent, and some are competent but they have no character.

Some have character but they do not have competence. Some have competence, they have character but they don’t have courage.”

Ohuabunwa believes that an enlightened leader with character, competence, vision and courage will change Nigeria’s story. Enumerating various problems militating against Nigeria as a nation, he identifies poverty, corruption, injustice, and insecurity.

“Everything else falls below these four demons. If we get poverty out and turn Nigeria into a prosperous nation, we will have been done with a lot of our problems.

Our greatest problem is poverty. People are hungry, people are jobless, and 53% of our youths have no job. 22% of those who have jobs are underemployed. In which case, they are not doing jobs that are in sync with their educational experience. 33% of our population don’t have work at all. 71% of Nigerians are classified as poor by the World Bank. So, our critical issues are how we increase the economic opportunity.

Open the space for more economic fulfillment for our people, especially the young people who have lost hope in this country and who have become instruments in the hands of extremists.

To desire a new Nigeria that makes you think positively requires a real transformational leadership, sense of accountability, focus on values but above all, economic prosperity. While reflecting on plans for economic growth, he offered a glimpse into his dream for the nation.

“If given a chance, what we will do is to open this economy and create opportunities for people to thrive. An economy has to operate on a simple principle. Do we want to grow this economy? Yes. What do we do? Make Nigeria an investment haven. Promote local investors, local businessmen, and the support the business needs is small but the benefit is a lot. So, we create an enabling environment for local businessmen to invest and then for foreign investors to come. It is investment that I have repeated that creates business. It is money, capital that creates the business, programmes and projects. These businesses, programmes

Ohuabunwa

and projects create jobs, these jobs create wealth and wealth drives away poverty.”

He added that for Nigeria to grow her economy, three things are needed: human capital, financial capital and a market.

“Nigeria does have a large human capital that much. Nigeria has the market, what we don’t have is financial capital. If God grants me the privilege to become president, my portfolio will be Minister of Investment. I will come and do the ceremony of the president but every day I sleep and wake up, my thoughts will be how I can make my country a preferred investment destination. Anybody who has 100 million dollars in America, I want him to come to Nigeria. Nigerian in Diaspora in the UK and China, I want them to come and put their business here. That is my whole work and if I do that in four years this country will change. There is no other magic, even the Boko Haram people will stop fighting. Because people don’t want to die if they have a better life, even those who are fanatical.

The reason that they get into fanaticism is that it is an escape route for them. The moment you satisfy them economically they stop all these things they are doing. Why are British people and Americans less religious than us? Were they not the people who brought religion to us? But it is their feeling of sophistication and well-being.”

In his presidential pursuit, Ohuabunwa is marching forward, relying strongly on his integrity in the face of opponents with financial war chest.

Unperturbed, he said he believes power is in the people, not money.

“I was in Ekiti State two weeks ago meeting with PDP people. After talking to the PDP delegates, I left some small money for logistics and said ‘manage this just to pay for transportation.’ I am a private person, I don’t compare myself with anybody. I am also not competing with anybody, take it with love. So I finished, the chairman now took me to go and see the party leader in Ekiti State – Ayo Fayose. When we got to Ayo Fayose, the chairman said, his excellency, you know I told you that Mazi, the presidential aspirant is coming.

He came and he spoke to us and at the end of the day he dropped with the party N750,000.

Ayo Fayose said, ‘Why are you making this announcement? He said he is making it out of transparency that he wanted to be transparent.

He said look, let me tell you something, this is the only man who is spending his money doing politics. This is the only man who is making sacrifices. And because this man is making a sacrifice, his one Naira will go far higher than your N10 million because God has seen the sacrifice. I checked his CV, he has never worked for the government; he is not a government contractor, so he is the one making sacrifice.

“I don’t have money but I have people and I believe that at the end of the day people are more than money. And we will have enough money to do the important things that need to be done in politics. But we will not bribe people to elect us to office. Because there is nothing we are seeking personally and just like you said, pay the bills for supporters, do logistics, we will do. But to go and do that money for money or dollar for dollar, I am not in that business at all. Because if I have $40 million or $50 million, I better use that money and start businesses in every local government, build factories, build industries and employ people and create a small new Nigeria. One new Nigeria, anybody who comes there will be happy. Nigerians have become wiser than they were a few years back. Money will still play a role but it will not be the deciding factor.

It used to go to the biggest bidder, but I don’t think it will happen in 2023.”

On his view on power shift to the younger generation, he said the youths matter and that experience also counts. “In politics, experience counts, maturity counts, network counts.

What I think is important in Nigeria is not the chronological age, it is the state of your heart.

I always say that we need a rounded man or woman to run Nigeria. Somebody that has a sound mind and of a proper spiritual strength.

Some of the work to be done in Nigeria will need spiritual work. The person must be spiritually strong, his mind must be okay, and

his body must be working well. If you go to the hospital today at the emergency ward, you may even see children, middle aged, young people, suffering from all kinds of illness. So, it is not just the old people who have issues of health, some young people can be unhealthy and some old people can be healthy, it just doesn’t matter. I subscribe to the desire of young people and for me they are going to be the major beneficiaries of my presidency. I am really going to the office because of the young people, that is the real motivation.”

Regarding a Nigerian president from Igbo and South of Nigeria, Ohuabunwa voiced his mind why it has become imperative? “What I believe is that many Nigerians have a sense of justice, they have a sense of equity. Many Nigerians want peace in our nation. Many Nigerians are asking how do we unite this country? And some of them believe that one way is to show equity in the rotation. The rotation that has served us well should continue. And everybody that I have met who in my own estimation loves this country has come to that conclusion. That the people of South East should be given an opportunity to present a candidate in 2023. Other regions have had opportunities.

That has become something that I think people will like to support. I support it, because it will achieve two things: first is that the south east can really produce a competent president. The South-east people have certain natural proclivity.

No matter what you talk about them, one of the things you cannot take away from them is that at least we create wealth. You cannot also take away the fact that in Nigeria today, they represent one of the groups that love this country in reality, not by word of mouth but by demonstration. Everywhere you go in Nigeria after the indigenous population, the people of the south east are perhaps the next second highest population in most parts of Nigeria. So, I think it is something we should support.

On the second benefit he said, “It will bring this sense of justice, equity and inclusiveness.

There is hope for every other Nigerian group.

Every state in Nigeria has people -competent people-but we need to search for them; you don’t pick them on the streets. The concept of zoning is not a bad concept. Until Nigeria becomes a truly united nation, because those who are saying forget about zoning, it is not in the constitution are being clever by half. They were the same people when it was their turn and said it was our turn. Now, it is not anybody’s turn. Secondly, if you want to build a nation where there will be no zoning then let’s build that one. Do you know how it is built in America? It is built if you are born in New York, you are a New Yorker. After four years, if you decide to relocate to Florida, after a few years of living in Florida, you have become a Floridarian, then you go to Texas, you become a Texan. So a father can be from New York while he son is from Florida, and wife from Texas. So, where are you going to zone? It is completely destroyed. If we want to get to that level, let’s start doing that. I was born in Rivers State; my father was born in Rivers State but they say I am from Abia. What else will I do to qualify to come from Rivers? And you say you want to build a united country, how will that happen?”

Reeling out his agenda, he insisted he would be focused on fixing the economy, war against corruption and also prioritise education.

“We are going to run an aggressive foreign exchange economy from the day we come to office. Any kobo we earn from the third year will be invested in a sovereign wealth fund.

Meanwhile, we are going to crack petroleum and bring out all those hydrocarbons and petrochemicals. Then we go to gas which still has a future in the world. Have you been to Rivers state or the oil producing area – Niger Delta, to see the way gas is being flared? More gas is flared than fertilizer harvesting, and why can’t we harvest that gas and turn it around to liquefied natural gas? Of course, refineries will run in Nigeria, Nigeria will stop importing instead we will be exporting because our neighbours here need our refined petrol. We take the market around us. How about power?

Power is two years after we have become president. The power problem in Nigeria would have ended. I have checked, it takes about 24 months to build power plants,” he said, confidently.”

A people’s man, when he is not talking politics, he relaxes in the company of friends.

As his phone rang for another engagement, Ohuabunwa sprang up from his seat, exchanging banter with some of his guests. On a parting note, he sounded quite prophetic.

“God has answered our prayers as a nation.

Every Nigerian eligible should go out to vote and defend their votes because God has promised us what he will do in 2023 and his will be done.”

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GLITZ FOCUS

Olawale Aganga-Williams: A Young Man’s Dream to Provide Affordable Homes for the Homeless Having been homeless once in London, Olawale Aganga-Williams, the Managing Director of AGFRO Limited, a UK-based real estate company, understands the needs of the destitute.

Through his Olawale Aganga-Williams Foundation, he is taking steps to provide shelter for the needy and less-privileged in society, reports Vanessa Obioha

S

ometime in January, Olawale AgangaWilliams and his eponymous foundation stormed the Ojo area of Lagos to give food palliatives to indigents. About 3,000 people, including nursing mothers, widows and the elderly benefitted from the largesse and expressed gratitude to the young man who is based in the

United Kingdom.

That singular charity event marked the beginning of the long term goal of Aganga-Williams, which is to free Nigeria from poverty and make it secure. This desire led him to launch the Olawale Aganga-Williams Foundation, with the core objectives to empower communities through training, skills acquisition for job creation, education and scholarships for underprivileged children and youths.

Also in his pipeline is to provide shelters for the homeless, beginning with Ojo. To many, this may be a herculean task given the economic hardships bedevilling the country. It is not uncommon to see homeless people occupying every available space in the markets, streets, garages, under the bridges in Lagos at night. According to a United Nations’ report last year, about 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing and 100 million are homeless in Nigeria. Forceful evictions, poverty, and family issues are some of the reasons for homelessness. Lagos, a megacity according to Amnesty International, has more than 30,000 people who have been forcibly evicted from various settlements, and other 300,000 residents are under threat of losing their homes.

As worrying as this trend is, Aganga-Williams who was once homeless and has worked with an NGO that caters to the homeless in the UK is ready to roll up his sleeves.

“As an individual, I have always believed that with the resources every country has, we can do more for our citizens,” he said on a recent Sunday afternoon.

In his view, homelessness is a global issue. In the UK, most homeless children are a product of broken homes, gang wars, or forceful evictions by the council. However, he argued that the situation is far better than in Nigeria.

“For a country like Nigeria where homelessness is still an issue, why don’t we invest more in training programmes that these street kids can actually go to and spend their time learning something or skillset or whatever it is just to better themselves than just being outside getting involved in gangs.”

Aganga-Williams’ passion to help the homeless has a backstory. As a young man who left Nigeria to study, he refused to return home when his parents asked him to.

When the funds for upkeep stopped coming, the young man who owns a real-estate company AGFRO Ltd in the UK found himself living on the streets of London.

“I was once homeless and slept in a car. My personal experience of going through that tough stage in my life basically brought out the humanitarian part of who I am today because if you haven’t experienced it before in your life, you will never understand. There is no amount of conversation, you will never be able to feel their pain.”

He continued: “That is why I think we are not targeting our resources to the place of needs. I understand that we can’t solve everyone’s problems.

Everyone’s needs cannot be met at the same time.

But I’ve also believed in small steps. If we could do one shelter today in one local government, that could house 500 people. That is 500 people taken out of the streets.”

Aganga-Williams strongly believes that through his foundation he can reduce housing deficits. The way he sees it, homes can be affordable for Nigerians if the people are empowered alongside. It is more about the government providing the enabling environment for such to thrive. The most poignant question to ask when addressing affordable homes for the young businessman is if the common man can afford these homes.

“That’s why we need to start empowering our people, not just with food alone but with training programmes and skillset that can help them get better jobs. And the government can start creating programmes that can create more jobs.”

Apart from taking the destitute off the streets, Aganga-Williams plans to integrate them back into society.

“There would be training programmes where skills can be learned and school scholarship programmes for those who want to return to school. That’s why the partners we

Aganga-Williams

have are looking to really invest and help us with grants that will support those that are uneducated and want to be educated.

So we’re not just looking at one aspect of life. We’re trying to focus on where we can actually help people going through these difficult times in their lives.”

He emphasized that the objective of his foundation is to meet the needs of the people and targets to feed about 100,000 people by the end of the year.

“The main aim is to focus on the needs of the people.

Because our problems are vast in this country. So we’ve started with the Food Bank Palliative system. So that basically is a pack of different food such as rice, beans, and a little palliative pack and we have been sharing that in the region, especially Ojo. And also we’re looking to give relief to the elderly just to help them in their daily lives.”

Ojo is dear to Aganga-Williams for many reasons. First, it is the place of his birth even though his parents are from Idumota, Lagos.

“My friends used to joke, ‘can anything good come out of Ojo?’ So I thought to myself that if there is anything that comes out of Ojo, I will be one of them,” he said.

He added that he understood the challenges faced by residents in the area.

“I’m aware of the problems they’re currently facing because I’ve lived through it before I left this country. Those are the problems I grew up with. They have water issues, bad roads, erosion and unemployment too.”

For him, the area has not changed that much since he travelled to the UK for his tertiary studies.

“It’s quite painful to see the current state of Ojo. There would have been steps taken to improve it but it is not visible.”

He disclosed that he recently secured 500 hospital equipment for Ojo. His next intervention is to provide wheelchairs for the elderly and disabled. At the moment, he is investing in data collection to ensure that his resources are going to the people that need them most.

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GLITZ ENTERTAINMENT

It’s an Honour to Take Care of Olu Jacobs, Says Joke Silva Stories by Vanessa Obioha At the 2022 iREP International Documentary Film Festival, an emotional Joke Silva accepted a Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of her husband, the veteran actor Olu Jacobs.Jacobswasamongthepersonalities iREPrecognisedfor their consistent excellence in the film industry.

A rousing applause reverberated in the Terra Kulture viewing hall as Jacobs’ face in different reels filled the screen on stage. Overwhelmed by the thunderous reception, Silva who was accompanied by her son Seyi, dabbed her eyes a few times. Any restraint she had fell apart when she began her acceptance speech. Her voice quavered as she spoke.

“Since Olu’s illness, each time we see him recognised and given awards, we burst into tears… It would have been nice for him to be aware of how he is being celebrated.” Silva announced last year that the actor who is recognised as the patriarch of acting had dementia.

She told the audience that despite people’s concern about her coping mechanism, she considers it an honour to look after him.

The actress further informed the audience that her husband saw the future of the film industry right before it achieved its lofty status.

She recalled when he returned from London and told her “Joke, I hear a train. This was in 1984. The next film industry is in Nigeria. And we got back home and the industry in Nigeria is comatose and I wondered where the industry is. But is he not right?

Is it not here?

“And that’s why sometimes I get really angry when people say Nollywood started in the 90s. I feel like taking their ears and nailing it to the ground, but we’ll just have to keep talking and making people realise that even my husband is going to be 80 this year. We stand on the shoulders of people like Duro Ladipo. We have a rich history.”

Jacobs was honoured alongside veteran filmmaker Deji Adesanya and filmmaker and photographer Tam Fiofori.

In his remarks, co-founder of iREP, Femi Odugbemi said that the festival deliberately does not give awards because of its belief that excellence should be recognised when it is consistent.

The festival which opened on Thursday, March 17, will be closing today, March 20.

Joke Silva (m) at iREP 2022

Ali Nuhu is the Latest Checkers Ambassador

KAP Academy Targets Young Filmmakers in Training Programme

Nollywood actor Ali Nuhu was on Wednesday, March 16, unveiled as the latest Checkers Custard ambassador at the Presidential Suite Hall, Tahir Guest Palace, Kano.

Fondly called ‘Sarki Ali’, his partnership with the custard brand will see him in the next few months “bring to the good people of Kano and Nigeria, special packages and opportunities in order to fulfil our respective roles in society,” said

Following the announcement last year of its plans to train 300,000 young Nigerians under its film and television production e-learning program in collaboration with Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works, KAP Academy has now opened calls for entries.

The initiative is part of Mastercard Foundation’s goal to enable 30 million young people, particularly young women across Africa, to access dignified work.

Announcing the call for applications in a statement, the academy owned by famed filmmaker Kunle Afolayan said that application is open to young men and women between the ages of 20 and 35 across Nigeria, and is targeted at people passionate about film and television production.

Afolayan emphasized that the selection process will take into consideration a gender balance ratio to allow for adequate participation of women. e noted that 40 per cent of candidates to be selected would be drawn from young women and men from low-income backgrounds.

Successful programme applicants will become the first set of beneficiaries in the training scheme that will formally commence in April 2022.

“The academy is focused on growing the next generation of skilled filmmakers through the tutelage of veterans and film professionals who provide hands-on experience in diverse

the Managing Director of Checkers Africa Limited, Karan Checker. He further stressed that the interest and choice of Nuhu was due to his amiable character, top-notch talent and humility.

Nuhu also expressed delight in joining the Checkers family. Checkers Custard is produced by Checkers Africa Limited and comes in three exciting flavours of Vanilla, Banana and Milk 3-in-1.

Nuhu (m) receiving his ambassadorial certificate from the management of Checkers... recently.

Ahead of Her New Collection, Sharon Ojong Releases Fashion Film Designer and celebrity stylist, Sharon Ojong is set to launch her first fashion film ‘Children Of God’ for her Rainy Resort 2022 collection. The short film tells the story of a distressed afro-modern man running away from his past and features pieces from the collection worn by a number of style stars.

‘Children of God’ is directed by AMVCAnominated filmmaker, Uche Odoh and features a versatile cast that includes new face and talented artist Charles Okah, fashion model Bertha Amuga, Shalewa Ashafa, Kemi Smallz, Munachi Abii and Ijeoma Aniebo.

Shot in the heart of Lagos, the 12-minute flick spotlights a diverse group of church members unified in their quest for a common good. The 19-member cast, ‘Children of God’ essentially highlights the beauty in our diversity and showcases 19 collection pieces.

According to Ojong who is the Creative Director of Rekana and doubles as Executive Producer and Costume Designer on the project, ‘Children of God’ is inspired by “love, passion and inclusion. We wanted to create a collection inspired by real people with real stories, clothing made with eco-friendly, handwoven and hand-dyed fabrics made with low impact materials for our tie-dye process. And

I’m proud we were able to achieve that, both with the collection and the film.”

Founded in March 2018, Rekana has continued to make a case for sustainability with each new collection. The label’s design has been seen on some of Africa’s biggest celebrities including BBNaija star Nengi, talented musician Simi, superstar actress Idia Aisien, and the ever stunning Chioma Akpotha.

Sharon Ojong

Afolayan

aspects of filmmaking to enrolled students,” he stated.

The training will include ‘The Masterclass Series’ and two levels of certification from professional institutions in the areas of screenwriting, sound, editing, directing, cinematography and production design, among others, as well as practical hands-on training. The KAP Academy will be leveraging smartphone technology for the training as teaching will be conducted through a learning app.

LIQUOROSE, RUGER, CAVEMEN, NOBLE IGWE UNVEILED AS TIGER BEER AMBASSADORS

To lead its new #LiveUncaged campaign, Tiger Lager has unveiled BBNaija star Liquorose, fast-rising Afrobeats singer Ruger, award-winning alternative duo, the Cavemen and fashion icon Noble Igwe as ambassadors.

At a recent private event in Ikoyi, the ambassadors were unveiled as the Tiger brand launched into the year of ‘The Tiger’.

Speaking on the new Tiger ambassadors, the Senior Brand Manager, Tiger Beer, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Beatrice Adeniran expressed her excitement saying, “We are delighted to reveal these five bold mavericks who, against the obstacles in our society, have charted their own course and found their unique voices. Their journey depicts what living uncaged truly means and this event is to celebrate them and recognize them for their courage and unrelenting drive.”

The #LiveUncaged campaign promises an exciting ride for lovers of both the beer and the celebrities revealed. The year-long campaign will include media tours to cities across the country, Tiger beer pop up booths and surprise visits to premium locations, the Roar Live Experience, the Tiger Draught launch and other fun activities set to be Liquorose is one of the ambassadors of Tiger beer unveiled as the year unfolds.

SUNDAY MARCH 20, 2022 • T H I S D AY

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HighLife

with KAYODE ALFRED 08116759807, E-mail: kayflex2@yahoo.com

...Amazing lifestyles of Nigeria’s rich and famous

Like Father, Like Son: Babajide Akeredolu Becomes Go-To Guy in Ondo

Dabiri-Erewa

A Woman at Top: Abike Dabiri-Erewa Proving Her Mettle Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a woman like 30 men: strong, determined, brave. She is successively taking on the challenges of her motherland, pushing the boundaries of activism and representation, and being an all-round Amazon. When some Nigerians hear ‘number one tough cookie’ as a nickname for this eversolid woman, they nod their heads and agree that she is indeed tough to crack but can be relied on to be nothing other than herself.

The war in Ukraine has taught Nigerians many things, including the need to appreciate their peaceful—if leisurely developing— nation. However, while some Nigerians feel sorry for their fellow citizens trapped in Ukrainian soil, others are having a good time stoking schadenfreude in their hearts. But not Dabiri-Erewa or the Nigerians in Diaspora (NiDCOM) team that she leads.

Thanks to the timely intervention by Dabiri-Erewa and company, most Nigerians in Ukraine, especially the students, are back on Nigeria’s shores. Along with gratitude at the prayers that the more compassionate Nigerians back home offered to God on their behalf, these students are beset with joy. After all, as long as there is life, the possibilities for change are endless.

This is something that DabiriErewa has shown time and again: a determined heart will accomplish great things regardless of opposition.

It is consequently no surprise she has managed to exceed expectations over and over again. And just when you think a particular challenge will topple her, Dabiri-Erewa turns it into a victory song and the international community is reminded of a force in Nigeria called NiDCOM and a controller surnamed Dabiri-Erewa.

There are women and there are women, some of whom are metallic in their disposition, cold to the touch, and inclined to smite others.

Then there are those with a wooden personality, gentle, reliable, but also seemingly uninteresting. Then there are the precious stones like DabiriErewa who have gone through more fire and pressure than their peers.

Any wonder that Dabiri-Erewa is still on top of her game? Any wonder that her peers are now far behind her?

There are a thousand and one autobiographies about individuals who refused to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.

The results were always either too good to be true or too horrible to be possible. For the son of Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, Babajide Akeredolu, the steps of his predecessor make up the right way to glory.

At the upper tiers of political and administrative power in Ondo today, there are only a handful of names that are worthy of note. Each of these names belongs to masters of the political game, individuals with decades and decades of experience jousting one another.

And then from behind came Babajide, intent on making his mark and exceeding the ones that came before him. And he is succeeding in this venture.

According to the most recent reports on the goings-on in Ondo, Babajide has inadvertently become the go-to guy. In other words, when

you need high counsel or a push towards the brighter blocks of the bureaucracy, Babajide is just the right guy.

For those who are a bit behind on the happenings in the Sunshine State, Babajide is the Ondo State Adviser and Director-General of the Performance and Project Implementation Monitoring Unit. He was sworn in by his father the governor a few months ago against an ocean of complaints and criticisms.

Governor Akeredolu and some of those who supported the appointment defended it by pointing out the fact that Babajide cannot be more qualified for the position. As the faultfinders had nothing to say against Babajide’s qualifications, they declared that Babajide would lose any relevance in a few months, claiming that he would grow bored with the appointment and end up doing nothing for the state.

It has been a few months since then and Babajide has only grown more popular with the

Mas’ud Bashir Rahamaniya Hugs Limelight

The limelight in Nigeria is a relatively tiny spot that takes getting used to. For the majority of influential business personalities, investors and philanthropists, the spot is still as glamorous as ever. But for others, and here we mention Mas’ud Bashir Rahamaniya, the limelight is best left to others. But what we want for ourselves and what other people want for us are hardly ever the same.

And so it is that despite trying not to, Rahamaniya, the MD of Al-Mas’ud Oil and Gas, has continued to remain so socially relevant to fellow Nigerians that there are calls for him to take up a political mantle and lead his people to greatness. When the proud people of Sokoto gang up on you and ask that you lead them in one capacity or another, that is great evidence that there is more to you than meets the eye. And it is clear that with Rahamaniya, there is much more to him than what is obvious from his many business exploits.

Addax Petroleum is in the news again. In recent months, the company with a Chinese background has had some of Nigeria’s top business investors and CEOs throwing their hats in the ring. The judiciary has even gotten involved which is indicative of the ridiculous amount of profits that these warring investors expect to make from getting ownership of the company’s production blocks.

Before now, the prevailing narrative with Addax Petroleum was that the son-in-law of Atiku Abubakar, the founder and group MD of AA&R Investments and Mars E&P, Abdullahi Haske, had managed to outsmart the other investment wizards to gain control of Addax’s shares. However, following recent developments, this does not seem to be the case.

Based on the most recent reports on the judicial gymnastics over the interests of Addax, Emeka Offor, the billionaire in charge of Kaztec Engineering Ltd., is the main contender (against Haske) for the Addax shares. Before now, Ambrosie Bryant Orjiako (known alternatively as ABC Orjiako) of Salvic Petroleum Resources Ltd. was also in the contesting ring with the duo. However, Orjiako’s place in the limelight has been completely suppressed by the passive-

Rahamaniya

people and more efficient in the dispensation of his duties. Much like his father.

It is generally agreed that Sokoto is an incredible place with a mostly homogeneous population that has very strong opinions about everything and anything. Yet, recent reports from there have it that many well-to-do and not-so-well-to-do individuals and groups have begun clamouring for Rahamaniya to contest for the 2023 governorship seat in the state.

One well-known businessman who is a native of Sokoto allegedly stated that Rahamaniya’s vision, diligence, and strength of character are just what the Sokoto people need to take the next evolutionary step towards sustainable growth and development. Moreover, they want him to run for governorship under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), an indication that the continuity of the current political landscape is preferred over changes.

Regardless of the nuances of their choice, it seems as if Sokoto people have their eyes on Rahamaniya. And what can a man do but accept? Nevertheless, the limelight again has the super businessman and philanthropist in its radiant embrace.

Offor, Orjiako, Atiku’s Son-in-Law, Haske, Battle for Addax’s Remains aggressive moves of Haske and Offor.

Before Haske and his Mars E&P entered the Addax ring, Offor and Orjiako were in charge of the company’s interests with their respective Kaztec and Salvic establishments. However, a variety of issues (including arguments about administration with the Addax’s parent company, Sinopec Group) led to Haske getting 51% of Addax’s interests, leaving 49% for the original controllers, Offor and Orjiako.

Presently, both the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NURPC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have gotten involved.

With this development, the Federal High Court’s decision on who gets Addax at the end of the day could go both ways.

Even so, who can blame Offor and Haske’s refusal to let the other party gain a winning foothold at Addax? Winning the game could boost their capital and influence in the oil and gas and energy industries in Nigeria.

From Lagos to Ogun, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Set to Put His Popularity to Test

Adeola.

Akeredolu

One way to start an article about Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (also known as Yayi) is to write that wonders never end. This is because any conversation about the good senator representing Lagos West District at the National Assembly comes with a pinch of an unbelieving element. So, true to past narratives, Yayi has come once again with something to blow our minds.

Yayi has something of a massive following in Lagos. This is to be expected considering that he is one of three senators representing the three senatorial districts in Lagos (the others being Oluremi Tinubu for Lagos Central and Tokunbo Abiru for Lagos East). But Yayi stands out among these three and—if recent rumours

Orjiako

are true—is bound to stand out even more.

According to the word on the street (and a few posters erected here and there), Yayi is preparing to contest for the 2023 elections in Ogun. But not in Lagos where he is a serving senator. No! Yayi has decided to contest for Ogun West Senatorial seat.

This is not the first time this rumour is making the rounds, but this is the first time photographs of a posing Yayi with 2023 and Ogun State are printed in bold letters to accompany his seemingly heroic shot. Thus, the ridicule and sarcasm that were levelled against the rumour in jest last time cannot be revitalised to be used again.

With less than a year to the Ogun 2023 elections, how Yayi intends to gather the people to him is beyond any onlooker’s ability to imagine. Some are saying that he has already prepared grassroots political infrastructures that have endeared—and will continue to endear—him to the common people.

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HIGHLIFE We like to think that God gives money and a wasteful spirit to the children of the influential and affluent, and talent and sense to the children of poor people. Time and again, we have been proven wrong but we adhere to our beliefs, false though they are. Well, with the son of super influential and super affluent Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Seyi, showing himself to be superior to everybody else in the kingly game of polo, what shall we make of this theory?

More and more people are running to the social media accounts of Seyi to show their loyalty and ask for points on how to play polo like a boss. Who can blame them? Seyi has demonstrated that his grasp of the game is on the same level as his grasp of the adverts and marketing business.

For someone who took his time to build one of Nigeria’s biggest outdoor advertising agencies, Loatsad Promomedia, where exactly did Seyi get the time to play polo until he became the champion he is recognised to be today. Surely he had to

Seyi Tinubu’s Road to Stardom as Lagos’ King of Polo: Details of His New Lease of Life spend some time with his wife and kids, the boys, and the business?

But maybe excellent people do things differently. As Seyi showed a few weeks ago when he led his Lagos STL to clinch the Lagos International Low Cup Tournament. His dual office as club patron and team captain made the limelight sit on him throughout the tournament and the obviously talented guy did not once disappoint.

Thanks to this win, people are no longer looking at Seyi with old eyes. Before now, Seyi excelled in keeping things private and posting stuff on social media with nobody knowing about his everyday life. All that has changed now and Seyi is firmly in the light.

One might even say that this is the beginning of Seyi’s journey to all-round stardom: as a super polo player, thriving business person, and happy family man.

Tinubu

Senator Gbenga Ashafa: Transforming FHA with Landmark Innovations Good people are good people, there are no exceptions to this. Similarly, great people are great people, and there are also no exceptions here. For people like Senator Gbenga Ashafa straddling both categories with their good work, you can bet that there are heaps and heaps of awards decorating their walls and showing how exceptional they are.

It has been almost a year since President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Ashafa to the position of MD/CEO of the Federal Housing Authority of Nigeria (FHA). Since then, some Nigerians have shyly expressed their shock and disappointment that it is not business as usual with Ashafa. Instead, the proper son of Lagos has taken all things housing in Nigeria far beyond recognition, showing his mettle as a progenitor of new and good things.

A sad but regular occurrence with ministerial appointments in Nigeria is that the appointee inaugurates a handful of highprofile projects in the first two to three months

Ashafa

of their appointment. After then, it is game over and a retirement to the United Kingdom or a practical application of the principles of world tourism. And so curses are heaped on them and they end up dying before their time.

Ashafa has shown himself to be different from this lot. The FHA has experienced wave after wave of demonstrative transformation with Ashafa in charge. How many housing projects have cropped up in Nigerian cities?

How many public estates have seen renewal exercises that restored the dignity of their residents? And how many poor Nigerians have had Providence smile on them in the form of cheap homes offered to them by the Ashafa-led administration?

Recently, Ashafa promised to add employment generation to his achievements.

The way things are going, this is possible and will bring new light to what Nigerian ministries and agencies are capable of doing once there is a capable and willing person in charge.

Skit Awards Gathers Momentum as Event Set to Rock Lagos to the Foundation Nigerian youths are one of a kind. In the face of mass unemployment and the debilitating jam that was the COVID-19 virus, the industry that has come to be known as the skit industry opened up like a blooming flower. In recognition of the efforts of these young people who brought that industry to life, an event has been scheduled which could potentially become an annual thing that inspires more Nigerians to get into the skit industry.

Bimbo Daramola is the MD of Concept Bridge, a business group that is particularly interested in the development of Nigeria’s potential and opportunities in Public Relations, Mass Communications using the information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

Soon to be joined by a few others, Daramola has decided to design an award-delivering event that extols Nigeria’s talents in the form of skit makers (skit artists, in Daramola’s opinion).

According to Daramola, the skit industry has a great potential for mass employment and awareness. This is because skit artists can capture the attention of Nigerians (and foreigners) with their short, often funny video clips. As a result, he believes that recognizing these artists formally will greatly boost their confidence and ingenuity, and inspire them to do more.

Daramola and his team are not the first to attempt to distinguish skit artists from the other people of the theatre. However, they are the first to actively do something about it. Thus, in the scheduled event that is to come, these skit artists will be celebrated and

PR Guru, Tokunbo Modupe Adds Another Year … Still One of the Best in the Industry It is a wonderful thing that there are Nigerians who are on top of every innovation that blows around the world. The experts of the developed world can no longer accuse us of backwardness, thanks to this group of fellows. One of them, Tokunbo Modupe, recently added another year to his life on earth, prompting cheers and hurrahs from everywhere.

Some people have long dominated their industries and written their names on the marble stones of history. For Modupe, the Chairman and Lead Consultant of TPT International, these marble stones reflect his many accomplishments in the Public Relations (PR) industry. Although the man inherited that Owo Ondo vibe for business and philanthropy, Modupe managed to integrate them into his business, winning the hearts of people all around.

The PR industry is chaired by doyens who are very sensitive to the momentum of society.

Modupe’s sensitivity is almost unmatched among his peers as he has shown time and again.

Combined with his thirst for knowledge and breaking the limits that geography has forced upon us, Modupe’s standing in the industry is only matched by a handful of others.

But while others have his training, few have Modupe’s character. It is a thing with people in power to figuratively crack their knuckles across the heads of their subordinates. Not so Modupe. He practices what he preaches about relating to people and has evolved from integrating PR into his everyday life to enhancing the elements of rarer-by-comparison private relations.

This attitude of the TPT man has also endeared him to the underprivileged in society, and the result is a deluge of gratitude towards God for a selfless philanthropist. No wonder some people nearly forced him into contesting for the Ondo North senatorial position in 2019.

Perhaps there are still greater things to accomplish in PR, and then politics will be next. With one year added to his years, Modupe is left with nothing but hope for the future.

Hon. Bimbola Daramola and Governor Babajide Sanwolu

awarded for their well-deserved contributions to awareness, to lifting the Nigerian spirit, to thinking up innovative ways to make money, and to proving that Nigerian youths are just as ingenious as the young people from developed worlds.

The people who are informed about the coming event are simply ecstatic. Beyond making the skit industry a formal arm of the Nigerian arts and culture industry, this event is likely going to become an oomph for the mass employment of people everywhere, especially in the skit industry.

Ceelebrating g Two Deccades and d On ne Yeaar of Dickeens Sanom mi Remem mbrance Life keeps on multiplying. In this universe of seemingly endless possibilities, few things remain unchanging. Human memory of past heroes and past horrors is one of such unchanging things. So, on March 11, 2022, Dickens Oghenereuemu Patrick Sanomi was remembered for the many good things he did while he was alive.

As an old philosopher once said, we never truly die until even the dust has forgotten the scent of our embrace.

And that is the truth of it. For Sanomi, fortunately, the dust cannot even begin to forget. Not when his children

still remember; his friends and associates still remember; his foundation of greatness and goodness still remember; and so does the rest of the country.

Before Sanomi passed on, he was the Assistant Inspector General of Police (rtd.), an impartial person, and a friend of big and small. His compassionate disposition made him a shining light that others could not help but attempt to hide under his shadow. And these people have shown no reservation claiming that Sanomi’s light made theirs burn brighter.

Sanomi lived a long and full life filled with colours and crayons. With the colours, he was

dazzled. With the crayons, Sanomi made sure to leave enough of himself in his children to carry out his legacy. And he succeeded in doing so.

To date, the Dickens Sanomi Foundation (DSF) established in the late great man’s honour shines with extraordinary hopefulness and the stories of good works are replicated in the beneficiaries of the foundation.

It has been 21 years since Sanomi passed on.

But every year, March is painted with hopeful colours in Nigeria in honour of the late AIG. He loved people, he loved sports, and he loved Nigeria. And Sanomi contributed greatly to the advancement of every one of these.

Modupe

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LOUD WHISPERS

with JOSEPH EDGAR (09095325791)

Mrs. Obiano and Mrs. Ojukwu: A Feisty Encounter I am watching the video with shock. I am seeing a former First Lady, Mrs. Ebele Obiano, strut like she was tipsy towards Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu Dressed like a horny peacock with feathers all over the place, she was said to have asked Mrs Ojukwu what she was doing there.

Taunting her and daring her to do her worse.

She saw the worse as Bianca was said to have sent her what Nigerians call a dirty slap, followed with an attempt to remove her wig.

We thank God the attempt was not on her clothes because we would have been left with a First Lady completely demystified in her birthday suit.

As expected, Mrs. Obiano retaliated, and there were a few seconds of undignified scramble between two ladies who are supposed to be role models in the society As I watched, I was cringing in shame. As she was pushed away, I saw her walking back to her seat, disheveled with hair scattered all over the place, and murmuring, ‘ashawo’ to her adversary.

This I have heard is the latest in a very shameful career in public assault. I have seen a report where the Deputy Governor’s wife had been subjected to such treatment. We have also heard that His Excellency, who just handed over, had also been a victim.

Drivers and other domestic victims are

Umahi Mrs. Obiano (left) and Mrs. Ojukwu....when the going was good

this video circulating is a clear example of how we should also be looking at these so-called potential first ladies as we elect our leaders.

A first lady should be a mother to all. She must have grace and carry herself with the dignity that the role demands.

Sad to say that our military leaders had far better first ladies. Can you imagine Maryann Babangida in this mode or Marwa’s first lady slapping anybody?

Don’t let me even go this far, see Mrs. Onari Duke, see Dr. Sanwo-Olu, See Mrs. ElRufai, and you begin to wonder what kind of market women this one was inside State House.

Education and upbringing follow join this thing. The saying that clothe a pig....... comes to mind.

As for Bianca let me just say that I am terribly disappointed because she was married to one of the most elegant gentlemen ever. A man of letters and even though fought a war, in his later years was able to show sweetness.

Shebi, we all read the book, ‘Because I Am Involved’ where he extolled Bianca’s beauty. If only he knew that she would now turn into a ‘bolekaja’ beauty years after his departure This was quite shameful and a total disgrace to all Nigerian womanhood. Shame.

Kai. I tire. Only in Nigeria.

said to be victims almost on a daily basis.

That this behaviour has gone uncontrolled for this long is the failure of the state psychiatric institutions We do not need permission to harness and hold down these persons for treatment, no matter how highly placed. These persons can go and slap Pope if Pope, no greet, them well.

What we are seeing here is not ordinary eye o. We thank God that the tenure is over before she goes and calls the Queen of England ashawo.

What could have transpired at such an auspicious event where history was being recorded to warrant such barbaric behaviour beats my imagination These women are a disgrace to womanhood, and

GODWIN OBASEKI AND NYESOM WIKE: GUBERNATORIAL RECKLESSNESS We have been watching and reading the back and forth from these so-called leaders. Yes, I used to really enjoy Wike’s comeback on issues but this is just too much. The statement I have been reading and peddled by many news media shows a very uncouth and rough engagement by these two.

Wike, in trying to berate Phillip Shuaib for threatening to leave the PDP, has gone too far by engaging like a drunken sailor in a run-down beer parlour. The words, the sentiments all sound very childlike and ‘unstatesman-like’. I am very sorry; he has lost me this time and I find his engagements not funny at all. Disgraceful is the word.

Telling us how he did not eat during Obaseki’s campaign and calling that one a traitor, even going as far as apologising to Oshiomole is just low, down and shameful.

What is remaining now is to tell us how Obaseki sleeps with his wife. And this is a leader who has presidential ambitions?

Na wa.

Obaseki on the other hand — that one cannot even talk well make person hear am — has tried to fight back in his own lame and very amateurish way, calling Wike a bully.

Are these leaders? These two? Are these ones the kind of leaders, young emerging leaders should look up to or even be inspired? These two are nothing but motor park politicians hiding under the garb of

gubernatorial leadership given to them by a political system that is nothing but ‘toutish’ Otherwise, how can a sane political system throw up these kinds of leaders? Instead of them quickly sorting out whatever ‘tiny’ misgivings they have and face very squarely a much bigger matter of the presidential election, they are busy pulling each other’s tiny ‘d…s’ in public and telling us whose head is bigger and who is uglier.

This is what in Shomolu we call ‘yeye dey smell’. Na real yeye. Mtchew.

BOLA AHMED TINUBU: STOP SAYING THIS Anytime I see Baba make this statement, I cringe. That the presidency is his lifetime ambition? This is so internal and smirks of an arrogant ambition devoid of what we feel or want as a people.

Whoever are his handlers should kindly beg him to stop saying this na. Like Baba has never toasted a woman before? Oya go and be toasting a sweet baby – please try this when Mummy Remi has also gone for her own London medical pilgrimage o. Don’t say na me push you o when they catch you – and be telling the girl, it has been my lifetime ambition to ‘nack’ you, and watch what will happen to your head.

Mbok, your lifetime ambition does not tell us what is in it for us in this deal as a harassed and tormented people. This is especially terrible when you put it side by side with the turbulence we have faced since 2015 and the role Baba played in

foisting this on us.

It will make us ask what exactly have we done wrong that God has punished us with this pestilence, such that after eight years, he is trying to bring another eight years of woe based on lifetime ambition.

Don’t get me wrong o. I think Tinubu is the only one out there running a very serious and credible campaign. He is the most hardworking and has built the most penetrative structure and has been through the length and breadth of this country, selling his candidacy. In fact, if there is an election this weekend, Tinubu would win hands down as a result of his preparedness.

For me, if there is an election today barring the unpredictability of the Nigerian political terrain, Tinubu will win hands down.

So, this his talk of lifetime ambition should end immediately. He should rather be more apologetic and show us in very concrete terms how he plans to ameliorate the situation, his policies and all that please.

Who lifetime ambition help? Diesel na N700 per litre. Per hour hotel don increase price o and condoms now are over N2,000 per pack and NLC will not see this one now o, some of us will soon spark o.

CHIKE OGEAH: A GLOATING OGBUESHI This my handsome Oga is gloating o.

The man is just so happy and who can blame him. The Sifax Group owns Mcfolly Limited, owners of the wonderful Marriott Hotel where my Lord is the pioneer Managing Director has just been awarded

“Hotel of the Year’ by the Travellers’ Association.

It does not come as a surprise because the hotel in its very short life has won three very lucrative international crew business and if you understand how that industry works, you will not blame Chike for walking around like a peacock these days.

The hotel which was built and opened during the pandemic, has taken the hospitality business by storm, forcefully seeking and taking market leadership and turning the Ikeja GRA hub into the new hospitality hub in the country, impacting on lesser franchises in the area with spill over business.

Me sef I agree because I have experienced the place o. The other day, my brother Charles O’Tudor asked me to meet him there for a meeting. I went o. The place was beautiful, elegantly apportioned and world class in everything including service delivery.

When my brother Charles saw the menu, he said “Edgar, make we drink coke and take one sandwich.”

I replied: “Shebi I don tell you say make we go that Afang woman for Mende go do our meeting, you no gree. See as you come dey call Davos Economic Summit as you see prices.”

Anyway, let me use this opportunity to congratulate the team at The Marriott for this immediate impact and do wish them longevity in business. They remain an inspiring franchise to the rest of the nation. Well-done.

Adebutu

Wike:

Tinubu

Ogeah

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LOUD WHISPERS NGX: N700M A BROKER During the week, I saw a THISDAY report on the NGX. Let me first give you guys the highlight before I fire. The 2021 result released by the Exchange showed an increase in directors emolument by 78.41% to about N423.12 million. Meaning that each of the directors took home about N251.6m the year under review.

Now wait for it: management staff stayed put at 26 while non-management staff reduced to 176 from 241 during the period under review. You know what this means?

To fund the above director fees, they downsized and moved the saved earnings upstairs. It is well.

More is coming on. Remunerations paid to board members excluding pensions and reimbursable allowances increased by a whopping 68.2% to N811.6m from N482.66.

All of this against the backdrop of a petit increase in profits of just 22% with revenue growing by only 14%. Na wa What this means at face value is that this is a huge ‘party’. A ‘Neroistic’ type party, where the orgy is ongoing as this ‘Rome’ is burning.

Don’t let me talk too much since there seems to be a silver lining in the sky with the success of the demutualisation and the coming in of new and more vibrant shareholders and management led by my brother Temi Popoola, a very brilliant investment banker.

The belief and expectation is that corporate governance will be strengthened and the new board will ensure much more responsiveness to the vision of the Exchange as against this ‘owambe’ we just saw.

Shey you guys now see why one of their Oga wanted to still sit on the Board of the NGX – the Exchange and also the holding company. Who will see this kind of gravy train and will not do juju to retain his position. I no blame am.

So, let’s not talk just yet, make we dey watch for some time to see how things will pan out.

But seriously, if this continues some of these our ‘eaglet’ presidential candidates will forget that ambition and come and be submitting CV in this place o. Kai. Even me self will leave Shomolu and come and look for a job at the Exchange o.

ONOWU AMECHI: I STAND BY YOU They have said, “Duke, you have to remain neutral.” I said to them, “common getaway you” like my former classmate at the University of Ibadan, Obinna Ihunna will say when he is faced with a political theory he cannot debunk.

I will never stay neutral when at 52, I am facing almost a last opportunity to work for good democratic governance in this country. What jaga jaga neutral. We have to all put hands on deck to put the few good men we have in strategic positions, hence my unwavering support for Akan Udofia in Akwa Ibom.

In this vein, I have also discovered my brother Onowu Amaechi in Anambra.

He was first introduced to me by my former classmate in the Political Science department of the University of Ibadan and one of the most erudite politicians that I have ever met in my life – shey I have started sounding like Uncle Dele Momodu abi? It is needed – James Etonirun.

James had called me much earlier to ask that I watch this particular person. Which I have done very clinically. He is contesting for State Chairman of the PDP and I must say that if Anambra PDP knows what is coming for them, this should be their man.

Here are a few things about him. He is the founding member of the party in the state, worked and served former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme from 1998 to 2009 and you know what type of politics that sage played. State organising Secretary, Vice Chairman of the party and acting Deputy Chairman and wait for it: at no time has he crossed the carpet, moved to another party or been accused of any anti-party activities.

It is this consistency that is making some of us root for his candidacy. It is this stoic resolve that we need at all levels of strategic political engagement in this country and this is why, we are appealing very stringently to the delegates of the

PDP in Anambra to look very critically at this candidacy and do the right thing. A word!

DR IBIRONKE SANWO-OLU: A HAPPY MUMMY I have never had the good fortune of meeting with this very elegant and hardworking First Lady. I have met her by proxy though with very strong positive feedback on her human touch and deep passion for the average Lagosian.

Well, this Sunday, I will finally meet her, if she attends our wonderful massage session. That is how I received a letter during the week appointing me Happy Ambassador. The Award is also being given to Her Excellency, His Royal Highness, the Oniru of Iruland, Health Commissioner, Professor Akin Abayomi and ace comedian, Alibaba.

In my own case, they say I have brought happiness to Nigerians through my work in theatre, arts and media. I thanked them.

But the letter came when the Duchess and I were having a fight. Apparently, we are moving houses and I travelled only to come back to find all my paraphernalia in the new house which has no power but her own things remained intact in the old house with power turning me into a refugee instantly. I didn’t spark o as if I knew they will soon appoint me Happiness Ambassador, I just asked very sweetly, “Adaigha, please how will I watch my xvideos like this?”

That was all I asked o and they blocked my line, suspended bedroom activities and barred me from the kitchen. This Duchess sha likes to throw sledgehammer on top every little matter, saying that I didn’t even say thank you but instead I was nagging and because of that I must

receive the category of sanctions I am facing like person wey attack Ukraine. Kai. Anyways, I thank the Happiness Centre, a wellness, wholesome and alternative medicine centre for considering me worthy for this award. We are grateful.

Two questions though: will I be massaged in the same room as Madam? I will advise against it because you know how Jide can be getting very touchy if you as much as wink at Madam, let alone exposing my ‘one pack’ and well-built body in a massage parlour. We do not want a constitutional crisis in our state o.

Finally, will I be having a happy ending, make I prepare come? If you know, you know.

BISI ADEBUTU: A CHALLENGING ENGAGEMENT You see, I will for the very first time in my life pick my words. Normally when I write about someone, I will just be blasting without a care, but this time fear is catching me.

“Edgar, the next time you ‘hail’ me, I will block you.”

That was the terse message I got on my phone after receiving major support for my new play, ‘Baba Kekere’ from this very hardworking businessman.

But my Mama did not bring me up like that. How will I not run to the mountain top and proclaim his name? How will I not say a huge thank you to a man who has single-handedly brought life back to this project.

Raising money for a theatre project especially for an icon who in his lifetime was a spartan and didn’t ‘make’ a lot of people is worse than selling Afang to an Ibibio man.

Many nights I have gone to bed in tears.

EMMA UDUAGHAN: A SPECIAL GREETING TO THE OTHER ‘EMMA’ So that there is no mistake, this shout out is to the other Emma, the Alema of Warri Kingdom. Let me further dimension it. This Emma is the one who recently secured the love of the extremely beautiful Natasha Akpoti in one of the most talked about nuptials this year.

During the week, I had a long conversation with the Itsekiri High Chief and he was in good spirits. Who will not be with such a beautiful and highly intelligent beauty by his side? He laughed and talked as if we were longtime friends

Uduaghan and his wife, Natasha Akpoti

and brothers. I greeted him for his wedding and wished him a long and well-deserved marriage.

I will be in Warri during the week on a courtesy call on the highly respected Olu of Warri on the back of our new play, Ogiame Erejuwa II and hope to use the opportunity to visit Chief Uduaghan to look at his new bride very closely.

They say she is as beautiful as the mammy water that used a guitar to knock Victor Uwaifo’s head.

The one that he composed the song ‘Joromi’ for. I will brief you guys.

Shey una trust me.

The hypocrisy of it all is mad. Even Baba Kekere’s Local Government Chairmen whose office is beside his house have turned blank. But we keep trudging and then Bisi comes from nowhere and with nothing to gain but to ensure posterity and history is well chronicled, drops this bomb and he says I should not hail him?

Mbok, block me. I will hail you well.

Block me oooo, block me oooo. When the alert came, I was in the bathroom doing my daily number ‘2’. I jumped up and ran down the stairs stark naked to the excitement of the full-grown maid cleaning the room and to the consternation of the Duchess seeing her crown jewels in the full glare of Jemilat.

I quickly used the curtain to cover myself and showed her and said, see what Bisi has done o. That Bisi wey no dey ever take my call for one year. Yes na, that Bisi wey be your former oga brother, that one wey dey do like he no like me.

Kai, I immediately called Makinde Adeniran, the powerfully gifted director to resume work; we have money now.

Bisi Adebutu has ensured that one of the simplest stories of leadership will be told on stage this April.

God bless you, my brother. God bless you o. Mbok don’t vex, we are doing Emir Sanusi next, can I come again? E ma binu si me ejo.

KEN ETETE: A RENAISSANCE MAN Some weeks ago, I mentioned that we assembled in his office to eat lunch daily and that we will be pretending to be talking business but eating food. Well, I was taken to task by Alaba and Dipo who ensured that the Afang was finished before I got there and I was served rice with one meat. Well, there is God, no problem.

When I start releasing peoples’ nude pictures, they will say Duke is crazy o.

Anyways, Ken’s Century Group has emerged as an historic firm. Sometime between 2016 and 2018, my firm Hamilton and George served as advisers to Ken’s Century Group in the acquisition of two floating, production, storage and output units making them the largest indigenous players in that space in Africa.

It was many nights of work, toil and sweat to close this deal. Its complexity made the task quite arduous and for us as advisers, it pushed us to the very limit.

Thankfully, we closed and immediately got confronted with another challenge.

The pandemic made it almost impossible for the two units to be fully deployed, even though one of the FSPO’s was already deployed when we acquired them, it still was a huge challenge engaging them at full capacity.

No operator anywhere in the world keeps a ‘non deployed FPSO’ floating complete with its humongous running cost in hard currency. But Century did it and for all of that time pushed its resilience and will to deliver to areas far beyond human capacity.

Thankfully, we have sighted the end of the tunnel. The biggest of the two FPSOs is about to be deployed, bringing an end to the long drought.

At this point, I think it’s time to congratulate the team at Century with its amiable and visionary leader, Ken Etete and to also congratulate the team at Hamilton and George for a job well-done.

TONY RAPU: ‘SHEKERE’ OF LIFE Some things are quite simple in life but the influence they make are unimaginable. I stumbled on this series and got transfixed.

In fact, as I write this column, I am listening to the songs. Apparently, the ‘Shekere’ concert is a very simple concert format that involves the likable Pastor Rapu seated on stage with a long line of singers all of them with the ‘shekere’ and singing some wonderful Christian songs.

Mighty o. Very engaging and spirit filled.

This is the one that ‘can catch me’. Not all that ‘come and pay your tithe or your balls will roast in hell fire’.

I simply just love the format, the songs and most importantly the ‘shekere’ as it all fuses into a powerful engagement.

Well-done Pastor, mbok where is your church located make I branch one of these Sundays?

Brilliant.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 20, 2022

Adebayo Adeoye bayoolunla@gmail.com; 08054680651

SOCIETY WATCH

Super Civil Servant Kale Kawu Honoured

Kolade Karim: Role Model Par Excellence In Yorubaland, the title Agbaoye is never given to a Lilliputian or a man of little means.

It is an honour reserved only for a wellrespected, highly influential, powerful, wellconnected and extremely wealthy man.

This certainly explains why billionaire businessman, Orikolade Ayodele Karim aptly fits into that description.

When the race for the new Agbaoye of Ibadanland commenced last year, shortly after the death of the former holder of the title, Chief Harry Akande, it was so intense.

For more than a month, the seemingly tortuous search for a fitting replacement, who must be very wealthy, powerful, influential and well connected, had gone on.

But at last, after wider consultations, Karim, a shipping magnate and stupendously wealthy boss of Shoreline Natural Resources clinched it. The date for the coronation was fixed by the then monarch, His Imperial Majesty Oba Saliu

Akanmu Adetunji.

During the ceremony, the international business magnate showcased how well connected and influential he is, as the event that was held on April 3, 2021, literally shook the ancient city of Ibadan to its very foundation.

Interestingly, since he was installed, the high-flying globally recognised mogul has not disappointed his people. There is no gainsaying that the polo-loving Karim truly loves his hometown given his level of participation in the socio-political development of the ancient city of Ibadan.

Society Watch gathered that he has been a good ambassador of the ancient city and continues to represent what it stands for.

A source disclosed that Karim is a role model to many young ones in his hometown as he has once again restored their hopes in their roots.

When Ex-Enugu Commissioner Rita Mbah Shone Like a Diamond

Kawu

Debonair public servant, Kale Kawu, was last Friday turbaned as the Dan Iyan of Ilorin by the Emir of the ancient town Alhaji Ibrahim Kolapo Sulu Gambari.

Dan Iyan means the head of all Princes and Princesses, a stripe Kawu earned due to his blue blood from the Shita Ruling House. His deceased father, Alhaji Kawu Agaka, had been Secretary to the incumbent Emir.

Alhaji Agaka also served the monarch’s father, the late Emir, Zulukainani Gambari, and the incumbent’s predecessor, the late Aliyu Abdulkadir, better known as Baba Agba, in various capacities. He was also a prominent figure in the traditional circle during his days.

Kawu, an engineer, is the Director of Procurement at Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and is touching lives in his little corner.

The occasion afforded many to reward his good deeds in the past years, which they did spectacularly.

Not a few trooped after him to the Emir’s Palace for the turbaning ceremony in traditional style, peculiar to people of northern extraction.

In attendance were several dignitaries including Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello and Olofa of Offa in Kwara State, Oba Mufutau Gbadamosi.

The icing on the cake was the performance by ace Fuji singer, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, aka K1 De Ultimate, during the party organized by the most senior Prince at the Atlantic Event Centre in the evening of that memorable day.

Kawu had all his formal education in Ilorin and neighbouring Ogbomoso in Oyo State.

He attended Ansar Ud Deen Primary School; Government Secondary School; Kwara State Polytechnic and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH).

In one of his oft-quoted statements, the popular Bishop of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great, said: “A good deed is never lost. He who sows courtesy reaps friendship; he who plants kindness gathers love; pleasure bestowed on a grateful mind was never sterile, but generally, gratitude begets reward.”

For years, Hon. Rita Mbah has lived her life guarded by this witty saying. In all her humane deeds, she does not court cheap publicity; and does her things without expecting any reward from anyone.

When she founded the Keepinghopeabreast Initiative and decided to offer a free screening of breast cancer for 1,000 women annually, little did she know that some people had opened a dossier of some sort on her.

It, therefore, came as a pleasant surprise to the beautiful CEO of Modern Diagnostic Centre, Enugu when an organisation in faraway United Arab Emirates contacted and nominated her for an award. She thought it was a joke initially when the organisers requested her profile. It was gathered that the organisers had been most impressed with her intimidating profile.

Mbah

Karim

Specifically, on March 12, 2022, the intelligent woman shone like a diamond when she joined other prominent women who have shattered the glass ceilings to receive awards in Dubai.

An obviously elated Mbah, in her remarks on the occasion, said: “So, when I decided to screen 1,000 women annually free for breast cancer, little did I know that an organisation in the faraway United Arab Emirates would stumble on my Keepinghopeabreast initiative.

“Yes, they did and nominated me for this prestigious award. I was indeed honoured and humbled when they requested my profile and were convinced after going through my political journey as a woman that I deserved this award. I thank God for his blessing upon my life.”

The internationally recognised awards organised by the Ladies in Business Magazine Global took place at the DoubleTree By Hilton in Dubai. It aims to recognise and appreciate ladies and women in business all over the world who have risen above their struggles and are now successful in their capacities. It is also to encourage them to do more and achieve more.

Socialite Businesswoman Princess Toyin Kolade Triumphs

Kolade

Not too many businesswomen and chief executives have her kind of guts. She does not cringe, even in the face of difficulty.

Perhaps, this unique attribute was the impetus that made her go into business at a time when many had not given her any chance of survival.

Indeed, when Princess Toyin Kolade set up her business, many had sneered at her, but she simply refused to entomb her living dream. Unlike many other women, she likes to run neck and neck with men, for as long as the race is for a noble cause. And she has successfully engraved her name in the hearts of the generality of her compatriots. No doubt, nobody can deny the fact that her name is essentially synonymous with success.

When the Iyalaje Oodua was taken to court for allegedly being involved in a $32.6bn fraud, many who know her for being straightforward and honest, argued that there must be a kind of mistake somewhere. In the end, those people were right after all, as she has finally wriggled herself out of the legal jigsaw that threatened her business empire,

following the judgment of a Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos that struck out the case.

It was revealed that the billionaire businesswoman has proven to the world and those who believe in her that she is, indeed, a woman who does her business with an open mind and with no skeleton in her closet.

The presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, threw out the charge sequel to a withdrawal application made by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). Counsel from the office of the AGF, Pius Akutah, had applied to withdraw the charge as a result of a letter from the nominal complainant, Access Bank Plc. Counsel to the socialite businesswoman and boss of Fisolak Global Resources Limited, Mr. Dele Adesina, SAN, commended the conduct of the prosecution by withdrawing the charge after an objection had been raised.

Also, counsel to the other defendants, Dada Awosika, SAN commended the prosecution on the withdrawal but urged the court to dismiss the charge and acquit the defendants because the charge flew from a business transaction.

Serial Entrepreneur Tola Awosika’s Passion for Positive Changes There is no gainsaying the fact that many have lost hope in the nation’s democratic process.

But what is not in contest is that the beauty of our democratic processes can always be restored when the people enjoy the much-needed dividends of democracy.

Indeed, the realities of the recent #ENDSARS protest has opened the eyes of many to the realization that we have a new generation of young individuals who are ready and committed to facilitating positive changes, a generation of young minds who dare to pull the bull by the horn.

This is exactly the reason Dr. Tola Awosika, a serial entrepreneur, politician and astute businessman, is on the lips of his people He is on a mission of change for the Ondo Central Senatorial district, one which is fuelled

by his passion to use polity as a viable tool for societal re-engineering.

Awosika, an indigene of Ondo, believes that the time has come to herald policies and initiatives with direct impacts on the welfare of the people. He believes that there is so much that could be achieved in the Senate through proper legislation, adequate leadership and representation. He hopes to bring governance closer to the grassroots if given the opportunity to represent the Senatorial district at the Red Chamber.

Awosika, according to his supporters, has a history of running successful companies, and this is one of his plans for the senatorial district.

According to one of his supporters, “He also hopes to transform Ondo Central Senatorial district to a new dispensation of prosperity and economic wealth.”

Awosika

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ JUNE 24 2012

ARTS & REVIEW A

PUBLICATION

20.3.2022

A Show for Feminine Flame The earthy garden at the Korean Embassy, Abuja saw a convergence of leading and emerging female artists in a show titled ‘The Beauty of Nigeria’ dedicated to the global commemoration of International Women’s Day, says Yinka Olatunbosun

T

he standards for deÀning beauty have evolved over the course of history.

From body types to facial features, the ideals of beauty had travelled through time and temperaments. Women have always been associated with the beauty industry and have excelled in it for centuries. Hence, it was only natural to bring together women in arts to celebrate the beauty of Nigeria on canvas in an exhibition that featured 30 works by 18 female artists. The cross-generational show titled ‘The Beauty of Nigeria’ was sponsored by the embassy of the Republic of Korea in collaboration with Female Artists Association of Nigeria (FEAAN) and Nike Art Gallery.

A symbol of the return to normalcy, the show reopens the embassy to the Nigerian public since the onset of the pandemic. Blending Nigerian arts and Korean aesthetics, the exhibition is one in a series of nationwide exhibitions initiated by FEAAN. In his opening remarks, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Kim YoungChae extolled the beauty of Nigerian arts and culture.

“We are now at the end of the long and lonely tunnel of Covid-19 and the rainy season will soon turn nature into full of life and vibrancy. We yearn for the return to normalcy. In this hopeful time of season, I am delighted to see the Korean Embassy host the exhibition under the name of ‘Beauty of Nigeria’ in collaboration with FEAAN. Our host country Nigeria is endowed with talents particularly in the area of soft power such as music, movie, fashion, paintings and traditional arts. The exhibition is to share and appreciate its beauty and talent,’’ he said.

Some of the featured artists include the patron of FEAAN and renowned artist, Chief Nike Davies-Okundaye.

A native of Kogi, she spent her early

childhood in Oshogbo where she received informal training in indigo and adire making by the Oshogbo Art School. She seeks to re-establish the value of adire as art and to increase the appreciation of this design. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum of African Art in Washington D.C. Some of her paintings at the show include ‘Attribute of AͿection,’ ‘Ready for Marriage,’ ‘Togetherness and Struggling African woman.’

Another prominent artist at the show is Ngozi Akande, a proliÀc Nigerian artist known for using her art as an advocacy tool for women rights and empowerment. She is the co-founder and past president of FEEAN who has served as a secretary for SNA in Abuja. With works in UNESCO collections in Paris and New York, she has received several awards for mentoring women and promoting arts. She is the director and head of the department of arts and craft, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC). Her work at the show is titled ‘Nostalgia.’

Chinze Ojobo, also featured at the exhibition, is a former student of the renowned Ghanaian artists, El Anatsui. Though a graduate of interior designing in the US with a post graduate diploma in Public Relations and Advertising, she has grown to become a mixed media painter with a knack for vibrant colours and symbolism, Chinze is the 2018 winner of the African Achievers Award for Creative Art at the House of Commons, London. As the current president of FEAAN, she reiterated the association’s commitment to promoting the interests of women in the maledominated Àeld of arts.

“We started in 2001 with just a few artists but now we have over 300 artists. We try as much as

One of the paintings at the exhibition.

possible to do exhibitions to promote the female artists. We do it every March 8 and speak against violence against women. But on October 1, we have a September show that Áows into October 1 celebrations. We have done cultural exchange programmes and workshops. The good thing about our exhibitions is that it empowers the female artists to sell their works and get connected with collectors. It also makes them heighten their aspirations and helps their network to be strong,’’ she revealed in a brief interview.

FEAAN which turned 20 years in 2021 has had over 30 exhibitions with diͿerent themes related to women or social realities. The association has used art collectively to campaign against Gender based violence and rape.

For Abigail Nnaji, a BA in Arts holder from the University of Nsukka, fashion has largely inÁuenced her style of artistic expression. She was inÁuenced by her mother’s fashion business as she watched her cut fabrics to precision. She would later experiment with paper cutting tech-

nique and paintings to create fashion inspired paintings.

Another exhibition artist, Lilian Chizoba Pilaku is a resident artist and curator at the National Gallery of Art, Nigeria. Versatile in painting and video art, she has showcased her works at the Neijing Biennale which is an icing on the cake for the artist who graduated from the Southwest University Chongqing China.

Amarachi Odimba a self-taught multimedia artist and a graduate of Geology and mining from Enugu state university, having honed her skills through residencies both local and international is also featured. Her paintings are often abstracted and ambiguous forms that combine colour drips and gestural brush strokes with a spontaneous and expressive approach.

Her paintings are informed by personal experiences and allegorical imagery, referencing the complexities of the human condition and the forms of relationships that exist in contemporary society. Her work at the show is titled ‘Inertia.’

EDITOR OKECHUKWU UWAEZUOKE/ okechukwu.uwaezuoke@thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

ARTS & REVIEW\\ART-LOGUE

IMT AND THE CONFLUENCE OF INTERSECTIONS Ayo Adewunmi

E

nugu (Enugwu), translated as "hilltop," was established due to the discovery of Coal by the colonialists in the early 20th century. As a result of the economic activities, it became an urban centre with intersections of multiple ethnic nationalities, primarily from southeast Nigeria. This background framed the beginning of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT).

In the simple dictionary deÀnition, an intersection is "a point at which two or more things intersect" (Oxford). Many traditional African cultures consider road intersections a vital point of spiritual or physical relevance. This is because it is the point where paths cross, or the point where roads converge, and the point where roads diverge. Such junctions assume some importance.

Similarly, art schools are signiÀcant as they are points where various art ideologies converge and diverge.

At its inception in 1973, IMT Enugu Art School became a point of intersection of diͿerent layers.

The Àrst layer became a point where diͿerent cultural philosophies intersect due to the multicultural crossroads. On the second layer, it was a point where diͿerent art ideologies intersect.

Pioneer lecturers and Instructors had diͿerent artistic background orientations. Lecturers were primarily from the Nsukka School, Zaria School, and the Yaba School. At that point in history, modern Nigerian art was experiencing a radical rebirth. The ideological revolution engineered by a group of graduates of Zaria School, tagged "Zaria Rebels," was spreading through art schools around the nation. Art schools began to redeÀne their stylistic ideologies and their conceptual framework. Consequently, when Lecturers from these three schools, with their diverse ideologies, started the IMT School, it was a conÁuence of intersections. The birth of a new school with a diͿerent orientation emerged.

Thus, IMT School became a place of experimentation with a divergent stylistic ideology. This new ideology was a step away from the famous,

The Rising of a New Dawn

EXHIBITION uniÀed ideological identity. The divergence of ideological approaches and experimentation continued in the 1980s and 1990s when additional lecturers, yet from various backgrounds, were added to the School's graduates who had become lecturers. This addition pushed further the intersection of ideas.

This exhibition presents intersections of streams of graduates of the Enugu Art School divided along a historical timeline. Having these blocks of time enables one to see the developmental trends of the School as well as the intersections between each historic block. Therefore, four historic blocks were identiÀed to project "IMT Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." The Àrst group is the School's earliest graduates, between 1973 -1982. They are represented by Chike Nwaka, Chris Afuba,

Tony Umunna, Bona Ezeudu, Obiora Anidi and others. The second block graduated between 1983 and 1992, including Cyril Nwokoli, Obi Ekenchi, Innocent Okoye, Eddy Okolo, Maria Mbelu, and Fide Udenta. The third block from 1993- 2007, features Harold Ekpelebe, Uche Chima Joel, Uloma Asiegbu, klint Afam Igwemba (Klint da Drunk), Amaka Chime, Samuel Maduike and others. While the fourth block includes those who graduated after the School relocated to the current location within IMT Campus III, 2008 to 2020. They include Okechukeu Eze, Valentine Ani, Praise Edwards, Chinedu Ogakwu, Nnamdi Udoka, Chineye Eze, Stephen Eboh, Onyinye Ezennia, Ifedili Chibuike, Melford Odo, to mention just a few.

The scope of this exhibition is to have representation of products of the School across the board; therefore, a total of sixty professionals were selected based on participation in professional exhibitions. Added to the selected artists, as an honor, are a few of the graduates who professionally impacted others but are no longer with us on this side of the divide.

The curatorial team is aware of many other distinguished professionals who could not be reached to participate in this exhibition for the reason of time and distance. Notwithstanding, the works in this exhibition are an overview of the stylistic tendencies of the IMT School of Art. It may be challenging to stereotype the Enugu School with a particular cultural context; at the same time, it is not possible to box it within any speciÀc stylistic ideology. The School sits nicely in the sphere of experimentation and the intersection of ideologies and culture. This, the exhibition reveals in its entirety.

The exhibition tagged, Art Fair Enugu organized

by National Gallery of Art in collaboration with IMT, opened on February 17, 2022, will remain open till March 17, 2022 at the International Conference Centre, IMT Campus 111, Enugu.

Dr Adewunmi is the Head of Department of Graphic Design at the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu.

'AFROCONFUSIONIST' CHOREOGRAPHER EXPLORES AFRICAN DANCE, MUSIC IN HAMBURG Yinka Olatunbosun

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igerian born interdisciplinary artist, Israel Akpan Sunday is on a mission to thrill the Hamburg audience in a poetic jam session with the production of ‘Afroconfusionist.’ Produced by Family Production and S.I.A. Projects, Afroconfusionist is a mishmash of political and cultural-historical references, styles and feelings that combines music and dance.

Set to be performed by a team of four dancers and two musicians, the choreographer Israel Akpan Sunday revealed that the group will use their culture to interrogate the concept of indecision. Funded by the Hamburg Ministry of Culture and the Hamburgische Kulturstiftung, the production was propelled by the need

MUSIC to explore the multi-cultural resources from the artist’s home country, Nigeria.

Sunday, who currently lives and works in Hamburg is an interdisciplinary artist who taps from sociological, political and economic problems of his contemporary society to question the system.

His performance style is characterized by a fusion of everyday movements and behaviours with contemporary dance and live music. His works are sensual, poetic and political. For instance, his 2017 production titled ‘Consider Me Mad Projects,’ he appropriates the human body as a performance tool in a dance workshop that toured several African countries including Uganda.

Poster Image for Afroconfusionist

IDENTITY SPACE AS THEME OF NEW SOLO SHOW AT TERRA KULTURE Yinka Olatunbosun

PAINTING

One of Onah's paintings.

The nine-day solo art exhibition, 'Human Identity Space' by Kent Onah is now open to art connoisseurs at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island Lagos. The show will run till March 28 as the artist showcases 27 paintings in pursuit of a better world.

Onah, who is also a lecturer at the Auchi Polytechnic, has a very Àrm belief that art beyond aesthetics is a powerful tool for strong conversations that are beyond words.

The current exhibition interrogates the human identity space within the context of human challenges.

“In this human narrative, I try to showcase the human identity space. The complexity of the human person is such that each person is a complete universe of its own with diͿerent attendants. However, the human body is over emphasized against the other dimensions of the complete human being.

"The show is also to deÀne our human identity space in order for ‘our consciousness must go beyond our physical conscious experiences. Secondly, we must not rely on what others may put together as the psychology of the human person,” he revealed in a statement.

His current paintings invite the viewers to a serious reÁection on what constitutes true personality in a distorted and ideological world.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

CICERO

Editor: Ejiofor Alike SMS: 08066066268 email:ejiofor.alike@thisdaylive.com

IN THE ARENA

Failed Expectations in Power Sector With steady power supply still below 4,500MW since 2013, coupled with frequent system disturbances, the federal government and the private sector have failed to deliver adequate and affordable electricity, despite promises by successive administrations, Ejiofor Alike reports

I

nadequate power supply to domestic households and industrial producers is not a new to most of the people who live in Nigeria. The daily power supply is estimated at four hours, thus resulting in the highly bad state of the country’s basic infrastructure, such as water system, health care system, petroleum product distribution, agriculture, and education.

This has also caused a stunt within the expansion of the country’s ongoing economic development. Many families and businesses in Nigeria have to run one or more diesel-fuelled generators to provide them with the facility they need to either run their businesses or household as a result of this energy crisis. This has also led many industries to travel away to a way better and more suitable environment.

Since November 1, 2013 when the federal government handed power generation and distribution to the private sector, the steady supply of adequate electricity has remained a mirage. Before the power assets were transferred to the private investors, the country’s power supply already hovered around 4,500 megawatts under the then Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji. In its efforts to convince Nigerians and the recalcitrant electricity workers who were vehemently opposed to the power sector privatisation, the federal government had promised that the benefits Nigerians enjoyed in the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector would be replicated in the power sector.

According to the federal government, a privatised power sector would guarantee huge investments, massive employment opportunities, as well as adequate and affordable power supply. Despite these promises, actually electricity supply had only occasionally exceeded 5,000megawatts before it slumped steadily below 4,500megawatts.

System disturbances have on several occasions led to the collapse of the power infrastructure, with supply plummeting below 2,000MW. At the beginning of the month President Muhammadu Buhari took over in 2015, Nigeria’s total electricity generation had dropped to 2,800 megawatts, the lowest in nearly a year. Power output dropped from a peak of 4,500MW on April 3, 2015 to 2,800 as of May 1, 2015.

The then Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, had blamed the huge cut on “vandalism of gas pipelines.”

Igali, who spoke at a meeting with the then Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ade Abolurin, said the affected pipeline was the Escravos route.

On May 20, 2015, when power supply dropped further to 2,700MW, Igali had blamed the drastic drop in power generation over the previous five weeks on “the nefarious activities of gas and crude oil pipeline vandals” which occur on an almost daily basis.

The week before Buhari took over, power generation fell to a record low of 1,327MW amid a biting nationwide fuel scarcity.

President Buhari had on assumption of office promised to raise generation to 10,000MW. But on March 10, 2016, generation slumped to a record low, hitting its lowest point since Buhari took power.

Earlier on March 1, 2016, power generation had also dropped to a record nine-month low, landing at 2,800MW. But on March 10, the daily report of the Nigerian System Operations (NESO), a department of the Transmission Company

of Nigeria (TCN), showed that power fell to 1,580.6MW. Barely one month before Buhari resumed his second tenure in May 2019, power generation had also dropped in the national grid from about 3,231 MW to 2,919MW. More than a week earlier, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had also reported a system collapse, which cut electricity generation from about 4,338.9 MW as at April 20, 2019.

The transmission company said the cut in gas supply was caused by a leakage discovered on the Escravos-Lagos pipeline system.

As Nigerians continued to groan under epileptic power supply, it slumped to zero with the collapse of the national grid around 10.40am last Monday, leading to widespread blackout across the country.

Alerting its customers, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company had described the incident as a general system collapse, adding that the plunge in power generation on the grid caused a blackout in the five states under its franchise area.

On its part, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company stated that the collapse affected its network and franchise area - Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States.

Ikeja Electric also confirmed the system

collapse, while Eko Electricity Distribution Company also informed its customers that “a system collapse occurred on the national grid at 10:40am today (Monday), leading to outages across our network.

Kaduna Disco also stated that “we regret to inform you that the power outage being experienced in our franchise states is due to system collapse of the national grid which occurred at about 10:40am.”

Before the system collapse, the power generation companies had on Sunday blamed the incessant blackouts across the country on the weak infrastructure of transmission and distribution companies.

The Gencos had stated that the poor infrastructure of the Discos and TCN had rendered the quantum of electricity generation in Nigeria inconsequential.

While the federal government-owned TCN manages the power grid, the Discos and Gencos are managed by the private sector.

Before the reaction of the Gencos, the TCN had ascribed the low power generation to Gencos’ inability or refusal to generate power.

Barely 48 hours after the Monday collapse, many parts of the country were thrown into darkness on Tuesday following another collapse of the National Grid.

Ikeja Electric Plc, and Eko Electricity Distribution Company confirmed the partial collapse of the grid.

The companies said the collapse of the grid occurred at 5.10 p.m on Tuesday.

In a public announcement to its customers on Tuesday, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company described the collapse of the grid as total. As the various stakeholders in the electricity value chain continue to trade blames, Nigerians have remained in darkness with no end in sight to the power crisis.

Reacting to the latest power crisis, the former Minister of Power and Chairman of Geometric Power Limited, Nnaji identified lack of gas to power existing generating plants, inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure and human factors along the power supply value chain, as the main challenges in the sector.

Until the government deals frontally with the issues of power, development in all ramifications will continue to elude the country.

P O L I T I CA L N OT E S

Tinubu: What Really Are Afikuyomi’s Sins?

Tinubu

Doesaman,whowouldstopatnothingtodestroyothers, becausehenursesanambitiondeserveanyone’ssympathy either?That’s a question many of those currently thinking a formergovernorofLagosStateandpresidentialhopeful,Bola Tinubu,shouldbecompensatedwithNigeria’spresidencyfor beingthechiefarchitectoftheMuhammaduBuharipresidency, would answer at some point in the life of his campaign.

HowdoyouwritethestoryofTinubuwithoutalludingtohis plethoraofidentitymess,particularly,theallegedcertificate falsification?Andhowdoyouexplorethatnarrativewithout recallingthatacertainTokunboAfikuyomi,tookthefall,when he told the world the mix-up was his own sincere mistake?

This, perhaps, was in view of the fact that the duo ofTinubu and Afikuyomi, had come a long way and nothing, as far as thelatterwasconcerned,wouldbetoomuchforfriendship.

However,whatdoesTinubuthinkofAfikuyomiinreturn?

Notmuch,really,otherthanbeinganexpendable,goodonlyfor sordiderrands.ForeveryambitionAfikuyomi,hadnursedafter leavingthesenate,Tinubuhadstoodinhisway.Hisreasonshad neverbeenlinkedtocompetenceorhiscapacitytogalvanise and mobilise any movement successfully.

Yet,Tinubu watched his friend sink all of his life savings in a governorship dream before axing the ambition. He would later‘dehumanise’himwithanappointmentascommissioner.

Perhaps,themanisstillstrugglingwiththeeffectoftheexperienceofthatera.Nothingsofarsaysotherwise.Anattemptby Afikuyomitoreturntothesenateatsomepointwasskillfully manipulatedandtheTinubucampwouldlaterhumiliatehim with the narrative of how they tricked him into giving it up.

Now, the man is considering picking up a party office at theseeminglycursednationalconventionoftheAPC,slated for March 26. With zoning already established, Afikuyomi

thought the office of the National Vice Chairman would not be a bad idea, at least, Lagos would have a competent handandexperiencedmindtoleaditscauseattheNational Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, even though that office is not the highest zoned to Southwest. Again,Tinubu has since stood in his way.

Hehascontinuedtointimidateallthespinelessgovernors inthezonetoensurethattheoffice,inadditiontothenational secretary, was moved out of Lagos to another in the zone, thinking should any such big office come to Lagos, it could affect his presidential bid. Instead, he has been pushing for the national youth leader for Lagos, because his son, Seyi, wantsoneofhisfriendstooccupytheofficeandtoalsogive theimpressionthatTinubuisfortheyouth.Howmoreselfish cananyonebe?Yet,hewantsthissameGodtoblesshisown ambition.Really?Well,Karmaisapatientagent.Fingerscrossed!

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

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BRIEFINGNOTES Buni’s Dramatic Return as APC Chairman Despite all the intrigues and scheming by some of his governor-colleagues to sack him, the Chairman of the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of the All Progressives Congress and Yobe State Governor, Mr. Mai Mala Buni, has triumphantly returned to his seat to the chagrin of his traducers, one of whom had described his allies as ‘Yahoo Yahoo governors,’ Ejiofor Alike writes

T

he leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) got to a peak in the penultimate week when reports flooded the mediathatPresidentMuhammadu Buhari had ordered the removal of theChairmanoftheCaretakerand Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party and Yobe State Governor, Mr. Mai Mala Buni. Without any written document to back the claim, President Buhari was also said to have approved his replacement with a member of the caretaker committee and Niger State Governor, Mr. Abubakar Sani Bello.

Allegations of corruption, plot to frustrate the March 26 National Convention of the party and tenure elongation plot were levelled against Buni in the media, which cited unnamed sources. On the issue of corruption, an unnamed North-west governor was alleged to have set up Buni in a bribery scandal, which was said to have been used to convince Buhari that he no longer deserves the APC chairmanship seat. While some of the reports accused Buni of planning to transform to the substantive chairman of the party, others alleged that the Yobe State governor wanted the party’s National Convention and presidential primary to hold on the same date so that he would collect bribes from the aspirants. Unfortunately, Buni, who was on a foreign medical trip, was not available to defend himself. But unknown to the peddlers of these stories, Buni was the one who handed over to Bello on acting capacity, without Buhari’s directive, contrary to the narratives peddled by politicians. During his maiden appearance at the national secretariat of the party in his capacity as the party’s acting national chairman, Bello had inadvertently given credibility to all the allegations against Buni by failing to clarify that the Yobe State governor was still in charge. Ahead of his arrival at the APC Secretariat, there was a massive deployment of security personnel, with all roads leading to the secretariat in Wuse 2, Abuja, blocked. The Niger State governor, who met with the state chairmen of the party and received the report of the party’s committee on zoning chaired by the Kwara State Governor, Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, also described himself as the acting national chairman of the APC. Responding to a question on why he presided over the meetings, Bello said, “Acting Chairman; I have been acting for a while since the chairman (Buni) travelled”.

When asked to confirm Buni’s sack and his appointment as the new chairman of the Caretaker Committee, Bello, who should have

Buni used the opportunity to clear the air and clarify that Buni was still in charge, tersely responded, “Nocomment!”Bello’sresponsetothisquestion further strengthened the veracity of all the claims made against Buni and his purported removal. Secretary of the APC Caretaker Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe, who attempted to clarify that Buni was still the chairman of the party, was shouted down and threatened with removal. Bello and his allies behaved as if the Yobe State governor had become history. It was Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who later declared that Buni was indeed pushed aside by 19 governors of the party because some of his actions and inactions could put the ruling party at risk and hinder the plan to hold the convention on March 26.

El-Rufai, who spoke on a live television programme, said he had the authority of Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) and Kebbi State Governor, Mr. Atiku Bagudu to explain the action that led to the appointment of Bello as acting chairman of APC. Even when Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State insisted

that Buni was still in charge of the party, El-Rufai said he can never return as the party chairman.

The Kaduna State governor said 19 of the 23 governors elected on the ticket of the party wereonsamepageonthemissiontopreventthe party from collapse. He did not name the four governors that were not with them. However, reports alleged that Buni was working with a North-central governor, a South-east governor andaSouth-westgovernor.Thecrisisdeepened whenGovernorRotimiAkeredoluofOndoState described his counterparts who were on the side of Buni as “Yahoo, Yahoo Governors”. In a statement titled “Buni, Pocket-filling Black Legs in Corridors of Power Tried to Supplant President’sWill,” Akeredolu said the ruling party survived a “Civilian Coup largely inspired by mischief and incurable lust for power through artificial barricades”.

Akeredolu said: “The installation of the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the APC was beyond a call to service. It was a child of necessity moulded to one, instill discipline in leadership and engender coherence among

stakeholders and more importantly, to deepen the rule of law in our party.

“However, the insidious and appalling happenings within our party in the last few months, especially under the immediate-past leadership clearly posit a huge embarrassment. Without necessarily dwelling on details that are known to critical stakeholders, the path taken lately by Governor Mai Mala Buni, the immediate past head of the CECPC and an indivisible few, is a unenviable trajectory undeserving of our dear party. It is a disdainful narrative,” he explained.

However, Akeredolu, Bello, el-Rufai and other anti-Buni governors received one of the greatest shocksoftheirpoliticalliveswhentheIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rejected a letter inviting it to an emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling party.

ThecommissiondrewtheattentionoftheCECPC to the fact that the letter of invitation was not signed by the National Chairman and National SecretaryoftheCECPC,BuniandAkpanudoedehe, respectively.

With INEC’s position, the same Buhari, who was reported to have ordered the removal of Buni, wrote to the APC governors warning against the removal of the Yobe State governor, and stressing that “all members of the Governors’ Forum and their followers should desist from any behaviour or utterance that will likely lead to disunity in the ranks of the party, and ultimately jeopardise the transition to the convention.”

After Buni’s visit to Buhari in London, the president instructed the Yobe State Governor to immediately take over the affairs of the CECPC of the APC. Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement last Wednesday.

He revealed that President Buhari met with Buni in the United Kingdom. President Buhari, he stated, also wrote to Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State who is also the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum.

Intheletter,thepresidentdecriedthemultiplicity of cases within the APC which he said has the prospect of invalidating the activities and actions of the party by INEC. While Buhari wrote the APC to ask the party not to remove Buni, the claim that the president ordered the removal of Buni was not backed by any written document.

Did the anti-Buni governors in APC orchestrate the removal of Buni, using Buhari’s name? With the victory of the “yahoo yahoo governors” and the triumphant return of Buni, will all be the same again in the ruling party? The events leading to the National Convention will reveal.

NOTES FOR FILE

Of Yahoo-Yahoo Govs and Bureau de Change APC Managers

Lukman

Former Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Dr. Salihu Lukman, recently introduced two new terminologies into the nation’s political lexicon and those terms immediately caught the fancy of many political observers with the speed of light.

Lukman, who was forced to resign in the thick of the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership crisis, first came up with the term, “yahoo-yahoo governors”, when trying to identify some of the governors believed to be undermining the APC leadership and as well responsible for the crisis of trust currently eating up the party.

The former DG of the PDF reportedly

used the term “yahoo-yahoo”, because the lot of those he identified in that category were people he alleged had no “character and integrity”, and as such, had no business being anywhere close to power. He went on to mention a few of the names, just so it was clear those he had in mind.

Soon after the APC crisis escalated with the change in the CECPC leadership, Lukman, authored yet another article, where he pleaded with stakeholders in the party not to allow those he described as “Bureau De Change managers” to take over the leadership.

In this particular instance, Lukman referred

to those he insinuated had been moving money around to buy the party leadership and by implication, pocket it at the detriment of others. He, therefore, alluded to some of the implications of letting that nightmare become a reality in the APC. Unfortunately, that all these are happening in a party, whose government is led by a man, who wears integrity as a badge of honour, makes it all the more disturbing – beyond its newsworthiness. And, with the hyped battle against corruption and other related vices, nothing typifies more, the national ailments that the APC itches to cure than the APC itself.

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

CICERO/ISSSUES

Wike

Obaseki

Obaseki, Wike’s War of Words Governors of Edo and Rivers States, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and Mr. Nyesom Wike, have been on each other’s jugular over the unresolved crisis in Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, Adibe Emenyonu writes

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State recently held what it termed “Welcome Rally” in honour of the new National Chairman of the Party, Dr. Iyochia Ayu, preparatory to the 2023 general election.

Governor Godwin Obaseki had wanted to use the rally to make a statement that the PDP is a party to reckon with going by the mammoth crowd mobilised for the event.

He used the opportunity to tell the party National Chairman that PDP in Edo had registered more than 500,000 members from the period he was sworn in as governor in 2020 till date on its e-regisgration platform.

However, the Vice Chairman of the party in charge of South-south, Chief Dan Orbih who incidentally is from Edo, and all the party wards and local government leaders were conspicuously absent.

The governor used the event to voice out his frustration through his deputy, Mr. Philip Shaibu.

Addressing Ayu, the deputy governor told him that Edo people are angry.

“Sir, people are saying that the governor will not leave the PDP, but he will only remain if his soldiers remain in the party”, he said.

But in his reaction, the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, fired back at the Edo Deputy Governor, demanding that he be disciplined otherwise he would invoke the relevant sections of the party constitution to ensure he pays for his open transgression.

To Wike that was a mark of insubordination and disrespect to the party hierarchy.

He asked the party to punish Shaibu to for threatening to leave PDP after begging the party to be accommodated after their defection from APC. According to him, PDP was there for both Obaseki and his deputy, when both were denied ticket by the APC and the party went ahead by not only housing them when they were driven into the rain, it also gave them the party ticket to actualise their second term ambition and help them win the election. He wondered why the same person that was clothed last night could wake up in the morning to

challenge his god in a wrestling bout.

“This is the same deputy Governor that was kneeling down to beg for us to give him umbrella, today you have the effrontery to threaten PDP. What a shame!

“The party was there for Governor Godwin Obaseki and Mr. Philip Shaibu when both were denied the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for 2020 election.

“We went and made sure they won that election. Today that deputy Governor is ranting. A deputy governor would come on national television to tell PDP the alternative.

“I have written to the national chairman of the party. if they don’t constitute a disciplinary committee against the deputy governor, I will invoke the sanctions of the party and will make sure they must discipline the deputy governor.

“Who is his father? The deputy governor comes and threatens the whole party where we are the governors. Now that he has started the trouble, let him wait, we’ll make sure he never have rest.”

But Obaseki did not take kindly, the choice words of Wike in the entire matter. In an advertorial in some national dailies, he described the personal attack on his deputy by the Rivers State governor as most unfortunate.

He asked the party national leaders to call Wike to order because the issues raised by his deputy are all germane and needed to be resolved in the interest of the party, adding that if the Rivers governor is one who shows respect and courtesy to his colleague-governor, he would have ordinarily reached out to him to express his views made by his deputy rather that embarking on unwarranted public onslaught.

Obaseki reminded Wike that his deputy is a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students. He argued that his comment is representative of the essence of the nation’s youth population who are inclined to openly speak up and interrogate the status quo.

The Edo governor added that his Rivers State counterpart should have

taken a cue from the national chairman’s response to his deputy’s remarks as a conscientious leader who is able to show empathy and consideration to adequately reply to the style and character of the Nigerian youth, otherwise, his aspiration to lead them would be in vain.

Obaseki reminded Wike that he had at some moments issued threats to the party.He recalled that on September 16, 2018, Wike had threatened the party that there would be grave consequences if it removed the national convention from Port Harcourt in the run up to the 2019 presidential election.

He also recalled that on September 12, 2019, he (Wike) threatened to cause trouble for the party over the emergence of Ndudi Elumelu as the Minority Leader of the Green Chamber of the national assembly.

Obaseki accused his Rivers counterpart of fanning the insurgency in Edo PDP, using his long-time ally and associate, the National Vice Chairman of the party in charge of South-south, Chief Dan Orbih to achieve that, noting however, that they will not succeed because “we have history of dealing with bullies.”

Reacting to Obaseki’s advertorial, Wike described him as serial betrayal, a disposition, he claimed was directly connected to the DNA. Wike argued that with the present disposition of Edo Governor, it is clear that he was the problem in APC, against the picture his painted as the one who was being oppressed.

Wike added that Adams Oshiomhole has been vindicated by Obaseki’s action. The Rivers governor tendered apology to the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for ignoring his warnings about the character of the Edo governor.

“If you ask anybody or check the DNA of Obaseki, you will discover that he is a serial betrayal and ungrateful person. I apologise to Oshiomhole who told us about Obaseki. You have been vindicated,” Wike said.

He went on “Obaseki said I am a bully,

but he came to beg a bully for ticket, a bully was his campaign Director General and the bully bullied him into Edo State Government House.

“It didn’t end there; he still came back with his wife to thank me the bully after the election. I slept in Edo State for three days just to deliver Obaseki, but today, I am a bully. If you check the DNA of Obaseki, what you will see is betrayal and ungratefulness.”

Wike insisted that he has more stakes in PDP than Obaseki whom he described as a tenant.

Wike insisted that he can threaten the party because he is one of those who have invested in the party and in Rivers. He added that he has the capacity to cause trouble in Edo, and challenged Obaseki to do same in Rivers.

Following the verbal war between the two governors, Ayu has urged members of the party not to attack one another, but unite ahead of the 2023 general election.

Ayu said this in his remarks at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ayu also called on PDP leaders and members to bury their differences and work together for the success of the party in the 2023 general election.

The national chairman advised members not to lose focus of where the party was coming from.

“I call on every member of this party to forget their differences. If there are differences, we must settle them in-house.

“No party member should attack another party member. If there are any issues, we have different organs of the party to resolve different issues.

“We will work tirelessly. We are talking to individual members who have differences among themselves, whether in the ward, local government, state or national level because such distraction must not be allowed to continue.

“Where there are problems, the national working committee and other leaders of national organs of the party will put heads together to resolve the differences,” Ayu explained. However, events of the next few weeks will reveal if Wike and Obaseki will sheathe their swords.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

72

CICERO/INTERVIEW

Musa: It will Be a Disservice to APC, If its National Chairman is Handpicked TheChairmanofSenateServicesCommittee,whoisalsorepresentingNigerEastSenatorialDistrictintheNational Assembly, Senator Sani Musa, is an aspirant for the position of the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the party’s convention slated for March 26. The senator, in this interview with Deji Elumoye and Sunday Aborisade, explains why he wants to lead the party, his chances and programmes if elected. He also gives a hint on how the party could achieve a rancour-free convention among other issues. Excerpts:

W

section of the party. What assurance do we have that you would not be controlled by some people if you become the party chairman?

The issue of anybody controlling me does not even arise. When you are talking of leadership, there is no issue of control because whatever I am going to do as the national chairman of APC, will be based on guidelines, laid-down rules and those things that are allowed constitutionally to be done. I cannot do anything contrary to that. In politics, there is room for give and take. There are certain conventions and treaties that are not in the constitution but if they would give us an advantage, we would go by it.

hy do you want to be the national chairman of the ruling APC? I have had cause to answer this question so many times. I want to be the national chairman of the APC so as to give the party a new voice and a new direction in the way and manner its activities are being run. APC came as a result of the amalgamation of other parties and groups with different ideologies. When they came together we believe that we could absolutely work together and make the party to be a political party that would institutionalise our democratic tenets which includes making sure that internal democracy, and rule of law are upheld. It is also to make sure that our manifesto has an ideology and a platform where youths would be groomed, a platform where research and strategy would be adopted in terms of creating policies for government.

Currently the governors and president of the country are the leaders of the party because they are the sponsors. Will the arrangement continue when you become the national chairman of the APC? No! The current arrangement will not continue if I emerge as the Chairman. I will make the party to become an institution whereby it is would be run by its rules, and constitution; it would be operational based on certain processes. The processes are actually defined in the constitution. The issue of whether somebody would have a domineering presence in the party would not happen because every organ of the party would have its right place to operate. Once that is done, it is good. Sometimes, political parties find it difficult to operate independently because of the funding issue. When moneybags are allowed to fund the party, they will dictate the tune. This is because he that pays the piper calls the tune. What I am saying is that every APC member must be a financial subscriber to the party. It is there in the constitution. Once you become a financial subscriber, you are expected to pay a token as a fee. It could be N100, N1,000 or even N10,000 depending on what the constitution prescribes. It is compulsory that every member must pay.

Do you think the March 26 date fixed for the national convention of the APC is feasible based on the arrangements put in place so far?

There is nothing that is impossible in politics. March 26 is a date with history and I am very sure it is feasible. The leadership of the party operating under the aegis of CECPC has risen to the occasion and they would do everything possible to conduct a successful convention.

Who is actually in charge of the party now? Is it the CECPC or the newly inaugurated Governor Musa Bello-led National Convention Committee?

The CECPC is in charge. Governor Bello is a member of the CECPC. When the Chairman of the CECPC, Governor Mai Mala Buni was travelling on medical grounds, he transmitted and delegated powers to somebody to act in his absence. There is nothing wrong in that.

There is already a court order stopping the convention from being held on March 26. Do you still think that the exercise will still be conducted?

Politics is always like that. There would always be some people who would be aggrieved because of one reason or the other and they would go to court and obtain

You promised in your manifesto that women and youths would play a pivotal role in your administration as national chairman of APC whereas bills meant to empower women constitutionally in that regard were thrown out by your colleagues.

How are you going to achieve that now?

As an individual, what I believe in is that if you want a legislation, you need quite a lot of homework. There must be quite a lot of lobbying. It is allowed. You need to convince the people to agree with you about what you are bringing up. I may develop interest in a law of another country and want to replicate it here in Nigeria. However, in doing so, it has to be in tandem with our own domestic environment. It must tally with our culture, religion and system acceptable in my environment. Once it tallies, it will be accepted. Every responsible man has a wife at home and have daughters. It is not about being bias. It is just that bills must be properly articulated before they are presented to the National Assembly to be in tandem with our environmental setup.

Musa

injunctions. The leaders of the party would also go to court to vacate the orders. It will be vacated any moment from now. Nothing will stop the convention. They will appeal to the judiciary for an accelerated hearing.

There are rumours that President Muhammadu Buhari has anointed Senator Adamu Abdullahi as his choice for the position of the national chairman of APC that you are also contesting.

Are you sure that there will be a levelplaying ground at the end of the day?

I am not afraid at all because APC is a democratic party. Mr. President has debunked the rumour by saying it clearly that he has not anointed anybody. It will be a kind of disservice to the party to assume that somebody is handpicked as its chairman. There are three ways that we can elect leaders in our party. We can do it by direct, indirect or by a consensus arrangement. If we think any of the systems would make the party stronger, we would go with it. I can categorically tell you that nobody has been endorsed or anointed among the aspirants.

Which of the political blocs within the APC do you belong to? Are you the candidate of the progressives governors, Bola Tinubu or that of the appointees of Mr. President?

I belong to APC. I belong to APC. I strongly believe that Asiwaju is in APC, the same way the governors and the political appointees are also in the party. Sani Musa is also in APC.

Are you sure that the level of reconciliation achieved so far by the party following the crisis that rocked it as a result of the congresses could guarantee a successful convention?

I am not aware of any crisis in the APC now. The reconciliatory committee set up to resolve the crisis at the state levels after the congresses had submitted its report. I think a lot of people are waiting to see what the report looks like. If the report is made public, we would be able to know how all the problems had been resolved. I cannot say now categorically that the crisis at some states chapters of the party had been resolved.

So far, the other aspirants are serving senators from the North-central geopolitical zone. How cordial is your relationship with them?

We have cordial relationship. I respect those that are older than me and I also reciprocate the same gesture of respect to those that I am ahead of in terms of age. I respect those that are my seniors. I will seize this opportunity to call on those that have been in this system to give those that are new, a trial, so that we will come up with fresh ideas. At 57 years old, I should be able to steer the ship of APC and put it on the pedestal of success and of winning elections.

Part of the reasons given by those claiming the president has anointed a candidate is that the man has the ability to shun any form of control from any

Are there hopes that the bills would still be considered?

Hopes are not lost. We would assist the women to see how we can help them to bring back the bills. Constitution amendment is a continuous exercise and if doesn’t fly now, it will definitely fly another time.

What are your specific agenda for women and youths?

I am fully aware of the challenges facing women and youths in Nigeria today, and the series of hurdles they have to cross in order to be heard and be given the opportunity to tap their potential.

Our agenda for women and youths as a party will be within the confines of the party’s formulated policies that will be proposed to the executive arm of government.

As the head of the party leadership or the National Working Committee (NWC), it is imperative on us to think outside the box and compliment government’s existing effort in the emancipation of women and youths in our society.

Political parties are essential institutions of democracy and as such, I will be adaptive and committed to building capacity amongst our women and youths folks and we shall make it a policy of the party.

Human capital development will be giving the most needed priority based on a model similar to the one implemented by the Best Practices Institute (BPI).

Under my leadership, APC will work to deliver training to volunteers, party leaders and staff, women and youth organisations, candidates and campaign staff, constituency caucus members, community stakeholders and leaders, and in so doing, our operational foundations will become more solid.

T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 20, 2022

73

GLITZ TRIBUTE

Ugwuanyi: 58 Garlands for a Pathfinder

Ugwuanyi

Chuks Ugwoke

B

irthdays are special events when friends and families come together to rejoice with the celebrant and offer heartfelt wishes and prayers. For some, it is an occasion to throw parties, and for others, the essence is to express gratitude to God for divine favours. In effect, people mark their birthdays in different ways and for different reasons.

For Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the Governor of Enugu State who celebrates his birthday today, it is common knowledge that there will no party.

Instead, he will be a guest of some orphanages, old people’s homes before he shares some quiet moments with people living with disabilities (PLWD). It is his preferred way to give back to humanity and to identify with the less privileged without any public

adulation.

On this day, March 20, 2022, Rt. Hon. Ugwuanyi will be spending his 2,487th day in the Enugu Lion Building as the governor of the Coal City State. In these 2,487 days, the impacts of time and responsibilities have been so evidently clear that the face masks which he has worn for over two years now, hardly conceal the gains and pains of gubernatorial office.

When he took office on May 29, 2015, the entire world economy was being ravaged by a rabid recession, so much that the Nigerian states needed bailouts to pay salaries. Again, the coronavirus pandemic has imposed yet another biting recession on the globe. Thus, in just over six years in office, he has had to navigate his way through two recessions.

Such have been the trying times for the Enugu governor and his counterparts. But it is in such times of crises that Governor Ugwuanyi has demonstrated exceptional leadership. When many of his colleagues cannot do as much as pay salaries of the workers,

“By his next birthday, he will have just 70 days to gracefully bid goodbye to the Lion Building. Surely, the marks he will leave behind shall inspire the upcoming generation to embrace devotion, selflessness in service and hard work as the needed ladder to the top echelon”

Gburugburu has shown, by rare example, that with dedication, well-heeled politicians can, indeed, keep their commitments to the electorate.

For this man of faith, he reverences God for what he terms “unmerited favours”. That, clearly, explains why upon his ascent to power, he was unequivocal in his submission that “Enugu State is in the hands of God”.

At private or public functions, he has never failed to credit God for the unceasing blessings and interventions from above. As Governor Ugwuanyi celebrates his 58th birthday today, the tributes from family, friends and well-wishers, through newspaper adverts, social media and text messages, will serve to honour this inspirational leader and an apostle of peace who has continued to dispense humble services that promote equity and fairness.

Indeed, it is the ideal occasion to celebrate an accomplished administrator whose calmness, patience, inclusive governance and peace overtures have earned him plaudits across the aisle. He is one patient listener who is uninterested in petty squabbling. It is, therefore, no surprise that his profile continues to skyrocket because through consensus and consultation, rather than coercion, he has broken partisan boundaries in the State.

It is time to appreciate this selfless leader born in Ohom Orba, Udenu Council on that March 20, 1963 at the time that Raby and the Romantics released that blockbuster song “Our day will come.” In truth, a day will surely come when historians, using verifiable facts and figures, shall bear witness to the pace-setting achievements of Governor Ugwuanyi. A day will come when Nigeria will look up to leaders like him as beacons of hope and torchbearers for a prosperous nation.

The day will come to highlight hundreds of kilometers of newly-constructed and rehabilitated rural and urban roads, integrated rural development programmes, qualitative and quantitative education and other massive infrastructural projects executed by the Ugwuanyi administration. And even today, the evidence lies before mankind that the Enugu State Infectious Diseases Hospital underlines Ugwuanyi’s signature in the health sector which earns top marks for the Type 3 hospitals, general hospitals and the phenomenal Teaching Hospital at IgboEno. When that day comes, the first Enugu Flyover will bear witness to Ugwuanyi’s sure-footed approach to addressing perennial traffic gridlocks; the Enugu Unity Park offers such a natural scenery that validates the state government’s commitment to urban renewal and the calming effect of relaxing under nature’s quiet embrace.

There will be so much to showcase and celebrate when the time for stocktaking comes.

But of these massive structures and landmark projects on offer, none compares to the invisibles like the enthronement of peace and security in the State. To keep his people safe, Governor Ugwuanyi, on many occasions, put his life at grave risk when he entered caves in thick forests and traversed notorious hot spots in order to flush out criminal elements and ensure the wellbeing of the people.

To usher in lasting peace, he has made concessions and compromises so that old wounds would heal. Rather than climb the rooftop to proclaim his might, he strives, through conviction than coercion, to achieve peace between individuals and communities. It is to his credit that sworn foes now dine on the same table, whereas politicians relate across party lines. No wonder Enugu maintains its prime reckoning as the most peaceful state East of the Niger and one of the safest in the country.

It will serve as a useful guide to the successor government in Enugu to imitate Ugwuanyi’s strict adherence to the regular conduct of local government elections at a time when some of his colleagues were running the third tier as appendages of the state governments.

These are the legacies that Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi will bequeath to future generations. By his next birthday, he will have just 70 days to gracefully bid goodbye to the Lion Building. Surely, the marks he will leave behind shall inspire the upcoming generation to embrace devotion, selflessness in service and hard work as the needed ladder to the top echelon.

Beyond Enugu State, it is imperative that Nigeria scouts for such pathfinders like Governor Ugwuanyi for the needed rebirth and to moderate the conversation with the future. He has shown, through compassion and temperament, that he possesses the right ingredients as a national unifier with a positive vision for the country.

For today, the birthday boy should savour the numerous tributes from Ndi Enugu who gave him a record 95.54 per cent in the 2019 elections as testament to his pace-setting governance in his first term. When his time is up, it will, surely, end in praise.

Happy birthday, Your Excellency.

t 6HXPLF JT UIF $IJFG 1SFTT 4FDSFUBSZ UP Governor Ugwuanyi

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

74

INTERNATIONAL Non-negotiability and Indissolubility of Nigeria: CNG and Plebiscite as Panacea to Separatist Agitations

C

NGmeansCoalitionofNorthernGroups(CNG).Itsorigin is traceable to 1999 when, for the first time, the North found itself in opposition in political governance. At that time, the ArewaYouth Development Foundation was established mainly to resist what Northerners perceivedasPresidentOlusegunObasanjo’sunfriendly policies. In the same vein, in 2007, the Arewa Citizens Action for Change (ACAC) and the Arewa Students Forum (ASF) were created.The three groups had the common interest of defending the North. Additionally, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) that was newly created then, joined hands to confront the agitations for resource control, true federalism, and restructuring, all of which were considered as threats from the South.The threats informed the establishment of a mega coalition, the CNG. In reaction to the agitations for secession and self-determination, the CNG first filed a suit in June 2021 at the Abuja High Court, asking the National Assembly and the Attorney General to halt the ongoing constitutionalreviewexerciseandconductaplebisciteontheagitations for secession and self-determination.The CNG plaintiffs – Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, Nastura Ashir Shariff, Aminu Adam and Balarabe Rufai – joined the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and the NASS; as defendants.

Justice Inyang Ekwo was assigned to hear the case and November 1, 2021, was fixed for the hearing.

The defendants are required to provide a framework allowing for self-determination by the various agitators. The court did not sit because the judge had other pressing official assignments, and the case was adjourned to 20th January 2022. On this day, the Yoruba group and Efik ethnic nationalities asked to be joined to the CNG suit.

Unfortunately, again, the judge was indisposed and another date for hearing was fixed for 14th March 2022. With the new joinders in the suit, 20 May 2022 was re-fixed for hearing the case. In the words of the presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo,‘it would be neater if all the five applications for joinder are taken once and it would give us opportunity to amend and process because after parties have been joined, we need to amend and process to reflect those parties that have been joined.’

Without doubt, the rationale for the CNG going to court is noteworthy. Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the CNG spokesperson, has it that ‘what we are doing is to save the country, ourselves, and the future of the country, because these people are becoming violent already.

Most of the people engaged in this activity are below 50. So, if we allow our leaders to leave us with these people in this situation, there may be another bloodshed or civil war.That is what we want to avoid, which is why we came to court to interpret the situation.’

National Unity: The Militating Obstacles Many observers of political governance in Nigeria generally look at macro-economic factors to explain why Nigeria cannot develop and why politics is generally fraught with corruption and chicanery.To an extent, the factors do explain in part Nigeria’s development setbacks, because Nigeria is not administered in such a way as to enable her to develop, and the reasons cannot be far-fetched.

The NationalYouth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme was put in place on 22nd May 1973, following the 1967-1970 civil war, as a mechanism for reconciliation, reconstruction and rebuilding the country. The ultimate objective is to promote national togetherness. However, a nonsense has been made of it as at today. Interest of corpers in wanting to serve outside of their own regions of the country has dwindled unlike when it was first established.

There is also the Federal Character principle, which was first provided for in the 1979 Constitution to ensure that all appointments in the various Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs) of Government reflect equity, fairness, and justice in representation.

As constitutionally provided, the Federal Character Principle and the quota system is‘to ensure equitable distributions of bureaucratic and political roles in the public service at the Federal, State, and Local Government levels. The principle has been much honoured in breaches than in adherence to it. And true enough, it is precisely President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) who is the guiltiest of this.

He appoints his ethnic men everywhere without due regard to the principle. When the public complained about PMB’s nepotism and his don’t care attitude, it is argued that PMB can appoint whoever he desires, but this cannot but be to the detriment of the Federal

VIE INTERNATIONALE with

Bola A. Akinterinwa Telephone : 0807-688-2846

e-mail: bolyttag@yahoo.com

Buhari Character Principle. PMB himself told Nigerians that he appoints only the people he knows.

While the CNG’s suit in the court has the potential to address the problems of secession, resource control, self-determination possibly without the use of force, it should be noted here that the problem of maladministration of federalism is more critical than the agitations for separation in the southern parts of Nigeria. If truth be told, the agitations for secession are prompted by the Federal Government’s decision to always turn deaf ears to the calls for true federalism.This is what is critically militating against national unity and progress. Nigeria is not running a true federal system.

For instance, on the issue of structure of government, the Federal Government is trying to make the Local Government autonomous of the State Government, while the State Governors argue that, under a normalfederalsystem,theLocalGovernmentcannotexistindependently of the State. In this regard, on Thursday, March 10, 2022, at the 2-day Multi-stakeholders Meeting for Furtherance of Peace and Inclusive Security in Nigeria, held in Abuja, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’Forum, noted that ‘the principle of federalism is very clear about federating units. Local Government, as a federating unit, is a unique innovation in Nigeria…

Local Government autonomy is the business of the State, because the State is the federating unit; in most federating countries that you have, it is a two-tier system, you have the Federal and you have the State.’

Thus, he is opposed to autonomy of Local Governments in Nigeria, but this is not in tandem with the Local Government workers who are asking for autonomy of the Local Governments, especially financial autonomy. Many aspects of political governance that normally should be under the concurrent list, if not within the domestic competence of the constitutive States of Nigeria, are unnecessarily put under the ExclusiveListfortheFederalGovernment.Indeed,thismakesanonsense

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On 11 February 1961, the United Nations held a referendum in the then British Cameroons whether the territory should join Cameroun or Nigeria. Southern British Cameroun voted to join Cameroun while the Northern British Cameroun opted for Nigeria. Plebiscite is therefore not new to Nigeria. The CNG is asking for it again in its suit. Interrogatively put, how many south westerners want an Oduduwa Republic? Are the Yoruba leaders truly representing the popular interest of their people?

Do the Ohanaeze leaders want a State of Biafra? Do they enjoy the support of the MASSOB, IPOB, MEND, etc? If a plebiscite is conducted and majority of the people are not favourably disposed to secession, what then happens? If the outcome is in favour of secession, what then also happens? Will there be a fresh national referendum to accept or reject the votes for secession by the affected people? What will be the place of self-determination? Without any scintilla of doubt, the tenability of the arguments of indissolubility and non-negotiability of national unity cannot but be largely determined by the answers to the foregoing questions. Our position here is that Nigeria is quite dissoluble, and her unity is very negotiable. Everything depends on the wishes of the people. National unity should not be enforced by manu militari or by hot war which has never succeeded in suppressing self-determination. Let therefore be better governance, fairness, justice, that is completely devoid of political chicanery and nepotism. Let there be persuasion about the goodness in a strongly united and vibrant Nigeria before holding referenda. Plebiscites are panacea and can open the doors of solutions to Nigeria’s problems

of federalism as a system of government.

Another important issue is State Police. The 1999 Constitution as amended provides for Federal Police. The State governors are said to be the Chief Security Officers of their States. However, all the Commissioners of Police in the various States report directly to the Inspector General of Police in Abuja. This does not exist under a normal federal system. Opponents of State police argued that politicians would abuse it, but Dr. Fayemi has explained that he would not make‘an excuse that such powers in the hands of some local actors may not be abused.The Federal Police that we all know abuse the rights of citizens, including the rights of governors, even with immunity.’ More interestingly, he said he was‘abused by (a) federal police in 2014 during (his) election, and (he) had immunity. It could happen even if you devolve security even to the local level.’

It is within the context of lack of true federalism that there have been agitations for self-determination, resource control, secession, and political restructuring. It is also within the agitations that PMB has vehemently argued that Nigeria’s national unity is not negotiable, and that Nigeria is indissoluble. And most importantly, it is within this context that the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) is quite right in referring the matter to the court to seek a plebiscite to determine the fate of secessionists and proponents of self-determination, and by so doing paving the way for further negotiations.

TheYoruba Southwest appreciate this.Timilehin Odunwo, counsel to theYoruba group, said‘any call for a referendum should cut across the board of all tribes. Let every tribe have the right to determine whether to live in the country or to move out. As you know, self-determination is a very sacrosanct right of every citizen and tribe as it is recognized by the international community. Therefore, it is incumbent on the NASS, if our application is granted, to let everybody decide whether to stay or leave.You cannot force an unwilling tribe on a wiling nation.

It will not work.’

And perhaps more interestingly, the Agreement amalgamating Nigeria was done in 1914 for 99 years. The agreement expired in 2014. If leaders of Nigeria were and are not myopically selfish, efforts should have been made, at least five years before the expiration of the agreement to sensitize everyone on the need for sustainability of the agreement if it was organised. And very likely, a referendum might have doused the increasing tension in the land In this regard, while some Nigerians are seeking peaceful approaches to the national dispute, PMB is talking in rigid, absolute terms of indissolubility and non-negotiability of national unity, and by so doing, further complicating the problem. But good enough, the idea of holding a plebiscite is increasingly gaining ground. For instance, the apexYoruba self-determination organization, the Ilana Omo Oodua, led by Professor Banji Akintoye, filed two suits against the holding of governorship polls in Ekiti and Osun States later in June and July 2022. One suit was filed in Ado Ekiti while the other suit was filed in Oshogbo simultaneously.

TheIlanaOmoOoduapositsthatwithouthavingareferendum,‘which absolutely is an essential part in the process of making a constitution, the 1999 Constitution is illegal, invalid and no effect whatsoever.’The organization is therefore seeking a court declaration that the 1999 Constitution as amended is illegal and invalid (Daily Sun March 17, p.6;The Punch, March 17, p.8). If truly the PMB administration does not want another civil war and bloodshed, a court declaration as sought by the CNG is a welcome development. PMB should simply encourage the organization of a plebiscite without having to wait for any court judgment on it or waiting for the agitators to make a case based on the court judgment.

Whatisunbelievablebuttrueisthattheprincipleofself-determination in international law and relations has become a fait accompli that is generally adhered to. If there is a court pronouncement, favourable or otherwise, it will be a good step forward in building a stronger Nigeria. A plebiscite cannot but be the major determinant of national unity and the extent to which national unity is non-negotiable and indissoluble.

National Unity: Plebiscite as Panacea Two major reasons that appear to explain why the Federal Government is not much interested in enabling a true federal system to be put in place are well known. First is the fear of loosing hegemonic control of the polity. In this regard, until 1999, leadership of the country was provided by Northern Nigerians. When there was a change in situation with the election of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a southerner, several privileges that normally go with political power could not be readily enjoyed by vested northern stakeholders, hence the struggle for power to return to the North.

Secondly, Government, PMB in particular, does not appreciate the factor of inseparability of democracy and sovereignty. If democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people, sovereignty cannot be different. It is the authority exercised by the people, delegated to Government to be exercised on its behalf. CNG’s suit in the court is essentially about democracy and sovereignty, a very complex concept.

AsclearlyexplainedbyJean-JacquesRousseau,thepeoplearealways the bearer of sovereign power. Put differently, sovereignty can neither be inherited nor separable from the people. In fact, sovereignty is variously addressed in constitutional law, philosophy, law history and political system. The implication is that an elected president who is acting based on delegated sovereignty cannot substitute the people with himself or its government.

Read full article online - www.thisdaylive.com

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THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

with ChidiAmuta e-mail:chidi.amuta@gmail.com

ENGAGEMENTS

Oligarch Governors and Politics in Troubled Times

W

earewitnessingthecoming of a new type of politics.

Between the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) and its rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), some strange political bad manners is taking root. In this political tradition, the actions and conducts of politicians have no bearing to the prevailing mood of the nation. Politics is seen as an independent province of activities that have littleornothingtodowithsolvingthedailyproblems of the electorate.

Intheplaybookofthisnewschool,politicsistransactedaboveworseninginsecurity,spreadinghunger, collapse of vital infrastructure and a general mood of despair and disillusionment among the people.

Politicians even find it demeaning to dwell on these mundane troubles lest they reduce their stature or de-markettheirparties.Thepartiesthemselveshave become more like alien cults, cabals of insensitive visiting overlords who occasionally look in to see how the natives are doing.

Thetwodominantpoliticalpartiesarethetheatres ofthisdramaofalienationandpoliticalbadmanners.

Recently, both parties have engaged public attention on matters that have to do with their internal incoherence. The APC, long held captive by the reign of a caretaker national executive headed by GovernorMr.MaiMalaBuniofYobeState,hasbeen teetering on the brinks of virtual implosion. In spite oftheappearanceofcoherenceandunityunderthe leadership of president Buhari, the party is infested with factionalism and conflicts in nearly every state of the federation. Any number of spurious law suits (reportedlyupto26!)areflyingaroundvariouslevels of the nation’s judiciary, filed by parties within the APC. Endless reconciliation efforts have yielded little or no results.

Matters almost came to a head in Mr. Buhari’s current absence when APC governors broke into two rival factions. A pro-Buhari faction was going along with the scheduled party convention for 26th March when a rival formation struck. In an amateurish political coup, the rival faction of APC governors sought to hijack the leadership of the caretakerexecutivewhilebothPresidentBuhariand GovernorMaiBuniwereabroadonmedicalvacation.

INEC cried fowl.The plight of the party convention was only salvaged by Buhari’s intervention on the side of the status quo. Let us hope that Mr. Buhari’s lame duck incumbency continues to command the followership of his party’s pack of ambitious and rebellious governors.

While Buhari’s intervention may have temporarily saved the party some face in the immediate countdown to the convention of the 26th March, there are enough grounds for trepidation after the convention when the stakes get higher. The strugglefortheAPCpresidentialticketwillbenasty and brutish. While the brief political brawl ensued, matters of governance and general welfare of the citizenry took a back seat. Between the factions of governorsonbothsidesofthedivide,nooneheardof anyfundamentaldisagreementonpolicy,ideologyor eventangentialissuesfromwhateverthemoribund APC manifesto. It was all a power grabbing contest and a jostling for vantage positions for Buhari’s job.

A similar scenario played out in the PDP but from a different direction.The battle lines in the PDP are also among overly ambitious governors. A select conclaveofgovernorsledbyRiversState’sNyesom WikewithhiscohortsGovernorsBalaMohammedof Bauchi, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Benedict Ayade of Cross River State and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State seem to have concluded that they will have to producethenextpresidentialcandidateoftheparty.

Between these ambitious governors and long standing members of the party like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, the battle lines for supremacy and vantage positioning for the 2023 presidential ticket seem to have been drawn.The schism would be a hard one for new party Chairman Iyiorcha Ayu to bridge.

The tension in the PDP made a nasty public outing in the recent embarrassing exchange between Edo State governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki and his boisterous Rivers state counterpart, Mr. Nyesom Wike. There would seem to be no substance in the loud squabble. Its major public appeal was perhaps the entertainment value of lowly adolescent name calling sessions between two governors.There was nothing in the copious airtime wasted by the duo thathadanythingtodowitheitherthelongsuffering peoples of Edo or Rivers State.

Fayemi Similarly, there was not much of public interest in an earlier tirade by GovernorWike againsttheembattledEbonyiStategovernor, DaveUmahi,whowasrecentlysackedbyahigh court for jumping from the PDP to the ruling APC. Mr. Wike’s recent absolutist stance on PDP issues has tended to give the impression that he may be carrying on more like the sole administrator of the PDP than merely as a governor carrying a party card and ticket.

Theinternalpoliticalwranglingintheparties iswithintheirprerogative.Thefactionalfights and the counter currents they are generating alsobelonginthenormalrealmofhealthyintra party politicking. However,the parties are the pillars that hold the architecture of the nation’s political edifice.To that extent, they are primary strategic institutions of our national democraticidentity.Withinthatcontext,politicians have an overarching responsibility to prioritise issues of public interest over and above their internal squabbles. A situation in which politicians who are also leaders at both national and sub national levels play internal party politics in a manner that negates the welfareandinterestofthepublicundermines national security and order.

There is a more worrisome dimension.

Events in both major parties since the return of democracy in 1999 reveal a disturbing emergent feature of our polity. We may have unwittinglyerectedanoligarchyofgovernors.

Obasanjofoundthathehadnoalternativethan to hand over to a pair of governors: Yar’Adua and Jonathan.

This is on account of the immense powers whichthe1999constitutionhasbestowedon governors.Governorsliterallycontrolthestate assemblies once they get into the governors mansion. Governors have almost unfettered control of state finances as they require no superior approvals from any other authority oncetheyhavepocketedthestatelegislators.

On account of their robust financial powers and monopoly of patronage in the states, governors bestride the political landscape of their respective states by deciding who rules the local governments, who represents the state in the House of Representatives, the Senateandwhoisnominatedtothepresident as the state’s Ministerial representative in the Federal Executive Council as well as who getsappointedtoboardsoffederalparastatals and diplomatic missions. In most cases, incumbent governors invariably get to decide their successors.

Evenwhentheyleaveoffice,agoodnumber ofourformergovernorsopttoproceedtothe Senate.Intoday’sSenate,therefore,thereisa sizeableandpowerfulconclaveofformergovernors.Wehardlyhearofformergovernorswho retire into respectable corporate positions.

Theydonotgointoacademiaoroptforfarminglet alone take on humanitarian or community service roles. Our outgoing governors prefer to either vie for the presidency or reserve Senate seats for themselves. Some find nothing else as attractive as partisan politics and the large returns that accrue to operatives of our political industry. For our outgoing governors, the retirement destination of choice is Abuja, Africa’s most expensive piece of real estate sustained by only one invisible but lucrative item of trade: politics.

There is little wonder that the current battle for the soul of the two dominant parties is between factions of governors on the one hand and other partymemberswhobelievethatdemocracyought to entitle them to also seek control of the parties.

But for anyone pitted against the oligarchy of governors, it is almost certainly a losing battle.

InNigeria’smurkypoliticalecosystem,moneybuys all things. The governors either as individuals or acting as cabals of vested interest seem to hold the key to our political future.

Therefore, movements in our current political drama are mere rumblings generated by clashes amonggubernatorialoligarchs.Theonlytroublewith Nigerian governors is that they are unproductive autocrats. Given the quantum of national wealth and resources that have been at their unregulated disposal since 1999, our gamut of serving and former governors ought to have become a major economicforceasindustrialists,realestatemoguls, partners of foreign direct investments or mega farmers.That this has not happened is the tragedy of our warped political economy.

But our troubles will not go away because our governors are busy levying their politics of group absolutism on the rest of us. We are now literally in the eye of every conceivable storm in the world. Just before Russia invaded Ukraine, the NNPC, flooded our gas stations with methanol enriched fuel. Many cars were ruined. Many lives may have been affected by toxic fumes from millions of coughing cars. Even the toxic gasoline was scarce. Queues at gas stations in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Kaduna stretched for as long as the imagination could go. Before the government could admit its negligent culpability in poisoning our cars and lungs, gas stations who had clean fuel hiked their prices to high heavens.

We were helpless as always.

Ever since, scarcity of gasoline has become endemicinmostpartsofthecountryasvendorsfix theirownpriceswhilehaplessmotoristsareleftto their own designs. Meanwhile, we are constantly reminded that the subsidy on fuel is still in place even as we pay prices at the pump that are near enough to what it would have been if Mr. Buhari buried the subsidy regime in a courageous sweep.

Meanwhile the investigation into whose idea it was to flood Nigeria with high methanol content toxic gasoline may have gone cold. In a country wherethePresidentisalsothePetroleumMinister,

the NNPC chief routinely ‘apologised’ to Nigerians and those with damaged car engines for the hurt and moved on. No consequences.

ThreeweeksintoRussia’sinvasionofUkraine,we havesuddenlyfoundourselvesinthemidstofother consequential crippling shortages of a strategic nature. Diesel now sells for as much as N800 a litre. Aviation fuel is scarce and equally exorbitant.

Domesticairlineshavethreatenedatotalshutdown of their services in a matter of days if they cannot findaffordablefueltokeepflying.Theirgrouseisnot only the scarcity and high prices which has already made nonsense of flight schedules.

Thereissomethingmoredreadful.Aviationfuelis saidtohavegoneintotheblackmarketunderground.

All manner of wheeler dealers are now hawking aviation fuel. In Nigeria, that is a short hand for all mannerofingeniousconcoctionsincludingmixtures of kerosene and water, kerosene and black oil, aviation fuel and petrol etc. The airline operators are wary and prefer to err on the side of extreme caution. Adulterated aviation fuel is not quite like toxic gasoline in your ‘tokunbo’ car’s fuel tank. No sensible airline operator wants to risk the lives of innocentpassengersandthesafetyoftheirexpensive aircraft. In Nigeria, nearly every airline that suffers a crash goes out of business quickly as insurance claims wipe off their bank balances.

As if these tragedies are not enough, the various agencies that exist to provide electricity lately plunged the nation into an avoidable blackout.The explanations and excuses have been as wild, varied and familiar as typically Nigerian. It has ranged from a Power Minister who blamed low water levels and insufficient gas supply. Many power generating companies came up with excuses about gas power stationsthatsuddenlybecamedysfunctionalforlack ofmaintenance. Quickly,thedistributioncompanies latchedontotheparadeofexcuses.Theyhaveshifted the blame to the generation companies while the transmission company sat easy on the lame excuse that there is nothing to transmit if nothing is being generated. Of course, the distribution companies serving your neighbourhood are fully covered in the blame supply chain as they cannot distribute what does not exist. Meanwhile, a nation was tossed into darkness. Homes and businesses returned to Medieval times. Factories shut down. Many businessespreferredtocloseshopthantooperate with diesel at satanic prices.

Suddenly, the federal government has announced that all the ills of the collapsed electricity system have disappeared overnight! From far away London, the President issued a blanket apology to Nigerians for the inconvenience of the collapse of the national electricity grid. Again, no investigations as to the precise causes. No establishment of direct culpability. No undertaking or assurance that this will not happen again tomorrow. Most importantly, no consequences.

When a nation is overwhelmed by a cocktail of challenges as we currently are, an election season should promise hope and relief. It is a legitimate entitlement of people living in a presumed democracy to hope and expect a better life as an expiring dispensation winds down. We should at least expect that the election season in the horizon will get our politicians to quit lazy distractions with the drama of power and focus for once on the many serious things that trouble us.

A general election should herald new leaders.

Hopefully,withnewmenandwomenofpower could come more regular salaries, better electricity, cheaper food, more drugs in hospitals, fewer ASUU strikes and fewer bandits everywhere.

Most importantly, the hope is often high that the population of angry people on the streets will reduce in the festive euphoria of campaigns.

Maybe the bitterness in the hearts of men and the anguish in the bosom of women may reduce and tame the monster on the loose around the country.

InthevastspreadofruralNigeria,electionseasonis atimeoftransientplenty.‘Stomachinfrastructure’is theingenioustermcoinedbyourcreativepoliticians (ex-GovernorFayose,areyouthere?)todescribethe transactional essence of our democracy. It is a time to give poor folk the rare opportunity to break the four year cycles of literal famine and unconditional starvation. As it turns out, the assurance of brief goodness is the only relief that election seasons bring to the vast majority now used to the politics of betrayal and disappointments.

Sadly, nothing in this legacy of politics of betrayal seemstoembarrassourpresentbreedofgubernatorialoligarchs.Thatisthetragedyofthistimeandplace.

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T H I S D AY, T H E S U N D AY N E W S PA P E R ˾ MARCH 20, 2022

NEWSXTRA Ojudu: If Buhari Supports Tinubu, I’ll Return to Farming Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu yesterday said he would rather go back to the farm than support Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential ambition.

Ojudu made this remark in

an interview with Chude Jideonwo, the media entrepreneur, yesterday.

He said Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is a better candidate when compared with the former Lagos governor, adding that he will not work with someone he does not believe in.

When asked if he will fall in

line if President Buhari supports Tinubu, Ojudu said: “Never.

Take that from me, write it down today, I will go back to the farm. If I don’t believe in you I will not work for/with you.

“We are still waiting for Osinbajo to come and tell us if he is running. I personally will want him to do so, but he has not come out, so we will wait,

and there is still time.

“If I support Osinbajo, he deserves to be supported… I see the way he works, day and night, committed, not asking for things for himself, committed to the people, committed to Nigeria and well educated.

“He can stand anywhere in the world, comfortable with the young and the old, con-

formable with new technology and always coming out with solutions to problems. I mean, it doesn’t cost me anything to align with such a person.

“What am I looking for in life? I’m looking for a better society, a society where everybody can realise themselves. I’m looking for a society where some

people will not pile all of a country’s resources into their accounts.

“If I see somebody who has all of those attributes, I have the right to support that kind of person. If Osinbajo declares tomorrow that he is running, I will have no apology. I will support him, and I will work for him.”

Utomi: Like Brazil, Nigeria’ll Rise Again Segun James A former presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Prof. Pat Utomi yesterday expressed optimism that if Brazil could survive its economic and political challenges, Nigeria would rise again.

Utomi, a professor of political economy and management expert, said although Nigeria is facing existential challenges, the country has enormous potential for greatness.

Utomi spoke yesterday at the town hall meeting of a group known as Big Tent — a coalition of political parties, civil society organisations, and social movements.

Apart from Utomi, Senior Pastor of the Trinity House Church, Ituah Ighodalo and the 2015 presidential candidate of KOWA Party, Prof. Remi Sonaiya, among others, spoke at the town hall meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, Utomi said Nigeria must change its brand of politics to become issues-based for the country to move forward.

He said: “We need a political class that adopts the simple life. Our country must be ready for this change. It must be a time of healing and building. Our country must be healed from the damage of our recent history. We must build afresh.

Bamigbetan Urges Parties to Contract Primaries to Election Firms Former Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy and House of Representatives aspirant, Hon. Kehinde Bamigbetan, has proposed contracting primaries to election firms as the best solution to resolve the crisis plaguing the party system.

Speaking on internal party democracy at an interactive session convened by the Centre for Constitutionalism and Demilitarisation held at the International Press Centre, Ogba, Ikeja on Friday, Bamigbetan who seeks to represent Oshodi-Isolo II said since no party member can be disinterested in the outcome of the primaries, it is very difficult to

achieve transparency in primaries organised by parties.

“Imagine if our inter-party elections were organised by a committee of all the parties, what result would you expect?

The same rationale for the establishment of an independent electoral commission to handle inter-party polls applies to the need for an independent arbiter in intra-party polls.”

He said by composition, parties are agglomeration of various groups and tendencies which agree on the cardinal objectives of the party manifesto but disagree on tactics and strategies for implementing party programmes.

GloTV Now Accessible by All Internet Service Providers In response to the increasing demand by entertainment lovers and fans of the wave making Glo Battle of the Year Nigeria reality TV show, digital and telecommunications services provider, Globacom, has announced that it will open up access to its popular mobile streaming app, GloTV, to telecommunications subscribers across all networks. All they have to do is visit myglotv.com to watch or download the GloTV app.

The announcement was made ahead of the Episode 7 broadcast of

the Glo Battle of the Year Nigeria which will air on Saturday, March 19, 2022 on GloTV with repeat broadcasts on African Magic Urban, Sunday 3-4p.m.; NTA, Sunday 8-9p.m.; AIT, Tuesday 9-10p.m.; African Magic Family, Tuesday 10-11p.m.; African Magic Showcase, Tuesday 5-6 p.m. Tuesdays by 9p.m, DstvAFMAG Urban on Sundays 3pm & Mondays 4pm, AFMAG Family/ GOTV on Mondays by 10pm and AFMAG Showcase on Tuesdays by 5p.m.

Freedom Online Holds 4th Annual Lecture Tuesday The future of Nigeria will be the focus on Tuesday as eminent Nigerians meet to propose an objective course of action.

From Ministers to former governors and opinion leaders, the deliberation will focus on “ensuring that Nigeria takes its rightful place in the comity of nations.”

Freedom Online, one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing online newspapers, will host these eminent Nigerians at its fourth

annual lecture at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja.

A statement by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Gabriel Akinadewo, says the Guest Speaker is Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

A former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, will chair the session, while the Keynote Speaker is former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

WORLD KIDNEY DAY …

L-R: District 9110 Governor, Rotary International, Mr. Sanjeev Tandon; his predecessor, Dr. Wale Ogunbadejo; President, Rotary Club of Eko Atlantic, Mrs. Mamta Debroy; Country Manager, Max Healthcare, Mr. Saravanan Arimuthu; and a cardiac surgeon, Dr. Harish Vaja, at the 2022 World Kidney Day Lecture Series held in Eko Atlantic Club, Lagos … recently

ActionAid: APC Crisis Portends Threat to Nigeria’s Democracy

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

ActionAid Nigeria, a member of ActionAid International, has said the leadership crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of its March 26 national convention “portends a great threat to the democratic trajectory in Nigeria.

The organisation gave this warning in a statement issued after its Board of Trustees review of the State of the Nation held in Abuja yesterday.

The statement said: “We have reviewed developments in government, politics, the economy, and security during the last quarter, particularly as they affect vulnerable groups: women, children, Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and youths, and have decided to share our views and recommendations on the way forward.”

It said the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill “is commendable and proper

implementation will further deepen the country’s democratic experience.”

However, the statement said the leadership crisis rocking the ruling APC ahead of its national convention scheduled for March 26 “portends a great threat to the democratic trajectory in Nigeria.”

It added that the rejection of the five proposed Gender Bills in the 5th Constitution Alteration Bills by the two Houses of the National Assembly on March 1 “threatens the achievement of

adequate women representation in governance and inclusion of women in decision-making in Nigeria.

“The peaceful conduct of the FCT Area Council election is commendable, though, INEC ‘s administration of the election fell short of the expected standard, especially in the light of the fact that the Commission had repeatedly assured citizens of its readiness to conduct the election. In addition, the election was not devoid of vote trading.

FG, ECOWAS Donate $1m to Support Victims of Banditry, Insurgency Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has contributed $1 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as part of ECOWAS humanitarian assistance for victims of violence in three states in northern parts of the country.

In a statement yesterday, the WFP said the fund from ECOWAS was granted to the federal government from the ECOWAS Regional Stabilisation Fund to Katsina, Zamfara and Borno States.

Most states in the North-east and North-west have been under the onslaught of Boko Haram insurgents and bandits, leading to forced displacement of millions from their homes, killing thousands and incessant abduction of the soft targets.

With its dire consequence, WFP said in its statement that the project “aims at providing food assistance to 4,196 persons from 840 households without food with the sum of N27,000 lodged into the prepaid bank cards or WFP Scope cards of each beneficiary every month to buy their preferred

food from local markets.”

The statement explained that the project would also provide milling machines and training support “to 603 returnees from Cameroon and displaced rural women to support them in generating some income to sustain their livelihoods.

“To mitigate acute malnutrition in children in the first 1,000 days of their lives, the WFP also provides nutrition assistance to children aged 6-23 months old and to pregnant and breastfeeding women from vulnerable and food insecure households.

“Some 14,070 children and 1,932 pregnant and breastfeeding women

receive specialised nutritious food in the three project states,” the statement said.

Commenting on the fund in the statement, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq said the project has provided the ministry the opportunity of showcasing best practices of partnership in delivering humanitarian intervention as well as advancing the federal government’s efforts in touching the lives of a critical mass of Nigerians in vulnerable situations.

Segun Oni: I Won’t Sack Workers Employed by Fayemi, Fayose Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti A former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni has denied planning to sack any public servant employed under the administrations of Governor Kayode Fayemi and his predecessor, Ayodele Fayose if he wins the state governorship election scheduled to hold on June 18.

Oni made this clarification in Ifaki Ekiti yesterday while interfacing with the leadership of a pro-SDP group under the banner of Ekiti Build Back Better (EBBB) led by its spokesman, Idowu Adelusi.

He noted that he did not sack any of the workers employed by the administrations of former Governors Niyi Adebayo and Ayodele Fayose when he assumed office in 2007.

He described his decision in 2007 as a clear departure from the policies of other governors, though said building the state’s human and material resources “is my priority and not scheming vengeance against anyone.”

As a human capital development expert and administrator par excellence, One emphasised that the

state’s revenue was quite sufficient “to pay the monthly workers’ salaries and the pensioners’ entitlements, as well as grow the economy of the state, if properly utilised.”

He disclosed that he employed 4,000 people into the service without any of them going through any godfather to be absorbed into the system, saying it was basically on merit.

He said: “Direct employment of young people into the civil service took place. Over 4,000 new jobs were made without going through any godfather.

“There were many vacancies,

because the civil servants were willing to retire because of the prospect of getting their gratuity within three months of retirement.

“The government provided microcredit facilities to farmers, artisans and young graduates and introduced a local content policy that compelled contractors to employ local people in their companies.

“The government also collaborated with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for skill acquisition for the youths and, thus, provided alternative means of employment.

ͺ͸˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S DAY, T H E S U N DAY N E W S PA P E R

78

B AC K PAG E C O N T I N UAT I O N WHY NIGERIA NEEDS A THIRD FORCE if you like. There are many Nigerians who do not belong to either PDP or APC, so they are not limited by rigid political affiliations. I think they are in the majority. Globally, most voters are not registered party members. Some vote according to the traditions, sympathies, ideologies and sentiments they identify with, not because they are card-carrying members of a party. Some others vote on a case-by-case basis, with no particular loyalty. They look at the candidates or the issues per time. That is why power regularly changes hands in some countries. It is not that party members defected.

This third force I am thinking of, therefore, can be a “third party” or a “third way”. Both are desirable because it has become glaring to us now that APC and PDP are conjoined in the head and are behaving like Siamese twins. This should not be a surprise. The gap between the two parties is not as long as a bridge. In fact, someone can eat breakfast in APC at 7am, cross over to PDP for lunch and is back in time to APC for dinner. Many commentators say it is because of lack of distinct ideology but I think it is also lack of principles. The archetypal Nigerian politician does not want to be in the kitchen sweating it out and preparing the food. He or she is rather looking for where food is ready.

Ordinarily, APC and PDP should be competing for our votes by trying to outperform each other at all levels of government. This healthy competition should make the voters spoilt for choice. If APC is in power and does not deliver the goods, it should be afraid that voters may choose PDP the next time. The possibility of alternation of power should make the parties sit up, knowing that they can be thrown out.

This is one of the beauties of democracy. But

it would appear APC and PDP — because they look and behave so much alike — do not care too much about the likely reaction of the voters. They think their parties are safe in their territories. They are not always right, as we saw in 2015.

We can learn from 2015. The ruling party, which called itself the “largest party in Africa” (its Siamese sibling has now proudly taken over the title) lost for the first time since 1999.

This is where my idea of a third force, or third way, comes in. Although many factors and forces pushed PDP out of power, we cannot deny the role of the “third force”: Nigerians were generally tired of the status quo. They were tired of amateurism in government. They were tired of the open show of corruption.

They were tired of the insecurity across the land. They wanted a change. APC appeared on the scene at the right time, said the right thing and coined the right slogans to mobilise the popular sentiments.

What then? While it may be extremely difficult for a “third party” to win power in 2023 because of the complex nature of electoral politics (including notably the need to build a vote-winning machinery and a heavy war chest), the “third way” movement is still alive and active. There are millions of Nigerians who do not owe an allegiance to APC or PDP. There are millions of Nigerians who are still not pleased with the state of the nation and are ready to cast their votes for the candidate they think would make a big difference in their lives, no matter the parties they belong.

It does not take an eternity to mobilise these sentiments. We all saw what happened in 2015.

Now, this is where I am going: the knowledge that there is a mass movement of Nigerians

out there, which I call the “third force” or “third way”, should propel APC and PDP to consider the quality of candidates they will field in 2023. If Nigerians are fully persuaded that one candidate is better than the other, I can see the 2015 spirit coming back to play.

Although many people eventually regretted voting for APC because they are unhappy with the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari in office, the basic principle has been established: that if these “freelance” voters believe one party is fielding a better candidate, they can be mobilised to join other forces in voting him or her into office.

I am not completely dismissing the idea that the “third force” can be a party if certain things fall in place. One, there must be a coalition of powerful political heavyweights who have the structures and the wherewithal to win elections. And there are only two places we can hope that these heavyweights will come from: the same APC and PDP. There will, expectedly, be fall-outs in those parties after their presidential primaries. I see some of them pulling out or resorting to anti-party manoeuvres because of the outcome of the primaries. This rebellion, if well-harvested, can provide a pool of heavyweights who can give the third force a realistic election-winning structure.

Two, the heavyweight political forces can team up the “third way” movement to back the preferred candidate of a “third party”.

One big challenge would be how to get the movement to work with the political heavyweights without being judgmental. For sure, the political heavyweights are not going to be saints; we can only hope that they would be motivated by the need for a new kind of

leadership for Nigeria. If people who want a new kind of Nigeria can be backed by those who have the structure to make it happen, why can’t they work together? It happened in 2015 and the fact that some people are disappointed with the outcome does not mean it cannot happen again.

Three, there must be a “new wave” candidate who would be the flagbearer of the “third party”. That is the biggest challenge. The new electoral act, along with the election timetable released by INEC, will make things quite difficult. Anyone who wants to run in the 2023 presidential election has to participate in party primaries which must be concluded

by June 3, 2022. If Nigerians are going to rally round a third party, at least they should have an idea of the candidate by now. This is one of the points in Adio’s article. There is work to do and if we cannot see anything clearly now, we should not expect a miracle. By this time in 2014, the APC was already consolidating and strategising for 2015.

In conclusion, I admit that the possibility of a “third party” producing the president is extremely low, but we should not rule out the chances of a “third way” playing a critical role in electing the next president — either by supporting the stronger candidate between APC and PDP, as they have done before to good effect, or by supporting a “new wave” candidate by collaborating with dissident heavyweights to back a “third party”. Whatever the case, we need another way of playing politics. We need a force, or a movement, to put APC and PDP on their toes so that they can get serious with the quality of candidates they want to present in 2023. We need a healthy political competition.

And Four Other Things…

JUDICIAL ABRACADABRA In an unprecedented judgment, a federal high court sitting in Umuahia, Abia state, on Friday gave legislative powers to the attorneygeneral of the federation (AGF). In a case regarding the Electoral Act requirement for political appointees to resign 30 days to party primaries, the judge asked the AGF to amend the law by deleting the clause. Nowhere in the world does the attorney-general have such powers. A judge can declare a law illegal but to ask the AGF to amend it by deleting a clause is unprecedented. I hope the National Judicial Council (NJC) will look into this. By the time our politicians are done with the judiciary, we may have nothing left of the temple of justice.

Terrifying.

SLAPDASH INAUGURATION The slapping saga between Mrs Bianca Ojukwu and Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano dominated news on Thursday, overshadowing the little matter of Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s inauguration as the governor of Anambra state. The subject became the predicate. For Ndi Anambra, that was a slap in the face. Soludo represents a brand of leaders that many Nigerians want in power: an accomplished intellectual with a proven record in public service. There are many of them in our midst who do not have the privilege of being in the driving seat. That is why I am on my knees praying that Soludo will succeed. All he needs to make a difference is to focus on the most important things.

Possibilities.

HARSH TIMES When it rains, it pours. As Nigerians were still battling the methanol-induced petrol scarcity, aviation fuel decided to become elusive and expensive, resulting in fare hikes and fears of grounding flights altogether.

Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine war has impacted on crude oil prices, pushing up the prices of diesel and gas. In Nigeria, the national grid — the highway through which electricity is transported from generating plants to distribution companies — recorded a couple of collapses, thereby plunging the nation into darkness. The bad news, though, is that most of Nigeria’s problems will remain even after the Russia-invoked crisis is over.

Tighten your seat belts please. Turbulence.

RIP EMEKA OBASI The last time I saw Prince Emeka Obasi, publisher of Hallmark newspapers and former Abia state commissioner of information, we spent about two hours together discussing Nigeria’s problems. It was at his Ikeja GRA residence. He was unwell and was constantly receiving oxygen from a concentrator, but that had taken nothing away from his energy. He had sought medical help home and abroad without getting any definite diagnosis. That was quite scary. He was a very proud Igbo man with an incredible commitment to the Nigerian project. He was a man of wits. I was devastated to learn of his death. In the end, he only left ahead of the rest of us. We all owe death a debt. Adieu.

TACKLING NIGERIA’S LINGERING ENERGY INSECURITY value, $3.4 billion in indirect value, and $4.4 billion in induced value.) Given the current proven reserves and price of natural gas, it is clear not only that these figures will change but also that Nigeria has been leaving hefty opportunities untapped. For sundry reasons, gas optimisation remains a ready and viable option for diversification within the petroleum sector for Nigeria, an option we should aggressively pursue despite the design by some clean energy advocates to put all fossil fuels in the same basket.

Undertake Comprehensive Review of the Electricity Sector: Even before the current meltdown, Nigeria has a dismal electricity sector, which places a limit on standard of living, business growth and national development. According to a 2021 report by the World Bank, 85 million Nigerians (or 43% of the population) are not connected to the electricity grid. This makes Nigeria the country with the largest energy access deficit in the world. The Bank estimated the annual economic loss from inadequate electricity supply and limited access at $26.2 billion or N10.1 trillion annually.

Also, a lot has been done and is being done to improve electricity generation, transmission and distribution in the country. Among others, these include: the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act of 2005, the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), the privatisation of six generating companies and 11 distribution companies in 2013, the World Bank support to electricity distribution companies for improved metering and efficiency, the building of hydro power stations like Mambilla and Zungeru that could add 3, 050MW and 700MW respectively to the grid and the engagement with Siemens AG to improve transmission infrastructure and other aspects of the value chain.

Blames have been apportioned all round for the current blackouts and recent collapse of the grid, ranging from low water level, N1.6 trillion supposedly owed the generating companies (GENCOs), inadequate gas/vandalism of gas pipelines which impacted the thermal plants,

Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu and scheduled maintenance of power plants. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) have not escaped scrutiny. Same as the 2013 privatisation of the GENCOs and the DISCOs, which some people feel should be revisited.

The emotion driving the blame game is understandable. But we need to go beyond looking for scapegoats. The electricity sector has been below par and has been a major drag on national development, despite increased investments and attention since 1999. The electricity landscape is littered with problems, from having capacity to generate 12, 500 MW (when we should be generating ten times that to meet our needs and aspirations) to being able to wheel and distribute only about 36% of installed generating capacity through our

grid to the funny games that GENCOs, DISCOs and even consumers play.

Cancelling the privatisation of GENCOs and DISCOs, removing electricity subsidy or continuing to expand generating capacity or improving the grid alone will not address these endemic and systemic problems. Nigerian households and businesses are not really interested in such metrics as the megawatts of electricity generated or distributed. They are simply interested in having light, and they know when they have more or less of it.

Beyond restoring light to the previous normal (which itself is grossly inadequate), we need to take a serious pause and undertake an endto-end review of the sector, a review that is expansive enough to include the state of the laws/regulations/policies governing the sector, the capacity of the operators (including the regulators), the nature of the incentives, the mix of energy sources/options, the sustainability of the pricing regime for gas and for electricity, the level of emergency preparedness, the state and security of the infrastructure, and most importantly what needs to be done. We can surmount the ‘demons’ holding the sector back, but we need to proceed more strategically and holistically.

Return to Deregulation: With how the spike in the price of crude oil has more than doubled the prices of diesel and aviation fuel, it is a difficult time to argue for deregulation of petrol.

But the prices of the deregulated products will not stay high forever. Once the price of crude falls or stabilises, same will happen to the prices of its deregulated derivatives. We have seen this with diesel prices over time, which move in sync with crude oil prices. Deregulation of the diesel market also introduced competition which in turn positively impacted prices and customer service.

Deregulation offers four main advantages: one, it will provide incentives for local refining, which is good for self-sufficiency, pricing and energy security. Ordinarily, Nigeria should be the refining hub of at least West Africa but there is little incentive to tie down investment

in a regulated market.

Two, it will free the national oil company of precious time so that it can focus more on more cerebral work, rather than being weighed down with the mundane responsibility for making fuel available and senior executives spending quality time inspecting depots and filling stations. In a deregulated market, others can import petrol or even choose to set up refineries here. It also removes the yoke of petrol availability from the neck of government and restores petrol as a normal good, not a political one.

Three, it will take away the unending controversies around consumption figures and the incentives for smuggling and collusion.

Whether it is 30 million or 60 million litres per day, the only reason why we are bothered about consumption figures is because of the amount paid by the Federation on the difference between landing/exit-gate cost and the retail price of petrol.

And lastly, deregulation will lead to savings of the amount spent on subsiding petrol, most of which are cornered by the elite and not the poor. Without subsidy, we shouldn’t be worrying about how high crude oil prices will increase the subsidy for the year or about how the potential gains from the war in Ukraine will be wiped out by petrol subsidy or about how we may need to go a-borrowing to pay for subsidy. Deregulation doesn’t mean that government will disappear totally from the scene.

It will be there not to fix prices or determine quantity but to ensure consumer protection, prevent collusion, and regulate quality (which sadly it didn’t do well with the high-sulphur fuel imported recently).

Given that deregulation will always be resisted, it will be important to develop a robust implementation and engagement strategy and have a credible plan for alleviating the impact of the immediate and future shocks on the masses. The moment crude prices start tracking downward, deregulation needs to be back on the table. It should be one of the major pillars of our energy security strategy.

THISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER MARCH 20, 2022

79

SUNDAYSPORTS

Edited by: Duro Ikhazuagbe email:Duro.Ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

AHEAD WORLD CUP PLAYOFFS

Osimhen Sends Shockwaves into Ghana’s Camp with a Brace for Napoli

Jacobs Beats Coleman to World Indoor 60m Gold Italy’sLamontMarcellJacobsaddedtheworld indoor 60m crown to his Olympic 100m title as he scorched to victory in track’s shortest event in Belgrade on Saturday.

Jacobs timed 6.41 seconds, producing a savage, perfectly-timed dip at the line to nudge aheadofdefendingchampionChristianColeman of the United States.

Coleman’s teammate Marvin Bracy claimed bronze in 6.44sec.

Jacobs, wearing a blue singlet and shorts, was drawn in lane five outside Bracy, with Coleman in three.

The trio were all fast out of their blocks, Coleman taking a slight lead as they fired down the bright blue track at the Stark Arena.

But Jacobs’bigger physical frame kicked into action from 40 metres, the Italian gaining pace on the two smaller Americans.

Then came the coup de grace: a majestic dip worthy of a top sprinter that sealed gold bythree-thousandthsofasecondfromColeman.

The American, who had won the 60m at the 2018worldindoorsinBirminghamandthe100m at the world outdoors in Doha a year later, is making his comeback from an 18-month ban for contravening anti-doping rules.

Hehadbeenaimingtobecomethethirdmale athlete to win two world indoor 60m titles after Canada’sBrunySurin(1993,1995)andAmerican Justin Gatlin (2003, 2012).

Victor Osimhen....Sends shockwaves into Ghanaians’ camp ahead Friday’s World Cup playoffs in Kumasi Duro Ikhazuagbe

V

ictor Osimhen sent shockwaves into Ghana’s Black Stars’ camp yesterday with his two goals as Napolicamefrombehindtobeat Udinese 2-1 to keep their dream of Serie A title alive.

Nigeria will play eternal rival Ghana in the first leg of the 2022World Cup playoff in Kumasi on Friday before returning to Abuja for the crucial second leg on March 29. The winner of both legs will qualify for the first World Cup in the Middle Eastern nation of Doha in December.

Osimhen who will spearhead Super Eagles attack against the Black Stars, scored twice in the early minutes of the second half to help Napoli come

back from a goal down to beat Udinese 2-1 on Saturday.

He scored in the 52nd and 63rd minutes to send Napoli to 63 points, three behind leaders AC Milan who defeated Cagliari in a late fixture to extend the lead at the top of the Italian topflight.

The goals were Osimhen’s 10th and 11th of the season, making him the first Nigerian to hit double figures in two different Serie A seasons and the fourth African to do so after GeorgeWeah, Samuel Eto and Mohamed Salah.

A third strike that would have made it a perfect hat-trick was ruled out for off-side and he got yellow carded for handling the ball from a free-kick in the 92nd minute.

Meanwhile,SSCNapolicoach,LucianoSpalleti,has praised Osimhen for the following the impressive

performance against Udinese.

“All season we put pressure on the opponents, but weren’t as sharp and clinical as today,”Spalleti told DAZN. “The fans really helped as they remained passionate and eager to turn it around.

“This is a very important victory, because it must be underlined Udinese are a very strong side and so well organised.

“Osimhen is a player with extraordinary potential.

Spalletiadded:“He(Osimhen)hasthisremarkable change of pace, but sometimes he can go beyond his limitations.

“He is very strong in the air and we made more of those crosses into the box this time.”

“Systems mean only so much, modern football is more about how you interprete them.

Lukaku Scores as Chelsea Reach Semifinals of FA Cup Romelu Lukaku scored his 12th goal of the season yesterday as Chelsea beat Championship side Middlesbrough 2-0 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals.

Middlesbrough had knocked out Manchester United andTottenham on their way to the quarterfinals but their hopes of claiming another Premier League victim were dealt an early blow when Lukaku tapped in from Mason Mount’s cross after a quick Chelsea counter.

Hakim Ziyech made it 2-0 midway through the first half with a superb dipping effort from the edge of the box before Lukaku was denied a second when Anfernee Dijksteel cleared off the line.

Middlesbrough showed plenty of endeavour in the second half as they looked to mount an unlikely comeback, with Arsenal loanee Folarin Balogun shooting wide after a promising counter, while Duncan Watmore also sent an effort over the bar from a good position.

However, Chelsea could have grabbed a late third when substituteTimoWerner met a free-kick but Middlesbrough goalkeeper Joe Lumley did well to palm away.

Chelsea will find out who they will play in the semi-finals, which will be played at Wembley on 16 and 17 April, when the draw is made before Sunday’s quarter-final between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool (18:00 GMT).

There had been a bit of needle before this game with Chelsea having had to make an awkward

U-turn over their request for the game to be played behind closed doors for “sporting integrity”.

The club were unable to sell their entire 4,500 ticket allocation for the fixture because of sanctions that have been imposed by the government on Russian owner Roman Abramovich because of his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It meant they were backed by around 700 supporters who had got their tickets before the

sanctions were brought in, while Middlesbrough were cheered on by a sell-out crowd at the 34,000 capacity Riverside Stadium.

Chelsea players have responded well amid the uncertainty surrounding the club off the pitch.

They had been unsure if they would have a 10-hour round trip by coach to get to Middlesbrough just hours after returning from a Champions League tie in Lille because of financial constraints.

Romelu Lukaku (Second, right) was on target as Chelsea beat Middlesbrough 2-0 to reach semifinals

Marcell Jacobs

Flamingos Fly Past DR Congo intoThird Round of African Series Adibe Emenyonuin Benin City

Two goals by Opeyemi Ajakaiye and one each byTumininu Adeshina, Anastasia Atume and Taiwo Afolabi steered Nigeria’s U17 girls to a 5-0 defeat of their counterparts from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in their second round second leg tie of African qualifying series for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup. Theresult in Benin CitytooktheFlamingosto an 8-0 aggregate win over the Central Africans.

Ajakaiye, who also scored for the Flamingos in a 3-0 win in the first leg in Kinshasa a fortnight ago, picked her spot to slot past goalkeeper Michel Nsona for Nigeria’s first as early as the 4th minute, sending a message that it would be another heavy day for the Congolese.

Before then, hard working captain Alvine Dah-Zossuhaddraggedhershottoowidewith only the goalkeeper to beat. The Flamingos, with deft touches and good positioning, created chance after chance on the inviting turf of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium but poor marksmanship robbed them of a basketful of goals.

In the 7th minute, Ajakaiye missed making it number two but her chip went narrowly wide, and at the other end, Benedicte Kamba found herself face to face with goalkeeper Faith Omilana but lost the heart to take decision.

Sunday March 20, 2022

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“What am I looking for in life? I’m looking for a better society, a society where everybody can realise themselves. I’m looking for a society where some people will not pile all of a country’s resources into their accounts” – Special Adviser to President Buhari on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojudu, vowing to go back to the farm than support Tinubu’s presidential ambition.

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SIMONKOLAWOLE Why Nigeria Needs a Third Force I SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE!

n Waziri Adio’s article, “Is Nigeria Due for Another Electoral Upset?” (THISDAY, January 16, 2022), he made a strong and neat argument on the near-impossibility of an upset in the 2023 presidential election.

By upset, he meant a third force — rather than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — upstaging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). His argument is hinged on several factors, some of which are: the fact that time is running out for the construction of a formidable nationwide vote-winning structure by the would-be third-force candidates; the enormous war chest needed for a presidential run; and the reluctance of the typical voter to bet on candidates with slim chances.

After digesting the article, I was almost giving up hope on the leeway for an electoral upset but for his critical caveat: “You need a formidable political machine or movement capable of taking advantage of the obvious weakness of the established order, capitalising on the widespread discontent, and matching the status quo in grit and wiles for votes in the nooks and crannies of the country.” I have deliberately excised the remaining sentence (“I am yet to figure out such a force or machine on the scene about a year to the next elections”) because it will not serve my purpose today.

I want to pursue an argument that we need badly a third force for whatever it is worth.

To be sure, history does not favour a third

simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961

Pat Utomi force in politics, much less in Nigeria. In most countries, there are usually two parties controlling the game, with a third force putting

up a dark horse display once in a blue moon.

In Ghana, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are the dominant parties. In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) is fully in control with the Democratic Alliance a very distant second. The Conservatives and Labour regularly exchange the baton in the UK. The Democrats and the Republicans own US politics.

In Nigeria, the PDP and APC (in different shapes and sizes) have been dominating the terrain in the fourth republic.

If I know all these facts, why then am I canvassing a third force? I need to make myself very clear. One, it is going to be extremely difficult to displace the ruling party. We are discussing Third World politics where the state machinery is regularly deployed for political manoeuvres. It took 12 years for the opposition to gain power in Nigeria. It had never even happened before. It was a major upset in 2015. Therefore, the APC will not give up power without putting up a massive fight.

Add that to the fact that APC has 21 out of the 36 governors. We know governors are the most powerful bloc. They control most of the field commanders and the war chest. That is what we mean by “structure”.

Two, conventional wisdom is that if any party is going to displace the APC, it has to be the PDP because of its history, experience and structure. PDP controlled power for 16

years, at a point threatening to rule Nigeria for 60 years non-stop. The natural alternative, as it should be, is the PDP. But a party that once controlled 31 states is now a pathetic shadow of itself with so many egos clashing on a daily basis. I concede that politicians would always want to control a party’s structure in order to be relevant, to be able to call the shots. But you can see the lack of tact and maturity in the leadership. The legal tussles and media wars are no doubt jeopardising the party’s chances.

This is why I think we need a third force.

However, my concept of third force is slightly different from the conventional one. We see third force typically as a “third political party” that will cause an electoral upset. Why not? It could indeed be a party that will come from nowhere and disrupt the flow of things — as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) did in the south-east in 2003 and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in far northern states in 2011. CPC and a faction of APGA are now part of APC. We should also remember that Dr Segun Mimiko became governor of Ondo state on the ticket of the Labour Party (LP) in 2007. But my perception is a bit extended beyond this.

While a third force can be a “third party”, it can also be a movement — a “third way”, Continued on page 78

WAZIRIADIO POSTSCRIPT

Tackling Nigeria’s Lingering Energy Insecurity

T

he last few weeks have brought to the fore again Nigeria’s lingering energy paradox. With the level of our endowments in oil, gas, hydro and other sources of energy, Nigeria should be an energy-abundant country. In addition, we should be able to leverage our ample energy resources to improve the standards of living of our citizens, to drive business and industrial growth, and to boost government’s capacity to deliver public goods and meet its other obligations. Could have, should have, but haven’t. The inverse relationship between our natural endowments and our real capabilities remains confounding. Nigeria seems eternally afflicted with the paradox of plenty.

By all accounts, Nigeria’s oil sector is in grave decline. Oil production has not only stagnated but also shrunk to nearly half of the level reached about two decades ago. We import almost all of the refined petroleum products we consume.

We are hardly tapping into the potential of our enormous gas reserves for growth and revenues. The current record-high prices of crude oil and natural gas which should have been a boon to us are now a major source of anxiety. As stated earlier, the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia may actually further complicate the dire state of our public finance.

To further complicate matters, electricity generation and distribution dipped and power

supply became more erratic. At the best of times, the electricity we generate, transmit and distribute fall grossly short of our potential and needs.

In the last few weeks, we went from grossly inadequate to near comatose. Blackouts became more regular. The national grid collapsed twice within two days. As the country got blanketed with heat and darkness, and the persistent hum of generators took over homes, offices and factories, the operators of the electricity value-chain traded blame, generating more heat than light. In the midst of this, the price of diesel more than doubled, with additional burden on households and businesses. Aviation fuel was hit by both scarcity and price hike.

And the petrol queue that started with the importation of inappropriate fuel a few weeks ago has refused to go away. It is indeed a perfect storm.

It is tempting to attempt to address these challenges separately. But that will be another opportunity lost. One thing we should take away from the unfortunate coming together of different things in the energy space is how energy-poor and insecure we are as a country and why we urgently need to devise holistic, coordinated, multi-sectoral strategies for addressing this paradox in the context of energy transition. Today, I will touch on just three broad areas that I think deserve serious attention.

Prioritise Gas Optimisation: With 209.5 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, Nigeria has more than 30% of the proven gas reserves in Africa and has the 9th largest gas reserves in the world. In real terms, Nigeria actually has more gas than oil. This is why Nigeria is usually described as a gas zone with some oil. But gas utilisation has been abysmally low, with gas extracted in two decades put roughly at 1% of reserves and more emphasis on associated than on non-associated gas, which constitutes the bulk of our proven reserves.

As the world moves away from crude oil and coal, gas offers the best opportunity for fair and equitable energy transition for Nigeria. It is a cleaner form of fossil fuel.

Besides, gas is more versatile: it offers tremendous opportunities for domestic and industrial use and for electricity, petrochemicals and government revenues. Inadequate gas supply is implicated in the current electricity challenge, as more than 60% of our electricity is generated from thermal plants. As at 15th March, the price of natural gas is $4.46/MMBtu, which is 65% higher than the price a year ago. With Europe desperate to reduce its 40% dependence on Russian gas, having a fully optimised gas sector would have been a major boost for Nigeria in terms of government revenues, foreign exchange and external reserves. Unfortunately, we have not developed our gas sector enough to seize

this opening.

To be fair, a lot has been done or is being done to tackle some of the binding constraints to gas optimisation in the country. The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has improved the pricing of gas for thermal plants and other gas-based industries. There are other plans and policies like the national gas policy, the gas monetisation plan and the declaration of 2020 to 2030 as ‘the Decade of Gas’, which combined should incentivise gas production and uptake. Gas flare has reduced from 30% to about 10%. There is also increased investment in gas infrastructure, especially the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the Train 7 of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG). It is important to see these projects through as well as to fully deregulate domestic gas pricing and, as recently espoused

by Mr. Babs Omotowa, highly regarded former head of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, to start discussions on Train 8 and Train 9 of our LNG. A paper by PWC in 2020 estimated that harnessing Nigeria’s recoverable proven gas reserves for domestic utilisation could create 6.5 million full-time jobs annually and could generate a gross value addition of $18.3 billion yearly (broken down as $10.53 billion in direct Continued on page 78

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