THURSDAY 3RD JUNE 2021

$40bn Investments Needed for Nigeria’s Gas Plan, Says NNPC Barkindo: Oil industry's upstream spending slumped 30% in 2020 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that the Nigerian oil and gas industry

will require at least $40 billion in direct investments in basic infrastructure to achieve the federal government’s much talked-about about “Decade of Gas.”

Also, the Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr. Sanusi Barkindo, said the cartel's latest assessment showed

that capital investments in the upstream of the oil and gas industry fell by 30 per cent in 2020.

NNPC said yesterday that it was targeting between 7.4

billion cubic feet to 10 billion cubit feet of gas in the next couple of years, compared to its current 1.6 bcf supply capacity.

Speaking at a virtual forum

organised by the Association of Local Distributors of Gas (ALDG), tagged “The Decade of Gas: Unlocking Continued on page 10

Osinbajo: FG to Provide 20,000 Jobs Annually for Graduates... Page 6 Thursday 3 June, 2021 Vol 26. No 9551. Price: N250

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FG Protests Deletion of Tweet, Says Twitter Can’t Gag Buhari Accuses microblogging site of double standards Deji Elumoye in Abuja The federal government yesterday accused the social media giant, Twitter, of double standards in its treatment of issues affecting Nigeria.

It warned that it would not allow the microblogging site to dictate to President Muhammadu Buhari his views on national issues.

The accusation followed the decision of Twitter to delete a controversial post by Buhari

on the Nigerian civil war.

The president, in the post on Tuesday, had warned against insurrection, saying that those fomenting trouble in the South-east are in for a rude shock.

Buhari, in a series of tweets on Tuesday via his verified Twitter handle @mbuhari had said: “Many of those misbehaving today are too young to be aware of the Continued on page 8

Ezeife: South-east Violence, Plot to Undermine Clamour for Igbo Presidency Editors express concern over growing insecurity Alex Enumah in Abuja A former Governor of Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife, yesterday accused sponsors of the ongoing violence in the South-east of plotting to forestall elections in 2023 with the sole aim of thwarting the clamour by the zone to produce the next president.

Ezeife, while featuring on ARISE NEWS CHANNEL, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, however, exonerated members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) from the recent killings of police personnel and the Continued on page 8

THE POWER BEHIND THE GOVERNOR AT 60...

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa (left), with his wife, Dame Edith Okowa, who celebrated her 60th birthday with so much laughter and panache, in Asaba... Tuesday

North-west, South-east Renew Demand for Additional States...Page 5

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Group News Editor Ejiofor Alike Email Ejiofor.Alike@thisdaylive.com, 08066066268

North-west, South-east Renew Demand for Additional States CAN recommends 18 years as minimum marriage age for girls

Christopher Isiguzo, Gideon Arinze in Enugu, Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano and James Sowole in Akure The North-west and Southeast geopolitical zones yesterday renewed their demands for additional states at the public hearings conducted by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Review of the Nigerian Constitution.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) also asked the National Assembly to consider 18 years as the minimum age for a girl to marry.

At the Kano venue of the public hearing for the North-west geopolitical zone, the demand for the creation of new states, requests for special status, local government autonomy, residency/indigenship, federal character and constitutional role for traditional institutions dominated submissions to the committee.

The Chairman of the Movement for creation of Ghari State from the present Kano State, Alhaji Sani Gadanya, in a presentation, said the proposed Ghari State was endowed with resources to make it self-sustaining.

Also, Senator Masud Jibril Doguwa made a presentation on behalf of the Movement for the Creation of Tiga State out of Kano State.

However, a representative of Gaya Emirate, Professor Abba Gaya of Kano State University of Science and Technology, requested for constitutional roles for traditional rulers.

At the session, the Speaker House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, reiterated the dedication of the parliament to sustain national integration despite the raging disunity and acrimony being orchestrated by some interest groups.

The speaker stated that Nigeria's multiple divergence and mutual interests of the

nation remain sacrosanct to the National Assembly.

The speaker, who was represented by Leader of the House and member representing Tudun Wada/ Doguwa Federal Constituency of Kano State, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, stressed the determination of the National Assembly to address contentious issues bordering on the continued survival of Nigeria, irrespective of ethnicity, regious, faith and background.

While declaring the public hearing open, Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, expressed worry that Nigeria has failed to convert its diversity to prosperity.

Ganduje said the country was endowed with unique differences from across zones and regions that should remain a major source of strength.

At Enugu, one of the venues for the public hearing, the need for fiscal federalism

to enable states control their resources and the creation of an additional state took centre stage at the second day of the hearing.

Stakeholders also canvassed the inclusion of persons living with disabilities, PWDs and women in governance and decision making.

The Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. Kelechi Igwe, said there was the need for fiscal federalism to allow states to exploit their resources, generate their revenues and pay taxes to the centre.

Igwe said if allowed to control their resources, states would exploit their potential for growth and would no longer need to depend on the federal government for survival.

He stressed the need to ensure that various contributions to the review of the constitution are considered for equity and fairness.

On state creation, Maj.

Gen. Godwin Ugwuoke (rtd) renewed the demand for the creation of Adada State out of the present Enugu State, noting that it remains the most crucial demand from the South- east.

Ugwuoke said the Southeast region had marginalised in the distribution of state resources, hence the need for the creation of an additional state for the region.

According to him, the demand for the creation of Adada State has come a long way, adding that leaders in the region met in 2006 in Imo State to support the demand for the creation of the state.

In his response, the Leader of the team for Enugu/ Ebonyi/Anambra zone and the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Toby Okechukwu, said there was a consensus in the zone for the creation of Adada State.

Okechukwu who also represents Aninri/Awgu/Oji-

River Federal Constituency, said the demand remained one of the oldest and as such, merited attention from all stakeholders.

"If there is any state that should be created in the South-east, it has to be Adada State and we must collectively support the creation of the state," he added.

In its presentation, CAN asked the National Assembly to consider 18 years as the minimum age for girls to marry.

The CAN President, Reverend Olasupo Ayokunle, while presenting the position of CAN to the Constitution Review Committee for the South-west zone in Akure, lamented that the girl-child are being exposed to indecent tradition and circumstances.

Ayokunle, who was represented by the Ondo State CAN Chairman, John Oladapo, said pegging the marriage age at 18 years for girls would avail them

opportunity to maximally explore inclusiveness and participation growing to adulthood.

"We recommend that the constitution shall bring clarity and emphasis to recognising and affirming 18 years as the age of maturity and that for sexual consent.

"Guarantee for the rights of women and girls, females, to contest or seek appointment based on equal opportunities that secure their active participation in politics," he said.

While addressing journalists after the hearing, the Chairman of the South-west Constitution Review Centre for Ondo, Osun and Ekiti states, Hon. Peter Akpatason, stated that all the submissions would be relayed to the House of Representatives.

Akpatason said no fewer than 35 proposals were submitted and presented before the committee for consideration.

BOOSTING TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT...

L-R: Consul General of Germany in Lagos, Dr. Stefan Trumann; Past President of VDMA, Dr. Reinhold Festge; President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during the launch of Dangote Foundation-VDMA technical training programme, in Lagos...yesterday

Outrage as Gunmen Murder Ortom’s Security Aide in Jos Chuks Okocha, Udora Orizu in Abuja, Seriki Adinoyi in Jos and George Okoh in Makurdi Outrage yesterday greeted the killing of Mr. Christopher Dega, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Security to Benue State governor, in Jos, Plateau State capital.

A statement by the Plateau State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Gabriel Ogaba, described the killing of Dega, a retired Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police as sad.

The Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, also condemned the killing, which took place on Monday.

Giving details on how Dega was killed, the police said:

"It is on a sad note that the command received an ugly report of the death of AIG Christopher Dega (rtd).

"On 31/05/2021 at about 2030hrs, AIG Christopher Dega (rtd) was shot dead by three yet-to-be identified gunmen in an isolated restaurant at Bukuru, Jos." The statement added that the late AIG had arrived in Jos from Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on the same date at about 1930hrs.

It said investigation had revealed that he was trailed and shot.

The police said some suspects had been arrested, while the investigation was ongoing.

Dega was twice Commissioner of Police in

Borno and Edo states. He hailed from Katsina Ala local government area in Benue State.

Reacting to the murder, Ortom condemned the assassination, describing it as devastating and a huge blow to his administration and the state.

The governor, while speaking to journalists yesterday in Makurdi, lamented that the retired AIG was a dedicated aide, expressing shock that he was gunned down in such a gruesome manner.

He said: "Retired AIG Dega served with me here and this is someone who has retired but is not tired and was very active. So, for him to have been murdered in the manner

they did, a retired AIG gunned down. This is very sad."

He called on security agencies to find the killers of his aide.

He also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a national security dialogue to address the nationwide security challenges.

Ortom also sympathised with the family, friends and former colleagues of the deceased and prayed God to grant him eternal rest.

Also reacting to the killing, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed shock at the murder of the late security adviser.

The PDP, in a statement by its National National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, condemned

the murder. It described it as barbaric as well as ominous, given the recent attempts on the life of Ortom by terrorists and bandits.

The party described the slain Dega as a patriotic Nigerian and dutiful aide, who gave his all in the service of his dear fatherland and his home state.

The PDP charged the police to apprehend and bring the assailants and their backers to justice.

The party also called on Buhari to end his perceived lethargic approach to security matters and take decisive steps to end terrorism, banditry and vandalism.

The main opposition party commiserated with Ortom, the Dega family as well as the government and people

of Benue State.

On its part, the Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives, in a statement by its Leader, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, described Dega's killing as wicked and devilish.

It called on the police and other security forces to immediately track down and bring the killers to justice.

The lawmakers who said they were deeply grieved by the incessant killings nationwide, called on the federal government to take more effective and proactive measures to combat the worsening insecurity.

The lawmakers condoled with Ortom as well as the family of the deceased, praying to God to comfort them at this moment of grief.

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Osinbajo: FG to Provide 20,000 Jobs Annually for Graduates EU, Dangote, Visa, BUA, Lafarge, Microsoft back programme Deji Elumoye in Abuja Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday unveiled plans by the federal government to launch a job fellowship scheme for graduates under which 20,000 youths will be employed annually.

Osinbajo said the programme was being supported by the European Union (EU), Dangote Group, Bua Cement, Lafarge Cement, Visa, Microsoft, among other private sector partners.

He added that the programme will rebuild confidence in the country’s youths.

Spokesman to the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, in a statement yesterday, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other private sector partners was set to launch the scheme, to be called the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP).

Osinbajo stated that Buhari would soon launch the 12-month job fellowship programme.

He added: "We are looking forward to the president formally launching the programme very shortly.

"As we prepare for the formal launch of the programme by Mr President, I urge private sector leaders and captains of industry, development partners and the diplomatic community, to support this programme aimed at equipping young Nigerians with skills and experience required for the work place."

Under the initiative,

internship opportunities will be created for young Nigerians who have recently concluded the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme. The fully-paid internships will last for 12 months and will be in reputable private and public sector organisations.

Osinbajo said the NJFP “is in very good company, a new and bold addition to an existing suite of large-scale, big-impact programmes that will rewrite the narrative as it relates to jobs, skills and employment in Nigeria.

“We are resolute in our determination to make the needed difference, and rebuild the confidence of our young people in the ability of their government to rise to the occasion and guarantee a future that is better and more prosperous than the past.

“Our ongoing efforts include the N-Power scheme, which recruits young graduates and places them in agricultural, health and education intervention schemes in local communities around the country. N-Power also has a non-graduate scheme focused on technical skills and IT education. The President has approved the expansion of the N-Power programme from 500,000 beneficiaries to one million.

“We have also established a N75 billion Youth Fund in the Ministry of Youth and Sports to provide credit and support for young entrepreneurs and professionals."

Osinbajo added that there is also the $500 million African Development Bank Technology and Innovation

Fund which the AFDB's Ag. Senior Director, Mr. Lamin Barrow also mentioned at the event.

He added: “Also under our Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), designed to protect existing jobs, create new ones, and promote local production, our agricultural, housing and solar power programmes already employ and will employ tens of thousands of people to ensure food security, and deliver affordable homes and new power connections.”

The Resident Coordinator

of the United Nations Systems in Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon, said the launch and eventual implementation of the scheme would redefine the future of Nigeria.

He added: “Having a population of 41 million young people constituting 30% of the youth population in Africa, empowering young Nigerians will be key in the actualisation of a better future for Africa.

“The Jubilee Fellows Programme will champion homegrown Nigerian talent

and opportunities. It will connect inspiring young Nigerians with local opportunities that will apply their expertise, while equipping them with worldclass practical knowledge.

“The Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme will bridge the gap between graduates and industry.

Through this programme, private sector entities, startups and key public sector institutions will be connected directly to graduates to find the best young talent that Nigeria

has to offer. Graduates will be able to better understand the needs, challenges and realities that industries broadly face, and learn how best to contribute to address them.”

Also speaking at the event, the representative of the EU, Mr Ketil Karlsen, pledged the support of the organisation to the programme.

Private sector partners of the programme include, BUA, Dangote, VISA Nigeria, Outsource Global, GE Gas and Power, Lafarge Africa, SecureID and Microsoft.

FORGING PARTNERSHIP...

L-R: Founder/Managing Director, SecureID Limited Mrs. Kofo Akinkugbe, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and Head HR SecureID Limited, Mr. Bodunrin Oguntade, during a courtesy visit to the minister, in Abuja... yesterday

Atiku, Lawan, Tinubu Set Agenda for New NGE Leadership Deji Elumoye and Chuks Okocha in Abuja Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, yesterday outlined areas of priorities for the new leadership of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE).

Atiku, Lawan and Tinubu, in separate congratulatory messages to the new leadership, urged them to foster national unity, promote professional standards and ethics as well as joined in the crusade to combat fake news.

The NGE had on Monday night re-elected Mr. Mustapha Isa as president to oversee the affairs of the guild for the next two years. Also, the Editor of THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Bolaji Adebiyi, and the Nation’s Capital Editor of the newspaper, Mr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, joined the NGE

leadership as vice president (West) and general secretary respectively.

Isa had trounced the outgoing Secretary, Victoria Ibanga, by securing 176 votes against his main challenger’s 54 votes.

Adebiyi defeated the outgoing Social/Publicity Secretary, Mr. Ken Ugbechie, by polling 132 votes against his challenger’s 80 votes.

Announcing the results of the keenly contested elections, the Chairman of the Screening and Election Committee, Mr. Bonnie Iwuoha, had said Mr. Ali M. Ali, was returned unopposed as the deputy president, while Kila Habibu Nuhu, was also elected unopposed as vice president (North).

The final results also showed that Samuel Egbala was elected vice president (East) after he secured 132 votes against a distant runner up, Mr. Sheddy Ozoene, who polled 88 votes.

Atiku, in his statement,

advised the new officers to be a strong voice for good governance and the rule of law.

He urged the new guild leaders to "demonstrate courage by speaking out on behalf of the ordinary Nigerians who have no voice in the face of excruciating challenges of existence."

He added: "The media is the watchdog of society and therefore they have a great responsibility for holding leaders accountable in order to promote good governance and the rule of law."

He also advised the new NGE leaders to show courage in the demonstration of their responsibilities as watchdogs of society.

"The press is indispensable to a free, democratic society.

So, you are the voice of the people. Your role is not that of cheerleaders, but of holding government accountable for the good of democracy," he stated.

Atiku called on journalists to emphasise things that

unite the people rather than those that divide them, adding that they should respect and reflect all shades of opinions in the country instead of suppressing certain points of view.

Also, Lawan, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, praised the NGE for the success of its biennial convention in Kano and the peaceful conduct of the elections.

He said: "The peaceful and orderly manner of the elections are a good example of how professional bodies should conduct their affairs. You therefore deserve plaudits for living up to the high expectations that society has of you as leaders of the fourth estate of the realm.

"In that light, I enjoin you to always consider the higher national interest of unity, peace, justice and progress as you discharge your critical role of gate keeping in your various media organisations.

"The Nigerian media have come a long way, therefore the editors cannot afford to fail in their responsibilities to the nation in this critical period of our national development."

On his part, Tinubu, in a statement in Lagos by his Media Office, said the executive committee had a responsibility to ensure that editors perform their work according to the best standards of the profession.

He stated editors and the press are essential to the wellbeing of a democratic and open society, and thus must do well for democracy to be sustained and grow.

“I earnestly congratulate the newly-elected executive committee of the Nigeria Guild of Editors at their recent convention in Kano.

“I particularly commend the President of the guild, Mallam Mustapha Isah, who was reelected as president at the convention. His reelection is a testament to and affirmation of the trust and confidence reposed

in his leadership by his colleagues.

"I charge Mallam Isa and his executive committee to do more for the union and the country in this new tenure.

“As the pacesetting body for all editors, and, by extension, as guardians of journalistic freedom and quality, this executive committee must ensure that editors and journalists live and work by the creed of their profession.

“The committee must ensure journalists perform with utmost maturity and responsibility for which they are aptly called the fourth estate of the realm.

“It’s only by so doing will they publish true and objective news and issue meaningful commentary while beating back the menaces of fake news, hate speech and biased reporting.

“Let us do more to improve the critical organisations and institutions of our country, particularly at this time."

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PAGE EIGHT FG PROTESTS DELETION OF TWEET, SAYS TWITTER CAN'T GAG BUHARI destruction and loss of lives that occurred during the Nigerian civil war. Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand.”

Buhari’s statement, which was also tweeted, sparked outrage on the social media with some Nigerians reporting it to Twitter.

However, some said the president sounded firm in his warning against perpetrators of violence in the South-east.

But yesterday, Twitter pulled down the tweet for violating its community standards.

Twitter, in a comment, said: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules.”

The federal government, however, kicked against the decision with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, wondering why Tweeter would object to a submission by the president on national issues but would ignore provocative postings by the leader of the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu on its site.

The minister told journalist at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja that Twitter's mission in Nigeria is suspect.

He wondered if Twitter has ever deleted offensive

tweets by Kanu.

He said: "The mission of Twitter in Nigeria is very suspect. Has Twitter deleted the violent tweets that Nnamdi Kanu has been sending? Has it? The same Twitter during the ENDSARS protests promoted tweets trying to raise funds for the ENDSARS protesters.

It was the first to close the account of former President of US, Donald Trump.

"And you see, when people were burning police stations and killing policemen in Nigeria during ENDSARS, for Twitter, it was about the right to protest.

But when a similar thing happened at the Capitol, it became insurrection. You see, we are not going to be fooled by anybody. We have a country to rule and we will do so to the best of our ability. Twitter mission in Nigeria citing those two examples is very suspect.

What is their agenda?

"How does Mr. President's speech that anybody who is destroying infrastructure, who is destroying police stations, who is destroying INEC offices should be ready for the consequences; is that inciting violence?"

While accepting the fact that Twitter may have its own rules, Mohammed said that should not stop Buhari from expressing his views against a banned organisation like IPOB inciting people to commit

arson and the likes in the South-east.

He stated: "Twitter may have its own rules, it’s not the universal rule. If Mr. President, anywhere in the world feels very bad and concerned about a situation, he is free to express such views. Now, we should stop comparing apples with oranges. If an organisation is proscribed, it is different from any other which is not proscribed. Two, any organisation that gives directives to its members to attack police stations, to kill policemen, to attack correctional centres, to kill warders, and you are now saying that Mr. President does not have the right to express his dismay and anger about that? We are the one guilty of double standards.

"I don’t see anywhere in the world where an organisation - a person will stay somewhere outside Nigeria, and will direct his members to attack the symbols of authority, the police, the military, especially when that organisation has been proscribed. By whatever name, you can’t justify giving orders to kill policemen or to kill anybody you do not agree with.

"But I'm saying that you cannot compare anybody with Kanu who boldly say, go and kill policemen. I think sometimes…policemen

are brothers, they are our uncle, they are children.

We kill them their wives become widows, their children become orphans.

And what is the offence of these policemen - because they are working to keep the country one. What about soldiers that are putting down their lives so that you and I can sleep? It is not acceptable anywhere in the world for anybody, anywhere, to stay in the comfort of wherever he is and now give directives to go and kill soldiers, go and kill policemen."

Asked why Sheikh Ahmed Gumi whose comments were perceived as justifying Boko Haram actions has not been arrested, Mohammed asked who appointed Gumi as the go-between between government and Boko Haram.

"Who appointed Gumi middleman between government and Boko Haram? Listen, for me, unless you come and tell me this what Gumi said that is inciting that you are comparing to Kanu… anyway what we're discussing is different. We're discussing Twitter. If you want to ask any question about Gumi or any other person, go ahead but please, be objective," he added.

He also said if government had resolved to pick up all those critical of the Buhari administration, the detention

centres would have been full by now.

He said: "There are so many people who have been spewing hate against Mr. President, against this governments. So if you want to comment, be fair; don't take a position, which is not objective. If we were to pick up everybody today who had been abusing this administration, the detention centres will be filled up and you will be the first person also to talk about lack of tolerance, lack of rule of law."

Reacting to Buhari’s tweet, human rights activist, Aisha Yesufu, described as “insensitive” the civil war analogy by the president.

Yesufu, in a video statement yesterday, said: “My name is Aisha Somtochukwu Yesufu. I am Igbo, a threat to the Igbo people is a threat to me. Any attack on the Igbo people is an attack on me. Any malignment of the Igbo people is a malignment to me. We are all Nigerians and no Nigerian is more Nigerian than the others.

“The government must ensure that it deploys its resources and its apparatus equally to every section of this country.

“I totally condemn the tweet from the president where the president is threatening the Igbo people.

He is threatening them with what happened in 1967.

What happened in 1967 was a genocide; a crime against humanity and it must never ever be allowed to happen again.”

She added: “For a president to come out today and use 1967 as a yardstick to threaten people with what happened then, with the 30 months of gruesomeness, with the 30 months of heinousness, with the 30 months of atrocities that were meted out on human beings, on fellow brothers and sisters, on children in this country, is inhumane, it is insensitive, it is callous, and it is unspeakable.”

Former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, however, called on Twitter to hold presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu and Mohammed accountable for the controversial ‘civil war’ post.

Reacting in a string of tweets, Fayose wrote: “A president who cannot address his own people in time of crisis can certainly not be the one tweeting on the crisis. Twitter should rather hold Garba Shehu, Lai Mohammed and co (others) accountable.

“It is obvious that those using the president’s powers for him do not know when and where to stop their power. Regrettably, Twitter may not know that Buhari is not the one operating the handle.”

adapting new funding and business models. ‘’Considering that the role of information dissemination by the mass media is an essential public and social service, the guild calls on government to consider mitigating the media’s operational costs and economic challenges by floating a national media subsidy regime, including tax holidays and waivers, lifting of licence fees for the broadcast media and offsetting debts of government media agencies in the country,’’ the guild stated.

The guild’s national convention, which attracted over 300 editors and media owners across the country, also expressed concern over the prevalence and massive elevation of fake news, disinformation and propaganda due to the mishandlings of the social media platforms by negative persons.

The guild harped on the need for Nigeria’s media publics, particularly the youth whom the media must carry along, to use, decipher and rely on the conventional media for reliable and credible information in taking their decisions.

The safety of journalists also attracted the attention of the editors, as they called on both the public and the private media operators to devise measures inclusive of guaranteed welfare and insurance schemes for the safety and security of journalists working for them.

The communiqué added: ‘’Against the backdrop of the assailing new media trends, the guild highlights the essence of training and retraining of the Nigerian journalists to update their knowledge, skills and

expertise of the profession - with a view to attaining the needed proficiency and competencies that are required to overcome the new media drifts that dragging journalism profession.’’

While commending Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State for keeping the state safe even in the midst of the prevailing insecurity in some parts of the country, the editors also appreciated the state government’s phenomenal drive of infrastructure development; as well as the state government’s determination to turn Kano into a modern city.

The guild thanked Ganduje and members of the state Executive Council for providing the enabling environment for the national convention to hold.

EZEIFE: SOUTH-EAST VIOLENCE, PLOT TO UNDERMINE CLAMOUR FOR IGBO PRESIDENCY torching of public institutions in the zone.

He spoke hours after the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) expressed concern over the growing insecurity in the country and advised government at all levels to activate their structures in tackling the challenges.

Ezeife described the insurrection in the South-east as an attempt to provoke indigenes of the South-east.

He added that their findings showed that those behind the killings and destruction of public institutions such as offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are not Igbo.

He said: "Who are the people burning INEC's offices, who are killing the police? There is the impression that some people even within the government are guilty of organising such threat and blaming it on IPOB and ESN. "Now we know that more than 80 per cent of the people caught by the CCTV are not from the South-east.

Was it a design to blame it on IPOB and ESN? We are learning more now that there is a design to provoke the East."

He, however, could not identify the sponsors but suspected that some of them might be in government going by some of the findings by South-east leaders.

He stated that a Southeast governor who had earlier accused IPOB and ESN of executing the attacks had since exonerated the secessionist group.

He also expressed reservation that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, could hold the groups responsible

for the violence without evidence.

He said: "IPOB does not have tradition of shedding blood or burning down things. It is not Igbo tradition to shoot police, burn down houses. During the ENDSARS protests, people attributed what was happening in Lagos to some Igbo people and it was later discovered to be untrue.

"Those who are sponsoring this destruction don't want election; they don't want president from Southeast zone and would even want to scatter the Anambra election and go for emergency situation and appoint someone.

"Nigeria should understand what is going on and not jump into conclusion."

While not justifying the activities of IPOB and its leader, Ezeife stated that the federal government by its alleged continued marginalisation of the South-east, is pushing Igbo out of Nigeria.

He listed some of the injustices the youths are fighting to include the absence of tangible federal government projects in the area as well as the alleged disregard for the principle of federal character in appointments, to the detriment of the Igbo.

"The federal government has been working hard pushing the Igbo out of Nigeria. The young men are reacting to what is coming from the federal government. Whether it is project location, we don't have any in Igboland; whether it is appointment, you don't find it but if it is retirement, we're dominant."

Ezeife also alleged that many Igbo businesses

are being crippled by the government.

He dismissed insinuation that the Igbo cannot speak with one voice when it comes to presenting a candidate for the 2023 presidential election.

According to him, the South-east has many individuals that can govern the country and the zone is currently working hard to win the support of other zones to clinch the presidency in 2023.

On the ongoing public hearing to review the constitution, the former governor urged legislators to stop wasting their time and public resources because what the people need now is a new constitution.

Editors Express Concern over Growing Insecurity Meanwhile, the NGE has expressed concern over the growing insecurity in the country and advised government at all levels to activate their structures in tackling the challenges.

It also called for an enabling political and economic environment for the media to discharge their constitutional and social responsibilities.

It added that creating a conducive environment for the media to thrive would guarantee and sustain democratic space, sustainable development and provide incentives for social/democratic change.

The guild, in a communiqué issued and signed by its President, Mr. Mustapha Isah, and General Secretary, Mr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, at the end of its 2021 Biennial Convention in Kano, called

on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, expunge, repeal or amend as may be appropriate, all existing obnoxious media laws that are inimical to press freedom.

It also urged editors and journalists to continue to subscribe to and uphold the journalism code of ethics - as developed by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO). ‘’The guild observes the need for the Nigerian mass media to exercise their freedom to operate freely with a sense of responsibility.

And considering the spikes in the levels of insecurity across the length and breadth of the country, it is high time for the media to set the agenda and lead the country’s drive to sustaining national cohesion. ‘’While observing Nigeria’s consistent deterioration in the Global Press Freedom Index since 2005, the guild notes that it is worrisome that the slide is happening in a democracy, whereby the guild has had cause in recent times to issue three press statements on the threats of closure and imposition of fines on some broadcast stations by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC),” the communiqué added.

The guild noted that the huge disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has created globally, saying that the disruption has also had negative effects on the Nigerian media industry, leading to drop in revenues. ‘’For the media to respond to these challenges creatively, there is urgent need for the media managers to evolve diversification, designing of a dynamic management system, producing innovative contents, restructuring their production technologies and

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NEWS

FEC Okays N5.6bn for 37 Oxygen Plants for COVID-19 Treatment

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved the establishment of an oxygen production plant in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at a cost of N5.6 billion.

It also approved N9.2 billion as premium for life insurance scheme for federal civil servants and military personnel while also giving the go-ahead for the use of revised national policy on climate change in the country.

Briefing journalists at the end of the FEC meeting, presided over

by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who stood in for the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, said the approval was to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic, which has made oxygen a critical commodity.

He said: “The Minister of Health presented a memo, which was approved, for the emergency supply, installation and maintenance of oxygen production plants and construction of plant houses in each of the 36

states of the federation and Abuja.

“The contract was approved in the sum of N5, 615, 127, 479 inclusive of 7.5 per cent VAT, in favour of four different companies, with a completion period of 20 weeks.”

Mohammed also said FEC approved N9.2 billion as premium for insurance companies to manage the group life insurance for federal civil servants.

“On behalf of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, I will like to report that council today approved the award of contract for the appointment of insurance companies for group life assurance for federal government employees, public servants paramilitary and the intelligence community for the year 2021-2022 in the sum of N9, 248. 995, 907 and this premium is for a period of 12 months.

“This is part of the government’s welfare programme for our public employees so that in case of death, they are assured that there would be compensation,” he added.

FEC, Mohammed said, approved N18.1 billion for the development of infrastructure at Kano and

Calabar Free Trade Zones, as well as the Textile and Garment Park in Lagos and the Special Economic Zone, Lekki, Lagos.

He said the approval was of important to the infrastructure development plan of the country.

Mohammed also said an approval of N1. 1 billion was given by the council for the procurement of aviation security uniforms and accessories for use in various airports.

He said: “Minister of Aviation got an approval for the award of contract for direct procurement for the design, manufacture and supply of aviation security uniforms and accessories.

"The sum total is N1, 127, 945. The unique thing about uniforms for the aviation industry is that it has some International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards that would be followed.”

On the memo approved for the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Mohammed said N864.7 million was approved as variation costs for two road contracts which were abandoned by previous administrations.

“The Minister of Niger Delta got approval for Okpula-Igwartanta Phase

I linking Imo and Rivers State, started in 2010.

He got an approval for a variation of N620, 763, 000.

He also got approval for erosion flood control on Ndemili-Utagba-Onitsha road in Delta State, started in 2014. The council today approved N244 million to augment the original contract sum," he stated.

On her part, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, said she briefed the council on the latest National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report on the 0.5 percent growth of the nation’s GDP and presented the first quarter of 2021 GDP results and other performance indicators of Nigeria.

The NBS had last month released its first quarter result, which showed that Nigerian GDP grew to 0.51 per cent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter of 2021.

She said: “This first quarter performance marks the second consecutive quarter of positive real GDP growth following two previous consecutive quarters of negative growth in 2020, in Q3, and Q4, which saw our country going into recession. But you’ll recall that we very

quickly exited recession in the fourth quarter of 2020.

"The improved economic condition that has been reported is indicated by the fact that 23 out of 46 activities recorded positive growth in the first quarter of 2021, compared to 17 in the previous quarter.”

Also speaking, Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmud, said FEC approved the revised National Policy on Climate Change, adding that “the last one was in 2012 and it became necessary for us to revise based on what has been happening in the last three years since 2012 particularly with the various agreements."

He added: “We all know climate change is our topic of today, it has serious implications on economy, livelihoods. The environment in general and economic change affect every body but we have realised that it affects women even more and on this, we also know that we have national polIcy on gender and climate change as approved.

"This revised one has also put into consideration the national policy on gender and climate change to include women in almost every aspect of climate

projects executions. We all know that recently, a lot of flooding has been happening and is as a result of climate change, insecurity is relatable with climate change.

“This climate change policy has repositioned Nigeria to begin to upgrade all that we have achieved so that we can present during the meeting.

“Its implementation strategy is to be all encompassing. We have met with several MDAs, agencies and civil society organisations and even the media because this is something that requires all hands to be on deck as we are all potential polluters of environment causing climate change.

“Eventually and ultimately the objective is to help Nigeria that is climate resilient and also gender sensitive in the future and that is the vision of this policy because the world is moving towards carbon neutrality.

“It is assumed that by the year 2015, we should have carbon neutrality.

Today, now is the time to get prepared for that so that is what the policy is all about to drive towards a Nigeria that is sustainable environmentally.”

largest share of the global energy mix throughout the forecast period, providing nearly 28 per cent of global requirements in 2045, followed by gas at around 25 per cent and coal at roughly 20 per cent.

In 2019, Barkindo stated that the continent produced 8.5 mb/d of oil, which is around nine per cent of world's output.

He said at the end of 2019, Africa was estimated to have proven oil reserves amounting to around 126 billion barrels,with Nigeria holding the lion’s share with 36.9 billion barrels, representing 29 per cent of Africa's reserves.

Barkindo said demand in developing regions, including Africa, with its rapidly growing population and dynamic demographical shifts, would be intensified, and all forms of energy would be needed, not only to support the postpandemic recovery but to satisfy long-term energy requirements.

"One major issue looming in the long-term horizon is the lack of adequate industry investment.

"According to our latest assessments, upstream capital spending is estimated to have fallen in 2020 by a staggering 30 per cent or more.

"Our 2020 World Oil Outlook estimates that $12.6 trillion will be required between now and 2045 in the upstream, midstream and downstream.

"We must continue to advocate a turnaround in this very upsetting trend. The very future of our industry is at stake," he stated.

According to him, oil and gas will continue to be a vital part of the energy needs to ensure future demand is met, adding that policies must change in that regard.

He stated that another issue of utmost concern in Africa is the scourge of energy poverty, which continues to impact millions across the continent.

Citing OPEC data, Barkindo said an estimated 47 per cent of the population in Sub Saharan Africa had no electricity and approximately 85 per cent of people lacked access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking.

He stated that considering the richness of the continent’s resources, both conventional and renewable, this situation is hard to accept.

He urged all stakeholders to unite on the issues to ensure an equitable distribution of energy that leaves no one behind.

"When all is said and done, access to energy, like education and health care, should not be considered a luxury but a human right.

"OPEC will continue to work closely with our member countries to advocate for real and lasting change on this issue," he added.

$40BN INVESTMENTS NEEDED FOR NIGERIA’S GAS PLAN, SAYS NNPC Opportunities in the Domestic Gas Market,” the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, NNPC, Mr Yusuf Usman, stated that a major constraint in achieving local content through the programme is the difficult conditions placed by foreign lenders.

However, he stated that the corporation expects to grow about 10 gas-based industries as it works towards the 10-year target.

He added that the figure on the quantum of funds needed is based on the submissions NNPC has received from potential investors.

In addition, he stated that about 39 thermal power plants were being targeted as opposed to the current 33.

According to him, by the end of this year, the NNPC is projecting an added gas sales of about 600 mmscfd, compared to its current 1.6 bcf to hit 2.2 bcf by the end of 2021.

He said: “In terms of benefits, we will generate 45,000 megawatts of power in terms of gas use, creating massive employment and import substitution.

“There are changes we need to look at to actualise the decade of gas. We see the huge amount of investment, both Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) that will come into the country upward of $40 billion or much more than that in order to achieve all the aggressive plans that

that are outlined in the decade of gas.

“This investment will come in the upstream, midstream and downstream, but there are challenges as well because there have been a lot of announcements around funding for fossil fuels and these are some of the things we have to look at as we go forward and we need to figure out the announcement vis-a-vis the foreign estimate that we expect.”

He added that the corporation has a supply plan to deliver up to 4.5 bcf of gas into the market, while going forward, the country expects 7.4 bcf of gas.

According to Usman, there are urgent plans to complete ongoing gas projects in the country, including the AKK project , which he described as one of the most aggressive and biggest pipeline infrastructure ever embarked upon by the country. The pipeline spans 614 km.

He said all the gas activities going on around the country were being handled by local construction companies and local providers of services due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

“Going forward into 10 years, we expect to do another big pipeline that will take up gas from south, all the way into Ajaokuta and possibly we extend it all the way to Maiduguri,”

he said.

He expressed the hope that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will be passed this year, noting that the corporation is ready to adjust to the changes that the law will impose.

Usman stated that by the corporation’s projection, demand for gas to generate electricity in the country will consume between 60 to 70 per cent of the entire commodity produced, with the ongoing plan to generate 45,000MW. “The other challenge we have is the liquidity in the power sector, and there’s a lot of work going on because it is a very huge market. If you see the demand projections that we have done, it is going to consume 60 to 70 per cent of the gas that we have.

“Not only that; without power, all the development programmes we are thinking of will be a mirage.

It is an inevitable equation that we have to solve to move towards development and issues around it have to be resolved,” he stated.

Usman urged policy makers to answer the questions surrounding gas pricing, since Nigeria is interested in using gas as a source of revenue as well as balancing between investment and local content drive.

“All these FDI come with conditionality before taking the money. That will put a limit to our local content drive. As you all know, the

restrictions by itself affect the kind of projections that we look at,” he added.

He stated that if Nigeria will achieve the decade of gas, it must transit to a willing-buyer willing-seller market.

Besides, there must be a document with timelines as well as defined investment strategies on the announcement that is being made about the restriction for fossil fuel to achieve the decade of gas.

Barkindo: Oil Industry's Upstream Spending Slumped 30% in 2020 Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr. Sanusi Barkindo, has said that the cartel's latest assessment shows that capital investments in the upstream of the oil and gas industry fell by 30 per cent in 2020.

He said at the first meeting of the OPECAfrica Energy Dialogue that despite that, crude oil will continue to be relevant, especially in Africa.

Describing the future of Africa's oil industry as bright and the opportunities vast, Barkindo stated that the continent is currently home to five of the top 30 oil-producing countries in the world.

According to him, oil is expected to retain the

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COMMENT

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

AFRICA SHOULD MANUFACTURE ITS OWNVACCINES Rajendra Aneja urges the continent to develop a road map to produce a billion jabs in 18 months

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he continent of Africa, comprising of 54 countries and a population of 1.3 billion has inoculated only about two percent of its people with the Covid-19 vaccine. Africa was principally depending on the COVAX programme supplies, backed

by WHO and other multilateral bodies. COVAX had planned to source the AstraZeneca vaccine from Serum Institute of India. The goal was to supply 600 million doses to Africa to vaccinate 20 percent of the population in 2021.

However, due to the crisis in India, the supplies have been suspended till end-2021. So, it could be the end-2022, before Africa vaccinates its people.

Africa cannot be left to fend for itself. According to the BBC, “Globally, 150 doses of the vaccine have been administered per 1,000 people, but in sub-Saharan Africa it’s about eight doses per 1,000 people.”

The extra doses with some of the richer countries can be diverted to countries in Africa with high infections. This will contribute to ridding a weary world of Covid-19 and kickstart economies.

The former British Prime Minister Mr. Gordon Brown has written a brilliant article (Financial Times, 22 May), advocating that “G7 must bear the burden of vaccinating the world.”

According to him, “If the cost of vaccines is in billions, the overall benefits of additional economic output made possible as trade resumes in a Covid-free world are in trillions.” True.

Investments by the Western nations in Africa on the vaccination, will pay rich dividends in terms of resumption of trade.

The article should be assimilated by every President and Prime Minister in the world. His advice should be heeded.

This pandemic overrules geographical, national, religious, tribal, caste, creed boundaries. As long as there is a single country with the disease, the world is not safe. We have to act together. To quote President John Kennedy, from his Inaugural address of 1961, “United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.”

Africa produces just one percent of the vaccines it administers. The balance 99 percent are imported through international agencies like UNICEF, etc. Now, Africa finds itself neglected.

Africa should aim to produce vaccines locally and ensure self-sufficiency. Covid-19 has taught us, that during a global pandemic, despite the best intentions, vaccines do not move freely across nations. In a crisis, every nation is for itself.

Africa has 10 manufacturing plants for vaccines, based in Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Nigeria, etc.

They are principally fill, finish, package and label units. They do not engage in upstream research or production of the vaccines. Nevertheless, four of these, Pasteur Institute of Dakar, Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Biovac Institute in Cape Town and the Pasteur Institute of Algeria, do have some capability to manufacture the substance from which vaccines are made.

The Ethiopia Public Health Institute and Biovaccines Nigeria Limited, have some plans to manufacture vaccine materials, according to a study sponsored by the UK Government.

President Biden has signalled that the USA will support the waiver of Intellectual Property protections, on life saving Covid-19 vaccines. The European Union should also support the initiative to share vaccine technologies across the world.

This is no time to be sclerotic. An IP waiver will accelerate the manufacture of vaccines in Africa.

African Union leaders must architect an urgent road-map to produce Covid-19 vaccines within 18 to 24 months. These plants can also produce vaccines to immunise for childhood diseases and provide for future outbreaks of infections.

Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) plans to establish five new vaccine-manufacturing centres across the continent. They will manufacture 60 percent of Africa’s requirements by 2040. However, this is too little, too late. Vaccines normally take a decade to discover.

However, the world has over a dozen vaccines to fight Covid-19 within a year. Given the human will, the factories too can be accelerated.

Even a small research institute can discover lifesaving vaccines. Dr. Waldemar Haffkine was a Ukrainian scientist, who had discovered the vaccine for Cholera in 1892 in Paris.

His Cholera vaccine was widely used in Russia and India.

Later, an epidemic of bubonic plague struck Bombay city (now Mumbai). The Indian government asked Dr. Haffkine to work on the vaccines. He laboured in a makeshift laboratory in the corridors of the Grant Medical College, Bombay.

In about three months, he developed a vaccine. He tested it on himself in January, 1897. The vaccine had remarkable results and was deployed to fight the plague.

So, great oak trees can grow from small acorns. Some small institutes in Africa may produce miracles, given the faith and opportunity.

Africa has many rich industrialists. They have established businesses in Africa in a range of industries like infrastructure, media, consumer products, etc. African entrepreneurs should establish vaccine factories in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. These countries have large populations and trained manpower. The plants should be fully integrated, researching, discovering and producing the drugs. They should not be small filling plants.

An industrialist like Mr. Aliko Dangote has established himself admirably in assorted infrastructure projects and consumer products in Nigeria and across Africa. He could render a great service to West Africa by establishing a vaccine plant in Nigeria. The project could be accelerated to produce vaccines in 18 to 24 months.

The new projects could be managed jointly by the private and public sectors in the countries. The UK is establishing a new vaccine unit at a cost of about 100 million GBP. This type 0f money is not difficult to invest for the senior industrialists of Africa. The national governments of these countries, World Health Organisation (WHO), European Union, African Union Trust, Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI), can contribute with grants and soft loans.

AFRICA SHOULD BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT IN VACCINES. IT SHOULD ESTABLISH VACCINE FACTORIES WITHIN 18 TO 24 MONTHS TO PRODUCE A BILLION JABS. THEN, AFRICA CAN EVEN EXPORT VACCINES. IT IS DOABLE WITH THE RIGHT MANAGEMENT. THEN, AFRICA’S CHILDREN WILL HAVE A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Africa should become self-sufficient in vaccines. It should establish vaccine factories within 18 to 24 months to produce a billion jabs. Then, Africa can even export vaccines. It is doable with the right management. Then, Africa’s children will have a brighter future.

Aneja was the Managing Director of Unilever Tanzania. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the author of books entitled, “Rural Marketing across Countries and “Business Express”. He is a Management Consultant

GULAK, IPOB AND A NATION BESIEGED

Nigeria is on the brink. The president must lead in bringing it back to the path of normalcy, writes Olusegun Adeniyi Continued from backpage

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made the foregoing deduction six years ago and today, we are in serious crisis because of the choices we have made or refused to make.

While the problem of Nigeria did not start with President Muhammadu Buhari, I do not believe he is handling the IPOB challenge the right way. Making some strategic concessions for the sake of peace in a plural society is not a sign of weakness. But he has consistently refused to do that, even when there were glaring opportunities to do so. His statement on Tuesday is also predictable. I understand that no government will give in to criminal blackmail. But there are also times when leaders recognize that force offers no enduring solution, especially to a problem that will not go away.

As I also once argued on this page, when things are so bad that young people seek salvation in a past they never experienced, the challenge should be how to deal with the lingering injury that fuels such misplaced nostalgia. It is therefore important for the administration to interrogate why more than five decades after the end of the civil war, the Biafran experience continues

to evoke so much passion, so much anger, so much appeal that throngs of youth from the Southeast have found a war cry for all manner of dysfunction in our nation. The challenge is that we are gradually losing our country.

As things stand, there is a greater burden of law enforcement in the Southeast where insecurity has become an offshoot of a troubled chapter of our national history. Since the police (whose personnel and barracks are being taken out by these criminals) have proved ineffective, troops are being deployed to restore order. But this is very tricky. Moreover, elements of partisanship have also amplified other factors at play in the Southeast. For instance, in Imo State that is becoming the epicenter of the crisis in the region, we also have confrontations between and among powerful political gladiators and an atmosphere of free for all criminality engendered by unemployment and scanty opportunities.

In all this, security agents must be extra sensitive to the peculiar complexity of the Southeast. We expect the military to pay attention to the rights of ordinary people in their line of duty. For the police in particular, the challenge is one of professionalism.

The rudiments of thorough investigation of

crimes before drawing conclusions is the minimum expectation of a public whose sensitivities have already been agitated.

Unfortunately, the manner in which the Gulak assassination has been handled is not exactly a glowing tribute to responsible policing in a part of the country where national security already faces a challenge mired in a bloody history.

Indeed, the Gulak murder may have added an extra ugly dimension to our basket of headaches well ahead of a potentially turbulent election season in 2023. I hope the authorities recognize the dangers ahead. In 2005, the United States National Intelligence Council, in a document entitled ‘Mapping Sub-Saharan Africa’s Future’, had predicted the “outright collapse of Nigeria” as a nation-state within the next 15 years.

At the time, President Olusegun Obasanjo described the report as “glib talk” arising from “dubious or diabolical benchmarks.”

But Obasanjo did not ignore the report. He passed it to the National Assembly with a covering letter where he wrote: “I am sending this to you not because I am alarmed by the report but because if we know what others think of us and about us, we can prevent what they project for us.”

Despite the avalanche of such reports

today, there is neither any sense of urgency nor even a response from the authorities to some of these negative projections about the future of our country, including by those who are not neutral. In the latest edition of the influential ‘Foreign Affairs’ magazine, former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell and Harvard Kennedy School Emeritus Professor, Robert Rotberg magisterially conferred on Nigeria the status of a ‘failed state’. In February 2011, five Professors at the University of Mississippi, United States, did a research titled, ‘Failed State 2030: Nigeria - A Case Study’. This was their conclusion: “While religious and ethnic violence are commonplace, the federal government has managed to strike a tenuous balance among the disparate religious and ethnic factions. With such demographics, Nigeria’s failure would be akin to a piece of fine china dropped on a tile floor—it would simply shatter into potentially hundreds of pieces.”

To ensure these dire predictions do not come to pass, there is much work to be done. Not only by government but indeed by all stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

But it is the responsibility of President Buhari to lead the charge. Is he ready?

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EDITORIAL HARVEST OF DEATH ON WATERWAYS The relevant authorities must enforce minimum standards on our waterways

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t is understandable that boat accidents are inevitable in the creeks and coastlines especially given the fact that the people living in those areas have no alternative means of transportation. And perhaps because of that, they tend to pile into whatever watercraft happens to be moving towards their destinations. This exactly explains the reason for the incessant boat accidents. In the latest of such tragedies that now define our country, at least 154 persons perished last week in Kebbi State. The rickety boat was said to be carrying 180 passengers and 30 motorcycles when it capsized in what has become a familiar tragedy. Just three weeks ago, 28 people (mostly villagers running away from bandits) were killed in Niger State following a boat mishap.

It is a notorious fact that there is hardly any ferry, canoe or the so-called “flying boat” that keeps to the exact passenger number specification. In some instances, boats that were constructed to carry not more than 20 persons could be loaded with 50 or more passengers especially ASIDE FROM OVERLOADING, at peak periods when MOST OF THESE BOATS people are in a hurry ARE OLD AND SUFFER to get back to their FROM LACK OF PROPER places. Consequently, when the canoes MAINTENANCE. PERHAPS encounter stormy MORE IMPORTANT IS THE OBVIOUS LACK OF SAFETY conditions along the water, the sheer STANDARDS weight of the human cargo and other luggage would make them easily susceptible to capsize.

Aside from overloading, most of these boats are old and suffer from lack of proper maintenance. Perhaps more important is the obvious lack of safety standards.

In fact, not much is known about the existence of any mandatory operational guidelines for ownership of ferries and boats and the minimum standards that must be met to be in the business of ferrying people through the waters.

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) was established in 1997 to manage the nation’s 3000

Letters to the Editor

navigable waterways from the Nigeria/Niger Republic and Nigeria/Cameroon borders to the Atlantic Ocean.

These comprise Rivers Niger and Benue as well as the creeks, lagoons, lakes, and intra-coastal waters.

NIWA’s mandate also includes providing “regulatory, economical and operational leadership in the nation’s inland waterways system and develop infrastructural facilities for efficient intermodal transportation system that is safe, seamless and affordable”. NIWA’s presence is hardly felt.

I T H I S DAY EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI DEPUTY EDITOR YEMI AJAYI, DAVIDSON IRIEKPEN, MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, 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 HEAD, COMPUTER DEPARTMENT PATRICIA UBAKA-ADEKOYA TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

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

THE IYC FALSE ALARM

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t is unfortunate that almost everything worthwhile and ordinarily should be easily achieved always looks like a mountain in Nigeria. With the existence of waterfronts in various parts of the country and the increasingly devastating state of our roads, innovative leaders would have ordinarily explored the options of water transportation by heavily investing in our waterways with a view to making them safe.

That sadly is not the case despite the fact that water transportation is one clear source of de-congesting the roads in places where road travel could result in frustrating hours in traffic gridlock. We therefore urge NIWA to be alive to its responsibility by enforcing a universal safety standard. For instance, the absence of any search and rescue agencies often contribute to the high casualty figures recorded since the operators have little or no knowledge about what to do when faced with emergency situations.

Going forward, we reiterate our call that operational standard be enforced nationally for those in the business of ferry and canoe transportation. Provision of emergency services along the waterways is also worthy of consideration. It is even more disturbing that we have marine police in the country who always seem to be nowhere in environs where water tragedies occur. If they are marine police, shouldn’t they be permanently stationed around waterways and swiftly swing to action when tragedies occur on the waters by promptly rescuing victims?

The authorities must put in place the necessary safety measures. Travelling by water should not be a suicide mission.

t is disheartening to hear that a false alarm was raised a few days ago on the alleged kidnap of the Ijaw Youth President, Peter Igbifa, on his way to Abuja en route the Port Harcourt Airport.

No doubt the alleged kidnap was to make the Minister of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio look bad in the eyes of Nigerians, arising from the threat of massive protest to shut down the Niger Delta region by the Izon Youth Congress and other ethnic groups that have signed in to join the protest as a result of the non-appointment of a substantive board for the Niger Delta Development Commission for the past three years.

We can recall the NDDC is still at present being run by an Interim sole administrator. This alien appointment runs counter to the provisions of the act that established the NDDC. This was not the intendment of the framers of the NDDC Act. To add salt to injury the appointment of Mr Effiong Akwa as announced by Femi Adesina, the Presidential spokesman, was said to be an openended appointment. That the appointment of Effiong Akwa ends whenever the forensic audit is concluded. And this is the reason why the minister has exploited this clause to his personal advantage by shifting the date for the end to the audit. It is quite interesting.

About two trillion so far has been budgeted and approved for the commission in the past three years with nothing tangible to show till date and no one his batting an eyelid.

But unfortunately we have a roguish team that has hold sway with many enablers right in the system, some by way of appoint-

ments, serving in various capacities in an institution they once criticized.

It is no news that the forensic audit ordered by the president has now been turned into a circus for mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds to oil the machinery of political interests of a few while the region and its people continue to suffer the perpetual psychological torture of these buccaneers.

It is now made abundantly clear that many of the kidnap cases we hear are all a hoax and all in a bid to heat up the polity and blow the insecurity situation out of proportion and by extension malign President Buhari. What the IYC President and his co travellers did is unacceptable in any sane society. We cannot allow these characters to roam free in our society.

They must be brought to face the law if it is established that he faked his kidnap to deter many whom have indulged in this kind of practice.

Yes Peter Igbifa may have done well to oppose the present situation in the NDDC like many have done across the country and still do because what we have seen coming out of the NDDC is a putrid smell that is not good for any government that purports to be fighting corruption. The NDDC today has become an institution where corruption walks with four legs and you can feel the corruption like a solid object all under the watch of Godswill Akpabio who superintends over the NDDC. Joseph Ambakederimo, Convener, South South Reawakening Group

IT’S NOT LOGICAL

T

he US Government is going to release some information about UFOS. This might be either because there is nothing interesting to find or they are trying to hide something else that is much more interesting.

Most UFOs have sensible explanations although a few don’t and that is where the interest lies.

There might be other life forms out there, its statistically likely, but less likely is that they would visit us. We are a long way from any other planet, physics says we can’t travel all that fast so it’s a long journey and we aren’t probably that interesting.

The more puzzling thing is why do they seem to visit the drunk, the demented and nobody with a good camera?

Most of the world has a high-resolution camera in their pocket, capable of both photos and films and yet all we get is fuzzy images at a distance. There seems to have been no accidents except maybe Roswell in 1947 so they must be great flyers given the speeds they seem to be travelling at.

Perhaps we should stop looking to the sky and look around as we have enough to see here and enough problems to solve. Maybe the UFOs ae here to make sure we stay here given how badly we are managing this planet.

As Mr. Spock might say ‘It’s not logical’.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 •T H I S D AY

THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021

POLITICS

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

‘It’s Diservice to Ask a Woman Politician Questions About Rumoured Affairs’ Rinsola Abiola, one of the daughters of the late politician and businessman, Chief Moshood Abiola-the supposed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, is becoming increasingly known for her advocacy on gender equity and youth inclusion in governance. In this interview with Nseobong Okon-Ekong and Vanessa Obioha, the card-carrying member of All Progressives Congress in Ogun State emphasises the need for young women’s participation in politics through both partisan and nonpartisan platforms

D

o you believe that having women in political leadership provides a different kind of voice?

I certainly do. Society is made up of diverse groups and representation is key; the better represented all these groups are, the more representative democracy will become, and the more effective governance will be for the people. This has been proven in several countries where we have witnessed improved representation for women, and I can thus say that it would hold true here also.

Take, for instance, the protracted battle to get the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill through; it is not an exaggeration of any sort to say that if we had more women occupying seats in the National Assembly, it wouldn’t be such a difficult task. The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act also took several years to pass, and the refusal to adopt affirmative action in governance as recommended by the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Nigeria is a signatory to, is also an example of the negative impact of women’s underrepresentation in governance.

We have state assemblies across the country where women are not represented at all; despite the best efforts of gender focused organisations, it is an uphill task getting such assemblies to prioritise issues affecting women specifically.

Sometimes, the discrimination is not even deliberate, it is just that you cannot factor an experience which you do not share and do not understand into policy making.

What barriers are still in the way of optimal participation of women in the political process in Nigeria?

There are a number of challenges with our political system; some are gendered, and some are not. The high cost of political participation when running for office, for instance, is one challenge which affects women more although it is a general issue with our politics. I say it affects women more because women are often unable to muster the resources required to compete favourably with more established male politicians.

Crowdfunding would be a veritable tool for overcoming this particular challenge; running for office is expensive all over the world, but one thing that is done in advanced democracies which we haven’t embraced here is the culture of crowdfunding.

For me, perhaps due to my direct involvement, President Buhari’s 2015 campaign was the first time I saw people from all walks of life being eager to support their chosen candidate with funds. When we identify candidates whom we are confident have what it takes to deliver on good governance, then I believe we should support them with our time by volunteering on their campaigns, and funds if we have the capacity to. Doing this will greatly help not just women, but young people and other qualified candidates too.

Electoral violence is not as widespread as it used to be, but it remains a challenge, especially in the weeks leading up to the polls. Although violence affects everyone, it is mostly perpetrated by men and particularly bothers a lot of women who would ordinarily like to participate. To address this, I believe it is important for security agencies to do more to curtail violence not just on election day, but also keep the usual suspects under close watch as elections approach and apprehend them swiftly once the need arises.

We also need policies implemented at party level which will ensure the emergence of more women candidates.

In addition to all of these, there is a lot of unlearning that needs to be done regarding the perceived place of women across cultures. There

activism has not helped, because it has.

To get the results we seek, we need to collaborate more and sustain engagements. We also need those of you in the media to help counter narratives that hurt our women by projecting women politicians and professionals in a more positive and more competent light.

It does a huge disservice when a woman politician is interviewed and she is asked demeaning questions about rumoured affairs and headlines are crafted around domestic chores, thus reinforcing cultural sentiments about a woman’s place. I am aware that there is a general sentiment among media practitioners about women politicians being media shy, but this is actually a key reason why many stay away.

Abiola are people who, due to their societal conditioning, will not vote for a woman candidate no matter how qualified she is. We have a lot of work to do regarding reorientation and behavioural change, so people are less hostile to women and their aspirations.

Can you assess the inclusion of women at different cadres of governance by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration?

Looking at appointments, in addition to the women ministers, we also have some women DGs and heads of agencies, and on boards.

We must also pay attention to what is being done at the state level regarding inclusion, though, because if representation is going to improve, then deliberate steps must be taken in every tier of government.

At the local level, Kogi state, for instance, has women serving as vice chairpersons in all local governments. This is a step in the right direction, and it would be a welcome development if other states replicated this.

Governors should also make efforts to appoint more women.

Which Nigerian governor would you commend for exemplary demonstration of walking the talk when it comes to ap-

pointment of women to decision making positions?

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has been exemplary and so has Governor Abdulrazaq of Kwara State. Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has also done well in ensuring that women emerged as vice-chairpersons in all local governments in the state. Governor Babajide Sanwoolu also has a number of young women holding key positions in his cabinet, including the very brilliant commissioner for agriculture, who is doing a great job.

Defining a pathway through activism like Oby Ezekwesili has not yielded positive results, what strategies can women deploy to get desired results?

You know, I think activism is very key. Take the Not Too Young To Run Act for instance, it took joint efforts by young people in the civil society space and those of us within the political system to make it work. Women politicians also collaborate with development agencies and gender advocacy groups and organisations frequently, and many have benefitted from their support through different programmes. These agencies also play a key role in engaging elected officials when seeking support for proposed legislation and policies, so I would not say that

The Nigerian political terrain is tough. In a system controlled entirely by men, it goes without saying that a good number of people – not just women – who ascend to elevated positions do so because they were backed by powerful figures, who are mostly men. Also, I spoke about the cost of participation earlier and for the most part, you need a lot of personal resources to make it through the ballot. For those who raise funds, this is mostly done through close associates.

Essentially, people who are elected owe their success to those who helped them get there, so they may not always feel like they need to be accountable to other groups or treat their demands as a priority

Would you say there is a difference in behaviour in politics between men and women? Is there a common ground that can be exploited by women?

We can look to countries led by women and see how their affairs are being managed. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has been remarkable in the role and so have other women leaders of countries across the world. Citing a recent example, the Coronavirus pandemic also seems to have been managed better in countries with women leaders.

Now, this is not to say that women in positions of authority are perfect, because I particularly do not like keying into tropes that inadvertently place women on a higher pedestal than their male counterparts, but it just goes to show that women are competent too and our gender does not rid us of the ability to make decisions in the best interests of our people.

Returning to the Nigerian political terrain, the primary interest of any political group or platform is to win elections. It is, therefore, important that women with political aspirations key into this by offering value both individually and as members of a larger political family. As we advocate for enhanced inclusion and work to secure enabling policies, we must also work to develop our political capacity and value and build strong networks.

Are there issues around women’s political leadership that concern you?

I worry about dwindling numbers. Take a look at the legislature, for instance. If I recall correctly, in the Eighth Assembly, there were 22 women in the House of Representatives.

In the current assembly, we have 11. That is a 50% decrease, and I worry that if we do not take steps to secure enhanced representation for women, we could have an even smaller number in 2023.

The onus to prevent this lies on the leadership of political parties. INEC, of course, has a role to play in all of this, but we need legislation to support it so there is no wiggle room for anyone.

People also often talk about how certain women in positions of authority do not seem particularly concerned with the larger gender agenda, and I think this boils down to perceived value and how they ascend to these positions.

The Nigerian political terrain is tough. In a system controlled entirely by men, it goes without saying that a good number of people – not just women – who ascend to elevated positions do so because they were backed by powerful figures, who are mostly men.

Also, I spoke about the cost of participation earlier and for the most part, you need a lot of personal resources to make it through the ballot. For those who raise funds, this is mostly done through close associates.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021

POLITICS

‘Abia is Now Acknowledged as the SME Capital of Nigeria’ Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, prefers to allow his works testify to his performance. But in this interview with Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo, the Abia chief executive talks about the Abia of his dream and what he has done so far to meet this aspiration after six years in office

M

ay 29 marked the second anniversary of your second tenure and the sixth anniversary of your ascendance to the governorship seat of Abia State. How far, so far?

First, I return all the glory to God Almighty for this far He has led us. This administration has waded great storm from 2015 up until now and I’m happy to say that the outlook in Abia is better than what it used to be and our hope for a better tomorrow is even reinforced as I speak.

From tackling our deficits in various areas in terms of education, infrastructure, health, trade and commerce and addressing our core pillars which includes the promotion of small and medium enterprises, even industrialization at a time like this. It’s been really wonderful and to that extent I’m grateful to God Almighty for thus far He has led us.

In the course of addressing these problems what challenges have you encountered?

Well, so much. In the first place we needed to rev up public confidence in governmental issues because by 2015 people were really despondent and worried about the way forward. (But) we have charted a clear direction in terms of vision on how to develop Abia State. Today, if you mention Abia not only in Nigeria but all over Africa what would come to the mouth of people is, oh yeah! Those people who are strong in leather and garment, those people who are the SME capital of Nigeria, people with great innovative minds, with energy, resilience and power to drive their convictions.

That has become the new narrative for Abia.

And in terms of infrastructure we are catching up very well with other states within our economic bracket and we’re even exceeding expectations of those who are subjective to our aspirations as Ndi Abia. So, I’m proud to say we have challenges and we’re still battling the challenges; challenges is part of governance and it is also what makes governance exciting, as it were. We will not come to a point where there would be no more challenges. But suffice to say that we have our heads sitting squarely on our shoulders and we’re doing well and I think our future is brighter.

Hypothetically speaking, if there is a constitutional amendment allowing state chief executives to go for third term in office, would there be sufficient motivation for you to continue sitting on the hot seat of governance?

I thank God that there won’t be any third term in office. In the first place, I’m a strong believer in what I call the biological clock. There is a big clock ticking for everybody. Eight years of my life sitting on this seat and doing what we’ve been dong since 2015 is sufficient sacrifice. I have a bigger assignment and I have things that I want to do. Most public officers spend so much time within the public space and that is why they don’t build strong families; that is why they don’t build strong communities. You can spend too much time and at a time you’ll be forced out of office. I’m not like a typical African leader. I have done my bit and I think it would be a privilege to step aside and watch someone build from where I stopped. The office of governor is no loner attractive to me/ there could be many things I could contrive which I cannot do if I continue as governor. I think I’ve seen it, I have made my own contributions and I think that this is the time for me to move forward. Already there are few things that are very dear to me, which I’ve done - things like, if you want durable road you must employ rigid pavement in some places.

There is no time again that anybody would think of doing urban road without drainage. For the fact that there could be solution for seemingly intractable engineering problems – we’re tackling Ndiegoro, we’re tackling Port Harcourt Road.

Faulks Road was not impossible but for the fact that we have done it. The fact that I could bring a fresh graduate from IMT to do Ukaegbu Road and the road is six years today and it’s

Ikpeazu flexible pavement without potholes. The fact that today the narrative about shoes from Aba has changed. There is a Footwear Academy built by a private sector person. There is Enyimba Automated Shoe Factory and if you tie up the Footwear Academy with the machinery that is available at the Enyimba Automated Shoe Factory and possibility of a Diploma from Abia State Polytechnic on Leather and Shoe Works then Abia would continue to retain our first position as the leather capital of Africa. That we are today selling shoes to Nigerian Legion, Nigeria Police and possibly Nigeria Army gives me joy that we are no longer regarded as people with little understanding of our potentials. We are acknowledged as the SME capital.

The prospect that we could have a manufacturing platform for Ndigbo through the Enyimba Economic City, the fact also that it was gazetted as economic free zone, the first of its kind in the South East under this administration gives me a sense of joy that perhaps we are very close to the path of irreversible development of Abia going forward. Our way of thinking is beginning to change. The way an average shoemaker thinks of himself is beginning to change. Some of them have gone to China and came back, so they know that shoemaking speaks the same language all over the world. It gives me joy that through my interventions some of these things are beginning to happen. The fact that despite the paucity of funds that this administration revived the scholarship board and before the exit of this administration we will be able to send between 50 and 100 Abians abroad for further studies gives me joy that despite all of these we are able to touch every facet of governance, especially when it concerns human capital development. I’m fulfilled and I want somebody else to try his hands. So, I’m not praying for third term.

Given the enormity of infrastructural

deficit you met on ground, are you hitting your target in terms of how holistically you had intended to tackle the problem?

I think development must be assessed based on irreducible parameters or index. At some point we came up with what I call development index, which is the amount of money or resources available to a government divided by the amount of money deployed for infrastructure and multiplied by a hundred. It gives you a fair assessment and pound-for-pound comparison between one state and the other. And I would have loved to come to a point where Abia would be awash with money and I would be able to deliver on everything I have envisioned, but just like every endeavour in life, that is not a possibility. But we have deployed our energy, we have deployed our resources judiciously and we’re in a phase where I can look back and say we have not done badly at all. Probably if we had a better weather we would have done better but given our circumstances we have made judicious use of the opportunity that Ndi Abia have given to us and I’m proud to say that this government is going to bequeath roads that would outlive our tenure. I‘m so confident on this assertion because the roads we commissioned within the first 100 days of my administration are sill strong and that is why we have progressively and geometrically built on our road infrastructural stock and we’ve not spent so much doing palliatives on the roads we have done and our calculation is that perhaps that’s the only way going forward has been vindicated and I’m assuring the inhabitants that before the next 24 months we will add much more o what we have done.

Your critics point out that most of the road projects are concentrated in Aba to the detriment of other parts of the state that equally need government’s presence.

What do you say to that?

Most public officers spend so much time within the public space and that is why they don’t build strong families; that is why they don’t build strong communities. You can spend too much time and at a time you’ll be forced out of office.

I’m not like a typical African leader. I have done my bit and I think it would be a privilege to step aside and watch someone build from where I stopped. The office of governor is no loner attractive to me/ there could be many things I could contrive which I cannot do if I continue as governor. I think I’ve seen it, I have made my own contributions and I think that this is the time for me to move forward. Already there are few things that are very dear to me, which I’ve done - things like, if you want durable road you must employ rigid pavement in some places

Well, it is about strategy. I dare say most critics don’t even understand the dynamics of management of scarce resources which is what governance is all about. In 2015, we knew we were not going to have all the money we would require or we would desire to have. At that time also we were mindful of the enormity of our circumstance and we evolved a two-pronged strategy, one, to do everything to rev up our internally generated revenue while we manage what we have judiciously. And in doing that to focus on the areas where we know would give us the greatest mileage in terms of internally generated revenue and that is Aba. And Aba is Aba Ndi Abia, Aba Ndigbo; it’s not about the geographical area where it falls. Who owns all the houses on Azikiwe Road, who owns all the houses on Asa Road? Most of the people you see from other parts of Abia spend more than 90 percent of their time in every given year and do their businesses in Aba. I felt that if I fail to do what I need to do in Aba I will be depriving them the needed oxygen to flourish in terms of their enterprise. And if I needed to unleash the potential energy inherent in the Abia person, the place to apply resources is Aba and that is what we have done. But Aba Road in Umuahia done by Arab contractors is it not in Abia? The Agbama Ring Road in Umuahia is it not in Abia? The Nkporo Road done by Bullet is it not in Abia? All these roads are not in Aba. But whereas we would not want to abandon any part of Abia state, I’m saying that good reason and logic underscores the fact that we must be able to rev up infrastructure in Aba and attract sufficient response in terms of credit to enable us even do more in other places. I’m placated by the fact that, contrary to what critics are saying, a lot of people seem to be happy and applauding our response to the enormous problems of Aba. So, if I have the opportunity to do this again I will do the same thing.

Recently you came up with 30-year development plan and you have barely two years to complete your second and final tenure in office. How sustainable is the implementation of this development plan going to be by the time you must have left office?

I think that every state, in terms of modern day parlance, requires a medium term and long term development agenda. Most of the states that you see are doing well are running on plans that were enunciated by their predecessors.

So, this plan is not supposed to end with my administration. So how can a long term plan be something that I will execute myself? No. A long term plan is a futuristic agenda that will bring the needed prosperity that we desire for our people. If prosperity and creating better life would be the agenda of subsequent administrations they would find that plan very handy and then that is the language that the development partners, World Bank, and other funding agencies understand. How can you be running a government without planning?

I want to give it to you first hand that we are even spending heavily now to partner UN HABITAT to give Aba a master plan and give Umuahia a master plan and we plan to give Ohafia a master plan. It is an anomaly that the haphazard development that has become the lot of our cities is occasioned by the fact that we don’t have any development plan, we don’t have a master plan and any sensible administration, empirical governance, science -based governance must emphasize that you must do development plan, you must have master plan for your major cities to guide development, going forward. The natural resources that we have are not finite but our demands are infinite, so we must find a way to plan the application of these resources that are available so that generations yet unborn would have a place to live.

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

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T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

FEATURES

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

Driving Sustainability through Cultural Diversity To commemorate this year's Cultural Diversity Day, Sahara Group, in recognition of the role diversity plays as a crucial enabler of sustainable development, reiterated its firm belief in equal opportunity employment policy, zero discrimination, and collaborative accountability, Chiamaka Ozulumba reports

Cote d'Ivoire

Abuja, Nigeria

Nairobi, Kenya

Accra, Ghana

T

he splash of colours at Sahara Group, a leading international energy conglomerate with proud African heritage is unmistakable.

They are vibrant, audacious, and fiery. They epitomise the brand’s insatiable desire to innovate more, disrupt more and transform more in the pursuit of excellence and making a difference.

They find expression in almost 5,000 Sahara employees across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Talk about professionals from multiple nationalities contributing unique masterstrokes to the Sahara vision – bringing energy to life.

Since 1996 when Sahara made its debut in the oil and gas sector, there has always been a clear thread that connects the unique parts that have made the organisation outstanding across the value chain. From upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors to power and infrastructure, the impact of diversity on

Sahara’s continuing success stories is inspiring.

Every May 21, Sahara Group in all its locations, turns on its diversity along with the world to celebrate the Cultural Diversity Day. With multiple nationalities represented in the Group, the event is one of the flagship celebrations at Sahara. The employees put in great effort - with gusto - to turn up at work in different cultural attires, representative of just about any culture in the world.

In 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. and in In December 2002, the UN General Assembly, in its resolution 57/249, declared May 21 to be the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. In 2015, the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution on Culture and Sustainable Development A/C.2/70/L.59, affirming culture’s contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable development, acknowledging further the

natural and cultural diversity of the world, and recognising that cultures and civilizations can contribute to, and are crucial enablers of, sustainable development.

The mass confinement that attended the COVID-19 pandemic took the world back to the basics. We witnessed some form of cultural renaissance that saw people around the globe turning to culture for solace as the virus went on rampage. We would see a rise in virtual visits to museums and galleries, streaming of films and even community choirs via social media - showing its fundamental role as a source of resilience for communities.

The United Nations notes that three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension, adding that bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability, and development. “Cultural diversity is a driving force of development, not only with respect to economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling

intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life.

"This is captured in the culture conventions, which provide a solid basis for the promotion of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is thus an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development,” said the UN about cultural diversity.

Considering the above, there is little wonder why Sahara goes out of its way to celebrate cultural diversity. “For us at Sahara, diversity finds expression in our equal opportunity employment policy, zero discrimination, and collaborative accountability that drives our mantra – your job is not done until the job is done. We respect and relish the outstanding milestones we have achieved on the pedestal of diversity at Sahara. Every Saharian contributes something unique as we continue to make a difference and bring energy to life,” said Bethel Obioma, Head, Corporate Communications at Sahara.

NIWA to Licence Boat Operators as Part of Fresh Intervention on Water Transportation As part of the efforts to licence boat operators, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has reiterated its commitment to build capacity for boat captains and skippers operating in the Lagos waterways.

This was disclosed by the General Manager , Marine Operations, NIWA, Joseph Ororo, at a stakeholders meeting between the agency and boat operators held in Lagos.

Ororo maintained that the training will be compulsory for the operators even as he noted that participants at the end of the schooling would be licensed by the agency as certified captains.

According to him, NIWA with the collaborative support from accredited institution will design a curriculum for training of the skippers.

He said the training will be categorised into the three phases, which in turn include

practical and theoretical methodology.

The GM added that the training will also be extended to executive boat operators .

The general manager said the move was necessitated against the backdrop of the poor educational background of the skippers and captains in brown waters operations.

He reiterated that "this training of our boat operators is long overdue. We have started it in Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states but Lagos is the centre of excellence."

Earlier, the Lagos Area Manager NIWA, Sarat Lara Braimah, said the training was centred on how to licence boat operators.

According to her, the certification would last for three years at the end of the training.

"Our boat captains will be formally licensed

by NIWA. We want them to be known in their operations. We want to hold them accountable

in whatever they do and what they are doing the waterways activities," Braimah explained Braimah told the gathering that awareness on the blue waters alongside the potentials were positioned for economic sustainability but the brown waters has what it takes to also compete with the blue economy.

She noted that the stakeholders in brown waters operation have what it takes to move the sub sector to an enviable level, pointing out boat mishaps in recent times can be attributed to carelessness and other human errors activities.

"Both the operators and NIWA, are all guilty of these unfortunate incident on our waterways therefore we want to look for the way forward.

"How can we do it right. Let's even know who are the people piloting our boats. We

want to know them and that is why we want them to be licensed. NIWA wants to start from somewhere.

"We want a proper formal education for our captains because they are not properly educated ". She further stated.

She also noted that the training programme will be devoid of language barrier as all types of dialects will complement the capacity building project.

The area manager urged stakeholders to cooperate with NIWA to end the incessant boat mishaps on Lagos waterways, adding that carelessness on the part of the captains resulted to the accidents that occurred recently.

The stakeholders meeting had in attendance members of ATBOWATON, MWUN, officials from LAGFERRY, and the service providers in the waterways transportation ecology.

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#THISISNIGERIA - Zeal Akaraiwe.

Different Times, Different Footprints: Make the Impact Needed in Your Time

I

n the mid 19th century, there was a brilliant surgeon who had unmatched skill and understanding of the human body and used this talent to save very many lives.

However, due to the difficulties of international travel and communication at the time, he was constrained and was only able to save very few lives outside the shores of his own country.

He then decided that it was a much more efficient use of his time and talent to dedicate his life to teaching people to be as skillful as he was. He, therefore, started a School of Surgery!

His logic was rather simple: As a surgeon, he could only perform one surgery at a time and if he had to travel by ship to other countries, he could only save a handful of lives a year. But if he sacrificed his time and talent for saving lives and used it instead in training others, he could, in a manner of speaking, be in several places at the same time and therefore, multiply his impact.

He also disagreed that he was “special” and believed that his skill and talent could be taught to absolutely anyone and so, in picking his students, he made sure that they were everyday people.

Dr. RuoiVas, as he was known, got a few students from humble backgrounds and spent his days training them on the delicate skill of surgery. Though he was known to have performed some of the most complicated surgeries known at the time, he had to “reduce” himself to performing simple surgeries so that his young trainees start with and get experience on the basics that will eventually form a solid foundation.

He always told his students that with the way the world was evolving, he anticipated a time when mankind would have the ability to travel cross-continent in just a few days, or less, and then, at that time, they would each be able to perform hundreds of surgeries a year.

Dr. RuoiVas had a major flaw though: he had a bit of a temper that sent him into a violent rage. Luckily, the trigger for this temper existed entirely outside his medical field and it never showed up at work. Outside work though, he was known to have beaten up quite a few people every now and then. The “DOCTOR” was a perfect professional worthy of respect and emulation but the “MAN”, RuoiVas, had his personality flaws that many detested.

All his students knew about this flaw but understood that part of him was never going to interact with them.

This made it easy for them to understand what he meant when he made statements like: “I want you all to be, not just as good as me, but much better than me; to do greater things than I have done”; and “You need to observe and do what I do”. They all knew and understood that the “me” or “I” he referred to was the “DOCTOR” part of him and not his personality that contained the flaws. So, to the students, it was a massive compliment, not an insult, when they helped people and got feedback like: “you remind me of Dr. RuoiVas.” After a few years under Dr. RuoiVas’s tutelage, almost all the trainees were now full-fledged, well-trained, surgeons and they had only one mission: “Go into all the world, save as many lives as possible and, while at it, replicate

Gustavo Fring

me in you by training more and more surgeons.”

Though none of them associated with the flaws in the personal temper character traits of Dr. RuoiVas, each of them had earned their badge of honor and each added the prefix “Dr.” to their names.

The “Dr.” in Dr. RuoiVas had successfully been replicated and one key success factor was the understanding that the doctor in him had a completely different skill and demeanor from the temper issues RuoiVas struggled with.

Dr. RuoiVas was indeed right, and as his students spent time performing life-saving surgeries, they also made time to train people to be just like them and as technology improved, these “grand-students” of Dr. RuoiVas were able to perform, collectively, thousands of surgeries daily across the entire world. They were able to touch far more lives than Dr. RuoiVas could ever have and his main wish had been fulfilled: “Go into all the world, train more surgeons and save as many lives as possible and do greater works than I did.”

Sometimes, these surgeons get themselves in a fix and get asked or ask themselves, “what will RuoiVas do?” and on one oc-

casion, one of them answered and said: “For what you did, RuoiVas would have beaten the daylight out of you, but I am not replicating RuoiVas, I am replicating the doctor in him. And the doctor in him would still perform the surgery on you and save you, despite your terribly bad behaviour.”

Or sometimes, the learned doctors emphasized that though Dr. RuoiVas was constrained in doing surgeries outside his immediate environment due to the limitations of his time, today, we are much freer than he was. He had to concentrate on teaching to develop people that would perform the ACTIONs he was constrained from. We, that can, should therefore ACT more while those that want to TEACH should do so. A unique constraint still exists though, and that’s the fact that in some of the written teachings of Dr. RuoiVas, some of his technique and reasoning for the techniques was / have been lost in translation, culture and context. We hope the world will eventually be able to reason that out and overcome the constraint, even though evidence shows the contrary!

We need to remember that Dr. RuoiVas bought us the freedom to be the best version of himself without being tied to his

limitations or the restrictions of his time!

And the question “What would RuoiVas do?” was seen for what it was: an absolutely misdirected priority.

The question: “Despite all that has happened and how you feel, what would the doctor here today do to positively impact as many lives as possible?” was what gave the atmosphere for deep reflection and positive energy, the ability to put sentiments aside and it was always a call to action that saved lives!

To replicate the doctor means being the impact that’s needed in your own time; it doesn't mean you are to live as he would have in his time. Too many people are limiting themselves based on the same limitations the doctor experienced in his time, despite the fact that those limitations long ceased to exist! t;FBM "LBSBJXF JT UIF $&0 PG (SBFNF #MBRVF "EWJTPSZ )F JT BO FYQFSJFODFE GJOBODJBM BEWJTPSZ FYFDVUJWF XJUI PWFS UXP EFDBEFT PG FYQFSJFODF JO UIF CBOLJOH JOEVTUSZ

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22

THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 •T H I S D AY

23

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱ˜ 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

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Quick Takes Electronic Payplus Joins ICMA

CAPACITY BUILDING

R-L: Mr Aliyu Kalgo who represented the Managing Director/CEO of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON); Group Head, Enforcement, Mr Joshua Ikioda, and Company Secretary, Saidu Jallo, at a 2-day training of Asset Management Partners of AMCON held in Lagos...recently

Operators Warn against Cybercrime Emma Okonji The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for Information Technology (IT) practitioners in Nigeria, has expressed concern over the increasing rate of cyber-security challenges in the country.

To this end, the group has advised government and the private sector on new measures to nip the development in the bud.

NCS gave the new measures during its second stakeholders’ forum on cyber-security, which held recently in Abuja.

Worried about the increasing rate of cyber challenges in the country, technology experts who attended the forum, advised government to urgently introduce internet monitoring, to blacklist fraudulent sites and fake news sites in the country.

ICT In his welcome address, the President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya said NCS observed that cyber attacks in Nigeria was on the increase, based on current local and International reports that were alarming.

According to him, “Individuals, governments, and corporate organisations are losing huge sums of money and property due to cyber-attacks. Threat techniques are continually changing, and attacks are getting more sophisticated by the day, hence the need to discuss cybersecurity challenges in Nigeria in our forum, with a view to preferring lasting solutions to the identified challenges.”

NCS is committed to IT development in Nigeria and had organised the stakeholders’

forum towards addressing the factors mitigating efficient use of IT for leapfrogging development, Sodiya added.

The NCS organised the forum to provide reliable platform for analysing the situation critically and provide reliable solutions to Nigeria’s cybersecurity challenges for financial institutions, regulatory agencies, government, corporate organisations, telecommunications institutions, information technology professionals, security experts and law enforcement agencies.

Issues of financial fraud, cyber-attacks, social engineering, cyber-security education, formulating national cyber security strategies, cyber security regulation and ethics, youth and social media, fake news and hate speech, were discussed at the forum.

In a communique issued

at the end of the forum, stakeholders identified the reason for the increasing rate in cyber insecurity and proffered solutions.

They stressed the need for government to train more of youths on ethical hacking and how to use historical data through the help of artificial intelligence to fight cybercrime.

The trainings, according to them should be either academic or vocational, and government must ensure that all organisations have a security policy in place.

Also, chief executive officers should be trained to identify the sensitive data used in their organisations.

“Cyber-security trainings should also be included at the basic education level, the Continued on page 24

Sylva Inaugurates Africa’s Largest Tech Incubation Hub to Enhance Entrepreneurship Peter Uzoho The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has inaugurated Africa’s biggest technological incubation centre, Unicorn, in Lagos State, which is positioned to impact over one million young tech entrepreneurs in the next 10 years.

Inaugurating the Unicorn hub sited at Yaba, the minister said he was overwhelmed by the capacity of the innovation put in place by the promoters.

Sylva was joined at the occasion by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide-SanwoOlu; the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote; amongst other dignitaries.

ICT He lauded the company for choosing to invest in youth development and skill acquisition as opposed to other sectors of the economy that would probably yield higher return on investments, adding that the provision of the platform would facilitate education, training, mentorship, infrastructure, and long-term capital to entrepreneurs and start-ups in technology-enabled sectors.

He commended the promoters of the project for choosing to invest in the development of human capacity and nurturing of tech and innovation start-ups.

Unicorn, a creation of Nigeria’s investment guru and Chairman of Platform

Capital, Dr Akintoye Akindele is a pan-African investment company that targets innovative ideas, start-ups and early stage companies in the technology and technology-enabled sectors across Africa, which have the potential to emerge as unicorns.

A prototype of the popular Silicon Valley, Unicorn aims to provide education, training, mentorship, infrastructure, and long-term capital to entrepreneurs, start-ups and early stage in the technology and technology-enabled sectors through its ecosystem.

Sylva said: “I must say that I’m overwhelmed by the capacity for innovation that I have confronted here today. Toye is a dreamer, he’s an innovator. This incubation

campus could have been utilized as a shopping mall, hotel or rental apartments.

“The choice to invest in our youths and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs is truly patriotic and inspiring.

For the first time, I’m seeing the right thing being done,” Sylva said.

He said there was need for every Nigerian to stop the blame game and complaints and join hands to work out solutions to the country’s problems, adding that the solution is with the abundant young, talented population Nigeria has.

Also speaking at the event, Wabote hailed the launch of Unicorn Incubation Campus Continued on page 24

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Ajua Partners Huawei to Support SMEs

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WD Introduces SSD Gaming Solutions

ÏÝÞÏÜØ ÓÑÓÞËÖ ÙÜÚÙÜËÞÓÙØ ÒËÝ ßØàÏÓÖÏÎ ÞÒÜÏÏ ØÏá Ý ÐÙÜ ÓÞÝ ̰

ÚÙÜÞÐÙÖÓÙ ÙÐ ÚÜÙÎßÍÞݘ ÚÜÙàÓÎÓØÑ ÑË×ÏÜÝ ËÜÙßØÎ ÞÒÏ áÙÜÖÎ áÓÞÒ ÐËÝÞ˜ ÒÓÑÒ̋ ÚÏÜÐÙÜ×ËØÍÏ ÝÞÙÜËÑÏ ÝÙÖßÞÓÙØÝ ÞÙ ßÚÑÜËÎÏ ÞÒÏÓÜ ËØÎ ØÏâÞ̋ÑÏØ ÍÙØÝÙÖÏ ÑË×ÓØÑ ÏâÚÏÜÓÏØÍÏ˛ ØØÙßØÍÓØÑ ÞÒÏ ÝÙÖßÞÓÙØݘ ÞÒÏ âÏÍßÞÓàÏ ÓÍÏ ÜÏÝÓÎÏØÞ ËØÎ ÏØÏÜËÖ ËØËÑÏܘ ÖËÝÒ ßÝÓØÏÝÝ ËÞ ÏÝÞÏÜØ ÓÑÓÞËÖ˜ ÙÌ ÙÎÏÜÌÏÜ㘠ÝËÓν ˫ ßÜ ̰ ÌÜËØÎ ÎÏÖÓàÏÜÝ Ë ÍÖÏËÜ ËØÎ ÝÓ×ÚÖÏ ÚÜÙ×ÓÝÏ ÞÙ ÑË×ÏÜÝ ̎ ÐËÝÞ ËØÎ ÜÏÖÓËÌÖÏ ÝÞÙÜËÑÏ ÞÒËÞ ÏØÒËØÍÏÝ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÑË×ÏÚÖËã˛ ÓÞÒ ÞÒÏ ÓØÞÜÙÎßÍÞÓÙØ ÙÐ ÞÒÏ ØÏá ÚÜÙÎßÍÞݘ ÞÒÏ ̰ ÚÙÜÞÐÙÖÓÙ ÒËÝ ÎÓàÏÜÝÏ ÐÖËÝÒ̋ÚÙáÏÜÏÎ ÝÙÖßÞÓÙØÝ ÝÙ ÞÒËÞ ÏàÏÜã ÑË×Ïܘ áÒÏÞÒÏÜ ÞÒÏã ËÜÏ ÔßÝÞ ÝÞËÜÞÓØÑ ÙßÞ ÙÜ ×ÙÜÏ ËÎàËØÍÏÎ ̎ ÍËØ ÏâÚÖÙÜÏ ÞÒÏ ÜÓÍÒ áÙÜÖÎÝ ÙÐ ÞÙÎËã˪Ý ×ÙÝÞ ÓØàÏØÞÓàÏ ÑË×Ïݲˬ ÓàÓØÑ ËÞ ÞÒÏ ÓØÞÏÜÝÏÍÞÓÙØ ÙÐ ÞÏÍÒØÙÖÙÑã ËØÎ ÏØÞÏÜÞËÓØ×ÏØÞ˜ ÞÒÏ ØÏáÖã ÓØÞÜÙÎßÍÏÎ ̰ ÑË×ÓØÑ ÚÙÜÞÐÙÖÓÙ ÚÜÙÎßÍÞÝ ÎÏÖÓàÏÜÝ ÓØØÙàËÞÓàÏ ÝÞÙÜËÑÏ ÝÙÖßÞÓÙØÝ ÍßÝÞÙ×ÓäÏÎ ÐÙÜ ÞÒÏ ÑË×Ïܲ ÒÏ ̰ ͵ͳͮ Ï ËÖÖÙáÝ ÏØÞÒßÝÓËÝÞ ÑË×ÏÜÝ ÖÏàÏÖ ßÚ ÞÒÏÓÜ ÙÜ ÖËÚÞÙÚ ÑË×ÓØÑ ÏâÚÏÜÓÏØÍÏ áÓÞÒ Ï ÏØͲ ÞÏÍÒØÙÖÙÑã ËØÎ ÝÞÙÜËÑÏ ÝÚËÍÏ ÐÙÜ ×ÙÜÏ ÑË×Ïݲ

“Nigeria has 11 data centres that are currently expanding into cloud hosting, yet they are underutilised because of poor patronage, leading to huge loss of revenue for the Nigerian economy” President, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON),

Mr. Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu

T H I S D AY ˾ JUNE 3, 2021

24

BUSINESSWORLD OPERATORS WARN AGAINST CYBERCRIME trainings should be made interesting for example the training can be in form of games for kids to help develop their interest.

“There is need to develop our own internal resources and technology to store our sensitive data as a nation. The National Information Technology Development Agency of Nigeria (NITDA) should enforce the use of government emails in all government agencies for security reasons.

“There should be enhanced enforcement of the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) laws. Chief Executives who violate the laws should be sanctioned. Government should formulate cyber-security policies that includes the private sector.

“Government should also specify in a gazette, the lists of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). This will give the telecommunication operators some measure of protection,” the communique further said.

SYLVA INAUGURATES AFRICA’S LARGEST TECH INCUBATION HUB TO ENHANCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP and promised the board’s partnership to further channel the creativity and energy of Nigerian youths to promote peace, development, and excellence.

He said the key mandates of the Board under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act was to develop local capacities and capabilities, monitor compliance and enforce the provisions of the Act, which is why the Board is always excited to be part of any initiative aimed at the development of local capacities and capabilities.

He added: “Our vision is to serve as a catalyst for the industrialization of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors. These linkage sectors include power, construction, ICT, and several others. I have no doubt that this Unicorn Incubation Campus is definitely a place that will catalyse innovation and creative ideas to address modern challenges.”

NEWS

Gokada Launches App, Crosses $100m in Annual Transaction Value Stories by Emma Okonji Gokada, the Nigeria-based last mile delivery, logistics and transportation start-up, has launched a ‘Super App’ where customers can access food delivery, ecommerce, and ride hailing services in one app.

The launch of the solution comes as Gokada crosses the $100 million mark in annual transaction value, having completed one million food delivery and e-commerce orders on behalf of over 30,000 merchants in the last 12 months alone.

The company said its growth was fast accelerating, as it grew its volume three times in the last six months, adding that with increasing internet penetration and ease of mobile payments, the e-Commerce sector in Nigeria is set to grow and last mile delivery is set to drive it even further.

Gokada is looking to serve the growing market with expansions from its current base in Lagos, across multiple cities in Nigeria, including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Ogun. Gokada plans to leverage its recent NIPOST license for cross-country courier and logistics services as it expands across the country.

Speaking on the development of the Gokada Super App, its CEO, Nikhil Goel, said, “The ecommerce and delivery market in Nigeria is growing at an exponential rate and will be

worth $20 billion over the next few years.

“I experienced the same kind of growth in India when I was with Zomato. Much like in India and our counterparts in other emerging markets, Gokada is building a transport infrastructure from the bottom up, using well-trained riders, powered by technology, to connect businesses large and small with a consumer base in

its millions.

“This launch is core to our objective of positioning Gokada at the center of Nigeria’s e-commerce and delivery revolution.”

In addition to the launch of the Gokada Super App and its multi-city expansion plans, Gokada is also strengthening its senior management team, with the recent appointment of Dika Oho as VP Product,

who was previously Director of Developer Growth at Andela and will lead Gokada’s product development.

“Gokada’s expansion will see the creation of new jobs, with the addition of thousands of new G-pilots, the largest last mile delivery fleet size in Lagos. As well as significantly expanding its last-mile delivery offering, Gokada will also reintroduce its popular ride-hailing service in

cities where licenses are available, initially starting with Ogun and Ibadan,” Goel further said.

“The Gokada Super App, available on Android and iOS, has been developed to enable customers have enhanced discovery of key services and products, have access to all Gokada pilots at the touch of a button, rate the service instantly and choose single or multi point deliveries,” Goel said.

BOOST FOR TECH

L-R: CEO, ARM Academy, Jumoke Ogundare; DAAYTA 2021 winner, Tope Suleiman; Mayowa Alamu from TechncoVision and Managing Director, ARM Academy, Uche Azubuike, during award presentation to winners of the 2021 DAAYTA competition, which held in Lagos...recently

Nigeria, 22 Others Endorse COP26 Forest, Commodity Trade The COP26 Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue has taken a significant step in bringing together over 20 countries to commit to protecting the world’s forests and natural habitats from destruction.

Twenty-three countries, including Nigeria, endorsed a joint statement committing them to working together to protect the world’s precious forests while also promoting sustainable trade and supply chains of agricultural commodities.

Launched in February, the FACT Dialogue brings key countries, which buy and produce products such as beef, soy and palm oil together to agree how these can be traded more sustainably.

The statement was the result of collaborative action on an issue that is complex but also

critical to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and limiting a global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

International trade in agricultural commodities like palm oil, soy and beef, is worth over $80bn per year. Globally, 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods, many of them in developing countries.

Nigeria is a producer and consumer of forest risk agricultural commodities.

Domestically it produces cocoa and palm oil but it also imports palm oil from Southeast Asia.

Forests are the largest natural carbon sink and a vital harbour of biodiversity but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Nigeria has one of the highest deforestation rates globally, it loses approximately 350,000 – 400,000 hectares per year. Logging, agriculture and collection of fuelwood are the

leading causes of forest loss in Nigeria.

Through programmes such as Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land-Use (IFSLU), the UK government is supporting a shift to sustainable supply chains for agricultural commodities associated with deforestation, including palm oil and cocoa, and creating new investment opportunities in sustainable land use through public-private partnerships.

IFSLU has worked with Edo State, one of the major forest states in Nigeria, and a leading palm oil state.

Edo State Government has committed to responsible oil palm production, becoming a member of the UK-funded Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 (TFA 2020) Africa Palm Oil Initiative (APOI) in May 2018 and the UK-led Just Rural Transition in September 2019.

The UK Government is keen to intensify our partnership with Nigeria to ensure an inclusive vision and effective action for sustainable agriculture, forests and land use economy, these areas have the potential to address major barriers to development around poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, unemployment, environmental degradation and instability.

COP26 President-Designate, Alok Sharma said: “The FACT Dialogue has much work ahead to deliver on its objectives as we move towards COP26. But the publication of today’s joint statement marks a highly important first step in laying the foundation for our work.

“To have brought so many countries together, both producers and consumers, and to plan a way forward on sustainable trade is a

fantastic start. I am confident that this is just the beginning as we work to protect trade and development, and our biodiversity-rich forests, in equal measure.”

British High Commissioner, Catriona Laing said: “In Nigeria the UK is working with the Federal Government, the private sector and with local communities across the country to promote investment in climate-smart practices and business models that will help reduce emissions, increasing productivity and build climate resilience.“Nigeria’s active engagement in the COP26 FACT Dialogue and their endorsement of the joint statement is very welcome. We look forward to more collaborations like this as we continue to work together towards a common goal of sustainably producing agricultural commodities.”

FG Urged to Increase IT Investment for Youth Empowerment Group Business Editor

Obinna Chima

Capital Market Editor

Goddy Egene

Comms/e-Business Editor

Emma Okonji

Asst. Editor, Money Market

Nume Ekeghe

Senior Correspondent

ËÒÏÏ× ÕÓØÑÌÙÖß (Advertising) Correspondents

Chinedu Eze (Aviation) ÜÙ×ÙÝÏÖÏ ÌÓÙÎßØ (Maritime) James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) ××ËØßÏÖ ÎÎÏÒ (Energy) Reporters

ÙÝË ÖÏÕÒßÙÑÓÏ (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy)

Nosa Alekhuogie Information Technology (IT) training company, NIIT Fortesoft Systems has called on the federal government to invest more in empowering the Nigerian youths in IT training.

NIIT gave the advice in Lagos during the graduation ceremony of Nigerian youths who participated in the “Streets2click” programme sponsored by JMG Limited and Jamara Nigeria.

The Graphics and Hardware Class graduation ceremony was

held recently in Lagos.

The maiden edition of the training, which ran for six weeks, was aimed at empowering young, educationally disadvantaged Nigerian youths in order to put them in a better position for employment and self-empowerment purposes.

The Managing Director at the Surulere Branch Office of NIIT, Mr. Adedokun Oduyemi, who was represented by Mrs. Joseph, in his opening speech, explained that it was worthy to note that the training was about taking people who are

brilliant but just don’t have the opportunities to develop their talent and excel in their chosen career, and creating access for them.

“It is a great milestone for the company and I will encourage the participants to utilise the skills they are being impacted with. We are an IT training company and during the COVID-19 Pandemic, we saw the need to give back to the society and take IT to the streets to make an impact.

“The idea of ‘Streets2click’ is to empower youths for IT excel-

lence and ensure that by end of the year 2021, we are able to deposit into our economy a minimum of 2000 youths.

The vision of the initiative is to transform the ordinary person on the street to become an IT skilled person,” Oduyemi said.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Co-ordinator at JMG Limited, Vera Umanah, explained that they partnered with NIIT to sponsor the participants because they realised a lot of people do not have the opportunity to express themselves and gain skills.

“We came on board to help people learn new skills. We weren’t expecting it to be this big but I’m really impressed.

“I think this is a very good initiative for the Government to take advantage of, if the youth can channel this energy into something that will bring a positive change, it will be a very big opportunity if government can take over,” Umanah said.

The Project Manager, Streets2click, Naomi-Job Kalu, revealed that they had to go to the streets and slums to get the right beneficiaries.

T H I S D AY ˾ JUNE 3, 2021

25

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Uaboi: Virtual Cards Will Enhance Financial Inclusion Country Manager, Visa Nigeria, Mr. Andrew Uaboi, speaks on technology innovation in the financial services space and how virtual cards and contactless payment solutions can further drive financial inclusion in Nigeria. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

H

ated without physical contact with the cards, and they are designed to protect all forms of financial transactions, while boosting sales for merchants.

The virtual cards and contactless payment solutions became a necessity for Nigerians during the lock down, occasioned by COVID-19, because people were able to shop online, and make payments online, without going to a physical market or mall, and that in itself, changed the consumer shopping and spending behaviour. Virtual cards can be activated online and used for payment and virtual cards is also used to eliminate queues and traffic at toll gates since commuters do not need to give money and probably collect their balance before driving off. With contactless solutions, all the user needs do is to simply tap on the device and payment is effected and the person drives off without any form of delay.

ow can virtual cards help the low income earners to save money, given the need to deepen financial inclusion at the lower strata of the country’s economic

pyramid?

No one can save without access to digital financial tools. So what Visa is doing with virtual cards generally, is to enable access to digital payment system offered by Visa. With virtual card, money can be sent and received, and this creates opportunities for savings. The virtual cards also help merchants to access payments for every financial transaction. So the transfer of funds, which the Visa virtual cards enable, will also help people to develop saving culture and save money for future use. For merchants that accept virtual cards for payment, they automatically develop a store records of payment information, through which they can approach the bank to get loan.

How secured are virtual cards, given the security issues surrounding credit and debit cards, where some are cloned and used for unauthorised transactions to defraud the actual cards owners?

It is good this question of security of contactless solutions is raised in this interview because there is need to address the minds of people who still have phobia for online transactions and those who would rather want to transact with physical cash for the perceived fear of losing their money through virtual card transactions.

I want to reassure those sets of people that the virtual and contactless payment solutions, are the safest and most easier ways of carrying out financial transactions, and they come with convenience. The Visa virtual cards come with additional security beyond what is obtained in a regular credit and debit cards. The Visa virtual cards are encrypted with high level technology, which makes it difficult to defraud. Since the cards can only be used to transact online, it has short expiration period from the very moment the card is generated online. It can be programmed for one time use and the owner can easily generate another virtual card anytime there is need to transact virtually. Virtual cards can be generated online for use for only three months period. At the end of its expiration period, no person can use that same card. Again, the contactless payment solutions are highly secured because each transaction is accompanied by a one time secure code, which makes it impossible for anyone that may have access to your code, to use same code to defraud the account owner. The virtual cards come embedded with electronic features that enable one to trace used credentials about the card. So Visa will continue to educate consumers on the proper use of their virtual cards in fighting against fraud. The virtual cards have in-built technology that protects sensitive information that could be used to defraud card holders.

Having evolved from the usual debit and credit cards to virtual cards, what exactly differentiates virtual cards from the other forms of cards, and how will you describe the ease of use of virtual cards and contactless payment solutions?

Essentially, contactless payment solutions and virtual cards look like the usual debit and credit cards, but the differentiating factor is the added security features that make its operations virtual, contactless and of course unique. With the virtual card, the cardholder is able to tap into electronic devices that allows virtual transactions. So what that does for the virtual card holder, is all about convenience and safety in transaction. From a merchant standpoint, it brings about easy and smooth flow of their customer traffic, which invariably facilitates commerce. It can make financial transactions a lot easier, thereby attending to huge volume of customers seamlessly and effortlessly. Contactless payment solutions take different forms, and over the next few years, we will begin to see how mobile apps will make financial transactions a lot easier with so much convenience.

Do you foresee any challenge for this revolution, especially in the current context of technology innovations?

With any new solutions, there would be some

Uaboi

underlying issues that people need to understand before embracing, but even at that, consumer bahaviour is constantly changing with technology evolution. The increase in online shopping is making life easier for the majority of consumers.

New technology, no doubt, will always attract people with fraudulent intentions to try such technology, to steal sensitive information. For us at Visa, we do not see it as a challenge because we rather see it as an opportunity to innovate the more. So it is our responsibility to create the right awareness for all users of our payment solutions. We will continue to educate them on the key things they should look at for when carrying out online and virtual transactions.

We also have a duty to educate them about the danger of sharing sensitive information around online financial transactions. So it is not really a challenge as it were, but it is an opportunity to ensure that people are knowledgeable about the opportunities in the digital space.

One major fear about contactless payment solutions, is the inability of the network to complete online transactions at real time because of poor telecoms infrastructure on which the solution rides on. Most times recipients will either experience delay for hours, days and weeks, or may not even receive the transferred money even when the sender’s account has been debited. How can this be addressed?

Most times in happens that way, where there is delay in completing transactions, but that could be traced to network issues from the telecoms service providers, and not from the app or the contactless solutions. Although it is a challenge, but as technology advances, I am sure the telecoms service providers will be able to improve on their networks to address such challenges. Banks are beginning to address such challenge, in collaboration with the network service providers.

In the area of infrastructure, Africa, including Nigeria, has poor infrastructure development.

Without access to basic infrastructure, it will be difficult to bridge the existing digital gap. Our mandate is to develop relevant solutions for financial transaction, and we hope that service providers and government will address the poor infrastructure challenges. We will continue to partner with government and service providers to ensure the provision of better infrastructure that will enhance seamless financial transactions.

Visa is currently driving virtual cards and contactless solutions to advance financial transactions in the Nigerian payment ecosystem. How ready is Nigeria to embrace the payment technology?

The payment landscape in Africa and Nigeria is evolving and the adoption rate is increasing because people want a faster and more convenient method

of payment, especially in the era of COVID-19, where governments of different countries are serious with the observance of COVID-19 protocols, that have restricted physical contacts of people and objects. Few years ago, manual cards like debit and credit cards, dominated the payment space. But today, technology innovations are driving virtual cards and contactless payment solutions and the merchants and consumers are surrounded with varieties of payment options driven by mobile apps. At Visa, we are constantly innovating and we are using technology to make payments more convenient and safer for consumers and merchants. Technology in the payment space has evolved from stripe cards to chip and pin cards and today we have gone a step further to introduce virtual cards and contactless payment solutions. As for Nigeria, the records from recent surveys conducted by Visa, showed that 71 per cent of consumers are moving towards online payment, where virtual cards and contactless payment solutions, feature prominently. So Visa is making the online payment space a lot safer and convenient for people, and Nigerians are indeed ready to embrace the new payment solutions.

Before the era of COVID-19, the Nigerian economy was regarded as a predominant cash-based economy, because of the heavy dependence on cash for most financial transactions. How is Visa helping to boost financial inclusiveness in Nigeria?

As Visa, we made a commitment several years ago to provide innovative payment system that will help drive financial inclusion among Nigerians.

The truth is that people are eager to carry out financial transactions in a more convenient and safer way, and Visa is providing the solutions that will help achieve the desire of people. The informal economy deals largely with cash and Visa is simplifying payment system in order to remove payment barriers, so that more people will adopt digital payment system. Going by some of the recent statistics released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), we can see growth in the acceptance of digital payment solutions in Nigeria. In fact, there is a double digit growth in the acceptance of digital payment solutions in Nigeria. What this means is that the predominant use of cash is gradually been eroded from Nigeria, as more people continue to accept digital payment, and as Visa continues to demystify the use of payment solutions and make them safer.

Among the several payment solutions developed by FinTech players in Nigeria, what in your view, will make the Visa contactless payment solutions unique from other forms of payment solutions?

The Visa’s virtual cards and contactless payment solutions are unique, because they can be oper-

How will you address the challenge of fast data depletion during online financial transactions, using the Visa virtual and contactless payment solutions?

Our virtual cards will be riding on existing infrastructure that will not necessarily lead to faster data consumption, while transacting online.

Most payment devices used in malls today, have the contactless features but some have not been activated. So it is the same device that is used for the usual debit and credit cards, that will also be used for the virtual cards, and I do not see the virtual cards consuming more data than the usual debit and credit card. For the merchants that use Point of Sales (POS) terminals, the data consumption will definitely be the same in transmitting Information and validating payment with the originating banks. So the virtual cards and contactless payment solutions do not create additional burden for the merchants and consumers from the stand point of data consumption.

How is Visa collaborating with industry players and government in promoting the virtual card technology to enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria?

At Visa, we believe in collaboration because we are not a stand-alone entity. We appreciate the power of collaboration and we are constantly driving collaboration within the industry players and the government because we believe that collaboration is key to business growth and sustainability. We apply safeguarded measures in ensuring sustainable growth within the payment ecosystem. One of our strategies to drive digital transformation across Nigeria, is to collaborate with Financial Technology (fintech) players as well as government. At the end of it all, our goal is to deliver digital solutions that are fit for purpose and that meet the needs and desires of customers.

How will the Visa virtual cards and contactless payment solutions, help in driving financial inclusion across the country?

The truth is that there a huge number of people that are still financially excluded and our solutions are designed to bring these peoples onboard the financial services ecosystem and make them financially inclusive so that they can enjoy the benefits. At Visa, we made a commitment to bring 500 million people into the financial inclusion space and we really committed to meeting the goals. So the Visa virtual cards and contactless payment solutions are designed to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria and in other parts of the world, where we operate. We have connected hundreds and millions of people to the digital financial space and we are still connecting. As we connect businesses and people to the digital payment space, we are also empowering those that were initially excluded from the financial inclusion stand point, and giving them the opportunity to be financially inclusive.

In the wake of COVID-19, finTechs are taking even more impactful roles – as the champions of small businesses and recovery. A whole new generation of finTechs are helping solve complex problems and bringing financial services for consumers and small- and micro-businesses that are underserved. With 680 million people remaining unbanked, and 60 million untapped merchants in CEMEA, finTechs are part of an emerging community joining the rush to develop new services that will support these unserved segments.

26

T H I S D AY ˾ JUNE 3, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

DEVELOPMENT

Paying School Fees from Plastic Wastes Morit International School is supporting poor families in underprivileged suburbs to pay their children’s school fees from proceeds gotten from sales of recyclable plastic bottles.

Ugo Aliogo presents the report

T

he Minister of State Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, recently declared that Nigeria still holds the continental record of children who are out of school.

Specifically, Nwajiuba lamented that Nigeria had more than 10 million out-of-school children (OOSC), which is the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.

The above figure was in contrast with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu’s declaration that many more Nigerian children are in school than ever before.

Adamu had said the number of OOSC in the country had dropped to 6.946 million from 10.1 million; claiming that as of December 31, 2020, a total of 3,247,590 children, who were not in school, were enrolled within the space of a year and seven months, due to several activities undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Education, particularly, Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) being implemented in 17 States of the Federation.

Indeed, the quest for quality education has continued to remain a major problem especially for children in disadvantaged communities in Nigeria.

Many children whose parents could not afford their school fees have dropped out of school and engaged in petty trading such as hawking, bus touting, vocational jobs, and others.

But in the midst of these seemingly gloomy situations, a school in Boundary Area of AjeromiIfelodun Local Government Area, known as Morit International School is providing a lifeline for parents who are determined to provide quality education to their wards but don’t have the financial wherewithal through its recycling initiative.

The initiative requires parents who cannot pay their children’s school fees’ to bring used plastic bottles, metals, and other recyclable items to the school. The recyclable plastics and metals are then sold and the proceeds realised will be used in paying a child’s school fees.

The initiative provides that if the school fees of a particular child is N10,200, and the parents of that child brings a full bag of plastics bottles, it is sold and the parents pays half of the fees instead of full payment.

A beneficiary of the initiative, Mrs. Musikrat Sulaimu, who spoke to THISDAY said two of her children in the school have gained from the initiative.

She explained that there are times, the school would pay half payment for them and they would complete the rest, adding that at other times they (school) would pay the entire fees for them.

“Presently, the school fee is N10, 200, before it was N7, 000. Under the current rate, when we present the plastics to the school, we will only pay N4,200 and the school will cover the rest,” she noted.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Patience Dennis, added: “I have four children in this school. I’m grateful to God for this initiative and I want to thank them for their support and love for us.

“Two years ago, there was a particular company that visited to give scholarships to kids, and my son was one of the beneficiaries, and it was through this plastic initiative that they gave our children this scholarship. After the COVID-19 lockdown, the company started again and we continued to bring the plastics,” he added.

Support from the School In his remarks, the School Proprietor, Morit International School, Mr. Patrick Mbamarah, said the school was established for low-income families, who could not, “afford the school fees of N8, 500, so I did a price slash and I discovered that most of them could not meet up.”

He hinted that having built a background in recycling he decided to act as the middleman for these parents, to collect plastics and help them sell to use the proceeds to support the schooling of their kids.

Mbamarah explained that to further the conversation on the issue, he called a meeting of the Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) where he spoke to the parents on the need to collect

Plastic waste

plastics and use the proceeds to pay school fees for the children, but some of the parents were skeptical and didn’t welcome the idea.

“So I told those parents who were skeptical about the idea that if they are not using plastics to pay their children school fees, they can collect plastics to help others instead of throwing it away, they can bring it to the school and it will be written against a particular child’s name.

“I just want children to go to school that is why I set up the school and created the idea of using plastics. Plastics are just the most popular, we also collect other recyclables,” he said.

The Morit International School Proprietor posited that they are partnering with a lot of recycling companies depending on the one that is coming to pick up, adding that getting the money and using it to pay the school fees of the kids is the utmost goal.

According to him, “I don’t want to partner with one recycling company; I want it to be open. We partner with companies such as Lasigid recyclers, and Wecyclers. We recently started working with Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA).

“We do more than a tonne in a term easily but because of the pandemic, the number has dropped, we hope to get things back on track.

Sometimes we do weekly pickup and at other times twice weekly.

“The school opened in 2013 and the initiative started in 2016, but it became popular in 2018.

The bank has been supportive regarding this initiative. There was a book the bank managing director gave me to read and it has changed my mentality and view of things. Moreover, the book has been a great support and it thought me how to manage a business properly.

“There was a time the bank brought bags for the kids in the school. They are also bringing plastics to pay the schools of some kids. From the little we have done we have been able to improve the standard of these poor families.

We have helped to support 100 families to provide quality education for their children.”

The Role of the Bank At the center of this initiative is the unwavering support of Accion Microfinance Bank towards the growth and promotion of quality education in such underprivileged suburbs.

The bank has shown a strong passion for environmental sustainability especially by decommissioning the use of diesel generators in all their branches as a result of the smoke and the heat from the diesel which depletes the Ozone layer.

The bank has switched to renewable energy, therefore in all Accion MFB branches, they rely either on power from the national grid or solar power energy to generate electricity. The goal is to prevent noise and environmental pollution and that everyone has cleaner and better air to breathe.

Speaking during a CSR activity at Morit International School which was organised by the bank, the Managing Director, Accion Microfinance Bank, Taiwo Joda, said the bank was committed to supporting the vision of the founder of the school.

“We keyed into the vision of education for all, especially for children. We have helped him to grow and have supported up to 172

school pupils of the poor and vulnerable. The founder’s overriding vision is to have education for every child and every family who cannot afford school fees in Ajegunle.

“The uniqueness of the proposition of the school is how school fees’ are paid. The pupils use plastic bottles to pay their schools fees which are then recycled,” he stated.

Joda stated the bank gave an interest-free loan totaling N160 million in over five months to school owners, adding that despite the company’s interest reduction in 2020, “they are determined to do more support students to grow.”

He also noted that education was key to fighting poverty and tackling unemployment.

The Accion boss further explained that the bank is passionate about education while expressing confidence that they hope to see

the Morit International School strive and they would continue to support them.

He hinted that the uniqueness of the proposition of the school is how school fees are paid, stating that the pupils collect used plastic bottles and submit to the school to pay their school fees, “the school, in turn, gives the plastics to recycling companies.”

According to him: “We are here to support the vision of the founder of Morit International School who was also is the customer of the bank. He has been our customer for over six years. We keyed into the vision of education for all, especially for children.

“We have helped him to grow and have up to 172 school pupils of the poor and vulnerable. The founder’s overriding vision is to have education for every child and every family who cannot afford school fees in Ajegunle. The uniqueness of the proposition of the school is how school fees’ are paid. The pupils use plastic bottles to pay their schools which are then recycled.

“One of our key shareholders’ is IFC and we are partners in the green project. The green project talks about having a climate that is habitable for people and in essence prolonging life. So on one aspect, we are putting children in school, by supporting the pupils of Moritz international school.

“We are also supporting and driving our dream to see a cleaner Lagos and Nigeria whenever we operate. So the pupils are allowed in school as long as their parents can out and pick plastic bottles, then use the plastic bottles to pay the children school fees.”

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

27

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱ˜ 2021

Kaodilichukwu: Nigeria Needs Framework to Drive Logistics Business The Chief Executive Officer of Pine, Mr. Nwokoro Kaodilichukwu, in this interview speaks on the need for efficient framework, supported by technology to enhance Nigeria’s logistics sector.

Nosa Alekhuogie brings the excerpts:

W

hat is Pine all about and what is its vision?

Pine is a technology driven logistics platform that connects shippers to haulage companies, truck and van drivers, be an individual, large corporation or small and medium enterprises. The platform is open to everybody as it makes the process easy. All you have to do is request for a particular type of truck/van from the list of presets and the platform will handle your payment and goods in Transit Insurance and the good thing is that you can do it from anywhere, at any time.

We also have a fleet management solution called Pine Carrier (available free on Android and iOS) where truck owners can effectively manage their fleet and drivers and earn money directly. You don’t need to have other people manage your trucks for you, you get to see available detailed orders yourself, accept and assign it to your drivers, they follow up and payments are made directly into your account. You can also check real time location as the trip(s) is ongoing. You can add as many drivers and trucks as possible. Pine Carrier gives you control over your assets and earnings.

We want to spur economic activities by providing a one stop solution to handle the movement of goods across the country and beyond, we also want to empower people by providing avenues to earn and cater for themselves.

What are the challenges you have faced so far?

Some of the challenges we face are identical to the general challenges facing the Logistics sector in Nigeria. Port congestion is a major one, sometimes truck drivers spend weeks picking up or dropping cargo at Apapa Port, which handles about 75 per cent of imports in Nigeria. An efficient framework is urgently needed and we hope the recently introduced e-call up system salvages the situation. Poor infrastructure and road network have also hampered operations.

Some routes are challenging and sometimes it requires splitting the cargo into smaller units so the trucks don’t topple, hence increasing the cost. Insecurity is another challenge we are facing, some drivers don’t go to certain routes because of banditry and armed robbery, which has adversely affected securing goods in transit insurance for cargoes heading to those routes.

Do people have to download the application before they can have access to your services?

Not only via the app, we also offer tailored third party supply chain services for clients who wish to outsource their supply chain. Using this template, we work hand in hand with clients to make sure their goods are effectively distributed across the country and this gives clients breathing space to focus on the actual trading and manufacturing activities. We are also working on implementing other channels like USSD for places or individuals with low or no internet penetration, this way basic functions and data can be acted on in rural areas.

What plan do you have for the population that isn’t technology savvy?

We are doing our best to sensitise people on the need to adopt new technologies through webinars, forums, a dedicated on-boarding team and a well documented frequently asked questions (FAQ) with illustrations in order to make it easier to understand how

Kaodilichukwu

to use our platform, and once people see how easy the process is for them, they never go back to the manual way of requesting for haulage services. We will always stay ahead by building solutions.

What has been your guideline for running this business effectively?

Good corporate governance, putting customers first, taking note of customers’ feedback and improving on existing offerings are some of the basic but very important measures we have put in place to make sure each process runs smoothly. We also follow rules and regulations set by government agencies to operate. For instance, we strictly enforce validity of Vehicle licence and insurance, road worthiness, Drivers Licence and all other required Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines before users can use our platform to move cargoes.

The ‘New Normal’ has changed the game of every business, what impact has it had on your business?

I would say a strong positive impact. People are looking for ways to carry on with their businesses with less physical presence and this has put us in the spotlight because we automate the services without the need for much physical presence.

The other side of this is the drastic reduction of movement of goods whenever lockdown is enforced, hence weak revenue, at this time, only essential goods can be moved.

What is your goal for Pine in the next five years?

We want to power trade and commerce in Africa. We want to make it easy for people to move goods of different sizes securely and fast without limitations. Currently, ecommerce activities in Africa are on the rise but still limited due to lack of proper logistics framework, domestic payment limitations and cross-border payment limitations. We intend to fix the missing pieces of the puzzle to allow for the original model of e-commerce and trade to thrive in domestic markets and also connect cross-border markets. We are looking forward to rapid expansion across the country and beyond and our biggest goal is to offer cross-border rates in Africa by taking advantage of the AfCFTA agreement which recently commenced at the beginning of this year. What this means is that a trader/manufacturer can count on us for product reach within a domestic market and to other African countries.

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

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THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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T H I S D AY ˾ JUNE 3, 2021

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BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Mordi: Why Nigeria Needs to Build Digital Economy around Sports The Chief Executive Officer of Desarrollar Limited, a sport marketing and real estate company, Ikemefuna Mordi, in this interview speaks on how sports can help boost the nation’s economy if well positioned, marketed and supported with necessary infrastructure.

Raheem Akingbolu brings the excerpts:

Y

ou have consistently advocated that focusing on the sports industry can rub positively on the economy, what are the important changes that need to be made in the industry to succeed and earn global recognition?

To start with, let me emphasise that governments at all levels and top players in the private sector ought to factor in sports when discussing or taking actions on diversification of Nigeria’s economy.

The industry is yet to be explored adequately if we consider our potentials and what we can garner in terms of resources through sports. That said, I believe in the intervention of the private sector just as it has been done globally. Now, guess what! For the private sector to be involved, imagine Nigeria having Sport Court facilities branded with telecommunications companies’ logos or a banks’ logos. And the value proposition to these conglomerates is that whatever facility you want to institutionalise in gated communities or educational communities, you can leave your brand on that facility and it will have a 15-year gestation period on it. That is an attraction to the organised private sector.

Not only that. Right now, in Nigeria, most of our sporting initiatives are driven by individual companies. But imagine a sector-led intervention.

You have the Bankers’ Committee, the oil and gas sector, the manufacturing sector, and the telcos.

Imagine that Nigeria’s top five or six sports are supported by different sectors in the economy.

So, they take different sporting initiatives and pump in not just promotion, but marketing.

Remember you are reaching youths.

If, for instance, you have these facilities branded and they are supported with balls or free kits from global institutions, and from Nigerians who are global persons of repute, i.e. Masai Ujiri, who is the President of the Toronto Raptors. If we have facilities branded and supported by the organised private sector, we will be able to attract foreign patronage and intervention here in Nigeria.

There are foreign-based global non-governmental organisations that give free footballs and sporting equipment once you have the facilities on the ground. Nigeria has not been able to access this because we lack the plan, strategy and infrastructure to attract them. It’s a system that will require private sector intervention but will also require the “how” to make them interested.

It’s a marketing tool that reaches over half of this population whether you are in or out of school.

Therefore, the first thing is infrastructure – I want to tie it down to brass knuckles. While we were growing up in schools, we had access to facilities.

For instance, I went to the University of Benin and I remember that Prof. Grace Alele-Williams was the vice-chancellor when the UNIBEN sport complex was built. I can remember we had a great complex. Other schools that had great (sport) complexes were University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), University of Ibadan, and so on. When we went to exercise, all I needed to do was go to the sport department within the complex, I would just sign in with my ID card and take a fresh pair of football boots or anything.

If we understand the picture you are painting, Nigeria lacks basic infrastructure to support sports industry’s growth?

Yes, what is lacking basically across the board is infrastructure. If you look at the growing nations in the world, they build sport stores, football facilities, wrestling facilities, indoor and outdoor, just like they are doing in South Africa.

South Africa has a sport store, to use a very close example. So, what they have done since 2010 is to attract the corporate world. I’ll give you a prime example: one of our partners is called Sport Court – it’s almost like a basketball facility but you can play six sports on it – football, basketball, netball, hockey and it has a 20-year warranty. Now, I look across Nigeria and my solutions are more of making it an educational sport intervention – in the primary schools, secondary schools, universities, the military installations and the police. You might remember

we got outside and they introduced us to their training facility, I was shocked. There were 12 full-size training pitches in some wooded areas.

There were bushes around but well-kept. Inside, they had two indoor training facilities, full-size pitches, of course, with a plethora of equipment and swimming pools. I saw an industry and I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it. I met with Sir Alex (Ferguson) and the boys were so overwhelmed.

And then, I asked my foreign partner who took us there, “You mean this is a training facility?”

The gentleman smiled, turned to me and said, “Sport is a business. Football is a business.” I had the same encounter when I went to Finch Farm, Everton’s training facility. Everton had 16 full-size pitches outside for training. It was crazy.

And I could go on and on. But interestingly, that experience left the boys with an impact. I went to other facilities and travelled with a few sporting stars, Nwankwo Kanu and the like. It made me think of how to replicate that mindset in this environment.

Mordi the old mock Nations Cup in Ajegunle (Lagos).

Those are havens where, if we had standard facilities – not just standard but facilities that will go from one generation to another – you will find that because of government intervention, facilities are poorly built because the mindset is ‘we need to change these things every three years.’ It’s seen as a contract. But the kind of intervention we are bringing with our partners is such that when we institutionalise facilities and we make sport a co-educational thing, so that we are looking at sustainability and maintenance, it becomes the bedrock for intervention in the public and private space. It is then what we call edu-sport. The second part is that sporting infrastructure must be as durable as the ones that we have globally. Why is it that in South Africa or England the sporting facilities are standard; they are there for 10 to 15 years and they have not changed? We need to have that kind of durability because that is what will lead to talent discovery, and it’s not just about football; it’s about making it integral to our educational system as it used to be. That forms the foundation. I’ll give you a critical example. My children used to attend Corona School; anytime we had to do their inter-house sports, the school had to use the University of Lagos. Now, UNILAG is the barometer for any school within that axis to Ikoyi. My children are in Ikoyi, but they would come all the way for their inter-house sports to use the UNILAG facilities. Imagine a sector-led intervention taking up not just UNILAG but Yaba College of Technology and other critical schools, outfitting those facilities and putting their logos on those facilities. Even within the military and the police college, it can happen.

I’ve had experiences in Europe where people say, ‘I would love to come to Nigeria but you don’t have facilities or any place where we can bring our scouts, whether basketball or any other sport, to see those talents.’ So, the primary foundation of our intervention is infrastructure, relationships, marketing and showing the private sector how they can utilise and grow their market from this infrastructure.

How will the private sector be more encouraged to make the investment?

By my exposure, especially in banking, I have had the opportunity to crisscross 18 African countries. Taxation is crucial because for one, most of the organised private sector have what we call foundation, so they have community interventions, which is tax-deduct. For some of these interventions, because it is packaged as sectorial, it is focused. Just like the Dangote Grou president, Aliko Dangote was given a N23bn concession by the government, most of the interventions by the organised private

sector have tax-deduct elements, once it is community-based. I’ll give you an insight into the things I have done, so it is not just theory. In the last one and a half years, and that has been elongated by COVID-19 pandemic, I marketed a proposition to the Nigerian Army that will attract private sector funding, and that is tax-deductible because it is a collective. But imagine that impact where you have this private sector infrastructure situated in different communities across Nigeria, all driven by the organised private sector because they know that whatever the interventions that are people-led, impact the local communities and are male-centric and female-centric, and has a gestation period of 15 to 20 years, will naturally attract (tax deductions) because those are things they can report on their books as their interventions. And guess what! It doesn’t become a one-off. It becomes a sustainable initiative that can go year-on-year for the next 15 to 20 years, especially if they are going to be situated within educational institutions. There is a strategy to that. It is private sector-led and they get their natural tax (deductions). It is devoid of politics and religion. Those things will actually help promote the culture of making sport a business The summary of your projection is based on sports marketing and positioning, could that be because of the background you had in marketing communications industry and banking sector?

It is natural for those backgrounds to influence me but what spurs me majorly is the exposure to global trends and the need for us to explore opportunities around us. I have been a consultant and a banker. But in recent times, we’ve been thinking about infrastructure. The COVID-19 era has allowed us to modify our business. Desarrollar basically started as a real estate solution company, but we have infused sport consulting and agency as the primary vision of Desarrollar right now.

There are so many opportunities that lie not just in Nigeria, but across Africa. I was privileged to take two young boys from Jos (Plateau State) to Manchester United for football try-outs. They had never traveled by air, neither had they ever left Jos. We held a series of camps in Lagos, Onitsha, Benin and Jos, just looking for talents we could recommend to Manchester United. I was working with my foreign partners then.

Interestingly, we got the invitation. For two young boys who had never been out of Jos, the British High Commission was magnanimous enough and gave us visas. We travelled and it was quite an experience but I tell you it has left a scar on my soul. We got to the Carrington Training Centre of Manchester United. We were introduced to the training facility; the boys spent about two weeks training there, trying to get a contract. When

Why has Nigeria been unable to replicate this?

The direct answer to your question is, first, sport has not been packaged as a business and I’ll break it down. Look at the impact music has had on the youths in Nigeria; I want to use that as an analogy. Let me give you some statistics. Nigeria’s population is projected to be 234 million by 2025; 263 million by 2030 and 330 million by 2040. In 2050, it has been projected that Nigeria’s population will hit 402 million.

Now, 60 percent of this population is youth. The “why” is because sport has been packaged as a cost centre, rather than seen as a business. So, like it happens in other climes, the direct answer is, sport needs to be productised and monetised.

Sport needs to be sold as a product, whether it’s football, athletics, handball, netball, etc. It hasn’t been packaged as a product to make it attractive enough for the organised private sector to run.

Many times in this environment, sport has been left to the government to execute. You and I know that a government is not well suited to promote sport. However, the intervention that is required for adequate funding to follow through must come from the ability to productise sport, like Formula One. You can imagine if the gentleman that is called the Nigerian Nightmare (Kamaru Usman) were in Nigeria, he would maybe be pushing trucks or whatever. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has been packaged as a product; so today, everyone is talking about the UFC. The basic answer is that sport needs to be productised and monetised. We need to build a digital economy around it. It needs to become attractive as a marketing tool for the organised private sector, so that they can fund it. It is that funding that will allow sport to grow. It is that funding that will attract global patronage. It is that funding that is tied to marketing. The statistics I’ve given you, especially the youths, will make it attractive enough for sport to be lifted up.

Have you devised a strategy to change the narrative?

I would like to say first and foremost that sport is a community and a corporate religion in Nigeria.

Sport is not seen, packaged and promoted as a business but as a cost centre. Really, the intentions for Desarrollar are just to bring to the forefront the need to promote sport as a business, create the opportunities, highlight them, and make it attractive enough for private sector participation.

Like we all know, sport worldwide is an economic block built on people, products and processes. It’s a multibillion-naira industry. So, the question is why isn’t that happening in our environment, with a population of over 200 million people? With a teen population of over 100 million, why haven’t we been able to replicate in this environment what has happened in other climes? That is why we have come up with what we call solutions that will speak to these initiatives; solutions that will attract funding; solutions that will attract private sector participation, just like it is done worldwide. That is why we are on this journey.

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T H I S D AY ˾ THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021

BUSINESSWORLD

PERSPECTIVE

How FMBN is Deepening Mortgage Penetration John T. Ikyaave

bungalows as well as 1-, 2- and 3-bedrooms in blocks of flats.

W

orldwide, mortgages take the lead as the preferred means for owning a home.

In countries such as the United Kingdom, USA, France, and other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, it is rare to see people paying outright for homes using savings, loans from friends, family members or cooperative societies.

In Nigeria, the widescale adoption of mortgages as a popular path to owning homes is still extremely low. This situation needs to change. It explains in part, the country’s high housing deficit that is estimated by experts to hover between 17 to 22 million housing units with trillions needed to make any significant dent on it.

Fact is that housing is a capital-intensive venture.

A combination of low wages and high cost of living give millions of Nigerians little room to save towards purchasing or building their homes. For Nigeria to properly house its citizens, greater efforts need to be made to bolster access to affordable housing finance to enable them to own their homes.

To tackle the problem of access to affordable housing finance, many countries across the world have promoted the adoption of mortgages as the preferred path to homeownership. The mortgage process entails the granting of monies to obtain a home with good faith that the debtor will repay the loan with interest attached to life of it. Both the debtor and lender benefit if nothing goes wrong.

Over many years, the borrower repays the loan, plus interest, until she or he owns the property free and clear. Mortgages have helped millions of people all over the world buy homes. Even if you do not have N5,000,000 cash, you can buy a N5,000,000 home using a mortgage and pay gradually over time till you defray the loan.

So, essentially, a mortgage is a loan that a lender, which could be a commercial or mortgage bank, gives to a potential homeowner to purchase a house or other real estate. Before mortgage lenders give loans, they check to see if you meet certain requirements such as your income level, your financial ability to pay back the loan. The lender can take ownership of, or foreclose on, the property you have mortgaged if you do not repay the money borrowed, plus interest.

High mortgage adoption leads to high homeownership levels. In the United States for instance, the proportion of households that are occupied by the owners is over 65.1 percent. In the United Kingdom, homeownership rate is above 67.69 per cent and 90 per cent and 84 per cent in Singapore and Indonesia, respectively.

As expected, the situation is different and worrisome in Nigeria. We have a homeownership rate of about 25 percent, which is much lower than even Kenya – 73 per cent, Benin Republic – 63 per cent and South Africa - 56 per cent.

Longer Term, Single Digit Interest Mortgages It is against this backdrop that the role of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) in boosting access to affordable housing finance is so significant. Established as a wholesale mortgage finance institution, the FMBN provides primary mortgage banks with low-cost funds to provide affordable mortgages to Nigerian workers.

Notable features of FMBN mortgage loans include zero equity requirements for loans of up N5million and 10 per cent equity down payment for loans above N5 million to N15 million.

Others include single digit interest rates ranging from six to nine per cent per annum and long payment tenors of up to 30 years.

FMBN’s housing products are available to contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme, a social savings scheme designed to mobilize long-term funds from Nigerian workers, banks, insurance companies and the government to boost access to affordable housing finance.

The bank also has a rich and impressive

Dangiwa

portfolio of social housing products that target a key and dominant segment of the Nigerian population: low to medium income earners.

Consider the FMBN National Housing Fund (NHF) Mortgage Loan and its unique structuring to serve the ordinary Nigerian worker. FMBN leverages funds from the NHF scheme to grant concessionary loans to its accredited Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) at a four per cent interest rate.

The mortgage banks in turn use these funds to give loans to qualified workers that contribute to the NHF scheme at six per cent interest per annum with payment tenors of up to 30 years. Loans of up to N5 million attract zero equity down payment while those above N5 million to N15 million require 10 per cent equity.

Subscribers are qualified to apply after only six months of continuous contributions to the scheme. The terms and features of the NHF Mortgage loan are affordable and reduce the financial pressure on the meagre incomes of low-income earners.

For comparison, interest rates on housing loans in the open market range from 18 per cent to 25 per cent per annum while maximum loan repayment tenors hover between 10 – 20 years. Most commercial banks and mortgage lenders also require that applicants provide between 30 per cent to 50 per cent equity contribution before loans are processed and possibly approved for disbursement.

Balancing Housing Products and Worker’s Financial Capacity Besides the NHF Mortgage Loan, FMBN has been innovating to ensure a proper match between its housing products and the financial capacity of an average Nigerian worker looking to own a home. In the past four years, under the leadership of Ahmed Dangiwa, the bank developed and introduced two creative housing products.

The first is the individual Home Construction Loan. The loan enables NHF contributors with unencumbered land, appropriate land titles and approved building plans to undertake self-construction. The loan provides up to N15 million to contributors to the NHF scheme at seven per cent interest rate. Beneficiaries can pay back over a period of up to 30-years depending on their age and number of years left in service.

The second product is the FMBN RentTo-Own Housing Scheme. The scheme offers an easy and convenient payment

arrangement towards homeownership for Nigerian workers. It makes it possible for a Nigerian worker to instantly move into an FMBN-owned housing property as a tenant and conveniently pay towards ownership of the property in monthly or annual instalments over as long as 30 years at an interest rate of seven per cent!

Another equally interesting and workercentric affordable home ownership product that FMBN has upscaled significantly within the past three years is the home renovation loan. The loan provides up to N1million to enable beneficiaries who already own their homes to carry out improvements. In the past four years home renovation loans totalling N49.265 billion were granted to 60,500 beneficiaries.

FMBN has also revamped its legacy Cooperative Housing Development Loan (CHDL) in line with the initiative of the Minister of Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to adopt cooperative societies as the channel for the aggregation and delivery of houses to members of cooperative societies.

The FMBN Cooperative Housing Development Loan (CHDL) enables a cooperative society that has acquired a plot of land to develop houses for allocation to its members. Key features include tenors of up to 24 months with a moratorium of 12 months and interest rate of 10 per cent. Up to N500 million is accessible by qualified cooperative societies under the facility. Over the past four years, the bank deployed over N10.985 billion towards the financing of several cooperative housing schemes across the country.

To strengthen collaboration and confidence of workers who are the main contributors to the NHF scheme, the bank approved and is currently executing a National Affordable Workers’ Housing Scheme in partnership with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), to deliver affordable houses for Nigerian workers.

The first phase of the scheme was launched in October 2018 aimed at delivering about 1,400 units.

About 1,400 housing units are ready for commissioning in 12 sites across the six geopolitical zones of the country in addition to Lagos and Abuja, in batches of a minimum of 200 units per zone. The second phase has also commenced and is planned to deliver about 2,160 houses in another 14 locations.

House types include finished semi-detached

Bold Policy Actions Required to Reverse Trend To reverse the housing deficit in the country, bolder and more aggressive policy actions are required by governmental authorities to strengthen both the demand side of housing in the country as well as the supply side.

This entails supporting and boosting the capacity of existing institutions such as the FMBN to scale their operations for greater impact. It is encouraging to note that the FMBN has been given a key role in the implementation of the government’s economic sustainability plan alongside the Family Homes Fund (FHF). This is a right step in the right direction. For one, the bank has the largest registry of potential homeowners in the country with over five million contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme, which the bank manages on behalf of the government.

The list of subscribers includes civil servants, workers in the private sector, self-employed persons, traders etc with comprehensive information about their income levels and financial capacity to pay back mortgage loans.

Secondly, the FMBN has over the past four years demonstrated through remarkable results that the National Housing Fund (NHF), established in 1992 to pool long term funds for the delivery of affordable housing to low- and medium-income workers, can be made to deliver practical results.

Between April 2017, when the current Executive Management team took charge of the bank to February 2021, FMBN leveraged funds accruing to the National Housing Fund (NHF) Scheme to record N130.460Billion in various loan disbursements. The figure comprises NHF Mortgage Loans totalling N43.141 billion granted to 4,985 beneficiaries and Home Renovation Loans totalling N49.265 billion granted to 60,500 beneficiaries.

The bank also deployed over N38billion towards the development of 9,540 affordable housing units across the country through different construction product windows.

This includes Estate Development Loans totalling N20.195billion, Cooperative Housing Development Loans totalling N10.985 billion and Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme loans totalling N6.873 billion.

The size of mortgage loans disbursed within the four-year period is remarkable at many salient levels. First, it accounts for over 46 percent of the cumulative N282.914 billion that FMBN has disbursed since the NHF Scheme commenced operations 29 years ago in 1992.

Secondly, the amount translates to an 85 per cent increase in the cumulative value of mortgage loans totalling N152.453 billion in April 2017 when the Management team came on board to N282.914 billion as of February 2021. The speed of processing, size of the loan approvals and disbursements are all unprecedented in the history of the Bank. The performance proves that further empowering FMBN to scale promotion of affordable housing stock targeting the over five million of current NHF subscribers would accelerate Nigeria’s efforts to tackle the housing deficit.

Overall, to achieve high mortgage penetration levels in the country and increase homeownership rates, especially within the low-medium income segments of the economy, there is of course the need to think outside the box giving the perennial stagnation of growth in the sector. But re-inventing the wheel is not an attractive option. A low hanging fruit is to empower strong institutions and systems that have shown capacity to deliver affordable housing to do more.

FMBN presents one such platform. The current Board and Management should, therefore, be encouraged, and its finances bolstered to enable it to create greater impact as the foremost government tool for social housing delivery.

-Ikyaave is a public policy analyst based in Abuja.

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THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 •T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͱ˜ ͰͮͰͯ

IMAGES

L-R: PR and Communications Manager, Cars45, Bemigho Awala; Vice President, Finance, Basit Sameer; Vice President, Commercial, Patricia Duru and CEO, Cars45, Soumobroto Ganguly during the presentation of African Leadership Excellence Prize 2021 to Cars45 in Lagos....recently

L-R; Head of Marketing MultiChoice Nigeria, Tope Osunkeye; Executive Head of Corporate Affairs, MultiChoice Nigeria, Caroline Oghuma; Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho; Public Relations Manager, GOtv Nigeria, Jennifer Ukoh and Senior Marketing Manager, MultiChoice Nigeria, Adetunji Beyioku, at the Euro 2020 Media Briefing in Lagos...recently

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L-R: Former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Onome Adewuyi; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, new President, ICAN, Comfort Olujumoke Eyitayo and elder statesman, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye at the investiture of the Eyitayo as 57th President of ICAN in Lagos...recently

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L-R,, L-R, Speaker of the Parliament of Niger Republic, Hon Seyni OumApous; President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmed Lawan and Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo Agage during a courtesy visit by the Speaker of the parliement of Niger Republic to the Senate President in Abuja...recently julius atoi.

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Wife of Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun (3rd right), flanked by some female students and schools’ representatives during the presentation of sewing machines to schools in commemoration of 2021 Menstrual Hygiene Day, with the theme ‘Action and Investment in Menstrual Hygiene and Health’ in Abeokuta, Ogun State....recently

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T H I S D AY ˾ , JUNE 3, 2021

HEALTH & LIFESTYLE

ÜÙßÚ ÏËÞßÜÏÝ ÎÓÞÙÜ˝ ÒÓÏ×ÏÖÓÏ äÏÙÌÓ ×ËÓÖ chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, Tel: 07010510430

Changing the Narrative of Suicide Reporting in Nigeria In the last four years, the Nigerian media reported 264 suicide cases in Nigeria. Ayodeji Ake writes that ‘The Morning After’, a recently launched book on suicide reporting, will awaken the consciousness of Nigerian journalists in reporting suicide cases in accordance to the WHO guidelines, just as it will influence policy makers to make laws that will not criminalise suicide, rather treat it as a mental health issue

A

ccording to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 800,000 deaths are recorded every year worldwide with more than 20 suicide attempts for each suicide.

In Nigeria, the media have reported that 264 deaths were recorded in four years between 2017 to 2020. Given the alarming statistics, medical experts and journalists have blamed the increasing suicide rate on many factors including poor reporting and sensationalising suicide reports.

Although ‘Preventing Suicide, A Resource for Media Professionals’ as published by the WHO in 2008, made provisions for guidelines in reporting suicide cases to reduce to the barest minimum suicides cases, the reverse has been the case. Sadly, journalists omit these guidelines in their reports.

Changing the Narrative To change the narrative, a virtual book launch, presenting ‘The Morning After’ written by a Psychiatrist, Dr. Olufemi Oluwatayo and Health Journalist, THISDAY Newspapers, Mr. Martins Ifijeh, held recently. The book’s unveiling a book will foster mental health guide on suicide and reporting of suicide in Nigeria.

The book was presented by The Retreat Healthcare Lagos and The Nous Foundation Nigeria in collaboration with the Health Writers Association of Nigeria (HEWAN).

According to one of the authors, Martins Ifijeh, who noted that the book was written to bring to the fore the WHO guidelines for suicide reporting to curb the increasing suicide scores, “three things why I wrote the book: there have been WHO guidelines for suicide reporting which I’m sure before now that journalists are not aware of the guidelines in Africa especially in Nigeria. In the last four years, 264 suicide cases have been reported in the media from January 2017 till late 2020. Checking those reports, none of the WHO guidelines were reflected in the reports.

“The reason why the guidelines were developed is simply because journalist shouldn’t fuel suicide and there are specific ways of writing suicide reports. Truly, some countries have been using the guidelines but we have never used it. This prompted the idea of bringing the guidelines home and finding a way of domesticating the guidelines. If we reflect on stories that have been written, we will discover that more damages have been done than good. We want to see how we can do good stories and research to uncover how our reports have affected our society generally, probably positively or negatively”.

For Olufemi Oluwatayo, he saw ‘The Morning After’ as a manual Nigerian journalists should reflect on while reporting suicide cases.

“It took us a long journey to get here. I have had comments that the name ‘ The Morning After’ does not do justice to the book. We came about the title when we were thinking about how to reflect the messages in the book. We want when journalists write, to reflect on the content of the report. When everyone wakes up in the morning, we reflect on the previous day and we reason about the impact on the people, family, and society.

“The reason why this book is important is that it’s a book written by a journalist and a psychiatrist. We both are experts in our various fields which we collapsed our experiences into this book which gives it credibility. In

addition, we have recommended ways and manners suicide should be perceived and be reported in Nigeria. We want the journalists to self-regulate. We are ready as a mental health organisation to partner them because no one wants to die depressed,” he said.

One of the special guests reviewers, Dr. Femi Olugbile, a Consultant Psychiatrist, in his submissions, noted that the guidelines of reporting suicide should not be limited to mainstream media alone but also to the new media, who are currently taking space today.

“We are not only concerned about the mainstream media but also the new media which has admitted a large number of citizen reporters who often do not get the facts but also speculate and they are not bound by journalistic practices, these are those we also

want to bring to the fore. The mainstream also have a lot to attempt while reporting suicide cases as regards the family of the deceased and the society.

“Another vital point is victimisation by the victim’s family; probably the wife. She will become a target and speculations will keep flying around if she has pushed her husband to suicide. And such speculations will make life almost unbearable for the immediate and extended family.

“A good point raised on the book is that for any suicide or suicidal attempt, there is a medical reason for it. Majority of people who have committed suicide had a diagnosable psychiatric error. That means in reality, it’s not a criminal condition but a medical condition.

But the current pattern in our society by

which suicide is brought to public attention it’s through criminal reportage” he said.

Speaking further, he highlighted the recommendations of the book which includes change in language.

“The recommendations in the book spelt out a change in the language in suicide reporting.

They are recommending ideas that suicide is essentially a medical issue deserving sympathy , empathy and specialised attention rather than the criminal justice system. “ On the part of the people, press is the bridge of actualities in the society including the matters of suicide and the general public.

The idea of getting the press to the side of the me talk health workforce is not new.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

T H I S D AY ˾ , JUNE 3, 2021

35

NEWS CHANGING THE NARRATIVE OF SUICIDE REPORTING IN NIGERIA

Ifijeh

“The people who are the bridge between the subject and the society need to be knowledgeable to become appropriate vehicles of helping to manage the causes of suicide and help to keep to the barest minimum by cultivating empathy. It’s not about writing sensational headlines but we need to think deeply about the effect on the family and society,” he said.

In the same vein of commendation and book review, Chair, THISDAY Newspapers Editorial Board, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, said the book ‘The Morning After’ is timely especially in these periods of economic instability and COVID-19.

“I want to congratulate the authors for this highly revealing and also very important book especially at a time like this. I remember in 2002, when a friend narrated how a colleague told him she wants to go to a psychiatric hospital and in this part of the world we immediately attach negativity to that which consequently, we have pushed a lot of people over the edge. When Martins Ifijeh told me he was writing this book with his colleague who is a medical doctor, I felt elated about it and I told him I will contribute to it.

“I have read a lot about mental health and what I have is that not every wound is visible. Some of the silent battles we fight are not things people can easily see. You see someone drive to the bridge, get parked and jump. These processes are not normal.

These are health issues we don’t know in our society and with more reading of books, the more we know. This is a book I will recommend especially for a society like ours and I hope,” he said.

HEWAN Canvasses for Training on Suicide Reporting 'PS BQQSPQSJBUF TVJDJEF SFQPSUBHF UIF )FBMUI Writers Association Nigeria (HEWAN), has proposed training of media practitioners.

4QFBLJOH BU UIF WJSUVBM MBVODI UIF 1SFTJEFOU HEWAN, Mrs. Chioma Obinna, while concurring to the recommendations conveyed in the book on language change, noted lack of training has done more harm than good in suicide reporting in Nigeria.

“A lot have been said and I feel somehow ashamed of the media about what the book has said about our reportage of suicide. It is no more news that Nigeria is experiencing an increase in suicide cases but the unfortunate thing is that some of these cases has been linked to the wrong way journalists report suicide.

“Although the media is meant to play a critical role in educating the public on mental illness, lack of training has done more harm than good in their reportage of suicide.

“When suicide is inappropriately reported, JU GVFMT TUJHNB 'SPN UIF CPPL XF IBWF CFFO made to understand that when you use the word ‘commit’ it’s tagging suicide a crime and not an health condition. Another thing to be highlighted is that suicide cases are reported by crime reporters instead of health reporters, which is also a huge problem.

According to WHO, if suicide is reported responsibly, it reduces suicidal behaviors in the society but unfortunately, in this part of the world, the media tends to sensationalise

FERTILITY

with DR. KEMI AILOJE Info@lifelinkfertility.com; Website: lifelinkfertility.com 08033083580

DIABETES AND INFERTILITY (PART 2)

Oluwatayo

the headlines. Another problem is the use of language. These are the reasons why we are canvassing for training,” she said.

Suicide as Mental Illness not Criminal Offence One of the authors, Martins Ifijeh, had during his talk advocated a revisit of the Nigeria laws on suicide, adding that they are obsolete.

“We still have old mental laws in Nigeria.

We still have some bizarre laws in the country where we have criminalised suicide, whereas in the actual sense, suicides are health issues.

When reporting suicide, the health angle should be reflected on.

“Rather than interview the police alone on suicide matters, the health experts should be also interviewed. With this report, people will begin to subconsciously reason why suicide is an health issue and not criminal issue”.

“This book is not just for journalists alone, but I’m sure policy makers will also see reasons why they should adopt some of the recommendations in this book. The Lagos State government has started doing something but other states are still behind even the federal government. “ There is a mental health bill in the house for about 10 years now and they have been unable to pass the bill because maybe only few people understand why the laws should CF DIBOHFE 'SPN DPVOUSJFT XIFSF UIFTF MBXT are picked from, they have all moved on so should we too from old laws,” he said.

Commendation On his part, former Senate Chairman, Committee on Health, Sen. Lanre Tejuoso, applauded the authors for the insightful book on suicide preventions and reportage in Nigeria.

He acknowledged that the book will serve as guidelines to Nigerian journalists and other policy makers in reducing suicide cases to the barest minimum.

“This book is very relevant in amending the mental health bill. The message to journalists is a very important, and I would have loved them to replicate the guidelines in reporting kidnapping in Nigeria because the way kidnapping is being reported is more like giving a roadmap to kidnappers.

“In four years, Nigeria media reported TVJDJEF DBTFT BDSPTT UIF DPVOUSZ 'PS the reported cases, not many reported in accordance of the WHO guidelines of reporting suicide. What we are insinuating here is that the media shouldn’t trigger for more suicide cases via their reportage .

“This book has taken the pain to explain how irresponsible reporting has led to more suicide cases. It went further to domesticate globally acceptable suicide reportage and guidelines for Nigeria to ensure journalists follow guidance. We must disallow suicide epidemic. I commended the pains of the authors to bring this important point to the fore,” he said.

‘The Morning After ’ launch was a wrap with identified sponsorship of training for 30 journalists across Nigeria on appropriate suicide reporting.

L

ast week, we started a topic titled Diabetes and Infertility. The Types of Diabetes, effects and Managements were also discussed. This week, our focus will be on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Diabetes can be present before or after the start of pregnancy. If after the start of pregnancy, it is termed, gestational diabetes and there are high accumulations of sugar in the blood (over 150 mg/dl).

Gestational Diabetes tends to resolve (disappear) after delivery of the baby. It occurs in 2-3% of all pregnant women. The exact cause of Gestational Diabetes is not known. Science believes that the hormones that interfere with the normal processing of sugar, insulin, are increased during pregnancy. The levels of these hormones tend to increase in the later part of pregnancy allowing the sugar to accumulate in the blood with Diabetes as the end result.

With Gestational Diabetes, the blood sugar is elevated and the developing baby is at high risk for certain problems, such as increase in growth hormone and a large overweight baby (macrosomia), weighting over nine pounds in result. With the large size, surgical removal or Caesarean section would be necessary, with special care concerning the lung maturity of the baby. The close monitoring with your Reproductive Endocrinologist and Obstetrician will permit the birth of a healthy baby with the mother alive Management Of Gestational Diabetes. r *O PSEFS UP MPXFS CMPPE TVHBS QSPQFSMZ your medical team will recommend a diet tailored to meet your diet needs; this will include lots of vegetables for fibre and fruits for vitamins. A certain amount of exercise, walking, swimming is essential to keep your blood sugar under control. r "TTFTTNFOU XJUI MBCPSBUPSZ UFDIOPMPHZ HbA1C testing of the amount of blood sugar that is measured in percentages should stay under 6.5%. The results are stable for a few months. r " GPFUBM FDIPDBSEJPHSBN TQFDJBM VMUSBTPVOE of the baby’s developing heart) will ensure that his/her growth patterns are normal. r $MPTF NPOJUPSJOH PG UIF FZFT BOE LJEOFZT to avoid complications, such as proliferative retinopathy or kidney infections. r 1FSJPEJD VMUSBTPVOET PG UIF EFWFMPQJOH baby will safeguard against undetected overly large new bones.

RISK FACTORS FOR GESTATIONAL DIABETES: r .PN T BHF PWFS r 'BNJMZ IFBMUI IJTUPSZ $MPTF GBNJMZ NFNCFST such as a parent or sibling or having slightly raised blood sugar. r 1FSTPOBM IJTUPSZ PG %JBCFUFT )BWJOH B slightly raised blood sugar (prediabetes). r 3BDJBM CBDLHSPVOE 4UVEJFT TIPX UIBU Blacks, Hispanics and Asians have higher rates than whites. r 1SFWJPVT #*( CBCZ PWFS OJOF QPVOET r 1SFWJPVT VOFYQMBJOFE 'PFUBM EFBUI r 0CFTJUZ #PEZ .BTT *OEFY #.* PWFS

30kg/m r 3FDVSSFOU QSFHOBODZ -PTT PG pregnancies lead to miscarriage even before the pregnancy test.

COMPLICATIONS OF GESTATIONAL DIABETES: 'PS UIF .PUIFS ZPV DBO CF GBDFE XJUI IJHI blood pressure and preeclampsia (a feared complication of pregnancy) with alterations in blood proteins and high blood pressure.

The best management for this condition is the immediate delivery of the baby. Seizures (convulsion) can occur, if left untreated. It would then be called eclampsia, a true medical emergency with need for urgent intensive care support and care. Gestational Diabetes increases the changes that the blood pressure will increase, leading to decisions of saving either the mother or the baby’s life. Once you have Gestational Diabetes, you can become at risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes. Management, with life long, lifestyle choices of healthy eating and exercise can reduce your risk.

'PS ZPVS QSFDJPVT CBCZ GFE CZ UIF VNCJMJDBM cord and the placenta (blood vessels that supply the nutrition from the mother through the blood) with this extra rich amount of sugar will cause your baby to produce more insulin. Your baby can grow too big with the resulting difficulty in exiting normally from the vagina at birth. A surgical delivery or caesarean section will need to be performed. Another serious complication is early labour (preterm delivery) with difficult breathing (Respiratory Distress Syndrome).

As you can see, it is vital to understand how your baby is affected by your own health. If your blood sugar is high (over 150mb/ dl), the baby can develop Diabetes too. He /she may have Type 1 Diabetes, where the cells of the pancreas do not produce any insulin. The result will be a baby that needs insulin injections to survive and process any food.

Prevention and General Management of Diabetes: While there is no known prevention for type 1 DM, below are the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of type 2 DM which accounts for 85-90% of all cases of Diabetes.

1SFWFOUJPO 5IF #FTU 1PMJDZ r &BU B IFBMUIZ EJFU GVMM PG GSVJUT WFHFUBCMFT and learn protein, high fibre, and high vitamins. r &YFSDJTF SFHVMBSMZ BOE NBJOUBJO IJHI MFWFM of activity r $MPTF NPOJUPSJOH PG ZPVS CMPPE TVHBS using the glucometer if you have a positive family history and had been tested to have high blood sugar level. r 5BLF QSFTDSJCFE NFEJDBUJPOT r "WPJE UPCBDDP TNPLJOH r 0ODF ZPV EFDJEF UP CFDPNF QSFHOBOU WJTJU your doctor for antenatal screening, it will give a good picture of your health. r -PTF XFJHIU CFGPSF QSFHOBODZ r %VSJOH QSFHOBODZ ZPV OFFE UP OPVSJTI UIF developing baby, best not to try to lose weight, take prescribed medications/ insulin injections.

TO BE CONTINUED

36

T H I S D AY ˾ , JUNE 3, 2021

NEWS

Over 75 Million People Still Use Tobacco in Africa, Says WHO Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË In her message on this year’s World No Tobacco Day, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said tobacco kills half of its users every year and about 1.2 million non-smokers die from exposure to tobacco smoke.

She said tobacco use harms nearly every organ in the human body, adding that “even smoking one cigarette a day can seriously harm a person’s health. Tobacco use can lead to lung, mouth, throat, oesophagus, stomach, bowel and other cancers. It increases the risk of chest and lung infections, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other conditions. There is no safe form of tobacco”.

The theme this year is

“Commit to quit” because the choice to stop tobacco use is in our hands. Millions of people have been motivated to quit tobacco during the COVID-19 pandemic because of evidence showing tobacco smoking impairs lung function, making it harder for the body to fight off coronaviruses and other diseases.

According to Moeti, out of the 1.3 billion tobacco users globally, 60 per cent have expressed the desire to quit but only 30 per cent have access to the tools to do so successfully.

She explained that digital solutions can help to fill this gap, adding that WHO has introduced “Florence” a digital health worker, who provides advice on how to quit and links people with the tools

and solutions that can help.

The WHO Director reports that currently more than 75 million people in the African Region use some form of tobacco, adding that this burden is likely to increase as consumer purchasing power improves coupled with intensive efforts by the tobacco industry to expand the African market.

She suggested that public health advocates should actively pursue countermarketing campaigns that highlight the many risks of tobacco use.

Moeti said WHO is supporting countries to scale-up programmes to help people quit tobacco, especially at the primary health care and community levels.

She added that so far

support to quit tobacco use is available in primary health care facilities in 11 countries, adding that national toll-free lines where tobacco users can call and get advice are available in six countries.

In addition, Moeti said that Nicotine replacement therapy is sold in pharmacies in 19 countries with governments fully covering the costs in Eswatini, Mauritius and Seychelles.

“Nicotine replacement therapy is included in the essential medicines list in Algeria, Ethiopia and South Africa. Burkina Faso is implementing “mTobaccoCessation,” a mobile text messaging-based solution.

“This promising progress now needs to be expanded to more countries in the WHO

African Region. Governments and communities should also be alert to industry tactics to attract new users and keep people using tobacco, even when they are trying to quit.

“Products such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches are highly addictive and not recommended as strategies to reduce tobacco use.

“As WHO, we remain committed to supporting Member States to meet their obligations under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. These include the development and implementation of programmes to promote quitting tobacco in schools, universities, health facilities, workplaces and sporting environments.

“Services to diagnose tobacco dependence and

help people quit, should be included as an integral component in national health and education programmes, plans and strategies.

“I call on governments to improve access to these services, using a combination of approaches, such as toll-free quit lines, nicotine replacement therapy (such as gum, patches, sprays and other products), and digital solutions to empower people to quit. These interventions can be phased in where resources are limited.

“Together, let’s support people with the tools and resources needed to successfully quit and to reduce the demand for tobacco. This will save live, save money and create healthier societies,” she said.

NIBUCAA Launches Project to Increase Knowledge of HIV Status Mary Nnah The Nigerian Business Coalition against AIDS has piloted the first phase of the ‘’I know My Status’’ project in Abuja, Ebonyi and Edo states.

The project which was developed from the End HIV Campaign was designed and implemented to increase the knowledge of vulnerable people on their HIV status and enough safe sexual practices through HIV Testing Services and dissemination of Sexual and Reproductive Health information.

The End HIV Campaign championed by the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA) seeks to reduce the prevalence and incidence of HIV infection via HIV testing, communication, and technology strategies. The project targeted communities with a high presence of Adolescent and Young People (AYP), proximity to referral centres, a high number of vulnerable populations, poor health-seeking behaviour and a high number of hotspots.

Chief Executive Officer of NIBUCAA, Isaiah Owolabi, highlighted the importance of the project.

“The I know My Status Project is expedient to reduce

the incidence of HIV in Nigeria, there is a need for continuous dissemination of sexual and reproductive health information; HIV prevention and treatment information; continuous HIV Counselling and Testing especially among adolescent and young people, women, and transport workers. This is because these populations fall within the high prevalence age bracket”, Owolabi said. Also speaking on the I Know My Status Project, the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Oluwatobi Ojo, noted that the intervention is an eye-opener as it revealed the agitations of some people in the communities regarding HIV testing. He also stated that there is a need for increased awareness in rural areas as knowing one’s HIV status is key to societal progress.

The UNAIDS reports that Nigeria has the second-largest HIV epidemic globally and one of the highest rates of new infections in Sub Saharan Africa.

The Nigeria HIV /AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) 2019 also states that about 1.9 million people were living with HIV in Nigeria, of which only 1.6 million people knew their status with a prevalence of HIV

NIBUCAA official attending to one of the participants during the HIV programme at Ebonyi State

among adults age 15 – 64 years was 1.4 per cent.

During the project in these states, Community Mobilisers and Corps members engaged in door-to-door sensitisation, interpersonal communications, sensitization at primary healthcare centres and the distribution of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials on Knowing One’s HIV status.

The IEC materials were

translated to Hausa, Igbo, and pidgin for community members to better understand the information passed across.

HIV Testing services were also conducted for over 700 participants across all Project states, with six reactive cases which were reported and referred to the nearest referral centre.

Condoms were also distributed to participants to encourage safe sex practices.

NIBUCAA partnered the NYSC HIV/RH CDS Group, Nigeria Security and Defense Corps (NSCDC), the Local Government Kuje Area Council, Ebonyi State Agency for the Control of AIDS (EBOSACA), Grassroots Development Foundation, Safe Motherhood Ladies Associations, Civil Society Organisations working on HIV & AIDS (CiSHAN), Edo State Agency for the Control of AIDS

Edo State Ministry of Health to ensure the implementation of the I Know My Status Project.

NiBUCAA is a coalition of over 30 leading businesses spanning all Nigerian economies’ sectors with a commitment to galvanise and coordinate private-sector efforts to end the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

NiBUCAA holds interventions at all levels within the health system and the private sector workforce.

Cancer Inclusion into NHIS would Reduce Economic Burden- Bagudu

Nosa Alekhuogie

The First Lady of Kebbi State, Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu has said that including Cancer treatment into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) would reduce the economic burden of the disease.

Buguda who made the submission while fielding questions from journalists at a virtual conference organised by an international healthcare and pharmaceutical brand, Roche in

collaboration with First Ladies Against Cancer (FLAC), said an incorporation of cancer treatment into the NHIS would offset the humongous cost of managing the disease.

She added that the cost of healthcare which has been subsidised in Nigeria would not suffice to manage the treatment of cancer and as such a reserve source of revenue would be needed to off the cost of managing the disease.

“The Nigerian society is averse to the health insurance

scheme. They are yet to key into the system that can help reduce the cost of healthcare.

“The average cost of managing the disease is N600,000 per treatment of six cycles. You need to have a pool of resources that the hospital can use to start off the treatment.

“We have to incorporate cancer care into the health insurance scheme as a way to encompass the cost of managing the disease”, she said.

The Country Manager for

Roche in Nigeria, Dr. Ladi Hameed said the cost of the ailment which ranges from a few hundreds of thousands to millions is dependent on the particular stage of the disease and the event aims to walk clients through their journey, create awareness about the National Cancer Control Plan which needs support, demystify the disease, educate the public on modern cancer care and point members of the public to right procedures and inform the public to access

treatment.

“If a patient is able to detect early, the treatment would be much more cheaper which would be around hundreds of thousands unlike when it has gotten to more complicated stages.

“We hope to walk with the patient through his/her journey and make treatment of cancer as easy as possible. We want patients to know where to go when they are being diagnosed to get specific treatments because cancer is not a one size fits all

ailment. Several kind of cancer requires different methods of treatment.

“Through educative activities, we hope to bring healthcare providers up to speed with modern knowledge in cancer care, optimising the healthcare system, providing the right diagnosis so that patients do not have to go out of the country for these services. At the end of the day, we can turn what is known as a terminal disease to a chronic disease”, he said.

UNFPA Launches TEXT4LIFE APP to Provide Essential Healthcare Services Women and girls, adolescents and young people face several difficulties accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) as well as Gender Based Violence (GBV) services in the country.

Thus, there is a dire need to improve and expand these services following their vulnerability amidst COVID-19

pandemic in tandem with the activities of the “Engaging with Civil Society Organisations to reduce the impact of COVID-19” project funded by the One UN Basket Fund.

As part of measures to enhance access to life-saving healthcare information and essential health services, UNFPA Nigeria today

launched the TEXT4LIFE virtual app and the Youth COVID-19 Handout- “Adapting to the new Normal” The UNFPA Text4Life service is a phone-based innovative message service system that is designed to establish real-time communication between callers, primary healthcare centres and

responders in the healthcare delivery system in Lagos, Ogun, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Akwa-Ibom, Gombe, Sokoto, Borno and the FCT. Through this two waycommunication process, TETX4LIFE technology will also support the reporting of suspected cases of COVID-19

infection, Gender Based Violence (GB) incidents and other Sexual and Reproductive Health Problems for prompt and professional clinical intervention and management.

To ensure unhindered access and minimal downtime, another feature of the system is an uninterrupted power supply

source, supported by a central database server.

The app is available on a USSD platform and each session is unique, identifiable and programmable. TEXT4LIFE services are compatible on feature phones as well as the most complicated of smartphones without any data compromise.

37

T H I S D AY ˾ , JUNE 3, 2021

NEWS

29,472 Nigerians Die of Tobacco Related Diseases Annually, Says FG Onyebuchi Ezigbo ÓØ ÌßÔË Federal government has said findings from a study conducted by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa showed that 29,472 deaths in Nigeria were attributable to smoking.

It said another research findings from the 2012 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) showed that 5.6 percent (4.5 million) Nigerians 15 years and older, currently use tobacco products of which 3.9 per cent (3.1 million) are smokers.

Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who stated this at a press conference to mark the 2021 world “No Tobacco” Day’ last Monday, noted that Nigeria has signed and ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004 and 2005.

“In Nigeria, findings from the 2012 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) show that 5.6 per cent (4.5 million) Nigerians 15 years and older, currently use tobacco products of which 3.9 per cent (3.1 million) are smokers.

“The GATS result further shows that 45.4 per cent of the smokers had attempted to quit in the past 12 months prior to

the survey, of which 61.1 per cent attempted to do so without any assistance while 15 per cent tried counseling and 5.2 per cent tried pharmacotherapy.

“The death toll from tobacco is high in Nigeria, as the Tobacco Atlas of 2018 reports estimates of more than 16,100 deaths from tobacco-related diseases every year.

“Another research finding published in 2021 by the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa showed that 29,472 deaths in Nigeria were attributable to smoking,” he said.

Ehanire also said that in furtherance of the WHO FCTC, Nigeria enacted the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and the National Tobacco Control Regulations 2019.

He said the ministry is working with the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, to further review the tax.

According to the minister, the theme for the 2021 “World No Tobacco Day”: “Commit to Quit” came at a good time, when the global community is battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said evidence has shown that tobacco users and those with

Dr. Enahire

underlying Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.

According to him, assisting people to quit tobacco use will therefore improve COVID-19

treatment outcomes.

The minister said the offer of support to quit tobacco use is one of the best-buys in tobacco control measures, known as the MPOWER.

While M represents Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies; P represents Protect people from exposure to tobacco smoke; O represents Offer help to quit tobacco use by tobacco cessation services; W represents Warn people about the dangers of tobacco use; E means Enforce full ban on advertising, promotion & sponsorship; and R means Raise excise taxes on tobacco products.

Ehanire further said the Federal Ministry of Health is committed to supporting people to quit tobacco use, adding that.in 2019, the Ministry, in collaboration with WHO and the European Respiratory Society, piloted tobacco cessation services in some healthcare facilities in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

“We intend to scale this up to other parts of Nigeria, in the near future, so that more tobacco users can have access to cessation services.

This year’s “World No Tobacco Day” offers opportunities to expand our frontiers in tobacco cessation services. “ In the meeting, the minister noted that quitting tobacco

is beneficial because “within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure would drop. Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

“Within two to 12 weeks, your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

Within 19 months, coughing and shortness of breath decreases.

“One year after, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker. Five to 15 years after quitting, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker.

“10 years after, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.

‘15 years after, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a non-smoker. Quitting smoking also decreases the risk of many diseases related to second-hand smoke, even in children, such as ear infection, and respiratory diseases like asthma.

“It may also reduce the risk of impotence, difficulty in getting pregnant, premature births, babies with low birth weights and miscarriage,” he said.

Imo Community Leaders Resolve to Eliminate Female Genital Mutilation, Laud UNICEF Amby Uneze ÓØ áÏÜÜÓ To save girls and women from extreme pains and discomfort due to female genital mutilation (FGM), the Community leaders of Isu and Njaba local government areas of Imo State, have come together and resolved to eliminate age long cultural practice identifies as harmful to their wellbeing in their families, kindred, villages and communities and local governments.

The people unanimously passed the resolution during a two-day sensitization tagged “Local Government Community Dialogue Forum with Community Leaders for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation”, held separately at Umundugba, and Nnenassa headquarters of Isu and Njaba local government councils organized by National Orientation Agency (NOA) in conjunction with the United Na-

tions Chldrens’ Fund (UNICEF).

The spokespersons for Isu and Njaba Presidents-General, Prince Jineme, who represents Umundugba community and the Woman Leader of Ibeneme Community, Mrs. Kelechi Aguegbulam agreed to carry the sensitization to all the nooks and crannies of their areas for properly dissemination of the message.

The leaders also agreed to enlighten their people of the dangers of female genital circumcision and the need to eliminate the practice which they said is inimical, to ensure that reports on FGM are adequately sent to the appropriate authority for immediate action, to mobilize security personnel to apprehend and sanction defaulters, build an effective communication channel, just as women should ensue to talk to their fellow women especially at gatherings, festivals

or events to keep them abreast of FGM negative effects and off course abstain from its practice.

Contributing, PresidentsGeneral and Woman Leader of Isuobishi, Oboro Amurie, Ibeoma Ekwe and Amurie Omenze communities, Chief Ejiofor Cosmos Chinyere, Comrade Eddy Iwuji, Paulinus. O. Ihezuruike and Mrs. Ike Basilia, reiterated their consensus to outlaw female genital mutilation with a view to saving their females from agony.

According to them, “let awareness against female genital mutilation be intensified among women in the hinterlands and this should be done during festivals or events, in churches and markets. Nurses who hack females in the name of circumcision are non- certified nurses who are not properly trained to carry out any medical duty. UNICEF, NOA and other relevant agencies are doing well in their advocacy

on the elimination of FGM and other harmful traditional practices in Imo communities, villages and families especially at the remote areas”.

Reminding the people of the prevalence of FGM in Isu local government area hence the enlightenment program sponsored by UNICEF, Vitus Ekeocha, State Director, National Orientation Agency, charged the people to entirely reject the practice of FGM as promised in order to allow their women deliver easily, as well as enjoy their marriage and their children.

Ekeocha pointed out that “FGM has no benefit to girls and women. So, allow your females to be as God created them. FGM is an obnoxious cultural practice. Hence we earlier met traditional rulers of Isu and Njaba local government areas who promised to talk to

their subjects of the importance of ending the scourge. We are happy to see all the leaders of the 16 communities in Isu and 21 communities in Njaba come to terms with UNICEF to abrogate female genital mutilation”.

Affirming that the awareness program mainly sponsored by the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) is an avenue for people and victims of FGM to pour out their grievances, pains and experiences, UNICEF representative, Chigozie Orjiaku, stressed that the advocacy increases the “knowledge of community leaders in prevention and response to violence against children and violence against women and girls”, advising the people not to mutilate any part of the female organ either by application of hot- water, ointment, massaging, pressing or cutting.

In his remarks, the chairman

of Njaba local government traditional council, Eze Anthony Ndubueze Onyeka, said his office would ensure that all relevant stakeholders key into the policy of the state toward the complete eradication of FMG, which had over the years become a source of pain to girls and women in the state.

Recall that FGM is one of the most harmful prevailing practices known to human race since the end of the era of human practices like human sacrifice, killing of twins and slavery.

NOA with support of UNICEF is working with Federal and State governments, especially in the southern states where the practice is most prevalent, training partners, creating awareness at all levels and working with communities to convince practitioners and community members to promote an end to the practice.

Foundation Takes Medical Outreach to Somolu against Non-communicable Diseases Rebecca Ejifoma Non-governmental Organisations like Health Proactivists Initiative (HPI) have continued to canvass healthy living and fight against non-communicable diseases through medical outreaches and sensitisation in low-income communities in Nigeria, and Africa.

During its last health empowerment programme at Wright Primary Healthcare

Centre (PHC) Somolu, Lagos State, about 70 residents received free medical tests and medications.

At the outreach, the Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Marietta Imadojiemu, said one of the pillars of HPI is strengthening health systems across communities in Nigeria and Africa.

And with the recent community checkup project, HPI and its team saw the need for

increased knowledge, tools, and medications to keep the residents healthy.

According to Imadojiemu, tests carried out were hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and visual acuity. “We plan to reach five communities, and screen 1,500 adults this year.”

Earlier, HPI met with some of the leaders of the community, trained some staff of the PHC, and enlightened the health workers on symptoms

that necessitates immediate referral to a secondary or tertiary facility where specialist care for NCDs exists.

“We do follow up that must trigger immediate referral to secondary care, ways we can collaboratively and sustainably fight NCDs in the community like encouraging registration for a health insurance scheme among residents within the community,” Imadojiemu listed.

HPI further donated items like sphygmomanometer, glucometer, a pack of test strips, antihypertensive medications, oral hypoglycemic drugs, and ancillary medications like antimalarials.

Others include notebooks for people living with hypertension and diabetes to record their numbers for effective follow up.

Now, a volunteer and

Nutritionist, Uju Onuorah, encouraged residents, especially the elderly, to consume more fruits for healthy living.

She implored them to embrace homemade juice more than carbonated drinks.

“You can match watermelon for your juice or orange or other fruits. Don’t forget to consume more water, too.

It aids digestion and helps the system.”

Children’s Day: NACA Advocates Prevention of Mother to Child HIV Transmission Ayodeji Ake Amid Children’s day celebration, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has urged for increased promotion and awareness for improvement of children’s welfare, especially children living with Human Immunodeficiency

Virus (HIV) and their families.

According to the Director General, NACA, Dr Gambo Aliyu, Nigeria still accounts for a significant proportion of children living with HIV infection globally.

“This burden is due to the lack of utilisation of the Prevention of Mother

to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services by pregnant mothers.

“Even though there has been progress in antiretroviral coverage for pregnant women living with HIV, transmission of HIV infection from infected mother to child remains high, estimated no of 9,999 pregnant women

tested positive in 2020 out of 2,504,678 pregnant mothers tested for HIV” he said.

To reduce the growing transmission of HIV from mother to child, he said NACA “has been working with partners to scale-up services for HIV prevention, care and support.

“In 2020, Nigeria successfully increased Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) services to over 6,000 sites with 37,111 pregnant women receiving antiretroviral treatment.

“Despite this progress, a lot more needs to be done to stop children from getting infected with HIV so that a

HIV-free generation is made possible.

“As we celebrate with our children, please join us and help us win the fight against HIV in children by encouraging pregnant mothers to get tested for HIV to protect their unborn children. No child should be born with HIV in Nigeria.”

38

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱ˜ 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Nigerian Breweries to Empower MSMEs in New Initiatives Raheem Akingbolu Nigerian Breweries have announced plans to support artisans and micro, small and medium scale enterprises through its Goldberg Isedowo and Life Progress Booster initiatives.

The 2021 Life Progress Booster initiative was inaugurated recently, while Isedowo’s project is set to launch this weekend.

The empowerment platforms have impacted nearly 1,000 businesses and artisans with grants of N200,000.

Launched in 2015, Life Progress Booster focuses on rewarding enterprising minds with the sum of 200,000 naira to help them implement ideas that will scale their business operations. Since inception, the CSR project has supported at

least 600 businesses, mostly in the south of Nigeria.

The Isedowo initiative on the other hand has been focused on supporting Goldberg’s consumers in the informal sector since 2017, building relationships with informal trade associations to ensure it is able to reach more artisans and support their craft.

Beyond its empowerment goal, it has also become a seal of approval and encouragement for hard work among the average south-westerner in Nigeria.

Commenting on the impact of the campaigns over the years, Portfolio Manager, Mainstream Portfolio, Nigerian Breweries, Kehinde Kadiri, said it was a delight to watch the Life Progress Booster campaign grow and help many businesses in the southern part of Nigeria scale and achieve some sustainability.

She added that, “these projects are important considering the economic issues and rising rate of unemployment in the country, as they are the best reminders that hard work always pays.”

Life Progress Booster is expected to cover Rivers, Delta and Edo states, in addition to the five states of the south-east, while Goldberg’s Isedowo will go through Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Lagos and Ekiti states.

In the last four years, Goldberg has awarded at least N3 million to 100 artisans, mostly within rural communities in the target states that it has reached, also celebrating their successes with exciting large scale experiential events.

At the Progress Booster activation events, consumers can submit their business plans as entries to win N200, 000.

NECARewards Companies Chris Uba Some Nigerian companies in various sectors of the economy were recently rewarded for their contributions to the economic development of the country at the median Annual Employers Excellence Awards organised by the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

Among the awardees were Dangote Fertilizer/Projects, MTN Nigeria Limited, British American Tobacco Nigeria Limited, Capital Hotels Plc, Cititrust Holdings Plc, Techspecialist Consulting Limited and Frieslandcanpina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. Others included Netcodietsmann Company Limited, TGI Group ABC Transport Plc, AMECO Industries, Fidson Healthcare Plc, Ashaka

Securities Co Limited.

These companies were 100 employers that participated in the competition.

They were rewarded based on their performance on leadership and governance; innovation, productivity and corporate performance; effective, human resources management and industrial relations; responsible business conduct; inclusiveness and diversity; technological optimization and occupational health and safety.

In his welcome address at the occasion, President of NECA, Taiwo Adeniyi, said, “This is the first edition of the awards, whose major objective among others is to reward and celebrate the doggedness and resilience of organised businesses in Nigeria.

“As the Voice of Business and the most representative Business Membership Organisation in Nigeria, there is no better organisation positioned to organise an Employers’ Award.”

Adeniyi added: “As you are well aware, Nigerian enterprises are arguably the most dogged and resilient in the world despite the myriads of challenges besetting the operating environment; Nigerian businesses have continued to exhibit resilience and fortitude.”

According to him, “while some have buckled under the excruciating local and global operating pressure of unfavourable circumstances; and others relocated in the quest for survival, most organisations have continued to trudge along amidst the prevailing turbulence.

Polaris Highlights Benefits of New Digital Bank Polaris Bank has restated that its newly-launched digital banking platform, VULTe, is a quick self-service innovation aimed at delivering greater value and benefits to existing and new customers of the bank.

The Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of Polaris Bank, Dele Adeyinka, while highlighting the unique features and benefits of VULTe, in a statement, was quoted to have said that, “VULTe is a convenient, easy and quick self-service digital solution, which allows users (new and existing) access to a range of banking services hard to get elsewhere.”

The services, according to him, include; account opening and Wallet (NGN and USD), airtime and data Top-up; fund account;

funds transfer; bills payment; pay day loan; lifestyle and events (Discover); Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and Branch/ Agent locator. Others are; viewing of transactions history, generation of bank statements, profile settings like hide/show balance, hide/ show accounts, forgot user ID/ password, reset PIN etcetera, and banking services such as limit increase, request card/cheque book, block account/card, etc.

Adeyinka said, “VULTe is built as a platform where value providers and value consumers align with payment as a fundamental medium of exchange.”

VULTe, the CDO added, “is a new, more stable and robust platform that offers higher availability and transaction success

rate for users, and is a fully homegrown digital solution developed internally by Polaris Bank’s Digital Banking and Information Technology Teams.

“It is Omni-channel; it is accessible with same credentials and consistent user experience on both web and mobile platforms.

It is more flexible and scalable, and guarantees better user experience because it offers seamless onboarding and usage.

It is 100 per cent self-service, hence customers do not have to visit any branch of Polaris Bank before they can onboard unto the platform - either to register - or perform an account opening task.

VULTe is the go-to for those that require instant access to loans,’’ the CDO stated.

NIMN Confers Fellowship Award on Olufowora, Others The National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN) has conferred its highest professional honours on the Chief Executive Officer of Brand I Communications Limited, Tunde Olufowora, as part of the institute’s annual congressional activities.

Olufowora was inducted alongside 26 other persons who have distinguished themselves in the field of marketing, while the institute admitted one person as Honorary Member into its Body of Fellows at the 2021 edition of Conferment of Fellowship Award

and Dinner in Lagos.

Olufowora, an accomplished communications and marketing expert with over 29 years cognate experience spanning Media, Public Relations and Marketing has worked with major and flagship brands in Nigeria including The Guardian, THISDAY and FCMB, pioneering a number of initiatives that have strongly positioned and distinguished the brands in the market.

He was the Head of Corporate Communications of FCMB for a period 16 years (1997-2013)

within which period he had responsibilities for managing all the marketing communications activities of the bank.

Before joining FCMB in 2013, Olufowora had worked with The Guardian and THISDAY (two leading flagship newspapers in Nigeria). “A renowned, seasoned and accomplished journalist, Tunde Olufowora pioneered (in 1993) the most famous “Appointment” page, which today remains the largest income stream for The Guardian Newspaper.

Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Maryam Katagum

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ͯ ͰͮͰͯ

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $69.01 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $68.53 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

39

T H I S D AY ˾ ͱ˜ 2021

Conoil Grows Profit Before Tax by 63% to N627m in Three Months Goddy Egene Conoil Plc has reported an increase of 62.8 per cent in its profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2021.

Details of the unaudited results made available yesterday showed that the petroleum products marketing firm, adopted cost reduction strategies to record higher bottom-line despite a

decline in revenue.

The results showed that Conoil posted a revenue of N33.091 billion in 2021, compared with N38.144 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.The company reduced its distribution cost from N538 million to N436 million, while administrative expenses declined from N1.628 billion to N1.285 billion.

Consequently, PBT jumped by 62.8 per cent from N382.915 million in 2020 to N623.428 mil-

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

lion, just as PAT rose by same margin from N260.382 million to N423.931 million in 2021.

Market analysts said this was a good start for the year by Conoil Plc, which points to a bountiful harvest for shareholders at the end of the year. The Chairman of Conoil Plc, Mike Adenuga (Jr.) had promised the shareholders of better execution of value-added products and services especially in the areas of marketing and growing the bottom-line.

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

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

According to Adenuga, the company had set an ambitious growth strategy for the next five years, driven by innovation and market penetration.

“Thus far, significant investments have been made in strengthening the company’s retail network and important progress recorded on all fronts for the benefit of all stakeholders,” the chairman said.

“We are proud of the attainments of the management. It

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

was a challenging year with impressive results,” he added.

Adenuga noted that there has been a consistent drop in interest expense since 2017, and further assured the shareholders that the company would consolidate on its achievements to deliver a strong and sustainable performance that enhance juicy returns on their investment. He said the company had strategically positioned its business to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the

O F

downstream oil sector.

Meanwhile, the stock market rebounded yesterday as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited All Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.2 per cent to close at 38,482.52, while market capitalisation added N35.5 billion to be at N20.1 trillion. Trading activity weakened as volume and value traded fell by 42.9 per cent and 49.5 per cent to 156.9 million shares and N1.3 billion respectively.

0 2 / 0 6 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

40

˾ THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

Thursday, June 3, 2021 Thisday Afrinvest 40 Index Fell 7bps The dŚŝƐĚĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ůŽƐƚ ϳďƉƐ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

ϭ͕ϲϵϭ͘ϱϰ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ dŚŝƐ ǁĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĚĞƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ WAPCO (-2.9%), ACCESS (-0.6%), and DANGSUAGR (-0.3%).

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

dŚĞƐĞ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϲ͘ϵй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘

>ŽĐĂů ŽƵƌƐĞ ůŽƐĞƐ WŽƐŝƟǀĞ͘​͘​͘ ^/ ƵƉ Ϭ͘Ϯй

Ticker

Current Price

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,691.54

-0.07%

837.00

0.0%

32.4%

74.00

0.0%

11.3%

28.40

0.0%

8.6%

Buying interest in DANGCEM (+1.4%), ZENITH (+0.4%) and

1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 BUA Cement Plc

UBA (+0.7%) buoyed market performance as the All-Share

3 Guaranty Trust Bank PLC 4 Zenith Bank PLC

index rose 0.2% to close at 38,482.52 points. Consequently, YTD loss improved to -4.4% ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ŝŶͲ

Price Previous Change Current Price YTD Weighting Change

5 Dangote Cement PLC 6 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC

Price Change Index to Date

ROE

ROA

P/E

5.2x

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

15.2%

69.2%

15.4%

3.6%

-1.7%

-1.7%

10.0%

3.5%

0.6x

5.7%

13.7%

-4.3%

-4.3%

19.1%

11.2%

35.5x

6.7x

2.4%

2.8%

-12.2%

-12.2%

26.6%

4.3%

4.1x

1.0x

10.6%

24.4% 32.3%

2.1%

22.95

0.4%

6.5%

-7.5%

-7.5%

23.1%

2.9%

3.1x

0.7x

13.1%

215.50

1.4%

5.6%

-12.0%

-12.0%

32.0%

15.5%

12.1x

3.8x

7.5%

8.3%

162.50

0.0%

4.9%

-4.4%

-4.4%

97.1%

11.4%

14.5x

13.1x

5.8%

6.9% 3.5%

1,400.00

0.0%

3.9%

-7.0%

-7.0%

104.8%

17.8%

28.3x

37.9x

4.3%

20.40

-2.9%

3.4%

-3.1%

-3.1%

8.8%

6.2%

10.3x

0.9x

4.9%

9.7%

8.15

-0.6%

2.9%

-3.6%

-3.6%

16.4%

1.4%

2.5x

0.4x

9.8%

40.4%

7.20

0.7%

2.4%

-16.8%

-16.8%

0.3x

7.2%

7.20

0.0%

2.6%

0.7%

0.7%

11.1%

1.1%

3.8x

0.3x

6.3%

58.50

0.0%

2.3%

4.5%

4.5%

4.5%

1.8%

63.4x

2.9x

1.6%

1.6%

traded stocks by volume were JAPAULGO (20.0m units), 14 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

13

46.00

0.0%

2.2%

4.4%

4.4%

20.7%

2.9%

7.0x

1.4x

8.7%

14.3%

5.35

0.0%

1.5%

-10.1%

-10.1%

-15.5%

-3.4%

FBNH (12.2m units), and TRANSCORP (11.8m units) while

International Brew eries PLC 15 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 16 SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

28.20

0.0%

1.2%

8.5%

8.5%

680.00

0.0%

1.8%

69.0%

69.0%

creased ďLJ േϯϱ͘ϱďŶ ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ േϮϬ͘ϭƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ weakened as volume and value traded fell by 42.9% and

8 Lafarge Africa PLC 9 Access Bank PLC 10 United Bank for Africa PLC 11 FBN Holdings Plc

49.5% to 156.9m ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϭ͘ϯďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ 12 Nigerian Brew eries PLC

SEPLAT

;േϯϮϬ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ZENITH

;േϭϮϭ͘ϮŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ UACN 17 11 PLC

0.0%

18 Okomu Oil Palm PLC 19 Fidelity Bank PLC

;േϭϭϴ͘ϵŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘

20 Ecobank Transnational Inc 21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 22 FCMB Group Plc 23 Sterling Bank PLC

Mixed Sector Performance

24 NASCON Allied Industries PLC

Across sectors under our coverage, performance was mixed 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria as 3 ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ĂŶĚ ϯ ůŽƐƚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶͲ

26 Presco PLC 27 Unilever Nigeria PLC

ers, up 0.8% due to buying interest in WAPIC (+3.5%) and 28 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC NEM ;нϮ͘ϰйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ

29 United Capital PLC 30 Guinness Nigeria PLC 31

ing ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƌŽƐĞ Ϭ͘ϱй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͕ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŝĐĞ 32 Custodian and Allied Insurance AIICO Insurance PLC

ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ in DANGCEM (+1.4%) and ZENITH (+0.4%). 33 Total Nigeria PLC Conversely, the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas and AFR-ICT indices ĨĞůů ϭϲďƉƐ͕ ϱďƉƐ ĂŶĚ ϭďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ

34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Wema Bank PLC

of sell-ŽīƐ in DANGSUGAR (-0.3%), OANDO (-0.7%) and 38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 39 Beta Glass PLC 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

CWG (-9.7%).

;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϴdž ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϭdž ŝŶ ƚŚĞ last trading session as 15 stocks advanced while 20

declined.

UPL

(+9.4%),

REGALINS

(+8.2%)

and VERITASKAP (+5.0%) led gainers while CWG (-9.7%), IKEJAHOTEL (-9.1%) and NASCON (-8.8%) led decliners. We

2.5%

0.0%

0.9%

6.0%

6.0%

24.6%

16.0%

11.7x

2.7x

7.3%

8.5%

-0.4%

0.7%

-11.9%

-11.9%

11.4%

1.1%

2.2x

0.2x

9.9%

45.2%

14.3%

5.00

-2.9%

0.6%

-16.7%

-16.7%

0.6%

0.0%

66.6x

0.2x

17.00

-0.3%

0.6%

-3.4%

-3.4%

25.5%

12.6%

7.0x

1.7x

8.8%

3.06

-2.9%

0.5%

-8.1%

-8.1%

4.9%

30.1%

1.66

0.0%

0.3%

-18.6%

-18.6%

9.2%

0.9%

4.1x

0.4x

3.0%

24.4%

13.50

-8.8%

0.4%

-6.9%

-6.9%

18.4%

5.8%

7.8x

2.9x

3.0%

12.8%

0.88

0.0%

0.4%

-2.2%

-2.2%

-1.3%

-0.3%

0.5x

1.1%

-2.4%

75.90

0.0%

0.3%

7.0%

7.0%

17.9%

7.3%

2.4x

2.7%

11.90

0.8%

0.2%

-14.4%

-14.4%

-6.2%

-4.1%

5.50

0.0%

0.2%

3.8%

3.8%

5.90

-0.8%

0.3%

25.3%

25.3%

35.5%

4.2%

29.00

0.0%

0.3%

52.6%

52.6%

-17.8%

-9.0%

6.05

0.0%

0.2%

3.4%

3.4%

25.0%

7.8%

3.1x

0.7x

1.19

0.0%

0.2%

5.3%

5.3%

20.5%

3.3%

3.3x

0.2x

1.5%

3.3x

14.4x

1.1x

4.5x

6.9% -5.8%

#N/A N/A

1.8%

1.4x

11.9%

0.9x

22.2% -22.4%

9.1%

32.4% 30.6%

145.00

0.0%

0.2%

11.5%

11.5%

21.9x

#N/A N/A

4.3%

4.6%

19.00

0.0%

0.2%

7.8%

7.8%

8.3%

1.1%

8.3x

0.6x

2.1%

12.0%

-14.5%

1.7%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

2.98

-0.7%

0.1%

62.50

0.0%

54.00 3.57

-14.5%

8.0%

0.5%

3.1x

0.4x

6.8%

32.8%

-100.0%

7.4%

0.9%

6.8x

0.7x

4.3%

14.8%

-19.5%

-19.5%

14.5%

2.6%

1.3x

0.2x

77.9%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-28.7%

-7.6%

1.9x

-16.8%

0.0%

0.1%

-2.5%

-2.5%

9.3%

6.4%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.8%

-0.8%

-10.6%

-5.5%

7.8x

0.7x

2.1%

0.6x

12.9% -22.5%

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

P ric e C hg %

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

1.40

9.4%

J A P A ULGOLD

19.9

-4.8%

R EGA LIN S

0.53

8.2%

FB NH

12.2

0.0%

VER IT A SKA P

0.21

5.0%

T R A N SC OR P

11.8

0.0%

C H IP LC

0.75

4.2%

UA C N

10.8

0.0%

R OYA LEX

0.80

3.9%

F ID ELIT YB K

9.8

-0.4%

WA P IC

0.60

3.4%

SOVR EN IN S

7.9

3.4%

SOVR EN IN S

0.30

3.4%

WA P IC

5.7

3.4%

1.16

2.7%

Z EN IT H B A N K

5.3

0.4%

N EM

2.12

2.4%

UC A P

5.0

-0.8%

WEM A B A N K

0.59

1.7%

FCM B

4.4

-2.9%

H ON YF LOUR

T ic k er

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

T o p 10 L o s e r s T ic k er C WG IKEJ A H OT EL N A SC ON

Afrinvest West Africa Limited

6.0%

P ric e

ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ƚŽ ĞdžƚĞŶĚ ŝƚƐ ƐŽŌ ŐĂŝŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞdžƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ͕ ĂŵŝĚ ďĂƌŐĂŝŶ ŚƵŶƟŶŐ ŽŶ ƐŽŵĞ ůĂƌŐĞ-cap stocks.

0.6x

UP L

T ic k er

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ as measured by market breadth

39.9x

5.0%

2.22

T o p 10 G a i n e r s

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĞĂŬĞŶƐ

0.9% 3.2%

-8.8%

0.7x

96.50

0.59

36 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 37 Oando PLC

1.6% 7.4%

0.9x

26.1%

P ric e 1.87

P ric e C hg % -9.7%

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

SEP LA T

320.0

0.0%

1.00

-9.1%

Z EN IT H B A N K

121.2

0.4%

13.50

-8.8%

UA C N

118.9

0.0%

J OH N H OLT

0.53

-8.6%

D A N GC EM

116.6

1.4%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.55

-8.3%

GUA R A N T Y

100.9

0.0%

LEA R N A F R C A

1.00

-7.4%

FB NH

87.9

0.0%

J A P A ULGOLD

0.59

-4.8%

WA P C O

55.3

-2.9%

F ID SON

5.10

-3.4%

OKOM UOIL

43.0

0.0%

36.4

0.0%

29.7

-0.8%

ET I

5.00

-2.9%

ST A N B IC

FCM B

3.06

-2.9%

UC A P

Brokerage

Asset Management

Investment Research

Adedoyin Allen | aallen@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Abiodun Keripe | AKeripe@afrinvest.com

Taiwo Ogundipe | togundipe@afrinvest.com Christopher Omoh | comoh@afrinvest.com

41

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 01Jun-2021, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 153.60 155.13 -5.05% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 3.96% Nigeria International Debt Fund 302.99 302.99 -23.72% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 111.53 111.53 -0.51% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ACAP Income Funds N/A N/A N/A AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.21% AIICO Balanced Fund 3.25 3.31 -9.72% info@anchoriaam.com ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 3.09% Anchoria Equity Fund 124.50 125.94 -6.40% Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.05 1.05 -21.08% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund 18.91 19.48 4.27% ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 413.67 426.14 3.32% ARM Ethical Fund 37.20 38.32 10.34% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.08 1.09 -11.24% ARM Fixed Income Fund 0.00 0.00 -100.00% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.03% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund 104.42 104.42 2.66% AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 1.94 1.94 -23.95% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.00 2.04 -25.58% mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.01 1.01 1.21% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.73% Paramount Equity Fund 15.88 16.15 -0.77% Women's Investment Fund 131.89 133.26 -0.95% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 4.62% Cordros Milestone Fund 2023 115.89 116.65 Cordros Milestone Fund 2028 N/A N/A Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 106.63 106.63 CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.07% Coronation Balanced Fund 1.16 1.17 -3.48% Coronation Fixed Income Fund 1.35 1.35 -14.80% EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 2.70% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 2.56% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,159.03 1,166.66 -3.22% FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,371.58 1,371.58 10.56% FBN Balanced Fund 185.47 186.63 -1.18% FBN Halal Fund 109.64 109.64 6.45% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.19% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail 124.97 124.97 3.29% FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund 152.86 154.91 1.11% FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 3.15% Legacy Debt Fund 3.95 3.95 2.00% Legacy Equity Fund 1.56 1.59 2.30% Legacy USD Bond Fund 1.16 1.16 2.08% FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A FSDH Treasury Bills Fund N/A N/A N/A

GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Nigeria Entertainment Fund N/A N/A N/A GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gdl.com.ng Web: www.gdl.com.ng ; Tel: +234 9055691122 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn GDL Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 5.89% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.78 2.84 21.01% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 149.07 149.50 -4.08% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.22 1.26 28.79% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.09 1.09 6.10% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.37 1.39 0.69% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,139.59 1,139.59 3.18% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 10.81 10.84 3.15% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 6.31% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.64 1.66 7.26% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 12.39 12.45 2.17% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 3.48% PACAM Equity Fund 1.58 1.60 0.09% PACAM EuroBond Fund 110.83 112.41 0.79% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 126.52 128.83 6.88% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.01 1.01 2.95% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,122.53 3,147.26 -2.91% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 229.85 229.85 2.22% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.17 1.19 0.00% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 301.43 301.43 2.30% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 214.82 217.46 -1.70% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 6.51% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,123.69 10,249.20 -3.62% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.25 1.25 2.32% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 113.77 113.77 2.42% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 101.21 101.21 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.34 1.36 -2.12% United Capital Bond Fund 1.94 1.94 2.70% United Capital Equity Fund 0.89 0.91 3.16% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.89% United Capital Eurobond Fund 120.69 120.69 3.08% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.08 1.10 -0.38% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.05 1.05 5.09% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.13 12.24 2.22% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.57 13.69 11.06% Zenith Income Fund 24.09 24.09 0.48% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 4.27%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

123.46 51.40

2.25% -1.91%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

12.50 123.31 96.58

12.60 123.31 98.32

-5.44% 1.29% -2.84%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

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

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

3.68 5.56 16.80 1.00 18.69 159.50

3.72 5.64 16.90 1.00 18.89 161.50

-2.54% -2.21% 2.80% 2.11% -8.87% -27.05%

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.52

13.11%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

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

42

THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

Malami Disowns Alleged Memo to Buhari Seeking Suspension of Constitution Alex Enumah in Abuja The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of

Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) has denied link to any purported memo to President Muhammadu Buhari, urging

UNILAG Sacks Two Lecturers in Sex-for-grades Scandal Sunday Ehigiator The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has dismissed two lecturers who were indicted in a sex-for-grade scandal that rocked the institution in 2019.

The indicted lecturers, Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu and Dr. Samuel Omoniyi Oladipo, were caught on camera demanding sex from an undercover reporter acting as an admission-seeking ‘student’ in a BBC report.

Igbeneghu was a lecturer in the Department of European Languages and Integration Studies, Faculty of Arts while Oladipo lectured at the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences.

Their dismissal was contained in a circular released yesterday by the school authorities.

The statement read, “The Governing Council of the University of Lagos, at its meeting on Monday, May 31, 2021, approved the immediate dismissal of Dr. Boniface

Igbeneghu of the Department of European Languages and Integration Studies, Faculty of Arts and Dr. Samuel Omoniyi Oladipo of the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, from the services of the University.

“Council, at its meeting, considered the Report and findings of the Senate Committee set up to investigate allegations of sexual harassment levelled against them in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service Investigative Series titled AFRICA EYE (which centred on sexual harassment in tertiary institutions).

“The Council consequently decided and approved that both Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu and Dr. Samuel Omoniyi Oladipo be dismissed from the services of the University for misconduct, with effect from Monday, May 31, 2021 in line with Section 18 of the University of Lagos Act 1967.

him to suspend the Constitution of Nigeria, so as to have a free hand in dealing with the worsening insecurity in the country.

Malami in a statement by his media aide, Dr. Umar Gwandu, not only denied advising the president along such lines, but also reiterated his support for constitutional democracy.

While dismissing the entire report as false, he however urged Nigerians to ignore

the report, describing it is handiwork of enemies of democracy.

“The attention of the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has been drawn to a false and fictitious report alleging that there was a secret memo emanating from the office to the Presidency.

“General public are hereby asked to disregard the media

report as fabrications of anticonstitutional democratic stability in Nigeria.

“Malami remains a true democrat who believes in rule of law and tenant of democracy and constitutional order”, the media aide stated.

He further stressed that the office of the AGF is a constitutionally recognised one with its role and responsibilities embedded in the constitution.

The statement added that it is antithetical to common sense to think that the holder of such coveted office will stoop to what was printed by the media.

“The government does not operate in secrecy as it is not a clandestine operation.

Hence, Malami discharges his constitutionally recognised mandates in compliance with principles of transparency, openness and accountability”, the statement added.

CAMARADERIE..

L-R: Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja...yesterday

Akeredolu: I Didn’t Call for Scrapping of Senate Kukah: Those Behind Killings Haven’t Been Labelled Terrorists John Shiklam in Kaduna

Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has denied calling for the scrapping of the Senate in the review of the 1999 Constitution being undertaken by the National Assembly.

Akeredolu was on Tuesday represented by his deputy, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, at the House of Representatives’ public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution in Akure, Ondo State capital.

Akeredolu described the report quoting him as calling for the scrapping of the Senate as an “interpretative error.”

The Ondo State governor, who spoke in statement by his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Donald Ojogo, said he had, like many other well-meaning Nigerians,

identified Nigeria’s Bicameral Legislature and its full-time status as plausibly reducible weights to cut cost.

He said: “Succinctly, Governor Akeredolu’s view, which is the official position of the Ondo State Government is that, adoption of the Unicameral Legislature, and making it part-time would not only cut cost of governance but has the potentials of enhanced performance and altruistic services to Nigerians.

“Therefore, ascribing or misinterpreting this proposal to isolatedly, depict a call for the scraping of the Nigerian Senate is erroneous. The call for a part-time Unicameral Federal Parliament remains and shall be pursued with all vigour.”

Umahi Suspends another Coordinator for Dereliction of Duty Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State yesterday suspended the Coordinator of Ikwo East Development Center, Mr. Emmanuel Ejima.

The 64 Development Centres in the 13 local government areas in the state are the fourth tier of government in the state.

Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Kenneth gbala announced the suspension in a statement issued yesterday.

According to him, the suspension is indefinite and with immediate effect.

He said: “His Excellency, the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr.

Chief David Nweze Umahi, FNSE, FNATE, has approved the indefinite suspension of Mr. Emmanuel

Ekuma from office as Coordinator, Ikwo East Development Centre for negligence and dereliction of duty with immediate effect.

“Consequently, Mr. Emmanuel Ekuma has been directed to hand over all government property in his possession to Secretary to the State Government and Coordinating Commissioner before the close of work on Wednesday, 2nd June 2021.”

No reason was given for the suspension of the coordinator, it is believed that it may not be unconnected with the fresh outbreak of hostilities between a community in his domain and a neighbouring community in the Abakaliki local government area of the state.

The Catholic Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, has kicked against the refusal of the federal government to declare bandits a terrorist group.

In his homily yesterday at the burial of Rev. Fr. Alphonsus Bello, which held at Our Lady of Apostle Catholic Church Independence Way, Kaduna, the Priest also said Nigerian leaders had no

blood in their hearts.

“Those who govern us are allowing this killing of citizens in their innocency because they have no blood in their hearts,” Kukah said.

Bello was kidnapped alongside Rev. Fr. Joseph Keke and murdered by bandits on May 21, 2021, in Katsina.

Kukah argued that there was nowhere in the world where killings of human beings were so manifested as it was in Nigeria.

“There is nowhere citizens can be slaughtered in the whole world without the government showing empathy and concern.

“The continuous barbaric slaughter and murder of our people in their innocency suggests that our beautiful Presidential Villa, National Assembly, government houses, are not evidence of civilisation.

“How did Nigeria come to this tragic situation? We

know who they are, who they believe in and where their inspiration comes from.

The government has never declared the kidnappers to be a terrorist group.

“There is no ambiguity about those who are killing our people and why they are doing so and where their inspiration comes from. We hear and live with stories of complicity at the highest level.

We as Christians can only rely on the faithful word of God.

FG, Health Workers Disagree over Enhanced Hazard Allowance Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja The federal government and health sector workers have again failed to reach agreement on the percentage increase on the hazard allowance of the workers.

At the resumed negotiations between the federal government and the leadership of the professional bodies in the health sector, the government made an offer to increase the N5,000 monthly hazard allowance for all health workers by 350 per cent and 600 per cent for junior workers and senior workers, respectively.

When computed, the government offer amounted to about N17,500 monthly for junior workers and N30,000 monthly for senior workers.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige disclosed the proposed increase on Tuesday night after a meeting between the two sides held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

THISDAY, however, gathered that the health workers rejected the federal government’s proposal.

A source at the closed-door meeting told THISDAY that the health workers led by the Nigeria

Medical Association (NMA) and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) demanded for an increase of about N250,000 monthly which government refused to grant.

A statement issued by the Deputy Director/Head Press and Public Relations, in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Charles Akpan said the government side led by the Minister of State for Budget and Planning, Mr. Clem Agba, gave a counter offer to the earlier submissions made by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and affiliate associations and the Joint

Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

Ngige said the federal government has moved up from the N5000 monthly hazard allowance paid to all health workers in Nigeria, offering 350 percent and 600 percent increments for junior workers and senior workers respectively. He said, “The Government side gave them that offer based on the reality that we have on ground, that the economy is not doing very well and the capital component of the budget is actually being funded on borrowing. The earnings of the Government have also drastically gone down.

No Going Back on Increase in Fees, Kaduna Tells KASU Students John Shiklam in Kaduna The Kaduna State Government has declared that the recent increase in tuition fees of the Kaduna State University (KASU) will not be reversed.

The state Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, stated this at a meeting with the representatives of the students with senior government officials at the Government

House in Kaduna.

According to a Government House statement issued after the meeting, Balarabe said the increase, though painful but necessary, “it is the only way that the institution can stay afloat.

“We understand the pain; we are also pained but sometimes, some decisions are taken for the betterment of the generality of the people.”

She explained that the fees hike is to enable the university to be a top-ranking university, and “we want you to be proud that you went to one of the best schools.

“We want Kaduna State students to hold their heads high wherever they might be and be proud to represent the state.’’

Balarabe stated further that the state government was

spending about N5 billion on the university as the N26,000 being paid by students was not enough to pay lecturers for three months.

Also speaking during the meeting, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Malam Balarabe Lawal, pointed out that university education in the country is collapsing because of inadequate funding.

THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

43

NEWSEXTRA

Afenifere, APC Senator Differ on Constitution Review

Emma Okonji

The senator representing Bauchi North on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, has disagreed with the Pan-Yoruba Socio-Political Organisation, Afenifere, over the ongoing constitution review process.

While the leader of Afenifere,

Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has faulted the constitution review process by the National Assembly, insisting it was a waste of time and energy, Bulkachuwa said the review was a welcome development that would address the needs of all Nigerians.

The duo spoke separately last night on a national television programme

Attack Threat: Lagos CP Assures Alaba Traders of Security The Lagos State Commissioner of Police (CP), Hakeem Odumosu, has assured traders in the various markets in the state of the security of their lives and properties.

The assurance followed a viral audio, which claimed that there was a plan to attack and burn down the Alaba International Market in the Ojo LGA of the state.

In the audio, a voice was heard saying, “They want to attack Alaba International Market and burn it down… I want to warn our people in Lagos to be on the alert and very vigilant because they are coming to burn Alaba Electronics Market.”

In his reaction to the threat, Odumosu, at a meeting with

market leaders yesterday assured them of the command’s efforts in fortifying security in various markets to repel any attack.

Odumosu said, “About 72 hours ago, a footage went viral, the person in the video alleged that Alaba International Market will be attacked but because we are always proactive in Lagos, we decided within ourselves to hold a meeting with all those that work and sell in that area and by extension all the major markets in the state.

“We want them to know the preparedness of the command for any security breach that may come up and also to let them know that they should go about their lawful businesses without any fear of attack.”

Foreign Herdsmen Likely to Attack South-west, Says Amotekun “Security challenge: Holistic Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan The Chairman of the Oyo State Security Network, aka Amotekun, Gen. Kunle Togun (rtd) has raised the alarm that foreign herdsmen may likely attack the South-west region.

He advised residents of the region to be vigilant because of the presence of foreign Fulani herdsmen in the forests in the region.

Togun, who was a director at the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), said the foreigners might unleash terror on the region.

Speaking yesterday at an annual lecture organised by the students of the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, Togun noted that the Fulani, who were mainly from Mali, Niger Republic, Chad and Burkina Faso, had been residing in the forests for some years.

Togun spoke on the theme,

approach and the significance of regional security dimensions.”

“The people who are supposed to administer Nigeria to move forward are biased in the aspect of religion. The Fulani that I grew up to know were the native Fulani.

“But these ones causing problems are non-Nigerians.

They are from FutaJallon, Mali, Bourkina Faso, Chad, Niger Republic. Some of these people were Tuaregs, who used to ambush traders in the olden days and robbed them of their money and property.

“These foreign Fulani, somebody has told them that Allah has given Nigeria to them as their heritage and they are coming here to come and take what Allah has given them.”

Togun advised people in the six states of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo to be security conscious.

FAO, WFP Predict Acute Food Insecurity in Northern Nigeria Micheal Olugbode in Abuja The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have projected that about 13 million people will be victims of acute food insecurity in Northern Nigeria by August.

The alarm was contained in a 2021 report titled ‘Hunger hotspots, FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity: March to July 2021 outlook.’

The report was an early warning to 20 countries recognised as hotspots, where parts of the populations are at risk of acute food insecurity.

In Nigeria, the report highlighted issues such as an expanding revolt and inter-communal strife, which led to multiple displacements

and destruction of livelihoods, worsening the possibility of food security.

“In the conflict-affected areas of Northern Nigeria, the situation is extremely concerning given the marked deterioration of food security conditions despite the recent harvest.

“The majority of people with critical food insecurity are in Borno State, as a result of heavy humanitarian access constraints and ongoing conflict.

“Here, the localities of Abadam, Dikwa, Guzamala, Kukawa and Marte, as well as other only-partially accessible garrison towns, remain of extreme concern.

“Should the situation deteriorate further, these areas may be at risk of famine,” the report stated.

monitored by THISDAY Newspapers.

Although Adebanjo argued that the 1999 constitution, which is currently in use and under review by the National Assembly, was handed over to Nigerians by the military and should be discarded, to enable Nigerians begin the process of developing an entire new constitution, Bulkachuwa said it had never happened anywhere in the world, where an existing constitution that used by several civilian governments, would be entirely thrown out just because some minority voices called for a new constitution.

According to Adebanjo, “The 1999 Constitution that was handed over to us by the military, is fraudulent and we are rejecting it because it is not the people’s constitution and it does not represent the interest of the people. We cannot review a constitution that is not made by the people. This government must either give Nigerians the 1963 Constitution that was written by civilians for Nigerians, or allow the country to develop a new constitution because Nigerians can no longer accept the constitution that was forced on Nigerians by the military.”

He said government should call for a national conference where Nigerians would come from all walks of life to re-write the constitution that would address the needs of the people.

Bulkachuwa, who completely disagreed with the views of Adebanjo, said Afenifere members were drifting from the general belief of one Nigeria, to have faulted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that had been defended by past civilian governments.

“I think Adebanjo has lost touch with reality and Nigerians will not allow him to compel the country to descend so low

to ethnic bigotry. If Adebanjo and Afenifere think otherwise of the constitution, they can go to court to contest it. The National Assembly is doing its job by calling for review of the constitution and Nigerians should allow them to do their job. It is true that the 1999 Constitution was reviewed in the past by military governments, but that does not warrant discarding the entire constitution.

Several civilian governments have amended the constitution to meet the needs of civilians and that is the right thing to do and not to disown the entire constitution,” Bulkachuwa said.

FIFTY-SEVEN HEARTY CHEERS…

L-R: Immediate past President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Onome J. Adewuyi; Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; New President of ICAN, Mrs. Comfort Eyitayo; and a former member of National Assembly representing Ogun East, Senator Biyi Durojaiye, during the investiture of the Eyitayo as the 57th President of ICAN in Lagos...yesterday

Obaseki: Court will Decide Fate of 14 Assembly Members-elect Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has asserted that the fate of the 14 members-elect of the state House of Assembly, who did not turn up for inauguration, rests with the court.

The governor said the seats of the 14 members-elect were in December 2019 declared vacant by the Assembly led by former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Francis

Okiye, for being absent from the Assembly proceedings for the mandatory 181 days.

Obaseki, while reacting to calls to pardon the Assembly memberselect during an interactive session with stakeholders from Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other civil society groups, called for the support of all stakeholders towards achieving lasting peace and development in the state.

According to him, “Some characters said they sent congratulatory letters to me, and put it in all kinds of conditions.

“How can you tell me to forgive those 14 lawmakers-elect who are responsible for sedition and treason in Nigeria? Of course, we are going to start charges.”

“You see, what is bad is bad.

Let’s stop covering up things so that people can learn and not do it again. We have gotten support

from all of you and are very glad that your support gives us the confidence to continue to fight.

“For us as a government, we are open. There is nothing that we are hiding and this is why we have to kill anything that links us to godfatherism. We have killed it at the national level and need to kill it locally, as it is everywhere. I urge you to please be activists for good cause, peace and development.”

Niger Bans Commercial Motorcycles Laleye Dipo in Minna The Niger State Government has banned the operations of commercial motorcyclists in the state, even as the government also places restriction on the use of private motorcycles.

The government action, which came almost three months after a similar order which was not enforced was imposed, came on the heels of the abduction of

over 100 school girls from the Salihu Tanko Islamiyya School in Tegina Rafi Local Government Area and the increasing activities of bandits who use motorcycles for their operations in several parts of the state.

The state government said private motorcycles would only be allowed to operate between 6a.m. and 9p.m. daily effectively from today.

Giving an update on

government efforts to secure the release of the abducted girls in Minna yesterday during which the ban was announced, the state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, said measures “are being put in place for the safe release of the abductees,” adding that “efforts are also being made to identify the bandits.

“Niger State Government is negotiating the release of the abductees, and we are

confident that in no distant time, the children will be united with their parents.

“The government is in touch with some of the parents of the kidnapped children; they have been assured of the safe return of their wards.”

He appealed to all residents in the state to come forward with useful information on the activities of bandits in their areas to the nearest security agency.

Ondo Police Parade 12 Suspects for Alleged Robbery, Stealing, Others James Sowole in Akure The Ondo State Police Command yesterday paraded 12 suspects arrested for alleged robbery, stealing and defilement.

The suspects were paraded at the headquarters of the police command in Akure, the state capital, by the state Police Commissioner, Mr. Salami Bolaji.

According to Salami, three of the seven robbery suspects, Usman Yakubu, Micheal Ali and Monday Etim, have

confessed to have taken part in conspiracy and armed robbery on May 6, 2021, at Ogbese, adding that other robbery suspects paraded are Jide Adewale, Olaniyi Timothy Alonge Gbolahan and Oghonevo Godwin.

Bolaji said while Jide Adewale was arrested for robbing Rano Petrol Station in Akure, Godwin of No 24 Ogbomo Street, Warri, Delta State, was arrested with a stolen Honda SUV with registration no: ABA 841 TG, in Akure, just as Gbolahan

and Timothy were arrested after carrying out an operation in Akure.

The commissioner also disclosed that the police command arrested three persons for allegedly stealing power-generating sets.

He explained that 26 power-generating sets were also recovered after the arrest of the trio of Ooeyemi Tosin, Thankgod James and Sadiq Segun.

Bolaji said Tosin confessed to be a serial burglar, while he issued buyers of his loot

with fake receipts.

The police commissioner said Kelvin Abugu, 35, was arrested for allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl.

The suspect, who confessed to the crime during interview, blamed the devil for his action.

The state police boss, who said there were some other suspects in the custody of the command, appealed to the governments of various states to negotiate with the judiciary workers so that the suspects can be charged to court.

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Senate Passes Bill Abolishing HND, BSc Dichotomy Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The passage of the bill was sequel to the consideration of a report by the Joint Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, and Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND. Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Ibrahim

Ketron Investment Completes Acquisition of Shoprite

Shekarau, while presenting the report said, “the enactment of the bill to abolish and prohibit discrimination between First Degrees and Higher National Diploma for the purpose of employment in Nigeria will no doubt free holders of HND from stagnation and ensure balanced treatment with their counterparts from other higher tertiary institutions in Nigeria.”

According to him, the abolishment of the existing

Ketron Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Persianas Investment Limited, has completed the acquisition of Shoprite operations in Nigeria.

Persianas, a property firm and developer of the popular The Palms, is owned by Tayo Amusan.

Last year, Africa’s largest food retailer informed investors of a potential divestment of its business in Nigeria, while Amusan’s Persianas became the preferred bidder for the Shoprite stake among three bidders.

TheCable yesterday, quoted the Chairman, Ketron Investment Limited, Tayo Amusan, to have said the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission had approved a change of ownership.

“We are thrilled to complete the acquisition of Shoprite,

INTER-AGENCY COLLABORATION…

The Senate yesterday passed a bill that prohibits employers in the country from discriminating between first degree and Higher National Diploma (HND) holders.

ensuring the continued operations of one of the biggest retail success stories in Nigeria,” he said.

“We look forward to building an even stronger company following our acquisition and are excited about the greater impact we will achieve to the benefit of our customers and other stakeholders now and well into the future.”

Shoprite currently has 25 outlets in eight states across Nigeria. The subsidiary had been impacted mainly by import restrictions, forex fluctuations.

In its year 2020 financial statement, Chief Executive Officer of Shoprite Holdings, Pieter Engelbrecht said currency devaluations eroded much of its efforts to push sales growth high.

In February 2021, Shoprite holdings closed its Kenyan stores.

Bill Gates Pledges Extra $50m for COVID-19 Vaccines for Nigeria, Others The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced a $50 million commitment to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

The pledge will support COVID-19 vaccine purchase through Gavi’s COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) as well as delivery of these vaccines to Nigeria and 91 lower-income countries.

The announcement builds on $156 million in previous commitments by the foundation to the COVAX AMC. The foundation’s total commitment to the COVID-19 response is now more than $1.8 billion.

The pledge was announced at Gavi’s COVAX AMC Summit, an event co-hosted by the government of Japan and Gavi that gathered world leaders, the private sector, civil society, and technical partners to build support to procure COVID-19 vaccines and equitably distribute them to lower-income countries.

“The world must urgently come

together to expand equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, or we risk more deaths and the emergence of new variants that could prolong the pandemic for everyone,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Thanks to today’s contributions, especially Japan’s generous pledge and its leadership in global health, we’ve taken an important step towards that goal. This summit is a powerful example of what can be achieved when we act collectively to control the pandemic and save lives.”

The foundation urged highincome countries to share at least 1 billion excess COVID-19 vaccines with lower-income countries as soon as possible.

High-income countries have reserved more COVID-19 vaccines than they need, and thus can be part of a critical effort to accelerate global vaccine access by sharing excess doses, without compromising their own vaccination efforts.

Anambra: Soludo, Seven Others Jostle for APGA Guber Ticket Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja As the race for the November 6 Anambra State governorship election gets intense, eight aspirants have bought their nomination forms to contest in the primary elections on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

Three of the aspirants are serving members of the state House of Assembly.

The eight APGA aspirants who have collected the nomination forms so far are: former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo; Hon.

Chukwuma Umeoji, Hon. Carter Umeh, Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, Chief Damian Okoro, Chief Akachukwu Nwankpo.

Others are Hon. Okwudili Nwankwo, and Hon. ThankGod Kenechukwu Ibeh.

So far, the party has raked in about N176 million from the sale of nomination forms.

Soludo, who is a major contender in the state governorship election came to the party’s national headquarters to pick his form last Tuesday with a large number of supporters who were drumming, dancing and hailing him.

dichotomy between HND holders and graduates of universities would meet the huge manpower needs of Nigerians, ensure social justice and enhanced corporate governance, as well encourage patriotic contributions amongst HND employees in both public and private sectors.

In his remarks after the passage of the bill, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, emphasised that the passage

of the bill would serve as a motivation for polytechnic graduates.

He, therefore, called on the public and private sectors to ensure the implementation of the bill’s provisions as soon as it is signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Lawan said: “This particular issue has been in the front burner for a long time. I recall that in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007, this was

one bill that was so important, and is one way of encouraging our Polytechnic graduates.

“That should not take away from the kind of training they receive, but, in fact, it is supposed to be a motivation for our polytechnic graduates. “(And) I pray that the federal government and all those government agencies and the private sector would start to implement this by the time the President assents to this bill.”

Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (left); and the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Faruk Yahaya, during the army chief’s visit to the Naval Headquarters in Abuja…yesterday

Many Feared Dead as Osun Police, Hunters Confront Bank Robbers Panic yesterday gripped the residents of Apomu and Ikire towns in Osun State as hunters and policemen confronted armed robbers that attacked two commercial banks in the areas.

THISDAY gathered that two commercial banks and police stations were attacked by armed robbers in the two towns.

Many people were feared

killed by the robbers but the number of casualty was unknown as at press time.

The dare-devil robbers were said to have entered Apomu and Ikire through Ikoyi town, and divided themselves into different groups before they attacked the police stations and the affected banks, one of which was located in Oke-Ola area.

The second bank was near

Akire’s Palace, while the affected police station was the Ayedaade Police Station.

The armed robbers however fled through Orileowu road after some local hunters and policemen confronted them.

The spokesperson for Osun State Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed attack on a commercial bank in Apomu, a police station in Ikire, as well

as Ikire Area Command of the police by robbers.

She, however, said casualty figure was not available.

“A bank in Ikire and a police station and Ikire Area Command were attacked by robbers.

“The Commissioner of Police is leading the operation and all our men are on ground to ensure that the fleeing robbers are apprehended.”

We Handed a United Nigeria to Buhari, PDP Replies APC Chuks Okocha in Abuja The Peoples Democratic Party has said it handed over a united and stable Nigeria to the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

This is in response to a statement issued by the APC which claimed that the insurgency which its government was facing was inherited from the administration led by the PDP. In the response, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, berated the APC for attacking Rivers State

Governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, for exposing the failures of the APC and its administration, particularly their ignoble roles in the escalation of violence, killing and other acts of terrorism across our nation.

“The PDP asserts that Governor Wike, in stating that the future of our nation cannot be left in the hands of the APC, directly spoke the mind of majority of Nigerians across board.

“As such, any attack on Governor Wike, on this score, is a direct assault on the generality of Nigerians “Nigerians are aware that

the PDP administration of President Goodluck Jonathan handed over a united and stable country to the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari after pushing terrorists to the fringes and conducting elections in all parts of our country.

“The APC has not denied the fact that it was on assumption of its office that terrorism resurged as APC leaders opened up our nation to terrorists, bandits and vandals, including those they brought in from neighbouring countries, as political mercenaries to assist the APC to unleash violence

on Nigerians during elections.

“Also, Nigerians are aware of how the APC administration shielded terrorism apologists in their cabinet how APC leaders, on several occasions, made case for terrorists, asked Nigerians not to fight back in the face of aggression and even blamed victims of terrorism as witnessed in the case of 43 rice farmers who were beheaded by terrorists in Borno State.”

PDP noted that the APC had been deliberately compromising the security of the nation to allow for chaos, crisis and emergency situation for their selfish and unpatriotic gains.

Dangote Partners Germany on Youth Training to Address Skills Gap The Aliko Dangote Foundation in partnership with Germany’s VDMA - the German Association for Mechanical and Plant Engineering - and its Foundation for Young Talent in Mechanical Engineering (NWS) have officially launched a technical training program in Nigeria, in a bid to significantly address the skill deficit in all the key sectors of the nation’s economy.

Speaking at the official launching of the programme yesterday, the President of Dangote Group, Aliko

Dangote said that the landmark program is a Seven-million Euro investment, a large percentage of which is for the specialised, leading-edge equipment that has been shipped from Germany and installed in five workshops purpose-built for this program at Dangote Academy in Obajana.

He also said the beneficiaries will be trained, using these machines, so they can learn practical skills that will be transferable as they enter the work force.

This programme, according to him, is the first of its kind in

Nigeria, and will be replicated in all the six geo-political zones of the country.

Noting that vocational and technical skills are vital to the well-being of any economy, as key levers for growth, specifically in the manufacturing sector, Dangote said significant skills gaps exist in Nigeria, which is what this programme is seeking to address.

“The trainees that successfully pass through the full vocational training will be prepared as well-rounded professionals. In addition to

the technical training, they will also get personal effectiveness trainings of same quality as our staff” Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd muller, lauded the Aliko Dangote Foundation and VDMA for the enviable programme that can transform and develop the economy of Nigeria. He said his ministry had supported the initiative with €3.6 million and would not hesitate to do more for the purpose of the initiatives to be achieved.

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Police Nab Fabricators of 200 Local AK-47 Rifles Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja Nigeria Police yesterday paraded 81 crime suspects and 45 assorted arms and ammunition as the force battles rising crime wave nationwide.

The suspects include manufacturers of local AK47 rifles and suspects, who fabricated and sold over 100 unauthorised vehicle number plates.

Parading the suspects in Abuja, Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a Commissioner of Police, said the suspects were involved in various

crimes, including gunrunning, illegal possession and fabrication of arms and vehicle number plates, kidnapping, armed robbery and murder.

He said one of the suspects, Joe Michael, a graduate of Government Technical College, Bukuru, Jos, Plateau State, fabricated 180 locally made AK-47 rifles, using original AK-47 ammunition and magazines which he sold for N80,000 each.

He said only users would understand the difference between the original AK-47 rifles and the local ones he produced.

Police also paraded a syndicate specialised in the fabrication of vehicle number plates.

He said Basil Okpara, Nurudeen Lawal, among others, specialised in the manufacture of vehicle number plates that looked exactly like the official number plates of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), including private, commercial

and diplomatic number plates.

Another suspect, Abubakar Mohammed, a Malian national based in Kebbi State, was involved in transnational gunrunning.

Mba said Abubakar Mohammed, “has been in the business of supplying arms to armed bandits and other criminals in the Sahel region”.

He displayed an ammunition chain, which could hold 1,600 live ammunition used in General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG).

He said the suspect was arrested between Nigeria/Benin Republic border and had been in the business for five years, smuggling one AK-47 at a time, which he sold for N500,000.

He said investigation was ongoing.

The police also paraded a suspect and psychology student of University of Jos, Mr. Sylvester Adamu, who sought and received a N500,000 loan from a friend for his marriage but later planned the death of the friend after he sighted some money on his car dashboard.

Kidnappers of Islamic Students Threatening to Increase Ransom, Says Head Teacher Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie Suspected gunmen who kidnapped students of Islamiyya School, Tegina, in Niger State last Sunday are threatening to increase the N110 million ransom they have demanded for the release of the students if the money was not paid yesterday.

The Head Teacher of the school, Abubakar Alhassan, whom had been contacted by the kidnappers, said the demand from the kidnappers has thrown the community into confusion, even as the state government had remained silent over their abduction since last Sunday.

Alhassan, who spoke

yesterday through a telephone interview on Arise News television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY Newspapers, said two female teachers were also kidnapped, and that the female teachers were forced to disclose his telephone number through which they contacted him to negotiate for ransom.

He said he was allowed to speak with the female teachers, who narrated their ordeals of how the kidnappers were beating them up and starving them of food and water.

According to Alhassan, “The kidnappers called me on the phone and demanded N300 million ransom for the release of the students numbering over 150, according to our records.

I will Rescue Nigerians from Hopelessness, Poverty, Says Moghalu Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie Having contested and lost in the 2019 presidential elections, which brought President Muhammadu Buhari to power for the second term, the former presidential candidate of Young People’s Party (YPP), Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, yesterday declared his interest to contest again in the 2023 presidential election.

He said he offered himself to contest the election in order to save Nigerians from hopelessness and poverty.

Moghalu, who declared his interest at the Morning Show of Arise News television, the broadcast arm of THISDAY

Newspapers, said his inability to win in 2019 would not deter him from contesting again as president in 2023, because of his desire to offer himself to Nigerians to bring about the quality leadership that Nigerians truly deserve.

He said he would campaign with a four-point agenda and ensure the implementation of all four agenda in the first four years if elected as president.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deputy governor listed the four-point agenda to include ‘Security, War Against Poverty, Accelerated Development and Good Governance’, which he tagged ‘SWAG 2023’.

Soldiers, Others to be Deployed for Ogun LG Election Kayode Fasua in Abeokuta To build public confidence that the forthcoming Ogun State local government elections will be free and fair, the authorities of the state Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) have reached out to the Nigerian Army to help deploy soldiers in the state on election day.

They have also contacted other security agencies to assist in beefing up security for the elections that will hold on July 24.

The OGSIEC Chairman, Mr. Babatunde Osibodu, revealed government plans yesterday

while fielding questions from journalists.

According to him, “The commission is synergising with the Nigerian army and other security agencies to ensure the protection of the electorate, as well as electoral materials, as this will guide against electoral malpractices and further build the confidence of the people.”

Osibodu also charged the youths to utilise their voting numbers to form a common force in order to make their impact felt during the poll.

He equally advised them not to be used by any individual or political party to perpetrate violence.

WELCOME ON BOARD……

L-R: Principal, Dominican College, Mafoluku, Lagos, Mrs. Ngozi Anozie; Administrator, Mr. Daniel-Mario Ibezim, outgoing Chairperson, Interim Executive Committee, Parents-Teachers’ Forum (PTF), Mrs. Clara Anyanwu; and newly elected Chairman, PTF, Mr. Chuks Arubalaeze, at the inauguration of the new executive of the school PTF in Lagos…weekend

Five Suspected Assassins Murder Fulani Leader in Kwara Hammed Shittu in Ilorin About five suspected criminals yesterday reportedly murdered a Fulani leader, Alhaji Abdullahi Hardo Buruku, in Lamba village, Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Until his death, the deceased was the state chairman of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria.

He was also the eldest son of the late Sarkin Fulani of

Kwara State, Alhaji Mu’azu Hardo Buruku.

Some suspected assassins had few weeks ago also murdered Magaji aspirant in Ballah area of Asa LGA. When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident yesterday, saying there was a case of murder in Buruku village in Asa LGA of the state.

He added that the state police

command had deployed its men in the criminal investigation bureau to the village to fish out the perpetrators of the incident.

Okasanmi, however, stated that the state police would not leave any stone unturned towards unraveling the ugly development in the state.

However, a resident of Lamba in the Ilorin emirate, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that

suspected assassins stormed the town in midnight of yesterday (Wednesday) and shot into the air sporadically.

“The suspected assassins shot the victim on the spot, as we heard gunshots all over the village,” he added.

Also, one of the sisters of the deceased, Hajia Aina’u Hardo Buruku, while confirming the incident, said the gunmen met the victim in his bedroom and murdered him.

House Outraged as Contractor Abandon Lagos-Badagry Expressway The House of Representatives’ Committee on Works has expressed disappointment that no member of staff of CGC Nigeria Limited, the contractor handling LagosBadagry expressway, was on site when its members visited the project yesterday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the committee, led by its Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Kabir, was on oversight inspection tour of Agbara and Seme section of

Badagry expressway yesterday.

The lawmakers expressed displeasure over lack of commitment of the contractor and resolved to invite the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, and the contractor over the slow pace of work on the project.

The chairman said it was disheartening that no single expatriate from CGC was on ground to receive the lawmakers to give explanations on construction works.

“I am highly disappointed with CGC; there is no way, that members of the House of Representatives coming here to Lagos and none of their expatriates are here. “We have the project worth N63 billion; this is to show CGC are not taking this project serious at all, this is number one.

“Secondly, the issue of the work we have seen here and the work on the paper, to me, this project is not commensurate with what have been paid,”

he said.

Kabir said no mathematical or scientific analysis could generate magical formulas to equate funding to actual construction visible and percentages of level of completion of the projects.

“And you said we have reached about 14.6 per cent completion, even on the average, you have only reached about four per cent and the money we have paid to them (CGC) now is about N6.7 billion.

Onion Traders Suspend Supply to South-east over Insecurity The Onion Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (OPMAN) has announced its decision to suspend onion supply to the South-east over insecurity.

The National President of OPMAN, Mr. Aliyu Isah, made the announcement yesterday.

He said the association’s decision was based on the recent hijack of two of their members’

trucks by gunmen suspected to be members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imo State.

The farmers and marketers said they lost onions worth N2.4 billion to fire in Sokoto State.

The cause of the fire was still unknown but one of the victims, Umaru Aliyu Gidan Fadama, said that the fire started from

Yan doya market otherwise known as Ramin Kura.

According to him, it started around 12:30 am yesterday.

“We were told that it started from a Golf vehicle that was offloading yams at the market and later spread to other places including where our storage facilities are.

“I personally lost 60 bags of

onion and I know some that have lost more than 100 bags,” he said.

The National President of OPMAN told our reporter that 200,000 bags of onion worth N2 billion were lost to the fire.

“We are only praying to God to bring succour to them but it was a terrible and unfortunate incident,” he said.

Lagos Taskforce Arrests Three Suspects for Extorting Motorists Sunday Ehigiator

The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit (Taskforce) has arrested three suspects, who posed as Local Government Traffic officers and extorted motorists in the Oshodi Area of the state.

The suspects were arrested yesterday on the orders of the Chairman, Lagos State Environmental and

Special Offences Unit, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Shola Jejeloye after receiving complaints from some of their victims.

The suspects, Samuel Oyegbule (52), Olayiwola Thomas (53) and Kola Taiwo (47), had claimed to be working with Oshodi–Isolo Local Government.

According to the Taskforce, “The suspect had yesterday

extorted N25,000 from one of their victims for obstruction.

Another victim equally alleged he was extorted of the same amount the previous day.”

The first victim who pleaded anonymity said “they walked up to my vehicle while waiting for traffic light in Oyetayo Street. They knocked on my side glass and I wound down to listen to them. They said I have committed a traffic

offence and I was forced to Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Secretariat, Oshodi, where I was made to cough up N25,000 as fine”.

The second victim, a bolt driver, said “I was arrested for dropping my client in front of his house in the inner street of Oshodi. It wasn’t a major road or expressway or where there are bus stops. They refused to listen to my explanation.

THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 ˾ THISDAY

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THURSDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com 0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

NFF Boss, Pinnick, Debunks Players’ Unrest over Match Bonuses Femi Solaja

Ahead of tomorrow’s first of the international friendlies with Indomitable Lions of Cameroon in Austria, President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has debunked the news making the round that most of the players that have stayed away from the two games scheduled for June 4 and 8 are doing so in protests over the non-payment of their outstanding match bonuses.

Last week, a wire service reported that the players have not been paid for the six matches they played at the last AFCON 2019 tournament in Egypt where Nigeria won the third placed bronze. It also said that match bonuses for the last two qualifying matches for AFCON 2022 tournament

in Cameroon have not been settled to warrant some of the key players to feign injuries.

But speaking on ARISE TV’s ‘The Morning Show’ yesterday, Pinnick, insisted that the players were aware of the problems the NFF was facing due largely to the Covid-19 pandemic which has made their sponsors unable to meet up with their obligations to the federation.

“Since the beginning of this present administration, we have cut down a lot of expenses to give all our players and coaches a sense of belonging and owing salaries has been a thing of the past more so payment is now tied to corporate organisation and this alone has taken huge responsibility off the NFF and the government by extension.

“But when the pandemic

came, it changed a lot of things and as we had to come to reality of how we navigate the curved end. Our sponsors could not pay as agreed, which necessitates renegotiating. All these we explained to the players and the coaches.

Today, things are getting better and same with the players bonuses.

Pinnick however stressed that national team players don’t live on bonuses they get while on national duty.

“First we have to understand the fact that no national team player survives on national team bonuses because they earn their living playing week in week out playing for their respective clubs.

“However, playing for the national team is a platform

that enables them to flourish in their career and this we have provided for them in the couple of years before now,” he explained.

He said the players understand the situation with the FA. “Since coming on board six years ago, we took the matter of the comfort of our national team players seriously. We offered them the best travels by chartered flights and staying in high-class hotels just for their comfort. So I do not believe any of the players stayed away in protest over any outstanding match bonuses.

Pinnick was emphatic that the NFF will only pay for five matches with the 4-4 home draw against Sierra Leone

in Benin City late last year has been forfeited.

“We don’t pay for mediocrity with the 4-4 result against Sierra Leone at home in Benin City. The last time I was talking with my counterpart from Morocco, he said the moment you are playing a team lower in ranking, the same matchbonus doesn’t apply, “Although it was a casual discussion, there are lots of take away from there. We are looking forward to payments of qualifying bonuses at the end of the series which to me will save the federation a lot of money.

“The relationship with the players is cordial as they see us like senior brother and even their parents going by

how we relate with them all the time.

“We know its statutory for the players to earn their pay but we need to have an understanding as well. We want to take a cue from England FA that pays the players at the end of a series instead of regular payments.

On injured Samuel Chukwueze who was operated upon just yesterday, the NFF Chief said he was constantly in touch with the FC Villarreal player.

“I am in touch with Samuel Chukwueze. We spoke yesterday after the successful operation. He is said missing this double header against Cameroon. The same thing applies to the other injured players

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

Musa, Onuachu, Izuchukwu Complete Eagles Line up for Cameroon Captain Ahmed Musa, forward Paul Onuachu (voted Best Player and Top Scorer in Belgium in the just-concluded season) and Anthony Izuchukwu of Spartan Trnava of Slovakia have arrived at the camp of Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Austria as the three –time African champions get set for Friday’s prestige international friendly against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

On Tuesday, 18 players were on hand to limber up at the training pitch of the Stadion Wiener Neustadt in Vienna, where both fierce rivals will do battle in what is their first clash in two years.

Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions have had a lot of laughs at the expense of the Super Eagles in principally Africa Cup of Nations finals – 1984, 1988 and 2000. But the Eagles edged the neighbours to the

east 3-2 in the quarter finals of the last AFCON in Egypt two years ago, mauled the Lions 3-0 in a friendly in Belgium in October 2015 and were vastly superior over two legs in 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in September 2017.

The arrival of the inspirational Musa, Belgium-based Onuachu and Izuchukwu on Wednesday morning brought the number of players in Nigeria’s camp to 21.

Others are goalkeepers Maduka Okoye, Francis Uzoho and John Noble; defenders William Ekong, Valentine Ozornwafor, Chidozie Awaziem and Jamilu Collins; midfielders Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Abdullahi Shehu, Abraham Marcus and Samson Tijani and; forwards Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Anayo Iwuala, Terem Moffi and Peter Olayinka.

Three Nigerian Para-Table Tennis Players in Slovenia for Tokyo 2020 Tickets Three Nigerian Para-Table Tennis Players are participating at the world Paralympic Table Tennis qualifiers holding in Slovenia.

The players who departed Nigerian shores Tuesday night with Turkish airline include, Faith Obiorah, Francis Chukwuemeka and Nasiru Sule.

The trio are under the supervision of Coach Sunday Odebode of the Para-table tennis fame and fondly referred to as ‘Able Consultant’ . The championship which runs from June 2 to June 6 is the last stage of the Olympic qualifiers in the event.

Chairman of the Para-Table Tennis, Anderson Bankole,

disclosed in Lagos that he remains optimistic that the athletes would put up good performances in Slovenia by picking more Tokyo 2020 Paralympic tickets for the country.

Bankole who is a serving commissioner of police said considering Nigeria’s pedigree in global table tennis, the trio will not disappoint.

It is on record that Nigeria has already qualified six Para-Table Tennis players for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Those already through include Tajudeen Agunbiade, Femi Talabi, Koleosho Ahmed, Ogunkunle Isau, Faith Obazuaye and Victor Farinloye

Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr (white shirt, backing camera), addressing the 21 players at training yesterday in Austria

Okagbare Happy to Set Meeting Record in Slovakia Blessing Okagbare has said that she is happy for executing another perfect race when she ducked inside 11 seconds for the third time this season Wednesday evening at the P-T-S athletics meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The seven-time Nigeria 100m champion ran 10.98 seconds to win the race and in the process smashed the 11.09 seconds meeting record set in June 1983 by Czech Republic woman, Jarmila Kratochvílová.

“Thank God for another healthy race/win today,” said the Nigerian 100/200m record holder on her Facebook wall after the race. Okagbare has now broken 11 seconds thrice this year.

She ran her first sub-11 seconds of the season at the USTAF invitational in Eugene, Oregon USA in April before scorching to a 10.90 seconds personal season’s best at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha, Qatar last week.

Blessing Okagbare...sets meet record in Slovakia

Okagbare has now broken 11 seconds for the 21st time in her career, 19 more than Mary Onyali who ducked inside the time just twice.

The first and only Nigerian to win a track and field event medals at the World Athletics Championship, Okagbare broke 11 seconds for the first time in her career at the Crystal

Palace Aviva London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace, London on July 14, 2012 when she ran 10.99 seconds in heat one of the meeting before running 11.01 seconds to win in the final.

She raced inside 11 seconds three more times that year, setting new personal best on each ocassion with the 10.92 performance in the semifinal of the event at the Olympics in London her lifetime best to close the year.

In 2013, Okagbare broke 11 seconds thrice with two of them in historic fashions. She started the season with a huge but windaided 10.75 seconds in June at the Prefontaine Classic (Diamond League) at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA. Hugely disappointed with the trail wind that denied her an obvious chance of breaking her country woman, Glory Alozie’s 10.90 seconds African record, Okagbare followed up with a 10.93 run at the Meeting Areva

in Paris in July.

Later that month she rewrote, completely, the African record twice in one evening. She first stormed to a 10.86 seconds finish in heat two of the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games at the Olympic stadium in London.

That was the first time an African would legally break 10.90 seconds in the event.

Less than 90 minutes later, she proved her 10.75 seconds wind-aided run in Eugene, Oregon was a sign of what to come as she smashed a barrier she had set earlier that evening by stopping the clocking at 10.79 seconds. It was the fastest time ever returned by an African in the event at the time.

In 2015, Okagbare broke 11 seconds six times, her most in a single season and made it to the 100m final at the World Athletics Championship in Beijing, China.

Incidentally, it was the last time the Nigerian would run in the final of any global sprint event.

47

THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2021 ˾ THISDAY

ThursdaySports

Euro 2020: Half of Belgium’s Squad Turn Down Covid-19 Vaccine A number of Belgium players have rejected the chance to receive a Covid-19 vaccination ahead of Euro 2020, reports claim - with around half of the squad fearing side effects could wreck their hopes at the tournament.

The country’s government had given the green light for players to receive the jab, with the Belgian FA insisting it was a ‘very important’ move as they bid to win their first ever trophy as a nation.

Belgium - who are ranked as the number one international team in world football - are set to begin their Euro campaign against Russia in St Petersburg on June 12.

A handful of stars - including Toby Alderweireld, Timothy Castagne, Thibaut Courtois and Thomas Vermaelen - are all said to have received their jabs.

But with the team seen as one of the favourites to win the competition, some of the players refused to take the Pfizer jab in case it hinders their performance, according to Belgian outlet HLN. Side effects for the vaccine include tiredness, headaches,

muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever - which can affect more than one in ten people.

Belgium, which reported 1,498 Covid cases on June 1, has struggled with the virus this year and only started to come out of lockdown last month - with non-essential shops and restaurants opening.

Professor Dirk Ramaekers, who heads Belgium’s Task Force Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy, allayed fears about the refusals to be vaccinated.

He said a number of players had already received their jabs, while some would prefer to receive theirs after Euro 2020 has ended.

“A number of Red Devils had already been vaccinated abroad, a number of them have recently experienced Covid,” he said.

“The latter have antibodies and prefer to be vaccinated after the tournament. Of those who were not vaccinated, the vast majority had themselves vaccinated upon arrival in our country.

Ramaekers said the squad and coach Roberto Martinez were ‘very pro-vaccination’ and

TRANSFER NEWS....

Chelsea List 11 Players for Clear-out to Make Room for New Signings European champions Chelsea are set to undergo a massive clear out this summer, with 11 players destined to leave Stamford Bridge in order to make room for four new signings.

Coach Thomas Tuchel wants to add a new centreback, a wing-back, a centre midfielder and a striker to his squad over the summer, but that will mean having to offload a host of current stars from the wage bill.

UK’s The Daily Mail reports that as many as 11 players could leave Chelsea in the summer, either on loan or permanently, to accommodate the arrival of Tuchel’s new recruits.

There are several Blues stars whose futures seem destined to lie away from west London. Homegrown striker Tammy Abraham has barely featured under Tuchel and the club could cash in on the England international with a potential profit of around £40m on offer.

Fellow forward Olivier Giroud is coming to the end of his contract, and he is expected to depart on a free transfer this summer.

Centre-back FIkayo Tomori, who has spent the past halfseason on loan at Milan, is likely to make that move permanent in the upcoming transfer window.

Tomori has impressed since arriving in Italy and helped I Rossoneri clinch

a spot in the top four of Serie A and subsequently qualify for the Champions League. The Italian giants inserted an option to buy clause of £25m in the loan deal and the defender has convinced them to pull the trigger.

Ross Barkley, another man who spent last season out on loan, will not be included in Tuchel’s plans for next year, while Ruben LoftusCheek may finally be forced to find a permanent home elsewhere following a string of temporary spells away from the Bridge.

Tiemoue Bakayoko is another outcast Chelsea will be hoping to ship out this summer, while the club is ready to wave goodbye to Italian full-backs Davide Zappacosta and Emerson Palmieri.

Midfielders Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher could be told to prove themselves elsewhere for a year, although Tuchel wants to assess Gallagher’s ability up close before making a decision.

The most unlikely and surprising name on the list is Christian Pulisic.

The American has struggled under Tuchel this year, but the German coach has not been prepared to fully utilise him thus far, and that could see Pulisic demand a move away for regular game time.

that only ‘one or two’ players do not wish to receive their jabs.

“I look at it positively and notice that the players - with

guys like Mertens, Lukaku and Hazard in the lead - just like the association and the coach are very pro-vaccination,” he added.

“Within the group, the majority is protected. The group protection is great because those boys will live in a highly isolated environment for the

coming weeks. On the field, all participating teams will protect their players as much as possible with vaccination and testing.”

Half of Belgium’s squad for Euro 2020 have refused Covid-19 vaccine jabs

Barca Offer Coutinho to Liverpool Barcelona have offered Philippe Coutinho back to Liverpool in a desperate attempt to trim their bloated wage bill.

The club’s financial problems have been public knowledge for some time with the majority of Barça’s first team squad up for sale this summer.

Coutinho is no different and, according to AS, the Blaugrana are considering an audacious plan to get him off the books.

Barcelona still owe Liverpool €50m for the player who they signed back in 2018. In order to save money they have offered the Brazilian back to the Reds.

Whether Liverpool would be open to this arrangement

Philippe Coutinho...offered back to Liverpool to ease Barca wage bill

is a different matter entirely.

Although Coutinho was once a

favourite at Anfield, his career has nosedived since he left.

He has never recorded a double-figure scoring season at Barcelona, although he did do okay while on loan at Bayern Munich during the 2019/2020 campaign, helping Die Roten to a famous treble.

Coutinho’s wages are high and Liverpool would likely have serious reservations about signing a player who has underwhelmed for so long.

This is not the only scheme that Barcelona are hatching to trim their wage bill. Jordi Alba, who has been a loyal servant for many seasons, could link up with former teammate Luis

Suarez at La Liga champions Atletico Madrid.

Barcelona are still hoping to agree a wage cut with Alba, as well as with Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique, but if an agreement cannot be reached all four of the players could be shown the exit door.

Ousmane Dembele’s future is even more uncertain. The Frenchman has just one year left to run on his current deal and if fresh terms are not agreed soon he could also be sold. Several Premier League clubs would be interested in his services, while Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have been linked as well.

Brazil Names Maracana Among Venues for Copa America Brazil named Rio de Janeiro and three other cities as host venues for the Copa America on Tuesday (June 1) in a move that appeared to strengthen the likelihood of the tournament taking place, even as a Supreme Court judge asked President Jair Bolsonaro to explain his surprise decision.

The demand by Justice Ricardo Lewandowski came in response to a suit filed by the opposition Workers’ Party, which objected to Brazil hosting the tournament given the current public health situation.

Bolsonaro said earlier on

Tuesday his government had agreed Brazil would host the regional tournament from June 13 to July 10, after planned hosts Argentina pulled out due to a dramatic worsening of the coronavirus pandemic there.

The capital Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Cuiaba and Goiania were confirmed as host cities by Alejandro Dominguez, president of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol).

“We have chosen the hosts in agreement, obviously, with the governors,” Bolsonaro said.

“So everything suggests… that Brazil will host the Copa

America.”

Rio’s Maracana stadium and the Mane Garrincha stadium in Brasilia will be favourites to host the opening match and the final.

The decision to host football’s oldest international tournament comes as Brazil struggles to cope with the ravages of a virus that has killed over 465,000 people, according to government figures, the second-highest tally in the world.

Brazil offered to host the tournament played by 10 South American nations in

a surprise decision taken jointly with Conmebol on Monday, and is now racing against time to provide flights, transport, accommodation and training facilities for the visiting delegations.

The tournament is set to feature some of the greatest names in world football, including Argentinians Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, Neymar from Brazil, and Uruguayans Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.

Conmebol has promised all players will be vaccinated before the tournament begins.

FRENCH OPEN 2021

Serena, Azarenka, Kasatkina Through to Third Round Seventh seed Serena Williams moved into the French Open third round after overcoming Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu in a challenging three-set win.

Williams, 39, won 6-3 5-7 6-1 to set up a meeting in the last 32 with fellow American Danielle Collins.

Russia’s Daria Kasatkina delivered a surprise when she knocked out Swiss 10th seed Belinda Bencic.

Belarusian 15th seed Victoria Azarenka and 2019 runner-up

Marketa Vondrousova also progressed in straight sets.

Williams is again going for a 24th major title to equal Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record, although her latest attempt for history comes at a place where she has not progressed past the fourth round since 2016.

Clay is not considered her best surface, despite being a three-time champion at Roland Garros, and she has played little on the red dirt since returning

from maternity leave in 2018.

Yet the talent which has made her one of the sport’s biggest stars was enough to eventually see off Buzarnescu in a competitive and entertaining match.

Williams looked sharper in the first set than she did in her opening win, dominating on serve and hitting fewer unforced errors than she did against first-round opponent Irina-Camelia Begu.

Buzarnescu is ranked 174th in the world and playing on a

protected ranking after injury, but she presented a stern challenge for Williams as she demonstrated the ability which helped her rise to 20th in 2018. After being edged out of the opener, Buzarnescu was rewarded with the second set before Williams nicked two tight games at the start of the decider to take control.

“She has a lot of skills and plays well on this surface in particular so I knew it would not be easy. I’m happy to get through that,” Williams said.

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MISSILE Ifeanyi Okowa to Nigerians “Can we truly be promoting open grazing at this moment, seeing all the atrocities being committed across the country? We need to reconsider our best options. Where we were 50 years ago should not be where we should be today and tomorrow” – Delta State Governor, defending the position of Southern Governors which bans open grazing of cattle.

OLUSEGUNADENIYI THE VERDICT

olusegun.adeniyi@thisdaylive.com

Gulak, IPOB and a Nation Besieged I

n his piece on Tuesday, ‘The Death of Ahmed Gulak’, Dr Reuben Abati attested to the character of the late Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan with whom he worked. He also spoke about the danger his gruesome murder portends, especially at this period in our nation. I didn’t know Gulak as well as Reuben, but I found the deceased politician and lawyer a very friendly man with whom I enjoyed a good laugh whenever and wherever we met.

I therefore commiserate with his family as I pray God will offer them comfort at this most difficult period.

Of concern to me though is the manner in which the police have handled this tragedy.

The two statements released last Sunday following the incident were unprofessional and dangerous. In the first statement, the police actually blamed the victim: “Gulak left his room at Protea Hotel without informing the Police nor sister agencies in view of the fragile security situation in the Southeast and Imo in particular. He left without any security escorts while the cab driver took irregular route to the airport…”

I do not understand how a respectable security agency could have authored such an insensitive statement shortly after someone was killed. The second statement released a few hours later was worse. The Police claimed to have “neutralised the killers of Ahmed Gulak”. That is the language of mobsters, not a civil institution responsible for maintaining law and order in a society.

Besides, suspects are supposed to be tried in a court of law to ensure that innocent people are not punished for a crime they did not commit. Questions therefore remain as to how these alleged killers were identified and the process leading to their being “neutralised”.

Ordinarily, in a crime as heinous as homicide, you expect culprits to be arrested so that information can be extracted regarding motives and whether other actors were involved. It was particularly important in this case of a high-profile politician who had unwittingly been dragged into the politics of Imo State in the past three years. For the sake of those who may not remember, Gulak was the chair of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial primaries committee in Imo State in the prelude to the 2019 general election. The exercise ended in acrimony before the party headquarters intervened to disband the committee but nonetheless upheld the result announced

by Gulak.

Perhaps because of that involvement in Imo politics, it is true that Gulak needed to have taken extra precaution. But that cannot justify the kind of statement put out by the police following his death.

Gulak was in Owerri as a consultant for the National Assembly committee for the review of the Constitution. If a citizen cannot move freely in their own country, then we have a serious problem. Even at that, with less than 200,000 active policemen (the remaining are on guard duty with our ‘Big’ men and women) in a nation of

Late Gulak more than 200 million people, the force does not have near enough personnel to shield every prominent citizen.

More disturbing of course was the second statement as to how the police were able to apprehend and deal with those they concluded were the killers based on the eyewitness account “given by the driver of the vehicle that was conveying Ahmed Gulak to the airport before the attack”. It was this driver who “gave a vivid description of the assailants and the vehicles they used in carrying out the attack.” Which is why the belated statement by the Southeast governors that the security agencies should “arrest the perpetrators and make them face justice” is rather ridiculous. How do you arrest men that have been ‘neutralised’?

Few people have been an eyewitness to murder but many of us have been involved in (or witnessed) ghastly accidents and armed robbery attacks. The trauma that follows does not normally leave victims with the presence of mind and photographic recall credited to this driver who, according to the police, described that the assailants “used a Toyota Camry 2005 model with silver color; Toyota Sienna 1998 Model with golden color; Toyota Hilux with white color; and a Lexus RX 330 with golden Color. (Registration numbers are withheld for security reasons).”

The next course of action was to pursue the alleged killers. Again, let’s complete the story from the police: “Having established the identity of the assailants and the description of the vehicles used in carrying out the attack, the teams further got details of the direction the hoodlums have taken. With further leads, the team was able to establish the location of suspects.

The suspects were rounded up at Afor Enyiogugu junction in Aboh-Mbaise Local Government Area. The hoodlums were met distributing onions to locals from a trailer they confiscated. The trailer was loaded with onions from the northern region of Nigeria.”

I don’t know why it was important to say where the trailer loaded with onions

originated unless the intention was to incite at a period respected stakeholders in the north were restraining their youth from possible reprisal attacks. And then, after the account of how the police officers gallantly killed “the six hoodlums who carried out the killings and four other members of their gang”, the police completed their tale: “The assailants were identified as members of the proscribed IPOB and ESN. The driver who drove late Ahmed Gulak and a co-victim who survived have all identified the dead body of the IPOB/ESN members positively as their attackers and also identified the three vehicles recovered as those used by the attackers.” Case closed!

Let me be clear. I am not defending IPOB and ESN whose operatives may indeed be culpable. But the murder of a high-profile politician that could have engendered crisis as well as the security challenge in the Southeast requires more rigour than what we have seen in recent days.

The orchestrated attacks against both the personnel and barracks of police formations and the offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are clearly a direct affront on national security and an undisguised attempt to undermine our democracy and fragile unity. To deal with these challenges, the security agencies must deploy their best intelligence assets and be thorough and open-minded in their investigation.

Last month alone there were ten attacks against INEC in the five Southeast states of Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra.

All by ‘unknown gunmen’. On 9th May, they attacked the Ohafia local government INEC office in Abia; on 13th May, they took down the commission’s office at Udenu local government in Enugu; on 16th May, the madness had moved to the INEC headquarters at the state capital. On 18th May, there were three coordinated attacks in Ebonyi State INEC offices: One in Ezza North local government, another in Izzi local government and the third in Ebonyi local government. On 23rd May, the attacks were at the commission’s offices in three states: Enugu, Anambra and Imo. While that of Enugu took place at Igboeze local government, that of Imo happened

at Ahiazu Mbaise local government. In Anambra, the attackers went for the INEC state headquarters in Akwa. And on 30th May, the gunmen were at Njaba local government INEC office in Anambra state.

The attacks against the police have been more daring and devastating. Since the violence started early this year, more than a hundred of their officers and men have been killed and dozens of their facilities (including barracks and operational vehicles) have been destroyed. We need the security agencies to fish out these criminals (and sponsors) and bring them to justice.

Meanwhile, I saw the challenge posed

by IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu coming many years ago. On several occasions—including at my 1st October 2017 Platform lecture (A Nation on Edge: Which Way Nigeria?)—I raised concerns about a possible escalation if not handled carefully. Sadly, what I predicted six years ago is now coming to pass. In my 12th November 2015 column, ‘The Man from Biafra’, I warned that by arresting Kanu and giving him attention, the authorities were helping his cause.

This is what I wrote in the piece: “…One thing we should not discountenance is that there is a generation of Igbo born after the civil war who believe they (or their parents) do not have a fair deal in Nigeria on account of the war. There is therefore a persecution complex that is deeply ingrained. It is perhaps for this reason that even those who do not agree with Kanu and may actually detest him and his message are keeping silent—essentially because there is some value in what he is doing in a nation where, to borrow the words of a senior colleague, such antics have become ‘a maximalist bargaining position’. The way things are, by arresting Kanu, keeping him in incarceration and denying him his rights under the law, the authorities are simply playing into his hands. Somebody like him needs to be made a ‘victim’ in order to take his cause to the next level. That is the platform that the federal government is unwittingly providing to the guy who is already attracting international attention…”

NOTE: Piece concluded on page 14

Mrs Ahmed @ FCDA

In March last year, I had cause to be at the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) office to register a complaint about the access to my house that had been blocked by a new construction in the area. I met the then Executive Secretary, Umar Gambo Jibrin and his Directors who had just returned from a visitation. Jibrin invited me to his office and asked his directors to join the conversation. Although I was meeting all of them (including Jibrin himself) for the first time, they treated me with courtesy and I exchanged contacts with everyone at the end of our meeting. The Director, Urban and Regional Planning, Mrs Zaliha’u Ahmed, was particularly engaging and from that time we have continued to communicate.

As a regular reader of my column, she especially expressed interest in my wife’s school project (Not Forgotten Initiative) for less-privileged children and I could see her passion on social issues in our conversations.

I was therefore delighted when I read on Monday that Mrs Ahmed had broken the Abuja glass ceiling with her appointment as the FCDA acting executive secretary, following the mandatory retirement of the incumbent.

She is the first woman to hold the position in the 45-year history of the agency created in 1976 to “oversee the infrastructural and physical development (planning, design and construction)” of the FCT. I wish Mrs Ahmed all the best in her new assignment.

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